FCM Atlanta Chapter Minutes for May 10, 2018
The May 10, 2018 meeting for the Atlanta Chapter of the FCM was held at the home of John and Julia Jefferson. Those in attendance were the following: John and Julia Jefferson; Leland Davis; Jim and Judy Neyland; John Abbott; Mark Childers and Sara Caroline; Bill Darby. What a joy to have Sara Caroline, Mark’s daughter and Jim Neyland, Judy’s husband with us!!!! Please come back. Our hearts were blessed!
Our next meeting will be Thursday, SEPTEMBER 13, 2018. We will take a little break over the summer. It will begin at 6:30 p.m. with dinner. Please feel free to come earlier!
It is our privilege and it creates much joy for us to host such a wonderful group of God’s children in our home. We hope all of our members will be able to return in September!
The following is a summary of our meeting.
Keep the “SON” Shining…
John Jefferson
MINUTES:
John welcomed our members and our very special guests and reminded everyone of the upcoming FCM Conference in Indianapolis, IN held Sunday evening, July 8, 2018 through Friday, July 13. Check out the FCM website for more information.
After prayer, Leland led our evening by telling us about his recent mission trip to Holbrook, AZ to minister to the Navajo Indians. Leland performed his science “magic” tricks for the children as well as worked construction during the day. We are sure the children were amazed and we know they heard God’s word.
Leland explained that his wife’s mother made a great cake and Leland wanted to surprise his wife, Brenda, by making it. He called his mother-in-law and even though the phone connection was not very good, he managed to get the recipe. The first thing out of the bag was a fire extinguisher! Somehow we should have known! The following were the ingredients: 1 t salt; 1 c sugar; 2 ½ flours; 1 t of soda; 1 egg; oil; and heat. Of course, Leland used dandelions, one cube of sugar, soda pop, and motor oil! He put all of the ingredients in a pan then lit a match and put the top on the pan! He stirred the contents and let it “cook”. Leland explained that sometimes we do things to truly mess up our lives. We may abuse alcohol or drugs or make other poor decisions. However, God has a recipe for our lives and if we will rely on Him, study his Word and ask for his help and forgiveness, he will make us right with Him. At this point Leland opened the pan and in it was a beautiful cake! Thanks, Leland, for a great use of a dove pan and the creative story and message that went with it!! and thanks, Brenda, for making the real cake!
What’s in the box? Mark showed us a pretty gift box. In it was a deck of cards. Mark asked John A. to count the cards face up and stop anytime he wanted to. John turned over 10 cards. Mark then asked John to take out the piece of paper that was in the gift box. The note said the 5 of diamonds. Mark turned over the very next card—of course, the 5 of diamonds!! There was wild applause and then dead silence. How in the world does that trick work?? After many guesses and much frustration, Mark finally gave it up. Such a clever use of 3 often used concepts in magic!!!!! Mark’s message was that our walk with the Lord is through faith. We need to “ Trust in the Lord with all of our hearts and lean not unto our own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Prov. 3:5-6. Very often we come to this point by taking baby steps. We often do not know where we are going but our faith and trust enable us to arrive at the destination that is God’s will for us. How do we do this? We read and study our Bible, learn God’s principles and walk by faith. Mark, thanks for sharing a fantastic effect and a message of hope. We love your enthusiasm and your desire to be creative in presenting God’s Word!
John asked Sara Caroline if she had something to share with the group. Mark’s sweet college student said she would share a story. She explained first that she loves birds of all types and that she knows the names and species of a multitude of birds as well as their calls. A few days ago Sara Caroline and her mother went to Sam’s to pick up Sara’s birthday cake. Her mother was asked to renew her card and if she did it then, they could pick out something from the food department for free! What a blessing, as they were running late and were wondering what they would have for dinner! They decided on a bird—well, a great big rotisserie chicken! They checked out and as Sara Caroline carried the chicken out to the car, she wondered what the chicken’s name had been—Foghorn Leghorn? Or maybe a giant Tweety bird? Sara was in the process of thinking, holding the chicken and trying to open the door and alas, the chicken fell to the ground on the less than clean parking lot. Well, no worries, God provided them the chicken and now their dog will have a delicious meal! At that moment, Sara decided that the name of the chicken was Jack—he hit the road and he’s not comin’ back!! Never fear, God had provided them with a car with wheels that worked and there was a Wendy’s right across the street! Need we say more?
