Who wants $20?

A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill.  In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?"  Hands started going up.  He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first let me do this." He proceeded to crumple the dollar bill up.  He then asked, "Who still wants it?"   Still the hands were up in the air.  "Well," he replied, "What if I do this?"   And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe.  He picked it up, now all crumpled and dirty.  "Now who still wants it?"   Still the hands went into the air.

"My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson.  No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value.  It was still worth $20.

Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way.  We feel as though we are worthless.  But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value.

You are Special - Don't ever forget it.

"Never let yesterday's disappointments overshadow tomorrow's dreams"

Have you done a demographic study of your Church membership?

In it’s simplest form all you need to do is to look at the records for the past 5 or 10 years and see how many new members have been made and compare that with how many have left.

[You can learn a lot more by analyzing the gains and losses e.g. are the gains biological – youngsters of existing members - or transfers from other churches. And are the losses inevitable as would be the case for deaths.]

 

Basically, if your gains are not covering your losses, you’re in trouble!

And if you haven’t seen any new members made in the last five years, you’re in even deeper trouble!

Friendship

I met some old friends in town today,
We talked about this and that;
The time passed quickly, needless to say,
It does when you stop and chat;

Their lives had moved on since last we met,
We’re older and going grey;
But mem’ries were stirred and time stood still,
When we talked of yesterday.


We shared the dreams we hoped to fulfil,
And spoke of plans we have made,
The conversation ebbed and it flowed,
As times were again replayed.


We listened with care to news now told,
Insights, opinions, too,
We heard successes proudly announced,
Gave credit where praise was due.


We said our goodbyes, ‘we’ll keep in touch’;
True friendship is hard to beat.
If joy like this, even half as much
Could be when Jesus we meet!


If human friendship can be so rich,
And give us so much pleasure,
To meet with Jesus, compared to this,
Must be the greatest treasure.

God versus Science

"Let me explain the problem science has with religion."

The atheist professor of philosophy pauses before his class and then asks one of his new students to stand.

"You're a Christian, aren't you, son?"

"Yes sir," the student says.

"So you believe in God?"

"Absolutely."

"Is God good?"

"Sure! God's good."

"Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?"

"Yes"

"Are you good or evil?"

"The Bible says I'm evil."

The professor grins knowingly. "Aha! The Bible!"  He considers for a moment.

"Here's one for you. Let's say there's a sick person over here and you can cure him. You can do it.. Would you help him? Would you try?"

"Yes sir, I would."

"So you're good....!"

"I wouldn't say that."

"But why not say that? You'd help a sick and maimed person if you could. Most of us would if we could.  But God doesn't."

The student does not answer, so the professor continues.

"He doesn't, does he? My brother was a Christian who died of cancer, even though he prayed to Jesus to heal him. How is this Jesus good? Hmmm? Can you answer that one?"

The student remains silent.

"No, you can't, can you?" the professor says.

He takes a sip of water from a glass on his desk to give the student time to relax.

"Let's start again, young fella. Is God good?"

"Er...yes," the student says.

"Is Satan good?"

The student doesn't hesitate on this one.  "No."

"Then where does Satan come from?"

The student falters. "From God"

"That's right. God made Satan, didn't he? Tell me, son. Is there evil in this world?"

"Yes, sir."

"Evil is everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything correct??"

"Yes"

"So who created evil?" The professor continued, "If God created everything, then God created evil, since evil exists, and according to the principle that our works define who we are, then God is evil."

Again, the student has no answer. "Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things, do they exist in this world?"

The student squirms on his feet. "Yes."

"So who created them?"

The student does not answer again, so the professor repeats his question.

"Who created them?" There is still no answer.

Suddenly the lecturer breaks away to pace in front of the classroom. The class is mesmerized.

"Tell me," he continues onto another student.

"Do you believe in Jesus Christ, son?"

The student's voice betrays him and cracks.

"Yes, professor, I do."

The old man stops pacing.. "Science says you have five senses you use to identify and observe the world around you.  Have you ever seen Jesus?"

"No sir. I've never seen Him."

"Then tell us if you've ever heard Jesus?"

"No, sir, I have not."

"Have you ever felt Jesus, tasted Jesus or smelled Jesus?  Have you ever had any sensory perception of Jesus Christ, or God for that matter?"

"No, sir, I'm afraid I haven't."

"Yet you still believe in him?"

"Yes"

"According to the rules of empirical,testable, demonstrable protocol,

science says your God doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son?"

"Nothing," the student replies. "I only have my faith."

