Family News and Notes
Joey Davis will be preaching to us this morning. If you recall, we are helping to support Joey while he attends the Memphis School of Preaching.
Men remember the Business Meeting tonite following the evening services We'll be in the Multi-Purpose Room. Your presence and input is important.
Remember the Gospel Meeting that begins today at Oak Grove Church of Christ. If you are able you are encouraged to attend in support of the meeting. Time is 7:20 PM each evening through July 17th.
We had 107 in attendance last Monday evening for the Summer Youth Series. It appears interest is still high for this work.
Our Summer Youth Series continues this week and we will be meeting Talco Church of Christ at 7:00 PM, Monday, July 14th, with David Boren as Speaker. Subject: ....Ruth
We will meet again on July 28th at the Mount Vernon Church of Christ beginning at 7:00 PM. Speaker will be: Ernie Albrecht Subject: King Josiah"High Calling for a Young Man"
Billy Carter has not been feeling well, lately and has been staying at home.
Billye Campbell continues her slow recovery from her illness but is still not able to get out.
Alva Mae Sheets had surgery last Thursday afternoon at 2:30 PM at Titus Regional Medical Center.
Tim Davis continues his recovery from knee surgery and is feeling better.
Bud Roach is still in recovery from his knee surgery and says he is feeling better each day.
Sandra Cooper remains in Houston, staying with her son Kyle and his family. She continues to undergo tests and treatment and is expected to remain in Houston for a few more weeks.
Glenn Parham is feeling a little better and was able to attend services last week.
Hazel Phillips went for dialysis last week and during the process her blood pressure dropped. She was taken to the hospital in Mount Vernon, then to Mount Pleasant and finally to ETMC in Tyler. She is expected to return home soon.
Cory Mason of Longview (great grandson of Nenian and Viola Phillips, who worshipped with us at this congregation) passed away last week after being struck by a train and his funeral was conducted Monday with burial at Nevill's Chapel Cemetery. Cory was kin to many in this congregation.
THANK YOU "Thank you, North Jefferson Church of Christ, for having Ruth Taylor's funeral. Special thanks to brother Tom Wacaster for his very good sermon and the Church of Christ Singers were great. May God bless you."
--We love you,
James and Marie Butler
THANK YOU "Dear Christian Friends: Your thoughtfulness is appreciated. Thank each and every one of you who called, and the many prayers you all said for me. Thanks for your cards and food that you brought or sent. It's Christians like you all that make life worth fighting for. Thanks again
--Love you all
Edith Shiflet
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PRAYER LIST:
Justin Barker, Louis Bell, Billye Campbell, Iona Carpenter,
Billy Carter, Woodrow Cooksey, Sandra Cooper, Tim Davis, Barbara Duncan, Julia Ethridge, Howard Horton, Corine Hudson, Hollis Lee, Joyce Lee, Glenn Parham, Hazel Phillips, Ruby Pipkin, Bud Roach, Murphy Ross, Alva Mae Sheets, Edith Shiflet
ALSO: Donald Deaton, Tillman Ethridge, Linda Ferrell, Keith Fetters, Minnie Moore
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Service Arrangements
ANNOUNCEMENTS...........Wayne Charlton
SONG LEADER ..................Bill Jones
PRAYERS Sunday
AM First Prayer....................Grady Duncan
AM Closing..........................Wade Miller
PM First Prayer...................Vernon Garrett
PM Closing.........................Wayne Pickrel
PRAYERS Wednesday Nite
First Prayer...........................George O'Neal
Closing..................................Richard Hargrove
COMMUNION FOR JULY
AM Wayne Charlton.............Jim Duncan
Rhodney Freeman.........Tim Jones
Ronnie Stewart..............Rodney Cook
PM Frankie Sargent..............Ralph Phillips
ATTENDANCE COUNTER...Grady Duncan
TRANSPORTATION?....Call, Frankie Sargent
903-572-2647
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Tom's Pen
"Marriage, Divorce, And The
Law Of The Excluded Middle"
by Tom Wacaster
God has given man the ability to reason things through. There are certain laws which men inherently use when they think rationally. To deny these laws of rationality is absolutely absurd and would involve men in numerous self-contradictions. One of these is the law of the excluded middle. Simply stated, this means that something either possesses a certain characteristic or it does not -- something is either true or it is 'non-true' (i.e. 'false'). For example, I may say that a pencil is either wood, or non-wood. There is no middle ground to such a statement. There is no quality somewhere between being wood and non-wood.
