The Champions Spirit
Volume 67, Issue 45
November 9, 2008
In This Issue
Gulf Coast Spiritual
Growth Workshop
Galveston Convention Center
Seawall Blvd. at 57th Street
Galveston, Texas 77551
Bus is Available
Sign-up sheet and times on bulletin board.
Full schedules are available in the foyer.
Gulf Coast Spiritual Growth Workshop: Returning a Nation to God
November 13-16, Thursday-Saturday
- Over 50 classes
- Three language tracts
- Child care 6 months to 3rd grade
(Friday and Saturday)
Special Youth Program
“Be Amazed By Jesus”
- Friday, 7-9 p.m.; Saturday 9-11:30 a.m.
- Speaker: Pat Sheaffer
Speakers from Champions:
- Casandra Martin
“Telling His Story” Women’s Class - Friday 11 a.m. - Bill Rasco
“Is the Commission Still Great?” - Friday, 10 a.m.
“What has Happened to Mom, Dad and the Kids?” -
Saturday 9:30 a.m. - Bill Yasko Keynote
“Shall We Hope or Shall We Die?” - Friday 8 p.m.
FAMILY MATTERS...
Welcome! Today we come to worship our Lord God. Whether guest or member, our prayer is that as we leave each of the services today, we will have grown in our spiritual walk with God and be able to say, “It was good for us to have been here.”
Baptized into Christ last Wednesday evening was Amir. After studying with Jason Freed for several months, Amir was ready to make that confession of faith in Christ and to put Him on in baptism. Please meet this new brother and welcome him into the family. Amir, we are proud of you!
Spiritual Growth Workshop as noted above is coming next weekend. I hope to see you there!
Missions will be the emphasis next Sunday as we will devote the day to hearing from some of those men whom we support. Juan Ambriz, who we have supported at Brown Trail School of Preaching, will teach our combined adult Bible class. Eric Tan, an elder of the church in Singapore and a missionary to China, will speak at the morning worship hour. Will Hanstein, who works with the Bear Valley School of Preaching will be our speaker at the 6 p.m. service. It will be an exciting day to host these men of God whom we have been privileged to support with finances and prayer.
Potluck dinner will be served next Sunday following the morning worship service. This will allow us to have more time and a greater opportunity to get to talk with and know our speakers.
Parting thought: There are many oceans to explore, but only if you leave the shore.
HAVE A BLESSED WEEK!
Bill's Bits
Jesus on Election Day
Voting had been going on for two hours when word began to spread through the hallways. John manned the information booth, Kathy was refilling the plate of cookies and Susan was filling the coffee pot when the whispers began. Passed from person to person up and down the halls, it wasn’t long before teachers were sticking their heads out the doors and the staff started congregating in the foyer. As people started moving toward the fellowship hall the whispers spread to the election judges and poll workers.
Curious beyond belief I finally had to ask what the all the excitement was about. Had there been some election faux pas? Was Champions the site of the infamous “hanging chad”? Was assistance needed? What was up? Maybe it was a great spiritual awakening. And then I heard…Jackie Stephens had just walked through with a plate of snicker doodles straight out of Dot’s oven. They were still warm. They are perfect for coffee. Not too hot to handle but warm enough to just kind of squish when you bit into them. It was a moment when a simple, deliberate act of kindness impressed the voters, the election workers, and everyone else in the building. It was a Jesus sighting…someone deliberately extending a gift and sharing a God given talent. I looked around the foyer and was impressed by how the people in our neighborhood were touched by such a simple act. And in that moment I realized that I was standing in the middle of a group of people who all devoted their day to lifting up Jesus. There was a whole group of people looking like Jesus!
Don’t miss His presence. Take a look around. “God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.” (Acts 17:27)
—Bill Rasco
Jeremy's Junction
We are going to have a lock-in on Friday night. By the time you read this, it will have already happened. We will begin the evening by going ice skating. Many teens love to ice skating. I, however, do not. I am sure I would, if I were any good at it. The truth is, I am constantly falling when I try to ice skate. If I am in an upright position on the ice, I wobble around like a duck. Falling a lot! It hurts more and more with each fall. The bruises on my knees get larger and larger, but I keep trying.
I believe this paints a clear picture of how God loves us. Even though I keep falling, He still helps me get back up when I call to Him. Sin, however, gets worse each time. Each time you fall, the bruises can hurt even more. Many people get to the point where they don't want to get up. Maybe they think that laying around is too much fun. Or, maybe they get too frustrated from falling so often.
We need to always stay strong and try not too fall. However, if you find yourself down, allow Jesus to pick you up again and keep to the course. Don’t stay down! Trust in Him to lift you up and practice your skating (or spiritual goodness) so you won't fall again.
See you Sunday, probably with swollen knees.
—Jeremy Geurin
John's Jogs
My how things have changed in 60 years! Thought I would give one more political article in this election cycle. My nephew sent the following e-mail but I personally know most of it to be true.
HARRY TRUMAN – ONE OF A KIND
Harry Truman, from Independence, Missouri, was a different kind of president. He probably made as many important decisions regarding our nation’s history as any of the other 42 presidents. However, a measure of his greatness may rest on what he did after he left the White House.
Historians have written the only asset he had when he died was a house he lived in, which was in Independence, Missouri. On top of that, his wife inherited the house from her mother. When he retired from office in 1952, his income was a U.S. Army pension reported to have been $13,507.72 a year. Congress noting that he was paying for his stamps and personally licking them, granted him an ‘allowance’ and later a retroactive pension of $25,000 per year.
After President Eisenhower was inaugurated, Harry and Bess drove home to Missouri by themselves. There was no Secret Service following them. When offered corporate positions at large salaries, he declined, stating, “You don’t want me. You want the office of the President, and that doesn’t belong to me. It belongs to the American people and it’s not for sale.” Later on May 6, 1971, when Congress was preparing to award him the Medal of Honor on his 87th birthday, he refused to accept it, writing, “I don’t consider that I have done anything which should be the reason for any award, Congressional or otherwise.”
Modern politicians have found a new level of success in cashing in on the Presidency, resulting in untold wealth. Today, many in Congress also have found a way to become quite wealthy while enjoying the fruits of their offices. Political offices are now for sale. Good old Harry Truman was correct when he observed, “My choices early in life were either to be a piano player in a xxxxxhouse or a politician. And to tell the truth, there’s hardly any difference.”
Harry had a way with words. Now I can proudly say that 60 years ago last Tuesday I cast my first vote for president for Harry Truman. In 1995 my grandson and I visited Truman’s home and library in Independence. The home was one that any of us might have lived in at that time.
—John Qualls