February 17, 2009

Number 7

VIEWPOINT

If you can laugh, you can survive!  Sally Ray sent me these cute stories.

The building maintenance deacons at one church installed sanitary hot air hand dryers in the rest rooms.  After two weeks, the minister asked to have them removed.  When asked why, he confessed that they worked fine, but when he went in there he saw a sign that read, “For a sample of this week’s sermon, push the button.”

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During the last Sunday service that the visiting minister was to spend at the church he served for several months, his hat was passed around for a goodwill offering.

When it returned to the minister, it was empty. The preacher didn’t flinch. He raised the hat to Heaven and said, “I thank You, Lord, that I got my hat back from this congregation.”

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Sunday evening’s sermon focused on the story of Moses asking God, “Show me your glory” (Ex. 33:18).  And the Lord famously replied, “You will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”

Obviously there is a symbolic meaning in the passage, since the Lord is spirit, not physical. 

After the assembly, our church commentator, W. T. Hatch, came by and said, “I think I know why Moses had to see only the back.” 

I was all ears.  “Why is that?” 

“Because,” he responded, “We are obligated to follow!”

That makes sense to me.  I look forward to seeing you Sunday with a Bible, a smile and a positive word.  RA

Better than the Super Bowl

The February 1 football game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers was billed as the Super Bowl. It deserves the title. The team that wins gets bragging rights as best of the best for the year. So hats off to Pittsburgh for its 27-23 win.

But you’ll have to pardon me for thinking a much bigger game was played last November 7 in Grapevine, Texas. It was a contest of high school kids. Faith Christian School, sporting a strong 7-2 record, went up against Gainesville State School. Gainesville was 0-8 coming in and had scored a total of two touchdowns all year. Yet it was a “super” game – the brainchild of Faith’s head coach, Kris Hogan. 

Gainesville State is a maximum-security correctional facility that houses adolescents who have had few breaks and lots of run-ins with the law. They have convictions for robbery, assault, and drugs. Many have no family members who keep in touch with them – and have nowhere to go when their sentences end. 

Here was Coach Hogan’s idea: Let’s play the kids from Gainesville State, show them the love of Christ, let them know they are just as valuable as anybody else on Planet Earth, and pray it will help them see life a bit differently.

“Imagine if you didn’t have a home life,” he explained to his players. “Imagine if everybody has pretty much given up on you. Now imagine what it would mean for hundreds of people to suddenly believe in you.” He thought it might make a difference – in both teams.

For that wonderful night in Texas, half of Faith’s students, parents, and fans sat on the opponent’s side to cheer for them. Those 200-plus souls cheered, shouted encouragement to the Gainesville players by name, and otherwise did everything possible to make them feel special. 

Wearing their seven-year-old shoulder pads and outdated helmets, the boys on the field sensed something special.  Accustomed to being feared and avoided, they were being supported. “I never in my life thought I’d hear people cheering for us to hit their kids,” said Isaiah, Gainesville’s quarterback. 

When the game ended – with Faith Christian winning 33-14 – the teams gathered in the middle of the field. It was Isaiah’s turn to surprise everybody by asking to lead a prayer. “Lord, I don’t know how this happened, so I don’t know how to say Thank You,” he said, “but I never would’ve known there was so many people in the world that cared about us.”  The kids were taken to their team bus in handcuffs to go back to jail. Each was handed a bag from a Faith player – a bag that had a burger, some fries, a soft drink, a Bible, and a personal note.

Now that was a super football game. A super night. A super way for some young men to meet Jesus in a most unusual way.

Trusting God

Southside Annual Progressive Gospel Meeting

7:00 p.m. (except Sunday at 5:00 p.m.)

February 22-26, 2009

Sunday                         TRUSTING GOD                           Forest Park

Monday              TRUSTING GOD IN THE HOME              East Point

Tuesday      TRUSTING GOD WITH ABUNDANT LIVING      Shannon

Wednesday          TRUSTING GOD’S PROMISES         Peachtree City

Thursday        TRUSTING GOD FOR THE INCREASE       McDonough

Speaker – Eric Owen

Avondale Church of Christ