Almost Heaven
Stories
Contents
"Almost Heaven" by Keith Wagner
"Whole Hearted Devotion" by Keith Wagner
"The Connection" by Keith Hewitt
Almost Heaven
by Keith Wagner
Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52
Most people I know believe that heaven is some far, distant place. When folks describe heaven they generally speak of some favorite place, like Myrtle Beach, Hawaii, the Smoky Mountains or a cabin in Canada. Our images of heaven tend to be some form of paradise where everything is beautiful and wonderful.
There is a tendency in our culture to link heaven with success, wealth or power. All that we acquire, receive or win is considered "heavenly." For example, if a person wins the lottery they respond by saying, "I think I have died and gone to heaven."
Jesus, however, preached that "heaven is in the midst of us." Heaven is not something we have to wait for or travel to but something we can experience both now and in the future. The parables Jesus tells are about seeing and doing things differently. The man who found the precious pearl was so excited he sold all he had to retain it. For him it was worth the investment. The man who found the treasure in a field went and sold all he had and bought the field.
Steven Covey, in his book Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, told a story about one of his experiences. One time he was in a subway on a Sunday morning on his way in New York City. People were sitting quietly, reading newspapers, resting or lost in thought. It was a calm, peaceful scene. A man and his children entered the car and soon they were yelling back and forth, throwing things, even grabbing people’s newspapers. But their father sat there and did nothing.
Covey was getting irritated. He couldn’t believe that a parent would let his children run wild. Others were getting irritated as well so Covey decided to confront the man. He said, “Sir, your children are disturbing a lot of people. I wonder if you couldn’t control them a little more.” The man slowly looked up as though he was coming out of an unconscious state of mind. He replied, “Oh, you’re right. I guess I should do something about it. We just came from the hospital where their mother died about an hour ago. I don’t know what to think and I guess they don’t know how to handle it either.”
Imagine what Covey felt in that moment. Suddenly he saw things differently. He thought differently, he saw differently, he felt differently and behaved differently. No longer was he irritated. Instead his heart was filled with the man’s pain. Covey then responded with feelings and words of compassion. Everything changed in an instant. Covey was completely transformed. I believe he had found a little bit of heaven.
Here in the gospel of Matthew Jesus does not describe "heaven" as a place. He is referring to the kingdom of heaven as an activity. For Jesus, heaven has to do with planting seeds, discovering treasure, selling everything you have and being caught up in a huge net. In other words, heaven is not a place where we end up but a process we participate in.
Every August our family goes to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. We love the ocean, the beach, the shopping and all the great restaurants. In retrospect, however, I see something different when I look at our vacation pictures. Myrtle Beach is more than a place. It is where we come together as a family and enjoy the company of people we love and who love us. It is not the sun, the sea and the atmosphere of endless commercialism we experience but living in "community."
Heaven is experiencing the joy of watching our little acts of faith make a difference. Heaven is focusing on what really matters in life and giving away everything else. Heaven is being part of the church, the community of faith where people love each other and share life together.
* * *
Whole Hearted Devotion
by Keith Wagner
Romans 8:26-39
One time Lin and I were visiting Columbus, Indiana. The city is known for its unique styles of architecture. While there we visited a new Lutheran Church that had just been constructed. The congregation had spent millions of dollars on the sanctuary which was simply beautiful. I truly felt the presence of God in that place. It was just awesome.
Since we were there alone at the time I wandered up to the chancel to see what the view was like from the front of the sanctuary. When I stepped into the pulpit I gazed around, wondering what it would be like to preach in such a magnificent structure. As I stood there in the pulpit I was overwhelmed. Everything smelled brand new. The colors in the stained glass were crystal clear. I thought to myself, “What a privilege to be in such an elegant church.”
I stood there for a few moments, totally captivated by the beauty of the place. Then something caught my eye. There was a piece of paper lying on the shelf under the pulpit. I noticed some notes, scribbled in pencil and my curiosity got the best of me. What I found was the minister’s sermon from the previous Sunday. It appeared to have been quickly thrown together. It wasn’t organized and it was obvious that very little thought had gone into it. I was surprised that a preacher who had the opportunity to preach in a multimillion dollar sanctuary had put such little effort into the Sunday message. It seemed like a half-hearted effort.
