FAMILY NEWS AND NOTES
Volume 10 23 NOVEMBER 2008 Issue No. 39
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 Sargent Fred Harkrider
ANNOUNCEMENTS ………….....… Weldon Miller
(Sunday and Wednesday)
SONG LEADER (AM)……...… Randy Eubanks
(PM) …..……. Randy Eubanks
Wednesday Nite ….…....... David McCain
PRAYERS —– Sunday.
AM First Prayer …….…George O’Neal
AM Closing…………….….. Austin Neal
PM First Prayer………...….. Hal Roper
PM Closing…………….. Fred Harkrider
PRAYERS — Wednesday Nite
First Prayer………….. Royce Armstrong
Closing………………..…… Cody Sparks
PRAYER LIST:
Justin Barker, Rachel Barker, Louis & Nona Bell, Doris Bell, Billye Campbell, Suzanne Charlton, Steele Cooper, Irene Duncan, Ben McCain, Thelma Reed
ALSO: Wesley DuBose, Wayne Lineberger, Jesse & Jacob Massey, Yvonne Waldrup, Linda Wysinger
And now for … FAMILY NEWS AND NOTES
David McCain will be away again this Sunday visiting with another congregation in his search for a new preaching work. In his absence Bob Hedges will be bringing us the morning lesson in David’s absence.
Tonite Hal Roper will be speaking.
Pray that the Lord will direct us in wisdom as we select new elders and deacons, and a new preacher for North Jefferson. Always keep our shepherds in your prayers that they will help to lead and protect God’s flock until we are guided safely home to the Father.
We will be meeting on Tuesday evening this week instead of Wednesday evening for our mid-week service. There will not be any classes and everyone will meet in the auditorium for an old fashioned “prayer meeting.” We will have singing, scripture readings and prayers. Everyone is encouraged to attend.
Regarding this … all the men who wish to participate in leading a song, wording a prayer, or reading a scripture, should check the planned devotional schedule on the center table in the foyer and sign up for the item you would like to lead. Thanks.
Reminder … if you wish to participate in the Holiday Gifts project for our shut-ins, please contact Ann Pickrel or Amy Jones.
Mark your calendar and keep Friday evening December 19 open for a Holiday Family Get-together for all age groups … at the Civic Center (Walnut Room). Details of the event will follow.
Wade Miller was scheduled for an MRI on his shoulder and arm last Thursday for the numbness and pain he has been experiencing. Also, this week he will begin getting injections in his eyes in an attempt to help heal the blood vessels in his eyes. He will later have eye laser surgery. He requests that we keep him in our prayers.
Ben McCain is doing a little better at the present time, but tests will be conducted again in the future for possible additional treatment.
Jesse and Jacob Massey seem to be healing quite well following the severe burns they received from the grease fire. Please pray for both of them. They are both in lots of pain.
Jan Hargrove is staying with relatives out of town now that she has been dismissed from the hospital. She sends thanks to everyone for your prayers and concerns.
Ronald Duncan (brother of Jim Duncan) has lots of medical problems and is scheduled to see his doctor this week to see what kind of treatment (s) he is to received. Please keep Ronald in your prayers.
Linda Wysinger (friend of the Browning’s) requests our prayers. She broke her back and neck in a auto accident. No spinal cord injury, but was to be put in an upper body cast or back braces for at least two months.
Ozrow Bush (Connie Stewart’s dad) had heart valve replacement at Nacogdoches Medical hospital on Monday. Please remember him in your prayers
To Rejoice Is A Great Choice
Rick Laing
The daily grind of life can pull you down. Bills, pills, and all sorts of ills tend to siphon the richest fuels of life from our souls. Jesus and His apostles endured verbal abuse, cynicism, threats, and rudeness as they walked for miles, preaching to a lost world; and yet, they preached that we should rejoice. There are some great reminders of how, when, and why we should rejoice:
Jesus called for rejoicing over the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son that were found (Luke 15:6, 9,32).
We are urged to rejoice with those that rejoice (Rom. 12:15).
We are exhorted to rejoice that Christ is preached (Phil. 1:18).
We are to rejoice in the Lord (Phil. 2:18; 3:1; 4:4).
Paul rejoiced that he suffered for the brethren’s sake (Col. 1:24; 1 Thess. 3:9).
We are called to rejoice always (1 Thess. 5:16).
Christians are capable of rejoicing with joy, inexpressible (1 Pet. 1:8).
You may feel sad due to your surroundings from time to time, but you can make the choice to rejoice in the Lord in every situation. Your name is written in heaven! (Luke 10:20). That ought to get you going! A sour attitude is not our attitude as Christians. Decide to rejoice—it’s a great choice!
From The Southwesterner
July 8, 2007
“FORGIVEN”
Perhaps the most beautiful word in the English language is the word “forgiven.” The Apostle Paul wrote, “And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Eph. 4:30-32).
How many Christians make their own life and the lives of others miserable, because they cannot find a forgiving spirit in their heart? How many otherwise faithful Christians have jeopardized their soul’s salvation, because they hold a grudge against a brother or sister who wronged them? How many Christians send themselves to an early grave and eternal doom, because they are consumed with bitterness, malice, hatred, and wrath?
Brethren, the Bible makes it abundantly clear that an unforgiving spirit is just as dangerous to us as false doctrine or vain worship. In the “Sermon on the Mount,” Jesus taught that if we will not forgive those who have wronged us, then neither will our Heavenly Father forgive our sins (Mt. 6:12-15). If we are to truly manifest the spirit of Christ in our lives, then we must learn to develop “the grace of forgiveness” towards others, who have harmed us in some way.
We need to be forgiving because God has forgiven us. We have all sinned (Rms. 3:23), and we all to deserve to be punished eternally for our sins (Rms. 6:23), but God loved us in spite of our sins, and let His Son die to pay the price for our sins (Rms. 5:8). Knowing the love and forgiveness God has extended to us, how can we dare be unforgiving to those who need our love and forgiveness? We need to be forgiving to others, because we desperately need God’s mercy, which is contingent upon our mercy (Mt. 18:21-35).
We need to be forgiving so that we may experience the joy of extending forgiveness. Unforgiving, grudge-holders are bitter people. They make themselves miserable with their hatred, malice, and anger. Sadly, their unforgiving spirit hurts others, but it hurts them even more. Without correction, an unforgiving spirit will eventually consume them. However, forgiveness releases the bitterness and misery of holding a grudge. The grace of forgiveness will truly bring joy to the one who extends it.
We need to be forgiving because others need to experience the joy of being forgiven. Think how Joseph’s brothers must have felt, when they learned that Joseph had forgiven them for what they had done to him in his youth (Gen. 50:15-21). They had carried that burden for years, and now they could finally lay it down. What a relief that must have been! What joy they must have felt! Compassion, tenderness, and forgiveness will bring great joy in the home, in society, and in the church, if we can only find it in our heart to be forgiving to those who have wronged us.
An unforgiving heart strangles the better part of us, as it snuffs out the influence of the forgiving Christ in our lives. It hinders our prayer life, for how can we pray, “Father forgive us...,” if we have not been forgiving? It grieves the Holy Spirit and places us in a hopeless predicament, seeing that God’s forgiveness is based on our forgiveness towards others. An unforgiving spirit may seem like such a little thing, but sometimes small things contain great destructive power. When we hold a grudge we build our own prison walls which isolate us from humanity, but worst of all isolate us from God. However, practicing the grace of forgiveness can set us free. “Forgiven” really is the most beautiful word in the English language, while its first cousin “forgive-ness” is likely the most beautiful practice!
David McCain
