FAMILY NEWS AND NOTES
Volume 10 28 DECEMBER 2008 Issue No. 44
Service Arrangewments
COMMUNION FOR DECEMBER 2008
SOUTH SIDE NORTH SIDE
AM
Wayne Pickrel
Jim Duncan
George O’Neal Jody Sparks
Cody Sparks Charles Kyle
PM
Ron Traughber Tim Jones
ANNOUNCEMENTS ………..… Royce Armstrong
(Sunday and Wednesday)
SONG LEADER (AM)…………………Grady Duncan
(PM) ………………….Charles Kyle
Wednesday Nite …….........…...….. Various
PRAYERS —– Sunday.
AM First Prayer ………................Grady Duncan
Closing…………...................…. Jody Sparks
PM First Prayer……..................…Grady Duncan
Closing………,,,….…............Ron Traughber
PRAYERS — Wednesday Nite
First Prayer……………................…. Jon McCain
Closing………………................ Royce Armstrong
PRAYER LIST:
Betty Abbey, Justin Barker, Rachel Barker, Louis & Nona Bell, Doris Bell, Billye Campbell, Suzanne Charlton, Steele Cooper, Irene Duncan, Amber Kimbrough, Ben McCain,
Wade Miller, Elna O’Neal, Thelma Reed, Bud Roach
ALSO: Beth Adams, Roy Coats, Wesley DuBose., Carolyn Holliday, Donald Johnson, Wayne Lineberger, Jesse & Jacob Massey, Yvonne Waldrup, Charlie Whitney,
Linda Wysinger
May the Lord Bless you with a Very HAPPY NEW YEAR!
PREACHING TODAY WILL BE Chris McAlyea from Mt. Vernon.
Tonite we will be viewing the 2nd edition of the DVD “Behold the Lamb of God.” Please try to be here for that. The invitation will be extended by Grady Duncan.
On Wednesday evening December 31 we will be having a DEVO service and all classes will meet in the auditorium. Royce Armstrong will be in charge.
We will meet together in the Multi-Purpose room from 8:00 PM until Midnite to welcome in the New Year. Everyone is invited and please bring your favorite finger foods and your favorite games!
PLEASE MAKE NOTE …. On January 04, 2009 we will have Kris Groda from San Angelo, Texas, trying out for the minister position here at North Jefferson. Kris, his wife Lena and their children Joseph (3 years old) and Kelly (18 months old) will be here for the AM and PM services. Following the AM service we will have a covered dish luncheon for all to get to fellowship with Kris and his family. There will be an opportunity for you to ask Kris any questions you may have. If you would like give your questions to one of the elders and we will ask them for you, or you may ask them yourself.
ALSO MAKE A NOTE … On January 11, 2009 we will have Bro. John Baker trying out for the minister position at North Jefferson. John, his wife Angie and their children Daniel (5 years old) and Abby (3 years old), will be here for the AM and PM services. Following the AM service we will have a covered dish luncheon for all to get to fellowship with John and his family. There will be an opportunity for you to ask John any questions you may have. If you would like, give your questions to one of the elders and we will ask them for you, or you may ask them yourself.
The Men’s Business Meeting, normally scheduled for the 2nd Sunday evening each month, is postponed and will be conducted on Sunday evening January 18, 2009.
Bud Roach is scheduled for surgery for carotid arteries on December 30th at Good shepherd Hospital in Longview.
Sid Charlton expressed his regrets for not living in the way a Christian needs to live and asked the prayers of the congregation on his behalf as he repented of those sins. He also asked for the prayers and continued encouragement on his behalf.
Funeral services were held for Lacy Farmer Maxwell last week at north Ridge church of Christ with burial at Nevill’s Chapel Cemetery. Keep Lacy’s husband, Pam, and the rest of the family in your prayers at this time of their loss.
Please refer to our Prayer List for others who we need to keep in our prayers each day.
In charge of Announcements for month of JANUARY —
Tim Davis
In charge of Prayers for month of JANUARY —
Roger Grimes
In charge of Communion for Month of JANUARY —
Jimmy Jay Fox
CAN A PERSON CHANGE?
Part 2
By Floyd Kaiser
[Guest Article from The Southwesterner—Southwest church of Christ—Ada OK]
The first recorded command of God in the Bible after the sin of Adam and Eve is in Genesis 6:14 where He said to Noah, “Make yourself an ark of gopher wood.” It would stand to reason that God made such a command only because He knew of the potential of Noah to do something Noah had never done before.
God knew that man could change. Man could submit to God even if man had never done so before. Every Divine command attests to the reality of self-determination, that everyone is gifted with the privilege of choice. One can choose to come to church on Sunday morning or not. One can choose to be faithful to one’s confession or not. Being rational humans mean that we are not automations who are hopelessly trapped in a lifestyle we can do nothing about. We have a rational will. The human will is so strong that it can even choose to override one’s most natural instincts of self preservation. The willful giving of one’s life for a higher purpose is a perfect example of how reasoning powers can so change a person that doing the unthinkable is done. Countless soldiers who would have never considered harming themselves, have, in the midst of battle, chosen to die for country or comrades.
Human will is preeminent in determining the life of every individual, but human will can be changed through individual choice.
Since man can choose his will, it follows that he can re-choose. He can change. This is why we are so inspired by such passages as Joshua 24:15 where this ancient leader said to his people, “If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today who you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
How could Joshua have made such a statement if the human will cannot be reformed for the better or for the worst?
In all the course of religious history the best example of a change of will is the once infamous persecutor of the church names Saul who changed to become known as Paul, a builder and defender of the church (see Acts 9:1-22).
Change is not easy. Do not mistake that fact. However, with the choice of a humble heart, the grace of God can accomplish feats that no other power can. Paul wrote, ”But by the grace of God I am what I am” (1 Cor. 15:10).
