FAMILY NEWS AND NOTES
Volume 10 15 February 2009 Issue No. 51
PRAYER LIST
Justin Barker, Rachel Barker, Louis Bell, Doris Bell, Billye Campbell, Suzanne Charlton, Steele Cooper, Irene Duncan, Vernon & Ruth Garrett, Jan Hargrove, Dorothy Kyle, Wade Miller, Elna O’Neal, Thelma Reed, Bud Roach
ALSO: Beth Adams, Nancy Chastain, Wesley DuBose, Ronald Duncan, Wayne Lineberger, Ben McCain, Winona Shankle, Yvonne Waldrup, Charlie Whitney
Service Arrrangements
COMMUNION FOR FEBRUARY 2009
SOUTH SIDE NORTH SIDE
AM
Rance Robison Jerry Freeman
Frankie Sargent Royce Armstrong
Bronson Roper Ronnie Stewart
PM
Fred Harkrider Jim Duncan
ANNOUNCEMENTS ………………. Wayne Pickrel
(Sunday and Wednesday)
SONG LEADER (AM)…………………… Hal Roper
(PM) …………….……. Hal Roper
Wednesday Nite ….….… Grady Duncan
PRAYERS —– Sunday
AM First Prayer ……................ Gene Campbell
Closing…………...............….....… Hal Roper
PM First Prayer…..................….… Charles Kyle
Closing……......….........….... Bronson Roper
PRAYERS — Wednesday Nite
First Prayer…………..… ..............Daniel McCary
Closing…………..…............... Rhodney Freeman
And now for … FAMILY NEWS AND NOTES
MEN’S BUSINESS MEETING this afternoon at 5:00 PM. All men of the congregation are encouraged to attend.
A Sandwich supper is scheduled for after services tonite (February 15th. Bring your favorite finger foods and drinks. Dessert will be provided. Be sure to bring your board games for fellowship afterwards.
There will be a Planning Meeting on Sunday, March 1st, at 5:00 PM for Ladies Day scheduled for May 2nd, with Janice McCain speaking. All ladies interested in helping are invited to attend this meeting.
Write this down so you can have it until the Pictorial Directory gets updated:
Kris & Lena Groda
Residence: 501 E. Magnolia
Mail: P O Box 2348
Mount Pleasant, Texas 75456
Phone: 903-717-8371
We are working on a “condensed directory” update. Please check the one on the rectangular table in the foyer for your personal information and after reviewing and making any corrections, please place a check mark next to your name so we can know you have reviewed your information. Many thanks.
There is a sign-up list on the round table in the foyer for the Pot Luck Dinner scheduled for Saturday February 21st at the Civic Center here in Mount Pleasant from 5:30 to 8:00 PM. Cost per person will run somewhere from $1.50 to $2.00 per person, depending on the number of people who attend. This is to help pay for the rent on the room. If you plan to attend please sign the list and show how many people will be attending.
There will be a Ladies Devotional at the home of Cindy Armstrong on Thursday, Feb. 19th at 7:00 p.m. Please join us for an evening of Bible study, singing, and fellowship.
Nita Horn, 65, of Chillicothe died Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2009, at her home.
Services were held at 10 a.m. Saturday at First Baptist Church in Chillicothe. Burial was in Chillicothe Cemetery under the direction of Sullivan Funeral Home of Vernon, Texas. Mrs. Horn was a homemaker.
Survivors include husband, Wade Horn of the home; daughter, Pamela of Grand Prairie, Texas; sons, Jeffrey of Mace Lenny, Fla., Timothy of Vernon; sisters, Norma Hill, of Wisconsin, Patricia Clifton of Vernon; brothers, Tommy Pickrel of Goodlett, Texas, Wayne Pickrel of Mount Pleasant, Texas; and six grandchildren.
Remember Joey and Pam Davis of Atlanta who lost their new born baby recently. Burial was in San Augustine, Texas. If you wish to send them a card their address here is their address: Joey & Pamela Davis—c/o Atlanta church of Christ—512 East Pine Crest Drive—Atlanta, Texas Home Phone: 903-796-3025 and Office: 903-796-3371.
Remember the family of Ruby Pipkin, who passed away on Saturday February 7th. Her funeral was conducted by Sam Harvey Funeral Home in Mount Vernon.
Nancy Chastain Clamon, who used to be a member of this congregation (and who many of you know well) is not doing very well at all. Although at home, she had had to have a feeding tube installed because she has trouble chewing and swallowing. She would enjoy receiving cars and letters from folks here, so her address is: 16385 FM 90—Mabank, TX 75147 and her Cell Phone No. is 903-573-2121.
Ladies, the Pittsburg church of Christ
Invited you to
Please mark hour calendars for our
Upcoming
Ladies’ Day
To be held
Saturday, April 18, 2009
10 A.M. (9:30 Registration)
Janis Dearman
Of Chattanooga, Tennessee,
Will be speaking on the theme,
“Go Into All the world.”
Please make plans now to share in this
Special time of edification and fellowship.
More details will follow.
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Moving Experiences
By Kris Groda
They didn't have Mayflower, U-haul or cattle trailers. We can't be sure what kind of carts they may have had, but they did caravan their people and their substance out of Ur to Haran on their way to the land of Canaan. Genesis 11:31 states, "And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there." Why did they do this? Because "the Lord had said unto Abram, Get they out of they country, and from thy kindred, and from thy fathers house, unto a land that I will shew thee" (Genesis 12:1).
Even when you want to move, it's never easy. The older you get, the more content you are to stay put. Home is home. No one would come to understand that more than Lot and his wife. Even when Lot's righteous soul was vexed daily (2 Peter 2:8) and moving was a must, that families roots where in Sodom and moving would be difficult on a number of levels.
There were several hardships along the way to Canaan. In fact, there was no way to travel a straight line. They would have had to cross the Arabian Desert. You notice in most bible maps, the route followed the path of water sources, namely the Euphrates River then from Haran down into the area known as Palestine.
There were two deaths in the family while on this pilgrimage. Haran, Lot's father (Abram’s brother) passed away in Ur before they left. This must have been difficult for Terah, Haran's father. Then Terah died while they dwelt in Haran for a period of time. Nevertheless, "Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran" (Genesis 12:4).
He did all this with the promise that God made, "I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing. And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed" (Genesis 12:2-3). Many would have made excuses why they couldn't carry out the charge of God. One time a disciple said to Jesus, "Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead" (Matthew 8:21-22).
It's not clear why Abraham kept on moving toward the south, perhaps curiosity. But there was a grievous famine that developed in the land. And Abram went down into Egypt. One might question why Abram did this. Did God tell him to go to Egypt? He was to sojourn to the land of Canaan. He was there, why travel further? He trusted God to get him safely to Canaan, why not trust Him to help him survive the famine? You'll remember, not only did he lie to Pharaoh about Sarai and his marital status (Genesis 12:11-20), Abram also allowed Sarai to take matters into her own hands regarding God's promise of child birth and the fulfillment of a seed promise (Genesis 16:1-6).
Abram's sojourn and even the Israelites 40 year wilderness tour are typical of the Christian's life while on this earth. God has called us out of the world into His Kingdom (1 Thess 2:12). He has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Pet 2:9). We have been called that we might inherit a blessing (1 Pet 3:9). This world is not our home, we're just passing through. We're on our way to Canaan's fair and happy land. But sometimes we are distracted by the drama of this life and we make decisions that are not consistent with the promises of God. I don't know about you, but doing the will of God is enough adventure, without having to experience the repercussions of making decisions without the approval of God! May God help us to learn from the mistakes of others and save ourselves the heartache. Amen.
