<font color='black' size='4' face='Times New Roman, Times, serif'><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="600"><tbody><tr><td style="background-color:#E6E6E6;" rowspan="1" colspan="1" bgcolor="#E6E6E6" valign="bottom" width="100%"><table style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #4c0171; MARGIN: 0px" id="content_LETTER.BLOCK1" bgcolor="#4c0171" border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="TEXT-ALIGN: left; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman, Times, serif; COLOR: #ffffff; FONT-SIZE: 12pt" rowspan="1" colspan="1" align="left">
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px; COLOR: #ffffff"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman, Times, serif"><strong>Lent 3</strong></span></div>
</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" id="content_LETTER.BLOCK2" bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" height="44" width="600"><tbody><tr><td style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" rowspan="1" colspan="1" align="left"><br>
</td></tr></tbody></table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="1" colspan="1" width="100%">
<table style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff; MARGIN: 5.5px 0px" 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" align="left" width="380">March 3, 2013</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" align="right" width="180"><br>
</td></tr></tbody></table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color:#E6E6E6;" rowspan="1" colspan="1" bgcolor="#E6E6E6" width="100%">
<br>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color:#E6E6E6;" rowspan="1" colspan="1" align="center" bgcolor="#E6E6E6" width="100%">
<table border="0" cellpadding="10" cellspacing="0" width="100%">
<tbody><tr>
<td rowspan="1" colspan="1"><hr size="1"></td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<table style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff; DISPLAY: table" id="content_LETTER.BLOCK5" bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0" cellpadding="10" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="TEXT-ALIGN: left; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman, Times; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt" rowspan="1" colspan="1" align="left"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Sermons for Lent 3</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Luke 13:1-9 </span><span>- <strong>"</strong></span><strong>God Doesn't Ask a Fig Tree to Produce Bananas" </strong></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Luke 13:1-9 - <strong>"The 5 Worst Things Christians Say After a Tragedy"</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>Luke 13<font size="4"><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">,</font></font> the sermon title "</span><span>God Doesn't Ask a Fig Tree to Produce Bananas</span><span>"<font size="4"><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif"> <br>
</font></font></span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>A man borrowed a
book from an acquaintance. As he read through it, he was intrigued to
find parts of the book underlined with the letters YBH written in the
margin. When he returned the book to the owner, he asked what the YBH
meant. The owner replied that the underlined paragraphs were sections of
the book that he basically agreed with. They gave him hints on how to
improve himself and pointed out truths that he wished to incorporate
into his life. However, the letters YBH stood for "Yes, but how?"</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Those three letters
could be writ on the margins of ours souls: "I ought to know how to
take better care of myself, but how?" "I know I ought to spend more time
in scripture reading and prayer, but how?" "I know I ought to be more
sensitive to others, more loving of my spouse, more understanding of the
weaknesses of others, but how?" These are all good qualities and we
know that, but how can we acquire them? As Christian people we know the
kind of life we ought to live, and most of us have the best of
intentions to do so, but how? We are afraid because we know where the
road paved with only good intentions leads!</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>This morning we
hear Jesus' parable of the fig tree, telling us to repent and bear good
fruit. We know what the Christian life requires of us and yet, if we are
honest with ourselves, we also know how far short we fall. So the
question that confronts us this morning is: "Yes, but how?"</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>It's a dilemma that
has confronted God's people throughout the ages. Even Saint Paul found
himself trapped. In Romans 7 Paul writes: It seems to be a fact of life
that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I
love to do God's will so far as my new (redeemed Christian) nature is
concerned; but there is something else deep within me, in my lower
nature, that is at war with my mind and wins the fight and makes me a
slave to the sin that is still within me. In my mind, I want to be God's
willing servant, but instead I find myself enslaved to sin. So you see
how it is; my new life (the redeemed life in Christ) tells me to do
right, but the old nature that is still inside me (my sinful human self)
loves to sin. Oh, what a terrible predicament I'm in! Who will free me
from this slavery to sin? Thank God! It has already been done by Jesus
Christ our Lord. He has set me free!</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>"Repent," Jesus
says. "Acknowledge your sinfulness." That's the first step in beginning
to live the Christian life. None of us is without fault. And yet how
difficult it is for us to admit that. We know better than to openly
admit our wrongs. If we want to get ahead in this world and be accepted
by others, it's generally better to conceal our shortcomings and put on a
good front for others...</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__996604385__href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001gNy_wd3kaaDNGwV_E8CzP5wK4bdOfWcy5CsCKags0QLLHhrMmnItZZR8gxKg1DCxklEUms2SpYbiXgxfGSN6axPAcQOT41EjDSz1iUxrPZcnos93TpwzCWlDG615jjLu"><span>http://www.sermons.com/signup</span></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>Luke 13<font size="4"><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">,</font></font> the sermon titled "<span>The 5 Worst Things Christians Say After a Tragedy</span>" by Leonard Swee<font size="4"><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">t </font></font> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>In the immediate
aftermath of the Super Bowl, a reporter asked Ray Lewis, star player of
the Baltimore Ravens, "How does it feel to be a Super Bowl Champion?" He
responded "When God is for you, who can be against you?"</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Excuse me? God had a favorite team? You mean God liked one Harbaugh brother over the other? </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Candidate Richard
Mourdock in his losing attempt to win a Senate seat in Indiana, said
this: "Even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that is
something that God intended to happen."</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Excuse me? If
something happens, then God intends it to happen? Sandy Hook Elementary?
Hurricane Sandy? God willed these things to happen? </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Where do these
professed Christians get this stuff? Where do they learn their theology?
Learn their bad theology? If there is any greater evidence of the
failure of Sunday school, it is the theology that gets expressed in the
wake of a tragedy. What Christians say right after a disaster is
disastrous and downright embarrassing. </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>The most horrible things are said about God when people try to say the nicest things about Him...</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__996604385__href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001gNy_wd3kaaDNGwV_E8CzP5wK4bdOfWcy5CsCKags0QLLHhrMmnItZZR8gxKg1DCxklEUms2SpYbiXgxfGSN6axPAcQOT41EjDSz1iUxrPZcnos93TpwzCWlDG615jjLu"><span>http://www.sermons.com/signup</span></a> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<font size="4"><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif"><font size="4">______________</font></font></font>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Our Chaotic Life</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>This notice
appeared in the window of a coat store in Nottingham, England: "We have
been established for over 100 years and have been pleasing and
displeasing customers ever since. We have made money and lost money,
suffered the effects of coal nationalization, coat rationing, government
control and bad payers. We have been cussed and discussed, messed
about, lied to, held up, robbed and swindled. The only reason we stay in
business is to see what happens next."</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Unknown</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>Becoming What We Are</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Somerset Maugham
said it best in his autobiography, Summing Up, "I knew that I had no
lyrical quality, a small vocabulary, little gift of metaphor. The
original and striking simile never occurred to me. Poetic flights...were
beyond my powers. On the other hand, I had an acute power of
observation, and it seemed to me that I could see a great many things
that other people missed. I could put down in clear terms what I saw...I
knew that I should never write as well as I could wish, but I thought,
with pains, that I could arrive at writing as well as my natural defects
allowed." Somerset Maugham discovered the secret of genius. </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span><br>
The point is
that life does not ask us to become what we are not. The fig tree was
only required to produce figs. No more. You and I are asked only to
accomplish what our natural gifts allow, but we are asked to accomplish
just that. </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>King Duncan, Collected Sermons, <a shape="rect"><span>www.Sermons.com</span></a> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>________________________ <br>
</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span><br>
</span></div>
</span></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></font>