I believe that this passage in Romans has to do with our uttermost commitment to God. When a person of faith truly loves the Lord, they give their whole heart. As the passage reads, “For God knew his own before even they were, and also ordained that they would be shaped to the likeness of his son.” God wants our whole-hearted devotion. God has given us everything and God expects us to reciprocate.
God gave the greatest sacrifice of love in Jesus. Sacrifice is never easy. Does God really expect us to sacrifice ourselves in the same way? Perhaps what the passage in Romans is telling us to at least give it a try since the smallest sacrifice can lead to joy.
This is perhaps one of the most difficult concepts to understand as believers. We want to reap what we sow rather than reap what others sow, or let others reap what we sow.
About 15 years ago, the congregation at my home church in Dayton, Ohio, burned the mortgage note on their sanctuary. When the church had committed to building a new sanctuary over 50 years ago, my father volunteered as the chairperson of the building committee. Since he was an experienced mortgage banker he helped to secure the mortgage to build the new sanctuary. When they finally paid the mortgage off my father was not present. He and my mother had retired and moved to Florida and joined another congregation. When I asked them if they felt badly about missing the event they told me that they were glad that others could reap the benefits of their labor years ago. That particular church is now debt-free and continues to have an effective ministry in Dayton. Fortunately my parents received a letter acknowledging their participation in the building of the sanctuary. My father said, “I can’t believe 30 years has passed, but it was worth the wait.”
God wants our whole heart. God wants us to devote ourselves to others and offer our talents and give the best we can.
Rev. Dr. Keith Wagner is the pastor of St. John's UCC in Troy, Ohio. He has served churches in Southwest Ohio for over three decades. He is an ordained minister of the United Church of Christ and has an M.Div. from Methodist Theological School, Delaware, Ohio, and a D.Min. from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. He has also been an adjunct professor at Edison Community College, Piqua, Ohio. He and his wife, Lin, live in Springfield, Ohio.
* * *
The Connection
by Keith Hewitt
Psalm 119:129-136
The breakfast rush was over, and the diner was in the lull before the early lunch crowd -- mostly kids from the high school across the street, and a smattering of older adults -- started to trickle in. Jesse busied herself wiping down tables and setting up place settings for a good fifteen minutes, half of it spent tending to tables near the northeast corner that didn’t really need that much attention, all the while stealing glances at the man sitting at the corner table.
He was old -- he had to be her father’s age, at least -- and he had spent the last forty-five minutes or so nursing a cup of coffee and a toasted bagel as though they were the last meal he would ever have. For the first couple minutes, he had watched the other customers, but most of the time he had spent reading, totally absorbed in the thick book in front of him.
A Bible, it was -- she had figured that out a week ago, when he first started showing up at her station. It was not exactly brilliant detective work -- offhand, she couldn’t think of another book that would be printed two columns to a page, in small type. But the weird thing was he looked at it every day...and not just looked at it, but read it, studied it, seemed to get lost in it, to the point where she sometimes had to gently remind him to pay his check before her shift ended.
And the check was always the same -- coffee, and a bagel, paid in exact change, with a one dollar tip.
Today, she puttered around the tables adjacent to him, while he stayed oblivious, until she finally stopped and stood next to him, cleared her throat softly. He looked up at the sound, glanced at his watch, then back at her. “I’m sorry,” he said quietly, “I’ll just be a moment.”
“No, no, no -- “ she said hastily, “there’s no hurry. I just was wondering -- could I ask you something?”
He tilted his head slightly, smiled at her and waved for her to sit down across the table from him “Of course, of course,” he said, “I would be happy to have company.” She looked toward the cash register -- her boss was nowhere to be seen -- then slid into the empty seat, promising herself it would just be a minute.
Jesse fiddled with her rag for a moment, then shrugged and said, “I hope you don’t mind my asking -- I’m not trying to pry -- but you’ve been coming in here for a week, now, and every day you sit here reading that book for the better part of an hour. That’s the Bible, isn’t it?”
