Family News and Notes
Beginning in December.The 2nd Wednesday night in each month will be set aside for learning new songs. Everyone is encouraged to participate.
TUNE IN to hear Dale G. Stinson from the Oak Grove church of Christ, "What Saith The Scriptures?", on Sunday mornings from 7:15 to 7:30 AM on radio station KZRB-FM 103.5 out of Hooks, Texas. Also, tune in to 91.1 FM from 8:45 to 9:00 AM and 91.7 FM from 8:45 to 9:00 AMboth each Sunday morning.
Ladies Bible Class will not meet on November 25th but will resume on December 2nd. Please mark your calendar.
Pictorial Directory photo updates will take place on Sunday, November 30 for 1 hour after the morning services and beginning again 1 hour before the evening service. See Bob Hedges for additional information and mark your calendar if you need updates.
Mid-week Services this week will be on Tuesday, November 25.. Please mark your calendar and DO NOT show up on Wednesday evening. You will be here alone.
Boles Home Christmas project Ola Mae Simpson still needs additional money for the upcoming Christmas project. Please see her or Jim Duncan if you can help her with this.
Volunteers Needed We need volunteers to help clean the building for the month of December. If you are willing and able, please sign the sign-up sheet on the table in the foyer.
EVERYONE.Please check the PRAYER LIST ! We noted the following folks absent either last Sunday or on Wednesday evening due to illness:
Pat Dillard, Carl & Pat Lee, Billy Carter, Frances Neal, Hollis and Joyce Lee, Luke Moses. These are in addition to those who are already on our Prayer List and if you know of anyone we have missed please let someone know.
Louis Bell suffered chest pains Thursday and was taken by ambulance to the local hospital at about 10:00 AM. At 6:00 PM that night he had still not been seen by a cardiologist and they moved him into ICU from the Emergency Room. He was transferred Friday to Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler for further treatment.
Janelle Stephenson remains in the local hospital. She was due to go
home Friday but was not able to do so because she was informed Thursday night that they planned to install a mediport (shunt) on Friday. She is scheduled to go to Paris on Tuesday to begin Chemo treatments.
Chelsea Simpson (granddaughter of Gene and Billye Campbell) of Byng, OK, had orthroscopic surgery on her right knee in Searcy, Arkansas last Wednesday. She was able to go home on Thursday and will begin several weeks of therapy following the Thanksgiving holiday.
Dorothy Sargent is making good, but slow, progress. She is back at her residence at the nursing home.
Luke Moses continues to improve. He has been ill with a bad cold.
Sandra Cooper returned to Houston last Wednesday evening, still suffering from pneumonia. Her white blood count is so low she is having difficulty fighting the infection and hopes the doctors there can do her some good, soon.
THANK YOU .."Thank you for all your concerns, cards and calls that we received during my illness. Thank you for all the prayers said on my behalf.
--William & Patsy Embree"
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PRAYER LIST
Justin Barker, Louis Bell, Ann Carter, Billy carter, Sandra Cooper, Bonnie Horton, Howard Horton, Corine Hudson, Autumn Miller,
Phyllis Moon, Luke Moses, Elna O'Neal, Winnie Patton,
Dorothy Sargent, Alva Mae Sheets, Janelle Stephenson,
ALSO: Judy Betts, R. C. Grissom, Elizabeth McGill,
Kelsey Meyers, Ken Mullins, Jim Parker, Shawn Phillips,
Chelsea Simpson
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Service Arrangements
ANNOUNCEMENTS..............Weldon Miller
SONG LEADER PM....................Bill Jones
PRAYERS Sunday
AM First Prayer......................Weldon Miller
AM Closing............................George O'Neal
PM First Prayer.............................Tim Jones
PM Closing................................. David Neal
PRAYERS Wednesday Nite
First Prayer........................Fred Harkrider, Jr.
Closing.........................................Ben McCain
COMMUNION FOR NOVEMBER
AM Wayne Pickrel.....................Jim Duncan
Lewis Robertson.............Roger Grimes
William Embree......................Tim Davis
PM Frankie Sargent ............Gene Campbell
ATTENDANCE COUNTER...Grady Duncan
TRANSPORTATION....Call Frankie Sargent
903-572-2647
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Thanksgiving - 365 Days A Year!
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations" (Ps. 100:4-5).
We are privileged to live in a land where by yearly Presidential proclamation, a day of thanksgiving is set aside as a national observance of the blessings, provision, and providence of Almighty God. I do not want, in any way, to detract from our national tradition, for it is one of the few remaining vestiges of our country's heritage, as a nation founded upon the religious principles of God's higher law.
