Children—Howard Potter
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Good morning.
Who has a song that we could start with this morning?
What's your number, Nick? Number four. OK, sing #4.
Crisis usage.
No, I didn't say I am fine. I'll be in touch with my creatine and by my pleasure reading.
If it's a danger for me.
Nsnoise, grandpa. Nsnoise.
Nsnoise, 8, 138.
Let's just take a moment and ask the Lord for His help this morning. That's right.
Our God and Father, we do thank thee for this wonderful day. We thank thee for the beautiful weather we have here, and we thank the Our Father for the Lord Jesus, we thank you for this opportunity to once again open thy word and and.
Tell thy love, Lord Jesus, for lost sinners. We thank Thee, Lord Jesus, that thou art the Savior of sinners, and we trust this morning that if there is.
Perhaps one still here this morning, still in their sins, that they would receive the Lord Jesus.
On their need and come to thee, call upon Thy name and be saved. So we just ask for Thy help this morning, and we thank Thee, our Father, and the precious and worthy name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen. OK, who else has a number we could say in this point?
32 Did someone else have one? OK, we'll sing 32 first and then we'll sing 38.
4, 97311.
83191.
9/4 170015 Double blah blah blah blah blah.
Umm oh, congratulations and find out what.
98189.
OK. We had someone else up here ask for number 38, so we'll say #38 also.
Nsnoise.
00:10:10
Thank you for those wonderful songs and uh, thanks for being up here this morning to help me out because I need a lot of help. Well, this morning what I'd like to talk about is, uh.
Something that I'm sure a lot of you children and older ones too like to do. I enjoy doing it. And, uh, you know, recently, uh, we made a little trip about a month ago to another state, uh, Arizona, you know, where Arizona is, it's, uh, it's in the southwestern part of the United States and they have some very interesting terrain there in Arizona. They have mountains and.
Desert and you know, they have some different animals and what we have, uh, where I live in the Midwest.
Supposedly they have rattlesnakes there, but I looked around and I couldn't. I couldn't find a rattlesnake. I really wanted to see one. But my wife, she was glad that that we didn't see a rattlesnake and she was glad I didn't see one. So anyway.
We had a nice time there and we visited the brethren there and they really enjoyed having us. And you know, the, the verse, the memory verse, I'm sure some of your children learned it and, uh.
Uh, this morning, uh, I appreciate the fact that you probably took the time to learn the verse. The verse I had was found in Romans. Uh, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Wonderful, wonderful verse. Romans 10/13. Well, you know, uh, what I was wanting to talk about this morning was, uh, was swimming.
And, uh, I know, uh, when it's hot out, well, there's nothing more refreshing than going for a nice swim. Do, do any of your children have a little pool at home that you like to, you like to play in and get wet? And it's, it's a lot of fun, isn't it? Well, when we, uh, when we get out went down to Arizona.
Like I mentioned, they have a lot of things that you can do there and one thing we enjoy doing is we like to go and you can go up into the mountains and, and you can hike and they have nice little, uh, streams that come running down out of the mountain and, and you can climb on the rocks and, and you can play in the water and it's nice and cool. You know, it's pretty warm. When we were there, I think the first day we were there was 110°.
But where we went to was a little cooler because it's a little higher elevation.
So we stopped at this one place, UH-1, umm, afternoon and, and, uh, you had to pay a little money to go into the park there and, and to hike. And, you know, there was a lot of people there and they were, they were climbing on the rocks and having a really nice time playing in the water. And, you know, uh, uh, they had, someone had taken in a tree and they tied a rope up in the tree.
And you could climb up on these rocks and you could grab a hold of the rope and you could swing out over the water and drop, drop right into the water. The nice cool, refreshing water. It's a little cool for some people's taste. I remember being up there in March before and, uh, the water is so cold that, that, uh, it's not really all that pleasant. I mean, your head will go your, your head gets numb from the water. It's so cold.
But it's a lot of fun anyway, so, so there were a lot of people doing that and there was a lot of kids and uh, there weren't too many older ones new. And I imagine I was probably one of the oldest ones doing it. If there's some fun to be had, it's, that's what I, I like to have fun like that. I, I'm getting older, but I still feel young, so.
Anyway.
We were about finished up.
And one group of young people they were they were having a nice lunch, sitting on the rocks and enjoying and being in the sun, and a family came along.
And, uh, part of the family, they weren't really dressed for getting in the water and they were just watching and they had a little boy and I think, uh, I think he was probably about your size.
00:15:09
You know, he was only about that tall. Maybe. Is that about how tall you are? Maybe. Well, he was pretty small.
