Family News and Notes
David will preach this morning on: "The Responsibilities and Duties of Elders."
Johnny will preach this evening.
Next Sunday David will preach on "The Qualifications of Elders." Be thinking about who you might propose who fits the Biblical picture.
The sign-up sheet for the upcoming Annual Christmas Shebang at the McCains scheduled for December 9th is on the table in the foyer. If you plan to come please sign this sheet and indicate the food item you plan to bring. Great fun will be had by all.
Thanks to all the men and boys who participated in last Tuesday evening's service. It was, indeed, an Old Fashioned Prayer Service. Lots of good choices for songs, wonderful prayers, and talented participants, especially the very young. Their training is so important to us all.
BUILDING FUND. If you are able and wish to contribute to our Building Fund, then next Sunday will be your chance. That's the first Sunday of the month.
There is a Wish List on the table in the foyer for two families from Boles Home. At the end of the month our young people will wrap and prepare the gifts for Boles Home.
John David Wright will give us a slide presentation on Wednesday evening, December 14, regarding the work at Queretara, Qro, Mexico. We are supporting Miguel Bocanegra there, who is the Director of the Preaching School.
R. C. Grissom was admitted to Titus Regional Medical Center (5th floor) on Tuesday morning. He has been experiencing stomach problems, has been losing weight, and has had a feeding tube. We need to remember R. C. in our prayers.
Joyce Lee is still in Titus Regional Medical Center as of the printing of this bulletin. Remember her.
Betty Ferrell is at home and continues her rehab at Titus Regional Medical Center. Progress toward her recovery continues.
Grady Duncan has been pretty much confined Monday and Tuesday (lots of time in bed) due to severe back pain. Let's remember this hard working man.
There are many, many others on our prayer list. Please check the bulletin. Remember these folks in your prayers, and any others that come to your mind during your prayer. You will be blessed for your caring about others.
THANK YOU "A great big THANKS for the wood splitters Saturday nite, November 19, and for David making certain that the wood was stacked so nice. Thanks to David McCain, Ben McCain, David Neal, Austin Neal, Stephanie Sparks, Code Sparks, and Kristian Marshall. I really appreciate the wood.
-- In Christian Love,
Geneva Cooksey"
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Please Join Us! For a Bridal Shower for Brittany Anderson on Sunday, December 4th, 2005 at 2 to 3 p.m.
North Ridge Church of Christ
I-30 Access Road
Mount Pleasant, Texas
Registered at: Wal-Mart & Masons Please R.S.V.P. 903-572-4617
Note: Brittany is the daughter of Melissa Anderson and the granddaughter of Wayne and Millie Black)
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PRAYER LIST
Betty Abbey, Justin Barker, Rachel Barker, Louis Bell, Winell Blackard,
Annah Brown, Billye Campbell, Perry Cooper, Betty Ferrell, Hollis Lee, Joyce Lee, Georgia Lide, Courtney Marshall, Elna O'Neal, Wayne Pickrel, Marie Plemmons, Dorothy Sargent, Alva Mae Sheets, Edith Shiflet, Rebecca Tippitt
ALSO: Melba Boyd, Austin Cody, Wesley & Juanita DuBose, Dudley Farrell, Ruby Jeffery, Wayne Lineberger, Lonita Thompson
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"Father, Forgive Them...!"
Leaving the glories of heaven behind, Jesus unselfishly humbled Himself, by stepping into the flesh of humanity to perform the greatest act of love and service the world has ever known (Phil. 2:5-11). He came to save His people from their sins (Mt. 1:21, Jn. 1:11), but they refused to even acknowledge their need for a Savior, much less receive Him as such. He spent His entire earthly life doing good, healing all that were oppressed of the devil, and sharing the Gospel with everyone who would listen (Acts 10:38, Mt.11:5), but most failed to recognize these signs which set Him apart as the Son of God. He never did anything wrong, He never said anything wrong (I Pet. 2:22), but still they hated Him, for His teaching challenged their comfortable religious hypocrisy. He came to seek and save the lost (Lk. 19:10), and the lost thanked Him for His efforts by nailing Him to a cross for sins He didn't commit.
If anyone ever had a right to be unforgiving, it must have been Jesus on that horrible day nearly twenty centuries ago, when they nailed him to a Roman cross. What would you have done, if you had been in Jesus' sandals that dreadful day, with all the omnipotent power of God at your disposal? Perhaps a little torture for that team of testers who trumped up the travesty of your trial? Maybe a lightening bolt to toast your tormentors? But, instead of hurling curses at his captors, or vaporizing that lynch mob of vipers, Jesus bowed His head and uttered the humble plea, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do" (Lk. 23:34).
