Family News and Notes
Springtime is here (arrived yesterday) Hope you enjoy the budding and growth of God's handiwork.
Copies of the Minutes from the Men's Business Meeting and Financial report for the month ending March 31 are available on the table in the foyer. Please feel free to take a copy if you are interested.
Visitation Team No. 4 meets today following the evening services. There will be sandwiches, chips & dips, and desserts.
Bonnie Horton was able to return home from the hospital early last week. She is doing much better.
BIBLE QUIZ Tuesday night at Clarksville. We will leave the building at 6:30 PM. Everyone is invited. The topic is on II Peter.
Ladies watch for a brochure soon concerning the Ladies Day scheduled for April 3rd. Please make plans to attend.
THANK YOU ... "Thank you for all your kind deeds and expressions of love show at the loss of Billy's brother, James Carter. The beautiful flowers, calls, cards, and visits have been so comforting.
In Christian love,
Billy & Ann Carter"
Note of Thanks and Appreciation from Weldon Miller:
"A few hours in the operating room can seem like a long time to love ones when they are waiting to hear the results; wanting to know how things went; the prognosis, etc. My surgery went well. According to the pathology report, the cancer was contained in the prostate. Medically speaking, with the prostate's removal, the future looks good. We give thanks for the concern and prayers of our brethren; for the golden thread of love that binds us together as members of the Lord's family here at North Jefferson. Your expressions of concern and your thoughtful prayers have given us a resource of strength that helped sustain us during our times of anxiety. We give thanks to the Lord; the giver of every good and perfect gift. There are other of our brethren who are in need of our best wishes, cards, visits and prayers. May they constantly know that they are thought of with an earnest desire that they will have better days as we all keep our eyes on the eternal goal of Heaven.
Sincerely,
Weldon"
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PRAYER LIST
Justin Barker, Louis Bell, Winell Blackard, Sue Browning, Josephine Cooper, Perry Cooper, Barbara Duncan, Howard Horton, Bill Jones, & Amy, Weldon Miller, David Neal, Winnie Patton, Alva Mae Sheets, Ola Mae Simpson
ALSO: Judy Betts, Diane Johnson, Velma Lucky, Larry McCain, Kelsey Meyers, Delaney Upchurch
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DO YOU KNOW HOW TO FARM?
Michael Light
If you have ever tried to raise crops you know there is quite a bit of work that must be done. The principles used in the raising of produce is very similar to that which is necessary to produce a Christian.
FIRST, WE MUST PREPARE THE SOIL
A piece of land must be selected and worked up prior to planting. We should always be watchful for soil (a soul) in which to plant the seed of the kingdom. Just as with soil some initial preparation may be necessary prior to the sowing of the seed. You may need weeks, months, or even years of building a friendship or winning respect of the one you wish to teach before he is willing to open up his inner being and truly study God's word with you. We must be ready always to give an answer to those who are seeking the truth (I Peter 3:15). Many never help convert anyone to the truth because they have little interest in preparing the soil. A failure in this area can doom our evangelistic efforts.
SECOND, WE MUST PLANT THE SEED
Many never accept the gospel because far too many members of the Lord's body will not plant the seed. If we refuse to seek out souls to teach, and ignore our obligation (and privilege) to teach the gospel, we sin (Matthew 28:18-20; James 4:17). Do not just make friends, make disciples. We must teach the gospel, which is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16). God will not hold us guiltless if we shun our duty in the area of evangelism. In Ezekiel 33:1-11, we are warned of the serious nature of neglecting our responsibilities to the lost.
THIRD, WE MUST TEND TO THE SOIL ONCE THE SEED IS PLANTED
Paul discussed how he and Apollos had both had an influence on many of the Corinthians. One member may make the contact, another may plant the seed and yet another may water (stay in touch and be a consistent influence for the good). Farmers know the value of keeping weeds out of their crops as well as the application of fertilizer to help with the maturation of their fields. How many times have we witnessed the death (falling away) of various members of the church over the years? We must do everything in our power to be aware of the spiritual well-being of our fellow-members. In the letter to the Galatians the apostle Paul wrote, "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." I do not know why members are eager to rush to the hospital when someone is physically ill, but refuse to visit those who are spiritually ill and risking much more than physical death. We must tend to the "tender sprouts" (new Christians).
