Selflessness

The late pastor and preacher Tim Keller truly lived out the teachings in his popular book, The Freedom of Self Forgetfulness: The Path to True Christian Joy. In other words, he demonstrated true humility and teachability.

For instance, in 2011, Pastor Tim Cox had accompanied Keller on a trip to South Korea. Cox reflected on the trip later and wrote:

I traveled with Tim to Seoul. Tim was speaking at a conference for pastors, and Tim kept saying ‘Look at what Jesus has done for you! If you see that, you will be changed!’ At one point I asked Tim if even that could be a legalistic thing. That I’m not looking hard enough at Jesus, so I just need to pull up my socks and try harder. When in reality, the Holy Spirit does that for me.

Tim told me, ‘Yes, of course, only the Holy Spirit can do that!’

That was the end of our conversation. The next day, Tim got to the part of his talk where he said ‘if you look at what Jesus did for you . . .’ and he looks straight at me, ‘then by the power of the Holy Spirit, you’ll change!’

A British man has unintentionally become a viral sensation after undertaking a meticulous repair of a McDonald’s sign that had become a running topic in the Dull Men’s Club Facebook group. The McDonald’s location at the White Rose Shopping Centre in Leeds, England, featured a sign with a missing inner section of the letter "D," leaving it as an incomplete silhouette.

Steve Lovell decided to fix it. Drawing attention from social media users, Lovell carefully researched McDonald’s branding guidelines and used a 3D printer to replicate the correct design for the sign. His initial repair gained traction online, and when he noticed a second sign at the same location with the same issue, he repeated the process.

Lovell’s dedication was widely admired, even as some joked that his actions made him "too interesting" for the Dull Men’s Club. He acknowledged the humor in the situation: "I think it's the whole pointlessness of this that has caught people's attention. Not many people would notice a sign missing bits from it. Fewer still would be bothered by it and practically no-one at all would bother to spend time and effort actually rectifying it."

The White Rose Shopping Centre joined in celebrating Lovell’s quirky mission by naming him their tongue-in-cheek "Employee of the Month." In a post on social media, the mall wrote, "Thank you Steve, our March employee of the month, for your selfless work — we're lovin' it."

Lovell emphasized that his actions were driven by personal satisfaction rather than corporate loyalty or fame. "The fix wasn't even for the benefit of McDonald's as some people claim," he said. "It was for me, and anyone else that would have noticed. Sharing it was just about the mundane absurdity."

What began as a simple desire to correct a minor visual flaw has turned Lovell into a symbol of endearing dedication to detail — and maybe, just maybe, a bit too exciting for the club that celebrates life's most uneventful pleasures.

Possible Preaching Angle:

Dedication; Humble Service; Perseverance – Many Christians work quietly behind the scenes – living for God's glory and eternal gain, not for recognition.

The ex-head of Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, Masao Yoshida, 58, died at a Tokyo hospital of esophageal cancer on July 9, 2013.

When the tsunami devastated Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant on March 11, 2011, Masao Yoshida worked to control the damage caused by the failing reactors. He disobeyed a company order and secretly continued using seawater, a decision that experts say almost certainly prevented a more serious meltdown and has made him an unlikely hero. He chose to place himself in danger, exposing himself to extreme radiation. And his story is just one of many at the plant.

Remembering the disaster, he said "The level of radioactivity on the ground was terrible…but the workers of the plant leaped at the chance to go trying to fix the situation with the reactors…. My colleagues went out there again and again."

Possible Preaching Angle:

What a beautiful picture of sacrificial, Christ-like love.

The holidays are here, and plenty of people are thinking about the gifts they hope to receive. However, many Americans are also considering what they can give others, with a surprising group leading the charge.

A survey found that Gen Z and millennials are significantly more engaged in charitable activities, with 59% actively increasing their good deeds before year’s end. That’s notably higher than their older counterparts, where only 37% of Gen X and baby boomers are giving more as the year ends.

Younger Americans were also more consistent in their community involvement throughout the year. 60% of Gen Z and millennial respondents said they participated in good deeds within their community, and 50% extended their efforts globally. Conversely, only 47% of Gen X and baby boomers were getting involved, with just 38% engaging in worldwide initiatives.

Despite their higher engagement, younger generations express more doubt about the impact of their deeds. 42% of Gen Z and millennials admit feeling their actions are too small to make a difference. However, some people are optimistic that their goodwill is having an impact.

