Quote from Forum Archives on July 1, 2003, 12:14 pm

Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Dear friends,

Every now and then, Larry Davies uses truly unorthodox, but
familiar every day illustrations to get his point across. Often,
it works because people tend to remember wacky illustrations.
The one thing we don't want to miss, when we read memorable
illustrations, are the main points.

See if you can see the main points in this story. I'm sure that
Larry will have more to share with us in the weeks ahead.

By the way, the pastor of my home church also likes to use a lot
of illustrations. Greg Comfort is a cycling and surfing
enthusiast, so he uses a lot of illustrations that mention those
things. The important thing is that we focus, not so much on the
illustrations as on the real object of our affections, the Lord
Jesus Christ Himself.

As this story unfolds, I think you'll see that's where it leads.
Besides, the story contains one of my very favorite scriptures
from Philippians 4. (How long do you think it took me to see
THAT?) 🙂

Dear Lord,

I enjoy having fun, and I want to continually rejoice in You, my
Lord, my hope, my strength. Sometimes it is fun to do something
really out of the ordinary, if for no other reason than to keenly
remind ourselves of the reasons we do the things that we do.
Lord, You are my source of hope, You are the reason that I live,
not to worship others, not to satisfy myself, not for any other
reason. Yet I confess that it is SO easy to think of other
things, to get distracted, and to allow my eyes or my mind to
wander to other places.

Help me to continually place my hope and trust in You, to rejoice
in You at all times, to share the reason for my joy with others,
and to also find my place of rest securely in You alone.

Your Brother in Christ,
Brian

____________________________________________________________

Sowing Seeds of Faith...

-----Original Message-----
From: sherry fox [mailto:slfoxrn@msn.com]
I just wanted you to know I received a special blessing from the
supportive emails. Things are actually looking good around here
lately. I know the power of prayer and I praise the Lord for his
intervention in my situation and thank you for the others who
"prayed through" for me when I was unable to pray for myself. As
a matter of fact after coming out of this slump I actually am
happier and more at peace than I was before this round of
frustration almost got me. Thanks! You have a wonderful
ministry. Sherry

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"Worship with Elvis?" Part 1 Larry Davies

Once a year we have our annual Beach Party Service where we
dress casual and act a little crazy but the results are intended
to be the same: worship and encouragement. This year, the Sunday
bulletin had a picture of Elvis Presley on the cover and the
title: "Elvis in Concert: A Rock & Roll Worship!" One person
entering the church looked at the bulletin and sniffed... "Larry
has finally lost his mind."

There is a reason for this particular madness however, so I told
everyone: "Hang in and trust me!"

Charles Wade wrote: "Elvis had an abiding love of gospel music.
For him it was not an affectation, nor a passing fancy. He
returned to this part of his music over and over again - a music
that helped define his style, his career and the complex
personality that changed the face of American culture."

Peter Guralnick, author of "The Unmaking of Elvis Presley:
Careless Love" wrote, "This is a story of fame. It is a story of
celebrity and its consequences. It is, I think, a tragedy. Elvis
Presley may well be the most written-about figure of our time.
He is also in many ways the most misunderstood. 'It's very
hard,' Elvis declared without facetiousness at a 1972 press
conference, 'to live up to an image.'"

The worship service was designed to resemble an actual Elvis
concert. There were various opening acts performed by our music
ministry: "Just a Closer Walk with Thee" by our bell group,
"Crying in the Chapel and "Precious Lord" by our choirs. We even
had a young Elvis who sang several early hits. Everything was
designed to lead toward the appearance of Elvis himself.

Periodically, someone would announce the whereabouts of the King
of Rock and Roll, "Elvis has left the hotel. Elvis is in the
limousine!" Several young girls shrieked. You could feel the
anticipation! In addition, HBN-TV (Heavenly Broadcast Network)
who sponsored "Elvis in Concert" was allowed to videotape the
entire worship service. As part of the arrangement, Elvis agreed
to a live interview.

Maintaining the concert atmosphere, we titled our prayer time,
"Love Me Tender" but subtly changed the words to better reflect
an offering of love and praise to God: "Love me tender, love me
sweet; never let me go. You have made my life complete and I
love you so. Love me tender, love me true, all my dreams
fulfill. For my dear Lord, I love you and I always will."

Our children's story was based on the song... "Don't Be Cruel."
As I told the children, "Sometimes we can all be cruel to each
other: Brothers hit sisters. Sisters slap brothers. We tell lies
about our friends. We make cruel and hurtful remarks. Do you
think God meant for us to be cruel?"

The children quickly shouted... "No!" The Bible says, "Always be
full of joy in the Lord. I say it again - rejoice! Let everyone
see that you are considerate in all you do." (Philippians 4:4-5)

How can we be full of joy and more considerate in all that we
do? Elvis sang a song describing how we should treat others: "I
don't want to be your tiger, cause tigers play too rough. I
don't want to be your lion 'cause lions ain't the kind you love
enough. I Just wanna be your teddy bear." There is something so
loveable and huggable about a teddy bear. Maybe Elvis himself
would say:

So, "Don't be Cruel" to your friends or to your "Hound Dog"
because you might get us "All Shook Up," break our "Wooden
Hearts" and send us "Crying in the Chapel" or to the "Heartbreak
Hotel" where we'd be singing "Jailhouse Rock." Instead, follow
Jesus, read the Bible and learn to "Love Me Tender" in order to
"Let me be your Teddy Bear." Because when it comes to being
nice: "It's Now or Never" before someone gets mad and says to
you... "Return to Sender." (I know it's corny but it was fun!)

As the kids went back to their seats, the announcer's voice
boomed: "The limousine has just pulled in!"

Then the long awaited word came, "Elvis is here. Elvis Presley
has entered the building!" It's been nearly thirty years but
Elvis is back. What would he say? Or sing? More importantly,
Larry... what does Elvis have to do with me and my relationship
with God? Next Week... "Elvis and The Interview."

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--
Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: www.geocities.com/masinick/

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