He raised it, to show her the cover, and smiled. “Yes it is. It’s a study Bible, to be specific. It’s one I’ve had for many years, now.”
“Then if you don’t mind my asking -- why do you read it every day? You say you’ve had it for years. Have you still not made it through?”
“Miss -- “ he looked at her nametag, then back to her face -- “Jesse, is it? Jesse, the point isn’t to make it through the Bible, it’s not some obstacle to be overcome. The point is to find meaning in it. I like to read it every day, because it helps me find meaning in my life.”
She frowned. “I guess I get what you’re saying -- but every day? That’s an awful lot of meaning. I can’t think of anything I like so much that I’d read it every day for a week.”
“Miss, I’ve been reading it every day for -- well, years.”
She sighed. “I don’t get it.”
He looked at her, raised a hand to scratch behind one ear, and then nodded. “Let me tell you a story. Have you got a minute?”
Jesse glanced toward the register, again -- the coast was still clear. “Maybe a minute,” she answered guardedly.
“Then I’ll make this fast, so I don’t get you in trouble. A long time ago -- years ago -- my job took me away from home. I went to work in a place that was six hours away from my wife and family, and my work schedule took me into most weekends, so I never had time to get home to visit. My wife and kids struggled to get up to see me, because of her schedule.”
“Sounds like it would’ve sucked.”
“It did. But do you know what made it possible for me to get through almost three years of separation?”
She nodded toward his plate. “Coffee and bagels?”
He chuckled. “No, those came later. What made it possible for me to be separated from them for as long as I was, was one simple thing: every day, no matter what was going on, my wife and I would talk on the phone. Usually the kids, too. And I mean every day, Jesse. There wasn’t a day that went by, that we didn’t talk. Connecting that way was the only thing that made the separation bearable.”
Jesse smiled. “I know what you mean. Sometimes I like to call my Mom, when I get to missing her.”
“Then you understand. And, Jesse, a long time ago I got to feeling like God and I were so far apart, that we could never be together, and that scared me -- because I know without him, I’m lost. Without God in my life I would just be in terrible shape. But then I realized -- maybe I can’t talk with God every day, but I can hear his words. I can read the Bible, and get that same feeling of connection that helped me get through being separated from my family by talking to them every day.”
“So you read the Bible to hear God?”
He shrugged. “More or less. Like it says in Psalm 119, ‘The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple. With open mouth I pant, because I long for your commandments.’’’ He tapped the open book with his finger. “I learn from here; I get light and truth from here; but, most importantly, I hear God’s voice in the words I read, speaking to me across thousands of years, and it helps me feel like God is right beside me. It helps me connect, and stay connected.”
Jesse hesitated, was about to answer when she suddenly stood up, and started wiping the table; across the diner, her boss stared at her for a moment or two, and then went back to talking to a customer. When she did that, Jesse paused for a moment in her wiping, and said quietly, “You get all that from reading?”
“Jesse, it’s the closest we can come to hearing God’s word for ourselves -- we hear it through other people, passed down to us in the pages of this book.”
The waitress considered this, contrasting the customer’s words with what she was beginning to feel as emptiness in her own life. Most days, she could feel that there was something missing. Maybe this was it. She nodded, then, and said softly, “Maybe I’ll have to get me one of those Bibles. Can you get them in the store?”
The customer smiled. “Yeah. I’m pretty sure you can.” With that, he closed the book, pulled out his wallet and took out cash, then pulled coins out of his pocket to make exact change for the check. She looked away for a moment or two, to answer another customer’s question, and when she looked back he was almost to the door. Shrugging, she picked up the tray, with its money, and realized that today there was only the exact change for the check.
For a moment, she kicked herself for upsetting him with her questions, and costing her a tip...but then she realized t
Keith Hewitt is the author of two volumes of NaTiVity Dramas: Nontraditional Christmas Plays for All Ages (CSS). Keith's newest book NaTiVity Dramas: The Third Season will be published September 2012. He is a local pastor, co-youth leader, former Sunday school teacher, and occasional speaker at Christian events. He lives in southeastern Wisconsin with his wife, two children, and assorted dogs and cats.
*****************************************
StoryShare, July 30, 2017, issue.