"Yes, faith," the professor repeats. "And that is the problem science has with God. There is no evidence, only faith."

The student stands quietly for a moment,before asking a question of His own.

"Professor, is there such thing as heat?"

" Yes."

"And is there such a thing as cold?"

"Yes, son, there's cold too."

"No sir, there isn't."

The professor turns to face the student, obviously interested.  The room suddenly becomes very quiet. The student begins to explain.

"You can have lots of heat, even more heat, super-heat, mega-heat, unlimited heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat, but we don't have anything called "cold". We can hit up to 458 degrees below zero, which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that.

There is no such thing as cold; otherwise we would be able to go colder than the lowest -458 degrees."

Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy.

Absolute zero (-458 F) is the total absence of heat. You see, sir, cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat we can measure in thermal units because heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it."

There is silence across the room. A pen drops somewhere in the classroom, sounding like a hammer.

"What about darkness, professor, is there such a thing as darkness?"

"Yes," the professor replies without hesitation.  "What is night if it isn't darkness?"

"You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is not something; it is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light,flashing light, but if you have no light constantly you have nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it?"

"That's the meaning we use to define the word."

"In reality, darkness isn't. If it were, you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?"

The professor begins to smile at the student in front of him. This will be a good semester.  "So what point are you making, young man?

"Yes, professor. My point is, your philosophical premise is flawed to start with, and so your conclusion must also be flawed."

The professor's face cannot hide his surprise this time.  "Flawed? Can you explain how?"

"You are working on the premise of duality," the student explains. "You argue that there is life and then there's death; a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science can't even explain a thought."

"It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing.  Death is not the opposite of life, just the absence of it. 

"Now tell me, professor.Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?"

"If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, young man, yes, of course I do."

"Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?"

The professor begins to shake his head, still smiling, as he realizes where the argument is going. A very good semester, indeed.

"Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you now not a scientist, but a preacher?"

The class is in an uproar. The student remains silent until the commotion has subsided.

"To continue the point you were making earlier to the other student let me give you an example of what I mean."

The student looks around the room. "Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the professor's brain?" The class breaks out into laughter.  "Is there anyone here who has ever heard the professor's brain, felt the professor's brain, touched or smelled the professor's brain? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain, with all due respect, sir. So if science says you have no brain, how can we trust your lectures, sir?"

Now the room is silent..

The professor just stares at the student, his face unreadable.

Finally, after what seems an eternity, the old man answers. "I guess you'll have to take them on faith.."

"Now, you accept that there is faith, and, in fact, faith exists with life," the student continues. "Now, sir, is there such a thing as evil?"

Now uncertain, the professor responds, "Of course, there is. We see it everyday.   It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil."

To this the student replied, "Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light."

The professor sat down.

The student was Albert Einstein.

Albert Einstein did write a book entitled God vs. Science in 1921.

Worth a read!

A few years after I was born, my dad met a stranger who was new to our small town. From the beginning, dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around from then on. As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family. In my young mind, he had a special niche. My parents were complementary instructors: mum taught me to obey, and dad taught me good from evil. But the stranger…. He was our story teller….. He would keep us spellbound for hours on end with adventures, mysteries and comedies. If I wanted to know anything about politics, history or science, he always knew the answers about the past, understood the present and even seemed able to predict the future! He took my family to our first major league football game. He made me laugh, and he made me cry. The stranger never stopped talking. But dad didn’t seem to mind. Sometimes, mum would get up quietly while the rest of us were shushing each other to listen to what he had to say, and she would go to the kitchen for peace and quiet. (I wonder now if she ever prayed for the stranger to leave.) Dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions, but the stranger never felt obligated to honour them. Profanity, example, was not allowed in our home.. not from us, our friends or any visitors. Our long-time visitor, however got away with four letter words that burned my ears and made my dad squirm and my mother blush. My dad didn’t permit the liberal use of alcohol. But the stranger encouraged us to try it on a regular basis. He made cigarettes look cool, cigars manly and pipes distinguished. He talked freely [much too freely!] about sex. His comments were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing. I now know that my early concepts about relationships were influenced strongly by the stranger. Time after time, he opposed the values of my parents, yet he was seldom rebuked… and never asked to leave. More than 50 years have passed since the stranger moved in with our family. He has blended right in and is not nearly as fascinating as he was at first. Still, if you could walk into my parents home today, you would still find him sitting over in his corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures. His name?…... we just call him ‘TV.’

[He has a wife now… we call her ‘computer.’]