I am a Great and Powerful Magician! (Revival Message 3 of 5)

Anyone that worked with me in IT the last 8-10 years of my career probably heard me say "I am a great and powerful magician" at least once. It's usually what I would proclaim after fixing something simply at first and later one after anything I fixed. I used to work with these two ladies from Columbia (South America not South Carolina) and they stopped calling me Glen and started calling me Magician. Good times! 

Pastor Glen

Acts 8:9-13

I am a great and powerful magician!

I have a secret to tell you, In addition to being a pastor and a former IT person. I am also a great and powerful magician!

I spent 16 years in the computer support field. I was really good at repairing problems I was not so great a customer service.  I have a tendency to come across arrogant and condescending. If I have come across that you way to you in the past, I apologize. I most likely didn’t mean it. I spent a few years driving around the state repairing computers and printers at different SunTrust locations. I would drive an hour, an hour and a half in one direction to get there and find the computer wasn’t plugged in, or the power strip was turned off. I would plug it in and turn it on and then the manager would ask “What was wrong?” and I would go “It wasn’t plugged in, so I plugged it in” and then they would get mad at me and complain to my supervisor and I would have to be lectured or take the customer service training.

One day I drove 90 minutes because a printer wasn’t working at a branch. I got there, and it was out of paper. I put paper in it and it started working again. I had gotten in trouble at this branch about a month earlier and I just knew I was going to get in trouble again the minute the manager asked me what I did. So when he approached me and asked what I did I came up with a response. One that was Inspired by the Wizard of Oz. I said in a deep dramatic voice “I AM A GREAT AND POWERFUL MAGICIAN!” I figured if I was going to get in trouble, at least it should make for a funny story. The manager looks at me and goes “Cool. Help yourself to some bagels in the break room.”

For the rest of my IT Career anytime I fixed something simple like plugged in a cord, or unpressing the mute button, that has my been my response. I did that for 8 years, I never got one complaint about it.

Tonight, we learn about Simon, the Sorcerer and you might notice some similarities.

But there was a certain man called Simon, who previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished the people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great, ¹⁰ to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the great power of God.” ¹¹ And they heeded him because he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time. ¹² But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. ¹³ Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done.

A lot has been going on in Acts. Heavy persecution of the church in Jerusalem has scattered them all over the place. We talked about how There are two different words in the ancient Greek language for the idea of “scattered.” One has the idea of scattering in the sense of making something disappear, like scattering someone’s ashes. The other word has the idea of scattering in the sense of planting or sowing seeds. The world looks at this and sees the first meaning, God’s word has this written at the second one.

The resulting good of the spread of the gospel shows us how this persecution was inside the will of God. God can and will use pressing circumstances to guide us into His will. Often we have to be shaken out of our comfortable state before we do what God wants us to do.

Philip, is sent to Samaria. An area where he would have been hated just for being a Jew. An area full of people he had been taught all his life to hate because they were different. However, Philip did not give in to his fear, as we often do, but let God’s perfect love cast out his fear and he presented the Gospel to them in word and deed. The result? People coming to know the Lord and a whole city rejoiced because of it.

The growing church, the ministry of Philip, this attracts the attention of a man called Simon. What do we know about Simon? He practiced sorcery in the city, he astonished all the people and he claimed he was someone great. The people believed him saying “this man is the great power of God” and he had been doing so for a long time.

The scriptures call Simon a sorcerer or magician depending on your translation of the Bible. When I say witch what do most of you picture? Someone who looks like the wicked witch of the west most likely. The green skin, long pointy nose, black pointy hat, threatening to get someone and their little dog too.

Deut 18 lists witchcraft and related things as forbidden for God’s people. They were the pagan religious practices of the time and as we know from the Old Testament God’s people were easily swayed away from the Lord the moment things got difficult. Which is not that much different from the church these days. We believe as long as God operates according to our plan and time table and when He doesn’t? We throw a tantrum and start chasing whatever might give us the answer we want.

It was common practice back then to take the title of Magician or Sorcerer to prey on the superstitions of people. Among the ancients, the practice of sorcery had an interesting association. That of, altered states through drugs and potions. There was understood to be a connection between drug taking and occultist practices.  The English word sorcery is rendered our word witch from the Greek pharmakos which is where we get our word Pharmacy.  A big aspect of his “sorcery” was simply knowledge about drug interactions. Knowing that this root will make you sleepy, this powder will make you see things, and this herb is a pain killer. The right combination of drugs can have you seeing and believing just about anything.

I imagine there was also a great deal of sleight of hand involved in his “sorcery.” I remember as a kid attending family reunions and my Uncle Wayne would put on a magic show. He did all sorts of tricks, guessing the card you picked, pulling items out of the air, making stuff appear in your hand or your pocket, making items disappear and reappear. He could even saw part of his arm and then heal it. I was just amazed and my Uncle Wayne’s magical powers!  Then my cousin Johnathon informed me that Uncle Wayne did not have magical powers. Just trick items. A fake arm, a special deck of cards, accomplices! It was all a sham! Just toys and misdirection. Simon was likely much closer to Harry Houdini then Harry Potter. Whatever power Simon had, real or fake, it was not from God.

Before Philip showed up Simon has a pretty good gig going on. He’s the big fish in a small pond. People refer to him as “the great power of God”. He’s got the respect of the public, he has a big name, and he is rich. He’s made a lot of money off of being Simon the Sorcerer for a while now.  Everything is going pretty well. Then this Philip guy shows up.

Philip would have drawn a crowd initially just by being a Jew in Samaria on purpose. On mission trips overseas to SE Asia I drew attention in public areas just because I was from America. Random people would come up and ask if they could take a picture with me. It amuses me greatly that somewhere in China there’s a picture of me on someone’s fridge.

What did Philip do once he showed up in Samaria? He was preaching the Gospel! Not only that, he was meeting people’s physical needs as well as their spiritual needs. It said earlier in the chapter that “ many who were paralyzed and lame were healed.” 

I want to touch on this for just a moment. If I were to take a survey and ask why most of you started coming to church the most frequent answer I get is “someone who loved me, invited me or brought me”.

