FCM Atlanta Chapter for January 14, 2016
The January 14, 2016 meeting for the Atlanta Chapter of the FCM was held at the home of
John and Julia Jefferson. Those in attendance were: John and Julia Jefferson; Randy
Burt; Eugene McBray; Judy Neyland; Bob Colby; Leland Davis; Tim Franzen; Bill Darby; Lynn
Fox.
After dinner and Judy's yummy lemon cake, we began our time of sharing. We are sorry
that Mark could not attend this time. We wish him strength and healing.
Our next meeting will be Thursday, February 11, 2016 at the home of John and Julia
Jefferson. We will begin dinner at 6:30.
Following this message is a summary of our meeting.
Keep the “SON” Shining...
John Jefferson
MINUTES:
John opened the meeting with a reminder that the FCM International Conference will be
July 25-29, 2016 in Nashville. Hopefully several of us will be able to attend.
John then asked each of us to tell the group a little about ourselves and perhaps our
goals for the New Year. We always learn so much and have fun doing it!
Time to share. Lynn performed his “Ode to the Crimson Remnant” routine with a great
thumb tip move. Who's behind the squeezing out of the crimson remnant?--of course, Dr.
Visine—he gets the red out!! A great patter and a
good laugh!!
Bill then showed us 3 cards and asked Bob to choose one and swap the other two. Jesus
was one of the choices. Bill then told Bob which card he had chosen. The result could
be, “How great that you chose Jesus.” or “Why didn't you pick Jesus?” Either way, the
gospel can be shared. A creative idea that can be performed anywhere!
Tim was next. He asked us to do some math—good luck with that!--and most of our answers
were 2 and one half. He then produced from his pocket—2 and one half cents! He then put
a coin under a coaster and we did some more math—fun!!--anyway, our answer was ¼ or one
quarter. Tim removed the coaster revealing a quarter!! Pocket tricks are always handy
and are a great way to share a message!! Thanks, Tim.
Leland brought out his bag of science “tricks”!! He asked us what the colors of
Christmas are—red and green. He then put a powder in a container and lit it. The flame
was a beautiful red. He put another chemical in a second container, lit it and it was
green. The red was a reminder of Jesus' blood and the green was our spiritual growth.
He then related a couple of stories that illustrated how kindness and making others feel
good can truly encourage others and be a blessing to our spiritual growth. Leland shared
with us the chemicals he used found at various stores, plumbing section of Home Depot,
Auto parts store, and internet. A great illustration of God's hand in all areas of our
lives.
Bob reminded us the the recent Powerball odds of winning were somewhere in the
neighborhood or 290 million to one! The odds of his being able to match the cards on his
board are 120 to one—still pretty amazing!! Bob put 5 cards in slots and then asked
Julia to pick numbers one at a time into which he placed a card next to one already on
the board. Bob beat the odds!! When he turned the board around, all of the cards
matched!! Great effect—a perfect stage trick! The effect is “Clearly Mental” by Tony
Spiva.
Another science effect!! Randy showed a copper tube with several holes in it. He put in
the tube a metal weight and it promptly fell through. He did it again and this time the
weight slowly went down the tube as if by some magical force!! Seems like Rare Earth and
God's principles of science really are “magical”!!
Randy then demonstrated his “One Way” effect with his gospel patter. It seems that there
was a young man who felt that something in his life was missing. As he was sitting on a
park bench a man asked what was wrong. The first man explained and the older man said he
should go the biggest church in town. He should follow the arrows to the right. The
young man did as instructed and found the church very nice, but there was still something
missing. He returned to the park bench and this time a woman inquired about his sad
face. She said he should follow the arrows to the left, to the smallest church in the
city. The man did that but again was not satisfied. The young man returned to the park
and this time a small boy asked what he could do. The young man explained that something
was missing in his life. He had followed the arrows to the right and the left but was
still without an answer. The small boy then said, “Mr. you don't need to look to the
right or the left, you just need to look up! There is only one way to heaven and the
peace you are looking for-- Jesus.” Randy then opened the arrow effect, showing a
picture of a heart and of Jesus Christ. A great gospel application, thanks, Randy!
John showed us four envelopes and asked Judy what is the way to salvation. He then asked
her to choose one envelope which he placed to the side. He then picked up one of the
envelopes and out dropped a card on which the ten commandments were written. The next
envelope had a picture of a bag of money on it and the last a picture of the Bible. John
asked if any of these would be the key to salvation. Judy said no, that Jesus was the
way. John then showed the contents of the envelope that Judy had chosen earlier—a
picture of Jesus. A great mental trick with a great message.
John showed the gospel effect, ONE DOOR. John had Bob inspect the large one
“dollar”bill. On it were written several gospel messages and in the center was a picture
of Jesus—not George Washington! Bob held the door that John had made in the bill and
John showed that if he truly held on to Jesus and did not let go, that he would
ultimately end up on the other side of the door! A truly amazing effect that shows that
our tenacious faith is what will truly allow us to go from this world to heaven. Our
belief and trust in God through Jesus is all we need. A great trick given to John by
Magic Bob.
The last effect was called “100 Bible Names” John set up 10 cards with 10 Bible names on
each. He asked someone to mentally choose a name and tell John which card it was on.
John then turned the 10 cards around and was able to tell the person which name he had
chosen! John then challenged the group to figure out how it was done and eventually told
them the secret. A great twist!
Our meeting came to an end with a group picture—smile!
It was a great night with wonderful fellowship. It was so good to see almost all of our
members present. We will keep Mark in our prayers and hope to have all of us present
next time. |
