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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">He that is down needs fear no fall,</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">He that is low, no pride:</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">He that is humble ever shall </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">Have God to be his guide.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small"> </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">From the Song of the Shepherd Boy, The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small"> </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">_____________________</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small"> </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">Big Men in Little Planes</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small"> </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">There
is an interesting story that comes out of the Second World War. England
and Germany both had state-of-the-art fighter planes. Germany had the
Messerschmitt, which was considered to be the world’s fastest fighter
plane. The British had the Supermarine Spitfire. The Spitfire was slower
than the Messerschmitt. Nevertheless, German pilots were envious of
their British counterparts. </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small"> </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">You
see, the Messerschmitt had been designed to hold the perfect German.
Who was the perfect German? Who else but Der Fuhrer, Adolf Hitler.
Hitler was little more than five feet tall. However, the German pilots
who guided the Messerschmitt were considerably taller than 5 feet. So
the Germans had to fly in very cramped quarters. But who was going to
tell Adolf Hitler that he was not the perfect German? The Messerschmitts
were faster, but their pilots were not happy men.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small"> </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">It
is an amazing fact, but many leaders fail because of big egos. Big men
in little planes. Big egos in little men. “Pride goeth before a fall,”
says the ancient adage. And it’s true.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small"> </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">King Duncan, </span><span style="font-size: 12pt"><a target="_blank" __removedlink__1196641544__href="http://mail.churchmail.com/lists/lt.php?id=Kk8CBgMDDAZQAUkCCQBKDAtXUVw%3D"><span style="font-size: small"><font color="#0000ff">www.Sermons.com</font></span></a></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">___________________</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small"> </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">Passing by the Children</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small"> </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">A
persistent judgment leveled against parents today is this: they gladly
provide their children with every resource: Leaders, coaches, teachers,
tutors, and youth workers. Certainly children should be happy and
well-adjusted. They have everything money can buy. But they do not have
the listening ear of Mom and Dad. "Too busy, later, not now, I'm working
hard for your good." Recall the old saying:</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small"> </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">"For the want of a nail the shoe was lost; </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">for the want of a shoe the horse was lost; </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">for the want of a horse the rider was lost; </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">for the want of the rider the battle was lost."</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small"> </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">It
is still true. For want of a quiet, caring intimacy, a child's primary
sense of self-worth is lost. And for want of security and self-worth,
the child is lost. In most churches I've known, members find it quite
easy to pass a youth by; they are more timid to engage a child than a
stranger in conversation. Frequently, when youth are on committees,
little sensitivity is expressed toward making them comfortable and
enabling them to contribute.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small"> </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">Thomas Peterson, The Needle's Eye, CSS Publishing Company.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">__________________________</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small"> </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">Teaching</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small"> </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small"> </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">William A. Ward</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">_________________</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small"> </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">Carry Someone with You</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small"> </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">There
was a tribe of Indians who lived a long time ago in the state of
Mississippi. They lived next to a very swift and dangerous river. The
current was so strong that if somebody happened to fall in or stumbled
into it they could be swept away downstream. </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small"><br>
One day the tribe was attacked by a hostile group of settlers. They
found themselves with their backs against the river. They were greatly
outnumbered and their only chance for escape was to cross the rushing
river. They huddled together and those who were strong picked up the
weak and put them on their shoulders; the little children, the sick, the
old and the infirm, those who were ill or wounded were carried on the
backs of those who were strongest. They waded out into the river, and to
their surprise they discovered that the weight on their shoulders
carrying the least and the lowest helped them to keep their footing and
to make it safely across the river. </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small"><br>
Jesus is trying to teach the disciples an object lesson about greatness,
about servanthood, about leadership. He is saying to them and to us,
"Have you lost the childlike joy and love and faith that once were
yours?" He is also saying to them and to us, "If you want to walk on
secure ground in this world it helps to carry someone with you." <br>
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</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">King Duncan, Collected Sermons, <a __removedlink__1196641544__href="http://www.Sermons.com" target="_blank">www.Sermons.com</a></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">________________________</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small"> </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">Would That Get Me Into Heaven? </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small"> </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">"If
I sold my house and my car, had a big garage sale and gave all my money
to the church, would that get me into Heaven?" I asked the children in
my Sunday School class.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">"NO!" the children all answered.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">"If I cleaned the church every day, mowed the yard, and kept everything neat and tidy, would that get me into Heaven?"</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">Again, the answer was, "NO!" </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">"Well,
then, if I was kind to animals and gave candy to all the children and
loved my wife, would that get me into Heaven?" I asked them again…</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small"> </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small"><span style="color: black">The rest of this illustration, as well as many additional illustrations and sermons for the whole year, can be accessed at </span></span><span style="color: black"><a target="_blank" __removedlink__1196641544__href="http://mail.churchmail.com/lists/lt.php?id=Kk8CBgMDDAZQAUkCCQBKDAtXUVw%3D"><span style="font-size: small"><font color="#0000ff">www.Sermons.com</font></span></a></span><span style="font-size: small"><span style="color: black">.<br>
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