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style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><?xml:namespace
prefix = o /><o:p><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><FONT
size=4>The imagery of mountains being flattened and valleys raised, the crooked
straight and the rough tracks, roads, is the imagery of radical change and
movement. The citation now reaches its climax in the words: ‘and all flesh shall
see the salvation of God’. ‘Salvation’ is a key word in Luke. If we had just a
few moments before heard the opening chapters of Luke, we would be likely to
make the connections immediately. ‘Saviour’ language was common in the political
‘speak’ of Luke’s day. He was portraying an alternative saviour, an alternative
peace. </FONT></SPAN></o:p></SPAN></DIV>
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style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><FONT
size=4></FONT></SPAN></o:p></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><FONT size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><o:p><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><FONT
size=4><A
href="http://wwwstaff.murdoch.edu.au/~loader/LkAdvent2.htm">http://wwwstaff.murdoch.edu.au/~loader/LkAdvent2.htm</A></FONT></SPAN></o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV
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style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><o:p><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"></SPAN></o:p></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><o:p><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><FONT
size=4>William Loader</FONT></SPAN></o:p></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
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class=MsoNormal><FONT size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><o:p><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><FONT
size=4>- - - - -</FONT></SPAN></o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><FONT size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><o:p><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"></SPAN></o:p></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><o:p><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><FONT
size=4>The ravines and valleys, which represent the lowly and the poor, will be
raised up to a life of justice and peace. The crooked and distorted realities of
life, resulting from the injustices that human beings perpetrate against each
other will be rectified. The hindrances that prevent human beings from realizing
the fullness of their potentiality will be removed. The new road that will be
constructed will be a superhighway into life. </FONT></SPAN></o:p></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
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style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><o:p><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><FONT
size=4></FONT></SPAN></o:p></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
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style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><o:p><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><FONT
size=4><A
href="http://www.goodpreacher.com/shareit/readreviews.php?cat=28">http://www.goodpreacher.com/shareit/readreviews.php?cat=28</A></FONT></SPAN></o:p></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
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style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><o:p><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"></SPAN></o:p></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><o:p><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><FONT
size=4>Herman C. Waetjen</FONT></SPAN></o:p></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
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style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><o:p><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><FONT
size=4>- - - - -</FONT></SPAN></o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV
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style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><o:p><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"></SPAN></o:p></SPAN><FONT
size=4></FONT><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><o:p><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><FONT
size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Tiberius became Caesar after the death of Caesar Augustus
(Octavian) in AD 14. Tiberius was a step-son of Octavian, and was
later adopted by Octavian, which brought Tiberius into the Julio-Claudian
line. This Julio-Claudian line of leadership would continue until the
death of Nero (AD 68). </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Not long after the death of his son Drusus in AD 23,
Tiberius exiled himself, first to Campania, and then to the isle of Capri
(AD 26). Daily administration of the government passed to Lucius Aelius
Sejanus, and not to good effect. Since he controlled virtually all
information reaching Tiberius, Sejanus was in a position of great
power. He used it to purge people at the highest levels of the
government whom he perceived to be his enemies or rivals. (Sejanus may
also have been involved in killing Tiberius' son. What did Sejanus have on
Tiberius?, one wonders.) </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Sejanus' downfall came in AD 31. Exactly how he was
deposed is unclear. The most common theory is that Tiberius was informed
by someone about Sejanus' true activities and plotted against him. The
theories are many and the arguments long, but the upshot was that Sejanus wound
up being arrested, tried, and put to death all on the same day--October 18,
31. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Tiberius' later years are marked by a decline in his
own mental health. He died in AD 37. "In the fifteenth year of
the reign of Tiberius Caesar," which would have been 28 or 29, Rome was enduring
Sejanus' "reign of terror" while Caesar himself was all-but-retired, out of the
loop, and probably clinically depressed besides. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV
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class=MsoNormal><FONT size=4></FONT></SPAN></o:p></SPAN><FONT
size=3> </FONT></DIV>
<DIV
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style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><o:p><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><FONT
size=4><A
href="http://www.progressiveinvolvement.com/progressive_involvement/2009/11/lectionary-blogging-luke-3-16.html">http://www.progressiveinvolvement.com/progressive_involvement/2009/11/lectionary-blogging-luke-3-16.html</A></FONT></SPAN></o:p></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
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style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><o:p><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"></SPAN></o:p></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><o:p><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><FONT
size=4>John Petty, 2009</FONT></SPAN></o:p></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
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class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><o:p><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><FONT
size=4>- - - - -</FONT></SPAN></o:p></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><o:p><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><FONT
size=4></FONT></SPAN></o:p></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><o:p><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><FONT
size=4> In the movie <EM>Life or Something Like It </EM>(2002), every
day at the corner of Fourth and Sanders in downtown Seattle, Prophet Jack
scrambled onto his crate, dramatically thrust his arms into the air, arched his
back, threw back his head, gazed into the sky, and then prophesied: “I see and I
say,” intoned Jack.
<P> One day the
television reporter Lanie Kerrigan happened by Jack's pulpit. She tossed a few
coins into his coffer, and in return received a disturbing message. Prophet Jack
prophesied that the Seahawks would beat the Broncos 16–13, that it would hail
the next day, and that on Thursday Lanie would die. She dismissed Jack as
outrageously loony, until he looked her straight in the eye and with utmost
seriousness said, “prophets don't joke.” Lanie was a bottle blond, but she was
not a dumb blond, so when Jack's first two prophecies came true, she repented of
her ways and reformed her life.</P></FONT></SPAN></o:p></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><o:p><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><FONT
size=4><A
href="http://www.journeywithjesus.net/Essays/20061204JJ.shtml">http://www.journeywithjesus.net/Essays/20061204JJ.shtml</A></FONT></SPAN></o:p></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><o:p><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"></SPAN></o:p></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><o:p><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><FONT
size=4>Daniel B. Clendenin</FONT></SPAN></o:p></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
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class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><o:p><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">-
- - - -</SPAN></o:p></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><o:p><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"></SPAN></o:p></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><o:p><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><FONT
size=4>Archeologists have an ossuary that is inscribed with the name of
Caiaphas. Archeologists also have a stone inscription about Pilate.
</FONT></SPAN></o:p></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
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style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><o:p><SPAN
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<DIV
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style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT"><o:p><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ArialMT; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">
<P><FONT size=4>There is a sermon illustration of a zoo that was trapping
monkeys. The zoo trappers placed coconuts underneath a coconut tree, and these
coconuts had holes drilled in them. The holes were about the size of a
tightly-squeezed-fist of a monkey. The monkey would squeeze its hand through the
hole and grab the white coconut inside. The monkeys would find more coconuts and
would do the same thing with their other hand and then their two feet. By doing
so, their hands and feet became larger and they could not withdraw their hands
and feet through the coconut holes. The only way to become free was to “let go.”
To let go of the white coconut inside the coconut shell. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=4>Similarly with us. The only way to emotional freedom in life is
to “let go.” To “let go” of what our mothers or fathers did to us in childhood.
To “let go” of all the mistakes that we have made in our lives. To “let go” of
the accidents or tragedies that have happened to us or that we have caused. We
never become free until we “let go.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=4><A
href="http://www.sermonsfromseattle.com/series_b_john_the_baptistGA.htm">http://www.sermonsfromseattle.com/series_b_john_the_baptistGA.htm</A></FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Edward F. Markquart</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
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