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<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=3>The following are SermonWriter materials for Jan.
24 (Epiphany 3C). They focus on Luke 4:14-21, the first part of the story of
Jesus' visit to the Nazareth synagogue.<BR><BR><BR>NO PASSWORD REQUIREMENT: We
are posting these materials on the web with no password. To access those
files, you MUST use the following links. If clicking on the link fails to
work, copy the link and paste it in the address window near the top of your
browser. Then hit the ENTER key or click GO.<BR><BR>Microsoft Word
file:<BR></FONT><A
href="http://www.lectionary.org/SW/01-24pz/Luke.4.14-21.doc"><FONT
size=3>http://www.lectionary.org/SW/01-24pz/Luke.4.14-21.doc</FONT></A><BR><BR><FONT
size=3>HTML file (web page):<BR></FONT><A
href="http://www.lectionary.org/SW/01-24pz/Luke.4.14-21.htm"><FONT
size=3>http://www.lectionary.org/SW/01-24pz/Luke.4.14-21.htm</FONT></A><BR><BR><FONT
size=3>WordPerfect file:<BR></FONT><A
href="http://www.lectionary.org/SW/01-24pz/Luke.4.14-21.wpd"><FONT
size=3>http://www.lectionary.org/SW/01-24pz/Luke.4.14-21.wpd</FONT></A><BR><BR><BR><FONT
size=3>A TIP: If you want the Word or WordPerfect files, LEFT-CLICK on the link
and see what happens. That should bring up a dialog box that asks if you
want to open the file or save it. Choose OPEN. Then save it wherever
you like on your hard drive.<BR><BR>If that doesn't work, RIGHT-CLICK on the
link. You should get a sub-menu. Hopefully, "Save Target As" will be
one of the options. Click on that. Then save the file wherever you
want on your hard drive.<BR><BR><BR></FONT><FONT size=3><><BR>Dick
Donovan<BR><BR><BR>A THOUGHT ON PREACHING: The preacher is constantly at
work trying to unarrange minds and lives. (Eduard Riegert -- courtesy of Fr.
Charles Hoffacker)<BR><BR><BR>TITLE: The Impossible Takes a Little
Longer<BR><BR><BR>SERMON IN A SENTENCE: Christ came to bring good news to
the poor and to help the vulnerable -- and he calls us to follow in his
footsteps.<BR><BR><BR>SCRIPTURE: Luke
4:14-21<BR><BR><BR><></FONT><FONT size=3><BR><BR>FOR MORE SERMONS ON THIS
TEXT, GO TO:<BR></FONT><A
href="http://www.lectionary.org/SermLinks/NT/NT03luke.htm"><FONT
size=3>http://www.lectionary.org/SermLinks/NT/NT03luke.htm</FONT></A><BR><BR><FONT
size=3>Scroll down to the correct chapter and verse.<BR><BR><BR>TRUE
STORY:<BR><BR>Max DePree was an amazing man. I say "was" because I have
been unable to determine whether he is still living. He served in Europe
during World War II, so he would be quite elderly by now. He served as CEO
of the Herman Miller office furniture company for a number of years, and has
published several books -- particularly on the subject of leadership. He
is a Christian, and is quite open about his faith.<BR><BR>In his book,
Leadership Jazz, DePree wrote about his granddaughter, Zoe, who was born
prematurely, weighing only one pound. She had a very small chance of
survival -- but there was a chance. DePree wanted desperately to help, but
what could he do? A wise nurse gave him this advice. She said:<BR><BR>"For
the next several months, at least,<BR>you're the surrogate father.<BR>I want you
to come to the hospital every day to visit Zoe,<BR>and when you come,<BR>I want
you to rub her body and her legs and arms<BR>with the tip of your
finger.<BR><BR>While you're caressing her,<BR>you should tell her over and over
how much you love her,<BR>because she has to be able to connect your voice to
your touch."<BR><BR><BR>THOUGHT PROVOKERS:<BR><BR>Bread for myself is a material
question;<BR>bread for my neighbor is a spiritual question.<BR><BR>Jacques
Maritain<BR><BR>* * * * * * * *
* *<BR><BR>Christianity for the first time made charity a rudimentary
virtue....<BR>It effected a complete revolution in this sphere,<BR>by regarding
the poor as the special representatives of the Christian Founder<BR>and thus
making the love of Christ rather than the love of man<BR>the principle of
charity.<BR><BR>W.E.H. Lecky<BR><BR>* * * * *
* * * * *<BR><BR>Why all this apparatus of temples and
meeting-houses<BR>to save men from perdition in a world which is to
come,<BR>while never a helping hand stretched out<BR>to save them from the
inferno of their present life?<BR><BR>William Booth<BR><BR>* *
* * * * * * * *<BR><BR>We could
probably prove that throughout history<BR>those Christians who have
accomplished the most practical benefit in this world<BR>are those who have
believed most fervently in the next.<BR><BR>Gordon W. Allport,
psychologist<BR><BR>* * * * * * *
* * *<BR><BR>In this life no man reaches the point at which<BR>he
can be excused from practical service.<BR><BR>Meister Eckhart<BR><BR>*
* * * * * * * * *<BR><BR><FONT
size=4><></FONT><BR><BR>HYMN STORY: Christ Is Made the Sure
Foundation<BR><BR>This hymn is often used during services for the dedication of
church buildings, but it has nothing to do with churches built of brick and
stone. It talks instead about "the Church," which is built of flesh and
bone. The church, you see, is not a building where we come to
worship. We are the church -- you and I -- the people of God.<BR><BR>The
first verse of this hymn talks about Christ as the foundation and the
cornerstone of the church. This is language from the New Testament (Eph.
2:19-20; 1 Peter 2:5). Christ is the foundation and cornerstone of the
church. Christ is the foundation and cornerstone of our lives.<BR><BR>The
second verse (or third verse -- check your hymnal) speaks of us as a temple,
which is also New Testament language (1 Cor. 3:16). We, the church, are
God's temple -- the place where God dwells -- and this hymn asks God to "Shed
within its walls alway" -- which is another way of saying, "Dwell within us
always."<BR><BR>In the last verse, the hymn reminds us that we will live with
God forevermore.<BR><BR>This is an ancient Latin hymn, written in the seventh or
eighth century. It was translated into English by John Mason Neale, a 19th
century Anglican clergyman and Latin scholar. Neale was an unlikely man to
do anything significant. As a young man, health problems caused him to
leave active service as a clergyman, and he became the administrator for a home
for elderly people. When he tried to revitalize the chapel services there,
he was rebuked by the bishop and forbidden to conduct services. When he
tried to simplify funeral services, he provoked a riot that required police to
bring the mob under control. He clearly lacked the common
touch.<BR><BR>Nevertheless, Neale labored long and happily in his study --
poring over old, musty Latin documents -- and was therefore able to give us such
hymns as "All Glory, Laud, and Honor" -- and "Good Christian Men, Rejoice" --
and "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" -- and a host of others. He reminds us once
again that God often chooses unlikely people to be the vehicles for his
blessings.<BR><BR>NOTE: See other hymn stories at </FONT><A
href="http://www.lectionary.org/hymnstories.htm"><FONT
size=3>http://www.lectionary.org/hymnstories.htm</FONT></A><BR><BR><></FONT></DIV>
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