Undoubtedly, the humble plea which Jesus offered that momentous day so long ago, was the greatest example of mercy and forgiveness the world has ever seen or heard. As the songwriter Samuel E. Reed so beautifully expressed, "Just to show His matchless grace, Jesus suffered for the race..., oh what love, matchless love, oh what love for me was shown!" Yes, if ever, anyone had a right to hold a grudge, or to retaliate with hatred, it must have been Jesus, as he suffered the shame and degradation of the cross. But, He didn't do it! And, aren't you glad He didn't do it, because it was our sins that nailed Him to that cross?
Have you ever thought about it like that? That's what the Book says, in Romans 5:6-8, where Paul wrote, "For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. ...But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Yes, friend, you and I betrayed Him, we all forsook Him and fled. We denied Him and then raised our angry voices with the rest and said, "Away with Him, crucify Him, for He is not worthy to live!" Yes, we took the scourge and beat His back to a bloody pulp, and oh, how we laughed, and mocked, and jeered when we thrust that thorny crown upon His brow. Finally, we led Him away to Golgotha, pushing and shoving all the way, where we crucified Him between two common criminals. We hung His naked, thirsty, bruised, bleeding, spittle-stained body on the cross to die without mercy, while a stones throw away we gambled for the clothes we had stripped from Him just before we drove the nails into His hands and feet. We did everything we could to strip Him of His dignity, and to incite Him to come down to our level and fill His life with devilish anger, hatred, and sin. But, all we succeeded in doing was compelling His mercy and grace as He bowed His head to offer a prayer of pity for the ignorance of our arrogant contempt.
When you are tempted to hold a grudge against a brother, or to retaliate against an enemy, have you ever considered where you would be if Jesus had done that the day we led Him to Calvary. Where would we be if Jesus had stooped to retaliation? Where would we be if Jesus had decided to carry a grudge and hold our sins over us for as long as we live? Aren't you glad Jesus had a forgiving spirit? Shouldn't you and I have one too?
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WHAT MANNER OF MAN IS THIS?
Johnny Ramsey
The glad tidings of Christ's life as given by Mark, inspired by God, is truly a thrilling and pulsating piece of literature with divine power! the hero of the drams is the Savior, Redeemer and Friend of man. He calms the boisterous Sea, feeds miraculously huge crowds, walks upon the water heals the sick, casts out demons an shows heavenly compassion for the downcasts of that day. Beyond all this, however, our Lord was willing, by the grace of God, to taste of death for every man. In His meekness and gentleness Christ surrendered to the Father's will and became servant of all! However, there is another emphasis by Mark i the portrayal of the Son of God. It has to do with the anger of Jesus over sin. In Chapter 3 He looked on evil men with shameful indifference in Nazareth. In Chapter 11 our Master drove the mundane merchants from the Temple area and in Chapter 12 Christ bluntly rebuked the Sadducees for spiritual ignorance.
We are deeply indebted to Mark's account of the life of Christ for the balanced view of the Messiah. With power and intensity the book is a straightforward narrative that draws us into the arena of divine mandates. Jesus submitted obediently to John's baptism, washed the feet of the apostles, hearkened unto the cry of blind Bartimaeus and tenderly cared for little children.! Yet, the insincere, the pseudo-sophisticates and the hypocritical rulers heard the sharp sting of His clear rebuke! What manner of man is this? A perfect, balanced, perceptive and honest one who had come to do the Father's will! Finally, becoming obedient, "even unto the death of the Cross," Jehovah has highly exalted Him with the glory Christ had in the beginning. Let us be forever grateful that He left Heaven so that, through Him, we might enter there.
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HELL
Author Unknown
Hell! The prison house of despair,
Here are some things that won't be there:
No flowers will bloom on the banks of Hell,
No beauties of nature we love so well;
No comforts of home, music and song,
No friendship of joy will be found in that throng;
No children to brighten the long weary night;
No loving smile in that region of night;
No mercy, no pity, pardon nor grace,
No water, O God, what a terrible place!
The pangs of the lost no human can tell,
Not one moment's ease there is no rest in Hell!
Hell! The prison house of despair,
Here are some things that will be there:
Fire and brimstone are there we know,
For God in His Word hath told us so;
Memory, remorse, suffering and pain,
Weeping and wailing, but all in vain;
Blasphemers, swearers, haters of God,
Christ rejecters while here on earth trod;
Murderers, gamblers, drunkards and liars,
Will have their part in the lake of fires;
The filthy, the Vile, the cruel and mean,
What a horrible mob in Hell will be seen!
Yes, more than humans on earth can tell
Are the torments and woes of eternal Hell!
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