<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD><TITLE></TITLE>
<META content=text/html;charset=UTF-8 http-equiv=Content-Type>
<STYLE type=text/css>BODY {
FONT-FAMILY: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 11px
}
A {
FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: verdana, sans-serif; COLOR: #ff6600; FONT-SIZE: 11px; TEXT-DECORATION: none
}
A:visited {
COLOR: #666666
}
A:hover {
TEXT-DECORATION: underline
}
P {
FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: verdana, sans-serif; COLOR: #666666; FONT-SIZE: 11px; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none
}
H1 {
FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: verdana, sans-serif; COLOR: #666666; FONT-SIZE: 14px; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; TEXT-DECORATION: none
}
H2 {
FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: verdana, sans-serif; COLOR: #666666; FONT-SIZE: 13px; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; TEXT-DECORATION: none
}
H3 {
PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; FONT-STYLE: normal; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: verdana, sans-serif; COLOR: #666666; FONT-SIZE: 12px; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; TEXT-DECORATION: none; PADDING-TOP: 0px
}
H4 {
PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; FONT-STYLE: normal; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: verdana, sans-serif; COLOR: #666666; FONT-SIZE: 11px; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; TEXT-DECORATION: none; PADDING-TOP: 0px
}
HR {
WIDTH: 100%; HEIGHT: 1px; COLOR: #ff9900; size: 1px
}
.forwardform {
PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px
}
.forwardinput {
PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px
}
.forwardsubmit {
PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px
}
DIV.emailfooter {
FONT-FAMILY: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 11px
}
DIV.emailfooter A {
FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: verdana, sans-serif; COLOR: #ff6600; FONT-SIZE: 11px; TEXT-DECORATION: none
}
</STYLE>
<META name=GENERATOR content="MSHTML 8.00.6001.18904"></HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV>Sermons for Easter 4: </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> John 10:22-30 – <B>“So
Who Needs a Shepherd?”</B></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> John 10:22-30 –
<B>“</B><B>The Color Wheel of Blindness”</B> by Leonard Sweet</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">_________________________________________</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">The full text of the following sermon is
available at <A title=http://www.sermons.com/
href="http://www.sermons.com/"><FONT
color=#800080>www.Sermons.com</FONT></A>.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">John 10:22-30, the sermon titled “So Who Needs
a Shepherd?" </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">One Sunday morning, following the church
service, a layman accosted the pastor and said, “Tom, this church has been
insulting me for years, and I did not know it until this week.” The stunned
pastor replied, “What on earth do you mean?” “Well,” said the layman, every
Sunday morning the call to worship in this church ends with the words, ‘We are
the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.’ And I have heard ministers
over the years call the congregation, God’s flock.’ Then this past week I
visited the Chicago stockyards. There I discovered that sheep are just
about the dumbest animals God ever created. Why, they are so stupid that
they even follow one another docilely into the slaughterhouse. Even pigs
are smarter than sheep, and I would certainly be angry if my church called me a
pig’ every Sunday morning. So I’m not at all sure I want to co me to
church and be called a sheep’ any longer...even God’s sheep’.”</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">The man had a point. But whether we like
it or not, that is the language of the Bible: both the Hebrew Bible and the
Christian New Testament. We are called “God’s sheep.” The favorite psalm
of many people is the 23rd, and it begins by saying, “The Lord is my
shepherd...” And if “the Lord is my shepherd,” then I am one of the Lord’s
sheep. Centuries before Christ, the prophet Isaiah said to his people:
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the
Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6) From the Bible, we
have taken this pastoral imagery over into the Church. One of the symbols
of the office of bishop across the centuries has been the shepherd’s crook, that
long staff with a hook on the end. And ministers are often called
“pastors.” In the dictionary, one of the meanings of “past or” is “shepherd,”
coming from a Latin word which means “feeder.” At the end of the Fourth Gospel
we have that final resurrection appearance of the Lord by the Sea of Galilee
when He asked Peter three times whether he loved Him, and Peter answered three
times that he did. And Jesus said to Peter, “Feed my sheep.”</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">The word “pastor” is a common one used to refer
to an ordained person who is in charge of a congregation. Sometimes I
wonder whether it is not a bit anachronistic, coming as it does from a rural,
pastoral metaphor which seems rather out of date in our busy, urban,
industrialized society…</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">1. Pastoral Language in a Modern World</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">2. The Messianic Claim of the Good
