Cowboy in Church

One Sunday morning an Old Cowboy entered a Church just before services were to begin. Although the Old Man and his clothes were spotlessly clean, he wore jeans, a denim shirt and boots that were very worn and ragged. In his hand he carried a worn out old hat and an equally worn out Bible.

The Church he entered was in a very upscale and exclusive part of the city. It was the largest and most beautiful Church the Old Cowboy had ever seen. The people of the congregation were all dressed with expensive clothes and accessories. As the Cowboy took a seat, the others moved away from him. No one greeted, spoke to, or welcomed him. They were all appalled at his appearance and did not attempt to hide it.

As the Old Cowboy was leaving the church, the Preacher approached him and asked the Cowboy to do him a favor. "Before you come back in here again, have a talk with God and ask him what he thinks would be appropriate attire for worship." The Old Cowboy assured the Preacher
he would.

The next Sunday, he showed back up for the services wearing the same ragged jeans, shirt, boots, and hat. Once again he was completely shunned and ignored. The Preacher approached the man and said, "I thought I asked you to speak to God before you came back to our
Church."

"I did," replied the Old Cowboy. "If you spoke to God, what did he tell you the proper attire should be for worshiping in here?" asked the Preacher. "Well, Sir, God told me that He didn't have a clue what I should wear. He said He'd never been in this Church before."

Honoring the Dead

One Sunday morning, the pastor noticed little Randy standing in the foyer of the church staring up at a large plaque. It was covered with names and small American flags mounted on either side of it.

The six-year old had been staring at the plaque for some time, so the pastor walked up, stood beside the little boy, and said quietly, 'Good morning Randy.'

'Good morning Pastor,' he replied, still focused on the plaque. 'Pastor, what is this?'

The pastor said, 'Well son, it's a memorial to all the young men and women who died in the service.'

Soberly, they just stood together, staring at the large plaque.

Finally, little Randy's voice, barely audible and trembling with fear asked, "Which service, the 8:30 or the 10:45?"