We try to make the Gospel complicated and it’s not. It’s rather simple. We love God, We love our neighbor. Before we make a decision, take an action just ask yourself “Is this loving God? Is this loving my neighbor?” If not then don’t do it. If you can honestly answer Yes to both of those then go for it.

Philip was out there doing just that. It was drawing crowds. Philip was building a reputation as man preaching God and working miracles. He even healed those that were paralyzed and lame! We have tendency when reading the scripture to overlay the narrative with our modern day concepts. Most of us know at least one person who has to use a wheelchair or otherwise requires assistance walking. This is 2000 years ago in the middle east. There was no ADA, there were no motorized wheel chairs. Not only that but the prevailing theory was that God, or the gods,  had done this to them because of their own sin or the sin of their parents if they were born that way. They were shunned by society and considered outcasts. They had one job available to them and that was to beg on the side of the street. These were people that had tried everything to get better but didn’t. This was there lot in a very short life. Then they were suddenly given a new lease on life! They were healed! They can walk! They can work. The curse is lifted!  Don’t you know that these people had tried being healed by Simon the Sorcerer and had found no solace there.  I’m willing to place these people as those that rejoiced the loudest when the whole city rejoiced.

Simon shows up, wants to know what all the fuss is about. I sometimes watch this show called “Fool Us”. It’s hosted by famous magicians, Penn & Teller. They have up and coming magicians come on the show and perform their best trick. Then Penn & Teller try to guess how it was done. More often than not they get it right, yet occasionally someone does manage to fool them and wins a trophy. I think there’s an aspect of this going on with Simon coming to see Phillip. Professional curiosity, a checking out of the competition as it were.

Then this radical thing happens! He gets saved! What did Philip do to reach such an important man? A man who was wealthy, influential and thought himself something? Does Philp get into a debate and do point and counter point? Does Philip have a miracle contest and see who can perform the most difficult trick? Does Phillip roll out the red carpet in hopes to impress him? I know! He tags him on a facebook article with a comment that says “Read this, it shows that I’m right.” No, he doesn’t do any of those things.

It’s right here in the text. “they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ”

Phillip preached the Gospel, plain and simple. We waste so much time trying to argue people into Christ. For those of us who believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, we should speak with, compassion, confidence, and love.  We don’t have to answer every question that is asked us or accept the terms that are given to us by the world.  When the wrong question is asked, we offer better questions.  When we are given a multiple choice test, we answer in essay.   When we are asked for a clear answer, we respond with a parable.  When we are asked for a position, we give our testimony

Romans 1:16 “¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ,^[a] for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes”

While we will be shamed because of the Gospel, we need not feel ashamed because of the gospel. When we alter the gospel to make it popular and inoffensive we also make it ineffective. It’s why so many churches are dying out. We can pass all the laws, sign all the petitions, and create all the hashtags you want but you cannot legislate morality. We will never design a system so perfect that people need not to be good. That requires a change of heart and only the Gospel has that power.

1 Cor 1:27 “but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong,”

I mentioned my love of Ric Flair last night, and tomorrow night I’m going to talk about Ted DiBiasie but part of the reason I’m so attached to wrestling even to this day is that God used something as foolish as pro wrestling to bring me to Christ.

I mentioned on Sunday I had a friend that had been inviting me to church, and inviting me to hang out with his church friends for almost 6 months. It was wrestling that got me in the door. I was hanging out with Nick one Sunday afternoon and he was getting ready to leave because he was going to watch some wrestling thing with a friend of his. I said wait a minute? Halloween Havoc? The PPV? And Nick says “yeah” and I immediately start begging! Please please please can I come?

Nick had to appreciate the irony of me begging to hang out with his church friends after 6 months of blowing him off politely and sometimes not so politely. He goes, uh sure. Then about 2 weeks later Nick invites me again to watch wrestling at another person’s house. You know him as David Chambers. As I started hanging out with this people more and more I experienced the love of Christ. A few months after that I finally started paying attention to what they were saying about Jesus. God used pro-wrestling to being me to the gospel. God can use whatever He chooses to bring people to the gospel.

The gospel alone brings forgiven sinners to final, everlasting joy. Nothing in the world can do this except the gospel of Jesus Christ. Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam — they do not have a Savior who can solve the problem of separation from a holy God through sin, and offer sinners hope by grace and not works. Only one message saves sinners and brings them safely into the presence of God: the gospel of Jesus Christ. It alone is the power of God unto salvation.

Who is the Gospel For? (Revival Message 2 of 5)

This is one of my favorite sermons, it's also one of the ones that was rather difficult to write and even more so to preach. I've preached some variation of this sermon on multiple occasions in various churches over the years. Yet, it is something I have to constantly remind myself of. That all people are in need of the Gospel, not just the ones I like. 

Pastor Glen

Who is the Gospel for?

Tonight we will continue in Acts 8. Turn if you will to Acts 8:4-8

A few years ago I was on my way to the post office and I saw a man walking down the street. I automatically assumed the man was up to no good based on his appearance.  He looked angry, disheveled and had the glazed over eyes and shaky hands of an addict. As I was judging this stranger by making assumptions concerning his lifestyle and family history the Lord convicted me. Does this man need the gospel? Yes. Did I want to be the one that stopped everything I was doing to give it to him? No. My own fears, my own prejudices were preventing that. How many other people that are in need of the gospel that would never receive it from me because of my own fear? More than I want to consider. 

I went to the post office and had completed my errand and on my way to the next one. It was then that God brought some old memories from 5^th grade. I did not grow up with an abundance of friends. I started 5^th grade most of my friends were in a different class then mine so I did not see them much, couple this with my parents’ divorce, and it wasn’t a great time in my life. Yet, I did make a new friend that year. We will call him Matt. Me and Matt had known each other for years and were friends but in 5^th grade we spent a lot of time together during school. We had a love for Nintendo, Ninja Turtles, and Nature Boy Ric Flair! We got along great and would partner up and challenge each other frequently. We stayed good friends through middle school, but by high school we never had any classes together and would just chat occasionally in the hall. Then after graduation he went off to college and I no longer saw or heard from him. Then it hit me. The angry man I saw walking down the street earlier was my friend Matt. I had condemned my old friend to hell because I didn’t like the way he looked anymore. 

