Hello, this is pastor gary from first baptist church of laplata. “Listen, my children, and you shall hear of the midnight ride of Paul Revere…” so begins Longfellow’s famous poem about this date in history 247 years ago in 1775. What many don’t know is that Paul Revere was not the only rider that night—William Dawes and Samuel Prescott also rode taking different routes in case they were captured by the British. Revere was captured, Dawes lost his horse, and only Prescott made it to Concord. And don’t forget about Robert Newman and John Pulling who bravely hung the lanterns in the Old North Church to get the whole ride started. This famous ride resulted in a very brief battle the next day, The Battle of Lexington, the first musket fire of which became known as the “shot heard around the world.” Thus began the Revolutionary War which produced the greatest, freest, and most blessed nation in history, The United States of America. The point is that while one person may get the credit or fame, God uses many people to get the job done. Noah had his family, Moses had Aaron, Joshua had Caleb, Eli had Samuel, Jesus had His twelve, Saul had Barnabas, Paul had Silas, and we have each other. First Baptist is God’s church—not mine or yours, and we must all work together to keep her functioning in a manner pleasing to her divine owner. Some are out front, most serve behind the scenes, but all are important. As the Apostle Paul wrote in I Corinthians 12:14, 27, “For the body is not one member but many…Now ye are the body of Christ and members in particular.”
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