Message: “What Can We Learn From The Great Pumpkin?” from Dr. Rick Mandl

Devotional Manuscript: What Can We Learn From The Great Pumpkin?
Message by Dr. Rick Mandl, Thursday, October 29, 2020.
Recorded in Los Angeles, CA.

Hey church family. You’ve all heard the old saying "There are three things you should never discuss with people... Religion, politics... and what was the third?" Maybe this will remind you... ((Great Pumpkin Clip)).

Ah yes. . . Religion, politics, and the Great Pumpkin. Today, I’d like us to think for a moment about all three. For many people, it’s a fall tradition to watch the classic Peanuts Movie . . . “It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.” If you’re not familiar with the plot, it centers on Linus’s belief that the Great Pumpkin exists and that he will appear on Halloween night, in the pumpkin patch that is the most sincere. And based on that belief he camps out in a pumpkin patch to await the arrival of the Great Pumpkin.

I won’t spoil the movie by telling you what happens. I will say that this beloved holiday special first aired on October 27, 1966, on CBS, and continued to air on that network every year, through the year 2000. And then in 2001, ABC picked up the rights and has been airing it every year, up through last year. This means that since 1966, or for the past 54 years, you could count on being able to watch “It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown” as one of your annual fall traditions. This year however, things are different.

In the midst of a global pandemic, at a time when many of us felt like we couldn’t handle any more loss, we’ve learned that this film will not be shown this year by of the major broadcast or cable networks. It will however, exclusively air on Apple TV+. The good news is that this streaming service will offer it free to all users from tomorrow, October 30, through Sunday, November 1st.

So what does “The Great Pumpkin” have to do with politics and religion? So glad you asked. We’re coming up on a presidential election that is less than a week away. Depending on which polls you believe, Democratic nominee Joe Biden is on his way to a landslide victory…  Or he will eke out a narrow win…  Or the race is too close to call… Or there will be no winner on November 3 and the election will descend into chaos… Or President Trump will win reelection… We’re all waiting to see which version of the story will come true. In the meantime, the Coronavirus continues to spread... And in addition to that as we watch the economy we are seeing an increase in jobless claims among Americans, which could lead us to believe that it will be even longer before we return to “normal.”

As we look at the challenges before us, we need to realize that much like Linus, was hoping for the arrival of his Great Pumpkin, to make everything right, our greatest hopes for what is going to happen with the election, and the pandemic, and the economy, will not eliminate the problems that are facing our nation.

The late Chuck Colson was directly on point when he said, “The Kingdom of God will not arrive on Air Force One.” God in His grace, has given to us as Americans, the power to elect the “Leader of the Free World”  -- -  But regardless of what happens this coming Tuesday, the one and only “King of Kings and Lord of Lords,” will still be the one who is in control. And He will never be voted out of office. The answer to our problems begins when we make Him our Lord and Savior, because He is the one who promises to give us the mercy and grace to help us in our time of need, as we draw near to Him.

Recorded in Los Angeles, CA.

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