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Interesting Stuff

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IN A NUTSHELL

A Sunday school teacher gave her second-graders a month to memorize Psalm 23. One little boy was excited about the task but just couldn't remember the whole chapter.

When the day came for the children to recite Psalm 23 before the congregation, the nervous boy stepped up to the microphone and said, "The Lord is my Shepherd, and that's all I need to know!"

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FREEDOM

Each one of us is born most free
And we alone can choose
To do what God would have us do,
To use what God would use.

Or, we are also free to seek
The proud and selfish way —
A life where other gods come first
To reign and hold full sway.

But when we follow where Christ leads,
We find that freedom’s place
Is really in God’s Will for us,
And we have chosen GRACE!

—Peggy Ferrell, Prayers and Poems

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MOSES AND THE  RED   SEA

Nine-year-old Joey was asked by his mother what he had learned in Sunday School.

’Well, Mom, our teacher told us how God sent Moses behind enemy lines on a rescue mission to lead the Israelites out of Egypt .  When he got to the  Red Sea , he had his army build a pontoon bridge and all the people walked across safely...  

Then he radioed headquarters for reinforcements. They sent bombers to blow up the bridge and all the Israelites were saved.'

'Now, Joey, is that really what your teacher taught you?' his Mother asked.
'Well, no, Mom.  But, if I told it the way the teacher did, you'd never believe it!'

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CONSUMED BY STUFF

In The Man in the Mirror, Patrick Morley writes that the word consumption means something totally different to modern people than it did 150 years ago. Consumption, now known as tuberculosis, is a wasting disease. "Before the advent of antibiotics, tuberculosis could be slowed but rarely cured," Morley writes. "The long-term effect of the disease was to slowly devour — to consume — all the victim's health and vigor."

Today, consumption is viewed as positive for merchants and the economy, Morley notes. But for people mired in debt, "the 19th-century understanding of the term may be more true-to-life." Our wants are consuming us.

To avoid being consumed financially — and spiritually — consider these words from Jesus: "Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matthew 6:20-21, NRSV).

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SAY YES TO GOD

Many think of self-denial as giving up something during the Lenten season. Others have said that it is to be dead to self, or even to hate self. I disagree with these opinions. When Jesus referred to self-denial (Mark 8:34), he was not talking about denying ourselves some luxury item or denying the reality of self or the needs of self. Rather, he was focusing on the importance of renouncing self as the center of our life and actions.

"In other words, self-denial is the decision of each of his followers to give over to God his body, career, money and time. A true disciple is willing to shift the spiritual center of gravity in his life. Self-denial is the sustained willingness to say no to oneself in order to say yes to God."

—Bill Hull

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VERY FUNNY!!

CHURCH LADIES WITH TYPEWRITERS . . .

For those of you who have children and don't know it,
we have a nursery downstairs. 
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Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir.
They need all the help they can get. 
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Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days. 
Eight new choir robes are currently needed due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones. 
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Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children. 

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VERY INTERESTING STUFF

• Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the U.S.  Treasury.
• Men can read smaller  print than women can; women can hear better.
• Coca-Cola was  originally green.
• The State with the  highest percentage of people who walk to work:Alaska
• The percentage of  Africa that is wilderness: 28% (now get  this...) The percentage of  North America that is wilderness: 38%

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THE THREE TREES

According to legend, three trees grew near Jesus' manger: an olive tree, a palm tree and the fir. The olive offered its fruit to the newborn king, and the palm tree gave its dates. The poor fir, having nothing to give but worship, raised its boughs in adoration, and the angels hung stars on its branches. So the fir became the first Christmas tree.

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What Is A Father

Being of the male species does not make a man a father, for a dad is a special blend of hero, disciplinarian, a friend, someone to look up to, someone to model … someone with a touch of the “mother” in him, someone who is big enough to say, “The fault was mine” … someone who lives the kind of life that makes you want to say, “I, too, shall follow him!”

—Dr. Alton Kaul

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TRUST IN GOD

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, deserted island. He prayed fervently for God to rescue him. Every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none came. Exhausted, he eventually built a small hut out of driftwood as a shelter and a place to store his few remaining possessions.

One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky. Everything was lost. Stunned with grief and anger, he cried, "God, how you could do this to me!" Early the next day, however, he was awakened by the sound of a ship approaching the island. It had come to rescue him! "How did you know I was here?" the weary man asked. "We saw your smoke signal," they replied.

God is always at work in our lives, even during the most stress-filled moments. When we entrust everything we are and everything we have to God, when we depend upon his truth instead of our own understanding and choose to walk in obedience, God promises to "make our paths straight" (Proverbs 3:6 NLT).

No matter where you are today, your Father is there. No matter how deep or long the valley, he is with you, waiting for you to surrender all. Give him your valley, knowing that he will surely lead you out. God has ordained that valley as an altar of sacrifice, an opportunity for him to work through your broken heart and life. Keep your glance on the valley and your gaze on the Shepherd. Begin praising him for your deliverance. It will surely come.

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HUSH ... HUSH

Seven-year-old Kathy tried to quiet her younger brother during a church service. “Hush … hush,” she warned him. “You’re not supposed to talk out loud in church.” “Why?” asked the brother. “Who’s going to stop me?” Kathy pointed to the rear of the sanctuary. “See those men standing back there? Well, those are the hushers!”

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I ASKED GOD

• I asked God to take away my pain. God said, No. It is not for me to take away, but for you to give up.
• I asked God to make my handicapped child whole. God said, No. Her spirit was whole her body only temporary.
• I asked God to grant me patience. God said, No. Patience is a by product of tribulations, it isn’t granted, it is earned.
• I asked God to give me happiness. God said, No. I give you blessing. Happiness is up to you.
• I asked God to make my spirit grow. God said, No. You must grow on your own, but I will prune you to make you fruitful.
• I asked God for all things that I might enjoy life, God said, No. I will give you life so that you may enjoy all things.
• I asked God to help me to LOVE others, as much as he loves me. God said . . . Ahh, finally you have the idea.

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THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD

A Sunday School teacher decided to have her young class memorize one of the most quoted passages in the Bible - Psalm 23.   She gave the youngsters a month to learn the chapter.
Little Rick was excited about the task - but he just couldn't remember the Psalm.   After much practice, he could barely get past the first line.

On the day that the kids were scheduled to recite Psalm 23 in front of the congregation, Ricky was so nervous. When it was his turn, he stepped up to the microphone and said proudly,
'The Lord is my Shepherd, and that's all I need to know.

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ANGELS EXPLAINED BY CHILDREN

Click HERE to read

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IN YOUR QUIET TIMES

As you meditate on the price Jesus paid to give you access to the Father, you will come to treasure your prayer times with Him.  Worship will become a privilege you seize with gratitude.  Scripture will be dear to you as you strive to be holy in all that you do (2 Cor. 7:1; 1 Pet 1:15) If you have lost your wonder at the incredible gift of salvation that has been given to you, you need to revisit the cross and witness your Savior suffering for you.  How priceless God’s gift of salvation is!