Now let us apply this to God's law on marriage and divorce. In Matthew 19:9 Jesus said, "And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except for fornication, and marry another, committeth adultery...." Our Lord is telling us that ANY man, putting away ANY woman to whom he is married, and marrying ANY OTHER WOMAN, enters into the act of adultery (he is actually living in a state of adultery since the verb is a present tense verb). There is, however, one exception to this law. If a person's spouse commits adultery, then the innocent party can put away his wife/husband and marry another WITHOUT committing adultery.
Now let us apply the law of the excluded middle. When a couple splits the blanket, files for divorce and dissolves their marriage it is either because of fornication or it is because of non-fornication (some cause other than fornication). Since Jesus made the only exception to His law on marriage and divorce to be fornication, then anything that falls into the realm of "non-fornication" is not acceptable in His sight. Unfortunately there are a great number of foolish men who have taken the position that "except for fornication" actually means "except for fornication and, in some cases, except for non-fornication." Given their position, the law of Jesus on marriage and divorce is meaningless. Can you imagine our Lord saying, "If any man puts away his wife, and marries another, he commits adultery. There is, of course an exception to this rule, and that is if the man puts his wife away for fornication, or, for non-fornication, then he does not commit adultery." Yet this is precisely what the position of some imply of our Lord when it comes to the subject of marriage and divorce. Such a position actually nullifies the law itself. Hence, men have "made void" the commandments of God by their traditions.
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"When Is It Too Late To Be Saved?"
by Tom Wacaster
I have often spoken of the "point of no return." That such a point exists, spiritually speaking, is evident from Peter's statement in 2 Peter 2:14. There Peter tells us of the false teachers who, "having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin." It is not that they CANNOT be saved, for God stands ready and willing to forgive us of all transgression if we would but repent. The fact that they "cannot cease from sin" is due to their unwillingness to repent and obey. But Peter's point is that they had progressed so far into sin that they had passed this "point of no return." No doubt you have heard the appeal, "Obey Christ before it is too late." Is it ever "too late" to obey? Indeed, there is a line beyond which no man can hope to be saved. As one poet put it:
There is a line by us unseen,
By which each path is crossed;
Beyond which God Himself hath sworn
That he who goes is lost.
Let me suggest at least three occasions in which it is "too late" to receive salvation.
First, it is too late after death. The Hebrew writer tells us that it is appointed unto man once to die and after that comes the judgment (Heb. 9:27). There will be no second chance after death. We will be judged based on what we have done in THIS life (2 Cor. 5:10). There is nothing in God's word that hints at some "second chance" for salvation. Once we pass into eternity, our eternal destiny is sealed.
Second, it is obviously too late after Jesus has returned to gather His sheep to eternal glory. The second coming of Jesus is referred to more than 300 times in the New Testament. Just as sure as the sun rose this morning so there will come a day when our Lord will come again. But when He comes it will not be to SAVE mankind, but rather to JUDGE all men. The door will have been closed inviting men to respond to His gracious invitation (Matt. 11:28-29), and the door ushering us before the judgment seat of Christ will have been opened.
Third, practically speaking the opportunity to be saved will be forever gone when a man reaches the point of which Peter spoke in our passage. It is not that God is not willing to save (2 Pet. 3:9); it is because men eventually reach the point where they have a heart that is so hardened by sin that they CANNOT cease from sinning. They are past feeling, deluding themselves into thinking that there will be yet another opportunity to turn from sin and make things right. Perhaps you have heard the following story that illustrates our point well.
It was early Spring and the crowds had gathered to watch the gigantic spectacle of the breaking of ice on the Niagara River. Large cakes of ice would break away and float down the river toward the Falls. An eagle soaring above spotted a frozen carcass of a rabbit on one of the chunks of ice, and alighted to feed on the new found food. But as he fed on the rabbit his claws became embedded in the frozen carcass. At the last minute the eagle attempted to spread his wings and fly to safety. But he had waited too long; his claws now firmly fixed in the carcass upon which he was feeding. Those who watched testified that a mighty eagle was carried to destruction at the bottom of Niagara Falls because he waited until too late to let go.
Beloved, "now is the acceptable time; behold now is the day of salvation" (2 Cor. 6:2). Do not delay, for tomorrow may very well be too late.
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NOTE: Those interested in ordering a copy of Bob Spurlin's book, "Don't Ever Give Up," please let me know this week. We plan to send in the order as soon as possible.
Sermons:
AM: Guest Speaker: Joey Davis, (student at Memphis School of Preaching)
PM: Tom Wacaster: "Remember!" (series on Jude continued)
