FAMILY NEWS AND NOTES
Volume 10 02 NOVEMBER 2008 Issue No. 36
Service Arrangements
COMMUNION FOR NOVEMBER
SOUTH SIDE AM NORTH SIDE
Jerry Freeman
Royce Armstrong
Roger Grimes David Neal
Ronnie Stewart Sid Charlton
PM
Frankie Sargent Fred Harkrider
ANNOUNCEMENTS …………...… Grady Duncan
SONG LEADER(AM……… Royce Armstrong
Wednesday Nite ….….. Grady Duncan
AM First Prayer ……… Gene Campbell
AM Closing………...….. Bronson Roper
PM First Prayer……..… Darrell Cooper
PM Closing…………..… Daniel McCary
PRAYERS — Wednesday Nite
First Prayer…………..…. Grady Duncan
Closing………………...…… Wade Miller
PRAYER LIST:
Justin Barker, Rachel Barker, Doris Bell, Louis & Nona Bell, Billye Campbell, Suzanne Charlton, Irene Duncan, Jim Duncan, Mary Jane Joyner, Joyce Lee, Georgia Lide, Joanne Miller, Wade Miller, Ben McCain, Thelma Reed, Rebecca Tippitt
ALSO: Gary Bell, Wesley DuBose, LaWanta Garner, Michael Gilbert, Donald Johnson, Mary Jo Lee, Wayne Lineberger, Cammy Jo McCain, Lee McCain, Betty Newman, Johnine Phillips, Tabitha Shipley, Don Shuette, Paul Unger, Yvonne Waldrup, Shirley Wright
And now for … FAMILY NEWS AND NOTES
Bob Hedges will be preaching to us this morning in David’s absence.
Do not forget that tonite we have the 5th segment of the DVD entitled “The Silencing of God”. This is a very informational and educational DVD.
If you wish to have a copy of the DVD entitled “The Silencing of God,” then please sign the list on the table in the foyer. ONE COPY per family is FREE. If you wish an additional copy the cost is $2.50 each.
Mike Demory, who we help support in Iowa, will be here to speak to us about the work in Iowa on Sunday nite, November 09.
Ben McCain’s surgery has temporarily been placed on hold until more tests are performed. Pray that Ben’s health will improve.
Hallie Lang had surgery on her left hand to repair a torn ligament in her finger. She will be in a splint for several weeks followed by two or three weeks of therapy. OUCH!
Jim Duncan had tests last week and they turned out OK. He returns to his doctor in six months.
Wayne Lineberger is not doing well at all. He was taken to the emergency room last week with complications from his illness. Wayne and Janice need our prayers.
Tabitha Shipley from Wagoner, OK, (age 23) (daughter of Rance Robison’s sister) has been diagnosed with Stage 3 ovarian cancer. She will have more tests next week and they will determine then how they will proceed with treatment. Please keep Tabitha and the family in your prayers.
–Thanks,Rance & Cathy Robison
THANK YOU …. “Things are looking up for me. I’ve seen four doctors in the last two weeks. All reports are good. I am healing up well. Only two more doctors to see. Thanks for keeping me in your prayers. —- Wade Miller”
PRAYING FOR THOSE IN POWER
Wade Webster
From The Southwesterner—October 19, 2008
Paul instructed Timothy, and the saints with whom he was working, to pray “for kings” and for “all that are in authority,” that they might “lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty” (1 Tim. 2:1-8). Certainly, the same holds true for us today. Realizing the great power that government wields over our lives, we need to commit to praying daily for our national, state, and local leaders. In Paul’s inspired words to Timothy, we find four reasons to pray for those in power.
It is Prescribed
We read, “I exhort therefore that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority” (1 Tim. 2:1-2). The word “exhort” means “to call for.” By inspiration, Paul was calling Timothy and others to pray for leaders. Paul knew that government was ordained of God to be a minister for good (Rom. 13). However, he knew that government was dependent upon the prayers of Christians (Ezra 6:10; 7:23).
It is Profitable
Paul exhorted Timothy and us to pray for those in power so that “we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty” (1 Tim. 2:2). “Quiet” means “tranquil” and “peaceable” means “undisturbed.” To the captives, Jeremiah wrote, And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace” (Jer. 29:7). Those in positions of authority have a great effect upon the lives of God’s children. Some bless our lives, while others are a curse. Rulers like Cyrus and Artaxerxes were a blessing. They let captives return to their homeland and rebuild. Other leaders like Pharaoh (Ex. 1), Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 3), Darius (Dan. 6), Herod (Matt. 2), the Jewish authorities (Acts 4:18; 5:42), and Nero (2 Tim. 4:6-8) were a curse. They made the lives of God’s children extremely difficult. We need to pray for those in power so that we might have peace and prosperity.