Copyright 2017 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
"Almost Heaven" by Keith Wagner
"Whole Hearted Devotion" by Keith Wagner
"The Connection" by Keith Hewitt
Almost Heaven
by Keith Wagner
Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52
Most people I know believe that heaven is some far, distant place. When folks describe heaven they generally speak of some favorite place, like Myrtle Beach, Hawaii, the Smoky Mountains or a cabin in Canada. Our images of heaven tend to be some form of paradise where everything is beautiful and wonderful.
There is a tendency in our culture to link heaven with success, wealth or power. All that we acquire, receive or win is considered "heavenly." For example, if a person wins the lottery they respond by saying, "I think I have died and gone to heaven."
Jesus, however, preached that "heaven is in the midst of us." Heaven is not something we have to wait for or travel to but something we can experience both now and in the future. The parables Jesus tells are about seeing and doing things differently. The man who found the precious pearl was so excited he sold all he had to retain it. For him it was worth the investment. The man who found the treasure in a field went and sold all he had and bought the field.
Steven Covey, in his book Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, told a story about one of his experiences. One time he was in a subway on a Sunday morning on his way in New York City. People were sitting quietly, reading newspapers, resting or lost in thought. It was a calm, peaceful scene. A man and his children entered the car and soon they were yelling back and forth, throwing things, even grabbing people’s newspapers. But their father sat there and did nothing.
Covey was getting irritated. He couldn’t believe that a parent would let his children run wild. Others were getting irritated as well so Covey decided to confront the man. He said, “Sir, your children are disturbing a lot of people. I wonder if you couldn’t control them a little more.” The man slowly looked up as though he was coming out of an unconscious state of mind. He replied, “Oh, you’re right. I guess I should do something about it. We just came from the hospital where their mother died about an hour ago. I don’t know what to think and I guess they don’t know how to handle it either.”
Imagine what Covey felt in that moment. Suddenly he saw things differently. He thought differently, he saw differently, he felt differently and behaved differently. No longer was he irritated. Instead his heart was filled with the man’s pain. Covey then responded with feelings and words of compassion. Everything changed in an instant. Covey was completely transformed. I believe he had found a little bit of heaven.
Here in the gospel of Matthew Jesus does not describe "heaven" as a place. He is referring to the kingdom of heaven as an activity. For Jesus, heaven has to do with planting seeds, discovering treasure, selling everything you have and being caught up in a huge net. In other words, heaven is not a place where we end up but a process we participate in.
Every August our family goes to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. We love the ocean, the beach, the shopping and all the great restaurants. In retrospect, however, I see something different when I look at our vacation pictures. Myrtle Beach is more than a place. It is where we come together as a family and enjoy the company of people we love and who love us. It is not the sun, the sea and the atmosphere of endless commercialism we experience but living in "community."
Heaven is experiencing the joy of watching our little acts of faith make a difference. Heaven is focusing on what really matters in life and giving away everything else. Heaven is being part of the church, the community of faith where people love each other and share life together.
* * *
Whole Hearted Devotion
by Keith Wagner
Romans 8:26-39
One time Lin and I were visiting Columbus, Indiana. The city is known for its unique styles of architecture. While there we visited a new Lutheran Church that had just been constructed. The congregation had spent millions of dollars on the sanctuary which was simply beautiful. I truly felt the presence of God in that place. It was just awesome.
Since we were there alone at the time I wandered up to the chancel to see what the view was like from the front of the sanctuary. When I stepped into the pulpit I gazed around, wondering what it would be like to preach in such a magnificent structure. As I stood there in the pulpit I was overwhelmed. Everything smelled brand new. The colors in the stained glass were crystal clear. I thought to myself, “What a privilege to be in such an elegant church.”
I stood there for a few moments, totally captivated by the beauty of the place. Then something caught my eye. There was a piece of paper lying on the shelf under the pulpit. I noticed some notes, scribbled in pencil and my curiosity got the best of me. What I found was the minister’s sermon from the previous Sunday. It appeared to have been quickly thrown together. It wasn’t organized and it was obvious that very little thought had gone into it. I was surprised that a preacher who had the opportunity to preach in a multimillion dollar sanctuary had put such little effort into the Sunday message. It seemed like a half-hearted effort.
