FAMILY NEWS AND NOTES
Volume 10 07 September 2008 Issue No. 28
Service Arrangements
COMMUNION FOR SEPTEMBER 2008
SOUTH SIDE NORTH SIDE
AM
Weldon Miller
Wayne Pickrel
Ronnie Stewart Jody Sparks
Cody Sparks Royce Armstrong
PM
Ron Traughber Tim Jones
ANNOUNCEMENTS ……………….… Bob Hedges
(Sunday and Wednesday)
SONG LEADER(AM)……..... Randy Eubanks
(PM) …….… Randy Eubanks
Wednesday Nite …....…. Grady Duncan
PRAYERS —– Sunday
AM First Prayer …….............….. Wayne Pickrel
AM Closing……………....…............... David Neal
PM First Prayer….……............... Grady Duncan
PM Closing………..…..................Bronson Roper
PRAYERS — Wednesday Nite
First Prayer………….................…… Ben McCain
Closing………………...............… Ronnie Stewart
PRAYER LIST:
Justin Barker, Rachel Barker, Doris Bell, Louis & Nona Bell, Billye Campbell, Irene Duncan, Jerry Freeman, Amy Jones, Mary Jane Joyner, Joyce Lee, Mary Jo Lee, Georgia Lide,
Wade Miller, Ben McCain, Thelma Reed, Rebecca Tippitt
ALSO: Wesley DuBose, Michael Gilbert, Wayne Lineberger, Cammy Jo McCain, Betty Newman, Johnine Phillips, Don Shuette, Paul Unger, Shirley Wright
And now for … FAMILY NEWS AND NOTES
REMINDER: Today is Building Fund Sunday. So, if you are willing and able you may contribute today.
Thanks.
LADIES BIBLE CLASS RESUMED TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 02 AT 10:00 AM. Janice McCain will be teaching from the 2nd half of the 4th chapter of Ephesians.
Another reminder for Saturday, September 20th: This will be LADIES DAY here at North Jefferson. Cindy Armstrong will be the featured speaker. Brochures are on the round table in the foyer. We need as many ladies as possible to help in this endeavor. Also, there are sign-up sheets for salads. We need as many ladies as possible to help. If you would like to help with the cost of the Ladies Day please give your money to Amy Jones or Janice McCain. See you there!
MEN … Be here and attend the Men’s Business Meeting next Sunday evening following services. Your attendance and input are important.
It has previously been announced that Juanita Anderson, aunt of Nelda Cooper, passed away last Sunday. Juanita was also the sister-in-law of Julia Terrell. Her funeral was held on Tuesday.
Jerry Freeman had gallbladder surgery early Friday morning at TRMC. He was expected to be released to go home shortly afterward.
Jacob & Jessie Wisdom Massey will be worshipping with the Handley Congregation in Fort Worth, Texas.
Lana Downs, friend of Jim and Barbara Duncan, passed away Tuesday evening, September 03, in Flower Mound, Texas, after a lengthy battle with cancer. Her funeral was conducted on Saturday at the Pioneer Baptist Church in Irving. She is survived by her husband, Jimmie Downs of Mount Pleasant, one son and one daughter (both of Dallas).
Ladies … we need VOLUNTEERS to assist in maintaining and/or changing out the bulletin boards in the hallway each month. Each volunteer would only be required to do this 1 time a year. Therefore, we need 12 or 13 or 14 ladies to volunteer. Thanks.
The following reminders from David McCain:
“Once a month, from September thru May, many of the preachers in our area gather for a Fellowship Luncheon and an afternoon of spiritual edification on the 2nd Tuesday of each month … at noon … at the local Western Sizzlin Steakhouse. My fellow preachers have appointed me as the director of this cooperative effort, and I have done my best to make our time together profitable and spiritually enriching by inviting in well-known speakers to challenge us to be better preachers of the Gospel. Each month I try to have a mini-P&P Workshop as we trade sermon ideas, share good book reviews, keep each other informed about area meetings, and end each session in a period of fervent prayer for special needs individuals, from our various congregations. We always welcome elders, deacons, Bible Class teachers and other members, to these gatherings, who are able to attend with us. Our first gathering of the 2008/2009 season will be this Tuesday, September 9th. Brother Bill Burk, from the Seagoville, Texas congregation, and in instructor in Bible at Brown Trail, will be our guest speaker, speaking on the subject of “Improving Elder/Preacher Relationships for the Growth of the Church.” We would love to have you attend (especially all elders) if you are able. The luncheon is Dutch treat. Go thru the line and get your food … and then join us in the rear meeting room at noon.
