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<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>God Will See You Through</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>I like the story of
an unusual account of how the news of the Battle of Waterloo reached
England. The report from the battle ground back in those days was first
carried by sailing ship to the southern coast and then by signal flags
to London. And when the report was received at Winchester, the flags on
the cathedral began to spell out the message, "Wellington defeated." And
then before the message could be completed, a heavy fog rolled in and
with that heavy fog the gloom of a nation filled the hearts of the
people. But then, when the mist began to lift, it became evident that
the signals of the Winchester Cathedral had really spelled out this
triumphant message. "Wellington defeated the enemy!" Too often we allow
the future to be colored by what we understand at the moment and it
keeps us from moving forward. Trust God in the midst of transition and
conflict. Let go of resistance to change. Let go of panic, release
yourself again into His hands. God is for you and God will see you
through. Trust in him. </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>George Antonakos, Life on a Ferris Wheel</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>What Weather for the Seed?</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Some of you
remember back to the 1940's and 1950's. As World War II ended, America
went through a period of time which many remember as 'glory days' for
the church. Everywhere new churches were being built, others added on
to. Church attendance soared, all across the land and American
Christians enjoyed an unprecedented season of religious vitality. Those
who chronicle such times in public life, say that as America moved
beyond the aftermath of war, some of the so called 'foxhole' conversions
wore off...when the crisis was over and the world returned to normal,
America again lost her religious vitality. While I think that America's
trends in religious vitality or decline have many more complex factors
than that......I do wonder is it true that those who turn to God in
crisis tend to forget God when the sun shines bright and the weather is
fair? <br>
</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Deborah A. Koontz, Glory Days</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>The Christian Life Is Lived Daily</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Remember Gracie
Allen, who played the scatterbrained wife in a comedy team with her
husband George Burns? Once, Gracie called in a repairman to fix her
electric clock. The repairman fiddled with it for a while and then said,
"There's nothing wrong with the clock; you didn't have it plugged in."
Gracie replied, "I don't want to waste electricity, so I only plug it in
when I want to know what time it is." <br>
<br>
That's an apt description
of many of us. We save our religion for a rainy day. We go about
unplugged and wonder why our lives are so devoid of power. How sad.
Christian faith is not something to be plugged in when it is convenient
or when it is necessary. The Christian life is lived daily. There is a
cost involved. <br>
<br>
King Duncan, Collected Sermons, <a shape="rect" target="_blank" __removedlink__1056540614__href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1109568638444&s=45429&e=001Xb2fpMnkZabJ1xk-JXZllYESLY7OlwypTSXB6E7gbXKdDA1NzSI2Nr-LpMJH-RVABDmbvXvvj44Ofs3HzKEXpkkBTXwqukugRF8D8wTJp4E=">www.Sermons.com</a> <br>
_________________________________________________________</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Burnt at the Stake and Fired in Their Hearts</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>When Joan of Arc
knew that she had been betrayed and was to be burnt at the stake by the
leaders of her own people, as George Bernard Shaw has it in his play,
she turns to them and says, "I will go out to the common people, and let
the love in their eyes comfort me for the hate in yours. You will be
glad to see me burnt; but if I go through the fire I shall go through it
to their hearts for ever and ever." </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>What was the
passion of Jesus? You are the passion of Jesus. Even if you were the
only person in the whole world he would still have died for you. He
would rather go to hell for you than to heaven without you.</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Stephen Sizer</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>Wesley's Rule of Conduct</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>John Wesley wrote to his people called Methodist the following Rule of Conduct: </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Do all the good you can, </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>By all the means you can, </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>In all the ways you can, </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>In all the places you can, </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>At all the times you can, </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>To all the people you can, </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>As long as ever you can.</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>This is the meaning
of the Passion. The crucifixion of Jesus is God's conduct; it is the
rule for our lives as long as we shall live.</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__1056540614__href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1109568638444&s=45429&e=001Xb2fpMnkZabJ1xk-JXZllYESLY7OlwypTSXB6E7gbXKdDA1NzSI2Nr-LpMJH-RVABDmbvXvvj44Ofs3HzKEXpkkBTXwqukugRF8D8wTJp4E=">www.Sermons.com</a> </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>No Time Left</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>A man had been
driving all night and by morning was still far from his destination. He
decided to stop at the next city he came to, and park somewhere where it
was quiet so he could get an hour or two of sleep. As luck would have
it, the quiet place he chose happened to be on one of the city's major
jogging routes. No sooner had he settled back for a snooze when there
came a knock on his window. He looked out and saw a jogger running in
place. "Yes?" he said. "Excuse me, sir," the jogger, said, "do you have
the time?" The man looked at the car clock and answered, "8:15." The
jogger said thanks and left. The man settled back again, and was just
dozing off when there was another knock on the window and another
jogger.</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>"Excuse me, sir, do
you have the time?" asked the jogger. "8:25!" the man replied. The
jogger said thanks and left. Now the man could see other joggers passing
by and he knew it was only a matter of time before another one
disturbed him. To avoid that, he got out a pen and paper and put a sign
on his window saying, "I do not know the time!" Once again he settled
back to sleep. He was just dozing off when there was another knock on
the window. "Sir, sir?" said a jogger, seeking to be helpful' "it's
8:45!"</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>It is time, Jesus
said, for the Son of man to be glorified. The hour has come. It was that
moment when the last sand falls from the hourglass. No time left for
the development of new disciples. No time left for miracles to convince
the people. No time left for debates with the religious leaders. No time
left, the passion has begun.</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__1056540614__href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1109568638444&s=45429&e=001Xb2fpMnkZabJ1xk-JXZllYESLY7OlwypTSXB6E7gbXKdDA1NzSI2Nr-LpMJH-RVABDmbvXvvj44Ofs3HzKEXpkkBTXwqukugRF8D8wTJp4E=">www.Sermons.com</a> </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> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Christ without the Cross?</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Theologian H.
Richard Neibuhr condemns cross-less Christianity whether it is promoted
by liberal Protestantism or the evangelical "feel good",
seeker-sensitive churches. It is a false gospel in which "A God without
wrath brought men without sin into a kingdom without judgment through
the ministrations of a Christ without a Cross."</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>There is no Christianity without the Cross.</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Quote by Richard Neibuhr</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>The Mercy of God</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Wangerin has a
wonderful story, called "Matthew, Seven, Eight, and Nine" about how he
tried to stop his son Matthew from stealing comic books. He tried
various uses of the law over several years and continued to fail.
Finally, he resorted to something he rarely used: a spanking. He did it
deliberately, almost ritualistically, and he was so upset when he
finished that he left the room and wept. After pulling himself back
together, he went in to Matthew and hugged him. A number of years later,
Matthew and his mother were doing some general reminiscing, and Matthew
happened to bring up the time when he kept stealing comic books. "And
you know why I finally stopped?" he asked. "Sure," she said, "Because
Dad finally spanked you." "No!" replied Matthew, "No, because Dad
cried." Wangerin concludes with these words...</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 illustration and many additional illustrations and sermons can be accessed at <a shape="rect" target="_blank" __removedlink__1056540614__href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1109568638444&s=45429&e=001Xb2fpMnkZabJ1xk-JXZllYESLY7OlwypTSXB6E7gbXKdDA1NzSI2Nr-LpMJH-RVABDmbvXvvj44Ofs3HzKEXpkkBTXwqukugRF8D8wTJp4E=">www.Sermons.com</a>.<font size="4"><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif"><br>
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