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<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px; COLOR: #ffffff"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman, Times, serif"><strong>Sermons for Epiphany 4</strong></span></div>
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<table style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff" id="content_LETTER.BLOCK3" bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="TEXT-ALIGN: left; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman, Times, serif; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; TEXT-DECORATION: none" rowspan="1" colspan="1" width="380" align="left">January 29, 2012</td><td style="color:#FFFFFF;font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif;text-decoration:none;font-size:12pt;TEXT-ALIGN: right; PADDING-RIGHT: 5px" rowspan="1" colspan="1" width="180" align="right"><br>
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<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" align="left"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'">
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"> <span>Mark 1: 21-28 - <strong>"Astonishing!" </strong></span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>1 Corinthians 8:1-13 - <strong>"Better Angels of Our Nature"</strong> by Leonard Sweet</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><span>Mark 1 the sermon title "Astonishing!"<font size="4"><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif"> </font><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif"><br>
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<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>For centuries
people believed that Aristotle was right when he said that the heavier
an object, the faster it would fall to earth. Aristotle was regarded as
the greatest thinker of all time, and surely he would not be wrong.
Anyone, of course, could have taken two objects, one heavy and one
light, and dropped them from a great height to see whether or not the
heavier object landed first. But no one did until nearly 2,000 years
after Aristotle's death. Legend has it that in 1589 Galileo summoned
learned professors to the base of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Then he
went to the top and pushed off a ten-pound and a one-pound weight. Both
landed at the same instant. The power of belief was so strong, however,
that the professors denied their eyesight. They continued to say
Aristotle was right.<br>
<br>
I believe that this illustrates perfectly
what is going on in the world today. You could show the terrible
ravaging effects of AIDS and people will have promiscuous sex anyway.
You can show someone a diseased liver and cancerous lungs and people are
going to abuse alcohol and smoke regardless of the facts.<br>
<br>
You
know what I wish? I wish someone would just climb to the top of the
tower and push off a ten-pound argument and a one-pound argument and
let's just see if they reach the ground first. That would finally prove
who is right and who is wrong. But then I am reminded that when Galileo
did that no one believed him. Even with the authority of obvious visible
proof, i.e. the two weights reached the ground at the same time, the
professors did not believe. The problem here is obvious. Most people are
going to believe what they have always believed regardless of the
facts.<br>
<br>
But something different occurred in the life of Jesus.
Something persuasive. Mark records that when Jesus came to Capernaum, on
the Sabbath day, and entered the synagogue and taught, the crowds were
astounded. Why? One word: Authority. He taught, not as the scribes
taught, but as one having authority.<br>
<br>
What was it that convinced
them? What did they hear and see in the life of Christ that made him
stand above all other teachers. Why were they so drawn to him?</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>1. His teaching was new. </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>2. He taught with authority.</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>The rest of this sermon can be obtained by joining <a shape="rect" target="_blank" __removedlink__449504481__href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=aelnpceab&et=1109127599228&s=45429&e=0017LrsPfBq_x8EK9B9km2g3i5DBkKjZKWel1N11XqvE26-6RcTtDEwfvLB2v3HOqLRNbPrSPv1YvFDrjyH2rQ4bV2uDgaRVC8q_wTIKk1oGxgSwJ42-sFc46jDnFE_ZNob">http://www.sermons.com/signup</a> </span></div>
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<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>The full text of the following sermon is available at <a __removedlink__449504481__href="http://www.Sermons.com" target="_blank">www.Sermons.com</a>.</span></div>
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<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>1 Corinthians 8 the sermon titled "Better Angels of Our Nature" by Leonard Sweet] </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>It is one of those
mixed blessings of parenthood. You wake up on a weekend morning and
detect the unmistakable singe of burnt toast in the air. There are
clanging and banging sounds from the kitchen. Checking out the noise you
discover your child busily preparing a "special breakfast" as a
surprise for you. </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Such a simple, sweet gesture touches your heart. </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>But all too soon the fruits of your young one's labors will touch your stomach as well. </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>*Eggshell-crunchy eggs. </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>*Pancakes charred on the outside yet somehow still gooey in the middle. </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>*A "special" waffle topped with gummy bears, rainbow sprinkles, and soy sauce (oops, thought it was the chocolate syrup!). </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>*Muffins in which salt was mistakenly substituted for the sugar. </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Parents know there
is only one response to such culinary delights. Take a big bite,
swallow, smile, and proclaim how it is all so wonderful. </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>You're telling the truth. It IS wonderful . . . just not exactly edible. But wonderful. </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>We offer praise
instead of criticism because we know learning to cook, like anything
else, takes practice and we trust that with a few helpful hints and
little instruction, our young chef will get better at it. But before any
big lessons or instructions the first thing our budding cooks need is a
word of encouragement not judgment. Presented with those first messy
masterpieces, it is time to let "the better angels of our nature" speak.</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Abraham Lincoln
urged that "better angels" attitude in his first inaugural speech, 04
March 1861. Lincoln's second inaugural is more famous, replete with its
soaring phrases that roar like this one: "with malice towards none, with
charity toward all." But the first inaugural is my favorite. </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>The country was
already deeply divided. The "united" continuance of the United States
barely hung by a thread. Yet rather than reciting a laundry list of
evils that needed to be addressed, or demanding immediate actions that
should be taken, Lincoln instead appealed to the common "bonds of
affection" that the American people shared. It was these bonds, Lincoln
hoped, that "will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched,
as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>What a resonant phrase: "the better angels of our nature." Do we believe in "better angels" anymore?</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span><br>
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<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>The Authority of Jesus</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>The church in the
world is a lot like the story that E. Stanley Jones tells of the
missionary in the jungle. He got lost with nothing around him but bush
and a few cleared places. He finally found a small village and asked one
of the natives if he could lead him out of the jungle. The native said
he could. "All right," the missionary said, "Show me the way." They
walked for hours through dense brush hacking their way through unmarked
jungle. The missionary began to worry and said, "Are you quite sure this
is the way? Where is the path?" The native said. "Bwana, in this place
there is no path. I am the path."</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Our path out of the
jungle of this world is God in Christ. We may have some Rabbis,
Masters, Father's, Teachers, and Reverends but we are all like the
missionary. We rely not upon men but Christ who is our path.</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Brett Blair, <a shape="rect" target="_blank" __removedlink__449504481__href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=aelnpceab&et=1109127599228&s=45429&e=0017LrsPfBq_x8jFu96RmTualf0HsZ4imKL6rNDyNYAHU-HHxtBmqvEUUbEOhpPnNLKKMS7CyKSeuX_FRcQ9-qOL0K3jBAAN7iveAKRLqgUGgpTVjcJfFRsgg==">www.eSermons.com</a></span><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>_______________________</span></div>
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