And, you know, it can be dangerous jumping into the water like that. There's lots of rocks around and, and one has to be fairly careful because if you landed on a rock, you could get hurt. And that wouldn't be very fun, would it? So this little boy, he climbed up on the rocks and.
And he grabbed a hold of the rope and why he had everyone's attention because, you know, not only was it maybe a little scary, you know, to see that little boy up there because he could get hurt, but yet everybody was, you know, happy for him that he was going to have some fun and try this climbing up there and swinging on the road.
So he got up there and he got a hold of the rope.
And he paused, like most of us did the first time we did it, you know.
It's you have to take a deep breath and maybe count to 10 or something and you need a lot of people going. Come on, you can do it.
And he did. And he swung out over the water and everything let go. And he let go of the rope. Splash right into the water. Nice landing. Perfect. But everybody was clapping and Hooray, you did it, you know, and everybody was excited. I was impressed. You know, it took a lot of courage for that little boy to do that. And you know everybody.
Then they were kind of, you know, went back to their, what they were doing. Well, this water, uh, this stream where the water had pooled, umm, it really wasn't much wider than from this row of chairs to this row of chairs. And I think I could touch bottom. I'm gonna guess the water was about up to here. But this little boy, he was only about this tall. So where do you think the water came on him?
The water was over his head and so he landed in the water and he's a paddling and, and, uh, everybody's going about their own thing, you know, and not paying any attention. His family's over here maybe 20 feet away, you know, standing around and visiting and enjoying the nice day. And, uh, there were some that were standing here right next to where most people would come up out of the water now.
You have to remember that, that in, in this area, so there's a lot of rock, there's a lot of rock, big rocks. And when rocks are underneath the water, they get, you know what I mean? They get this, uh, they get like a film on them, like a, like a slippery, you know, when you try to climb up out of there and you just keep slipping and you just go right back into the water well.
There was some over here and there was a big jet of rock that went out and, and you kind of had to hang on to the rock, you know, when you walked around there. So it kind of obstructed some others view of what was going on. But this little boy, he was, he was swimming and he was, he was just having a great time And he was, uh, well, you know, we figured he's going to come over and get out of the water. But all of a sudden these people over here, they noticed that.
He was saying.
Help.
Help.
Real, I mean, I couldn't hardly hear him. And there was, you know, lots going on and, and, uh, you know, they were, people were having fun and, and laughing and, and having fun and, and not paying attention. And here's this little boy. He was crying out for help, you know, and he's just a little guy and, you know, and he doesn't have a big real booming voice. He can't yell and he's calling for help. Well, this person over here notices. Well, that little boy is calling for help.
And nobody's doing anything about it. Nobody's paying any attention at all. So this person yells at this person over there.
There's a little boy, he's calling for help. He can't get out and he's just swimming in one spot and he's calling for help and he, he just, he can't do anything. He can't get to the side, you know, And the, the, the water is over his head. So that a man, he jumps in and, and he grabs a hold of the little boy and oh, the little boy, he was so happy.
00:20:04
You know, when, when he, when the man got ahold of him, the little boy just hung on to him and just like, like, uh, like he was never going to let go. Isn't that wonderful? You know, and the parents, I assume this group of over here was the parents as I was watching this and, and it didn't seem to notice at all. It just really kind of shocked me.
But you know, boys and girls.
If you don't know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, you're just like that little boy.
You're powerless. There is nothing you can do of yourself and in and of yourself to get yourself out of that situation. Like the little boy, there was nothing he could do. He was trying. He was trying as hard as he could and I'm sure he meant to get out of the water. And you know, if you're still in your sins, maybe there's maybe you're trying really hard and and you really, really intend.
And mean to do something about your sins.
And you're paddling and paddling and working and working and you don't seem to get anywhere. And it's because you haven't called upon the name of the Lord Jesus. That's how we're saved. How we can help get help and and be free from sins is by calling upon the name of the Lord Jesus.
And so.
I wanted to talk a little bit about swimming and, uh, it, it's very important, I think anyway, as a, as a parent, I and my wife, she thought it was even more important that our children learn how to swim because, you know, boys and girls and older ones too, that we like to get in the water and swim and, and, uh, it's, so it's a good thing that we know how to swim, isn't it?
Raise raise your hand if you want to tell me, do you know how to swim?
How many of you know how to swim? Yeah. See, a lot of you have learned how to swim and. And as you get older, it's a little easier.
You know, uh, my daughter and I, we, uh, we took a trip a couple of years ago. We went, uh, there, there was, uh, an assembly in, in the, in the Missouri, St. Louis. They were, they were having, they were having a, a, a time for the young people to come and be together and, and do some activities. And, uh, we went and stayed in a, in a friend's house. We did with my daughter and I and, uh.