Acts 8:5-8 ⁵ Then Philip went down to the^[a] city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. ⁶ And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. ⁷ For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. ⁸ And there was great joy in that city.

Philip being sent out from Jerusalem due to persecution went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ. Why is this such a big deal?. Samaria was one of those areas for the Jews hated the Samaritans and the Samaritans hated the Jews. This hatred had been going for hundreds of years. 600 years prior, the Assyrians conquered this area of northern Israel and deported all the wealthy and middle-class Jews from the area. Then they moved in a pagan population from afar. These pagans intermarried with the lowest classes of remaining Jews in northern Israel, and from these people came the Samaritans. the Jews of that day hated the Samaritans. They considered them compromising half-breeds who corrupted the worship of the true God. “There was deep-seated prejudice, amounting almost to hatred, standing between the Jews and the Samaritans.

Back in my earlier story why did I ignore my old friend? Because of fear.

It’s easy to be afraid these days. Just turn on the local news. Stabbings, shootings, muggings, robberies. It’s not upstate NY or downtown LA. It’s not a far off place like the Middle East or Africa. It’s terrifying and depressing and makes you feel hopeless. Makes you want to lock your doors and keep a gun by your bed.  It reinforces the stereotypes we have in our minds of the people that would commit these sorts of crimes. Before you even click on the link or watch the actual story you already know what the perpetrator looks like don’t you? You already have that image in your head and when you see those people in real life we do like I did and ignore them and keep on going. We all know what parts of town to avoid what blocks to take the long way around. Fear it’s a terrible thing and turns us into terrible people.

If anyone has learned properly to harness the power of fear it’s the media. Fearful messages spread, especially those that play into our anxieties. They capitalize on it, after all fear is very lucrative.  They tell us to be afraid of terrorists, homosexuals, heterosexuals, law enforcement, criminals, the government, illegal immigrants, legal immigrants, liberals, conservatives, the rich and the poor, etc. etc.  There’s so much to be scared of!  Finally we shout out that someone should do something, just as long as it isn’t us.  

There is nothing more contrary to God and the things of God than fear.

2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

1 John 4:18 “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.”

God is love. Per the above scripture that love casts out fear. Love and fear cannot co-exist. When God redeemed us He did so by giving us a new spirit that is to be of love, and a sound mind. Not the paranoia that fear drives us to. There should not be a more secured and proactive people than the church of Jesus Christ. Yet, we exist as one of the most fearful, reactionary, and sometimes downright hateful organizations in existence. Why? I would put to the reason is that we believe the Gospel isn’t for everyone. Oh, we will give lip service and quote John 3:16 but we don’t believe it. Not fully.

In the gospel of  Luke. The Pharisees and Sadducees were constantly trying to get Jesus. They wanted him to slip up in some way. So they tried trick questions and in Matthew someone asked what is the greatest commandment?  Jesus answered and cut right to the heart of the matter.

Matthew 22:36-40 “36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

So what’s the difference between loving your neighbor and loving your neighbor as yourself? We all love ourselves. We’re very concerned about our own welfare, our own comfort, safety, interests, health, etc. We have a hope we want to realize it. We have a desire we want to fulfill it. We have a need we see to it that it gets met. Is that how we treat other people? Are we even that good to our friends? Our family? Our spouse and children? What about random strangers? This is a difficult command. In fact it’s an impossible command. With a command so difficult you really need to figure out who your neighbor is don’t you?

Luke 10:29 “But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

The teaching of the day was to love your neighbor. However, there also was a very narrow definition of neighbor. It consisted of people that you liked. Tax collector? Not your neighbor.  prostitute? Not your neighbor. Adulteress? Not your neighbor. Criminals? Not your neighbor. Gentiles? Definitely not your neighbor. 

Jesus then answers his question, and by proxy our question, with a parable. The parable of the Good Samaritan. In a traveler goes on a journey and is a set upon by men of ill tent, they rob him, strip him of his clothes, and leave him bleeding in the dirt. A priest comes by, sees him, ignores him, a Levite sees him also and ignores him and goes about his business.  The a Samaritan sees him and begins to aide him regardless of the circumstance or personal cost. He tends his wounds, applying oil and win, carries him to an inn. Gives him all the money he has to take care of him and promises the inn keeper more if more is required. The Samaritan did this because he was his neighbor. We read that story and are deceived by our true nature thinking we are the Samaritan when the reality is that we are the ill intent and set upon the travelers that get on roads we feel they should not be on.

Who is your neighbor? Everyone. The world that Jesus died for. You know who that includes? Everyone. Annoying neighbor? Your neighbor. Person you blocked on Facebook? Neighbor. That co-worker you wish would quit/get fired? Neighbor. Relative you have prayed would move to another state/country? Neighbor. Atheists trying to get all public expressions of Christianity outlawed? Neighbor.  Junkie going down the street that makes you roll up your windows and lock your doors? Neighbor.

It’s difficult to love folks, because love is messy. What’s the most loving thing you can do for someone? Give them the gospel, both in word and deed. But Glen! You say. Those people aren’t deserving of the gospel. Agreed. Neither are we. No one is. 

Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast”

We so quickly transition from grace right back to the law. “That’s not true!” You say. Sure it is. We all do it. We have an image of what people at our church should look like. We know their skin color, clothing choices, background, personality, sexual orientation, political preferences, etc. etc. When they don’t immediately look like that when they walk in the door they can either conform or walk right back out. It’s no different than telling someone they are too sick to enter our hospital. We can’t help you we say. The gospel is not for you. Is it any wonder the headlines are so horrible? 

When we look at the world today we are in need of a movement of God! Racial tension, economic instability, moral collapse, violence, terrorists, wars… it’s time we as followers of Jesus stopped talking politics and started getting broken over the hurt and pain of a world without God! Our solution is not coming from Raleigh, NC. Our solution is not coming from Washington, DC. It doesn’t matter if you are black, white, Latino, Asian, middle eastern, or European.  It doesn’t matter if you are old, young, gay, straight, male or female. It doesn’t matter where you fall on the political spectrum the answer and the hope is not legislation, the answer and the hope is not in some policy, procedure or election. The answer and the hope is only in the glorious gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, because when God moves people get changed from the inside out and it is real genuine lasting transformation. 

