Project 4:4
Click on the icon below to see resources for the next Adult Ed Curriculum study at PV, a year-long study of The Daily Bible edited and annotated by F. LaGard Smith:
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As Iron Sharpens Iron ... |
09/05/2010 - by Chuck Monan, Preaching Minister
In 1940, a young 22-year-old man was hired as the football coach at a small college in Louisiana. The school had been known as the Louisiana Negro Normal and Industrial Institute but was renamed Grambling. The new coach’s name was Eddie Robinson. Fifty-five seasons later, Eddie Robinson coached the Grambling Tigers in his final campaign.
Robinson established himself as the winningest coach in Division 1-AA with his 408th collegiate victory, a remarkable feast. Eddie Robinson possessed many fine qualities such as:
1. Perseverance - Robinson coached for fifty-six seasons, enduring the long hours, incessant demands, and intense pressures of coaching. He loved what he did and never grew weary of the eight-hour bus rides he endured so many times.
2. Quiet dignity - Robinson was a soft-spoken man who, unlike many coaches, did not berate players, throw chairs or use abusive language to intimidate others. He always conducted himself with class and always respected other people.
3. Old fashioned values - Robinson started each morning the same way for decades: he walked up and down the corridors of the Grambling dorm, ringing his old school bell to make sure all of his students made it to their first class. Even though some scoffed at Robinson’s incessant warnings about the perils of drugs, illicit sex, and the need for an education, the
coach preached what he believed to be right. His example helped turn hundreds of students into men.
4. Humility - Robinson had every reason to be arrogant when one takes into account his amazing record. Yet, instead of accepting all the accolades about his unprecedented achievements, he was quick to credit the many great assistant coaches and players who contributed to Grambling’s success. He was largely unchanged from the humble young man who was grateful to receive the coaching position at Grambling so many years ago.
5. Enthusiasm - Robinson was still excited to be coaching football, even after 579 college games. After a victory over Langston the 78-year-old coach exulted, “This is about the sweetest one I’ve ever had.” He was ready to face the next challenge.
As we do our best to live as Christians, let us try to add perseverance, quiet dignity, old-fashioned values, humility and enthusiasm to our lives. With these qualities, we can have Hall of Fame careers in the Lord’s service, and influence many lives for his cause.
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Teach Him to Deny Himself |
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08/29/2010 - by Chuck Monan, Preaching Minister
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
~ 1 Cor. 9:24-27
The aftermath of the Civil War was devastating for the South. Facing a myriad of problems, it would take decades for the rebel states to effect any semblance of an effective recovery. The fortunes of Robert E. Lee were at a similarly low ebb. Because he could not raise his sword against his Virginia home, Lee refused command of the Union armies and volunteered his services to the South, a cause that was almost certainly doomed from the very outset.
Lee’s surrender to Grant at Appomattox left him facing an uncertain future. His beloved Arlington was gone, used by the Union as a cemetery. He was in need of employment, of something to do. An unexpected offer of a home came from England, promising the opportunity to live the rest of his days in comfort, ease, and luxury. He declined it. An insurance company offered him $25,000 a year, but Lee turned it down because “I can receive no money that I have not earned.” Instead, he became president of a small, struggling college at a salary of $1,500. He refused to become bitter or vindictive, and called on his former soldiers to support the Union.
Lee’s last few years were well spent as he worked to help others. One day a mother put her little child in his arms and asked him to offer a prayer for her son. Lee bowed his head over the child, held him close, and handed him back to his mother, saying, “Teach him to deny himself.”
This is a good thought for all of us. We are constantly tempted to splurge, to indulge, to surround ourselves with everything our hearts desire. Our Lord’s message to us is a bit different: “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Mark 8:34).
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