Shepherd</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">3. Who Needs a Shepherd? We Do!</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">The rest of this sermon following the outline
above can be obtained by joining <A title=blocked::www.eSermons.com
href="http://mail.churchmail.com/lists/admin/FCKeditor/editor/dialog/www.eSermons.com">www.eSermons.com</A>.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">_______________________</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">The full text of the following sermon is
available at <A title=http://www.sermons.com/
href="http://www.sermons.com/"><FONT
color=#800080>www.Sermons.com</FONT></A>.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">John 10, the sermon titled “The Color Wheel of
Blindness” </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">When anxious teenagers finally go to get that
sovereign rite of passage into adulthood called the “driver’s license,” they
have to pass a tricky written test and a nerve-racking driving test. But there
is a third test they must pass as well: A vision test.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">It is one of the odder quirks of the DMV
(Division of Motor Vehicles) that the eye exam is often given last — suggesting
that knowing the rules and operating a vehicle are more important than being
sure you can see where you are going!</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">For most drivers, the eye exam is nothing,
takes virtually no time, and hardly registers as a “test.” That is, until you
reach a certain age. For older drivers the one exam they cannot study for, the
one skill they cannot improve with practice, the one exam over which they have
the least control, becomes the biggest obstacle to renewing their license.
Degenerating eyesight, either because of cataracts, glaucoma, astigmatisms, or
just increasing near- or far-sightedness, ends the driving careers of many older
adults.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">In driving, there comes a time when experience
and insight don’t help. What is required is eyesight.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">The problem with the old adage “what you see is
what you get” is that vision is surprisingly subjective. Ask any police officer
trying to get eyewitness reports at the scene of an accident and they will
confirm that ten witnesses will give ten very different versions of the event.
They eye might be an amazing piece of biological equipment. The eye might be a
remarkable camera. The eye might be a feat of unparalleled divine imagination.
But the information behind the images the eye spies is processed by our whole
being. Every “picture” our eyes take is colored, clouded, focused, and framed,
by a lifetime of experiences and expectations.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">As Jesus strolled around the temple during the
festival of Dedication, his image was at odds with the picture of a Messiah that
the Jewish people had come to expect. The Festival of Dedication commemorated a
military-religious triumph. Under the leadership of Judas Maccabee (aka “Judah
the Hammer”), the Syrians were sent packing. The so-called “desolating
sacrilege” (1 Maccabee 1:59) of a pagan altar constructed within the temple was
torn down. A new altar was constructed and sanctified. The Jewish victors
celebrated, confident that God’s presence had once again been established and
ensconced within the temple.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Jesus did not look like any “Judas the Hammer”
or talk like one either. Jesus did not speak of running the Romans out of town
on a rail. Jesus talked about being a “Good Shepherd.” Jesus spoke of
self-sacrifice. Jesus likened the faithful to “sheep,” not mighty warriors.
Jesus offered protection and presence, not triumph and glory.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">To “the Jews” who questioned his identity and
challenged him to tell them “plainly” if he were the Messiah, Jesus just didn’t
look right or sound right. His words and images were not what they
expected.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">How could suffering bring salvation?</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">How could weakness bring strength?</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">How could a shepherd stand up against a
soldier?</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">How could the presence of Almighty God reside
in such a humble spirit as this Jesus?</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">These Jews failed their vision test...</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">The rest of Leonard Sweet's sermon can be
obtained by joining <A title=http://www.sermons.com/
href="http://www.sermons.com/"><FONT
color=#800080>www.Sermons.com</FONT></A></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">______________________</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Humor: The Trouble with Self-atonement</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">I share one of my favorite stories that I once
clipped from the Readers' Digest. A gentleman wrote in and told of this real
life encounter. "While I was sitting in my parked car on the street one day, a
young woman in the car ahead came over and asked me if I had a hammer that she
could borrow. When I said no, she got one from the man in the car in front of
hers. She then proceeded to smash out the vent pane on the side of her car.
