Hello, I'm Karen Pearson
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and I'm here today with
my co-host Pierre Quinn.
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Hi, Pierre. Hi. Karen.
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And we're here to
bring you another episode
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of 'Stones of Remembrance'.
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The program where we visit
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with one of
your favorite authors
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and look at some of
their life experiences
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that helped to shape them
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and the message
found in their books.
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So often, we pass through life's
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deep waters just as Joshua did
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and leading the children
of Israel through the Jordan.
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And we can meet
some unexpected blessings
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that will determine the whole
future direction of our lives.
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Before I introduce
you to today's guest,
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I'd like to share something
from you with from the word.
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I'm reading from
Matthew chapter 5.
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"And when he saw the multitudes,
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he went up on the mountains
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and after he sat down
his disciples came to him
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and opening his mouth he
began to teach them saying,
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'Blessed are the poor in spirit,
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for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven.
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Blessed are those who mourn,
for they shall be comforted.
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Blessed are the gentle,
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for they shall
inherit the earth.
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Blessed are those who hunger
and thirst for righteousness,
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for they shall be satisfied.'
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" Our guest today knows
a lot about those words.
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He's spent a lot of time
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in that portion
of the scriptures
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and I'd like to welcome
Jerry D Thomas to our program.
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Hi, Jerry, welcome. Thank you.
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Jerry, you are vice president
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at Pacific Press
for product development.
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Right.
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What else can you tell us about
yourself, just in a nutshell?
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Well, I've been
both pastor and a teacher
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besides being involved
in the publishing work.
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I was the communication director
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for the Southwestern
Union for a number of years.
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But mostly what
I have to claim...
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great fun is four or
my four grand children.
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Yeah.
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And of course, the
children that produced them
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who are still important.
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Oh, that's awesome.
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Now talking about
children, you grew up on a farm
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in East Texas, is that correct?
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That's right, that's right.
It wasn't a farm, not a ranch.
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We had cows not horses
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and I can still
milk a cow by hand.
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Well, that's a skill you
don't hear a lot of, very often.
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And you grew up as a
pastor's kid, didn't you?
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Yes, my father
pastured in a number of churches
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in around Texas
while I was growing up.
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I think some people maybe,
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perhaps have the mistaken notion
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that if you grow
up in a pastor's home,
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um, you're on the inside track
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as far as your spirituality,
your walk with Jesus.
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What was your
experience of that, Jerry?
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Well, it's certainly true that
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a pastor's child
in a pastor's home,
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you're exposed to more religion
perhaps than other people
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both at home, many times
and certainly all the meetings
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you get to go, too
many, you want to or not.
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But there's also a
very difficult element
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of somehow God's
work always comes first
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and as a child that
can be hard to process,
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to understand, you know.
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And if a child
grows up feeling like
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they're never were truly
given the love or the priority
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they should've had
and it's all God's fault.
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Then sometimes
you find a resistance
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against things of
God in the future.
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Yes, a disconnect they
are from their relationship,
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but couldn't
been too bad because
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you went on to become a pastor.
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No, no, my father and
mother did a wonderful job.
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Yeah. They did.
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Yeah.
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So, you're back at Pacific Press
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because you were there a
time or two before, weren't you?
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Yes, yes, I keep coming back.
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I tell people I've to go
back and keep an eye on my boys.
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Are they like
you're children, Jerry?
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They are, I've put many
hours into creating these
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and while my wife probably
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wouldn't
recognize the similarity...
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there is something about that.
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And talking about you're books,
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you've written a
few, haven't you?
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Yes, more that 40 now. Wow.
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That's incredible,
incredible, more than 40 books.
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And how many children
stories have you written?
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Hundreds probably?
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Hundreds, yes, I
think the last time
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I added them up they
were just about 400 stories...
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Wow. That's incredible.
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That's so...
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It's remarkable to me because
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I never sat out to
write anything for children.
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Well, that
wasn't one of my goals.
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But apparently, there was
another plan in operations...
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Yes, and your books have gone
on to sell millions of copies,
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Jerry, around the world.
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And you are the most
prolific children's writer
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in Adventist
literature, is that right?
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I think so, I think so today.
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There is certainly writers
in our history that have,
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whose stories that had
lived forever it seems.
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The unclad stories... Right.
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Are still with us,
and still treasured.
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But in total I don't know,
I've written a lot of them.
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It's true...
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What gives you that
ability to keep seeing things
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through the lens or
through the eyes of a child?
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The most important thing to
me is that you have to have...
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you have to have
access to a child's world.
