River Water

"Respectful Little Johnny"

One Sunday morning, the pastor noticed Little
Johnny was staring up at the large plaque that
hung in the foyer of the church. The seven-year-
old had been staring at the plaque for some time,
so the pastor walked up, stood beside the boy,
and said quietly, "Good morning, son."

"Good morning pastor" replied the young man,
focused on the plaque.

"Sir, what is this?" Little Johnny asked.

"Well son, these are all the people who have died
in the service," replied the pastor.

Soberly, they stood together, staring at the large
plaque.

Little Johnny's voice barely broke the silence when
he asked quietly, "Which one, sir, the 8:30 or the
10:30 service?"

*********************************************

"River Water"

A southern minister was completing a temperance
sermon. With great expression he said, "If I had all
the beer in the world, I'd take it and pour it into the river."

With even greater emphasis he said, "And if I had
all the wine in the world, I'd take it and pour it into
the river."

And then finally, he said, "And if I had all the whiskey
in the world, I'd take it and pour it into the river."

Sermon complete, he then sat down.

The song leader stood very cautiously and announced
with a smile, "For our closing song, let us sing Hymn
#365: 'Shall We Gather at the River'."
Received on Mon Sep 12 02:05:08 2005