From Contending for the Faith, December 2002. Brother Light preaches in Bangs, TX, and will be helping us "farm" next monthhe will be doing the preaching for our Gospel meeting April 25-28.
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Don't Neglect Your Spiritual Garden
By David McCain
Have you ever noticed what happens to a farm, a garden, a flowerbed, or even your yard if you quit maintaining it? That's right, it grows up and the weeds take over! You can take a useless piece of ground, clear it, remove the stumps, rocks, thistles, and weeds; plow and cultivate it; fertilize, plant and water it; and grow a healthy patch of whatever you want. But, if you don't continue to cultivate, weed, and nurture that piece of ground, it will revert back to its wild, original, non-productive state.
Aren't our lives, as Christians, kind of like a garden plot? In the spiritual sense, all of us at one time were useless pieces of ground, figuratively covered with the stumps, rocks, thistles, and weeds of sin. But, then, through the process of conversion to Christ, we became capable of being God's productive spiritual garden. As a Christian, the garden of your life belongs to God, but is left in your care, to tend and nurture in accordance with His Word. If you act as a responsible steward, to continually cultivate your spiritual garden as God's Word instructs, then your garden will produce much spiritual fruit. However, without constant attention and care, your garden will revert back to the wild, worldly, spiritually non-productive state from whence it came.
Is this not the lesson Paul conveyed, in I Corinthians 9:27, when he wrote, "I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage: lest by any means, after that I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected" (ASV). The great apostle Paul realized that without the constant constraint and daily care of Bible study, obedience, repentance, prayer, self-discipline, and spiritual service, the weeds of sin would soon creep back in and take over his spiritual garden. He knew he had to constantly strive for spiritual improvement (Phil. 3:13-14), or like the lesson Jesus taught of the unclean spirit who returned with seven other spirits more evil than the first (Mt. 12:43f), his last state would be worse than his first.
Likewise, when the seed of God's Word is planted in our hearts, that is not the end, rather only the beginning of our responsibility toward God. If that seed is to be spiritually productive, it must receive daily care. We must constantly weed out the thorns and briars of, "the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches," lest they "choke the Word," making its influence unfruitful in our lives (Mt. 13:22).
One last thought occurs to me in the parable of the garden: there is no such thing as a retired gardener in the Lord's service. In fact, isn't it interesting, that when people retire from their profession, a very common practice for them is to spend more time gardening? Shouldn't that be true of our spiritual gardens as well? If we want the crown of eternal life, we must faithfully serve as good stewards in the Lord's garden, according to our health and talents, right up to the day we die (Rev. 2:10).
So, while you're working on your yard, your flower beds, and your garden this summer, don't neglect the most important garden of all. Remember to carefully tend your spiritual garden, for someday you will reap a bountiful harvest, if you faint not (Gal. 6:7-9). David McCain
Minister's Musings: If you were disappointed about my postponing the lesson on "The Passion of the Christ" last Sunday, I apologize. I have rescheduled it for Sunday, April 11th, which coincidently is Easter Sunday. This will be a two-part lesson, so if you want to hear the whole story of Christ's suffering and death, then you'll have to attend both A.M. & P.M. services, lest you miss some crucial aspect of the greatest act of sacrifice and service to God and man the world has ever known. In this lesson, I will do my best to give you a chronological and comprehensive review of the last 24 hours of Christ's life leading up to and including His horrible death for us at Calvary. Normally I do not preach what some would call an "Easter sermon" on Easter Sunday, lest I mistakenly leave the impression that we give special significance to that particular Sunday over other Sundays as many denomination churches do. Of course in the Lord's church, we strive to follow the New Testament pattern which is to remember the Lord's death not with just one special service a year, but rather to commemorate and proclaim His death for our sins in our humble observance of the Lord's Supper, every Sunday, in accordance with Biblical command, example and inference. However, this year there has been so much in the news about Mel Gibson's movie, "The Passion Of The Christ," that I thought it would be good for us to hear the Truth from God's Word about exactly what our Lord suffered to pay for our sins. I would like as many people as possible to hear this lesson, not because I am preaching it, but because the subject matter is indeed "the greatest story ever told." Since we are likely to have the highest attendance on Easter Sunday of any Sunday this Spring, I have chosen this as the day to preach this two part lesson. Please invite your relatives, friends, and neighbors to come and hear this soul-stirring message, and I am begging every faithful member to plan to be present for both services April 11th.
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