Story by Ariene Creswell - Dear Sunday School Teacher

            You probably don’t remember me. I was one of many little girls who graced your Sunday school class. I came to you dressed up in dotted Swiss and patent leather, looking like somebody’s darling, but sincerely wishing I were somewhere else. I squirmed and fidgeted during your story of Noah, and said I didn’t care why God sent the flood, I wanted my daddy.

            In junior high, I was the one who passed notes to Tommy; the one who tricked Paula into reading the seventh chapter of Solomon’s Song for a Sunday school devotional; the one who insisted you explain (in front of the whole class) who Jesus would decide to save if two people were drowning.

            I was the one in the college class (just before I “dropped out” entirely) who asked you, as you spoke of God’s unconditional love, if it really mattered anyway, since rumor had it God was dead.

            But one dreadful night, dear teacher, my world crashed in around me/ Fear and bitterness, and depression threatened to push me across that fine line that separates the rational from the otherwise. In my utter desperation I cried out to the God you assured me existed.

            I begged him to rescue me from myself, to save me, to show me the way to Him. Jesus responded to me, dear teacher, through a verse you patiently prodded me to memorize one Sunday as I squirmed and fidgeted in my dotted Swiss:

            “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes unto the father, except by me.”

            He comforted me during that long, lonely night as I repeated those precious verses you taught me year after year. The truth and strength of those passages provided a lifeline at the end of my rope, a footbridge across that terrifying chasm between darkness and light.

            You probably don’t remember me, dear Sunday school teacher. But I remember you; How eternally grateful I will be for your patience, your persistence, and your love. How sorry I am that I have lost track of you and can’t come to you and hug you, and share with you my glorious (though belated discovery) that He lives! Just like you said all along.

Poem by Unknown - Thank God For You

Good friend of mine,

Seldom is friendship such as thine;

How very much I wish to be

As helpful as you’ve been to me. . .

Of many prayer guests, one thou art

On whom I ask God to impart

Rich blessings from His storeroom rare.

And grant to you His gracious care. . .

When I recall, from time to time,

How you inspired this heart of mine;

I find myself inclined to pray

God bless my friend this very day

So often at the throne of Grace

There comes a picture of your face;

And then instinctively, I pray

That God will guide you all the way. . .

Some day, I hope with you to stand

Before the throne, at God’s right hand,

And to say to you at journey’s end,

“Praise God you’ve been to me a friend---

THANK GOD FOR YOU”

Poem by Sue Rothwell - How Do I Know?

How do I know that He is near

When storms around me blow?

His loving arms enfold me as

In prayer to Him I go.

How do I know that He is near

His face I cannot see;

Yet when my way is darkest,

His face is clear to me.

“Fear not, for I am with thee,”

These words to me He’s given;

And though my footsteps falter,

His hand guides me to Heaven.

Anecdote - Lincoln's Plea

            A witness to the White House during the days of the Civil War said “I had been spending three weeks in the white House with Mr. Lincoln as his guest. One night, and it was after the battle of Bull Run , I was restless and could not sleep. It was coming near to the dawn of the day, when I heard the low tones proceeding from a private room, where the President slept.

            The door was partly open. Instinctively I walked in and there I saw a sight which I shall never forget. It was the President kneeling before an open Bible. The light was turned low in the room. His back was toward me. I shall never forget his tones so piteous and so sorrowful. “O thou God, that heard Solomon in the night when he prayed and cried for wisdom, hear me. I cannot lead this people. I cannot guide the affairs of this nation without Thy help. I am poor and weak and sinful. O God, Thou didst hear Solomon when he cried for wisdom, ---hear me and save this nation.”

            God heard, and he answered him then and there.

Poem by Sue Rothwell - The Price He Paid For You

As the sunrise tints the mountain

        And you start each day anew,

Are you prepared to give the value

        Of the price He paid for you?

Does your life reflect His glory

        As your daily tasks you do;

And when clouds around you gather,

        Do you let your light shine through?

As the evening sun sets o’er the hills

        And the day is almost through,

Have you really given value

        For the price He paid for you?

Anecdote - "Give Me Liberty . . . or Give Me Death"

           What event spawned that phrase that sparked theAmerican Revolution? Patrick Henry was a devoted Christian and friend to true religious liberty. He often had tracts printed at his own expense and would give them out. Frequently, he would defend preachers and churches in the courtrooms of Virginia without even asking for remuneration.