Please remember that our “Bible Bowl” will begin again for its second season on Monday nite, October 13. We will host this first meeting. All of the competitions will be held here, but with different congregations hosting each month. Our study material will be the Old Testament book of Judges, out of the NKJV. The first test will cover Judges 1—3. Our coaches this year will consist of the Armstrong(s), the Robison(s), and the McCary(s). We have already received a complimentary e-mail from the preacher of one of the participating congregations, John David Wright from Talco, who wrote: “David, Thank you and the elders for the challenge to study the great book of Judges, that has so many illustrations and examples that can have application for those of us under the New Testament.” Evidently, John David has already preached three sermons from the book to help get the Talco congregation to thinking about our Bible bowl topic for this year. All of our young people in grades 1—12 are encouraged to begin now to study the first 3 chapters of Judges. Study sessions on Sunday afternoons will begin shortly, so listen and watch for future announcements concerning this.”
—— David McCain.
THANK YOU … “Janice, Ben, and I want to thank the elders and all of our brethren for the time off afforded us the last week of August, so we could attend the ’14th Annual Polishing the Pulpit Workshop’, held this year in Sevierville, TN. Over 900 brethren were in attendance, and it was a rich spiritual feast. We have ordered a complete set of CD’s and will be happy to share them with you when they are shipped to us. Hopefully, many of the ideas and inspirations we received at the workshop can be implemented here in coming weeks and months, to help improve our work among you. Thank you all so much for letting us have the time off to renew, refresh, and recharge our spiritual batteries.
In Christian Love,
The McCain(s)”
Preparation Priorities
The word “preparation” can be a frightening word, especially if you are unprepared, or under-prepared. What are you prepared to do? How much preparation have you made? Are you prepared to pay the price? Have you prepared for every contingency? All of us have asked and answered these questions many times. The answers are always important and sometimes critical.
David said, “Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be built for the Lord must be exceedingly magnificent, of fame and glory throughout all countries: I will now make preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death” (I Chron. 22:5). Before you die, what is your most pressing preparation priority?
As you contemplate your answer, consider that your first encounters with preparation problems were probably in the fields of academics and sports. Do you remember what you said; when you came to the realization that preparation was crucial to success? “If only I had studied more, I could have made a better grade.” “Why did I wait until the last minute to start on my research paper?” “If only I had spent more time practicing, we could have won.”
Nearly every day, we struggle with preparation priorities. We deal with them in business, the home, and the church. They affect us as individuals, as spouses, as parents, as children, and as brethren. Now the questions haunt us, because it’s not grades or trophies, but life, which hangs in the balance. “Am I ready for marriage?” “Do I have what it takes to handle this job?” “Am I mature enough to be a good parent?” “Have I weighed all the options, covered all the bases, and prepared for the results of this decision?” Tough questions! Hard decisions! The choices aren’t easy; the answers aren’t always simple to find.
Sadly, in making preparation for all the important events of life, we often overlook the most pressing preparation priority -- eternity! While building our beautiful bungalows, establishing our earthly empires, and funding our financial futures, we must not forget, life here on this earth is only temporary. As the old song says, “this world is not my home; I’m just a passing through!” That’s why Jesus warned, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Mt. 6:19-21).
Does that mean we can’t ever enjoy any of the finer things in life? Absolutely not! Paul wrote, “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; that they do good, that they be rich in good works, ...laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life (I Tim. 6:17-19) (Emphasis mine -D.McCain).
God wants us to be happy and to enjoy life, but He wants us to put our trust in Him, not earthly things. He then asks us to share our happiness by using His blessings to help others and glorify His name. Thus, because of His grace through Christ, and in obedience to His will, by doing good, and keeping our eyes fixed on heaven, we can be abundantly prepared for eternity! So, while making all your other daily preparations, make sure you prepare abundantly for eternity. That, my friends, is the most pressing preparation priority of all! David McCain
