There are some here, and on the sound of my voice, who remember a day when a person's name was far more important and valuable than money and prestige.

Now, for those of you who have not seen those days, I've not experienced those days, let me tell you there was a day

when a person's name was of more value than all the gold and the silver in the world.

There was a day when a person's name meant everything to them.

Like many of you, I grew up thinking that way. Growing up in a Christian home,

in a sea of a non-Christian world, our name and our family name meant everything because it

literally represented Christ himself. But even today, there are certain names. As soon as they are mentioned, you

automatically, it communicates integrity or dishonesty. When you hear a name of a person to this day,

you're still either communicating honor or dishonor. When a name is mentioned, you immediately, it communicates the

character of that person. I read a story about a young couple who are expecting their first child,

the first child. And those of you young moms and dad know what I'm talking about, who've seen

it with our kids, and they're struggling what they call the first child, what are they going to call him. And finally,

Mama said, we'll call him Timothy. And dad said, over my dead body. Well, she couldn't

understand the vehemence by which he's resisting that name. The bottom line was that when he was a boy in school,

there was a bully in the playground. His name was Timmy. And he could not even imagine.

He could not think of his precious little boy is going to be referred to as Timmy. But why? Because the name

represents, for him, represented the worst of memories growing up as a young boy. In biblical times,

they named children for what they want them or hope that they'll grow up to be.

That's always you see that in the scripture.

Where he named him this because of that, and he named in this and so forth.

These are important.

These names are important.

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