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I wrote most of my
children's materials
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while my
children were growing up
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because after
they're gone from home,
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if you don't spend
time around children.
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You don't know,
you lose the voice,
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you can't hear how
they normally talk.
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You don't remain involved
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in the way they
look at the world
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if you don't
spend time with them.
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And children today
don't speak the way we spoke
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as when we were children.
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It changes, doesn't it?
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It does change and if
I tried to pass off books
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for my grand
children that sounded the same
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as the ones that I
wrote for my children,
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they probably wouldn't
come off quiet as well.
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Yeah, Jerry, in
2001, you took on,
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what you have described
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as being one of
your greatest challenges.
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When it comes to
writing something,
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tell us a little
bit about that project.
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Well, as I mentioned,
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I was a teacher
for a number of years.
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I taught religion at
the high school level
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and that because it
was an Adventist school...
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part of our assignment
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as we studied the life of Jesus,
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was to read the book
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"Desire of Ages" by Ellen White.
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Beautiful book filled with truth
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and of course a
wonderful presentation
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of the line of Jesus.
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So, I would give these
students this assignment,
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read these pages
from "Desire of ages"
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and then we'll discuss
it, you know, the next class.
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We'll ask for you to respond
in some way to what you've read.
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And what I found out mostly
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was it that they didn't
understand what they read.
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Hmm.
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And so we ended up
taking most classes with me
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going through
those sections with them,
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so I could interpret as we went.
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And it struck me at that time,
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that what we needed was
a version of that story,
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of that book,
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that these
teenagers could actually
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pick up and read and understand.
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Because of course,
they were reading a book
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that was written in
the previous century.
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Mh-hmm. Right, right.
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And as beautiful as
Victorian prose can be...
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it is not the same way
we write or speak today.
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And the differences
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should not stand in
the way of understanding,
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of participating
in the story of Jesus.
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And what's the
importance then of having
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these crucial
truths in a language
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or in a manner that you
can grasp or understand?
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Well, it's so
important to be able to engage
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the story of Jesus yourself.
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If you have to
relay on someone else
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to tell you about it
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as I was doing
in the class room,
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you certainly get
a blessing from that,
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but it's not the same.
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And I discovered as I agitated
for this kind of project,
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which I did for about ten years.
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There were many people
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who never actually read
all the way through this
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"Desire of Ages" book.
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Because of the
difficulty of the language...
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Not just teenagers.
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Not just teenagers. Mh-hmm.
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People who didn't have a
strong religious background
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or sometimes confused by it,
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people for whom English
is not their first language
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struggled with it a great deal.
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And frankly, many of us
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just don't read it that
level on a normal basis.
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We have Bibles and in
a more common English...
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Mh-hmm.
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Many of us aren't comfortable
with the King James Version
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if that's all we have to turn to
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for meaning and understanding...
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and in many ways like
the King James Version,
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"Desire of Ages" itself is,
the language is beautiful...
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I love, I have said many times,
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there are quotations
from 'Desire of Ages'
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that I like much
better in the original
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than in the way I changed...
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Yeah.
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Because of the beauty,
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but beauty is
different than understanding.
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Right, here we have
this beautiful message
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in the "Desire of Ages"
and you felt God's calling
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and leading to
present it in a manner
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that was more
accessible to many more people.
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So, as you were
doing this, Jerry,
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what was the
response from your students?
00:09:46.08\00:09:48.95
Well, it was interesting to
see that for many of them...
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it was like a light dock,
they could understand this
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and then we
could have a discussion
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about what it meant,
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what it meant to be
a follower of Jesus,
00:10:00.66\00:10:02.00
what it meant when these
events happened in his life.
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Rather than
explaining that they did happen,
00:10:04.20\00:10:07.40
we got to talk about
why they would happen.
00:10:07.44\00:10:09.37
And to me that's what
made of the difference.
00:10:09.40\00:10:11.81
What did the
experience of writing
00:10:11.84\00:10:14.31
have on your
personal spirituality
00:10:14.34\00:10:16.71
and in your walk with Jesus?
00:10:16.75\00:10:18.91
Well, I spent about
three years going through,
00:10:18.95\00:10:21.38
you know, every
sentence, every paragraph
00:10:21.42\00:10:24.05
and it was a journey,
it was truly a journey.
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I discovered...
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that the picture I had
had of Jesus was incomplete,
00:10:29.09\00:10:33.66
that was...
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And you have
been through seminary.
00:10:35.06\00:10:36.40
I have, and as educated
00:10:36.43\00:10:38.93
as you could almost be on
some of these things and yet...
