FCM Atlanta Chapter Minutes for September 14, 2017
The September14, 2017 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; Eugene and Melissa McBrayer; Leland Davis; Judy Neyland; Mike Ellis; Bill Darby; Randy Burt; Ricky Henson. We were delighted to welcome Walter and Fran Lawrence and Scott Henson! What a joy to have them here!
Our prayer is for the health and safety of our members both in attendance and for those who were absent.
As always, we thank Judy for the delicious dessert!
We had a fabulously fun and exciting meeting—so good to see everybody!
Our next meeting will be Thursday, October 12, 2017 at the home of John and Julia Jefferson. We are looking forward to the fellowship.
The following is a summary of our meeting.
Keep the “SON” Shining…
John Jefferson
MINUTES:
We opened with FREE STUFF!!! Yes, John purchased a couple of boxes of miscellaneous magic from the FCM conference at the auction run by Tricky Ricky, in June, and was ready to give it all away!! Each attendee was given a number and was able to make at least 5 choices! At the end, it was a “free-for-all” until everything was packed securely in plastic bags, ready to be removed from John’s house! John truly enjoys this tradition and is delighted to share with our club.
John gave a handout to each member with information for the FCM conference that will be held July 8-13, 2018. It will be at the Caribbean Cove in Indianapolis, IN. Hopefully several of us will be able to attend.
Bill, reported that he enjoyed this year’s conference. John and Julia always consider the week a blessing.
Ricky started our sharing time with a styrofoam hemisphere with a cross stuck in it. He asked several of us to name a sin. As they did, he wrote it on a small piece of paper and tacked it to the cross. Ricky then reminded us that Jesus died for our sins and truly took them on himself. If we trust in Jesus, confess our sins, and believe, our sins will be taken away. As he said the last line, Ricky lit the pieces of paper and they instantly disappeared!! What a great way to illustrate such an important part of our Gospel!
Ricky then had his invisible flea predict a card. Ricky had Walter choose a card and put if face down in his hand. Ricky then let loose his flying fish!! Walter was instructed to keep his hand with the card on it, under the fish as the fish flew around the room!! After a few fun incidents, Ricky’s invisible flea whispered to Ricky that he knew the card and was ready to tell Ricky. Ricky said to Walter, “You picked Jesus!” Walter turned over the card in his hand and, indeed, he had chosen Jesus!!! What a great choice!
Leland was next! He placed 2 chairs back to back about 2 feet apart. He brought out of his bag 2 balloons on strings, tied to a pole. He placed the pole on the tops of the chairs and asked someone to blow air between the two balloons using an empty paper towel roll. He did and to our amazement, the balloons came together! He then showed us a stack of magnets and asked someone to pull them apart. It could not be done. Leland’s illustration was that he hopes that we are so close to God that nothing can pull us apart! And that we should be in tune to those things that attract us to our Lord. We know that his Sunday School kids just love to see their scientist/magician walk in the door! Just for us, Leland showed us his special Senior Citizen magnet. It is a strong magnet on the end of a string, used for picking up magnetic objects on the floor. Just think about it! Thanks, Leland. We need all the help we can get!
Bill reported that he attended the Iowa State Fair. 1.3 million attended! Bill sat in front of a model of the Ark and interacted with dozens of people, young and old, spreading the Gospel with his magic 2- coin trick he learned from a cowboy in Arizona! His message was clear—the tongue has the power of life and death—we have a choice. Bill, we are always delighted to hear your wonderful stories as you share God’s Word. You are a blessing to all. Bill also went to Romania again and he and his friends gave away over 800 coins with the Ten Commandments written on them.
For twenty-six years Randy has ministered to the Indians. Randy shared a wonderful story with us from this past year. Last year there were 500 Indian children in attendance at the presentation given by Ricky and Randy. One young girl, in a wheelchair, was there and Randy and many others prayed for her, as she had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. She came up to Randy this year, walking on her own, and said she was in remission. It is so rewarding to see such a blessing bestowed by God on this young lady. She was excited that her missionary friends had returned so that she could tell them her wonderful story. Ricky has been ministering to the Indians for 41 years. Both Randy and Ricky are so grateful that they are able to share God’s Word with so many who truly need help.
Ricky asked us to please pray for his health issues.
Walter, author of 5 Christian related western books, gave out information about his book series. The books can be used in small groups as they have thoughtful questions at the end of the stories. How great is it to have a renowned writer in our midst! We are delighted to have Walter and Fran attend our meeting. We do hope they will return.
Mike showed us his Pearly Grates effect. He wrote the numbers 51, 15 and 31 on a piece of paper. He then turned it upside down and it spelled Jesus. What a great “pocket” trick that can be shown almost anywhere and with a message of your choice!
Walter works with the Cowboy Church and is learning rope tricks. He showed that he could tie a knot in a rope without letting go of the ends. Walter demonstrated and then asked Leland to try. After several tries, Leland was asked to give the ends of the rope to Walter. The knot then appeared! Guess it just takes a little help from a friend.
John finished the meeting with a trick he bought from Jack Markle at the conference. He placed several scarves in a makeshift bag and then a flag magically appeared! It was not just any flag, it was the Christian Flag! John reminded us that we used to say a pledge to the Christian Flag in our Vacation Bible Schools when we were kids. There are actually 2 versions and most of us know the new version. We all stood and proudly said the pledge. What a privilege and a joy to be able to meet and show respect to a flag that represents our faith in Jesus Christ!!! Several members said they still say that pledge in their churches!
The rush was on to scarf up the $5.00 bags of magic that Ricky had brought to the meeting! Many walked out with lots of great tricks for a terrific price! Thanks, Ricky. That was great.
Well, all good things must come to a temporary end—until next month—October 12, 2017. Hope to see you then!
Grace be to you,
Julia