Telling About God
Joseph Anderson Donetti took a deep breath. He let it out very slowly and looked sideways at Mac. Mac turned at the same moment and caught his eye. “Isn’t this fun?” she whispered fiercely.
“I think so,” Joseph whispered back. He looked out at all the people sitting in the church. There must be hundreds of them! G.M. was right up front in the second row. She grinned at Joseph and winked.
Pastor Chuck stood up. It was time for the program to begin.
“I’m glad to see all of you here this Sabbath.” Pastor Chuck began. “I have four very special helpers on the platform with me this morning,” he continued. “These are the members of the baptismal class. They have been meeting and studying the Bible together this summer. And they are looking forward to being baptized together next week. I am so proud of them!
“This morning,” Pastor Chuck went on, “each member of the class will be sharing something he or she has learned this summer about God. They each decided on their own what it was they wanted to share with you. I know you will enjoy what they have to say. Hannah, you may begin,” he said.
Hannah stood up. She walked to the microphone. Joseph was impressed. Hannah looked like she knew exactly what she was doing. It was a good thing Pastor Chuck had brought them to the church to practice where they would sit and where they would stand, Joseph thought. He sure didn’t want to do anything stupid in front of all these people!
Hannah began. “Pastor Chuck told us that one of the most important things we can do is hide God’s Word in our hearts. So that’s what I decided to do. These are the verses I learned. They come from the International Children’s Bible.”
” The jailer told someone to bring a light. Then he ran inside. Shaking with fear, he fell down before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them outside and said, ‘Men, what must I do to be saved?’ They said to him, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and all the people in your house.’ Acts 16:29-31.”
Hannah stopped for a minute and then continued.
” When someone sins, he earns what sin pays—death. But God gives us a free gift—life forever in Christ Jesus our Lord’ Romans 6:23.”
Joseph found himself whispering the words of the verses along with Hannah. He knew them almost as well as she did. After all, he read them on the wall of his bedroom every morning when he woke up. And he read them again at night before he went to sleep.
The audience was very quiet. Everybody listened intently to Hannah’s verses. When she finished, she sat down quickly. The whole church was filled with the sound of clapping hands, and many people said loud Amens.
Pastor Chuck stood up. His smile hardly fit on his face. “I told you you’d be proud of these children!” He said. “OK, Trevor, it’s your turn.”
Trevor walked to the microphone. He wiped his hands on the sides of his pants and cleared his throat a couple times. “I just wanted to tell you that everybody has to decide which side they’re on,” he began. “There are only two sides—God’s side and Satan’s side. And you have to pick one. Nobody can not decide. And God’s side is going to be the winning side. The Bible says so.
“God forgives us from our sins. All we have to do is ask Him,” Trevor continued. “He made it real easy to be saved. It’s a free gift. Just like when Pastor Chuck said that anyone who wanted his new sports watch could have it, and Joseph just reached out and took it. And he got to keep it and everything! Being saved is just like that—only there is enough for everybody, not just one person, like Pastor Chuck only had one watch which I wish I had taken, but I didn’t really believe he was just going to give it away.” Trevor stopped talking. He needed to breathe.
“Anyway, that’s what I learned,” Trevor finished. He sat down.
Once again, the church was filled with clapping and many, many Amens. Trevor looked at Joseph. “You did a really good job,” Joseph whispered.
Pastor Chuck stood up. He was still smiling. In fact, he hadn’t stopped smiling since Hannah began her verses. “Thank you, Trevor,” he said. “And now I want you to meet Joseph Anderson Donetti. Joseph is visiting his grandmother here in Jacksonville. Joseph told me that he didn’t know anything at all about God until this summer. But God, indeed, works in mysterious ways, and Joseph has been learning about Him from the very beginning of his trip when the lady he was sitting next to on the airplane told him that God has a plan for his life.”
Joseph walked up to the microphone. He saw Mac’s mom and dad, Mr. and Mrs. Evans, smiling at him. He saw G.M. sitting proudly and tall in the pew. She blew him a kiss. Joseph almost laughed.
“When I decided to go to the baptismal class,” he began, “I couldn’t find any of the verses in the Bible. Everybody always had to wait for me to find the right place. One day my grandma told me that she had memorized all the names of the books of the Bible in order when she was a girl. She said that’s how she learned to find all the verses. So I decided I would learn them too. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy…” Joseph began.
When Joseph had finished reciting all 66 books of the Bible, applause and Amens again filled the church. Joseph waited until it was quiet and then said, “I also made a word search puzzle about some of the things God created. Pastor Chuck will help me pass it out at the door after church.”
Pastor Chuck jumped up. He put his arm on Joseph’s shoulder. “I just wanted to tell you that Joseph not only learned all the names of the books of the Bible, he can spell them too! How many of you out there can do that?
“And now we will hear from the last member of the class,” Pastor Chuck continued. “Mac is going to give us an angel’s eye view of the story of Creation.”
List of verses Hannah recited:
- Acts 16:29-31
- Romans 6:23
- Joshua 24:14, 15
- John 14:1-3
- 1 Corinthians 2:9
- 1 Thessalonians 5:16, 17