Oh, that You would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains

might quake at Your presence!”—Isaiah 64:1

As Christians,  we believe that the absolute worst thing that could ever happen has already happened. The torture and crucifixion of Christ. We killed the one person who had never done us any wrong, that only had our benefit in our mind. Who loved us more than anyone would ever love us. I’m here to tell you that the absolute depravity of man cannot touch the power of the resurrection. That there is no sinner so far from God that His grace cannot bring him back. The Bible teaches us that the resurrection of Jesus changed the world. Even if the world doesn’t want to admit it yet. In fact, since the resurrection we have been on an unalterable course towards renewal and rebirth. The power of the resurrection heals all, including our fear. 

“This is not the time for labeling, blaming, and condemning.  For those of us who believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, this is the time to speak with, compassion, confidence, and love.  It is not the time to answer every question that is asked us or accept the terms that are given to us by the world.  When the wrong question is asked, we offer better questions.  When we are given a multiple choice test, we answer in essay.   When we are asked for a clear answer, we respond with a parable.  When we are asked for a position, we give our testimony.”

Phillip got this! Phillip understood this! Philip was driven by this! He didn’t want to go to Samaria. No Jew did. Phillip didn’t like these people and didn’t want to be around them but Philip loved Jesus and Jesus loved these people so Philip loved these people and loved on these people! He went out there and meet their physical needs and their spiritual needs! And the result? People got saved and a whole city rejoiced!

You know what none of you have ever heard? It was that insulting comment you left on my Facebook page that really turned my life around and I now have all the correct political views.

You know what you can hear? I came to your church and you showed me the love of God and now I have Christ as My Savior.

Matthew 28:18-20 “18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore[a] and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen”

All Gone to Hevel (Revival Message 1 of 5)

Hello Everyone!

A few of you have asked about the recent revival I preached at Clement Baptist Church. I'm going to post the sermon notes I worked from on here. I also have an ambitious plan of uploading all the sermons that I have on DVD from the revival on to YouTube. While my notes and what I actually say are not always 100% in agreement it's pretty close. Enjoy!

Pastor Glen

It’s all gone to Hevel

Good Morning Clement Baptist Church
It is an honor to be sharing with you today from God’s Word. A little bit about myself. I am Glen Newsome, Jr. I am the Associate Pastor at Antioch Baptist Church and I have been on staff there for 11 years. I have been married to my lovely wife Lindsey for 12 years and I have 4 kids Madison, Anna, Sam & Lucas.
When I was 18 I received the Gospel of Jesus Christ and it radically changed my life as the Lord shaped me and molded me and directed my paths. After months of prayer I settled on The Gospel as the topic for our shared time together this week. What is it? What does it look like? Why does it matter? We will spend our time mainly in Acts 8 and God willing we will cover that whole chapter this week.
When we talk about the book of Acts two things usually come to mind. 1) The day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit comes up on the Apostles and Peter gets up and gives a sermon that is heard in every language due to the miracle of tongues.  The second thing that gets mentioned is going to be the Apostle Paul. After all the Apostle Paul wrote 2/3’s of the NT and is main character for most of the book.
Chapter 8 serves as a transition chapter from the birth of the early church in Acts 1-7 and the missionary adventures of the Apostle Paul in chapters 9-28. Turn if you will to Acts 8:1-4 for a message entitled it’s all gone to Hevel.

Acts 8:1-4

Now Saul was consenting to his death. At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. 3 As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison. 4 Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word.

Ecc 1:1-2

The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. 2 “Vanity[a] of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”

These are the words of King Solomon, son of King David. One of the richest and most powerful people to ever live. They say that Solomon’s wealth was such that silver was essentially driveway gravel to him. Yet, here he is at the end of his life declaring everything worthless. Some translations rend this as vanity, futility, or even meaningless. The Hebrew here has those concepts but it doesn’t quite cover it fully. The Word is Hevel.

It refers to something that appears to have substance from a distance but upon closer inspection it’s really nothing. I remember in my early 20’s when I had my first real job. I was working for a bank doing tech support. I was good at it, I enjoyed it and I worked hard at it. I started volunteering for things and extra shifts. I started working 6 days a week and being on-call on the weekends. I was there regardless when it snowed, I was there on Saturdays and Sundays. I even worked through a couple of tropical storms. After about 2 years of this I got a promotion and a big raise! Yet, I had let every other aspect of my life slip to where the job was all I had and then another bank came in and took over. My manager was gone and the new manager eliminated promotions and wanted to get rid of the entire department. All that hard work amounted to nothing, to Hevel.
There are many of you that can relate to that experience. When someone else gets the credit for all your hard work? When your cursed out by that friend or family member who you’ve been nothing but loving and patient with? When you have prayed for years for a certain person or situation and you’ve only seemed to have made it worse? To the point where you cry out God, are you even listening to me? It’s tough and it’s all Hevel.
The church here in Acts 8 is going through that here. In chapter 7 a man named Stephen, one of the first deacons in the church, full of faith and good works. Is executed by the religious leadership of the day for blasphemy. A man named Saul was over seeing this. Saul was an up and coming young Pharisee.
We know him as the Apostle Paul. Saul not only was consenting of the execution of Stephen but assisted in it. He began a time of great persecution against the church in Jerusalem.

In Phil 3:6 Paul talks about his zeal in persecuting the church. 1 Cor 15:9 Paul talks about how much he regrets his actions in this particular time in his life. He referred to himself as the least of the apostles and how he was not worthy to even be called one, specifically because of his persecution of the church.  His supervision of Stephen’s execution was just the start of it. The verse says that Saul was consenting to Stephen’s death but when you dig a big you find the ancient greek word “suneudoken” to approve, to be pleased with” Saul was no reluctant persecutor of the church. He enjoyed it. We will get back to this in a bit.