00:10:38.97\00:10:41.94
when you go through each event,
sentence by sentence perhaps,
00:10:44.37\00:10:50.61
you get to connect
to them more personally.
00:10:50.65\00:10:54.02
You get to see...
00:10:54.05\00:10:56.18
that's what it means,
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that's what it
should mean to me that...
00:10:57.59\00:10:59.52
And instead of being a
sermon or song or an explanation
00:10:59.55\00:11:03.22
somebody else gave you.
00:11:03.26\00:11:04.59
Yeah. It's yours there.
00:11:04.63\00:11:06.70
Very good.
00:11:06.73\00:11:08.20
Jerry, you've told me
as we've chatted that...
00:11:08.23\00:11:13.30
the work that
you did on Messiah,
00:11:13.34\00:11:15.74
helped to prepare
you for the second
00:11:15.77\00:11:18.61
Spirit of
Prophecy book that you did.
00:11:18.64\00:11:21.48
Tell us about that
book and how it helped you?
00:11:21.51\00:11:24.21
Well, after Messiah was done
00:11:26.18\00:11:28.48
and it seemed to make
a difference to people
00:11:28.52\00:11:31.95
who were wanting to
follow the story of Jesus,
00:11:31.99\00:11:34.29
I was anxious to do another book
00:11:34.32\00:11:37.56
again by Ellen White
that focused on Jesus.
00:11:37.59\00:11:40.80
This one is called "Thoughts
from the Mount of Blessing"
00:11:40.83\00:11:44.00
Mh-hmm.
00:11:44.03\00:11:45.37
And it goes
through as the scripture
00:11:45.40\00:11:46.94
that you've
read that the sermon,
00:11:46.97\00:11:49.00
the teaching that
Jesus gave that day
00:11:49.04\00:11:51.21
as he sat on the mountain
top and it is in that sermon,
00:11:51.24\00:11:56.14
it's in those verses that
we get the clearest picture
00:11:56.18\00:11:59.61
we have of what it really
means to live as a Christian.
00:11:59.65\00:12:03.32
And I knew we needed
to have that same teaching
00:12:03.35\00:12:06.99
in words people could
again engage with personally.
00:12:07.02\00:12:10.53
Now, Jerry, I
know that you did work
00:12:10.56\00:12:11.96
with the Ellen White
Estate, how important was that,
00:12:11.99\00:12:17.37
that there was good
co-operation and support there?
00:12:17.40\00:12:21.00
They were always very
supportive of the project.
00:12:21.04\00:12:23.84
They are
dedicated to the same idea
00:12:23.87\00:12:26.94
that young people should be
ableto engage these writings
00:12:26.98\00:12:29.91
and understand
these messages and...
00:12:29.94\00:12:32.58
So they were very supportive.
00:12:32.61\00:12:33.95
As I wrote, I sent
completed sections to them,
00:12:33.98\00:12:39.12
they went through each one
and made suggestions or changes
00:12:39.15\00:12:43.02
if they felt like
there was a way to say it
00:12:43.06\00:12:44.56
that reflected the
original more clearly.
00:12:44.59\00:12:47.43
They were
always very supportive.
00:12:47.46\00:12:48.96
Yeah.
00:12:49.00\00:12:50.33
How did you deal with
possibly overcoming times
00:12:50.37\00:12:53.03
of maybe frustration or saying,
00:12:53.07\00:12:55.84
"I don't know if I'm really
the right person to do this,"
00:12:55.87\00:12:59.74
you know, dealing
with your own weaknesses
00:12:59.77\00:13:01.68
in a project of this size.
00:13:01.71\00:13:04.25
Well, I certainly had
00:13:04.28\00:13:05.61
the plenty of
opportunity for that
00:13:05.65\00:13:07.08
because it took so long to do.
00:13:07.12\00:13:09.62
But, you know, when you,
00:13:09.65\00:13:13.92
and maybe it goes back
to what you said Karen,
00:13:13.96\00:13:15.82
when God put a burden on
your heart to do something,
00:13:15.86\00:13:19.66
you feel like you
just have to get it done
00:13:19.69\00:13:21.60
and you hit those
walls of frustration
00:13:21.63\00:13:23.97
about whether it
makes sense to do this,
00:13:24.00\00:13:25.97
whether there's someone
who should do this better that,
00:13:26.00\00:13:28.97
but you know, it
goes back to the...
00:13:29.00\00:13:31.71
the feeling coming
out of your own heart.
00:13:31.74\00:13:34.54
I have to do this; I
have to get this done.
