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<DIV><FONT size=4>And still God comes, still God invites, still God seeks us,
longs for us, weeps for us, wants us to come home. It is simply the heart and
character of God to do these things, for God to long to gather us as a hen
gathers her chicks, as a mother holds her own beloved children. God invites us
to that embrace.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><A
href="http://day1.org/1032-god_longs_for_us">http://day1.org/1032-god_longs_for_us</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>James B. Lemler</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>There are many fables about foxes. Just check a search engine
on the internet. In almost all of them, the fox is wily, deceitful, seeking to
be in charge. His method of control involves strategies and power plays. He's in
it for himself. He wants to get something in his chops. In one version, he runs
in circles around the hen house until the hen gets dizzy watching him and falls
to the ground, only to be thrown in a sack by the fox. However, when the hen
revives, she replaces her weight in the sack with a rock, and the fox goes home
with unsuspected booty. Foxes are often devious, yet dumb. <BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><A
href="http://www.predigten.uni-goettingen.de/predigt.php?id=69">http://www.predigten.uni-goettingen.de/predigt.php?id=69</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>David Zersen<BR>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>What a wonder this is! It all seems to be such a setting of
weakness with the fox pursuing the helpless chick and devouring it, filling the
tomb of his belly with the little defenseless chick! Ah, but that little
chick proved to be indigestible in the tomb of that belly, for the wolf had to
give it up again in three days! </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>So suddenly, in a most unexpected way, the fox, the old
satanic foe who appeared as Herod and Pilate, is now held prisoner among those
whom he sought to destroy. He is not annihilated, to be sure, but he is collared
and leashed in the very yard that he sought to terrorize. The chicks are free to
come and go now, so long as they remain at a safe distance from the snarling fox
tied to his tree. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><A href="http://www.predigten.uni-goettingen.de/predigt.php?id=70"><FONT
size=4>http://www.predigten.uni-goettingen.de/predigt.php?id=70</FONT></A></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Hubert Beck<BR>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>This past week, police officer Steven Underwood was shot and
killed up on Highway 99. Steve was a fine young man, a loving husband and
father, a good son. He was a consummate police officer and the many stories that
I heard this past week about his life told of what a fine policeman he was. We
grieve for his family. His father, Dick, is a member of our congregation. We,
the whole community of Des Moines, reach out to his family, his wife and son
with love and support. As a community, we are still stunned and are still in
shock. Earlier this morning, the whole family attended our previous worship
service. They came to grieve and pray.</DIV>
<DIV>As we all know in this sleepy little community called Des Moines, two days
Officer Underwood was killed, the police discovered four bodies of people who
had been murdered in one house. A grandfather, a grandmother, a grandson, and
his girlfriend. We thought that these things didn’t happen in our little town.
The grandson who was murdered attended confirmation classes here at Grace years
ago; his mother also had come to our parish. (2001)</DIV>
<DIV><></DIV>
<DIV>Dr. James Gilligan has a fascinating book and study. The title of his book
is VIOLENCE and the subtitle is: A RISING NATIONAL EPIDEMIC. Dr. Gilligan works
at the Center for the Study of Violence and that center is located at Harvard
University. Dr. Gilligan’s primary thesis is that our culture has become
addicted to violence. Just as individuals can become addicted to heroine or
cocaine, so also cultures also can become addicted. He cites the evidence that
among the industrialized democracies of the world, the Unites States has two to
twenty more times the rate of violence than these other advanced nations. He
asks the question: Why? What is America so violent? His answer: we have become
addicted to violence. And what is the first reaction to an addict on being
confronted with his or her addiction: denial. “That’s not me. That’s somebody
else.” </DIV>
<DIV><></DIV>
<DIV align=left>Jesus weeps over Jerusalem and a world addicted to violence as a
means of solving conflicts: </DIV>
<DIV align=left><A
href="http://www.picturesofjesus4you.com/images/oh_jerusalem.jpg"><FONT
color=#666699>http://www.picturesofjesus4you.com/images/oh_jerusalem.jpg</FONT></A></DIV>
<DIV></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><A
href="http://www.sermonsfromseattle.com/series_c_violence_a_rising_national_epidemic.htm"><FONT
size=4>http://www.sermonsfromseattle.com/series_c_violence_a_rising_national_epidemic.htm</FONT></A></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4><FONT size=4></FONT></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Edward F. Markquart</FONT><FONT face=Arial><BR><FONT size=4>-
- - - -</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Try this exercise when you have the opportunity to take some
quiet time. Ask, <EM>"What </EM><EM><U>is</U></EM><EM> the driving force of my
life?" </EM>Don't prejudge or even think too much about what emerges in your
mind. Simply let it come and <U>write it down</U>. If the driving force of your
life is something you wouldn't want to tell anyone else about, that's okay. You
don't have to turn this sheet in to anybody. When you get the driving force of
your life, what is the second most powerful force in your life? And third...
keep going until there are no more answers? </FONT></DIV>
<DIV>
<P><FONT size=4>When you have exhausted the list, ask, <EM>"What do I
</EM><EM><U>wish</U></EM><EM> was the driving force of my life?"</EM> Keep the
two lists in mind and simply keep it in your heart during your times of daily
conscious contact with God. Trust me... it will make an impact!</FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><A
href="http://www.lectionarysermons.com/zun2l.html">http://www.lectionarysermons.com/zun2l.html</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>John Jewell, 1998</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></FONT></DIV>
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