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<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Preparedness</span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">John Wesley was asked what he would do if he knew his Lord would return at that time the next day. He said in effect, "I would go to bed and go to sleep; wake up in the morning, and go on with my work, for I would want Him to find me doing what he had appointed."</span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Traditional</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">__________________________</span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The Snow Approaches</span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I went to the hardware store the other day to buy a snow shovel, because we all were told about a storm coming that night. Needless to say, I was not alone. The hardware store was full of other last-minute shoppers looking to do the same thing. As I stood there in line with my shovel and my bag of salt, I thought about the parable of the ten maidens, which is our text this morning, and I thought about a new way to tell the story: Then the kingdom of heaven shall be compared to ten people who sat down one night to watch the evening news. Before long, the All-Wise, All-Knowing and Always Accurate Weatherman appeared on the TV set and spoke.</span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">"Behold," he said, "the first snow storm of the year approaches, so be prepared. At midnight, it shall be upon you and in the morning, there shall be whiteness on the ground which shall reach up to your knees. Thus says your weatherman." Five of the ten people were prepared, so they sat comfortably in their homes and watched the rest of the news. But the other five were not prepared. They had no shovels and they wondered where they had left their winter gloves. So, they jumped into their cars and raced to the store with money in hand, desperately hoping they could lay an offering upon the altar of the Cash Register and get a shovel in return. But behold, they were too late. The door to the store was locked. The gods of commerce would accept no more offerings until the morning. The five people went home and asked their neighbors, "Do you have a shovel I can borrow?" Their neigh
bors
said, "No, I don't. I only have one and I'll be using it tomorrow. The snow approaches and you paid no attention to the day or the hour. You should have been prepared."</span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Erskine White, Together In Christ, CSS Publishing Company</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">________________________</span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Ninety Percent Chance of Tomorrow</span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Some folks in Iowa read in the weather forecast column of their local newspaper sometime back that "there is a 90% chance of tomorrow." I personally hope that the chances are better than that. But who knows? Let's not be foolish. Let's be prepared.<br>
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King Duncan, Collected Sermons, <a target="_blank" href="http://mail.churchmail.com/lists/lt.php?id=Kk8GBwELDw5SDwRJAQcDC05QW1YECA%3D%3D"><span style="color:purple">www.Sermons.com</span></a></span> </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;Times New Roman">___________________</span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;Times New Roman">Show Up, Be Present, Be Yourself, Let Go.</span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;Times New Roman">Eight words that can change your life.</span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;Times New Roman">Cowboy culture is still dominated by the larger-than-life image projected by the greatest cowboy-actor of them all, John Wayne. The rough-and-tumble, heart-of-gold, good-guy character John Wayne perfected on-screen never failed to embody the qualities of honor, loyalty, bravery and commitment.</span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;Times New Roman">John Wayne's cowboys didn't just look good. They were good. In the classic, "Rio Bravo," Wayne's character summed up the essence of his cowboy philosophy by declaring to a less-than-perfect sidekick "Just showing up doesn't get the job done!"</span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;Times New Roman">Matthew's parable-allegory of the 10 bridesmaids seems to emphasize this same kind of message to his reader it takes more than good intentions to be a faithful member of the Christian community. In fact, being a disciple of Christ requires us to commit to eight crucial words. These eight words will direct the whole course of our lives if we take them seriously:</span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;Times New Roman">Show Up, Be Present, Be Yourself, Let Go.</span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;Times New Roman">Leonard Sweet, <a href="http://www.Sermons.com" target="_blank">www.Sermons.com</a></span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;Times New Roman">The Risks of Waiting </span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;Times New Roman">In early 1874 an inventor named Elisha Gray transmitted a few musical notes over a telegraph wire. He thought to himself, "If I can send music, perhaps I could send the human voice." The New York Times reported predictions of a "talking telegraph" and the public began to grow eager for it.</span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;Times New Roman">Just one year later Gray believed he had the answer. Tin-can like voice chambers connected by a wire in a liquid that could turn vibrations into signals is what came into his mind. But inexplicably, he did not put his idea on paper for two months. After finally making a sketch, he waited four more days before he went to the patent office.</span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;Times New Roman">When he arrived, Mr. Gray was told that just two hours earlier a school teacher had come through that same door with his own sketch and had already applied for the patent. His name was Alexander graham bell. When you compared the sketches, the voice chambers, the wire, and the liquid everything was identical. The reason we know the name Alexander graham bell and until today, never heard the name Elisha gray is simply because one man seized the opportunity when he could. The other one waited until it was too late.</span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;Times New Roman">James Merritt, <a target="_blank" href="http://mail.churchmail.com/lists/lt.php?id=Kk8GBwELDw5SDwRJAQcDC05QW1YECA%3D%3D">www.Sermons.com</a></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;Times New Roman">____________________________</span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">What's Your Purpose in Life?</span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Josh McDowell tells about an executive "headhunter" who recruits corporate executives for large firms. This headhunter once told McDowell that when he interviews an executive, he likes to disarm him. "I offer him a drink," said the headhunter, "take off my coat, undo my tie, throw up my feet and talk about baseball, football, family, whatever, until he’s all relaxed. Then, when I think I’ve got him relaxed, I lean over, look him square in the eye and say, ‘What’s your purpose in life?’ It’s amazing how top executives fall apart at that question."</span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Then he told about interviewing one fellow recently…</span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;Times New Roman">Many additional illustrations, sermons, commentary, and worship aids for this Sunday and for each week of the year can be accessed at <a href="http://www.Sermons.com" target="_blank">www.Sermons.com</a>. </span></div>
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