FAMILY NEWS AND NOTES
Volume 10 16 NOVEMBER 2008 Issue No. 38
Service Arrangements
COMMUNION FOR NOVEMBER 2008
SOUTH SIDE NORTH SIDE
AM
Jerry Freeman
Royce Armstrong
Roger Grimes David Neal
Ronnie Stewart Sid Charlton
PM
Frankie SargentFred Harkrider
ANNOUNCEMENTS ……………....… Jim Duncan
(Sunday and Wednesday)
SONG LEADER (AM)…………….… Hal Roper
Wednesday Nite ……..….. Wade Miller
PRAYERS —– Sunday.
AM First Prayer ……..… Glenn Parham
AM Closing………….…...….. Tim Jones
PM First Prayer……...….. Charles Kyle
PM Closing………..……….. David Neal
PRAYERS — Wednesday Nite
First Prayer………..…….. David McCain
Closing……………………...… Hal Roper
PRAYER LIST:
Cindy Armstrong, 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, Jeanette Parham, Thelma Reed, Julia Terrell, Rebecca Tippitt
ALSO: Gary Bell, Wesley DuBose, LaWanta Garner, Michael Gilbert, Donald Johnson, Jimmy Jones, Mary Jo Lee, Wayne Lineberger, Jesse & Jacob Massey, 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
Chris McElyea of Mount Vernon will be preaching again this morning in David’s absence.
Rance Robison will be preaching tonite.
Copies of the Minutes from the Men’s Business Meeting and Financial Statement for the month ending October 31, 2008 are available on the table in the foyer. If you are interested please take a copy.
We are still asking for the return of the following items: (others would like to use them in teaching our kids)
Please return the OVERHEAD MAPS.
Please return the FELT FIGURES AND ANIMALS to the Nursery/Cradle Roll classroom.
Connie Stewart’s dad (Ozrow Bush) reportedly had a heart attack last week. After examination by the doctors at Memorial Hospital in Nacogdoches it was determined that he did not have a heart attack but possibly some of his medications caused similar symptoms. They did a heart catherization and found one valve had calcified and now are discussing the possible need for a valve replacement. Please pray for her dad and the family.
Ben McCain had a CATSCAN in Tyler and it was determined he did not have kidney problems, but possibly was reaching the end of medicine treatments for existing problems. It was determined he had a swollen colon and more tests are going to be conducted.
Jesse and Jacob Massey had a grease fire in their home last week and both of them received severe burns from the grease. Jesse actually caught on fire and Jacob helped put out the fire as she rolled on the floor. They will have a long road to recovery. Please pray for both of them. Michelle has come up to stay with them for a few days because their burns have to be treated on a daily basis to heal from the inside out. They are both in lots of pain.
Vernon Garrett came thru his medical procedure just fine and is doing OK.
Jan Hargrove remains in the hospital in Tyler and cannot have visitors at this time. Please pray for her.
The following folks are recovering from various ailments and/or surgeries:
Julia Terrell Jeanette Parham
Ben McCain Jimmy Jones
Cindy Armstrong Vernon Garrett
Jesse & Jacob Massey Ozrow Bush
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(From the Southwesterner)
LIFE!
In John 14:6 Jesus tells us that He is “The way and the truth and the life …” Have you ever truly lived? Have you been living lately? I understand this question seems kind of weird and off the wall but a good question it is. If we are followers of Christ, should we not be a living generation? If we are not living, does that mean Jesus is dead? Let’s see what the scriptures say about life …
Jesus is life.
Jesus is alive! He is the source of life. John 1:4 says that “In him was life and the life was the light of men …” Are you alive? According to this you ought to be since Christ is. We have a responsibility as living people to be lights to the world. We are the people that bring life to others, spiritually speaking. Are you alive?
I must have life.
I am sure there are some of you that are maybe thinking about beginning to live. Maybe you have felt spiritually dead and you are now ready to get up and start living. Here is how! “...but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” (Matthew 19:17b) According to this we must obey God’s commands. Most of all, we must know God. “My sheep hear my voice, I know them and they follow me; and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of my hand.” (John 10:27-28) We must know God and god must know us as his sheep in order to attain life.
I must live the life given to me.
Once I have been given this life, what do I do with it? The answer is: Be about your Father’s business. Jesus gave the great example at a young age of living God’s plan. What is God’s plan in your life? “Be imitators of me as I am also of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1) We are to be those who imitate Christ in our lives. We are not here just to live life like everyone else. In fact we are here so that people can know what eternal life is all about.
How are you living your life today? Is it worthy of following and bringing life to others or have you let your spiritual life die in you? John 5:24
Affecting Your Ultimate End
Why is it that some people are pleasant and easy to get along with in old age, while others are bitter and hard to get along with in their twilight years? Aside from the random mental or physical incapacities that afflict some unfortunate souls, causing unpleasant changes in their temperament and personality, what accounts for the fact that some folks mellow with the years, while others become crotchety old ogres?
Jesus once taught that if we don't fill our lives with positive goodness, Satan will fill us with evil (Lk. 11:24-26). We don't have to work at being evil to be Satan's servant, all we have to do is fail to work at being good. Jesus warned that when the unclean spirit departs, and we clean house, we must not forget to redecorate, lest the evil spirit return with seven wicked friends, making our last state worse than our first.
A little evil befalls us all from time to time through life. Tragedy strikes. Persecution rears its ugly head. Trials and tribulations test our mettle. Friends let us down. Brethren say things that hurt our feelings. Family members betray our commitment and love. So, we work to drive the evil spirit out. We clean house, we bury the hatchet, and we offer forgiveness to those who have wronged us.
But, we don't forget! We fail to redecorate our spiritual house with sweetness, kindness, and love. We may have buried the head of the hatchet in the stump, but too often we've left the handle sticking out, where we let it fester it to remind us of the wrongs we have suffered and the injustice we have been done. The evil spirit returns then with his seven wicked friends: hatred, jealousy, envy, malice, strife, pride, and bitterness, and our last state becomes worse than our first. Rather than the sweet-spirited, mellow, patient, forgiving, mature Christians, which God wants us to be, we become bitter, hateful, envious, crotchety old ogres.
How can we avoid that most unpleasant end? Two Scriptural admonitions come to mind which give instructions on spiritual redecorating. "Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not, rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. ...Recompense to no man evil for evil. ...If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves... Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good" (Rms. 12:14-21). "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things" (Phil. 4:8).
The only way to overcome the evil which attacks our lives is to fill every nook and cranny of our being with positive goodness. So, what kind of person will you be at the ultimate end of your life? Mellow or crotchety? Happy or sad? Soft or hard? Sweet or bitter? The choice is truly yours!
David McCain
Think on these things!
