In 1874, on an otherwise ordinary day, Elisha Grey walked into the sanctuary of the Highland Park Presbyterian Church and made history. He strung a large spool of telegraph wire throughout the church in an effort to create the telephone. Grey believed two people could speak to each other from distant points using nothing but liquid-based microphones and wire.
Well, the crazy thing worked. A huge crowd was wowed by the success. The sound of the first telephone was born — and in a church no less! Grey had a much harder time swaying his investors with his ingenious product. Based on the bad advice of his dentist, who thought the telephone was "a waste of investor’s money," Grey’s prototype went nowhere.
After two years of painful delay, a self-determined Elisha Grey packed up his notes and stormed the halls of the U.S. Patent Office to file paperwork on his invention. He was anxious to tell the patent committee all about his success in the Highland Park Church sanctuary.
Unfortunately, another inventor had been working on a similar concept, and as Grey unveiled his story to the committee, he learned Alexander Graham Bell had dropped off his own plans and applied for a telephone patent just two hours earlier.
Although Bell's plans did not include a working model, nor did his conceptual prototype ever work, the courts found in Bell's favor and rewarded him the rights to the telephone invention — all because Grey was two hours late with his presentation. He had left his idea hanging in the sanctuary!
How many times is this story repeated in churches all over the world? Good ideas (actually great), shared and dreamed and then left on the pews or hanging from the chandeliers to gather dust or to go back to the old and comfortable ways.
This story is all too familiar to me. Except in the case of OPERATION INASMUCH! I am grateful for the leadership and vision of Lynda Holloway and our Missions Committee for leading us to be givers of our resources and ourselves for Jesus’ sake. I am grateful for a church that is ready NOT to accept praise for these efforts but to give God the praise and glory.
I don’t know about you but I’m looking forward to next year! If you have some ideas about how we can better serve and “do it for the least of these”, don’t leave it “hanging in the sanctuary”; get busy and share it!
See you on Sunday, Karl
I love books, and I have a pretty good personal collection that grows almost daily. My church office book shelves are filling rapidly, and my home office shelves are beginning to overflow. These books are a source of information, encouragement, challenge, strength, comfort and, sometimes, frustration. I enjoy holding a book, turning the pages and seeing the printed words. When I sense it’s time to get another book, I enjoy visiting book stores and libraries to see what’s available.
Speaking of libraries, do you know we have a church library? It’s not so big that it will ever compete with the Sandston Library, but it does have many books that you should find interesting and useful. Are you a Bible study teacher? Our library has reference materials to help you prepare for your classes. Are you a new parent? Our library has a few books on parenting. Are you struggling to find a Biblical answer to a question or problem? The book with the answer just might be in our library.
Are you a Billy Graham fan? I counted at least a dozen of his books on our shelves. Do you enjoy reading Charles Swindoll books? We have his Moses and Esther as well as several others. How about Max Lucado? We have When God Whispers Your Name, In the Grip of Grace, In the Eye of the Storm and He Still Moves Mountains. Philip Yancey is represented by The Jesus I Never Knew and Where is God When It Hurts. We also have Beth Moore materials (books and studies).
Several “Christian classics” are on the shelves; one is John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress. The library contains biographies of Christian men and women including Annie Armstrong: Dreamer in Action and The New Lottie Moon Story. We also have biographies of Martin Luther, Charles Wesley and George Muller.
If you want to compare various translations of the Bible, you’ll find many translations in our library. We have at least five sets of Bible commentaries and numerous Bible dictionaries, atlases and concordances on the shelves.
I hope you will stop by sometime and check out what we have. The check-out/check-in process is very easy (honor system) but if you have a problem, Pauline Buzderewicz, our librarian, can help.
We are called to grow and mature in our faith. What better way to do that than by getting help from those who have traveled the same paths we are traveling? While the Bible is the number one book we should be consulting, these other books can supplement our learning. I hope to see you in our library one day real soon.
Now, what book shall I read next?
Under His Direction, Mark
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BROTHERHOOD NEWS
The monthly meeting for the Brotherhood will be May 8, 2008 at 6:00 p.m. in the Bosher-Gray building. Tom Palmore will continue in the Bible study “A Shepherd looks At The Twenty-Third Psalm.” Plan to attend for a great time in Bible study. Don’t forget to sign up so we can adequately prepare a wonderful meal. The sign-up sheet is next to the church office.
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Vacation Bible School
July 27, 2008-July 31, 2008 from 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
The theme this year is: “Outrigger Island – Living God’s Unshakeable Truth”
With the crashing waves of modern-day media, the unpredictable seas of daily family life, and the troubled water of simply growing up it is no wonder kids belief system can capsize before they even get started. During this year at VBS, we will be able to equip children to navigate their world by learning the stabilizing truths that God is real, Jesus is His son, Jesus is the only way to receive salvation, the Bible is God’s Word, and, ultimately, their actions show what they truly believe. Knowing God’s truth, talking about it, and living it out in their daily lives is the vessel kids need to stay spiritually stable in a world that is filled with unpredictable tides of opinion and waves of change.
HELP WANTED – VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: Please come be a part of the crew and volunteer to work at VBS. We have openings for teachers (“island guides”) and rotation leaders. We will also need help with food service, promotion, registration, decorating, and security. This is a great opportunity God has given us to teach children in our church AND community.
REGISTRATION IS OPEN!: You can also register children to participate in this year’s VBS
online at www.SandstonBaptistChurch.com on the current events page.
Children age 3 through rising 6th graders are eligible to attend.
We can’t wait to see them at VBS!
VBS SCRIPTURE: “Teach me your way, LORD, and I will live by Your truth.” Psalm 86:11 (HCSB)
VBS MOTTO: Know the Truth! Speak the Truth! Live the Truth!