00:13:34.58\00:13:36.41
This is something
I was called to do.
00:13:36.44\00:13:38.71
And haven't you
found, Jerry, that
00:13:38.75\00:13:40.35
God asks us to be obedient.
00:13:40.38\00:13:43.18
Mh-hmm.
00:13:43.22\00:13:44.55
And he will take
care of the rest of it?
00:13:44.59\00:13:46.42
If you persevere. Yeah.
00:13:46.45\00:13:48.49
You just have to keep going...
00:13:48.52\00:13:49.86
Yes, and that's a
key factor too, isn't it?
00:13:49.89\00:13:52.13
Perseverance, hanging in there,
00:13:52.16\00:13:54.00
whether you're on a mountain top
00:13:54.03\00:13:56.10
or whether you're trying to wade
00:13:56.13\00:13:57.47
through the middle of a river.
00:13:57.50\00:13:59.60
Yeah.
00:13:59.63\00:14:01.14
We're going to
take a moment to look at
00:14:01.17\00:14:04.31
how you can get a copy
of Jerry's book "Blessings"
00:14:04.34\00:14:09.04
or any of his
books for that matter.
00:14:09.08\00:14:11.55
So we're going to take a
look at that now, don't go away.
00:14:11.58\00:14:13.88
We will be right
back. Thank you so much.
00:14:13.92\00:14:15.95
In her classic "Thoughts
From the Mount of Blessing"
00:14:20.32\00:14:22.69
Ellen White writes about Jesus'
dynamic message to the crowd
00:14:22.72\00:14:26.16
on the mountain side.
00:14:26.19\00:14:27.76
In "Blessings", Jerry D
Thomas, takes the same message
00:14:27.80\00:14:31.93
and places it in
the language of today.
00:14:31.97\00:14:34.70
With sweet simplicity,
00:14:34.74\00:14:36.27
he paints a powerful
picture of the sermon Jesus
00:14:36.30\00:14:39.27
spoke on the mountain
side so many years ago.
00:14:39.31\00:14:42.84
By looking at Jesus,
we will become like him,
00:14:42.88\00:14:45.98
our characters will be polished
00:14:46.01\00:14:47.85
and strengthened for
the kingdom of heaven.
00:14:47.88\00:14:50.59
"Blessings" will give
you a fresh prospective
00:14:50.62\00:14:53.42
and add a depth of
meaning to a message
00:14:53.46\00:14:55.69
that is as relevant today
as it was when Jesus spoke it,
00:14:55.72\00:15:00.30
to get your copy of
'Blessings' call 1800-765-6955.
00:15:00.33\00:15:07.24
Stop by your local Adventist
book center or order online
00:15:07.27\00:15:11.31
at www.adventistbookcenter.com
00:15:11.34\00:15:16.41
Welcome back, we're here
today with Jerry D Thomas,
00:15:22.68\00:15:25.95
the author of "Blessings"
taken from Ellen White's book,
00:15:25.99\00:15:31.49
"Thoughts From the
Mount of Blessing."
00:15:31.53\00:15:34.20
Jerry, the Sermon on
the Mount is one of Jesus'
00:15:34.23\00:15:37.53
most quoted sermons.
00:15:37.57\00:15:39.90
People are so
familiar with those words
00:15:39.93\00:15:42.04
and sometimes what happens
00:15:42.07\00:15:43.41
when we are very
familiar with something,
00:15:43.44\00:15:46.14
it loses its edge,
it loses its power.
00:15:46.17\00:15:50.48
Do you, did you learn anything?
00:15:50.51\00:15:53.82
What did you take
away from spending hours,
00:15:53.85\00:15:56.58
hundreds of hours on
that passage of scripture?
00:15:56.62\00:16:00.29
What did you learn?
00:16:00.32\00:16:02.76
What I saw in...
00:16:02.79\00:16:05.79
"Thoughts From
the Mount of Blessing"
00:16:05.83\00:16:07.60
from those passages of scripture
00:16:07.63\00:16:09.73
is probably the most compact,
00:16:11.23\00:16:13.40
the most easily understandable
00:16:13.44\00:16:15.90
explanation of what it
means to be a Christian,
00:16:15.94\00:16:18.57
you know, and in church
talk, we spend a lot of time
00:16:18.61\00:16:22.28
with what we
believe or we talk about
00:16:22.31\00:16:25.75
what prophecies might
mean, we talk about religion
00:16:25.78\00:16:29.48
and a theoretical
sense a great deal,
00:16:29.52\00:16:31.55
but we sometimes don't
engage the fact the a religion
00:16:31.59\00:16:36.62
has to a very practical thing.