One respondent said, “Sometimes, it’s the small stuff, like checking in with a co-worker who seems down or helping someone figure out a solution. You might not realize the impact right away, but later, it clicks that maybe that small act brightened their day.”

As for what motivates Americans to be charitable, the satisfaction of giving (47%) tops the list, followed by a sense of purpose (43%) and the desire to make the world a better place (40%). While 38% of respondents find it easier to engage in charitable activities during the holiday season, an overwhelming 85% acknowledge the importance of year-round giving.

The movie Hacksaw Ridge tells the true story of a young man named Desmond Doss. Doss grew up as a follower of Jesus who had strong beliefs about not killing, even in war. So, he became a medic. He was openly harassed for this decision. He even faced a court martial before all charges were dropped.

During the Battle of Okinawa, Doss’ unit was told they would have to join the fight to secure Medea escarpment, or Hacksaw Ridge. Many lives were lost. Doss, however, did not leave as he continued to hear the cry of injured soldiers. Doss sought out the wounded and carried them to safety. Then he would pray, “Lord, help me to find one more!”

Just after daybreak, and fleeing from the enemy, he made it to safety among the U.S. troops at the bottom. He was muddy, sweaty, bloody, scarred, and exhausted. He could barely stand. But for someone who had been in the thick of rescuing the dying all night from the throes of the enemy, what would you expect? To rescue, you have to be willing to get in the muck and mire.

This is what God does. He doesn’t abandon the cry of the dying. This is what makes the Triune God different than all other gods. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. This meant he had to get in the muck and mire with us and our sin.

Offensive line, Zack Conti, made it onto the Eastern Michigan University football team as a “walk-on,” meaning without a scholarship. Head Coach Chris Creighton told the team, “Zack Conti has had to pay his way to school for four years. And in the fall, the guy was selling his plasma to be able to pay the bills.”

Unfortunately, the team couldn't give out any more scholarships. Creighton explained to the players that the NCAA allows the team to provide 85 scholarships each year, and they've given them all out. Creighton asked for an 86th scholarship, but the answer was no.

"Then Brian Dooley came into my office," Creighton said. "And he says, 'Coach, that guy has earned it. And I've talked this over with my family. And if there's a way to make this happen, I am willing to give up my scholarship as a gift to Zack Conti.' I've never heard, I've never seen anything like that ever before." At that moment, Dooley walked over to Creighton and handed him an envelope that held his scholarship. The team broke out in cheers.

After the now-viral moment, Conti said he was "so honored and so thankful. It feels like all of my hard work is finally being rewarded.”

The senior paid his way through school by working at a landscaping service or at his dad’s hardwood flooring company, and donating plasma, which usually pays $50 to $100 a session.

He said, "Sometimes asking for help is not easy. The team would usually see me coming back from work or going to work and they would know what was going on, and they were supportive. They got my back."

Dooley said Conti earned the scholarship and explained his motivation for helping his teammate:

I did it because I've seen Conti grow over the years. Seeing him walk away from something that he loves did not sit well with me. He works hard and gets extra work with me all the time. In my eyes, he earned it 100%. Giving up my scholarship so he can stay and play means everything. I'm proud of what he has become and cannot wait to see what he does on the field.

Possible Preaching Angle:

The sacrificial love of Jesus is modeled for others when we show them the same radical love, acceptance, and generosity that God shows to us.

When a researcher started interviewing hospital workers—the people who cleaned out the patients’ rooms each day she assumed they would only have bad things to say about it. That was partially true, but she also found a second group of workers with the same jobs who felt their labor was highly skilled.

They described the work in “rich relational terms,” talking about their interactions with patients and visitors. Many of them reported going out of their way to learn as much as possible about the patients whose rooms they cleaned. “It was not just that they were taking the same job and feeling better about it … It was that they were doing a different job.”

This group didn’t see themselves as custodial workers at all. One described forming such a bond with patients that she continued to write letters to some of them after they were discharged. Another paid attention to which patients seemed to have few visitors or none and would make sure to double back to spend some time with them. They said things like, “I’m an ambassador for the hospital” or, “I’m a healer. My role here is to do everything I can to promote the healing of the patients.”

One woman told how she rotated the art in the rooms of coma patients. She would take paintings down in one room and putting them up in another. The woman explained that it was at least possible that a change in scenery might spark something in their comatose brains.

These workers were quietly creating the work that they wanted to do out of the work that they had been assigned to do. The researchers called them “job crafters.”

