Family News and Notes
Gospel Meeting begins today and runs thru Wednesday October 13th. Brother Jack Orbison (Janice's dad).
All ladies are invited to attend Ladies Bible Class Bro. Orbison will be teaching the Tuesday morning Bible Class. The topic will be Ephesians 5 & 6, "The Home As God Would Have It."
Fellowship Luncheon scheduled for today. Everyone is invited. Bring food.
The Ladies Devotional has been rescheduled for this afternoon. Please make plans to attend. The men of the congregation are invited.
The Men's Business Meeting has been rescheduled for next Sunday evening ( October 17) after services. Men, please make plans to attend.
Visitation Team No. 3 will meet in the Multi-purpose Room next Sunday, October 17, following morning services. This is Bob Hedges' Team.
Jon and Ben McCain are home from their foreign missionary work. Welcome back, men.
Marie Holloway of Odessa (sister of Nelda Dunn & Elna O'Neal, is (at the printing of this bulletin) still in CCU in the hospital in Odessa after having stints implanted due to her recent heart attack.
Wesley DuBose, brother of Judy Freeman, is still in ICU in Good Shepherd Hospital in Longview following a recent massive stroke. His recovery has been slow but SOME progress has been made. He is still having difficulty processing information and questions. Thanks for continuing to keep him in your prayers.
V. G. Strong, neighbor of the McCain family, suffered a heart attack Thursday morning and was taken to Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler for treatment. The McCains request that we add Mr. Strong to our prayer list.
World Bible School Action News is received periodically by Grady & Patsy Duncan who wish to share the news with you. Please check the round table in the foyer for the updates.
Clarksville church of Christ 2405 Hwy 82 West, Clarksville, Texas will have Clarksville Fall Ladies Day on Saturday, October 23, 2004 from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM. Speakers will be Della Blanton and Heather Boren. A salad luncheon will follow.
Clarksville Fall Lectures, October 23 thru 27, 2004. Theme "The Love of God" Everyone is invited to attend. For a schedule of times check the brochure on the round table in the foyer.
THANK YOU "Dear Brethren: Thank you for your continued interest and fervent prayers in behalf of our boys while they were away in Ireland and Tanzania. It will be great to have them back home with us after 37 days of foreign mission work. Thank you so much for your support of them in this endeavor of service for the Lord.
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Rhodney's "Funny Bone"
CONSCIOUSNESS: That annoying time between naps.
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PRAYER LIST
Justin Barker, Louis Bell, Annah Brown, Sue Browning,
Josephine Cooper, Perry Cooper, Zenith Hargrove, Bonnye Horton, Howard Horton, Ruby Lawhon, Winnie Patton, Dorothy Sargent,
Alva Mae Sheets, Ola Mae Simpson
ALSO: James & Marie Butler, Tom Dooley, Wesley DuBose,
Marie Holloway, Lavon McClish, Patricia McCracken, Kelsey Meyers, John Moses, Lynn Parker & his family, V. G. Strong, Lois DeWahl, Joan Williams
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Religious Unity
Jesus prayed fervently for the unity of all believers (Jn. 17:20-21). However, man-made denomination-alism thwarted the Lord's prayer by creating hundreds of schisms, parties, and sects, effectively dividing the body of Christ into many competing factions, all vying for position as the Lord's true church. Amidst this confusion, is there any way we can achieve religious unity? Yes there is, if all who claim to follow Christ will throw away their denominational names, creeds, and doctrines, and restore the New Testament church by practicing only what the Bible authorizes. The following principles, taken directly from the Scriptures, must be adhered to, if we want to restore unity in the Lord's church in our generation.
First, the foundation of the Lord's church must be Christ, and Christ alone. The Apostle Paul penned, "For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ" (I Cor. 3:11). The church of the New Testament was built or founded by Christ (Mt. 16:18), and He is the only head of His body, the church (Col. 1:18). Any attempt to build religious unity on the foundations of man-made denominationalism is destined to eternal failure, for the Lord warned, "Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up" (Mt. 15:13).
Secondly, the only creed or rule of faith and practice for the Lord's church must be the New Testament of our Lord. According to Hebrews 1:1-2, Jesus is God's final spokesman to man in these last days. In Jesus' prayer for unity, in John 17, Jesus said He had shared the Father's Word with His disciples, and that the Word was truth (vss. 8-17). In John 12:48-50, Jesus said His Word would be the standard of authority for judgment at the last day. Truly, if we would find religious unity, we will find it in the Scriptures, for as the Apostle Paul wrote, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteous-ness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works" (II Tim. 3:16-17).
Finally, for unity to prevail, we must make a concerted, zealous, and undying effort to remain lovingly united in Christ and His Word. The devil hates the loving unity of Christ's disciples, for he knows a united front of Christ's followers is the most powerful evangelistic weapon in the Lord's arsenal (John 13:34-35). Thus, Satan will use every wily trick in his repertoire (Eph. 6:11), to try to splinter, divide, and conquer the body of Christ. However, true Christians, with longsuffering forbearance will lovingly strive to prevent division by "endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Eph. 4:1-3).
This should be the desire and plea of all faithful Christians, to have and maintain loving unity with all of God's children. However, that will only come to pass by our acknowledgment of Christ as Lord, when we are content to let His Word be our only pattern for doctrine, worship, and practice. With that in mind, we conclude with this apostolic admonition, "waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment" (I Cor. 1:7-10). David McCain
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SOMEWHERE
(Guest Article)
A mother is trying to make up her mind whether to let a surgeon perform an operation, on her only child, that may end his life.
A father whose son didn't come home last night is walking through a door marked 'City Morgue."
A wife whose marriage has "gone on the rocks" is on a street corner flirting with a man she knows will destroy her fidelity.
A young woman is being wheeled into the delivery room from which she knows that mother or child, not mother and child will be wheeled out.
A tired doctor is shaking his head, saying, "Terminal cancer."
Life is precious. Don't waste it. Find time for those you love. Find time for others. Despite its wealth and luxuries, the world is not well it's sick, and dying and hurting. People all around us are in pain physically, mentally, spiritually. They desperately need to hear the simple story; the sweetest, most precious story ever heard the story of the One who always had time.
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).
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The Day the Cricket Attended
(Guest Article)
AS A YOUTH, I squirmed through many a worship service. This particular Sunday was to have an added distraction. As soon as the preacher got up to deliver his sermon, a cricket walked out onto the pulpit. He probably came from one of the cracks that was to be found most anywhere in that old building. Everyone in the first three rows saw the cricket. He looked dazed, and stumbled near the edge of the pulpit area, and our eyes followed his every step. We could see that he had come to the other edge again, and so we internally shouted to ourselves, "Jump! Jump!" But alas, the cricket did not jump. Time after time he walked back and forth. I didn't know if the sermon was any good that day, but the cricket was sure fun to watch.
When the invitation song began, we all stood up and watched the cricket run. He almost got stepped on when the song leader walked toward the microphone, and we all laughed. Then my laughter turned to amazement. Someone had gone forward! My Dad. He wasn't a Christian and my mom and I had been trying for years to get him to come to church with us, to no avail until today. Now the preacher was taking him back to baptize him.
"Dad," I asked later. "What made you want to be baptized today?" Dad said, "Didn't you hear how Jesus gave His life for us so that we could be saved?" I hung my head in shame. The beautiful message of the Bible did not reach me that day. I was watching the cricket.
THOUGHT: A lot of things will tend to distract a person from worshipping God. But I learned my lesson. God is more important than anything.
"God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24; cf. Mal. 1:7ff).
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