00:16:36.66\00:16:38.63
And it's this Sermon
on the Mount of Jesus
00:16:38.66\00:16:40.53
where he comes down to
the very practical nature
00:16:40.56\00:16:42.86
of what it means
to be a Christian.
00:16:42.90\00:16:45.57
He talks about...
00:16:45.60\00:16:46.94
in their setting,
how they should treat
00:16:48.30\00:16:50.04
not only their family and
friends but their enemies.
00:16:50.07\00:16:53.34
How they should relate
to this society around them.
00:16:53.38\00:16:55.98
And I think those are very words
00:16:57.78\00:16:59.38
we need to hear today and grasp.
00:16:59.41\00:17:03.08
Again we can make religion
00:17:03.12\00:17:05.09
so theoretical so,
intellectual maybe.
00:17:05.12\00:17:08.79
That we forget that if
it doesn't have a practical
00:17:08.82\00:17:11.23
edge to it if
doesn't means in something
00:17:11.26\00:17:13.23
in how we live everyday,
00:17:13.26\00:17:14.60
the rest of it is just words.
00:17:14.63\00:17:17.00
Right, right.
00:17:17.03\00:17:19.20
Now, some people may think
00:17:19.23\00:17:21.84
that righteous live in this
wonderful little ivory tower...
00:17:21.87\00:17:25.11
Happy, happy place.
00:17:25.14\00:17:26.47
Yes, and from their wisdom
00:17:26.51\00:17:28.18
they pour out
all of these words,
00:17:28.21\00:17:30.85
but we know the reality
of that, that is not true.
00:17:30.88\00:17:35.08
And because we're
focusing in this program
00:17:35.12\00:17:38.69
on those experiences in
the lives of our writers
00:17:38.72\00:17:42.96
that were tough and
that were difficult,
00:17:42.99\00:17:45.56
maybe moments that or stories
that were unseen and untold
00:17:45.59\00:17:50.90
that helped to shape the
way they created their message.
00:17:50.93\00:17:54.84
Did you have any such
experience in your life, Jerry,
00:17:54.87\00:17:57.71
that was may be a middle of
the river experience for you?
00:17:57.74\00:18:00.84
Well, was we mentioned
I've worked for the church
00:18:02.04\00:18:06.55
in one aspect for another...
00:18:06.58\00:18:09.18
all of my life now.
00:18:09.22\00:18:11.52
And you recently
find yourself on occasion
00:18:11.55\00:18:14.42
where the politics of
people within a church,
00:18:16.86\00:18:20.93
either at the local church
00:18:20.96\00:18:22.36
or in the larger church
organization seemed to foul up
00:18:22.40\00:18:27.57
the religion part
of it and it's easy
00:18:27.60\00:18:31.07
to get caught in
a trap like that.
00:18:31.11\00:18:32.97
I can recall one situation
where it seemed to me that
00:18:33.01\00:18:35.88
you know, if the
actions, if the behavior,
00:18:37.25\00:18:41.18
if the attitudes
are receding from those,
00:18:41.22\00:18:44.49
in this situation
who were church leaders.
00:18:44.52\00:18:48.96
If that's what religion was,
00:18:48.99\00:18:50.36
if that's what the things
we believed to let us to be
00:18:50.39\00:18:53.13
then I wasn't sure I wanted
to continue down that path.
00:18:53.16\00:18:57.17
But it was this passage,
the Sermon on the Mount,
00:19:00.67\00:19:05.44
going back to that.
00:19:05.47\00:19:07.18
That reminded me of
what Jesus expected,
00:19:07.21\00:19:10.15
what Jesus taught if
we're going to be like him.
00:19:10.18\00:19:14.32
It's about how
we treat each other
00:19:14.35\00:19:17.09
and you know, you
have to hold on to that
00:19:17.12\00:19:20.36
even when other
people, it seems to me are...
00:19:20.39\00:19:24.46
are stepping away from what
it seems like Jesus would do.
00:19:24.49\00:19:27.76
I can go back to
what Jesus taught,
00:19:27.80\00:19:29.80
I can go back and say,
00:19:29.83\00:19:31.67
"Friend or enemy,
neighbor or someone
00:19:31.70\00:19:35.00
on the other side of the world,
00:19:35.04\00:19:37.01
here is the example of
I should related to them."
00:19:37.04\00:19:42.74
One of the frustrations that
Jesus' disciples had with him
00:19:42.78\00:19:46.98
was how his methodology
for dealing with people
00:19:47.02\00:19:49.75
who are opposed to him.
