The Champions Spirit
Volume 68, Issue 22
June 7, 2009
In This Issue
Especially for our Seniors...
Your Next Step
Your family at Champions is proud of you and your accomplishments. We are blessed to have had you with us during your high school days. As you graduate, please let us share a few thoughts with you as you take this great next step of life.
Remember WHOSE you are. God created you. He has an interest in you. Christians have given their lives back to Him. If you will make it a point to remember that you belong to God—first and foremost—your choices to come will be easier. They will not always be easy, but they will be easier. Remember the Scripture says, “the way of transgressors is hard” (Prov. 13:15).
Remember WHAT you are. As a Christian, you are a disciple of Christ, one who will endeavor to look like Jesus. As a result, you are the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Matt. 5:12-14). The world will be a better place because of your influence.
Remember WHEN you are. Christians are Christians 24/7. Your love for Him will cause you to want to be with Him in worship and share time and fellowship with others of like mind. This will be true whether you live at home or reside in a dorm room of some far-away university. You are His—all the time!
Remember WHO you are. You are unique. You have your own talents and abilities. You have your own reputation to build and uphold. You have come a long way...and in the Lord, you will go a long way—in this life and through eternity.
Again, we are proud of you. We are happy to honor you on this Senior Day, 2009. May God bless and keep you. We look forward to seeing your growth as you take Your Next Step!
—Larry Keele
FAMILY MATTERS...
We welcome all of our visitors today! Whether you are with us to share in the special day of a special senior in your life, or for other reasons, we are glad you are here.
We welcome Jimmy and Mary King to the family at Champions! We know we will be blessed as we walk in the Lord’s way together.
As we honor our seniors today, Jeremy Guerin, our youth minister, will bring the sermon. Lunch and other activities will follow the service. We will have our regular 6 p.m. service.
We had a large crew working last Tuesday evening during our TNT. After enjoying a meal together, some worked on Vacation Bible School projects, some worked around the building, and yet others worked on projects in the offices or made visits. What a blessing it is to be able to work in the Kingdom—and to enjoy one another at the same time.
Today, Janet and I are near Kilgore, Texas ,where I will be preaching for the Homecoming of the Oakdale congregation. My step-father is the preacher for that congregation. On Friday, I will have the privilege to journey with Marvin Trice and the Mize’s to Israel. We will be back, Lord willing, June 24th. Please remember us in your prayers.
Parting Thought: There is no need to have the best of everything...just make the best of everything!
HAVE A BLESSED WEEK!
James Wyatt - Vacation Bible School
VBS is nearly here! We’re just one day out and things are in full swing thanks to the TREMENDOUS help from our loving family here at Champions. Today is our second work day to finish up the decorating, and we need as much help as we can get to be completely ready for all the little ones. We’ve got 50 students pre-registered and have room for plenty more, so sign yours up now and bring friends!
Our VBS theme this year is “Jesus to the Rescue.” We’re using examples of how God rescued people in the Old Testament, then explaining how His plan to rescue us is simple: Jesus! Jesus tells us in John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” This is exactly how He rescued us from our sins. He truly is our rescue hero!
We have people here around us who will rescue us from physical danger, too. Indeed, some will lay down their lives to save the lives of others. I’d like to invite them to be a part of VBS to help illustrate this point of Christian love. So we’re calling for anyone with the police department, fire department, EMS, or military, retired or in active service, to show up Friday night (June 12th) at 6 p.m. in full dress uniform! We’ll show our children our earthly heroes who keep us safe from physical danger and illustrate the importance of a Savior who will keep us safe from spiritual danger.
We are showing Jesus to these children and YOU are a tremendous example. There is no position greater than any other, and none are unimportant: we are all showing Christian love by taking the time to work VBS for all these children, members and visitors alike. Jesus tells us in Luke 18:16 “Permit the children to come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” Thank you, family, for all your hard work and diligence in this effort! I want to request from everyone that you pray that VBS will be a huge success!
In Christian love,
James Wyatt
John's Jogs
OH, TO BE YOUNG AGAIN!!!!
TO OUR GRADUATES:
You are on the brink of a life changing experience. Your life will never be the same again. You are ready to face the world as an adult. Whether you go to college or go to work you will be making more decisions on your own and facing the consequences. Therefore, I recommend that you consider the following story:
A daughter complained to her father about how hard her life was. It seemed as one problem was solved a new one arose.
Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and set them to boil. In one he placed carrots, in the second he placed eggs and in the last he placed ground coffee beans. He let them sit and boil, without saying a word. The daughter impatiently wondered what he was doing. He turned off the burners and fished out each item and placed them in a bowl.
Turning to her he asked, “Darling, what do you see?” “Carrots, eggs and coffee,” she replied.
He asked her to feel the carrots – she noted that they were soft. He asked her to break an egg after pulling off the shell. She observed that it was hard-boiled. Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. She smiled as she tasted it and smelled its rich aroma. She humbly asked, “What does it mean, Father?”
He explained that each of them had faced the same adversity, boiling water, but each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong and hard but came out soft and weak. The egg had been fragile but came out hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique. They changed the water.
“Which are you,” he asked the daughter. “Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?”
Graduates, which are you going to be when adversity hits you? Will you start off firm and strong as the carrot but with pain and adversity become soft and lose your strength? Will you start off with a malleable soft heart as the egg but with the struggles of life become hardened and stiff? Or will you be like the coffee bean? When life hands you adversity (and it will) will you face it head on and change the thing that is causing you pain and heartache?
I recommend that you be a strong coffee bean and when life hands you a lemon—make lemonade!
HAVE A GOOD LIFE. WE LOVE YOU!
—John Qualls