It is Pleasing
We read, “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:3-4). The word “acceptable” means “agreeable.” Praying for those in authority is in agreement with God’s will. It is consistent with God’s desire for all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth (2 Pet. 3:9; John 3:16). As you know, some governments enact policies that aid the spread of the gospel, while others enact policies that hinder its spread. God wants us to pray for rulers to make the right decisions.
It is Powerful
Paul wrote, For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5). The prayers of saints are powerful because they are on speaking terms with the only Mediator (Matt. 19:26; 1 John 5:14-15; Phil. 4:12). No one else in the nation has this privilege and source of power. Do you recall the situation in Babylon when Nebuchadnezzar had a dream and couldn’t remember it? If you do, then you recall that only Daniel and his three friends could give the dream and its interpretation because they were the only ones who knew the God who reveals secrets (Dan. 2:24-30). Today, Christians are the ones who have the connection to the God who rules the universe. The prayers of the righteous avail much (James 5:16-18).
Each of us needs to commit to praying daily for those in positions of power. Religious freedom, marriage, and the lives of millions of unborn babies all hang in the balance.
Nay-Sayers or Possibility-Thinkers
People who believe in themselves, or in some cause, often accomplish great things which leave their detractors amazed. For instance, scoffers told the Wright brothers that if God had meant for man to fly, He would have given us wings. However, thanks to the positive attitudes of men like the Wright brothers, who weren’t afraid to try the “impossible,” air travel has become as common today as horse and buggy travel was in years gone by.
From the very beginning of time, mankind has divided itself into two classes of people: the “nay-sayers” and the “possibility-thinkers.” Like ten of the twelve spies, who reported to Moses after spying out the land of Canaan, some faithless men see only the giants in their seemingly impregnable walled cities. Thank God, however, sometimes other men arise, like Joshua and Caleb, who, through the eye of faith, can see those walls come tumbling down (Num. 13-14).
Hopefully, all of us realize that a person, or group of people, who think they are going to fail will more than likely do just that. Their “down-in-the-dumps” outlook on life, and their “gloom and doom” philosophy will become a self-fulfilling prophecy more times than not. However, those who think they can succeed in life, usually will!
Surely most of us remember the childhood story of the little train with the big load who faced each new hill with the “I think I can” philosophy. The moral of the story is that positive thinking can accomplish great things in life. Possibility thinkers face setbacks and failures just like the nay-sayers, but they don't allow discouragement to keep them from trying again. They believe in what they are doing so strongly, they view failure merely as a narrowing of the field of possibilities, which helps to point them towards the final solution. Norman Vincent Peale dubbed this attitude, “The Power Of Positive Thinking!”
God calls this attitude “faith.” Like the power of positive thinking, faith says, “I think I can!” Unlike positive thinking though, faith is not nearly so much belief in your own inherent ability, as it is belief in the power and ability of God, to work through you to accomplish His purposes. As Paul wrote, “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13). Or, as the giant slayer, David proclaimed, “And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord's...” (I Sam. 17:47). Neither is this faith based on blind luck, nor the random chances of probability, but rather on the absolute evidence of truth presented to us in God's Holy Word (Heb. 11:1).
Jesus was a possibility-thinker. His mission was to bring salvation to a lost and dying world. He chose to let the world know about that salvation through the Gospel, and by “the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe” (I Cor. 1:21). He chose just twelve men to help Him accomplish His mission. Who would have thought that only twelve men could “turn the world upside down” (Acts 17:6), with the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Obviously, only someone like Jesus, who had faith in the Gospel, as “the power of God unto salvation” (Rms. 1:16).
Brethren, the Gospel of Christ still contains the power of God, which can turn the world upside down for Jesus. It will work right here in Mt. Pleasant, just like it worked in Jerusalem, Antioch, and Thessalonica long ago. All that's needed to unleash the power is for God's people to say, “With God's help, we are able, we can do it!” Away with the visionless nay-sayers, and in their place God give us possibility-thinkers, who will lead us on to victory! Which kind of person are you, a “nay-sayer,” or a “possibility-thinker?” Think about it!
David McCain