During Braylon Edwards’ career playing receiver in college and the NFL, he lived with a heightened sense of spatial awareness and kinetic readiness. You can’t spend years running routes at full speed, maintaining readiness to catch a football in midair while equally skilled and muscular men are ready to assault you with their bodies, and not develop the ability to react in real-time.

But on one Friday morning, Edwards’ skills weren’t just useful for avoiding harm, but also for preventing it from happening to others. When he entered a local YMCA, Edwards witnessed a 20-year-old young man assaulting an elderly gentleman around sixty years his senior.

Edwards said, “I walked into the locker after working out, I heard a noise about four rows behind me.” The dispute, according to Edwards, appeared to be over the playing of music, and he wasn’t initially concerned. But then things escalated, and that’s when he stepped in. “You start to hear some pushing and shoving, and you know what fighting sounds like … once I heard a ‘thud,’ that’s what got me up.”

Edwards quickly subdued the young man and held him securely until authorities arrived on the scene. The victim, unidentified in official accounts, was admitted to a local hospital and reported to be in stable condition.

When confronted with the possibility that this man might have died if he hadn’t intervened, Edwards revealed that the love for his own family propelled him to protect someone else in their later years. “At the end of that day, that’s just what you do … my mom, my grandma, my father … in that moment, these are the people you think about.”

Police Chief Jeff King said in a statement, “As evidenced by the significant injuries inflicted on the victim, it is clear that Mr. Braylon Edwards’ intervention played a pivotal role in saving the victim’s life. This is a horrific incident, but the selfless efforts made by Mr. Edwards embody the best in our society.”

Possible Preaching Angle:

God is glorified when we use our gifts to show love to others in need, especially the weak, the vulnerable, the poor, or the sick—these are the people whom Jesus regularly sought out for rescue and deliverance.

In early January, the Portland area suffered from a winter storm that not only blanketed the area with several layers of snow and ice, but buffeted the area with high winds, resulting in many downed trees and power lines.

Eighteen-year-old Majiah Washington saw a flash from her window in Northeast Portland on Wednesday morning. She opened the blinds to find a collapsed power line on top of a neighbor’s car and a tree branch on the ground. She watched as members of the neighboring family, who appeared to have been getting into their SUV, tried suddenly to escape it. A small fire grew under the car.

A man holding a baby slipped down a driveway on the ice and the man’s foot touched the live wire, Washington said. Twenty-one-year-old Tajaliayh Briggs, then rushed towards the man to get the child, slipping on the ice, and hit the live power line as well.

Washington said she watched a teenager approach the SUV while she called 911. The teen—identified as High School sophomore Ta’Ron Briggs—would also die in the accident.

Majiah Washington saw all this, and disregarding her fear of death, decide to intervene as well. She later said at a press conference, “The baby moved his head ... and that’s how I knew he was still here. I wasn’t thinking ‘Oh, I can be electrocuted.’ I was thinking, ‘I need to grab this baby.’”

Portland Fire & Rescue spokesperson Rick Graves said the agency was thankful for Washington’s brave actions and that she later told officials, “I just did what any sane person would do.”

Possible Preaching Angle:

When we sacrifice our own health and safety to rescue children in danger, we model the love of Jesus for all children.

The final curtain fell on the longest-running show in Broadway history after 13,981 performances. Alan Lampel has been there for roughly 13,000 of them. Mr. Lampel has done the same job in the same place for the same production from the very beginning of its existence. He takes a seat in a rolling chair at his desk in the back of the orchestra section of the Majestic Theater and plays the most important role that nobody should notice: He is the head electrician for The Phantom of the Opera.

“I’ve seen the show more than anybody on earth,” Mr. Lampel says. In fact, nobody has seen any show as many times as he sat through Phantom, which has sold 20 million tickets and earned $1.3 billion during a run that made other Broadway productions look more like high-school musicals. There was one guy keeping the lights on the whole time. And the success of any business is every bit as much about the electrician operating behind the scenes as the people taking a bow on stage.

Mr. Lampel was there at the start on January 26, 1988, and he was there at the end on April 16, 2023. That kind of longevity on Broadway is not just unprecedented. It’s unimaginable. There were colleagues he loved and bosses he didn’t. His responsibilities evolved with technology.

