I have a very different sermon today. This is an old story told by Tex Ritter during World War Two, with some adjustments by me. I am not sure what made me think of it this weekend, but – I like the story.
A young soldier was in his bunkhouse all alone one Sunday morning. It was quiet that day, the guns and the mortars, for some reason, hadn’t made a noise. The young soldier knew it was Sunday, the holiest day of the week. As he was sitting there, he got out an old deck of cards and laid them out across his bunk.
Just then his Sergeant came in and asked, “Why aren’t you with the rest of the platoon?” The soldier replied, “I thought I would stay behind and spend some time in prayer.” The Sergeant said, “Looks like you’re going to play cards.”
The soldier said, “No, Sergeant, you see, since we are not allowed to have Bibles or other spiritual books here, I’ve decided to talk to the Lord by studying this deck of cards.” The Sergeant asked, “And how will you do that?”
The soldier replied,
“Well, Sergeant…
The Ace reminds us that there is only one true God.
The Two represents the two parts of the Bible, Old and New Testaments.
The Three represents the Trinity – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The Four stands for the four Gospel Writers: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
The Five is for the five wise virgins and the five foolish; it also reminds me of the five Books that Moses wrote that start the Bible.
The Six is for the six days it took for God to create the Heavens and Earth.
The Seven is for the day that God rested after working six days.
The Eight is for the day that Jesus rose from the dead. That is why Sunday is so important.
The Nine is for the nine lepers that Jesus cleansed of leprosy; he cleansed ten, but nine never came back. Also, there are nine choirs of angels: the seraphim, the cherubim, the thrones, the dominions, the powers, the principalities, the virtues, the archangels, and the angels.
The Ten represents the Ten Commandments that God handed down to Moses on stone tablets.
The Jack reminds me of the good that God has made of me and that he counts me as part of his royal family.
The Queen stands for the Virgin Mary.
The King, well, Jesus is the King of all Kings.
The Joker is a reminder of Satan. One of God’s first angels, but he was banished from heaven for his pride and wicked ways and is now the Joker of eternal hell.
The other Joker reminds me of Judas, and that any of us might fall into sin if we do not pay attention to all God has done for us.
There are a total of 52 cards in a deck, not counting the Jokers, each represents a week, 52 weeks each year in which to offer prayer and thanksgiving.
The four suits, clubs, spades, hearts, and diamonds, represent the four seasons: spring, summer, fall, and winter, each a visible sign of God’s splendor.
Each suit has thirteen cards, the number of weeks in each season.
So, when I want to talk to God and thank him, I just pull out this old deck of cards and it reminds me of all I have to be thankful for.”
The Sergeant just stood there and after a minute, with tears in his eyes and pain in his heart, he said, “Soldier, can I borrow that deck of cards?”
A young soldier was in his bunkhouse all alone one Sunday morning. It was quiet that day, the guns and the mortars, for some reason, hadn’t made a noise. The young soldier knew it was Sunday, the holiest day of the week. As he was sitting there, he got out an old deck of cards and laid them out across his bunk.
Just then his Sergeant came in and asked, “Why aren’t you with the rest of the platoon?” The soldier replied, “I thought I would stay behind and spend some time in prayer.” The Sergeant said, “Looks like you’re going to play cards.”
The soldier said, “No, Sergeant, you see, since we are not allowed to have Bibles or other spiritual books here, I’ve decided to talk to the Lord by studying this deck of cards.” The Sergeant asked, “And how will you do that?”
The soldier replied,
“Well, Sergeant…
The Ace reminds us that there is only one true God.
The Two represents the two parts of the Bible, Old and New Testaments.
The Three represents the Trinity – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The Four stands for the four Gospel Writers: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
The Five is for the five wise virgins and the five foolish; it also reminds me of the five Books that Moses wrote that start the Bible.
The Six is for the six days it took for God to create the Heavens and Earth.
The Seven is for the day that God rested after working six days.
The Eight is for the day that Jesus rose from the dead. That is why Sunday is so important.
The Nine is for the nine lepers that Jesus cleansed of leprosy; he cleansed ten, but nine never came back. Also, there are nine choirs of angels: the seraphim, the cherubim, the thrones, the dominions, the powers, the principalities, the virtues, the archangels, and the angels.
The Ten represents the Ten Commandments that God handed down to Moses on stone tablets.
The Jack reminds me of the good that God has made of me and that he counts me as part of his royal family.
The Queen stands for the Virgin Mary.
The King, well, Jesus is the King of all Kings.
The Joker is a reminder of Satan. One of God’s first angels, but he was banished from heaven for his pride and wicked ways and is now the Joker of eternal hell.
The other Joker reminds me of Judas, and that any of us might fall into sin if we do not pay attention to all God has done for us.
There are a total of 52 cards in a deck, not counting the Jokers, each represents a week, 52 weeks each year in which to offer prayer and thanksgiving.
The four suits, clubs, spades, hearts, and diamonds, represent the four seasons: spring, summer, fall, and winter, each a visible sign of God’s splendor.
Each suit has thirteen cards, the number of weeks in each season.
So, when I want to talk to God and thank him, I just pull out this old deck of cards and it reminds me of all I have to be thankful for.”
The Sergeant just stood there and after a minute, with tears in his eyes and pain in his heart, he said, “Soldier, can I borrow that deck of cards?”