00:19:49.78\00:19:51.19
Mh-hmm.
00:19:51.22\00:19:53.05
When you're going through
this Sermon on the Mount,
00:19:53.09\00:19:55.66
and when you're
writing "Blessings",
00:19:55.69\00:19:57.49
is there a
passages of the Sermon
00:19:57.53\00:19:59.43
on the Mount that
you're like, "Ah, Jesus,
00:19:59.46\00:20:02.43
why did you have to say that?"
00:20:02.46\00:20:03.83
Yeah.
00:20:03.87\00:20:05.20
Now, you think
of the once that we,
00:20:05.23\00:20:06.57
as you say we often quote.
00:20:06.60\00:20:08.57
Someone compels you
to give them your coat,
00:20:08.60\00:20:11.21
give him your cloak also.
00:20:11.24\00:20:13.04
If someone forces you to
carry their stuff for a mile,
00:20:13.07\00:20:16.04
carry it for two miles.
00:20:16.08\00:20:17.51
You know, that
sounds really good,
00:20:17.55\00:20:19.75
but you think about
that in practical terms...
00:20:19.78\00:20:24.39
someone holds
you up on the street
00:20:24.42\00:20:26.35
and takes your wallet,
00:20:26.39\00:20:27.72
do you offer
them your phone too?
00:20:27.76\00:20:29.09
Yeah.
00:20:29.12\00:20:30.46
Well, you know, the practical
00:20:32.63\00:20:33.96
real world application
of some of those things,
00:20:34.00\00:20:35.86
it's sometimes hard
to wrap your mind around
00:20:35.90\00:20:38.70
and particularly in a society
like ours where in addition
00:20:38.73\00:20:42.04
to wanting to be the gentle,
caring follower of Jesus,
00:20:42.07\00:20:45.97
we must also be protective.
00:20:46.01\00:20:48.88
You can be kind without
having people walk all over you.
00:20:48.91\00:20:52.48
Right. Mh-hmm.
00:20:52.51\00:20:53.85
You can do the right thing
00:20:53.88\00:20:55.22
without being
taken advantage of.
00:20:55.25\00:20:56.58
But finding the
balance in that is...
00:20:56.62\00:20:58.42
Yes.
00:20:58.45\00:20:59.79
Is sometimes hard to do.
00:20:59.82\00:21:01.16
And I've found it's especially
hard to explain to children,
00:21:01.19\00:21:04.69
where that line
drawn-- is drawn.
00:21:04.73\00:21:06.80
And sometimes it
makes us apprehensive then
00:21:06.83\00:21:09.90
to even engage as
witnesses in the world
00:21:09.93\00:21:13.20
because sometimes
it feels much safer.
00:21:13.23\00:21:15.54
Let me stay in the
theoretical portion
00:21:15.57\00:21:18.31
and not live in
the practical sense.
00:21:18.34\00:21:19.84
That's right.
00:21:19.87\00:21:21.21
It's easier to just drive
by those homeless people...
00:21:21.24\00:21:24.81
I mean, what would Jesus do
while I know he wouldn't invite
00:21:24.85\00:21:26.95
for supper so I
better keep going.
00:21:26.98\00:21:28.32
But that is where real
life is, isn't it Jerry?
00:21:30.59\00:21:34.09
Real life is
messy sometimes. It is.
00:21:34.12\00:21:37.16
Being part of a family. Yeah.
00:21:37.19\00:21:39.16
Is messy, sometimes.
00:21:39.19\00:21:40.73
And being part of a
church family can be messy too.
00:21:40.76\00:21:44.87
And I know that
sometimes our deepest heartaches
00:21:44.90\00:21:47.27
come from the ones
that we love the most.
00:21:47.30\00:21:49.07
And sometimes that
includes our church family.
00:21:49.10\00:21:52.94
So, have you ever found yourself
00:21:52.97\00:21:56.04
going back to your book,
00:21:56.08\00:21:57.81
now that it's not
just an idea in your head
00:21:57.85\00:22:00.98
or a half completed
manuscript on your computer?
00:22:01.02\00:22:04.29
Do you pull out that
book and underline it again
00:22:04.32\00:22:08.29
and be encouraged in God's word?
00:22:08.32\00:22:11.79
I suppose I have an advantage
00:22:11.83\00:22:13.46
in the sense that I have over...
00:22:13.50\00:22:16.56
the original in on my
computer, I have my notes on it,
00:22:16.60\00:22:20.37
I have what I wrote, you know,
00:22:20.40\00:22:22.47
and I have gone
back to that thinking,
00:22:22.50\00:22:25.27
"Okay, now let's boil this down,
00:22:25.31\00:22:28.11
what does this really mean."