Others in the theater have no reason to pay attention to Mr. Lampel. But it’s those who understand Phantom the best who appreciate his contributions the most. Andrew Lloyd Webber, the show’s composer said, “Phantom has shone brighter on Broadway for 35 years because of the work of Alan Lampel.’”

Possible Preaching Angle:

In life, usually the author, the speaker, and the star of the show gets the praise. But quite often, just as much praise, if not more, is due the person who quietly and faithfully works behind the scenes. This is especially true in the church, where a faithful group of people often work unnoticed to set up chairs, staff the nursery, work with the youth, using their less “spectacular” spiritual gifts who also do the work of God.

Nadia Bolz Weber, shared some thoughts on grace, failures, and the soul feeling its worth in her Christmas newsletter:

When Mary sings of God in the Magnificat, she didn’t say that God looked with favor on her virtue. She didn’t say that God looked with favor upon her activism. She didn’t say that God looked with favor on the fact that she had tried so hard that she finally had become the ideal version of herself.

No. God looked with favor on her lowliness.

And yet then what do I do but constantly curse my own lowliness. Obsess about my flaws and shortcomings. Berate myself for my failings and defects of character; for not trying hard enough to become my ideal self.

But our failings and weakness and mistakes are God’s perfect entry points. It is our lowliness and our humility, not our strength and our so-called virtues where God does God’s very best work. Which makes me wonder if perhaps our obsession with self-improvement is really just a form of atheism disguised as spirituality.

Editor’s Note: Warning: The original article by Nadia Bolz Weber contains some R-rated language.

Actor Jeremy Renner said he would risk getting run over by a snowplow again to save his nephew. Renner said, “I’d do it again, because it was going right at my nephew.”

The accident happened near Renner’s Nevada home. Heavy snow had fallen, and his vehicle, driven by a family member, got stuck. Renner went to get into his snowplow, which weighs at least 14,000 pounds, to help move the vehicle. As he was speaking with the family member, the snowplow began to roll. He attempted to get back inside, but was run over. The 52-year-old actor broke over 30 bones and required numerous surgeries.

Renner said he thought he might die. He told Diane Sawyer, “I’m thinkin’ like, ‘What’s my body look like? Am I just gonna be like a spine in a brain, like a science experiment?’” Renner’s neighbor who made the 911 call said, “It was blood, the amount of blood, and then he was—he was just in such pain. Then when I looked at his head, it appeared to me to be cracked wide open.”

Renner had broken bones spanning the entire length of his body—including both his ankles, some of his ribs, his right shoulder, eye socket, and jaw. He also suffered a collapsed lung. At one point in the televised interview, Renner started crying and said, “What we just endured. That’s real love. It’s suffering. But that feeds the seeds of what love is.”

Navy Seal Admiral, William McRaven, talks about an important lesson Seals learn: Think first of others. In an interview with AARP, he said:

I like to tell the story of Sgt. Maj. Chris Faris, my right-hand man in Afghanistan. One day, I did a Zoom call with my doctor, and she told me I’d been diagnosed with cancer. I needed to go back to the States immediately to have my spleen removed and start chemotherapy. She added, “Your military career is probably over.”

When I got back to my office, Chris was there, and he noticed something wasn’t right. After I told him, he said, “OK, boss, we’ve got the morning briefing coming up, and you need to be there. The troops are counting on you.”

So, we did the video teleconference with thousands of our team members around the world. And before I could say anything, Chris asked someone to put up a list of the people who’d been injured in combat the night before. Then he gave me a look, and I knew what it meant. I had a problem, but it paled in comparison to what these young men and women were going through. That was exactly the right thing to tell me at the time. It helped put my minor problem in perspective.

A routine Tuesday morning in a remote mountain village turned into a harrowing ordeal as a cable car malfunction left eight passengers, including schoolchildren, suspended hundreds of feet in the air. Shortly after departure, two of the car’s supporting cables snapped, sparking a dramatic 12-hour rescue operation by the Pakistani military.

The rescuers faced immense challenges as they attempted to save the stranded passengers. With helicopters and zip lines, they launched a complicated plan to bring everyone to safety, while villagers watched in helpless suspense. As the rescue team battled the elements, those trapped inside battled their own fear and anxiety, exacerbated by the car’s movements and the gusts of wind from the helicopter rotors.

This particular cable car system is a vital lifeline for the isolated village of Pashto. It provides access to the schools and hospitals in the rugged terrain previously unavailable to residents of the poverty-stricken village. Since its construction five years ago, it has significantly improved the lives of villagers by providing a quick and affordable means of crossing the valley.

