Open Heart Surgery – Five Years Later

Just over five years ago, President Dennis' five-month-old daughter, Lilliana Joy Dennis, received open heart surgery to repair a large VSD (hole in the heart). To our knowledge, Lilliana received the first and only such procedure on a Trisomy-18 child in Indiana. Prayers were raised by many Christians, and after 17 days Lilliana returned home.

Through the prayers of friends, Lilliana has continued to thrive. Although she displays some of the developmental delays associated with her Trisomy 18, she has gained strength and made much progress.

On November 17th, Lilliana turned 5 1/2 years old. We give God all the glory for her "Miracle Life."

Fall Banquet a Great Blessing!

Dr. David Price, pastor of Providence Baptist Church in Coopertown, TN and a good friend of Heritage, brought the message at this year’s Fall Fundraising Banquet. Dr. Price spoke from Psalm 138 on Standing for God. He encouraged those attending to trust God’s Promise, Power, and Perfection.

The gymnasium was filled for this year’s banquet, and twenty-six preachers from four different states attended. The delicious food, tremendous music by the Heritage Singers, and great fellowship made for a very special evening. When the offering was received over $12,000 was given or pledged towards the offering goal of $15,500

The annual Fall Banquet begins the start for this year’s Christmas offering. These monies will be used toward the increased needs of the winter expenses. Please mark your calendar for the next Heritage banquet. The annual Graduation Banquet is scheduled for Tuesday evening, May 2, 2017.

Seeing Yourself

On May 1, 1960, American Gary Powers was flying his U-2 spy plane near the edge of the stratosphere when a Russian missile damaged his jet. Powers was captured, put on trial, and spent a year and a half in a Russian prison until he was exchanged for a KGB colonel. Ten years after his capture, Powers wrote an account of the affair in a book called Operation Overflight. Although he credits the Russians for not using torture, he tells how that crafty psychological methods were used to wear him down.

One simple trick was the removal of all mirrors. In his book Powers states: “You get into the habit of seeing your face each morning. Whether you look well or ill, young or just a trifle older, helps shape your day. Without that reflection, you begin to lose a little of your sense of identity.”

James 1:22-27 uses the example of a looking glass (mirror), in which the Christian looks into the “law of liberty”, and can gauge his identity with Christ. A doer of the Word is a doer of the Work.

Uncashed

The hunt for the fugitive, Dr. Harvey Crippen gripped the entire English speaking world in the summer of 1910. Not since the serial murders of “Jack the Ripper” two decades before, had the city of London been so captivated by a crime.

On July 13, Chief Inspector Walter Drew of Scotland Yard found the partial remains of a body buried in the basement of Dr. Crippen’s house. Dr. Crippen’s wife had been missing for over five months. Before his arrest could be made, unknown to the police, Dr. Crippen and his young mistress fled to Belgium.

William Churchill, then the English Home Secretary, authorized a reward for £250 ($25,000 today). As the story became news, reports came in from all over of sightings of the couple.

Two days later, the fleeing couple, now disquised as father and son, boarded the SS Montrose for passage to Canada.

The Montrose was skippered by Captain Henry Kendall, whom four years before had worked with Guglielmo Marconi in testing “ship to shore” communication. This wireless transmission of messages was just in its infant stages.

Captain Kendall became suspicious of the affectionate “father and son,” and after some detective work, he became convinced that the fugitives were aboard his ship. Using the wireless transmitter, Scotland Yard was summoned. Chief Inspector Drew booked passage on a fast passenger liner, and when the Montrose arrived in Canada, Inspector Drew arrested the couple. This event showed the world the importance of wireless communication with the apprehension of the first criminal using Marconi’s wireless device.

For his useful work, Captain Kendall was presented the reward check for $25,000. However, Henry Kendall never spent a dollar of the reward money. Instead of cashing the check, Captain Kendall had the check framed. (Larson, Erik. Thunderstruck. New York: Crown Publishers. 2006. p. 376.)

A few years before that event, Charles Spurgeon wrote a daily devotional called Chequebook of the Bank of Faith. In the book, Spurgeon reminded the Christian reader that God gives us promises in Scripture similar to checks that can be used. Sadly, many Christians fail, much like Captain Kendall, to cash their check and be blessed by the benefits.

Helpful Chapel Quotes

Loyalty and Faithfulness are the lynchpins of Great Character.

Joy is not sinful, it is spiritual.

Joy is not sinful, it is spiritual. I often don’t know what God is doing, but I know what God is like.

If you are in the Will of God, you are invincible.

Instead of taking Baptist off your church name, redefine it according to the Bible.

The worst boss an individual can have is a bad habit.