FAMILY NEWS AND NOTES
Volume 10 13 April 2008 Issue No. 07
SERVICE ARRANGEMENTS
ANNOUNCEMENTS ….…..….Grady Duncan
SONG LEADER (AM) ……Royce Armstrong
Wednesday Nite …...…. Daniel McCary
PRAYERS —– Sunday.
AM First Prayer …….…........ Grady Duncan
AM Closing………...……............ David Neal
PM First Prayer……...…........Glenn Parham
PM Closing……….……….…........Tim Jones
PRAYERS — Wednesday Nite
First Prayer…………….…...........Jon McCain
Closing……………...….........Frankie Sargent
OFFERING INVITATION ON WEDNESDAY NITE:
Jimmy Jay Fox
COMMUNION FOR APRIL
SOUTH SIDE NORTH SIDE
AM Jim Duncan Rance Robison
Rodney Cook Darrell Cooper
Austin Neal Ron Traughber
PM Frankie Sargent Tim Jones
FAMILY NEWS AND NOTES
MEN'S BUSINESS MEETING after service tonight. All men are encouraged to attend and to participate in the planning of the work of the church here at North Jefferson.
Bible Bowl study at 5:00 PM this evening before worship service. Everyone is invited to attend and participate.
Monday evening, April 14, will be the last Bible Bowl for this season, beginning at 7:00 PM, here at the building. Why not come and join in the fun … and root for our team!!??
Mark your calendar for the following:
SUMMER YOUTH SERIES kickoff, Monday, June 02, 7:00 PM, here at our building. Tyler Young will be our guest speaker. This year’s theme: “HOW TO CHOOSE RIGHT INA WORLD GONE WRONG!”
FRIEND’S DAY, Sunday, June 08. Each one bring one friend to double our attendance.
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL, Monday, June 9 thru Friday June 13 on the theme: “Great Women of the Old Testament!”
LADIES DAY — PITTSBURG CHURCH OF CHRIST—Saturday, April 19. Registration starts 9:30 a.m. Lesson at 10:00 a.m. Speaker: Cherie Vestal of Midland, Texas. Lesson: “God in All Seasons of Your Life”
GOSPEL MEETING — MOUNT VERNON CHURCH OF CHRIST— April 20th thru 23rd 7:00 p.m. nightly except Sunday and services are at 9:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Luncheon after morning service.
R. C. Grissom was transferred to Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler on Thursday to see a back specialist and try to get some relief for his back pain. He will be there for a while. Keep him in your prayers.
At the writing of this bulletin George O’Neal’s mother is in critical condition in Houston. She is 97 years of age. Please keep her and George and the family in your prayers.
Dana Morton, sister of Judy Freeman, is undergoing tests for some physical ailments to determine proper treatment (s). Judy asks that we keep her sister in our prayers.
Jan Hargrove responded to the invitation Wednesday evening requesting our prayers to help her with issues in her life and to be able to be a better Christian. Please pray for Jan.
There is going to be a PROM ALTERNATIVE BANQUET for all 9th grade thru 12th grade on Friday, May 9, 2008 at the First National Bank Century Room, located at 101 West Main, in Mount Vernon. Times and other information will be furnished when you sign up. If you are interested in attending please advise Janice or David McCain by April 16. A meal will be provided, along with lots of fun activities.
It was announced Wednesday evening that the South door had been found unlocked last Tuesday morning. The elders issued a request to EVERYONE who enters the building should make certain the door they entered thru is securely locked when leaving. Or, if you are the last to leave the building check all the doors used and make certain they are locked. You COULD walk in on someone some day if these doors are not kept locked.
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PRAYER LIST:
Justin Barker, Rachel Barker, Doris Bell, Louis & Nona Bell, Winell Blackard,
Billye Campbell, Patsy Duncan, Joyce Lee, Georgia Lide, Ben McCain, Rebecca Tippitt
ALSO: Larry Clifton, Wesley DuBose, Dana Morton, Betty Newman, Whayln Payne,
Don Shuette, Paul Unger
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God Helps those Who Help Themselves!
When I was a little boy... (ok, I’ve never been “little”), so maybe I should say, when I was a boy, my father would often take me fishing on Saturdays. He loved to fish with crickets on a cane pole for bluegill bream, or “sun-perch,” as some folks call them. If they were biting, I was right in there with him, pole in hand, ready to go! But sometimes, when they seemingly had lockjaw, and the biting and catching got slow, I would drop my pole in the bottom of the boat and start fidgeting, rather than fishing! My dad would always say, “Son, you will never catch a fish, with your hook, line and sinker lying in the bottom of the boat - the fish are in the water!” Or, if I was fishing with an artificial lure on a rod and reel, he would say, “If you want to catch a fish, you’ve got to keep your lure in the water.”
His point was well taken. Patient and busy fisherman put fish in the icebox, not the daydreamers. Another popular saying among anglers conveys a similar thought, when an old salt admonishes the novice to “either cut bait or fish,” meaning why don’t you get busy and get on with the program, by doing something productive. Likewise a popular old proverb says, “God helps those who help themselves!”
Although I cannot give you an exact book, chapter, and verse quotation from the Bible for that little “chimney corner scripture,” the principle it conveys is certainly found in God’s Holy Word. From cover to cover, the Bible is filled with references which plainly teach that many of God’s blessings are conditionally given only to those who have responded in obedient faith to God’s instructions, and are busy “either cutting bait or fishing,” in the spiritual sense.
For example, Romans 8:28 says, “...all things work together for good,” notice, “to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.” Likewise, the promise of salvation to the alien sinner is conditionally based on faith in Christ, and obedience to His plan of salvation, for Jesus said, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved” (Mk, 16:16). Even the promise to Christians of the ongoing cleansing from sin by the blood of Jesus (I Jn. 1:7), is predicated on the condition of, “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I Jn. l:9). In other words, we should not expect Jesus, as “Savior,” to rescue us from our sins, unless we are willing to comply with His will for our lives as “Lord” (Mt. 7:21).
The point I want to make is this; it does us absolutely no good to expect God’s blessings in our lives, unless we are willing to accept His will for our lives. For instance, it is foolish for us to pray for the wisdom and understanding of God’s will, if we are unwilling to make a diligent study of God’s Holy Word. Likewise, we deceive ourselves when we pray for God’s assistance, whether it be in controlling our temper, or curbing our passions, or being a better parent, or doing more to reach out to others with the love of Christ, if we are not willing to make a concerted effort to accomplish these goals in our lives.
The writer, James, devotes half of chapter two of His epistle, admonishing us to understand that talk is cheap. He asks the rhetorical question, “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?” (Jms. 2:14). The haunting answer hammers home the point of this article, when James thrice says, “faith without works is dead” (Jms. 2:17, 20, & 26)!
If we want God’s assistance, then we must do our part. In order to receive forgiveness of our sins as Christians, we must repent and do our best to put those sins behind us. Like the Prodigal, of Luke 15, we must make the first move. We must realize the hopelessness of our “pigpen” existence and start towards home. But, that’s when we’l1 look up to find the Father in heaven running toward us to welcome us home, and to shower us with His forgiveness and love. Yes, God helps those who help themselves, and if you want to catch a fish you’ve got to keep your lure in the water! David McCain
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Invite a friend!