As the last passenger was rescued, relief and joy washed over the village, highlighting the importance of this lifeline for the community and the resilience of its residents in the face of adversity. The cause of the cable car failure remains unknown, prompting calls for safety inspections on all private mountain lifts.

Possible Preaching Angle:

These well-trained professional first responders who save lives are only a faint shadow of the work of a caring Savior who came to rescue us from death and bring us safely home.

Charles Plumb was a U.S. Navy jet pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy hands. He was captured and spent six years in a communist Vietnamese prison. He survived the ordeal and now speaks on the lessons learned from that experience.

One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant, a man at another table came up and said, "You're Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. "You were shot down!" Plumb asked, "How in the world did you know that?" The man replied, “I packed your parachute.”

Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude. The man pumped his hand and said, "I guess it worked!" Plumb assured him, "It sure did. If your chute hadn't worked, I wouldn't be here today."

Plumb couldn't sleep that night, thinking about that man. Plumb says, "I kept wondering what he might have looked like in a Navy uniform: a white hat, a bib in the back, and bell-bottom trousers. I wonder how many times I might have seen him and not even said 'Good morning, how are you?' or anything because, you see, I was a fighter pilot and he was just a sailor."

Plumb thought of the many hours the sailor had spent on a long wooden table in the bowels of the ship, carefully weaving the shrouds and folding the silks of each chute, holding in his hands each time the fate of someone he didn't know.

Now, Plumb asks his audience, "Who's packing your parachute? Who has done something that has helped make your day safer – or easier or more pleasant – or who have you witnessed ‘packing’ for someone else? Recognize them right away.”

Possible Preaching Angles:

1) Help; Support; Support Team – Each of us are touched by individuals who provide what we need to make it through the day. Praise that person. You are supporting the kind of behavior you respect – making it more likely to happen again. 2) Evangelism; Discipleship - Who told you about Christ? Who discipled you? We are all grateful to someone for introducing us to Jesus. Let’s give thanks for them “for packing our chute.”

Author Nijay Gupta recounts the 1965-1966 story of a group of six boys who ran away from their homeland of Tonga.

The young boys stole a boat and headed out hastily in search of Fiji (some five hundred miles away). They took a sack of food and a small gas burner stove, but no map or compass. Due to their amateur sailing skills and the unfriendly seas, they were lost, adrift for eight days, until they finally spotted land. They ended up on the deserted island of Ata. These Tongan boys were stranded there for fifteen months.

Their rescue finally came through Australian Captain Peter Warner, who happened upon them as during a return sail from the capital of Tonga. Casually focusing his binoculars at a nearby Ata Island, which was thought to be uninhabited, he noticed a burned patch of ground. He said during a later interview, “I thought, that’s strange that a fire should start in the tropics on an uninhabited island. So, we decided to investigate further.”

As they approached, they saw a teenage boy rushing into the water toward them; five more quickly followed. When the boy reached the boat, he told Mr. Warner that he and his friends had been stranded for more than a year, living off the land and trying to signal for help from passing ships.

Most stories of dramatic rescues tend to stop there, and the reader is left wondering, “What happened to these boys? Were they okay? Did they live happy, and fulfilled lives? Did they stay friends?”

The rest of the story is that immediately after Wallace delivered them back home, they were arrested for stealing the boat they had “borrowed.” Warner took pity on them and paid the boat owner $200 to get the kids off the hook. Furthermore, Warner decided to quit his job in Sydney and stay in Tonga long-term. He started a fishing business there and hired the shipwrecked boys as his crew. Warmer mentored and stayed friends with some of them for the rest of his life. One of the boys said, after several decades of friendship, “He [Warner] was like a father to me.”

Gupta adds, “This captures poignantly the difference between a plastic, ‘get-out-of-hell-free’ type of salvation message of Christianity, and a deeper, more relational, dynamic vision of ‘rescue’ that is characteristic of the New Testament.”

Editor’s Note: Captain Peter Warner passed away in April of 2012 at the age of 90.

Music icon Bono, lead singer of the popular band U2, tells the Atlantic magazine that lately God has been leading him to desire silence and listen to Him more. Bono points out that Elijah had to go to the cave to hear God, and God was heard not in the thunder and the wind but in the sound of silence.

