Vivian Stringer Found the Strength she Needed to Go On in Life through Jesus Christ (Gospel Light Minute #16)

She is a prominent women’s college basketball coach, with one of the best records in the history of women’s basketball. Known for her grace, class, strength, perseverance, and winning spirit, she holds the distinction of being the first coach in NCAA history to lead three different women’s programs to the NCAA Final Four: Rutgers in 2000 and 2007, the University of Iowa in 1993, and Cheyney State College (now Cheyney University of Pennsylvania) in 1982. She is the third winningest coach in women’s basketball history, and she is the third women’s basketball coach to win 800 career games. She was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in September 2009. She is currently the head coach of the Rutgers University women’s basketball team.

After watching her daughter fight for her life with spinal meningitis and watching her husband die from a massive heart attack, she says of those experiences, “I looked back on my life and just reflected and I thought, ‘I can’t go on. I can’t make it.’ The only way I could have gotten through these events is with confidence, trust, and faith in my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” She says of her faith today, “Jesus is my Lord and Savior. And He’s my refuge. He’s the person that I can always count on, the person who I quietly talk to when no one else is there — the person who will give me strength to handle the most difficult of situations. And that I know is championing me to be able to speak to others.” Her name is Vivian Stringer.

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MP3 Download Link: Gospel Light Minute #16

Smokey Robinson: Jesus Christ is the ‘Way Out of this Havoc and the Way Into Paradise’ (Gospel Light Minute #15)

He is known as one of the primary figures associated with the great days of Motown hits, second only to the company’s founder, Berry Gordy. His consistent commercial success and creative contributions earned him the title “King of Motown”. As an original member of Motown Records’ first vocal group “The Miracles” and as a solo artist, he delivered many US and UK Top 40 hits for Motown between 1960 and 1987. Besides recording and singing, he also wrote hit songs such as “My Guy”, “The Way You Do the Things You Do”, “My Girl”, and “Get Ready”. His 1960 single “Shop Around” was Motown’s first number one hit on the R&B singles chart and its first million-selling hit single. He has won many awards for his work including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999 and the National Medal of Arts in 2002.

One day while visiting a local minister’s home, he accepted Jesus Christ into his life by praying what is called the sinner’s prayer. He says of his faith in God, “I know the strength that Christ gives me. I know what He did for me. I know that He is my way out and my way in.
He’s my way out of all this havoc and my way into paradise. He suffered for me and for everybody. It’s so simple. God loves us so much. He said, “I’ll tell you what. I’m going to make it real simple for you. I’m going to send my Son, Jesus Christ. He’s going to take on all your iniquities and all your sins. He’s gonna die in your place so you can have everlasting life. All you’ve got to do is accept Him as your Saviour.” The gentleman who gave this testimony is Smokey Robinson.

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MP3 Download Link: Gospel Light Minute #15

Angela Bassett Realized God’s Amazing Love for Her (Gospel Light Minute #14)

She is one of the most powerful and respected female actors of all time. She has won numerous awards including a Golden Globe and the NAACP Image Award. Her film credits include starring as Tina Turner in “What’s Love Got to Do with It”, as Betty Shabazz in “Malcolm X” and “Panther”, as Rosa Parks in “The Rosa Parks Story”, as Katherine Jackson in the miniseries “The Jacksons: An American Dream” and as Voletta Wallace in the film “Notorious”. She graduated from Yale University with a BA in African-American Studies and with a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Yale School of Drama. Like Denzel Washington, she is a longtime worshipper at the West Angeles Church of God in Christ in California. She said of her faith, “When you realize that every breath is a gift from God. When you realize how small you are, but how much He loved you. That He, Jesus, would die, the son of God himself on earth, then you just weep.” Her name is Angela Bassett.

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George Foreman: Once Fighting for the World, Now Fighting in God’s Army (Gospel Light Minute #13)

He is a two-time former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Olympic gold medalist, ordained Baptist minister, author and successful entrepreneur. He is known as one of the hardest hitters in boxing history. His most notable fights were his knockout against Joe Frazier in 1973 and his loss to Muhammad Ali in the Rumble in the Jungle in Zaire, Africa in 1974. He went on to become the oldest man ever to become the heavyweight boxing champion of the world at age 45 after he came back to the ring from retirement to raise money for his foundation. He has been named one of the 25 greatest fighters of all time by Ring Magazine, having won 76 of his 81 fights. After retiring from boxing for a second time, he became a successful businessman, promoting healthy eating and fat-reduction. He is also known for raising 10 children—five boys and five girls.

After his loss to Jimmy Young on March 17, 1977, he entered his dressing room and began pacing back and forth, thinking about his future, his death, and his relationship with God. He had always prayed to God and believed that as long as he treated people right, he was okay. But this inner conflict and turmoil began to bother him so much so that he found himself lying on the floor having a vision and an out of body experience with God. He was taken to what seemed like hell, and he saw death and other religions. God told him in this vision, “I don’t want your money, I want you!”

He says of this experience, “I had never believed in Jesus before and I wasn’t going to go for it. I never would have, but let me tell you, Jesus is alive…There’s a lot of people who think for sure, and some think maybe, or maybe not. But I know [that Jesus is alive]. Since then I’ve been telling everybody about Jesus! Why God did this to me, I don’t know; but I just praise Him every day. I dropped everything I was doing to tell the whole world that Jesus Christ is alive. God took me all over the world fighting, and I was just trying to exalt myself. Now I’m going all over the world to try and tell them about Jesus.” The man who said these words is George Foreman.