After returning the hammer, she opened her door, took out the keys and waved
them at us with a triumphant grin. As she drove away, the fellow who lent her
the hammer came over to me and said, ''If only she had told me what she wanted
the hammer for I think I could have helped her. I am a locksmith.''"</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Oh, the brokenness we bring into our lives when
we try to do a self-atonement job and fix our fallen nature. <BR> <BR>Eric
S. Ritz,
www.Sermons.com <BR>____________________________________<BR> <BR>Confirming
the Testimony</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Some time ago I came across this short story
called, "Whom Should You Ask?"</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">An Amish man was once asked by an enthusiastic
young evangelist whether he had been saved, and whether he had accepted Jesus
Christ as his Lord and Savior?</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">The gentleman replied, "Why do you ask me such
a thing? I could tell you anything. Here are the names of my banker, my grocer,
and my farm hands. Ask them if I've been saved."</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">There is a sense that one cannot testify to
one's self. When Mohammed Ali testified, "I am the greatest," that meant nothing
until his works testified to that fact. In a sense, someone claiming, "I am a
Christian" is invalid until there is someone or something else that confirms
that testimony.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Brian Stoffregen, Exegetical Notes</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">____________________________________</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Humor: Leading the Way</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">A new kind of plane was on its first flight. It
was full of reporters and journalists. A little while after takeoff, the
captain's voice was heard over the speakers. "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm
delighted to be your pilot for this plane's historic first flight. I can tell
you the flight is going well. Nevertheless, I have to tell you about a minor
inconvenience that has occurred. The passengers on the right side can, if they
look out their window, see that the closest engine is slightly vibrating. That
shouldn't worry you, because this plane is equipped with four engines and we are
flying along smoothly at an acceptable altitude. As long as you are looking out
the right side, you might as well look at the other engine on that side. You
will notice that it is glowing, or more precisely one should say, burning. That
shouldn't worry you either, since this plane is designed to fly with just two
engines if necessary, and we are maintaining an ac ceptable altitude and speed.
As long as we are looking out the plane, those of you on the left side shouldn't
worry if you look out your side of the plane and notice that one engine that is
supposed to be there is missing. It fell off about ten minutes ago. Let me tell
you that we are amazed that the plane is doing so well without it. However, I
will call your attention to something a little more serious. Along the center
aisle all the way down the plane a crack has appeared. Some of you are, I
suppose, able to look through the crack and may even notice the waves of the
Atlantic Ocean below. In fact, those of you with very good eyesight may be able
to notice a small lifeboat that was thrown from the plane. Well, ladies and
gentlemen, you will be happy to know that your captain is keeping an eye on the
progress of the plane from that lifeboat below."</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Sometimes we find ourselves in situations very
similar to that plane flight. Everything around us seems to be falling apart and
the person in charge seems to be as remote as the captain in the raft on the
ocean far below.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">But the person in charge of our lives is not
remote. He is our Shepherd and he is leading the way. Leading us; giving us
eternal life; assuring us we will never perish; and, my friends, no one can
snatch you out of his hands.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Lee Griess, Taking The Risk Out Of Dying, CSS
Publishing Company</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 5pt 0in">________________________________________</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">He Knows Our Names</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">There is an old story of a census taker who was
making his rounds in the lower East side of New York, who interviewed an Irish
woman bending over her washtub. “Lady, I am taking the census. What’s your name?