All of his life, he has reinvented himself. Now he thinks it may be time to do it again. Bono says, “Music might be a jealous god. It was always the easiest thing for me. I wake up with melodies in my head. But now I feel more like: ‘Shut up and listen. If you want to take it to the next level, you may have to rethink your life.’”

Bono has been grappling with the challenges to his faith since the band first achieved success: "How do you reconcile the humility of faith with the egotism of superstardom, the purity of the Holy Spirit with the material excess of show business, the drive to achieve musical greatness with the posture of surrender to grace?"

His focus once again is to surrender his life: “It’s just out of my reach. I’m getting to the place where I do not have to do, but just be. It’s trying to transcend myself. It’s like my antidote to me. The antidote to me is surrender.”

The writer asks whether Bono can achieve the perfect stillness he craves. It’s hard to know the answer to that. At one point he told me that throughout his whole life, he’s been searching for home, and that lately he has come to realize that home is not a place, but a person. The writer says, “I neglected to ask the follow-up question. Is that person (his wife) Ali? Jesus? Any random soul he happens to be in front of that day? Maybe all of the above.”

Even crows and ravens seem to understand the importance of giving gifts. John Marzluff and Tony Angell, in their book, Gifts of the Crow, detail the intelligence of birds which results in them behaving like humans. The authors relate many accounts of people routinely receiving gifts from crows, thought to be in response to kind actions such as providing food for the birds. Crows are known to give gifts such as coins, bits of colored glass, flowers, a blue plastic Cap’n Crunch figurine, shiny rocks, keys, and even false teeth.

This gift giving could be accidental, intentional, or perhaps a form of reciprocity. The authors write:

Reciprocity may not be a practice exclusive to humans. The ability to quickly associate behavior with reward that is so prevalent in (crows) may underlie their innovative gifting behavior. Leaving gifts suggests that crows understand the benefit of reciprocating past acts that have benefited them and also that they anticipate future reward. In their case … it is a planned activity; the crow has to plan to bring the gift and plan to leave the gift.

Possible Preaching Angle:

Giving and receiving gifts are well known as one way we show love for others. However, there are those who avoid these activities to the detriment of their relationships.

Melody Thueson is a fourth-grade teacher at Mae Richardson Elementary School, and she nearly helped put her school into the Guinness Book of World Records. That’s because Melody and her community of students and teachers assembled 6,877 cereal boxes, which were all eventually toppled in a domino-like fashion. Captured on a viral video in June, the display eclipsed the official Guinness World Record of 6,391.

Time and other logistical constraints prevented Guinness officials from verifying the feat, but Melody says she’s not worried about that part, since the record was only a fun byproduct. Melody said, “Our Community 101 class had to do a service project. That’s one of the requirements for the class. Our local food bank is ACCESS, and so we thought we’d try to beat the world record. Not thinking we’d actually do it, but we did.”

The cereal boxes were subsequently donated to ACCESS, which serves families in Jackson County, Oregon.

Possible Preaching Angle:

One of the hallmarks of God's economy is that generosity is multiplied. When we go out of our way to be a blessing to others, we also find ourselves blessed.

There’s a saying in the Black community that’s endured for decades and featured in several rap songs: “If you stay ready, you don’t have to get ready.” One Monday afternoon, sixteen-year-old Anthony Alexander Jr. had just finished playing basketball in a local park. He was resting on a park bench, but he remained ready. Not for another game, but to save a life.

That was the moment when a young girl approached him in tears, telling Anthony that her friend was drowning in the water. Several of her friends had fallen through the ice into a nearby pond. Anthony immediately sprang into action. After quickly dialing 911, he looked around for anything that could help these children in distress. His chosen tool? A broken tree branch.

Anthony said, “The first kid, a boy, grabbed the stick and I pulled him out. But I couldn’t reach the other two.” Leaving nothing to chance, he walked out onto the ice and got in. He said, “It was freezing, but it wasn’t too bad because I wasn’t in [the water] that long. I didn’t really have time to think about it.”

By the time first responders arrived, Anthony had already saved two of the three children, and was closing in on the third. He was later lauded as a hero by Sgt. Patrick Kilroy of the Collingdale Police Department, who arrived on the scene shortly thereafter. Kilroy said, “If he hadn’t called 911 and hadn’t taken action, this might have had a very different and tragic outcome. He’s one quick-thinking kid.”

Possible Preaching Angle:

God uses those who are available and prepared to make an impact. You don't have to be a professional, or even an adult. You just have to be yielded, ready, and willing.