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<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Martin Luther King, Jr., A Servant of Christ</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span><br>
This weekend is
the Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday. I think, therefore, it is
appropriate to look at his life in this regard. In the Union Tribune
there was an article about him, which included an interview with Vincent
Harding, a professor at the Iliff School of Theology in Denver, a
Methodist seminary.<br>
<br>
Harding said that King's detractors like to
point out that he was a human being, that he had faults, human foibles.
He was certainly not a saint, Harding points out. He made mistakes in
judgment. He put his marriage to the test. He also suffered from human
frailties, like anxiety and depression.<br>
<br>
But Christianity
proclaims a God who came to us as we are, accepted us as we are, forgave
us and gave us new life, and thus revealed that we do not have to be
righteous in order to be loved by God. We don't have to have a pure life
in order to follow Jesus. We just have to be faithful.<br>
<br>
He comes
to us as he came to his disciples, and says to us, "Follow me." To
"follow me" means, identifying with the poor and the oppressed, loving
the sinner, and living sacrificially for others in this world, taking up
your cross. That is the sole qualification for everybody to be his
disciple - that you will take up your cross.<br>
<br>
Martin Luther King
understood that, I think, probably better than anybody else in our time.
Like all historical figures, he will be interpreted from different
perspectives. But the way he would want to be interpreted is that he was
a "servant of Christ."<br>
<br>
Mark Trotter, Collected Sermons, <a shape="rect">www.Sermons.com</a></span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>_____________________<br>
</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>A Fig Tree Retreat</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span><br>
A fig tree is
about fifteen feet tall and its branches spread out about 25 feet in
width like an umbrella, creating a space that is almost like a private
room. If someone wanted to get away from the chaos of a one-room house,
he or she would sit under the fig tree. They would sit there to read
scripture or to reflect or to pray. Sitting under a fig tree was a sign
of seeking and praying for God's living presence. Now, I realize that
this church looks nothing like a fig tree. But isn't that why we're
here? We have come together here with the yearning to know the touch of
the living God. We come to "retreat" from the chaos of the world around
us so we can read scripture, reflect, and pray. I hope you will see
that, despite his relative anonymity, we do have much in common with
Nathaniel.<br>
<br>
Paul E. Flesner, Sermons for Sundays in Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany, CSS Publishing Company<br>
_____________________ </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Ordinary and Humble Princes</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Most everybody has a
soft spot in their hearts for fairy tales. There is just something
about a fairy tale's reversal of expectations that intrigues us. There
is something delicious about finding out that the frog is really a
handsome prince, that the ugly duckling is the one that grows into the
most resplendent of all swans. We enjoy it when the moment of truth
comes for the characters in a story as they discover that the
scruffy-looking character they never quite trusted is actually the true
king of the realm. In the classic The Wizard of Oz we get a double treat
at the end of the story: first, the great and powerful Oz turns out to
be nothing but the man behind the curtain, a puller of levers and
switches who looks like a humbug of a charlatan. But then, almost before
the dust of that reversal of expectation settles, we get jolted yet
again: as it turns out, the humble man behind the curtain is a pretty
good wizard after all. </span></div>
<span>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><br>
Fairy tales are
stories of transformation, and that's what happened to these simple
people we call the disciples. If you took the disciples and brought them
all together into one room, you would never in your wildest imagination
guess by looking at them that this weak-looking pack of ordinary folks
could change the world. But they did. The disciples changed the world
because it was to them that the secret of the universe was first
revealed. </div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"> </div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>The disciples
needed to be common, ordinary, and above all humble if they were going
to do Jesus any good and so change the world. But as it turned out, each
one of them was the frog who was really a prince! <br>
<br>
Scott Hoezee<br>
________________________</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Anyone You Recognize?</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Fred Everybody,
Thomas Somebody, Peter Anybody, and Joe Nobody were neighbors, but not
the type that most would want to know. They were odd people,
troublesome, and difficult to understand. The way they lived their lives
was a shame. These men all went to the same church, but most would not
have wanted them as parishioners. Everybody went fishing on Sundays or
stayed home and spoke with his friends. Anybody wanted to worship, but
he was afraid that Somebody would speak with him. Thus, guess who went
to church - that's right, Nobody. Actually, Nobody was the only decent
one of the lot. Nobody did the parish census; Nobody joined the parish
council. One day there was a call in the bulletin for people to apply
for a position as a teacher in the religious education program.
Everybody thought Anybody would apply; Anybody thought Somebody would
apply. So, guess who applied? You are right - Nobody! My friends, let's
not be an everybody, somebody, or anybody. Rather, let us truly strive
to be a nobody. In such a way we empty ourselves so we can be filled
with the amazing power of Christ, who died to set us free and, thus,
will always be our brother, friend, and Lord.</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Richard Gribble,
CSC, Sermons on the Gospel Readings: Sermons for Sundays in Advent,
Christmas, and Epiphany, New Beginnings in Christ, CSS Publishing
Company </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>____________________________________________________________</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Evangelical Attitude</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>One day St. Francis
of Assisi, invited a young monk to join him on a trip into town to
preach. The young monk was so honored to get such an invitation from St.