00:22:28.14\00:22:30.15
And again the ability
to turn to that sermon,
00:22:30.18\00:22:36.22
to that passage
00:22:36.25\00:22:37.75
and see again what Jesus held up
00:22:37.79\00:22:40.62
as the, as who we could be.
00:22:40.66\00:22:42.86
If we truly
wanted to follow him.
00:22:42.89\00:22:44.79
Yes, I love the
way that you say,
00:22:44.83\00:22:46.93
the essence of what it
means to be a Christian
00:22:48.13\00:22:50.57
or Christ follower is shown
in how we treat one and other.
00:22:50.60\00:22:55.24
One and other. That's right.
00:22:55.27\00:22:57.57
What's the tension
between, you know, as a pastor,
00:22:57.61\00:23:01.28
you preach about this
Sermon on the Mount as a teacher
00:23:01.31\00:23:04.51
you explain it to
your students as an author
00:23:04.55\00:23:07.18
you attempt to
illustrate it with words,
00:23:07.22\00:23:09.68
but then as a man you have to,
00:23:09.72\00:23:12.92
you're called to live it.
00:23:12.95\00:23:14.86
How do you balance or
reconcile that tension?
00:23:14.89\00:23:17.69
You know, like so
much else in life.
00:23:19.76\00:23:22.90
It comes down to what it really
means to you to be a follower.
00:23:24.67\00:23:28.40
It's-- all of us
have those occasions
00:23:28.44\00:23:30.67
when we do the right thing
00:23:30.71\00:23:32.04
because there's a
lot of people watching.
00:23:32.07\00:23:33.64
Yeah.
00:23:33.68\00:23:35.01
You know, we're
careful how we drive
00:23:35.04\00:23:36.48
perhaps in the
church parking lot...
00:23:36.51\00:23:39.58
we don't want to
offend our fellow members,
00:23:39.61\00:23:42.45
but on the freeway,
you know, stand back.
00:23:42.48\00:23:44.95
You know, it
struck me the other day
00:23:46.79\00:23:48.16
I was at a grocery store
00:23:48.19\00:23:51.39
and I had taken
my stuff to the car
00:23:51.43\00:23:53.16
and unloaded all the bags in
00:23:53.19\00:23:56.43
and the cart return
thing was way over there
00:23:56.46\00:24:00.17
and there was a, you know,
00:24:00.20\00:24:01.54
an empty space right next to me,
00:24:01.57\00:24:03.00
I could just leave
the cart there and go.
00:24:03.04\00:24:05.17
And I thought, you know,
if I were just driving in
00:24:06.98\00:24:11.45
and this cart was
where I wanted to park
00:24:11.48\00:24:13.25
I would be unhappy about that.
00:24:13.28\00:24:15.02
Shouldn't I treat
the next person coming
00:24:15.05\00:24:16.99
like I would want to be treated.
00:24:17.02\00:24:19.45
But that's what really what
it comes down to as a person.
00:24:19.49\00:24:21.96
Do you take the time
to do the right thing,
00:24:21.99\00:24:25.63
the kind thing,
the thoughtful thing
00:24:25.66\00:24:27.63
or do you just rush
on about your own day
00:24:27.66\00:24:29.83
because you're the
most important person
00:24:29.86\00:24:31.20
you know anyway?
00:24:31.23\00:24:32.57
And we're all in such a hurry.
00:24:32.60\00:24:33.94
We are. It is true.
00:24:33.97\00:24:35.30
Unfortunately,
we are out of time,
00:24:35.34\00:24:38.24
so we just want to ask
you as we close this program.
00:24:38.27\00:24:40.94
If you could
look into the camera
00:24:40.98\00:24:42.31
and share with
someone who's watching,
00:24:42.34\00:24:44.08
especially if they are reading
through the Sermon on the Mount
00:24:44.11\00:24:46.72
or reading a copy of your book.
00:24:46.75\00:24:48.65
They come across something
like Jesus said that's tough.
00:24:48.68\00:24:52.95
How do we get through that?
00:24:52.99\00:24:54.32
I would encourage any of us
who studied the words of Jesus,
00:24:56.29\00:25:00.50
who are, who follow Jesus...
00:25:00.53\00:25:02.66
to consider the Sermon
on the Mount especially
00:25:04.00\00:25:06.23
because that's
where we learn that
00:25:06.27\00:25:09.40
what being a Christian
really means like Karen said,
00:25:09.44\00:25:11.67
"The essence of Christianity
is in how we treat each other."