Stephen’s death was only the beginning. The floodgates of persecution were now open against the Christians. Saul was only one of many persecutors of Christians. This was the first persecution of the Christians as a whole. Before, the apostles had been arrested and beaten and persecuted; here, every believer was threatened with violence and perhaps death. It’s important to understand how difficult things were for the church at this time.

And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. Who were these devout men? Most likely it was a combination of Jews & Christians together. It’s important to note that the entire city had not turned against the church. Mainly those in leadership. 
Back to my bank story, after the other bank came in and replaced everyone they could replace I felt like I was all alone in my department as far as people who loved the Lord went. My supervisor, a self-described, half catholic, half Jewish, Zen Buddhist, would randomly pop up at my cubicle and ask me random controversial questions mostly relating to the Bible and my take on current political events. My other co-workers either stayed out of it or joined in with him. After a few weeks of this I started praying for help. Shortly after that our shifts got re-arranged and I was put on the early one. As God would have it, the other 2 people put on the early shift were Christians as well. The three of us started praying together about the work day before the start of our shift. That didn’t make the days any easier but it was comforting to know that support was there.

It often seems like the entire world is against us, even at the local level, but God has His people at the right place at the right time, especially in the difficulties

It says that they made great lamentation over him: Jewish law prohibited open mourning for someone that had been executed, Acts states that these devout men openly mourned over Stephen as one who was unjustly murdered instead of a criminal that was executed.
You should respect these guys. During a politically and religiously volatile time they stood up for what was right. Not only were their lives at risk but also their livelihoods. They were opposing those who were in charge. There would have been calls to boycott there businesses, have them fired from their jobs, blacklist their entire families. Yet, this does not phase them because they are devout men. Men who were focused on God. When you are looking up to God you don’t have time to look down upon anyone else.

To most of us Stephen’s death might seems of meaningless at first. Here this young minister who was gracious and eloquent had his life abruptly  cut short. His ministry, which had just begun, seems to have ended in failure – not only was no one immediately brought to faith, what followed was an increased persecution against the church.

Look what happens next? Saul makes havoc of the church, breaking down doors and dragging off men, women and children to jail. What do you even picture when you hear the word Havoc? The Ancient Greek here is referring to a wild animal tearing at apiece of meet. These were men consumed by hatred for their enemies and emboldened by the perceived righteousness of their cause. This is a dangerous mix in any day and age and a staunch warning to us here in the United States of the Offended.

It all seems pointless doesn’t it? Horrendous and senseless that such violence being perpetrated on God’s people. Where is God in all of this you might ask? The same place He always is, on His Throne. In control.

They key to this whole passage is the word scattered.  There are two different words in the ancient Greek language for the idea of “scattered.” One has the idea of scattering in the sense of making something disappear, like scattering someone’s ashes. The other word has the idea of scattering in the sense of planting or sowing seeds. The world looks at this and sees the first meaning, God’s word has this written at the second one.

The resulting good of the spread of the gospel shows us how this persecution was inside the will of God. God can and will use pressing circumstances to guide us into His will. Often we have to be shaken out of our comfortable state before we do what God wants us to do. 

Those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word: The end result was for the glory of God, because the persecution served to spread the message. We shouldn’t think that those who left Jerusalem left as formal preachers. Most were “accidental missionaries” who talked about Jesus wherever they went. This is our calling as well. Sure only a few may be called as foreign missionaries or pastors but all are called to share the Gospel and God sends us wherever we need to be.
 “In every church where there is really the power of the Spirit of God, the Lord will cause it to be spread abroad, more or less. He never means that a church should be like a nut shut up in a shell; nor like ointment enclosed in a box. The precious perfume of the gospel must be poured forth to sweeten the air.” (Spurgeon)

Or as another friend of mind said, “God doesn’t keep all his tools in one shed.”

The Gospel is not an airtight philosophy of wisdom, or an ironclad guarantee of success. The Gospel, is an airtight ironclad person to walk with day and day out in the person of Jesus Christ. It is to Him we can turn during the Hevel of life. Jesus: the wisdom of God, who never changes—who is the guarantee of our inheritance, who is the same yesterday, today and forever.

To Be The Man

Hello Everyone!

I had plans of writing more/posting more this summer. Then it was August 31st and I hadn't done anything since mid June. Where does the time go? With Ric Flair in the news recently due to his health, and many of you notifying me of such, I thought I would repost my Father's Day Sermon from earlier in the year. At the bottom you'll find the video of said sermon if you interested in the difference between my sermon notes and what actually comes out of my mouth. Enjoy!

Sola Scriptura!

Glen

P.S. I looked for a picture of me in the Nature Boy outfit but could not find one. I know they were posted online. If you have one send it to me please. 

P.Sx2.  I know the text is random sizes & fonts. The technology has left me quickly since retiring almost 2 years ago. I can't even find a picture of myself dressed as Ric Flair anymore. 

1 Kings 2:1-3

To be the man, pt 2.

Happy Father’s Day Antioch Baptist Church! Those of you that hear me on Wednesday nights know that I grew up with a love for professional wrestling that I got from my papa. Blackjack Mulligan, Wahoo McDaniel, and of course the greatest wrestling of all time. The Nature Boy Ric Flair. To 8 year old me that was the coolest guy in the world! He had the fancy clothes, the limousines, and he was always surrounded by beautiful women. Now I realized giving Ric Flair’s prime was 25 years ago there are plenty of you that either don’t know or don’t remember him. So, I brought some visual aids to help you out. He had this platinum blonde hair like this, and he had these elaborate robes like so. He would put the robe on and strut down the aisle shouting “WOOOOOOOOOOOOO”. Then proceed to put a whupping on his opponent. Then after the opponent tapped out to the figure four leg lock he would pick up the mic and shout “To be the man! You’ve got to beat the man!” This is what 8-year-old me thought a man looked like. Ridiculous, right?

There is a big difference between what the world says a man should look like and what The Bible says a man should look like. So if you are a man, live with a man,  or you know a man, then today’s message is going to be quite helpful as we look at Biblical Manhood, and what it takes to be the man.
Now the days of David drew near that he should die, and he charged Solomon his son, saying: ² “I go the way of all the earth; be strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man. ³ And keep the charge of the Lord your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn.

