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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>February 5, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>Mark 1:
29-39 - <strong><b><font face="Times New Roman">"Everyone Is Searching
for You" </font></b></strong><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>Mark 1:
29-39 - <strong><b><font face="Times New Roman">"Sandbox First,
Soapbox Second"</font></b></strong> by Leonard Sweet<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>Mark 1 -
the sermon title "Everyone Is Searching For You!" <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>The great
architect Frank Lloyd Wright was fond of an incident that may have seemed
insignificant at the time, but had a profound influence on the rest of his
life. The winter he was 9, he went walking across a snow-covered field with
his reserved, no- nonsense uncle. As the two of them reached the far end of
the field, his uncle stopped him. He pointed out his own tracks in the
snow, straight and true as an arrow's flight, and then young Frank's tracks
meandering all over the field. "Notice how your tracks wander
aimlessly from the fence to the cattle to the woods and back again,"
his uncle said. "And see how my tracks aim directly to my goal. There
is an important lesson in that."<br>
<br>
Years later the world-famous architect liked to tell how the experience had
contributed to his philosophy in life. "I determined right then,"
he'd say with a twinkle in his eye, "not to miss the things in life,
that my uncle had missed."<br>
<br>
Frank Lloyd Wright saw in those tracks what his uncle could not: It is easy
to let the demands of life keep us from the joys of living. <br>
<br>
We all recognize that any goal in life worth achieving demands a great deal
of our energy. If you are a doctor you must spend vast hours alone and in
residency studying the human body. The life of your patient demands it. If
you are a teacher you must live in the library researching and preparing
for your lecture. The mind of your student demands it. If you are a
carpenter you must patiently measure the building before you drive the
first nail. The integrity of the structure depends on it. If you are a
mother you must sacrifice your life for another. Your children require it.<br>
<br>
We could not live if we did not set goals and work to fulfill them. No sane
person would argue otherwise. But here's what young Wright discovered at
the tender age of 9, and what some don't learn until 59: The objective in
life is not the goal but the journey on the way to the goal. The whole city
had gathered around the door, pressing in to see Jesus. The demands on him
were already piling up. He cured many, cast out demons, and taught
constantly. And his disciples didn't help matters. When he left in the
morning early to pray, they went searching for him. And when they found him
they said, "What are you doing, everyone is searching for you?" <br>
<br>
How do we enjoy the journey when everyone and everything is searching for
you, wanting a piece of you, and demanding your time?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>1. Hard
Work Is Required.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>2. Do Not
Let Others Define Your Goal.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>3.
Remember to Pray!<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>The rest
of this sermon can be obtained by joining <a
href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=aelnpceab&et=1109181819576&s=45429&e=001avM0zG1vNVR93gBIEnKOfDE6j2YI4CmHpUbI8rYXKl45sjXNsRmvZ4hW-wpKBQu5bNMs1O-CrlzmGtvebcdnrCk3cpWcUlg7FGntZCdpkg3BEaZ7snW0fjycpfYeFWsd"
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<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>_______________________<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>Mark 1 - the
sermon titled "Sandbox First, Soapbox Second" by Leonard Sweet <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>This
sermon has a very simple, but very difficult, message: Faith is a social
practice, but one that requires solitude. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>Genesis
2:18 reads: "It is not good for man to be alone."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>Daniel
10:8 reads: "I was left alone, and saw the great vision."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>Sometimes
society, sometimes solitude. Sometimes it is not good to be alone.
Sometimes we need to be left alone to see what God has for us to see. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>The most
talked about movie at the time of this sermon's composition is "The
Artist," a 2011 French comedy-drama film shown in black and white and
mostly silent. In January 2012 it was nominated for 10 Academy Awards,
including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor in a Leading Role.
The story takes place between 1927 and 1932, and revolves around the
relationship between a declining film star and a rising actress. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>The most
celebrated movie star of the "Silent Era," however, was Swedish
actress Greta Garbo (1905-1990). She famously declared her own life's
desire in her epic film "Grand Hotel" (1932), when
"Garbomania" reached its peak: "I just want to alone."
True to her word, Garbo "retired" at age 36 and went on to be a
renowned recluse, living paradoxically as a hermit in the social center of <st1:City
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New York City</st1:place></st1:City> until
her death at age 84. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>"Loners"
are, in this age of social media, an increasingly rare breed. Consider how
often in your day you are actually "alone." <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>When are
you alone? <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>Not when
you are at work. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>Not when
you are on the phone. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>Not when
you are on-line. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>Not when
you are awaiting a return text-message. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>Not when
you are watching TV. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>Not when
you are listening to the news. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>How often
are you really intentionally cut off from all outside influences and are
genuinely alone? Actual aloneness is about as available as imported glacier
water, volcanic artesian water, and Cuban cigars. It is a commodity you can
get - but only at a very high price.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>So why is
it so many of us suffer from desperate loneliness while we live very busy
lives with rafts of responsibilities?...<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>Click
here: <a
href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=aelnpceab&et=1109181819576&s=45429&e=001avM0zG1vNVR93gBIEnKOfDE6j2YI4CmHpUbI8rYXKl45sjXNsRmvZ4hW-wpKBQu5bNMs1O-CrlzmGtvebcdnrCk3cpWcUlg7FGntZCdpkg3BEaZ7snW0fjycpfYeFWsd"
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<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>____________________________<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>All Our
Strength<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>The story
is told of a little boy and his father. They were walking along a road when
they came across a large stone. The boy looked at the stone and thought
about it a little. Then he asked his father, "Do you think if I use
all my strength, I can move that rock?"<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>The
father thought for a moment and said, "I think that if you use all
your strength, you can do it."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>That was
all the little boy needed. He ran over to the rock and began to push on it.
He pushed and he pushed, so hard did he try that little beads of sweat
appeared on his forehead. But the rock didn't move - not an inch, not half
an inch. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>After a
while, the little boy sat down on the ground. His face had fallen. His
whole body seemed to be just a lump there on the earth. "You were
wrong," he told his dad. "I can't do it." <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>His
father walked over to him, knelt beside him, and put his arm around the
boy's shoulder. "You can do it," he said. "You just didn't
use all your strength. You didn't ask me to help." <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>The world
in which we live tells us that it is all up to us. It tells us that we have
to be strong and independent. It tells us we can't and shouldn't count on
anyone or anything else. And yet, what faith tells us and what Jews and
Christians have known forever is that we have a ready resource in God,
strength for those who ask.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>Donald M.
Tuttle<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>___________________________________<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>There Is
Nothing More Tempting Than a Lonely Place.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>There is
nothing more tempting than a lonely place. A lonely place where phones do
not ring and loud voices all shouting at once do not compete for our
attention. A lonely place where we can hear ourselves think, feel our own
calmed breathing, rediscover the inner rhythms which seek in vain to
regulate our lives. A lonely place where we can listen to the wind rippling
through the trees or, perhaps, to the full and wise sound of stillness. A
lonely place free from the cant of television and the condemnation of
calendars. A place of tranquil rest and blessed retreat. There is nothing more
tempting than a lonely place.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'><br>
"And in the morning," Mark tells us, "a great while before
day, Jesus rose and went out to a lonely place, and there he prayed"
(Mark 1:35).<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>Thomas G.
Long, Shepherds and Bathrobes, CSS Publishing Co., Inc.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>______________________________<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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