I believe that this passage in Romans has to do with our uttermost commitment to God. When a person of faith truly loves the Lord, they give their whole heart. As the passage reads, “For God knew his own before even they were, and also ordained that they would be shaped to the likeness of his son.” God wants our whole-hearted devotion. God has given us everything and God expects us to reciprocate.
God gave the greatest sacrifice of love in Jesus. Sacrifice is never easy. Does God really expect us to sacrifice ourselves in the same way? Perhaps what the passage in Romans is telling us to at least give it a try since the smallest sacrifice can lead to joy.
This is perhaps one of the most difficult concepts to understand as believers. We want to reap what we sow rather than reap what others sow, or let others reap what we sow.
About 15 years ago, the congregation at my home church in Dayton, Ohio, burned the mortgage note on their sanctuary. When the church had committed to building a new sanctuary over 50 years ago, my father volunteered as the chairperson of the building committee. Since he was an experienced mortgage banker he helped to secure the mortgage to build the new sanctuary. When they finally paid the mortgage off my father was not present. He and my mother had retired and moved to Florida and joined another congregation. When I asked them if they felt badly about missing the event they told me that they were glad that others could reap the benefits of their labor years ago. That particular church is now debt-free and continues to have an effective ministry in Dayton. Fortunately my parents received a letter acknowledging their participation in the building of the sanctuary. My father said, “I can’t believe 30 years has passed, but it was worth the wait.”
God wants our whole heart. God wants us to devote ourselves to others and offer our talents and give the best we can.
Rev. Dr. Keith Wagner is the pastor of St. John's UCC in Troy, Ohio. He has served churches in Southwest Ohio for over three decades. He is an ordained minister of the United Church of Christ and has an M.Div. from Methodist Theological School, Delaware, Ohio, and a D.Min. from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. He has also been an adjunct professor at Edison Community College, Piqua, Ohio. He and his wife, Lin, live in Springfield, Ohio.
* * *
The Connection
by Keith Hewitt
Psalm 119:129-136
The breakfast rush was over, and the diner was in the lull before the early lunch crowd -- mostly kids from the high school across the street, and a smattering of older adults -- started to trickle in. Jesse busied herself wiping down tables and setting up place settings for a good fifteen minutes, half of it spent tending to tables near the northeast corner that didn’t really need that much attention, all the while stealing glances at the man sitting at the corner table.
He was old -- he had to be her father’s age, at least -- and he had spent the last forty-five minutes or so nursing a cup of coffee and a toasted bagel as though they were the last meal he would ever have. For the first couple minutes, he had watched the other customers, but most of the time he had spent reading, totally absorbed in the thick book in front of him.
A Bible, it was -- she had figured that out a week ago, when he first started showing up at her station. It was not exactly brilliant detective work -- offhand, she couldn’t think of another book that would be printed two columns to a page, in small type. But the weird thing was he looked at it every day...and not just looked at it, but read it, studied it, seemed to get lost in it, to the point where she sometimes had to gently remind him to pay his check before her shift ended.
And the check was always the same -- coffee, and a bagel, paid in exact change, with a one dollar tip.
Today, she puttered around the tables adjacent to him, while he stayed oblivious, until she finally stopped and stood next to him, cleared her throat softly. He looked up at the sound, glanced at his watch, then back at her. “I’m sorry,” he said quietly, “I’ll just be a moment.”
“No, no, no -- “ she said hastily, “there’s no hurry. I just was wondering -- could I ask you something?”
He tilted his head slightly, smiled at her and waved for her to sit down across the table from him “Of course, of course,” he said, “I would be happy to have company.” She looked toward the cash register -- her boss was nowhere to be seen -- then slid into the empty seat, promising herself it would just be a minute.
Jesse fiddled with her rag for a moment, then shrugged and said, “I hope you don’t mind my asking -- I’m not trying to pry -- but you’ve been coming in here for a week, now, and every day you sit here reading that book for the better part of an hour. That’s the Bible, isn’t it?”
He raised it, to show her the cover, and smiled. “Yes it is. It’s a study Bible, to be specific. It’s one I’ve had for many years, now.”
