“ Rest in the Lord! ” A wonderful reminder to be patient. These verses come to mind...Psalm 37:7a Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him. And again in Psalm 40:1 I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
“ The Boy from Esserville, Virginia (continued) ” (continued from previous entry)
Now I know in this world of high standards
Riley Bruce Hensley might not have been an important man
But he was taught to read and called to preach
By Jehovah's mighty hand
Oh I know his name will never be
In bright lights and bold letters
You see it isn't very popular to tell men they can be loosed
From the sin that binds their souls in fetters
But here's the lesson that can be learned
When you hear about this man once filled with strife
It doesn't matter who you are or where you've been
For God to change your life.
written by: Laura L. Hensley Grapes
Malachi 3:16
“ The boy from Esserville, Virginia ” I know God had His hand on Riley From the moment of his birth There were so many lives he touched While here upon this earth Riley, was a plain and simple lad Who had no money to his name Born in Esserville, Virginia With no former claim to fame His father was sent to prison His mother ran away And Riley turned to drinking Trying to fill the void inside someway And from a little boy he grew To barely but a man He was fifteen when God began To reveal His mighty plan In overalls with patched up knees The Lord could Riley use
He saved the boy with the tainted name
In a pair of scuffed up shoes Six foot six and couldn't read A second grade education God didn't want a college man
For this chosen man's vocation God wanted someone simple To preach His Holy Word But Riley told Him he couldn't read
He didn't know a noun from a verb
Then one day upon a mountainside Where Riley went to pray He took the New Testament book of John And God taught him how to read that day He then became a great example To the ones he lived about He could make a sinner tremble
When he raised his voice to shout But the thing that I remember most About the life he lived Was Riley truly loved the Lord And he wasn't ashamed to tell anyone he did....To be continued
“ Oppossums and Snakes ” Amusing stories of emotions over oppossums and snakes are used in this message to teach a lasting truth that we are emotional creatures. How much more should the Creator of oppossums and snakes inspire us to exhibit emotion.
“ Cat Gets Mohawk... ” What starts out as an amusing story about a juvenile prank to give a cat a mohawk turns into one of the most memorable illustrations of the power of sin that I've ever heard. I'll never forget it. (Pastor Hensley's old-school preaching is something else to hear, too!)
5/28/06 10:50 AM
