The Language of Love Part I: Trust God
by Pat Boone

I recently had the privilege of delivering a sermon entitled The Language of Love at my church, which dealt with the different aspects of God's love. My goal was to provide possible explanations for common questions people ask about God.

I plan on delivering the jist of my sermon over the next four Bubblegum Popcorn newsletters, beginning with this one.

The scripture I chose for the overall presentation of my topic comes from Matthew 13:10-13:

The disciples came to him and asked, "Why do you speak to the people in parables?" He replied, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. This is why I speak to them in parables:
    "Though seeing, they do not see;
      though hearing, they do not hear or understand.

The basic outline of part one and the following three parts will consist of a question, a scripture passage on that subject, and a personal story (parable) or two that helps explain or illustrate the answer in simple terms...

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The Ominous Signs of Our Times
by Rev. James L. Snyder

Sometimes I have this dream where there are no signs whatsoever. The entire landscape is completely free of any kind of sign. The dream soon develops into a nightmare because without signs I do not know where I am or where I am going or what I should do or what I should not do. Although a world without signs seems to be the perfect world and yet how can we live without signs?

I admit I need a sign or two to help me navigate this very complex world of ours.

Of course, there is the fact that we live in a world where signs are completely out of control. I could stand for fewer signs. As long as I number among those who are married, I will never be at a loss for somebody telling me where I should be going and what I should be doing.

Signs do carry useful information at times. "No Left Turn," is obvious in its meaning. "No Trespassing," is easy to understand. And I could go on and on with this point.

I never thought too much about the wording of signs until some women complained about a sign that said "Men at Work." Whenever I have seen a sign like that, I have always had my doubts. A similar sign that says, "Men Working," has always bordered along the line of oxymoron. But, I never caught the sexist angle on these signs....

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Lipstick on a Pig!
by John McGough

I waited with great anticipation. I had worked hard. I was ready. The year was 1973, it was time for basketball tryouts at my elementary school.

The day of tryouts went great, I did everything right, or so it seemed, but when the names were called out, my name was not one of them. I had not made the team. Each boy who did make the team received a Three Musketeers candy bar. I still have the memory etched in my mind of Mark Morris walking across the gym floor with a smile on his face and a Three Musketeers in his hand. I truly felt, no, I truly knew that I was better than Mark Morris, so why didn’t I make the team? This was to become my first lesson in not wasting time asking why.

I worked hard over the next year. I practiced in the rain. I shot baskets in the snow and ice, sometimes wearing my mothers Playtex Living Gloves to keep from getting frostbite. I shot free throws at 6:00 a.m. before the school bus came. No one, and I mean no one would be more prepared for tryouts than me...

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