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<DIV>The following are SermonWriter materials for Nov. 29 (Advent 1C). They
focus on Luke 21:25-36, where Jesus talks about his Second Coming.<BR><BR><BR>NO
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href="http://www.lectionary.org/SW/11-29be/Luke_21.25-36.wpd">http://www.lectionary.org/SW/11-29be/Luke_21.25-36.wpd</A><BR><BR><BR>A
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like on your hard drive.<BR><BR>If that doesn't work, RIGHT-CLICK on the
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one of the options. Click on that. Then save the file wherever you
want on your hard drive.<BR><BR><BR><><BR>Dick Donovan<BR><BR><BR>A
THOUGHT ON PREACHING: Life with Christ is an alternative, not a
complement, to other so-called "lifestyles." The Christian life demands
amendment of life precisely because it incorporates people into God's life,
first gaining their trust through the forgiveness of sin. (Ellen Charry --
courtesy of Fr. Charles Hoffacker)<BR><BR><BR>TITLE: Your Redemption
Draweth Nigh!<BR><BR><BR>SERMON IN A SENTENCE: Jesus' promise is that, for
the faithful, his Second Coming will be a great moment of redemption -- a
setting right of a world gone wrong.<BR><BR><></DIV>
<DIV>SERMON:<BR><BR>In 1898, H.G. Wells published a science fiction novel
entitled The War of the Worlds. It depicted an invasion of England by
Martians -- octopus-like creatures -- equipped with ray guns which they used to
incinerate people who went out to meet them.<BR><BR>Forty years later (1939),
Orson Welles adapted the idea for radio. Instead of a regular radio drama,
Welles envisioned the broadcast as a regular program interrupted by news
bulletins about a Martian invasion at Grover's Mill, New Jersey. These
fake news bulletins told of tentacled Martians incinerating people with
Heat-Rays.<BR><BR>The governor called out the state militia, which found itself
hopelessly outclassed by the Martians. A news reporter told of the
Martians invading New York City, and said that poison gas was spreading across
the city and people were "falling like flies." Then his voice went silent
as he succumbed to the gas. Finally, a ham radio operator was heard
saying, "2X2L calling CQ. Isn't there anyone on the air? Isn't there
anyone on the air? Isn't there... anyone?"<BR><BR>Many listeners, who
tuned in too late to hear the beginning of the program, thought that they were
listening to a real newscast describing a real Martian invasion. People
panicked, especially in New Jersey and New York City -- the focus of the
attacks.<BR><BR>However, panic also spread across the country. In the
little town of Concrete, Washington, an electrical substation exploded with a
bang and flash of light, plunging the town into darkness. People who had
been listening to the program gathered their families and headed for the
hills. One Catholic man decided that he had to get absolution from his
priest in Bellingham. He went to the gas station to fill his tank and
drove off without paying, telling the attendant that it wouldn't make any
difference, because "everyone is going to die."<BR><BR><A
href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_of_the_Worlds">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_of_the_Worlds</A><BR><A
href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_of_the_Worlds_(radio)#Public_reaction">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_of_the_Worlds_(radio)#Public_reaction</A><BR><BR>I
tell that story, because it captures the mood that people most often associate
with Jesus' Second Coming -- a mood of disaster and panic.<BR><BR><></DIV>
<DIV>FOR MORE SERMONS ON THIS TEXT, GO TO:<BR><A
href="http://www.lectionary.org/SermLinks/NT/NT03luke.htm">http://www.lectionary.org/SermLinks/NT/NT03luke.htm</A><BR><BR>Scroll
down to the correct chapter and verse.<BR><BR><BR>THOUGHT PROVOKERS:<BR><BR>We
are not a post-war generation,<BR>but a pre-peace generation.<BR>Jesus is
coming.<BR><BR>Corrie ten Boom<BR><BR>* * * * *
* * * * *<BR><BR>Christ designed that the day of his
coming<BR>should be hid from us,<BR>that being in suspense,<BR>we might be as it
were upon the watch.<BR><BR>Martin Luther<BR><BR>* * * *
* * * * * *<BR><BR>The primitive church thought
more about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ<BR>than about death or about
heaven.<BR>The early Christians were looking<BR>not for a cleft in the ground
called a grave,<BR>but for a cleavage in the sky called Glory.<BR>They were
watching not for the "undertaker"<BR>but for the "Uppertaker."<BR><BR>Alexander
Maclaren<BR><BR>* * * * * * * *
* *<BR><BR>On being told that the end of the world was coming, Ralph Waldo
Emerson replied, "The end of the world will not affect me; I can live without
it."<BR><BR>* * * * * * * *
* *<BR><BR>The immense step from the Babe at Bethlehem<BR>to the living,
reigning triumphant Lord Jesus,<BR>returning to earth for his own people
--<BR>that is the glorious truth proclaimed throughout Scripture.<BR>As the
bells ring out the joys of Christmas,<BR>may we also be alert for the final
trumpet that will announce his return,<BR>when we shall always be with
him.<BR><BR>Alan Redpath<BR><BR>* * * * * *
* * * *<BR><BR>HYMN STORY: Let All Mortal Flesh Keep
Silence<BR><BR>The origins of this hymn are lost in the haze of antiquity.
It probably comes from the fifth century and probably originated in the Orthodox
churches -- but those are simply our best guesses.<BR><></DIV>
<DIV>NOTE: See other hymn stories at <A
href="http://www.lectionary.org/hymnstories.htm">http://www.lectionary.org/hymnstories.htm</A><BR><BR><BR><><BR><A
href="http://www.sermonwriter.com/">www.sermonwriter.com</A><BR><BR><A
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