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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'>The Cross Has
Always Caused Problems<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'>A Pastor on <st1:place
w:st="on">Northern Vancouver Island</st1:place> wrote to online study group
this message: <br>
<br>
"I'm having difficulty with the Gospel this week; what is this cross that
I am to take up, and what am I to deny in following Jesus?" <br>
<br>
Another Pastor, a student minister in the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region> wrote: <br>
<br>
"I find this a hard gospel text because it talks about suffering rather
than joy."<br>
<br>
The cross has always caused problems to people. Brutal and barbaric - the<br>
cross was a tool of political power for the Romans. They maintained their<br>
power because of the fear of death on the cross. <br>
<br>
When one was condemned by the state, the condemned literally had to "take<br>
up his cross" and carry it to the public place where he was to be<br>
crucified. It was part of the humiliation process, the mechanism of social<br>
control for which crucifixion was invented.<br>
<br>
The cross was an instrument of suffering and shame - and no more so than<br>
among the Children of Israel - where the scriptures themselves declare:<br>
"cursed is anyone who hangs on a tree". <br>
<br>
To die on a cross was a sign that one died cut off from God, and cut off<br>
from the people of God - a sign that the person was rejected. And of<br>
course in the case of Jesus this was very true. <br>
<br>
Richard J. Fairchild, If Anyone Would Follow Me<br>
___________________________<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'>Ambition:
Bigger Is Not Always Better<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 American
businessman was at the pier of a small, coastal Mexican village when a small
boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large
yellow fin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his
fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The Mexican replied only a
little while.<br>
<br>
The American then asked why didn't he stay out longer and catch more fish. The
Mexican said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs. <br>
<br>
The American then asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your
time?" <br>
<br>
The Mexican fisherman said, "I sleep late; fish a little; play with my
children; take siesta with my wife, Maria; stroll into the village each evening
where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos; I have a full and busy life,
seņor."<br>
<br>
The American scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should
spend more time fishing; and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat; with the
proceeds from the bigger boat, you could buy several boats; eventually you
would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a
middleman, you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your
own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You
would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to <st1:City
w:st="on">Mexico City</st1:City>, then <st1:City w:st="on">Los Angeles</st1:City>
and eventually <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New York City</st1:place></st1:City>
where you will run your expanding enterprise."<br>
<br>
The Mexican fisherman asked, "But, seņor, how long will this all
take?"<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'>To which the
American replied, "Fifteen to 20 years." <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'>"But
what then, seņor?"<br>
<br>
The American laughed and said that's the best part. "When the time is
right, you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and
become very rich; you would make millions."<br>
<br>
"Millions, seņor? Then what?"<br>
<br>
The American said, "Then you would retire and move to a small coastal
fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids,
take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you
could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos." <br>
<br>
Sometimes our American culture thinks only about things that are bigger. Bigger
is always better. We get so caught up in the success syndrome of our culture
that we forget the way of Jesus which called us to simplicity and, in our text
today, to a life of self-denial.<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'>Mickey Anders,
Self Denial<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'>I Am No
Longer My Own<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'>In his
covenant prayer, which he offered every year at midnight on New Year's Eve,
John Wesley prayed,<br>
<br>
"I am no longer my own but Thine, put me to what thou wilt, rank me with
whom thou wilt, put me to doing, put me to suffering, let me be employed for
thee or laid aside for thee, exalted for thee or brought low for thee; let me
be full, let me be empty; let me have all things, let me have nothing; I freely
and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal."<br>
<br>
As disciples of Jesus Christ, we'd do well to pray with Wesley and be reminded
that we're not free to follow the dictates of our own sinful nature; we're free
to surrender our wills to the will of God and to submit ourselves to the
authority of Jesus Christ. <br>
<br>
Philip W. McLarty, The Cost of Discipleship<br>
______________________________<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'>Taking Up
Your Cross - Service <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'>During the
dark days of World War II, <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">England</st1:place></st1:country-region>
had a great deal of difficulty keeping men in the coal mines. It was a
thankless kind of Job, totally lacking in any glory. Most chose to join the
various military services. They desired something that could give them more
social acceptance and recognition. Something was needed to motivate these men
in the work that they were doing so that they would remain in the mines.<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'>With this in
mind, Winston Churchill delivered a speech one day to thousands of coal miners,
stressing to them the importance of their role in the war effort. He did this
by painting for them a mental picture. He told them to picture the grand parade
that would take place when VE Day came. First, he said, would come the sailors
of the British Navy, the ones who had upheld the grand tradition of Trafalgar
and the defeat of the Armada. Next in the parade, he said, would come the
pilots of the Royal Air Force. They were the ones who, more than any other, had
saved <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">England</st1:place></st1:country-region>
from the dreaded German Lufwaffa. Next in the parade would come the Army, the
ones that had stood tall at the crises of <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Dunkirk</st1:place></st1:City>.