“Then if you don’t mind my asking -- why do you read it every day? You say you’ve had it for years. Have you still not made it through?”
“Miss -- “ he looked at her nametag, then back to her face -- “Jesse, is it? Jesse, the point isn’t to make it through the Bible, it’s not some obstacle to be overcome. The point is to find meaning in it. I like to read it every day, because it helps me find meaning in my life.”
She frowned. “I guess I get what you’re saying -- but every day? That’s an awful lot of meaning. I can’t think of anything I like so much that I’d read it every day for a week.”
“Miss, I’ve been reading it every day for -- well, years.”
She sighed. “I don’t get it.”
He looked at her, raised a hand to scratch behind one ear, and then nodded. “Let me tell you a story. Have you got a minute?”
Jesse glanced toward the register, again -- the coast was still clear. “Maybe a minute,” she answered guardedly.
“Then I’ll make this fast, so I don’t get you in trouble. A long time ago -- years ago -- my job took me away from home. I went to work in a place that was six hours away from my wife and family, and my work schedule took me into most weekends, so I never had time to get home to visit. My wife and kids struggled to get up to see me, because of her schedule.”
“Sounds like it would’ve sucked.”
“It did. But do you know what made it possible for me to get through almost three years of separation?”
She nodded toward his plate. “Coffee and bagels?”
He chuckled. “No, those came later. What made it possible for me to be separated from them for as long as I was, was one simple thing: every day, no matter what was going on, my wife and I would talk on the phone. Usually the kids, too. And I mean every day, Jesse. There wasn’t a day that went by, that we didn’t talk. Connecting that way was the only thing that made the separation bearable.”
Jesse smiled. “I know what you mean. Sometimes I like to call my Mom, when I get to missing her.”
“Then you understand. And, Jesse, a long time ago I got to feeling like God and I were so far apart, that we could never be together, and that scared me -- because I know without him, I’m lost. Without God in my life I would just be in terrible shape. But then I realized -- maybe I can’t talk with God every day, but I can hear his words. I can read the Bible, and get that same feeling of connection that helped me get through being separated from my family by talking to them every day.”
“So you read the Bible to hear God?”
He shrugged. “More or less. Like it says in Psalm 119, ‘The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple. With open mouth I pant, because I long for your commandments.’’’ He tapped the open book with his finger. “I learn from here; I get light and truth from here; but, most importantly, I hear God’s voice in the words I read, speaking to me across thousands of years, and it helps me feel like God is right beside me. It helps me connect, and stay connected.”
Jesse hesitated, was about to answer when she suddenly stood up, and started wiping the table; across the diner, her boss stared at her for a moment or two, and then went back to talking to a customer. When she did that, Jesse paused for a moment in her wiping, and said quietly, “You get all that from reading?”
“Jesse, it’s the closest we can come to hearing God’s word for ourselves -- we hear it through other people, passed down to us in the pages of this book.”
The waitress considered this, contrasting the customer’s words with what she was beginning to feel as emptiness in her own life. Most days, she could feel that there was something missing. Maybe this was it. She nodded, then, and said softly, “Maybe I’ll have to get me one of those Bibles. Can you get them in the store?”
The customer smiled. “Yeah. I’m pretty sure you can.” With that, he closed the book, pulled out his wallet and took out cash, then pulled coins out of his pocket to make exact change for the check. She looked away for a moment or two, to answer another customer’s question, and when she looked back he was almost to the door. Shrugging, she picked up the tray, with its money, and realized that today there was only the exact change for the check.
For a moment, she kicked herself for upsetting him with her questions, and costing her a tip...but then she realized t
Keith Hewitt is the author of two volumes of NaTiVity Dramas: Nontraditional Christmas Plays for All Ages (CSS). Keith's newest book NaTiVity Dramas: The Third Season will be published September 2012. He is a local pastor, co-youth leader, former Sunday school teacher, and occasional speaker at Christian events. He lives in southeastern Wisconsin with his wife, two children, and assorted dogs and cats.
*****************************************
StoryShare, July 30, 2017, issue.
Copyright 2017 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
