Grac*e-mail for 05/24/10 got grace?

Grac*e-mail for 05/24/10
got grace?

God is good!!!!! WOW – He really showed off last week! Started with chest pain – but no heart attack. Then had problem during my stress test – but the cardiac cath showed all arteries are clear. Thanks for the folks who followed all this on Facebook and sent prayers my way!

John()_:-) Every time you see this angel, remember that God loves you!

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Ps 119:17-24

Deal bountifully with Your servant,
That I may live and keep Your word.
18 Open my eyes, that I may see
Wondrous things from Your law.
19 I am a stranger in the earth;
Do not hide Your commandments from me.
20 My soul breaks with longing
For Your judgments at all times.
21 You rebuke the proud -- the cursed,
Who stray from Your commandments.
22 Remove from me reproach and contempt,
For I have kept Your testimonies.
23 Princes also sit and speak against me,
But Your servant meditates on Your statutes.
24 Your testimonies also are my delight
And my counselors.

NKJV

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For Virginia folks on the list, please see the end of this mailing for info on prayer workshops with The Rev. Dr. Terry Teykl.

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Grac*e-mail now has a page on Facebook… so send your friends an invitation to enjoy!

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Got this link from Laura Holmes…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvDDc5RB6FQ

This is another cool one and another great song!

http://www.mychurch.org/blog/30635/coolest-video-ever

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Got this from Pastor Reid Broce ( who could use a prayer or two)… btw – it really doesn’t matter if this is a true story!

Every Sunday afternoon, after the morning service at the church, the Pastor and his eleven year old son would go out into their town and hand out Gospel Tracts.

This particular Sunday afternoon, as it came time for the Pastor and his son to go to the streets with their tracts, it was very cold outside, as well as pouring rain.

The boy bundled up in his warmest and driest clothes and said, 'OK, dad, I'm ready.'

His Pastor dad asked, 'Ready for what?'

'Dad, it's time we gather our tracts together and go out.'

Dad responds, 'Son, it's very cold outside and it's pouring rain.'

The boy gives his dad a surprised look, asking, 'But Dad, aren't people still going to Hell, even though it's raining?'

Dad answers, 'Son, I am not going out in this weather.'

Despondently, the boy asks, 'Dad, can I go? Please?'

His father hesitated for a moment then said, 'Son, you can go. Here are the tracts. Be careful son.'

'Thanks Dad!'

And with that, he was off and out into the rain. This eleven year old boy walked the streets of the town going door to door and handing everybody he met in the street a Gospel Tract .

After two hours of walking in the rain, he was soaking, bone-chilled wet and down to his VERY LAST TRACT. He stopped on a corner and looked for someone to hand a tract to, but the streets were totally deserted.

Then he turned toward the first home he saw and started up the sidewalk to the front door and rang the door bell. He rang the bell, but nobody answered.

He rang it again and again, but still no one answered. He waited but still no answer.

Finally, this eleven year old trooper turned to leave, but something stopped him.

Again, he turned to the door and rang the bell and knocked loudly on the door with his fist. He waited, something holding him there on the front porch!

He rang again and this time the door slowly opened.

Standing in the doorway was a very sad-looking elderly lady. She softly asked, 'What can I do for you, son?' With radiant eyes and a smile that lit up her world, this little boy said, 'Ma'am, I'm sorry if I disturbed you, but I just want to tell you that * JESUS REALLY DOES LOVE YOU * and I came to give you my very last Gospel Tract which will tell you all about JESUS and His great LOVE.'

With that, he handed her his last tract and turned to leave.

She called to him as he departed. 'Thank you, son! And God Bless You!'

Well, the following Sunday morning in church Pastor Dad was in the pulpit. As the service began, he asked, 'Does anybody have testimony or want to say anything?'

Slowly, in the back row of the church, an elderly lady stood to her feet.

As she began to speak, a look of glorious radiance came from her face, 'No one in this church knows me. I've never been here before. You see, before last Sunday I was not a Christian. My husband passed on some time ago, leaving me totally alone in this world. Last Sunday, being a particularly cold and rainy day, it was even more so in my heart that I came to the end of the line where I no longer had any hope or will to live.

So I took a rope and a chair and ascended the stairway into the attic of my home. I fastened the rope securely to a rafter in the roof, then stood on the chair and fastened the other end of the rope around my neck. Standing on that chair, so lonely and broken-hearted I was about to leap off, when suddenly the loud ringing of my doorbell downstairs startled me. I thought, 'I'll wait a minute, and whoever it is will go away.'