          One day, while riding through the town of Culpeper , Virginia, Patrick Henry spied an event that curdled the blood in his veins. (The Commonwealth of Virginia had on the statute books a law that demanded preachers to other faiths than that of the state church had to receive a license in order to preach. Throughout those early days before the war of 1776, countless hundreds of men were paying a dear price to practice their faith.)

          On that day, Henry saw a Baptist pastor tied to a flogging pole in the town square of Culpeper . His crime was that of preaching without a license. As that young Virginia attorney (Patrick Henry) stood there and watched that pastor beaten until his back was raw, something clicked inside. All through his ride home, that event was focused on his mind and heart.

          Upon arriving home, he penned a few words. Then, at St. John’s Episcopal Church on March 23, 1775, Patrick Henry stood to speak to an august body debating the necessity for separation from England and the implications of freedom. There, those words came clear that he had penned at home. With that event fresh in his mind, Patrick Henry said:

          “Tis life so dear, or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery, Forbid it Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me give me liberty, or give me death.”

          Countless hundreds and thousands have arisen to those words, ready to stamp out the shackles of tyranny. But remember, it took one Baptist pastor, wiling to pay the price.

Anecdote by Unknown - Hope

Sickness and weakness bring with them all kinds of reactions--- Fear, Uncertainty, Hurt.

The sick person wonders what might happen to him, often fearing the worst, while still hoping for the best.

While you are ill or convalescing, we invite you to listen to the words of confidence and hope.

         

Words given to you by God Himself, in the pages of the Bible.

When you trust in God,

You may have great confidence in the present

And great hope for the future

Because God loves you.

And God promises richly to supply all your needs

Both for time and for eternity

Through Jesus Christ.

Psalm 4:8

I will lie down and sleep in peace,

for you alone, O LORD,

make me dwell in safety.

Quote - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities, no doubt, crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely, and with too high a sprit to be cumbered with your old nonsense. This day is all that is good and fair. It is too dear, with its hopes and invitations, to waste a moment on the yesterdays.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Quote - Henry Ward Beecher

It is a sad hour I have seen, through the window, mounted on a rail back of my house, one of those curious-eyed little sparrows. And he was a better preacher to me than I am to you. It was winter, and there was not guaranteed to it one day’s food, nor any protection, from any source in this world. It was wholly dependent upon its God. And yet it sang, ---- sang for its own hearing, and sang for my rebuke, saying to me, “Are ye much more than I?” And God thinks of me, and takes care of me.” How much there is in the voice of nature if we only knew how to interpret it!

Henry Ward Beecher

Quote - Henry Ward Beecher

Shall a child cry when the mother takes it up at night out of a frightful dream? No. The child seeks its mother’s bosom, and is at rest. Shall God’s great arm be round about you, and shall the bosom of unfailing love be your supply, and shall you go moaning and crying as if you were orphans and were neglected? Oh, let the light of Christ’s love, the joy of His presence, the opening of the heavens so that you shall see Him as He is, redeem you from anxious care?

Henry Ward Beecher

Quote - Henry Van Dyke

Was it long ago, or was it but yesterday, that we prayed for strength to perform a certain duty, to bear a certain burden, to overcome a certain temptation, and received it? Do we dream that the Divine force was exhausted in answering that one prayer? No more than the great river is exhausted by turning the wheels of one mill. Put it to the proof again with today’s duty, today’s burden, today’s temptation. Thrust yourself further and deeper into the stream of God’s power, and feel it again, as you have felt it before, able to do exceeding abundantly. Remember and trust.

Henry van Dyke

Quote - James Hamilton

Are you not surprised to find how independent of money peace of conscience is, and how much happiness can be condensed in the humblest home? A cottage will not hold the bulky furniture and sumptuous accommodations of a mansion, but if God be there a cottage will hold as much happiness as will stock a palace.

James Hamilton

Quote - George Matheson

Am I to thank God for everything? Am I to thank Him for bereavement, for pain, for poverty, for toil? . . . .Be still, my soul, thou hast misread the message. It is not to give thanks for everything, but to give thanks in everything.

George Matheson

Anecdote by Unknown - The Bible --- God's Holy Book

This Book contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers.

Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding, its histories are true, and its decisions immutable.

Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, and practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you.

It is the traveler’s map, and pilgrim’s staff, the pilot’s compass, the soldier’s sword, and the Christian’s charter.

Christ is its subject, our good its design, and the glory of God its end.

It should fill the memory, rule the heart and guide the feet.

Read it slowly, frequently and prayerfully.

It is a mine of wealth, a paradise of glory, and a river of pleasure.

It is given to you in life, will be open in the judgment, and be remembered forever.

It involves the highest responsibility, rewards the greatest labor, and condemns all who trifle with its holy precepts.

--- Author Unknown

Snippet - "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"

What happened to the Roman Empire ?

Edward Gibbon (1737 – 1794) in his book “The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire” indicated five attributes which characterized Rome at the time of its end.

 They had:

• A Mounting Love of Show and Luxury (Affluence).
• A Widening Gap Between the Very Rich and the Very Poor.
• An Obsession with Sex.
• Freakishness in the Arts, Masquerading as Originality and Enthusiasm and Pretending to be Creative.
• An Increased Desire to Live Off the State.

A lesson to be learned?

Anecdote - Smiles for Today

A woman who was willed an expensive fur coat by a relative  wore it proudly to church. While there, a man asked her, "And what unfortunate creature had to die in order for you to wear that coat?" Glaring at him, she responded, "My Aunt."

 

A new Sunday School teacher had to iron out some problems with the Lord's Prayer. One child had to be corrected after repeating "Howard be thy name." Another youngster prayed, "Lead us not into Penn Station." Still another surprised the teacher with, "Our Father, who art in heaven, how'd you know my name?"

 

A notice in the Men's Fellowship announcement read: "All members are requested to  bring their wives and one other covered dish to the annual banquet."

 

The pastor asked a group of children in a Sunday School class: "Why do you love God?" He got a variety of answers, but the one he liked best was from a boy who said: "I don't know sir. I guess it just runs in our family."

Poem by Unknown - Old Friends

There are no friends like the old friends

And none so good and true;

We greet them when we meet them

As rose greet the dew.

No other friends are dearer

Though born of kindred mold

And while we prize the new ones,

We treasure more the old.

There are no friends like old friends,

Wherever we dwell or roam

In lands beyond the ocean

Or near the bounds of home.

And when they smile to gladden

Or sometimes frown to guide

We fondly wish those old friends

Were always by our side.

There are no friends like old friends,

To help us with the load

That all must bear who journey

O’er life’s uneven road.

And when unconquered sorrows

The weary hours invest

The kindly words of old friends

Are always found the best.

There are no friends like old friends,

To calm our frequent fears

When shadows fall and deepen

Through life’s declining years,

And when our faltering footsteps

Approach the Great Divide

We’ll long to meet the old friends

Who wait the Other Side.

Quote - Short Clips

You may be in a class by yourself, but it sure doesn’t take long to call the roll. . . 

Bum Phillips

A friend is someone you can do nothing with, and enjoy it. . . 

Anonymous 

You don’t just luck into things as much as you’d like to think you do. You build step by step, whether it’s friendships or opportunities. . . 

Barbara Bush

Only your real friends will tell you when your face is dirty . . . 

Sicilian Proverb

If there is any sin more deadly than envy, it is being pleased at being envied. . .

Richard Armour

A friend is one to whom one can pour out all the contents of one’s heart, chaff and grain together, knowing that the gentlest of hands will take and sift it, keep what is worth keeping, and, with the breath of kindness, blow the rest away.

Arabian Proverb

Quote - Friendship from the Pens of the Artists

Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art . . . .

It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival.     

C. S. Lewis

The world is so empty if one thinks only of mountains, rivers, and cities; but to know someone here and there who thinks and feels, with us, and who, though distant, is close to us in spirit, this makes the earth an inhabited garden.      

Goethe

Better to be a nettle in the side of your friend than his echo.    

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Wishing to be friends is quick work, but friendship is slow-ripening fruit.   

Aristotle

The proper office of a friend is to side with you when you are in the wrong. Nearly anybody will side with you when you are right.   

Mark Twain

In every friend we lose a part of ourselves, and the best part.    

Alexander Pope.

A friend is a present you give yourself.    

Robert Louis Stevenson