On Wednesdays for the last several years we have been studying the life of David, King of Israel. He accomplished a great many things in his life. Most famously he slayed the giant Goliath with just a sling and a stone. He was a great military commander, he was a great king. He unified Israel after a 7 year civil war. He expanded Israel borders through both military and political prowess. He wrote most of the psalms and it’s said that he dealt judgment and justice to all of God’s people. He is referred to in the New Testament as a man after God’s own heart.

Yet, he was also not without his flaws. While he was a terrific king he was not a great father or husband. These short comings would haunt him later in life. Now he is on his death bed. His son Solomon, has been chosen as the heir apparent. He had spent the last several years trying to make amends for his short coming as a father and to teach his son how to be a Godly leader. Here he gives his last bit of fatherly advice.

David says I go the way of all the earth. David realized that his time was up and that he, just like all of us, was going to die. There’s a running joke at the Men’s Breakfast we have every Saturday morning that as we are piling all manner of unhealthy delicious things on our plates at least one person will comment “we all got to die of something, it might as well taste good.”

David realizes and accepts that it is his time. He realizes that the most important thing he accomplished was in his life was his decision to follow the Lord. He tells Solomon. Be strong.

What do we picture with the word strong? What’s the first thing that pops in your head? A superhero perhaps like Superman or the Hulk? Maybe some pro athlete, or body builder? The implication in the text is not physical strength but to be strong, courageous, resolute. David knew better than anyone the challenges of being king and that it required a great deal of strength physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Solomon would not be able to lead properly without this type of strength. 

David reminds him that this kind of strength, Godly strength is how he will prove himself a man. What does the world tell us? What’s the world’s definition of a man? Good Looks? Big muscles? Large Bank Account? Lots of girlfriends? Successful career?

I like to read a lot and a little while back I read the auto-biography of former NFL player and current Actor, Terry Crews. He’s been in movies, tv shows, and radio programs. He’s married to a former beauty queen, has a net worth of $20 million dollars and if you’ve seen pictures of him he’s pretty much a 6’3” solid mass of muscle. He’s the textbook definition of manly. Yet, by his own admission. He talks about how he has struggled all his life with never truly feeling like a man.

I can relate. I spent most of my life never really feeling like a man. I’ve never been particularly good looking, rich or strong. I’ve always been terrible at all the traditional manly things like cars, hunting, fishing, repair work and anything that involves the outdoors. Look if Outside is so great why do we spend so much money perfecting inside? Anyway. Then back in Nov of 2015 I quit my day job so I could stay home with the kids while Lindsey went back to nursing. I had to do all manner of things outside my comfort zone. Fishing, hiking, repairs work, and we have two separate gardens now. I took apart a sink, successfully retrieved a necklace, and then I put it back together.

I realize all these things may seem minor to a lot of you but to me they are significant accomplishments and things I would have never considered two years ago. God uses the situations in our lives to stretch us, grow us, and show us who is really in control.

Being a man is not about doing "manly" or "macho" things that I thought it was for so long. It's about serving your family and that means you simply do what needs to be done. Whether it’s in your comfort zone or not.  This is the strength David is talking about.

David then tells Solomon exactly what he must do to be strong.

And keep the charge of the Lord your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn.

This is all about God’s Word.

Keep the Charge:

Remember Gods promises to you that are found in God’s Word. This is our firm foundation the promises of God.

Walk in His ways: Remember God’s Word in your personal life. Not just on special occasions or in front of others but even those times when the doors are closed and no one is looking.

Keep his Statutes: A statutes is a permanent rule established by an organization, to govern its internal affairs. Remember God’s Word while you are ruling the people. Remember God’s Word at Work.

Commandments: This one is important. God doesn’t give us suggestions. He gives us commands. Growing up when my Dad told me to take out the trash. I took out the trash. When I didn’t, for whatever reason, there was a problem. That was usually solved by a whupping. Whatever, God has commanded you to do, you best do it as soon as you can.

Judgments: Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the hear”

God is not only the law giver, but the law applier. God is the discerner of hearts. We are to stand by His judgments according to His Word not our own personal opinions.

Testimonies: Remember all that God has done and remind yourself and others constantly. I frequently hear people say, I don’t know how to witness. I don’t know how to do a devotion or teach a class. I don’t know what to say to my classmates, co-workers, facebook friends, etc.

It’s real simple. I’m going to tell you the same thing brother John Gravitte would tell me “I’m not real smart, or know enough to be a pastor but I just tell them what the Good Lord has done for me and that’s enough.”

Colossians 1:13 “For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,”

Just tell them what Jesus has done for you and don’t forget to remind yourself as well.

In short, He says Son, Follow the whole word of God in every aspect of your life.

This is so that he can prosper is all that does and everywhere he turns. Who here wants to prosper? I would dare say all of us do. This is how! However high and orthodox our view of God's Word might be, our failure to actually do what it says shows the world that we do not in fact put much faith in it.

The Bible is not a book of morality but of reality! Christianity is not about behavior modification but an encounter with the risen king! Morality matters yes but it is a product of the gospel not its essence. The all-knowing God calls us to follow Him; and every act of obedience accesses for us the benefits of His Omniscience. We can live beyond our own abilities. God has provided good for us. When we turn from Him, we only turn to that which will make us sorrowful.

Conclusion

I want to close tonight with story from when I was younger.

When I was in 5^th grade, I loved trading cards. Baseball, basketball, football, etc. Then they came out with Marvel Comic trading cards. Be still my nerdy little heart! They were a $1 a pack. I would scrounge up loose change and do random chores to earn enough money for a pack of cards. I even carried around this tiny little plastic change wallet for this purpose.  One evening me and my dad were in the Revco in Durham. I counted my change and had enough for a pack of cards! My dad was buying something in line in front of me. As the lady rang him up he looks at me and goes Son can I have a dime? A dime would have put me a dime short of buying my pack of cards and I hesitated.  Yet, I also knew my Dad loved me and wouldn’t ask anything of me without purpose. So, I gave him the dime and proceeded to put the cards back. He then said, “What are you doing?” said “ I’m a dime short so I’m putting the cards back.” He smiles at me and goes I just asked for the dime so I didn’t have to break a dollar. He then hands me a dollar.  God asks us for dimes, and gives us dollars. We can trust Him because He is good.

