Preaching and Pork Chops

          Yesterday my wife, Annis, was going through some boxes of “stuff” looking for old High School memorabilia, preparing for her 50th High School reunion, when she found a church bulletin from 1959, indicating that I was the deliverer of the sermon—the guest preacher. As you can see, the exact date was August 30, 1959. The church was Crowell Methodist Church, located just outside Reynolds, GA. Actually, the pastor of the Reynolds Methodist Church and the Crowell Methodist Church was the same man, but I am not certain who he was. I do know that, as soon as this service ended, he had to make a bee-line to Reynolds for the 11:00 service. At the time, I was a member-in-excellent-standing of the Reynolds church. I was 17 years old and busy “winning the world” for Jesus.

          As I read over the bulletin, I couldn’t help but notice the name of the hymns: “Love Divine”; “Jesus Is All the World to Me”; “Jesus Call Us.” After all the years that have come and gone, His love continues to be Divine, He is all the world to me, and, more than ever, I believe that Jesus calls US, not the other way around!

          I find it quite interesting that Psalm 46 is the Psalm that contains one of my favorite verses: “Cease striving and know that I am God!” I have spent most of the last 32 years teaching people about the finished work of Jesus and of the rest that we have in Him, as a result of that finished work.

          The reference to my having sold the congregants a pork chop or roast had to do with the fact that my father, Ed Goddard, owned a grocery store in Reynolds, where most of these folk shopped and I did most of the meat cutting. I was unaware that they were paying such close attention to the weight and price of the meat I sold them. Had I been, I would have paid much closer attention! Just kidding!

          Amazingly, after 52 years, 9 months, and 3 days I am still preaching, but I have no desire to sell pork chops or roast beef—ever again, as people pay much-too-close attention to that!

         

"This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent" (John 6:29 NASB).