Tuesday, January 13, 2015

92-Year Old Preacher

The following story was shared by David Rench on an inspirational website. I hope it speaks to you as it did to me.

92-Year Old Preacher

While watching TV one day, I observed a church in Atlanta honoring one of its senior pastors who had been retired many years. He was 92 at that time and I wondered why the church even bothered to ask the old gentleman to preach at that age.

After a warm welcome and introduction of this speaker, and as the applause quieted down, he rose from his high back chair and walked slowly, with great effort and a sliding gait to the podium. Without a note or written paper of any kind he placed both hands on the pulpit to steady himself and then quietly and slowly began to speak...

"When I was asked to come here today and talk to you, your pastor asked me to tell you what was the greatest lesson ever learned in my 50-odd years of preaching. I thought about it for a few days and boiled it down to just one thing that made the most difference in my life and sustained me through all my trials.

The one thing that I could always rely on when tears and heartbreak and pain and fear and sorrow paralyzed me...The only thing that would comfort was this verse...

Jesus loves me this I know.
For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong,
We are weak but He is strong...
Yes, Jesus loves me...
The Bible tells me so."

When he finished, the church was quiet. You actually could hear his footsteps as he shuffled back to his chair. I don't believe I will ever forget it. ~ David Rench

 
Shared by Mary Lehman

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