These little stories are not in any special order yet and some future stories are setting scenes and introducing characters in future stories therefore a hard/boring read???
My Mate Jim
This tale is about my mate Jim a member of our little old mission church in a little town called Little Milltown, lying in the hills between Yorkshire and Lancashire my home town.
The church has moved on since the old days, all the pews have gone; they now have a worship band instead of an organ, and the overhead projector having replaced hymn books.
The sound system booms out the music and the pastor is wired for sound so that no body misses a word that he preaches,
Major Misery one of the founder members of the church would complain, “With coloured lights and guitars, keyboards and drums it could be mistaken for the local disco,” (actually his name is Major Minster, but because he complains about everything that happened at the church, he has well earned his nickname, but more of him later)... “They will be having performing seals next!”
The pastor would reply “If that what it takes to bring people to Jesus bring ‘em on in!” but really the pastors heart was to preach the gospel and let the Holy Spirit do the rest!
Now then,
Last Sunday when I was at church I sat next to my mate Jim, a lovely old man, been at the church for ever. He’d lost his wife to cancer two years ago, his children have moved abroad and he has become a bit of a loner, but was there he was, sat on the back row of the little church every Sunday come rain or shine.
This week Jim had a family with him, He introduced them as his neighbours, Dave and Mary Smith with their twins Simon and Sarah, it was their first time they had gone to church when they weren’t celebrating a ‘hatch, match or dispatch event’, Jim joked,
It could be said that they had a ‘Third Party Festival and Feast’ kind of faith,
“How they came to be here was a bit of a tale”, Jim whispered to me, “I’ll tell you what happened later,”
Well, after the service, over a cup of tea Jim told me the following tale:-
A week last Saturday I got up early and as usual on a morning, I sat in my conservatory as I do every day with a big fat cup of coffee, I were playing bible bingo, as my late wife called it, I read several editions of bible notes, reading the days meditations and looking up the verses from the bible recommended... then deciding which one I fancied to choose to be my text for the day.
I had just finished me cup of coffee and was looking out into the garden, my mind started to wonder and I found myself thinking about God and creation and then somehow found myself writing down notes, When I read through the notes I had just written, I said to myself “Wow! This is hot stuff, straight from God, do you know what? This will preach”!
Jim continued... “I don’t know why God gave them words to me... you see I’m just plain old Jim who sits at the back of the church, I used to give the hymn books out ‘til they got one of them there overhead projector things”,
But still, I live in hope and I put them there notes in my Sunday best suit... just in case, you never know, miracles happen, when I go to church they may ask me to preach!
Well do you remember last week? Pastor was on holiday and the visiting preacher’s car broke down and he didn’t make the service?
Well son remember? The service started with a warning that the visiting preacher had broken down, and would be arriving late (and there was me thinking it was his car that was in trouble!) We sung the usual songs and choruses, had the notices and bible readings... would you believe it they read the same verses that was in them there bible notes just the day before... then nothing, that’s right NOTHING! The service just finished and everybody went home!
They didn’t ask if anybody had a word, a message to share... and I had them notes burning a hole in my pocket, I was mad, desperate to tell everybody what God had told me, but wasn’t given a chance!
Well, when I got home, I was still angry that I didn’t get a chance to share my little sermon, that words from God, what He had told me the day before.
So I decided that they weren’t going to be wasted, someone needed to hear this wonderful message that God given me, so I decided to go into the garden, take them there notes out of me pocket and preach them to the birds.
I gave it large, at the top of my voice, to all the birds, it seemed to preach very well... well at least I thought so.
I told the birds of Salvation, of forgiveness of sin and of what Jesus had done for me! While I was in full flow at the top of me voice, the hairs on the back of my neck began to bristle; I had a feeling that someone was watching me!
I slowly turned round and saw four head peering over the wall... wide eyed, four noses resting on the fence, my neighbours, looking in disbelief at what was happening over the fence! Mr and Mrs Smith and the twins, they had been listening to me preach.
They had just moved in and wanted to introduce themselves, we had a nice chat, and I was invited around to tea, they wanted to know more about what I had been preaching to them there birds.
They were so interested that I invited them to church, and here they are! I don’t know who is more shocked them or me!
Jim had learned a valuable lesson that week, preaching is not just for pulpits, you never know who’s listening when you speak about Jesus, and because Jim preached to the birds, his neighbours have now joined our little church at Milltown now the angels are celebrating four more souls having come to know Jesus at our little old mission church in a little town called Milltown, lying in the hills between Yorkshire and Lancashire my home town.