You know Ric Flair was right. To be the man we do have to beat the man. But that man is ourselves, we all have to come to that point where we trust our heavenly Father for help. We must remember that  even in our sin, His love never ceases. He sent Christ to forgive us our sins and extend to us the means of reconciliation with Him through the power of the resurrection. He allows us to embrace Him as savior of our souls and Lord of our lives, and I can think of no better present for Jesus this Father’s Day than that. Once we do that we will truly be Men & Women of God.

Typical Day

Typical Day (Week Day)

People sometime ask what a typical day is like for me at home with the kids. Once I stop laughing at the phrase “typical day” they usually have walked away as I used up their weirdness quota for the day. I mean I’m a stay at home dad of 4 who home schools and is also a part time Associate Pastor. The typical day is full of mistakes, accidents and interruptions. On some days, we visit people, do school, go to the museum, etc. On some days, my greatest accomplishment was taking a shower.

Equally, my new homeschooling motto is this. 

“Make the plan. Execute the plan. Expect the plan to go off the rails. Throw away the plan” – Leonard Snart

 So, after a lot of thinking this is what a day looks like at least some of the time. This is on days where 1) Lindsey worked the night before and/or is going to work today.

6:20AM Alarm (this is assuming none of the kids have woken me up to this point)

Ugh, is that the alarm. Where am I? What time is it? Whose crying? I hope I remembered to prep the coffee pot. Why did I dream about *insert your name here* riding an Ice Cream Pony down the center of the aisle at church while I was preaching?

6:25AM Stumble into kitchen to see I did remember to set coffee maker! Hurrah! (If I didn’t I keep some homemade cold brew coffee in the fridge that I have a small bit off so I can be alert enough to make a proper cup). Once in a blue moon I get that rare few minutes of coffee and time in the Bible without any kids being awake. Those 5 minutes are glorious!

6:30-6:40ish Lucas is awake! I go get him, get him his cup of milk (fixed the night before) and we sit on the couch and watch Sesame Street. I snuggle with him as long as he allows or until the other kids get up and crowd us. This is usually 10-15 minutes.

7:00 AM Everyone is awake!  I’m going to spend the next several hours going “Shhh. Keep it down. Mommy is sleeping.” As she works the night shift and likely didn’t get to bed until 3AM at best.

7:30-8:30 AM Breakfast & Screen time! Kids can watch whatever they want to (that’s pre-approved) on their tablets. This is usually when Sam gets to play Mario or Splatoon. I take a quick shower and work on Laundry while watching something on Netflix. I find shows I like that I only watch while doing laundry or dishes. It motivates me to do them.

8:30 AM – Screens Off. Get the kids get prepared for the day. Brush teeth, wash face, get dressed etc.

8:45-9:00AM – Lucas takes a morning nap. School starts. Lindsey is usually up at this point even if she didn’t get home until 3am.

10:30-10:45 AM – Morning break from school. Lucas up from morning nap. We have an area of the house sectioned off and somewhat Lucas proofed that he roams around in playing with toys, eating loose cheerios from breakfast and being adorable.

10:45- 12:00 PM – School and then lunch. Lindsey heads out to work.

12:00PM – 1:00 PM – Lunch! Leftovers from last night’s dinner or sandwiches.

1:00 – 2:00 PM Finish up school as needed. With homeschooling the bulk of what we accomplish is usually done before lunch. Some days we are done as early as 11:30 if the kids focus and get it done. Some days we don’t call it quits until 5PM. Most days we are done around 1:30. 

2:00-4:00 PM – Lucas afternoon naps if Lindsey is at home. I will go out and run errands and visit mom at Cambridge with a varying number of kids. Errands are the typical ones, groceries, post office, dry cleaners, pharmacy, library, etc. The more kids I have with me the less errands that get done. You ever try to take 4 small kids to Wal-Mart? You should some time! To anyone who was ever upset that I didn’t wave at you at Wal-Mart. It’s not because I have a deep-down grudge against you because you’ve never seen The Princess whatever. It’s because I was busy pulling a kid off a shelf, trying to find the one that had wandered away, trying to keep the baby from eating everything in the cart, and carrying a kid because the cart ran over their foot.   

4:00 PM – 5:00 PM – Errands are done. We are home. If the weather is nice they go outside. If they aren’t grounded and it’s raining they can watch more screens until 5. I start dinner. My cooking repertoire has grown from Bojangles and Little Caesars to various meals. I try to have each dinner with a meat, a vegetable and a fruit. However, some days Little Caesars and no dishes wins out. This is at least once a week. I also have an impressive streak of the pizza not being ready when I go in there. I order a cheese pizza and crazy bread. 9 times out of 10 they have to cook the pizza. This is fine. I know it’s fresh. My wife can go in there and it’s ready every time. As can Madison. I cannot.

5:00 PM – 7:00 PM – Family time. We eat dinner. Play games. Wrestle. Do chores. Dance Parties. Read books. Watch a movie. Bath the children.

7:00-8:30 PM Bed time. I have a tiered bed time system in place presently from youngest to oldest. By 8:30 everyone is usually in bed. I think oh boy I can do all these things now that the kids are all asleep. I start deciding on what I’m going to do next. I could play a video game, binge watch a show, watch current sporting event. So many possibilities!

8:45PM. I fall asleep on the couch before I make a decision.

11ish. I wake up with the TV on realizing I dozed off on the couch again and I stumble my way to bed. Right before I go back to sleep I think to myself “Did I prep the coffee pot?”

Happy Father's Day everyone!

Glen

I don't know about that

I don’t know about that

Recently I watched this skit from Saturday Night Live about the new Amazon Echo Silver

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvT_gqs5ETk

I’ve watched it repeatedly. It’s quite hilarious. It involves seniors arguing with Amazon’s Alexa about things such as the weather outside, kids playing on the street and whether or not Satchel Page is alive (note: he died in 1982) and then they end with the senior saying “I don’t know about that.”