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MP3 Download Link: Gospel Light Minute #13

Billy Davis Jr. and Marilyn McCoo: Finding and Serving God in the Midst of Hollywood Success (Gospel Light Minute #12)

This husband and wife team have enjoyed years of success together and individually as recording artists. Their music has earned them 7 Grammy awards and 15 gold and 3 platinum records. They have also enjoyed starring roles on various television shows and movies. They
are known for their over 40 years of marriage in the midst of demanding entertainment careers, and they often give advice and encouragement to married couples they meet. As lead vocalists in the group called The 5th Dimension, during the 60s and 70s they recorded such classics as “Up, Up & Away”, “Wedding Bell Blues” and “Stoned Soul Picnic” among others. After a decade with this group, they decided to establish themselves as a duo, and they had immediate success with the single “You Don’t Have to Be a Star (To Be In My Show)”.

Although her family did not go to church, he had been raised with a strong Christian background. But the pressures of an entertainment career had shifted his attention from his faith. Pretty soon, their Christian friends had begun to talk to them about God. He realized how
much he had shifted from acknowledging God in his life, while she also realized a void in her life. They began studying the Bible. One day, their friends invited them both to accept Jesus Christ at a Roxy event in Los Angeles. Although they had just finished a concert in Denver,
they had made it back to Los Angeles in time for the program. Three weeks earlier, she had already accepted Jesus without telling him. At the evening of the Roxy, both committed their lives to Jesus Christ and have been serving Him ever since then. Their names are Billy Davis, Jr., and Marilyn McCoo.

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Avery Johnson Answered the Call to Follow Jesus Christ (Gospel Light Minute #11)

He is best known as the former head coach of the Dallas Mavericks. As a coach, he holds the highest winning percentage in NBA history and set the record for reaching the 150 win mark in the shortest number of games. In the 2005-2006 season, he led the Mavericks to their first ever appearance in the NBA Finals and earned the NBA Coach of the Year honor along the way. Known as “The Little General” for his on-court leadership abilities, he also helped guide the San Antonio Spurs to an NBA Championship in 1999. Before he became a coach, he became the 75th player in NBA history to play 1,000 career games. At 5’11”, he joined Calvin Murphy as the only other player under 6-feet in height to reach that milestone.

After a long night of drinking in 1989, he decided to attend a church service the next day. The minister preached a message about being fully committed to Jesus Christ. He says of his experience that day, “I don’t know how else to explain it except to say that I suddenly
felt the call to truly trust Christ. I had one foot in and one foot out. You’re either hot or you’re cold, and I wanted to be hot. That day I decided that I wanted to be different. I wanted to put my faith in Jesus Christ once and for all…I’ve been on that journey for a number of years now, and I can honestly say that it’s the best decision I ever made.” The man who said those words is Avery Johnson.

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MP3 Download Link: Gospel Light Minute #11

Condoleezza Rice, a Powerful and Accomplished Woman, has a ‘Deep and Abiding Faith in God’ (Gospel Light Minute #10)

While on the world stage, for eight years in a row, she was considered by many to be the most powerful woman in the world. She served as the Secretary of State for the United States of America under President George W. Bush. She was the first African-American woman secretary of state. She graduated with honors from the University of Denver and from the University of Notre Dame. She was a professor of political science at Stanford University where she served as Provost from 1993 to 1999. She is an accomplished pianist and has performed in public since she was a young girl. She credits her parents with instilling in her a strong faith in God and said of her faith, “The one thing that both of my parents had that I’m grateful to have is a deep and abiding faith in God. There’s no greater gift parents can give their kids than that.” Her name is Condoleezza Rice.

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The Power of Prayer and Being in Partnership With God (Gospel Light Minute #9)

For eight years, she hosted her self-titled television show, which is now in nationwide syndication. She graduated from Mt. Holyoke College and Emory University School of Law. After college she became the highest-ranking African-American woman at Delta Air Lines, serving as senior attorney and manager of public relations. This position earned her a spot on Ebony magazine’s “100 Best and Brightest Women in Corporate America.” After leaving the corporate world, she became Georgia’s first African-American Chief Presiding Judge of a state court and department as well as the head of one of the largest juvenile court systems in the country.

While leading many cases involving children, she became interested in creating positive solutions for families. This led her to start “Parent Power Now”, the premiere online parenting network. Growing up in a small Baptist church, which she still attends today, she credits her parents, especially her father who died suddenly over 17 years ago, for teaching her to have her own direct relationship with God and to make prayer the source of her strength. She says that the power of prayer continues to be an anchor in her life, and that as we live life, we have to be in partnership with God and live life with purpose and intention. Her name is Judge Glenda Hatchett.

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MP3 Download Link: Gospel Light Minute #9

George Washington Carver: A Brilliant Scientist Who Said he Was ‘Nothing’ Without Christ (Gospel Light Minute #7)

He created over 300 products from peanuts that are useful in the home and on the farm. And he created over 100 products from sweet potatoes. He invented synthetic materials such as plywood as well as dye which is still used in crayons today. As a youngster, he was denied access to education because of his race, but eventually attended high school and college at age 30.

Alongside his inventions, he worked towards racial harmony among blacks and whites in the South. He received the Spingarn Medal from the NAACP in 1923 for outstanding achievement, and an honorary doctorate from Simpson College in 1933.

He is said to have become a Christian at the age of ten and testified on many occasions that his ‘faith in Jesus Christ was the only mechanism by which he could effectively pursue and perform the art of science.’ He was often heard to say, “The Lord has guided me, and without my Saviour, I am nothing”. His name is George Washington Carver.

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MP3 Download Link: Gospel Light Minute #7