My Mate Jim
This tale is about my mate Jim a member of our little old mission church in a little town called Little Milltown, lying in the hills between Yorkshire and Lancashire my home town.
The church has moved on since the old days, all the pews have gone; they now have a worship band instead of an organ, and the overhead projector having replaced hymn books.
The sound system booms out the music and the pastor is wired for sound so that no body misses a word that he preaches,
Major Misery one of the founder members of the church would complain, “With coloured lights and guitars, keyboards and drums it could be mistaken for the local disco,” (actually his name is Major Minster, but because he complains about everything that happened at the church, he has well earned his nickname, but more of him later)... “They will be having performing seals next!”
The pastor would reply “If that what it takes to bring people to Jesus bring ‘em on in!” but really the pastors heart was to preach the gospel and let the Holy Spirit do the rest!
Now then,
Last Sunday when I was at church I sat next to my mate Jim, a lovely old man, been at the church for ever. He’d lost his wife to cancer two years ago, his children have moved abroad and he has become a bit of a loner, but was there he was, sat on the back row of the little church every Sunday come rain or shine.
This week Jim had a family with him, He introduced them as his neighbours, Dave and Mary Smith with their twins Simon and Sarah, it was their first time they had gone to church when they weren’t celebrating a ‘hatch, match or dispatch event’, Jim joked,
It could be said that they had a ‘Third Party Festival and Feast’ kind of faith,
“How they came to be here was a bit of a tale”, Jim whispered to me, “I’ll tell you what happened later,”
Well, after the service, over a cup of tea Jim told me the following tale:-
A week last Saturday I got up early and as usual on a morning, I sat in my conservatory as I do every day with a big fat cup of coffee, I were playing bible bingo, as my late wife called it, I read several editions of bible notes, reading the days meditations and looking up the verses from the bible recommended... then deciding which one I fancied to choose to be my text for the day.
I had just finished me cup of coffee and was looking out into the garden, my mind started to wonder and I found myself thinking about God and creation and then somehow found myself writing down notes, When I read through the notes I had just written, I said to myself “Wow! This is hot stuff, straight from God, do you know what? This will preach”!
Jim continued... “I don’t know why God gave them words to me... you see I’m just plain old Jim who sits at the back of the church, I used to give the hymn books out ‘til they got one of them there overhead projector things”,
But still, I live in hope and I put them there notes in my Sunday best suit... just in case, you never know, miracles happen, when I go to church they may ask me to preach!
Well do you remember last week? Pastor was on holiday and the visiting preacher’s car broke down and he didn’t make the service?
Well son remember? The service started with a warning that the visiting preacher had broken down, and would be arriving late (and there was me thinking it was his car that was in trouble!) We sung the usual songs and choruses, had the notices and bible readings... would you believe it they read the same verses that was in them there bible notes just the day before... then nothing, that’s right NOTHING! The service just finished and everybody went home!
They didn’t ask if anybody had a word, a message to share... and I had them notes burning a hole in my pocket, I was mad, desperate to tell everybody what God had told me, but wasn’t given a chance!
Well, when I got home, I was still angry that I didn’t get a chance to share my little sermon, that words from God, what He had told me the day before.
So I decided that they weren’t going to be wasted, someone needed to hear this wonderful message that God given me, so I decided to go into the garden, take them there notes out of me pocket and preach them to the birds.
I gave it large, at the top of my voice, to all the birds, it seemed to preach very well... well at least I thought so.
I told the birds of Salvation, of forgiveness of sin and of what Jesus had done for me! While I was in full flow at the top of me voice, the hairs on the back of my neck began to bristle; I had a feeling that someone was watching me!
I slowly turned round and saw four head peering over the wall... wide eyed, four noses resting on the fence, my neighbours, looking in disbelief at what was happening over the fence! Mr and Mrs Smith and the twins, they had been listening to me preach.
They had just moved in and wanted to introduce themselves, we had a nice chat, and I was invited around to tea, they wanted to know more about what I had been preaching to them there birds.
They were so interested that I invited them to church, and here they are! I don’t know who is more shocked them or me!
Jim had learned a valuable lesson that week, preaching is not just for pulpits, you never know who’s listening when you speak about Jesus, and because Jim preached to the birds, his neighbours have now joined our little church at Milltown now the angels are celebrating four more souls having come to know Jesus at our little old mission church in a little town called Milltown, lying in the hills between Yorkshire and Lancashire my home town.