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Even
in Mayberry
The
Andy Griffith Show
is a popular American sitcom first televised by CBS
between October 3, 1960 and April 1, 1968. The
show continues to be shown in syndication today.
In the series, Andy Griffith portrays a widowed
sheriff in the fictional small community of Mayberry,
North Carolina. His life is complicated – often in a
humorous and entertaining way – by an inept but
well-meaning deputy, Barney Fife (Don Knotts), a
spinster aunt and housekeeper, Aunt Bee (Frances
Bavier), and a young son, Opie (Ron Howard), and other
residents of Mayberry.
The
inspiration for the fictional town of Mayberry is Mt.
Airy, North Carolina, Andy Griffith’s hometown.
Due to the success and notoriety of the
television show, "Mayberry" has been used as
a term for both idyllic small town life and for rural
simplicity (for both good and ill).
Mt.
Airy, North Carolina, recently made headline news.
The headline read,
“Man
Charged With Killing 4 in Mayberry Model Town.”
On
Sunday, November 1, four men were murdered in Mt.
Airy. They were shot in the shadow of a water tower that says,
“Welcome to Mount Airy” and has a picture of
Griffith and “Opie.”
Steve
Higginbotham laments that in incidences such as these,
we face the harsh reality that even the “town that
is supposed to be the model of ‘small town
America,’ is not immune from the influences of the
world.”
The
truth is that NONE of the cities and towns of the
world – as well as the lives of their inhabitants
– is exempt from problems.....
The
GREATEST problem in the world is SIN.
Sin separates us from God and from all that is
good, right, and holy.
Everyone in the world has sinned: “for all
have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”
(Romans 3:23).
But
the GOOD NEWS of the Gospel is that God loved us so
much that He gave His one and only Son, Jesus, to die
on the cross for our sins (John 3:16).
In His death, Jesus paid the price for our
redemption from sin (Ephesians 1:7).
Through Jesus, we can be saved from our sins!
Jesus
will save those who: put their trust
in Him (Acts 16:30-31), turn from sin
in repentance
(Acts 17:30-31), confess
Him before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized
(immersed) in His name for the forgiveness of sins (Acts
2:38). His
atoning blood will continue to cleanse those who
continue to follow Him as a way of life (1 John 1:7).
People
all over the world have a problem with sin – even in
Mayberry! But
everyone in the world has the opportunity to be saved
in Christ. Jesus
will save those who trust and obey Him.
Won’t
YOU?
David
A. Sargent, Minister
Church
of Christ at Creekwood
1901
Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama 36695
*
Information gleaned from Wikipedia, the Associated
Press, and Steve Higginbotham’s MercEmail article
entitled “Even in Mayberry.”
For an archive of his excellent articles and to
sign up to receive them, see http://preachinghelp.org/?page_id=6
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