I waited and waited, but the ringing doorbell seemed to get louder and more insistent, and then the person ringing also started knocking loudly.

I thought to myself again, 'Who on earth could this be? Nobody ever rings my bell or comes to see me.' I loosened the rope from my neck and started for the front door, all the while the bell rang louder and louder.

When I opened the door and looked I could hardly believe my eyes, for there on my front porch was the most radiant and angelic little boy I had ever seen in my life. His SMILE, oh, I could never describe it to you!

The words that came from his mouth caused my heart that had long been dead, TO LEAP TO LIFE as he exclaimed with a cherub-like voice, 'Ma'am, I just came to tell you that JESUS REALLY DOES LOVE YOU ..' Then he gave me this Gospel Tract that I now hold in my hand.

As the little angel disappeared back out into the cold and rain, I closed my door and read slowly every word of this Gospel Tract. Then I went up to my attic to get my rope and chair. I wouldn't be needing them any more.

You see---I am now a Happy Child of the KING. Since the address of your church was on the back of this Gospel Tract, I have come here to personally say THANK YOU to God's little angel who came just in the nick of time and by so doing, spared my soul from an eternity in hell.'

There was not a dry eye in the church. And as shouts of praise and honor to THE KING resounded off the very rafters of the building, Pastor Dad descended from the pulpit to the front pew where the little angel was seated; He took his son in his arms and sobbed uncontrollably.

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Another story from another Pastor – Bill Greer…

Dwight Nelson recently told a true story about the pastor of his church. He had a kitten that climbed up a tree in his backyard and then was afraid to come down. The pastor coaxed, offered warm milk, etc.

The kitty would not come down.

The tree was not sturdy enough to climb, so the pastor decided that if he tied a rope to his car and pulled it until the tree bent down, he could then reach up and get the kitten.

That's what he did, all the while checking his progress in the car. He then figured if he went just a little bit further, the tree would be bent sufficiently for him to reach the kitten. But as he moved the car a little further forward, the rope broke. The tree went 'boing!' and the kitten instantly sailed through the air - out of sight.

The pastor felt terrible. He walked all over the neighborhood asking people if they'd seen a little kitten. No. Nobody had seen a stray kitten.

So he prayed, 'Lord, I just commit this kitten to your keeping,' and went on about his business. A few days later he was at the grocery store, and met one of his church members. He happened to look into her shopping cart and was amazed to see cat food.

This woman was a cat hater and everyone knew it, so he asked her, 'Why are you buying cat food when you hate cats so much?'

She replied, 'You won't believe this,' and then told him how her little girl had been begging her for a cat, but she kept refusing.

Then a few days before, the child had begged again, so the Mom finally told her little girl, 'Well, if God gives you a cat, I'll let you keep it...' She told the pastor, 'I watched my child go out in the yard, get on her knees, and ask God for a cat. And really, Pastor, you won't believe this, but I saw it with my own eyes. A kitten suddenly came flying out of the blue sky, with its paws outspread, and landed right in front of her.'

Lesson learned: Never underestimate the Power of God and His unique sense of humor.

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A couple of funnies…
There was a young minister called to his first pulpit in a small town in Kentucky. The pulpit committee made it clear to the young divine that they wanted someone who could preach against sin!
The first Sunday, the preacher spoke of the evils of gambling. After the service he was called to task by the members of the pulpit committee.
"Do you not understand that this is horse racing country? If the race tracks went out of business some of our people would starve! We want you to preach against sin, but you cannot mess in our local economy."
The second Sunday he preached against drinking. Again, after the service he was called to task one more time.
"Have you never heard of Kentucky bourbon? Two hundred years ago our farmers started converting their grains into whiskey so as to add value to their product, and also to make it easier to ship to market. If it was not for bourbon our families would have starved a long time ago.”
Chastised, the young preacher returned to the pulpit the following week to preach on the evils of smoking. But once more he found himself in hot water.
"Did not anyone tell you that this is tobacco country? While none of us smoke, many in our flock raise tobacco. It is the only crop that is worth growing from a financial standpoint. If people stop growing tobacco many of our people will need to move away and find new jobs in the big city!. Then, who will pay your salary?
The fourth Sunday, the sadder but much wiser pastor preached on the sins of international currency speculation.....
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There was a missionary conference in Belgium at the start of the Twentieth Century that brought in church women from across Europe. And, when the Dutch women saw that the English women were wearing makeup, they were so shocked that the cigars fell out of their mouths!
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LEADERSHIP: Not a 'Natural'

Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth. Numbers 12:3

What words come to mind when you think of great leaders? It's doubtful that "meek" appears at the top of your list-yet that is the precise word God used to describe Moses.

