Minister tells congregation 'You Are Doubly Blessed'

On Sunday, February 12, 2012, the African American congregation at Calvary Baptist Church, in Yale, Virginia was told:

"You are doubly blessed."

Rev. Margaret Minnicks, associate minister at New Canaan Baptist Church and Founder of The Way of Life Bible Institute both in Richmond, Virginia was the guest preacher during Calvary's Black History Month celebration.

Keeping with the theme of Black History, Rev. Minnicks, a prolific Bible teacher, told the all Black congregation it was doubly blessed before citing the double blessing.

1. We are blessed because we know God.
2. We are blessed because we know our Black history.

Knowing God
God wants us to know Him. Psalm 46:10 says, "Be still and know that I am God." God created us in His own image, and He wants a deep intimacy relationship with us. We get to know God and all He has for us by spending time with Him.

We are blessed because we belong to God. We are his people and the sheep of His pasture. That's why we can say, "The Lord is my shepherd."

We are blessed because God is our source. That's why we can say, "The earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof."

We are blessed because God is more than enough. That's why we can call Him, "El Shaddai."

Knowing Black History
No doubt we know the more familiar African Americans like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Harriet Tubman, George Washington Carver, Booker T. Washington and Rosa Parks. However, we are blessed for knowing the inventions of those less known Blacks whose shoulders we stand on because they paved the way for us and made life easier by their inventions.

Before coming to church today you combed your hair because of the comb invented by Walter Sammons, a Black man. You brushed your hair with a hair brush invented by Lydia Newman, a Black woman.

You drove to church in safety because of the traffic lights invented by Garrett Morgan who also invented the straighting comb.

You are going home to a clean house because Lloyd Ray.invented the dust pan and Thomas Steward invented the mop.

You were able to arrive on time because of Benjamin Banneker who invented the first clock.

There are hundreds of other items invented by Black inventors such as:

• air condition unit
• the refridgerator
• the stove
• the clothes dryer
• the ironing board
• the rollling pin
• the lock
• the key chain
• the door knob
• the door stop
• the typewriter
• the mailbox
• the cell phone
• the elevator
• the guitar
• the potato chip

So you see, we are blessed to have so many conveniences to make our lives easier and so much better.

We are doubly blessed because we know God who sent His only Son to redeemed us from our sins. Jesus came to earth to die in our place. We confess with our mouth and believe in our heart that Jesus was crucified on the cross. He was buried and on the third day God raised His from the dead.Therefore, we are saved according to Romans 10:9-10. Isn't that a blessing?

We are doubly blessed because of so many Black inventors who made it possible for us to enjoy life a little better. Because we know our history and where we came from, we also have an indication to know where we are going. Isn't that a blessing?

We are doubly blessed. Let's praise God because we are doubly blessed!