00:25:11.71\00:25:16.75
Sermon on the Mount is full of
00:25:16.78\00:25:19.31
how we should
treat the Roman soldiers,
00:25:19.35\00:25:20.95
how we should
treat the Pharisees,
00:25:20.98\00:25:22.78
how we should treat the
poor and needy around us.
00:25:22.82\00:25:25.42
It really comes down to
how we treat each other.
00:25:25.45\00:25:28.39
If do not have a Christianity,
00:25:28.42\00:25:31.63
a heart relationship with God...
00:25:31.66\00:25:35.80
that makes us a kind person
00:25:35.83\00:25:37.40
then we really
don't have anything.
00:25:38.27\00:25:40.10
The ability to quote scripture
that's make you a Christian,
00:25:40.14\00:25:43.67
the ability to
understand prophecy,
00:25:43.71\00:25:46.61
the ability to give
vast amounts in offering,
00:25:46.64\00:25:49.54
none of these things
make you a follower of Jesus.
00:25:49.58\00:25:52.41
Follower of Jesus is
the person who's kind,
00:25:52.45\00:25:57.19
not just to those
who can be kind to them,
00:25:57.22\00:25:59.32
but to everyone they meet.
00:25:59.35\00:26:00.76
Thank you, Jerry, for sharing
a part of your story with us.
00:26:02.32\00:26:05.73
We've been sitting down
and having a conversation
00:26:05.76\00:26:07.96
with Jerry D Thomas
on this episode of Stones
00:26:08.00\00:26:11.77
of Remembrance and
listening to Jerry's story,
00:26:11.80\00:26:14.27
we are reminded that God
is calling us to do things
00:26:14.30\00:26:18.51
often times that are
counter to our culture,
00:26:18.54\00:26:21.74
so when we read
through the Sermon on the Mount
00:26:21.78\00:26:23.85
or we read through Jerry's book
00:26:23.88\00:26:25.31
often times we
encounter statements
00:26:25.35\00:26:27.58
that seem, "Man,
I can't do this."
00:26:27.62\00:26:30.32
But a blessing in it is
that Jesus is not calling us
00:26:30.35\00:26:33.36
to doing it on our own.
00:26:33.39\00:26:35.12
He's calling us to take up
the mantel under His power.
00:26:35.16\00:26:39.16
This has been another
episode of Stones of Remembrance
00:26:39.19\00:26:42.16
and I'm Pierre Quinn for
my co-host, Karen Pierson,
00:26:42.20\00:26:45.37
we thank you
taking a few minutes
00:26:45.40\00:26:47.90
and tuning into us
00:26:47.94\00:26:49.47
and we ask that
you to stay tuned
00:26:49.50\00:26:50.84
for our next episode
with your favorite author.
00:26:50.87\00:26:53.44
Take care and
we'll see you next time.
00:26:53.48\00:26:55.14
More then 100 years ago,
00:27:30.58\00:27:32.31
Ellen White penned
the "Desire of Ages"
00:27:32.35\00:27:34.65
a classic volume
on the life of Jesus
00:27:34.68\00:27:37.49
that has been a source of
00:27:37.52\00:27:38.85
inspiration to millions
of readers around the world.
00:27:38.89\00:27:42.12
Messiah was
written by Jerry D. Thomas
00:27:42.16\00:27:45.03
and is a
contemporary adaptation of
00:27:45.06\00:27:46.90
Mrs. White's great work.
00:27:46.93\00:27:48.83
It amplifies the beautiful
message of the original,
00:27:48.86\00:27:52.17
while making it
easier to understand.
00:27:52.20\00:27:55.04
The sharing edition from Messiah
00:27:55.07\00:27:57.51
takes selections from Messiah,
from Jesus' birth, early life,
00:27:57.54\00:28:01.01
and ministry to the closing
scenes of His life on earth.
00:28:01.04\00:28:05.05
It's a great way to introduce
friends and neighbors to Jesus.
00:28:05.08\00:28:09.45
Excellent for
evangelistic meetings.
00:28:09.48\00:28:11.79
Quantity pricing is available.
00:28:11.82\00:28:14.02
To get your copy of
Messiah sharing edition,
00:28:14.06\00:28:17.16
call 1-800-765-6955.
00:28:17.19\00:28:21.56
Stop by your local
Adventist Book Center
00:28:21.60\00:28:23.97
or order online at
www.AdvenitstBookCenter.com
00:28:24.00\00:28:29.30