INTRODUCTION: ILL.- One grandmother said, “My granddaughter came to spend a few weeks with me, and I decided to teach her to sew. After I had gone through a lengthy explanation of how to thread the machine, she stepped back, put her hands on her hips, and said in disbelief, "You mean you can do all that, but you can’t operate my Game Boy?"
ILL.- A sweet little boy surprised his grandmother one morning and brought her a cup of coffee. He made it himself and was so proud. He anxiously waited to hear the verdict on the quality of the coffee. The grandmother had never in her life had such a bad cup of coffee, and as she forced down the last sip she noticed three of those little green army guys in the bottom of the cup.
She asked, "Honey, why would three little green army guys be in the bottom of my cup?"
Her grandson replied, "You know grandma, it’s like on TV, ’The best part of waking up is soldiers (Folgers) in your cup."
ILL.- My grandson was visiting one day when he asked, "Grandpa, do you know how you and God are alike?" I mentally polished my halo while I asked, "No, how are we alike?" "You’re both old," he replied.
ILL.- Another grandmother said, “I didn’t know if my granddaughter had learned her colors yet, so I decided to test her. I would point out something and ask her what color it was. She would tell me and always she was correct. But it was fun for me, so I continued. At last she headed for the door, saying sagely, "Grandma, I think you should try to figure out some of these yourself."
ILL.- A grandmother was telling her little granddaughter what her own childhood was like: "We used to skate outside on a pond. I had a swing made from a tire; it hung from a tree in our front yard. We rode our pony. We picked wild raspberries in the woods."
The little girl was wide-eyed, taking this in. At last she said, "I sure wish I’d gotten to know you sooner!"
Isn’t grandparenting grand? Better yet, aren’t grandchildren a ball of fun? Interesting? Insightful? Entertaining? And exhausting?
ILL.- Elaine and I recently visited my daughter and her family in Mechanicsville, VA. Granddaughter Hope is age 5 and is a sweet, pretty little girl. Grandson Caleb is age two and is full of energy. And as Elaine says, he can’t talk softly. He is loud every time he opens his mouth. But they were so much fun, well behaved and full of energy.
I’ve got the cutest picture of Caleb sitting on Elaine’s lap and she is talking to him and his response is like, “yeah, yeah, yeah!”
PROP.- In the light of this being grandparents’ day and in the light of the hurricane Katrina tragedy, I want us to think of honoring some and helping others.
I. HONORING SOME
In this case, honoring grandparents.
Proverbs 17:6 “Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children.”
New Living Translation “Grandchildren are the crowning glory of the aged…”
CEV “Grandparents are proud of their grandchildren.” Most of the time, this is true.
DID YOU KNOW?
• There were about 56 million grandparents in the United States in 2001, according to data collected in the Census Bureau’s Survey of Income and Program Participation?
• Of Americans aged 45 and over, roughly 67 percent are grandparents?
• About 75,000 Americans become grandparents each month?
• The average age of people becoming grandparents for the first time is 47?
• About 8 percent of all children in the United States – nearly 5.8 million children – live with their grandparents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau?
QUOTES:
- "If you would civilize a man, begin with his grandmother.”
- “Few things are more delightful than grandchildren fighting over your lap.”
- “No cowboy was ever faster on the draw than a grandparent pulling a baby picture out of a wallet.”
- "The reason that grandparents and grandchildren get along so well is that they have a common enemy."
- “They say genes skip generations. Maybe that’s why grandparents find their grandchildren so likeable.”
- “My grandkids believe I’m the oldest thing in the world. And after two or three hours with them, I believe it, too.”
- “Grandchildren are God’s way of compensating us for growing old. “
- “I don’t intentionally spoil my grandkids. It’s just that correcting them often takes more energy than I have left.”
I think grandparents deserve some honor, some praise, a pat on the back! Some kids receive some of their best support and encouragement in life from their grandparents. Most grandparents are good to their grandchildren. VERY GOOD!
As they say, we play with him, spoil them and then send them home.
ILL.- Beth A. Mlady wrote of her son: Jason stuffed his teddy bear and blanket into the Thomas the Tank Engine suitcase and ran down the stairs. He was as excited as any five year old would be knowing he was to spend the night at Grandma’s. Visions of popcorn, ice cream, and “Toy Story” danced through his head as he bounded into the car.
"To get an overnight reprieve from parenting was like manna from heaven since my husband and I had not been out on a date in months. Upon arrival at Grandma’s, Jason ran through the kitchen, tossed his luggage in the corner, and went in search of the cat. We said “Goodbye” to his retreating back, left our cell phone number on the kitchen counter, and departed.
