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<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">A Time for Tears <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3
face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Stanton Delaplane, the
columnist, often wrote a very gay column, but one time several years ago, he
wrote in a different mood. He said:<BR><BR>"No life can run smoothly, but how
can I tell this to a ten year old girl? The other night we came home and the
Siamese kitten was dead. You could see what had happened. I had had some steaks
delivered on top of the deep freeze. The boxer dog had managed to push the door.
The cat had gotten up and torn off the paper. The dog had managed to jump up and
pull the package down. He must have been into it when the cat came down and
tried to get into it, too. Oh, they had eaten and played together for three
months now, but this time he just grabbed her by the neck, gave one shake, and
she was dead.<BR><BR>"And so, there is trouble in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1
ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:place
w:st="on">Paradise</st1:place> today. Though we must all grow up from ten years
and realize that kittens must go, I keep thinking if only I had come home a half
an hour earlier. If I had closed the door tight, or if I had put the steaks into
the deep freeze. For this morning, the little girl is miserable, the boxer is
miserable, and I am miserable - and there is nothing, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, that I
can do about it, nor anyone else can do about it."<BR><BR>No, Mr. Delaphane,
there is nothing that anyone can do about it, except weep. I find that this
world is that kind of place, and it fortifies my soul to know that Jesus found
it that kind of place, also. In at least two places recorded in Scripture, our
Lord is confronted by circumstances where the only appropriate reaction seemed
to be to cry. To us, that is a fact of tremendous importance.<BR><BR>In the
first place, if Jesus wept, then weeping is realism and not sentimentalism. If
Christ, himself, was left, upon occasion, with no weapon for the warfare of life
except a sob, then how ridiculous of me to think that I can go dry-eyed through
the days of my years. How stupid of me to set a goal for myself to wink,
supposedly gaily and bravely, at the experiences that caused the Lord of life to
weep, and to weep bitterly.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3
face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">A Time for Tears, Louis H.
Valbracht<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">_______________________________<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Mercy and Empathy<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">There are people crying all around us, people
approaching the point of desperation. But many of their cries go unheard. The
noise of the self-oriented machinery of our culture is drowning them out and
they are dying. The world needs the merciful. We all need someone who will
identify with us. Someone who will hear our cry, listen, have empathy, and care.
We all need to have an attitude of mercy and to be the recipients of such an
attitude! As Shakespeare said:<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The quality of mercy is not
strained;<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Upon the place beneath: it
is<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">twice blest, It blesseth him that gives, and him that
takes.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Wallace H. Kirby, Beatitudes: Programs and Promises, CSS
Publishing <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">_____________________<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">New Priorities of the
Kingdom<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">A holy man was engaged in his morning meditation under a
tree whose roots stretched out over the riverbank. During his meditation he
noticed that the river was rising, and a scorpion caught in the roots was about
to drown. He crawled out on the roots and reached down to free the scorpion, but
every time he did so, the scorpion struck back at him. An observer came along
and said to the holy man, 'Don't you know that's a scorpion, and it's in the
nature of a scorpion to want to sting?' To which the holy man replied, 'That may
well be, but it is my nature to save, and must I change my nature because the
scorpion does not change his?'<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Traditional<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">_______________<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">A Religion Worth Nothing<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">A religion that gives nothing, costs nothing, and
suffers nothing, is worth nothing.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Martin Luther<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">_______________<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Sometimes We Just Need a
Blessing<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The problem with our society is that we don't understand
the power nor the dynamics of giving a blessing. We underestimate its power and
we are not in the habit of giving empathy. Few people are tuned in to your
feelings of rejection. Most ignore them completely. Many simply "stuff" them,
hoping that they will go away. We are a people that want to fix or problem
solve. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">We want answers and a rational explanation for
everything that happens. Or, we believe that hard work and discipline will make
everything turn out right. Do you think that the skier that crashed on the ski
slope was not disciplined? Did he deserve to slip and fail because he didn't
work hard enough?<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">I heard a story this past week that illustrates how our
society treats personal rejection. A man with a critical illness was lying in a
hospital bed, desperately wanting some word of encouragement. A nurse said to
him, "you just need to work harder." This man had undergone multiple surgeries
and is critically ill. What he needed was a "blessing." What the skier who
crashed on the slope needed was a blessing.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P><FONT size=3
face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">
<P>Fw: Sermon Resources for All Saints Day - Part 2 of 2</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Keith Wagner, Overcoming
Rejection<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">______________________<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">We Belong to the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Kingdom</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">God</st1:PlaceName></st1:place><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The story is told of Frederick William IV of <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Prussia</st1:country-region></st1:place>
who once visited a school and quizzed the students. He held up a stone and asked
the children: to what kingdom does this belong? They responded: mineral. He
then, pointed to a flower and asked: to what kingdom does this belong? They
answered: plant. He then pointed to a bird flying by outside the window
and asked: to what Kingdom does that belong? They replied: animal. Then he
asked: now, to what kingdom do I belong. He had raised a profound theological
question. To what kingdom do we belong?<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">On a literal sense, we are, off course, part and parcel
of the animal kingdom. I belong to the same kingdom as my dog Ruff. He has many
human traits…<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The conclusion to this illustration and for many
additional illustrations and sermons for All Saints and Proper 26 can be
accessed at <A
href="http://www.sermons.com/">www.Sermons.com</A>.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>