Hopefully, though, all of us realize we have both the privilege and the responsibility to be thankful to God for His blessings, not just one day each year, but 365 days every year! As always, Jesus is our perfect example of continuous thanksgiving, as we note the record of His life, to see that He time and again gave thanks to God through prayer (Mt. 11:25, 15:36, 26:27, Jn. 6:23, 11:41, 17:1f). We also find the Apostle Paul continually admonishing us to go to God in prayer, giving thanks to Him from Whom all blessings flow (Eph. 5:20, Phil. 4:6, Col. 2:7, I Thess. 5:16-18, etc.). In fact, there are over 100 verses of Scripture, which instruct us to be filled with praise and thanksgiving for the generosity of our heavenly Father.
We can and should be thankful for many things. All of us can thank God for His personal love, for the sacrifice of His Son Jesus, and for the Spirit-inspired Word. We can thank God for the food, clothing, and shelter He provides for us each day. We can be thankful for friends, family, and loved ones, whose association makes our lives richer and fuller as we walk this earthly vale. We can thank God for His church, our brothers and sisters in Christ, and for the privilege of being His adopted children, and members of His family (Eph 3:15). We can thank God for peace, joy, and happiness, and for the hope of eternal life which is uniquely ours as Christians! Yes, we should always be a thankful people, who acknowledge our total dependence upon the grace and generosity of Almighty God.
Not only should we express our gratitude to God through prayer, but we should also demonstrate our gratitude to Him by our manner of life. We can demonstrate our gratitude for salvation by trying to save others (Rms. 1:14). We can demonstrate our gratitude for the church by supporting her in every way (I Cor. 10:32). Most of all, we should demonstrate our love for God, by offering ourselves as living sacrifices unto Him, and instruments of His righteousness (Rms. 12:1, 6:13). Yes, Thanksgiving Day is every day for the faithful child of God! David McCain
This & That
Please remember our "old-fashioned prayer meeting" slated for this Tues. at 7:00, replacing our regular Wed. PM service. Men please sign up on the schedule in the foyer for the leadership roles.
All adults please remember to sign the list for the holiday party at the McCains, on Dec. 19th.
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Who Crucified Jesus?
by Barry Grider
While preaching the gospel to Cornelius, Peter said of Jesus, ". . . [He] went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him" (Acts 10:38). Truly, no one lived a more noble, selfless life than the Christ. His very reason for coming to this earth was motivated by His incomprehensible and unconditional love for lost humanity (John 3:16). Yet Matthew records, "And they crucified him . . ." (Matt. 27:35).
Who would crucify Jesus? It is good to consider that question occasionally and ask ourselves if we bear any responsibility in regard to His death.
First, Roman soldiers actually nailed Jesus to the tree. Skilled in carrying out executions by crucifixion, these brutish beasts inflicted the severest of pain with minimal mercy. In fact, crucifixion was so horrifying, one who witnessed such take place was sure to come away saying, "I'll never do anything worthy of such a death." Yet, Jesus was perfect, the innocent Son of God, and He still endured crucifixion.
Second, the Jewish leaders crucified Jesus. They so despised His teaching and so rejected His Messiahship they were willing to release Barabbas, a thief and a murderer, and have Jesus put to death. In fact, these Jews admitted they were responsible, for they said, "His blood be on us, and on our children" (Matt. 27:25).
Third, Judas was responsible for the death of Christ. Whatever caused the heart of this disciple to become so calloused, perhaps we shall never know. Was it money or popularity? Did he become disillusioned? All we know is that for 30 pieces of silver he betrayed his Lord (Matt. 26:15).
Fourth, Pilate was responsible for the Lord's death. He had the power to release Him, yet he lacked the moral courage to do so. "When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it" (Matt. 27:24). He can wash his hands until judgment day, but he is still guilty.
Fifth, the Devil was responsible for Jesus' crucifixion. Psalm 22 is Messianic, and verse 21 reads, "Save me from the lion's mouth . . ." The Devil is likened unto a devouring lion (I Pet. 5:8). Although the cross was a fatal blow to Satan, the cross was exactly where he wanted Jesus. The destruction and misery that the Devil brought into this world necessitated the cross.
Sixth, Jesus suffered, and I say this with all reverence, at the holy hand of God. According to Peter, Jesus was "delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God" (Acts 2:23). Our Lord had to die that He might appease God's wrath. Jesus prayed that there might be another way (Matt. 26:39), but there was no other way.
Finally, each one of us is responsible for the death of Jesus. Peter said to the Pentecostians, "ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain" (Acts 2:23). We were in the crowd that day, for Jesus died on the cross for our transgressions: "For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly" (Rom. 5:6). So every time I look in the mirror I see one who is responsible for Jesus' death. Every first day of the week when I partake of the Lord's Supper, even though I rejoice over what He did for me, I am reminded that I am the one who crucified Christ.
Dear reader, let us not become so proud and arrogant that we forget that Jesus died for our sins. On the contrary, may we humble ourselves and bow in submission to the Savior's will, realizing that without His suffering, none of us could be saved.
Brother Grider labors with the Forest Hill congregation in Memphis, TN.
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