"Grandma and Jason spent the evening watching movies and munching on snacks. Just before bedtime, Jason ran to the bathroom. He emerged jubilant, a shiny tooth in his hand.
“Look, Grandma! My tooth finally fell out,” he said. “That’s wonderful!” she replied. “What are you going to do with it?” “Leave it for the tooth fairy, silly!” he yelled as he returned to the bathroom to admire the new gap in his smile.
"He wrapped the tooth in a tissue and slipped it under his pillow. The flip-flop of his slippers echoed on the tile floor as he brushed his teeth and snuggled into bed. Grandma suddenly realized she had no idea how much money the “tooth fairy” usually left for him. She rushed to the phone.
"Our cell phone had been turned off upon entering the movie theater, so her efforts to reach us were in vain. She heard Jason singing to himself in his room, so she tapped on the door and entered. ’When all else fails,’ she surmised, ’ask the child!’ She smiled at how simple the solution to her problem was.
“Jason, honey, how much does the tooth fairy usually leave you?” she asked softly.
"He looked drowsily at her and pulled the covers up to his chin “You’ll find out in the morning, Grandma,” he slurred, and he drifted off to sleep."
Grandchildren are a source of joy, fun, excitement and endurance! It’s hard to keep up with them, especially, when they’re little.
I have often thought it would be great to live near my grandchildren but after visiting with them for three days, now I’m not so sure. Thank God for grandparents!
II. HELPING OTHERS
Galatians 6:10 “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”
In Matthew 22:39, Jesus said that the second great commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself. And, of course, your neighbor could be anybody. Your neighbor, my neighbor could be a resident of New Orleans, LA, or somewhere in that vicinity.
We all remember the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke chapter 10. The busy priest passed by on the other side and so did the Levite. Business often prevents us from doing things for others. We are so busy with ourselves than we often forget others.
But a complete stranger, a foreigner came along and WHEN HE SAW THE BEATEN MAN, HE TOOK PITY ON HIM.
When we truly see the plight of hurting people, how can we not take pity on them and do something for them? The Good Samaritan went out of his way, spent his own money, took time from his own life and business to care for this hurting neighbor.
Obviously, this applies to us when it comes to the victims of hurricane Katrina. We must do what we can, when we can and how we can. Anything is better than nothing. Anything: giving material goods, giving money, giving physical assistance, etc. is what we must do.
We got a phone call from Angela Gary who is working with the Red Cross to help feed these displaced people in Jonesboro. They need help in feeding these people for breakfast, lunch and dinner on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. I thought that perhaps we should cancel our evening service and go serve dinner on Sunday evening. I think God would probably be more pleased with us doing that than having a service for ourselves.
ILL.- Listen to this story. Bill Harris of Slidell, LA, 59 years old, who suffers from a chronic kidney disorder, said he went to sleep Sunday night in the condominium he shares with his cat, Miss Kitty, which was approximately a mile from Lake Pontchartrain alongside a canal. When he woke, the gray and brown cat was on top of the China cabinet meowing pathetically.
Harris found out why when he sat up to get out of bed.
“There was no floor there,” he said of the bizarre sight that greeted him as his bed floated in six feet of water toward a newly broken bay window in his bedroom.
Harris fell off the bed and remembers praying each of the four times he went under, fighting to avoid being pulled out the window by the current of water. The fourth time, though, he saw Miss Kitty hurl herself across the room to a table that was still above water and struggled to follow her. He wasn’t able to climb onto the table, but he found a chair that had miraculously stayed upright nearby and managed to stand on it, soon to be joined by Miss Kitty.
Harris says he tried to get out, but found his front door blocked by a 30-foot fishing boat that had been deposited on his porch.
So with no other way out, he spent the better part of three days standing on the chair and clutching Miss Kitty to his chest.
A boater eventually heard Harris’ shouts and a second boat soon arrived to pull him to safety out the window. Despite his pleas, though, the rescuers were not willing to re-enter the condo to grab Miss Kitty. Harris remains upset over the loss of the cat he calls his “guardian angel,” though he is still holding out hope of a reunion. And he is very worried about his mother, Jane Harris, who he believes was moved out of the Trinity Nursing Home before the flood for parts unknown.
Brothers and sisters, the stories of the survivors abound. And the stories of the dead and dying abound.
Today, we need to think in terms of helping others. This is a part of what life is all about for us as Christians. We must love our neighbors as ourselves.
Let me address another thought or question: Most people are questioning their faith and/or God. Why did this happen? Or “God, if you are so loving, why you do this or allow this to happen?”