How many children have you?” She replied, “Well, let me see. My name is Mary.
And then there’s Marcia, and Duggie, and Amy, and Patrick, and...” “Never mind
the names,” he broke in, “just give me the numbers.” She straightened up, hands
on hips, and with a twinkle in her eye, said, “I’ll have ye know, sir, we ain’t
got into numberin’ them yet. We ain’t run out of names!” The image of God as the
Good Shepherd tells us that is the way it is with God. He knows us by
name.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Donald B. Strobe, Collected Words, <A
href="http://www.sermons.com/"><FONT
color=#800080>www.Sermons.com</FONT></A></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">_____________________</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Sheep Know Their Shepherd</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">In her book The Preaching Life, Barbara Brown
Taylor tells of a conversation she had with a friend who grew up on a sheep farm
in the Midwest. According to him, sheep are not dumb at all. "It is the cattle
ranchers who are responsible for spreading that ugly rumor, and all because
sheep do not behave like cows. Cows are herded from the rear by hooting
cowboys with cracking whips, but that will not work with sheep at all. Stand
behind them making loud noises and all they will do is run around behind you,
because they prefer to be led. You push cows, her friend said, but you lead
sheep, and they will not go anywhere that someone else does not go first-namely,
their shepherd-who goes ahead of them to show them that everything is all
right."</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Sheep know their shepherd and their shepherd
knows them.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">He went on to say that "it never ceased to
amaze him, growing up, that he could walk right through a sleeping flock without
disturbing a single one of them, while a stranger could not step foot in the
fold without causing pandemonium."</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Sheep & shepherds develop a language of
their own.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Unknown Source</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">____________________</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">What Have You Heard?</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">A rabbi and his pupil were discussing God's
Word:</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Rabbi: Herschel, do you know the sacred
scriptures?</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Pupil: Yes, teacher, I have been studying
them.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Rabbi: And, do you know the phrase, 'Thus have
I heard?'</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Pupil: Oh, yes, that is throughout the
scriptures.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Rabbi: Herschel, what have you heard?</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Brett Blair, www.eSermons.com</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">_______________________________</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Stability Zones</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">In his book, Future Shock, Alvin Toffler
explains how, in this modern world of rapid change, confusion and over-choice,
we all need some kind of "stability zones" - regular habits, rituals, beliefs -
whatever it is that gives us a stable point of reference. It would be difficult
to deny the wisdom of Toffler's observation, or to miss its application to the
role of religious faith in our lives. The grace of God as revealed in Jesus, the
Christ, is surely our ultimate stability zone.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Carl L. Jech, Channeling Grace, CSS Publishing
Company</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">____________________________</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><BR>What Is Unique About Christianity?</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">The story of Jesus sitting and debating the Law
with rabbis reminds me of another debate that took place in a comparative
religions conference, the wise and the scholarly were in a spirited debate about
what is unique about Christianity. Someone suggested what set Christianity apart
from other religions was the concept of incarnation, the idea that God became
incarnate in human form. But someone quickly said, “Well, actually, other faiths
believe that God appears in human form.” Another suggestion was offered: what
about resurrection? The belief that death is not the final word. That the tomb
was found empty. Someone slowly shook his head. Other religions have accounts of
people returning from the dead.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Then, as the story is told, C.S. Lewis walked
into the room, tweed jacket, pipe, armful of papers, a little early for his
presentation. He sat down and took in the conversation, which had by now evolved
into a fierce debate. Finally during a lull, he spoke saying, “what's all this
rumpus about?” Everyone turned in his direction. Trying to explain themselves
they said, “We're debating what's unique about Christianity.” “Oh, that's easy,”
answered Lewis…</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">The conclusion to this illustration and for
many additional illustrations and sermons for Easter 4 can be accessed at <A
title=http://www.sermons.com/ href="http://www.sermons.com/"><FONT
color=#800080>www.Sermons.com</FONT></A>.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV></BODY></HTML>