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Grace mercy, and peace be yours from our God heavenly Father our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

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Amen.

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It pleased God to the folly of what we preach to save those who

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believe. Well I preach Christ crucified.

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Actually, the text says we first plural we preach Christ crucified. So

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for today

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I'm going to ask you to do something that might seem a little bit

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awkward or whenever I say we preach I would like for you to say Christ

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crucified plus practice it a couple times to make sure we're on the

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same page. We preach.

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We preach.

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Thank you.

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Sounds like we're on the same page.

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I know it seems a little bit foolish. Seems like something a fourth year is doing that's kind of a gimmick a foolish thing of the kind of

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stand out a little bit.

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But well, St.

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Paul his letter talks about some foolish things and the wisdom that's in it. Now if it was foolish to us today here coming into

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Chapel. There's  a lot of foolish things that I've been in the life of the

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church thousands of years before we came here today.

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I mean, just imagine if you're a man walking through the streets of

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Corinth to see all the different types of gods that are on display for

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you. You see the Roman god. You see the Imperial cults you even see the

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Egyptian divinities that made their way to Corinth.

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You hear about their power their capability the things that they have

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done the myths in the legends and you hear about what they can do for

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the people who believe/ These are the good God.

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These are the gods that are worthy of following.

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These are the gods that are worthy of being imitated.

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It is good.

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And perhaps if you can imagine that the same man in Corinth dips his head into a

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Christian Church reading this letter this epistle and what is he hear?

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Well he hears that we preach. Christ crucified. How dumb is that? How dumb is that these people are gathered together around an executted criminal, crucified. Not only was this man now

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guilty of a heinous crime, but he was crucified he died and he was lifted up as an example 

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not to do. 

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And so these other people want to gather around and they want to worship him. What does he even do for them? He's dead. He's crucified.

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How dumb is that?

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But even today, even today there's plenty of people who are willing to

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go to the mats to talk about the foolishness of the Christians.

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The fact that our faith is manufactured that it foolish that it doesn't make any sense. Authors have made their

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livings based on this YouTube channels are dedicated to this.

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It's out there because even today people can grasp this fundamental

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concept that Christ did come.  He was born. He lived. He was crucified died and

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was buried they can grasp that. That makes sense.

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That he was risen?

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That he is coming again one day you going to make this new creation and somehow

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you and I are a part of that.

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Doesn't make any sense.

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How do you know this is going to happen?

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What proof do you have that this is actually going to come true.

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It seems foolish.

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It seems dumb.

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And even if this person should come into our Chapel right now through

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these doors.

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What are they going to hear?

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We preach Christ crucified.

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Just seems so dumb.

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It's not that simple is it ? That's you and I we know we should still proclaim this message.

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We still do proclaim that Christ is crucified.

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But maybe you want to get some more knowledge. You want to grow in your understanding to speak 

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more fully to what this means. I mean after all

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that's why you go to class. You go to Bible studies.

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You hear the word preached.

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Maybe you went to a Christian School your entire life.

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Maybe you're currently being taught to faith at home through the catechism.

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You try to grow in the knowledge and understanding and maybe there's a

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part of you that's trying to find that silver bullet.

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That one nugget of truth. That sentence. That line of reasoning that can

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just persuade, convince somebody into the faith. Something that makes it

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more palatable if it's a tough pill to swallow a little bit easier, a little bit

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more digestible.

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Maybe, maybe that's not your problem.

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Maybe instead looking around. And you see everything 

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happening in the the world around you've just given up. The world seems to be falling apart at the seams and nobody seems to

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really understand it and nobody seems to give you a few words to say. And you

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look at your family and your friends and antagonist against the faith

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and you kind of just

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give up.

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Be foolish to try with these people.

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Cuz if you want I really took a moment to meet me think about the

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things that you and I want to talk about.

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We at we realize it's so true.

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None of us are considered geniuses by the world's standards. None of us never really

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say something so convincing and so persuasive and so believable.

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We can bring somebody to the faith.

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You look at all your knowledge you look at all your wisdom and all

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your your attempts to gain the right words to say the right things and to

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think things through the right way and you just fall short.

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It just seems foolish.

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But it's not that simple is it?

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Because God chose the things that were foolish in the world to shame the wise.

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So seek Christ crucified.

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See the lamb who takes away the sins of the world going up the hill.

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See him carry the Cross on his own back. See him smitten and afflicted.

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See him suffer. See him nailed tot he cross as he cries out Father forgive them for they know not what they are

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doing. Read the sign above his head the king of the Jews and watch as

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the Jews mock him and scorn him.

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What more foolish sight is there? What more ridiculous thing is the King of the Jews being hurled  

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insults

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by his own people.

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Watch him die.

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At his right-hand and left-hand there are only thieves.

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Hear him say it is finished.

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Christ crucified.

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but for quietness.

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If you lean in you

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hear the Roman Centurion say truly this man was the son of God.

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3 days

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the tomb was empty.

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3 days the stone is rolled away. Three days

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everything changes for you for me.

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I never thought being saved look like this.

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I never thought in all my wildest imaginations that

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this is what it would mean because truly Christ crucified is him on

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the cross, but you and I know it doesn't just end there.

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As God's redeemed and saved people we know that this Christ who

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died will rise and not just rise again.

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He did rise.  But not just return.

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He's going to return again in his glory to judge both the living and the

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dead. And that kingdom and that Kingdom which is coming. That new creation which is coming will have no end.

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So remember your calling Christians. Remember you're calling who's you

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are when in baptism Christ named you and brought you into the kingdom

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as Sons and Daughters of the one true God. Remember that as though we go through 

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trials and the torment of this world has to offer that one day our

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risen Savior is coming back.

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He will make all things new.

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Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord knowing and understanding

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that you are his.

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This is the message that you and I carry with us. This hope in our

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coming in or going out.

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Death is not the end for those who believe it's the folly and the

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preaching that saves those who believe in it.

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Soon the world that's falling apart at the seams and is in desperate

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need of the Gospel.

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We preach Christ crucified. Dear brothers and sisters in the faith

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are suffering and are downtrodden and seem to be falling apart

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every minute of everyday, we preach Christ crucified.

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Knowing that our risen Savior is returning we preach Christ.

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So be it. Amen.

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Now these things were spoken so that you may believe that Jesus is the

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Christ that by believing in him

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you may have life in his name. Amen.

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Please rise for the singing of our hymn.