We had a nice time.
And, you know, uh, when we got there, it was late, it was late at night and we were tired, you know, and my friend, we, we were talking about a little bit together and, and, uh, he told me that, uh, he liked to swim. He liked to swim. And he asked me, yeah. I said, do you know anything about swimming? And I said, well, I can swim, you know, but I don't know how good of a teacher I could be or.
How much I can teach you? And he says, well I wanna, I wanna learn more about swimming. He says I wanna know about swimming and I'm gonna test your kids knowledge and, and I know that uh, umm.
Your children are are very smart children are very smart. And all I wanna do is is I wanna show I wanna show you this morning how smart you are. And so I brought some things in the bag here and I'm gonna ask you I have some things here and I want you to tell me as I show you these things I want you to pick pick out when I get to it. I have one one particular thing that.
Would be very useful.
In in swimming.
But I have some things that may not be so useful in swimming, so you tell me when I when I take these things out.
I found this this morning.
I wasn't sure what it was at first, but.
I think it's a hockey glove, is that right? We don't, where I live, we don't, uh, there's not much hockey going on because in the winter time nobody wants to go outside because it gets too cold. And in the summer time where there's no ice, would that be very good for swimming?
00:25:03
No, it wouldn't be very good for swimming, would it?
Well.
I want to tell you something very interesting about my friend who wanted to know more about swimming.
And the next morning?
Uh, we had gotten to bed about midnight and.
I went to bed and at 6:00 Saturday morning, my friend, he opens the door and he's got his swim swimming trunks on. He says come on, let's go swimming.
OK, can I have a few minutes?
That's pretty early to go swimming well.
He had it where he lives, right in front of their house, maybe just out there where the parking lot is. They have a lake, a small lake, and that's where we went swimming.
So we went out there with our swimming trunks and our and our beach towels and.
We limbered up and, you know, and we got in the water and we were swimming a while and I was showing them a few things and, and we were talking as we went across the lake and we were going to swim clear across the lake. I don't even know how far it is, but it's quite a ways. And then we were going to swim back.
But I'll tell you something about my friend. But I want to ask you, I got something else here.
This would that be very useful in swimming?
Maybe, you know, I suppose maybe, but, uh, you could.
Pull yourself along with a little bit, maybe if you had two of them, but that's not something that you use very often in swimming, is it, you know?
No, it's not.
Well, my friend.
He was 84 years old.
84 years old and he wanted to learn more about swimming.
And we had a really nice time together.
And unfortunately, he's older now and I don't think he swims much anymore. And, you know, he made it across the lake with me and he got, we got about halfway back and he decided that he was going to get out and walk along the shore the rest of the way back, which I was thankful for. I, I didn't want to have to rescue him because I didn't know if I could or not.
You know, I was thinking about that, that little boy.
That couldn't help himself, and I thought about a story in the Bible. If we could turn to it, it's in loose gospel.
Loose Gospel, Chapter 7.
And my, my, my children, they all.
They've heard me say this before but so I'm sure they'll be patient. But when they were little?
I used to really enjoy reading this story to them and uh, it's in Luke Chapter 7 and I'll just read the beginning of verse one.
Now when he had ended all his sayings in the audience of the people, that's the Lord Jesus, he entered into Capernaum, and a certain centurion servant, who was dear unto him, was sick and ready to die. And when he heard of Jesus, he sent him, or he sent unto him the elders of the Jews.
Beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant, and when they came to Jesus.
They besought him instantly, saying that He was worthy for whom he should do this, for he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue. Then Jesus went with him, and when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself, for I am not worthy, that Thou shouldest enter under my roof. Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee, but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed.
For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers. And I say unto 1 Go, and he goeth, and to another, Come, and he cometh, and to my servant Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith.
00:30:24
No, not in Israel. And they that were sent, returning to the house found the servant whole that had been sick. Isn't that wonderful? It's a wonderful story.
I have something else here.
How about this?
Would that be very helpful in swimming?
No, I don't think it would be great For playing what?
Baseball. Yes, I love baseball. That's a fun game. That's something we do do in Iowa, play baseball, softball.
You know, I was thinking about.
This servant.
And there's, there's so much that we could we could talk about in that story.
You know what really impressed me, among many things there in that story?
Was here with this man, this man who was a centurion, who was, he was in charge, you know, he had a, he had a lot.
Going on there, he had, he was, uh, very probably an important man and, and, uh, you know, he said, well, it didn't matter if he had people that if he told him to do something, they would do it no questions asked, I'm sure. And, and he had a lot of authority and he had power.
But he had a servant, and it says that this servant.
Was dear to him.