ILL.- At the Astrodome in Houston, where 16,000 refugees received food and shelter, Rose McNeely took the floods as a sign from God to move away from New Orleans, where she said her two grown children had been killed in past years in gunfights. “I lost everything I had in New Orleans,” she said.
ILL.- Gerald Greenwood, 55, collected a free Bible earlier in the morning, but sat watching a science fiction television program above the stands in an enclosed stadium once home to Houston’s baseball and football teams. “This is the work of Satan right here,” he said of the floods.
ILL.- On Sunday, the Salvation Army conducted an outside religious service that included songs such as “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.”
“Natural disaster is caused by the sin in the world,” said Maj. John Jones, area commander for the Salvation Army, who led the service. “The acts of God are what happens afterwards ... all the good that happens.”
Tim Washington, 42, said at New Orleans’ Superdome Saturday as he waited to be evacuated, “God made all this happen for a reason. This city has been going to hell in a handbasket spiritually.”
What’s the answer? What’s the truth? Who is behind this flooding and/or why did it happen? It is God’s fault or Satan’s or perhaps the people of New Orleans?
Let me once again give you five Biblical reasons why bad things like hurricane Katrina happen in our world. Or why bad things happen to all people.
1- Some bad things happen to people because of Satan. Satan is a liar, a deceiver, a murderer, and a destroyer. I believe that he is out to destroy people anyway he can. We all know the story of Job, that is, how God allowed him to afflict Job and his family. And no doubt, Satan is still at it today.
To pinpoint Satan and say that he is behind hurricane Katrina is hard to say. We don’t for sure. We just know he is out to destroy people and ultimately take them to hell, if possible.
2- Some bad things happen to us in this life because we live in an imperfect world. Guess what? I have finally found the perfect car that will never wear out, the paint will never fade, the tires will never wear, the motor will run perfectly on and on, etc. I can hear somebody say, “Dream on, great dreamer!” And you are exactly right! There is no perfect car, nor is there a perfect house to live in, or a perfect body to live in.
Why not? Because God never made earth a perfect place! There is absolutely nothing in it that is perfect and will last forever. BUT THERE IS A PERFECT WORLD and the Lord keeps trying to point us to it!
I wish that things in this world worked better and lasted longer: houses, cars, the human body, etc. but they don’t. It’s a fact of life and it’s the truth of God. This world is wearing out and coming to an end. This is why we have hurricanes, tornadoes, storms, floods, earthquakes, etc.
3- Some bad things happen to us because we sin. Our nature is to sin. Blame Adam. Blame Eve. Blame the president. Blame anyone you want but it’s the truth. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and our sin often causes us trouble. Our sin brings bad things into our lives.
ILL.- My dad died at the age of 72 of a sudden heart attack. I personally think he’d lived a lot longer if he hadn’t smoked heavily all of his life. It’s a proven fact that smoking is damaging to the human heart.
Some bad things happen to us because of our sinfulness.
4- Some bad things happen to us because of the sins of others. There are looters and there are shooters in New Orleans. Some looters are only trying to survive. Other looters are also shooters. They’ve shot at the police and the National Guard. Some have killed others. Some have raped little girls. How horrible! And those families suffer horribly because of their sin.
5- And some bad things may happen because of God’s discipline in our lives. Hebrews 12:5-6. God disciplines those He loves. Some people think the hurricane is a matter of God’s discipline on New Orleans. However, when it comes to God’s discipline it’s hard to pinpoint. It’s not easy to say, “Well, God did that because He is trying to tell you something.” I have personally said those words, but I don’t know for sure.
Brothers and sisters, we need to be discerning about the things that are happening in this world and in our lives. We of all people should be more discerning and wiser about the bad things that are happening in this world. BUT THE IMPORTANT THING RIGHT NOW IS NOT TO GET INTO THE BLAME GAME, BUT RATHER TO BE IN THE “FIX IT” BUISNESS. We should not be a part of the problem but rather be a part of the solution. We must minister as Jesus ministered in his world. This means, helping hurting people anyway we can!
CONCLUSION--------------------------------------
ILL.- HOUSTON - In the last week, Joseph Brant lost his apartment, walked by scores of dead in the streets, traversed pools of toxic water and endured an arduous journey to escape the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in his hometown New Orleans.
On Sunday, however, he was praising the Lord, saying the ordeal was a test that ended up dispelling his lifelong distrust of white people and setting his life on a new course. He said he hitched a ride Friday in a van driven by a group of white folks.
“Before this whole thing I had a complex about white people; this thing changed me forever,” said Brant, 36, a truck driver who, like many of the refugees receiving public assistance in Houston, Texas, is black.
Brothers and sisters, God put us here to minister to one another regardless of race, creed, or color. God put us here to love one another, to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.
God help us all!