Thank you, Sara Caroline. Just watching you tell that delightful story of faith and belief in God’s promise to provide was a joy we won’t forget. Please come back and bring us more joy. Your dad has been right all of these years—you are a special blessing to him and to your Mom and to all of those who know you.
John Abbott was next. He asked Sara Caroline to think of the words Fear and Weak and then try to break the long length of thread he had given her. Try as she would, she could not break the thread. He then asked her to concentrate on the words, Faith and Strong. At that point she took the thread and broke it easily. John’s message was that fear makes us weak both spiritually and physically. If we have faith, we can be strong in the Lord. Great illustration and a great one to carry in your pocket! Thanks, John A.!
Okay, this is a first—at least for us! John A. told us that he recently went to the funeral of a wonderful Christian man. The mourners were sad for their loss but were rejoicing in his great life as a Gospel Magician. It was brought to their attention that John had recently begun doing Gospel Magic and of course he was asked to do a trick! Our newest member has been carrying around Professor’s Nightmare ever since his magic lessons with John J., so out came 3 ropes and a great message that God loves us all the same even through we are all very different!!! We are sure that John’s deceased friend would have been very proud of him!
And now for a real treat. Judy had told us that she would probably perform for us and she was ready! She brought her husband, Jim, a very young aged 95, up to assist her. She has used Jim as her assistant in nursing homes. Judy brought out a small ball and asked Jim to touch it at the same time she did. When they touched the ball at the same time, the ball began to play music and I think it even lit up! Their message was that their love for each other is a blessing from God. God told us to leave home and cleave to our wife or husband and become one.
Jim and Judy are an inspiration to all of us. They stay very busy sharing God’s word in dozens of ways. Their love for each other and for God’s children is so genuine. As John J. says, “They are my heroes!” Thanks so much, Judy and Jim.
We were all delighted to have Bill Darby return to the fold! He has been busy sharing the Gospel as always. He did a very clever trick that he had improvised on the fly as he had lost his much needed thumb tip. He managed to WOW his audience and give the message that there is only one way to heaven. Thanks to John J., Bill now has a new thumb tip!
At the request of the group, Bill showed us his 2-coin trick again. He said it can be done very easily after practicing it at least 400 times! Bill hands out the coins to children. The coins have the 10 commandments written on them or perhaps some other Bible verse. He said many of the children keep the coins in their pockets. Bill is a special blessing to the street children of Atlanta. What a joy it is to hear about the boys and girls who have come to know the Lord through Bill’s ministry. Thank you, Bill.
John Jefferson then shared a great mathematically “magic” trick called, The Book of John. He asked Leland to hold an envelope that held a prediction. John then showed us a board with 36 numbers printed on it. He asked different members to choose a number on the board. Each time a number was chosen, that row and column were eliminated. After six numbers were chosen, those numbers that were chosen were added and the number was 316. After much fun and byplay, Leland opened the prediction and on it was written John 3:16!! A true “oldie but goodie”!!! John then gave each person a copy of the instructions and the numbers for the trick. Thanks, John.
John then wrote on the board—JESUS DIED FOR MY SIN. He mixed up the 12 large cards which had scripture verses written on them. He then divided the 12 cards into 2 stacks of 6. John asked one person to spell out the word, JESUS, as John moved the cards five times from top to bottom. The helper had a free choice as to which stack or stacks to move. Each word in the saying on the board was used and each time the top card on each stack matched the other stack! The trick is called God’s Word Confirmed. What a great way to emphasize the message that Jesus died for our sins, and for sharing 6 other beautiful scripture verses! John again shared copies of the instructions with the members.
Well, 9:00 p.m. was approaching and as always, we hate to leave. We stop at nine to allow our friends to drive the many miles that they travel and arrive home at a reasonable hour! But, of course, we do stay a while and savor our fellowship. Again, what a joy it is to have our little family of loving Christians get together and worship the Lord.
REMEMBER—–Our next meeting will be Thursday, SEPTEMBER 13, 20108.
WE WISH YOU A LOVELY SUMMER.
Grace be to you,
Julia and John