<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'>Last of all,
he said, would come a long line of sweat-stained, soot-streaked men in minor's
caps. And someone, he said, would cry from the crowd, "And where were you
during the critical days of the struggle?" And then from ten thousand
throats would come, "We were deep in the earth with our faces to the
coal." We are told that there were tears in the eyes of many of those soot
laden and weathered faced coal miners. They had been given a sense of their own
self worth by the man at the top.<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'>Service does
not always come with big fancy ribbons. And I think that it is forever true,
that it is often the humble acts of service that provide us with the deepest
sense of joy and the most fulfilling satisfaction.<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'>Brett Blair, <a
href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1109399241609&s=45429&e=001uG58Bx8QHswyhKzVJtZkUsk4oodiuUxPFJbdqOzkoLJq5J8oKbBSrWf3noUJ9imIhy48yxODXKM0n_4gdSXnwxHuljjXB3s-m_fUqLwWawFFwGG4yFNk2A=="
target="_blank"
title="blocked::http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1109399241609&s=45429&e=001uG58Bx8QHswyhKzVJtZkUsk4oodiuUxPFJbdqOzkoLJq5J8oKbBSrWf3noUJ9imIhy48yxODXKM0n_4gdSXnwxHuljjXB3s-m_fUqLwWawFFwGG4yFNk2A=="
shape=rect>www.eSermons.com</a><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 Fork in
the Road<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'>According to
that great font of wisdom, Yogi Berra, "If you come to a fork in the road,
take it." Mark 8 is a kind of theological fork in the road. This chapter
is the hinge of Mark's gospel. Not only is this the exact middle of Mark in
terms of chapters and verses, it is also theologically the center point at
which the ministry of Jesus takes a decisive turn toward the cross. Jesus seems
to know what he is doing and also where he is going (or, better said, where he
must go whether he wants to go that direction or not). For the disciples,
however, Mark 8 does present a kind of fork in the road. And like Yogi Berra,
as they look at the fork in the road, they want to take it. They want it both
ways. They want to stick with Jesus and be his followers while at the same time
insisting that Jesus follow them down the path they want to take. <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'>Scott Hoezee,
The Lenten Fork<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'>Take up Your
Cross<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 is a
cheerful world as I see it from my garden under the shadows of my vines. But If
I were to ascend some high mountain and look over the wide lands, you know very
well what I would see: brigands on the highways, pirates on the sea, armies
fighting, cities burning; in the amphitheaters men murdered to please the
applauding crowds; selfishness and cruelty and misery and despair under all
roofs. It is a bad world, Donatus, an incredibly bad world. But I have
discovered in the midst of it a quiet and holy people who have learned a great
secret. They are despised and persecuted, but they care not. They are masters
of their souls. They have overcome the world. These people, Donatus, are the
Christians--and I am one of them.<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'>Cyprian, a
third-century martyr.<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'>Built around
the Cross<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's a
great story about the artist Rodin, who one day saw a huge, carved crucifix
beside a road. He immediately loved the artwork and insisted on having it for
himself. He purchased the cross and arranged to have it carted back to his
house. But, unfortunately, it was too big for the building. So, of all things,
he knocked out the walls, raised the roof, and rebuilt his home around the
cross (Best Sermons 3, Harper & Row, 1990, p. 115). <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 you hear
Jesus' call to radical discipleship, I hope you will decide to knock down the
walls and rebuild your life around the cross. Remember, Jesus said, "If
any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their
cross and follow me."<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'>Mickey
Anders, Cross-Bearing<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'>Hard Truths<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'>Billy Graham
poses the question this way: "When Jesus said, 'if you are going to follow
me, you have to take up a cross,' it was the same as saying, 'Come and bring
your electric chair with you. Take up the gas chamber and follow me.' He did
not have a beautiful gold cross in mind - the cross on a church steeple or on
the front of your Bible. Jesus had in mind a place of execution."<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'>Gary Weston,
Hard Truths<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'>Living Life
from the Outside In<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'>Were I to
create a short list of people who live from the outside in, it would include
people who don't know what their political beliefs are until they've read their
favorite political columnist; don't know what books they want to read until
Oprah tells them; don't know how to decorate for Christmas until Martha Stewart
directs them; don't know what to believe until their denomination tells them;
don't know what to wear until they have consulted a fashion guru; don't know
how to respond to the controversial issues of the day until they check their
windsocks to see which way the breeze is blowing. <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'>People with
this pattern are like submarines cruising through life at periscope depth and
they will not come to the surface until they have surveyed the surrounding
territory, making sure that their emergence will occur within optimal
conditions for safety from others they perceive to be potentially menacing
critics. <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'>Living life
from the outside in -- we have all been there at one point or another in our
journeys. And when we are accurately so described, we are the same folks Jesus
had in mind when he talked about people who have gained the whole world, but
forfeited their lives. <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'>We've gotten
it backwards, Jesus says. Instead, turn matters inside out and live from the
inside out. <br>
<br>
Robert A. Noblett, Sermons for Sundays in Lent and Easter, CSS Publishing
Company <br>
______________________________________________<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'>Sermon
Closer: We Have a Choice to Transform <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 a
story about two young brothers who were caught stealing sheep. The punishment
back then was to brand the thief's forehead with the letters ST which stood for
sheep thief. As a result of this, one brother left the village and spent his
remaining years wandering from place to place indelibly marked by disgrace. The
other remained in the village, made restitution for the stolen sheep, and
became a caring friend and neighbor to the townspeople. He lived out his life
in the village--an old man loved by all. <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'>One day a
stranger came to town and inquired about the ST on the old man's forehead...<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 illustration and many additional illustrations and sermons, including our
sermon series for Lent, can be accessed at www.Sermons.com.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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