Moses had reasons to be humble. He certainly wasn't a natural leader. Nothing in Scripture indicates he attracted or led anyone during the first eighty years of his life. So far as we know, his first attempt at exerting his influence to help the people resulted in the murder of an Egyptian and his flight from the country. The next forty years Moses spent in exile in the desert of Midian, a time so uneventful that Scripture sums it up in three verses (Exodus 2:21-23).

You don't have to be a "natural" to become a great leader; you simply need a heart for God and a teachable spirit. Most of the great leaders in Scripture were made, not born. Happily for us, God is still making them today. Could you be one?

Ray Murphy Ministries http://www.simplysharejesus.com/
Call or Email Prayer Request to : 619-987-7845 - RayMurphys@yahoo.com

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Got this from the “Pearls” mailing list. To receive, just sent Larry Burrows a request at larryb1939@sbcglobal.net

A biblical promise is a tightly-wrapped, power-packed, portable capsule of Scripture, written by God and designed to meet a specific need in your life at a specific time and in a way that corresponds perfectly to His all-sufficient grace. The promises of God are His guarantees amid life's uncertainties. They're the basis of all our life of faith, and there are specific promises in the Bible to meet every condition and contingency in our lives. --David Jeremiah

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Acts 10:24-34

24 And the following day they entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for them, and had called together his relatives and close friends.25 As Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him.26 But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up; I myself am also a man."27 And as he talked with him, he went in and found many who had come together.28 Then he said to them, "You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean.29 Therefore I came without objection as soon as I was sent for. I ask, then, for what reason have you sent for me?"

30 So Cornelius said, "four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the Ninth hour I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing,31 and said, 'Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your alms are remembered in the sight of God.32 Send therefore to Joppa and call Simon here, whose surname is Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea. When he comes, he will speak to you.'33 So I sent to you immediately, and you have done well to come. Now therefore, we are all present before God, to hear all the things commanded you by God."

34 Then Peter opened his mouth and said:"In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality.

NKJV

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Send good stories and clean funnies to: johnlynnbright@gmail.com

NOTE - All material contained in this mailing is shared as received and is believed, by me, to be anonymous... unless credit is given. Please contact me at the address above if you know the author of any material so that I may give credit where credit is due. Thanks!

Grace & peace –
John A. Bright
Pastor, Walmsley Boulevard UMC in Richmond, Virginia
johnlynnbright@gmail.com
"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change..."


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Prayer Encounter Workshop
Saturday June 12, 2010
Virginia Beach, Va.

The Evangelical Fellowship of the Virginia, in cooperation with Foundry United Methodist Church in Virginia Beach, Virginia, is offering a Prayer Encounter Workshop on Saturday, June 12, 2010, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

The registration fee for the Workshop is $30 per person and includes a box lunch, continental breakfast, and snacks. Each participant may reserve an optional workbook at a cost of $15.00 each. Make checks payable to Foundry United Methodist Church (put "Prayer Encounter" on the memo) and mail to Foundry UMC, 2801 Virginia Beach Blvd., Virginia Beach, VA 23452

The purpose of the Prayer Encounter Workshop is to enhance an individual's prayer life and to resource a congregation's prayer ministries. The presenter will be The Rev. Dr. Terry Teykl. Terry's passion for prayer is contagious as he communicates foundational principles and practical ides. He'll make you laugh, but you will come away from the experience convinced that you can make a difference in your church, your life, and the lives of those who are yet to find faith in Christ.

Terry's warm humorous style makes him a sought after speaker and seminar leader. He pastored for 28 years and is now devoted full-time in prayer ministry. He has authored many books on prayer including Making Room To Pray, Pray the Price, Your Pastor - Preyed On or Prayed For, How To Pray After You've Kicked The Dog, Acts 29, Blueprint For The House Of Prayer, and The Presence Based Church. Terry is an ordained Elder in the Texas Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church.
The deadline for registration is Monday, June 7. Walk-in registrations will be accepted but lunch is not guaranteed. .5 CEU is available with preregistration notification.

Please note that the same workshop is being offered at Tabernacle UMC on Saturday, June 19, 2010, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. For more information, contact Pastor Steve Hay at 540-786-6162 or pastorsteve@tabumc.org, or Pastor Keith Boyette at 540-972-8808 or pastor@wildernesschurch.org.