He loved, no doubt. I really believe that's what that means when it says it was that the servant was dear to him. He loved that man. He loved that servant.
And you know, I don't, we don't really know much about this centurion and I don't want to say anything that isn't that Scripture doesn't say but.
You know, we consider his position and we take into consideration what kind of a man he was.
And having authority, and I'm sure there were times where he had to.
He had to be stern with those that were under his authority.
And, you know, sometimes we might think those kind of people, they, they have to be very, very bold because, you know, if, if they're not bold, then they're they're those that are under their authority may not listen. And so maybe we get a picture in our mind as somebody who isn't very sensitive. But you know, I like to think of that that centurion here was a man, a servant that was.
That he loved.
That was dear to him and he was sick.
And here this centurion was completely powerless. There was nothing.
He could do to help his servant, you know, he could say to his those he had authority over his many. You do that and they would do that.
Immediately, but there was nothing he could do.
To help the servant and you know, boys and girls.
You and I, we were like that.
And if you don't know the Lord Jesus Christ, you're like that servant. You're sick.
You're sick and you need help.
And you need the Lord Jesus, and you know this man, this in Syrian.
He realized that there was nothing he could do, but there was one thing that he knew that he could do, and he believed, and he had faith.
And he had heard about the Lord Jesus, no doubt, and he had heard that the Lord Jesus could help those who were sick and those who were who were lame and those that needed help. And you know, like that little boy that was in the water, and the man went down and saved him.
The Lord Jesus.
He healed the servant and, you know, imagine that Centurion was so thankful, you know, boys and girls.
00:35:03
You know your moms and dads and grandmas and grandpas they desire.
That you children would be saved and come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior.
And what a wonderful thing it is when we realize that we need help and we call upon the name of the Lord and be saved.
You know.
I want to get to what I got here to how about this? Would that be very good for swimming?
No, I don't. I don't think so either.
Would just come. Would that be very helpful for swimming?
Uh, right In Sync right away, wouldn't you with that?
So.
Maybe. Maybe this is more.
More of what we might be looking for for swimming.
How about that?
Yeah, that would be helpful in swimming. Not only would it be helpful, but I think it would make swimming more fun, wouldn't it? Have you ever, you ever used one of these when you go swimming, you know, sometimes, uh, you can use these, uh, to look down in the water and see fish and it's very helpful to have one with these. You can swim a lot longer and safer, so.
No, uh.
About a week ago I was visiting with a a gentleman.
And I don't, I don't know how we guys are talking about swimming of all things, but, uh, he was telling me that when he was a little boy, his mom and dad, they had a very large family, has lots of brothers and, and, uh.
And they had a they had fun together when they were when they were little and.
His name is Chad and Chad was telling me that his mom and dad.
Wanted him to learn how to swim.
And so he had to take swimming lessons and.
Chad did not like taking swimming lessons.
He did not want to learn how to swim.
Have you ever felt like that you didn't want to do something your mom and dad wanted you to do?
Yeah, I have two. I have two and.
So he didn't want to learn how to swim. And you know, his mom and dad, they wanted him to learn how to swim so that when the boys would go off and and get in the pond or whatever, Chad would know how to swim so that he would be safe. They cared about him.
They love Chad and they wanted him to learn how to swim. And you know, sometimes we can be like that too. Where?
Our mom and dad, they, they want us to, to, to do something. They try and, and direct us into a certain way and oh, maybe we don't wanna go that way. And, and so.
We rebel, we we say no, or maybe we get a we get a bad attitude.
You know boys and girls.
It's like Chad's mom and dad and like the centurion that we read about in Luke's gospel.
Your mom and dad love you.
And there are many here who love you. But most of all, most importantly, the Lord Jesus loves you. And He wants you to be safe. He wants you to be safe for all eternity, safe in his arms. And so I trust this morning.
That there any children here that don't know the Lord Jesus?
That they would call upon him and be safe for all eternity.
Let's just close in prayer.
Our God and Father, we do thank you this morning again.
That great love that thou hast shown in giving thy Son the Lord Jesus.
And Father, we pray this morning.
That.
00:40:01
The message given out was simple and clear.
So that even the youngest.
Might understand and realize their need. Father, we just pray.
That they might come to know the Lord Jesus.
And Lord Jesus, we thank Thee this morning.
That thou art.
Loving Savior, and thou art not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. And so, Lord Jesus, we do pray that if there is any that has not repented, not called upon thy name.
That they would own their need and turn to the Lord Jesus and be saved.
And so we do thank Thee for this time together. We just do. Leave it all under Thy hands as we give Thee thanks, Lord Jesus, and Thy precious and worthy name. Amen.