Francis that he quickly accepted. All day long he and St. Francis
walked through the streets and byways, alleys and suburbs, and they
rubbed shoulders with hundreds of people. </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>At the end of the
day, the two headed back home, however, not even once had St. Francis
addressed a crowd, nor had he talked to anyone about the gospel. The
young monk was greatly disappointed, and he said to St. Francis, "I
thought we were going into town to preach?" St. Francis responded, "My
son, we have preached. We were preaching while we were walking. We were
seen by many and our behavior was closely watched. It is of no use to
walk anywhere to preach unless we preach everywhere as we walk!" </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>It's no secret that
we, the church, have forgotten what it means to preach the gospel, what
it means to bring to others the good news, what it means to evangelize.
The word evangelism has become a dirty word in some churches, and if it
isn't outright dismissed altogether, then it is relegated as a task for
only those who have been ordained, or for those who are the
professional speakers, who make a living giving their testimonials and
asking for altar calls, or for those who are missionaries overseas. </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Author Unknown</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>_____________________________________</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Prayer Changes Things</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>I remember a story
about a woman who brought home a plaque that said, "Prayer changes
things." She put it in her kitchen, above her sink. Her husband came
home, and said, "Take that down, please." She said, "Why? Don't you
believe in prayer?" He said, "Yes, but I don't believe in change."<br>
<br>
That
is the problem with big, establishment-type institutions. But recently
there has been, in fact, a rush to change, almost a panic on the part of
some churches. There have been some changes around here, too. I hope
that you have noticed that. There will be more. But change should be
determined by what our mission is. Mission is what ought to drive the
change. We should not do things because other churches do them, not even
if they are successful in other churches. Change should come only to
enhance our mission.<br>
<br>
Mark Trotter, Collected Sermons, <a __removedlink__840905349__href="http://www.Sermons.com" target="_blank">www.Sermons.com</a><br>
________________________________________<br>
<br>
</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Come and See: You Just Have to Be There</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>A few years ago a
church located in a large city decided to turn its gymnasium into a
night shelter for homeless people. Every winter there were reports that
some of these people, condemned to sleep out in the open, had frozen to
death, and so the church made the warmth and safety of its building
available without charge. Each evening during the winter, volunteers
from the church would spend the night in the shelter, providing food,
clothing, and lodging for as many of the homeless as the building would
hold. Almost without exception, the volunteers reported that the
experience of spending the night with these people from the streets had
been far more than an act of dutiful charity. The volunteers had found
their own faith strengthened, their own reliance upon the grace of
Christ reinforced by the experience.<br>
<br>
Several months after the
shelter was opened, one of the pastors of the church was being
interviewed on a radio talk program. The interviewer was an opinionated
fundamentalist whose biases were quite strong. It became clear during
the interview that he felt that the church ought to stick to the
business of preaching the old-time gospel and stay away from meddlesome
activities like shelters for homeless people. "Now just tell me," he
jeered at one point, "where is Jesus in all this?" For a moment the
pastor considered silently how to respond, then said calmly, "You just
have to be there."<br>
<br>
"Come and see," said Philip to Nathaniel, and
some people do not see because they will not come to those places where
one can get an angle of vision, where one can see the grace of Christ at
work in the world.<br>
<br>
Thomas G. Long, Shepherds and Bathrobes, CSS Publishing Co. <br>
________________________________</span></div>
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<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>The Man with Two Umbrellas</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Now, let me close
with the story of the man with two umbrellas. Dr. Gordon Targerson, a
Baptist pastor in Worcester, Massachusetts, was crossing the Atlantic by
ship some years ago. He noticed on several occasions a dark-skinned man
sitting in a deck chair reading a Bible. One day Dr. Targerson sat down
beside him and said, "Forgive my curiosity. I'm a Baptist minister. I
notice you are a faithful Bible reader. I'd like to meet you." After
introductions, the dark-skinned man said, "I am Filipino. I was born
into a good Catholic home. I went to the United States as a young man to
study in one of your fine universities, intending to become a lawyer.
On my first day on campus, a student dropped by to visit. He welcomed me
and offered to help in any way he could. Then he asked me where I went
to church. I told him I was Catholic. He explained that the Catholic
church was quite a distance away, but he sat down and drew me a map. I
thanked him and he left.</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>"On the following
Sunday morning it was raining. I decided to just skip church. But then
there was a knock on my door. There stood my new friend and he was
holding two umbrellas. He said that he worried that I might not be able
to read his map. So, he said he would escort me to the Catholic church. I
hurriedly dressed, thinking all the while what an unusually thoughtful
person he was. I wondered what church he belonged to. </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>"As we walked along
I asked him about his church. He said that his church was just around
the corner. So, I suggested that we go to his church this Sunday, and
then to mine the following Sunday. He agreed...</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><span>For the rest of this illustrations, as well many additional illustrations and sermons for the whole year, can be accessed at <a shape="rect" target="_blank" __removedlink__840905349__href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=aelnpceab&et=1109063496426&s=45429&e=001mfDiCnvJL4ynwrx-_aTxWCUngq4hqBhSBfL4ZOVWgDO1wvCIFmr-M2ADeYW_gEqwmvEoIZBQeMEO_TfGJCFsmBKhQ5apDyyTm-YhtneCr8c=">www.Sermons.com</a>. <font size="4"><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif"><br>
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