As some of you know my mom was moved into Cambridge Hills Assisted Living facility 2 years ago this month.  First off let me say I could not be happier with Cambridge. They have taken excellent care of my mom. She’s the happiest there I have seen her in a very long time. Anyone that reads this that has visited Cambridge to do any kind of outreach even just to say hey. I want to thank you for taking the time do that. My mom has loved it. Even if she can’t remember it.

I’m up there about 2-3 times a week to visit. I’ve made a lot of friends and have had many a discussion with the residents that end in “I don’t know about that.”

Example:

*Me walking down the hall to mom’s room*

Resident: You there! What day is it?
Me: Tuesday
Resident: What day?
Me: Tuesday
Resident: Tuesday?
Me: Yes Ma’am
Resident: I don’t know about that
*Resident walks off*

My mom was formally diagnosed with Dementia in Feb or 2012, however this diagnosis didn’t actually come until January of 2013. It was considered a retroactive diagnosis that we couldn’t confirm until that point. After talking to friends, family and co-workers thru the years I think the signs may have manifested themselves as early as the summer of 2009. Random things here and there that all came to a head in January of 2013 when she ended up in the hospital for almost 2 weeks.

It was nice in a way to have everything we had suspected confirmed. Then we were faced with what to do next. We prayed about it and figured we would try to keep her in her apartment as long as we could and proceed with planning for the day when we would have to move her in. This most certainly was a struggle. There was legal paper work to get completed, disability claims, financial issues to sort. By the grace of God we were able to have most of that taken care of by the end of 2013.

I got into a routine of coming over to visit right after work (usually bring fast food from somewhere) and hanging out for at least an hour. I had other people I had enlisted to come by and visit during the day. I ended being there most days right around 4 and watching the Young and the Restless with her. There was no talking allowed during Y&R so I would just read the paper or surf the web on my phone. Then mom started asking questions about what was going on in the show. If I tried to make something up she would know. If I said I didn’t know she would get upset. So I had to start paying attention to the show so I could answer her questions. Eventually, I got hooked on the show and was watching it more than she was. When we moved her to Cambridge the promptly stopped watching Y&R as well as smoking. While I didn’t miss having to buy her cigarettes for about a month I kept wondering what Victor Newman was up to.

Overall, my mom’s physical, emotional and spiritual health have improved dramatically at Cambridge even as her mental health has gradually declined. She eats 3 good meals a day. She walks around for exercise. She has friends she hangs out with in the activity room. She also attends the various church outreach services they have throughout the month.

Part of my mom’s particular type of dementia involves created memories. She patches gaps in her memories with invented stories, that she believes are real. This is for both short term and long term memory. Her stories are always quite amusing. I figured I would share a couple of them for you mainly for the fact that I believe should in general do your best to find the humor in things as the struggle is real.

The one where I invented Spider-Man

*In the room of a fellow resident who has a Spider-Man gift bag*
Mom: Hey, I know that! *pointing at bag*
Me: Oh yeah?
Mom: Yes! That’s Spider-Man!
Me: Yes it is.
Mom: You invented Spider-Man.
Me: Uh I have a bunch of Spider-Man comics, but someone else invented him.
Mom: I don’t know about that.

The one where she went dancing in the woods

Mom: Have you met this lady her? *I’m leaving out names of other residents*
*It’s important to note that I get introduced about 2-3 times a week to the people on her hallway. Many of them think this is the first time they have met me, including my mom.
Mom: Me and her used to go dancing back in the day.
*Mom had never met this lady before she moved into the room close to hers*
Mom: Yeah, there was this cabin the woods with a bunch of trees and a wood pile. We would dance there.
Me: Nice to meet you ma’am.

The one where she started texting the DA’s office.

Mom still has her cellphone presently. Thought she has only successfully answers a call about once a month or less. She never really grasped texting before dementia definitely not after.

Mom: I heard from my friend so-n-so the other day.
Me: Oh yeah? (She hasn’t talked to so-n-so in 10+years)
Mom: Yeah on the phone! Look at it.
Me: Uh, ok.
*I scroll thru the phone and find she hasn’t answered a call in a while or made one either. She does have a string of text messages with someone in the DA’s office in Baltimore, Maryland who happens to have the same first name as mom’s friend*

The one where Lindsey is synonymous with anyone who wears scrubs.

Mom: Do you like my toe nails? *takes off her shoe/sock to shoe me*
Me: Yes, they look really nice.
Mom: Lindsey came over this morning and did them!
Me: Oh.
Mom: Yes, she’s a nurse and she works at the big duke.

Mom: What’s your wifes name?
Me: Lindsey.
Mom: That’s right! And she’s a nurse?
Me: Yes ma’am.
Mom: At the Duke hospital?
Me: Yes.
Mom: She came by and took my b/p this morning. I guess it was on her way to work.
Me: I don’t think that was her.
Mom: I don’t know about that.

*My mom remembers Lindsey being a nurse and therefore all nurses, or anyone that resembles a nurse is now Lindsey. *

The one where Pastor Dave raises her from the dead.

This here is my favorite one. She told it every visit for about 2-3 months. To set some context. Mom went into the hospital with bronchitis/pneumonia in Jan 2013 she was really sick and was in there for about 10 days. However, she never coded or was even in critical condition at any time.

Lots of people visited her from the Antioch family in that time including Pastor Dave. People also occasionally bring her snacks when they visit her at Cambridge. If you are interested, take her small bags of chips & cans of Pepsi.

*In Mom’s room where she sees Pastor Dave’s card on her mirror*
Mom: *reading the card* David Chambers, he’s your boss right?
Me: Yes, Ma’am.
Mom: You worked with him a long time.
Me: Over 10 years now.
Mom: He came into my hospital room when I was sick with the bronchitis. I wasn’t breathing and they had put the sheet on me. David walks into the room and *her she pauses for dramatic effect and then claps her hands together loudly*
I TOOK A BREATHE!
Mom: Then he said “What are you doing? This woman’s alive! Phyllis what can I do for you?” and then I said “Bring me some snacks!:
*Mom walks over to her snack basket*
Mom: Then he brought me these chips here.

Have a great Memorial Day weekend!

Sola Scriptura

Pastor Glen