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Vernon Grounds: A Man for All Ages

When my generation was in its infancy, it was often told that "children should be seen and not heard."

This bit of "wisdom" meant don't interruptwait your turnlisten to your fatherdon't make wavesnever contradict, and (in summary) keep your mouth shut when adults are talking.

When I was 9 years old, I met a man who did not believe this. He came to visit in our home and to preach in my father's church. From the moment I was introduced to him, I knew he was unlike any other man I'd previously known. He looked me straight in the eye, asked me questions, listened to my answers, and remembered what I said.

As if it were yesterday, I recall him preaching and doing it in a way that was perfectly comprehensible, even to me at that age. His text was 1 Corinthians 3:21: "all things are yours, and you are of Christ." It was the first time I understood a sermon, and—after all these years—I remember that I said to myself, so this is what a sermon is ...

April
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