Family News and Notes
MEN'S BUSINESS MEETING after services tonight. All men of the congregation are encouraged to attend.
Someone mistakenly took Judy Freeman's salad bowl home with them following the Ladies Day salad luncheon on Saturday, April 02. It is a clear glass bowl with stamped engravings. If you have this bowl please return it. Her name was on the bottom.
The dishes from the Hazel Phillips funeral are in the kitchen. Please pick those up ASAP.
UPCOMING YOUTH OUTING (and for the young at heart) . On Monday evening, June 13, we will take a trip to THE BALL PARK in Arlington to see the Rangers play the Atlanta Braves. The Mount Vernon congregation has invited us to join their youth on this trip as a joint outing. Great, field-level box seats have been secured (normally $30 tickets) for just $7 a ticket. There is a sign-up sheet on the table in the foyer. Only about 25 tickets are still available, so sign up soon if you wish to go.
Address for Ralph Phillips is: Ralph Phillips
Mission Manor Nursing Home
501 Yates Room 21
Mount Vernon, Texas 75457
Billye Campbell and Hallie Lang were able to be in services last Sunday. It was good to see them out and about, altho slowly.
Howard Horton fell during the night on April 01 and broke his pelvis. He has been in Room 6 at East Texas Medical Center in Mount Vernon. Proper treatment was to be determined.
Billy Carter is still in the local hospital. He has been removed from the ventilator and is doing a little better. He is now in a private room.
Judy Freeman would like to ask for the prayers from the congregation on behalf of her parents, Wesley and Juanita DuBose of Longview. They are having health problems. Her mother will be having tests on the 22nd.
Maxine Topping passed away Friday April 01. She is the mother of June Freeman (who formerly worshiped with us at the old North Jefferson). Funeral Services were held last Sunday afternoon at 2:00 PM. June's address is 2022 Bamboo Street, Mesquite, Texas 75150, phone: 972-613-0604.
Donald Newman, father of Marty Newman (who is the son-in-law of Rhodney & Judy Freeman), passed away early last Sunday morning at his home in the Bridges Chapel Community. Funeral Services were conducted by Bates-Cooper Funeral Home on Tuesday, April 05, with burial at Bridges Chapel Cemetery.
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SUMMARIZED E-MAIL REPORT FROM BRO. PAT MCINTOSH: On March 25th, Pat reported that he had just returned home from a trip to the Ukraine. He left April 9th for a trip to India. Pat request our prayers for Bro. Dan Laughary and himself as they teach in the National Bible College in the city of Chennai there in India. Bro. Laughary will be teaching the book of Acts and Pat will be teaching Hermeneutics. Pat expressed his appreciation for our support and interest in the work of saving souls. We also encourage every member to remember Pat and his family in our prayers. They are diligent workers in the Kingdom. The Elders.
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PRAYER LIST:
Justin Barker, Rachel Barker, Louis Bell, Annah Brown, Sue Browning,
Billye Campbell, Billy Carter, Perry Cooper, Zenith Hargrove, Howard Horton, Hollis Lee, Winnie Patton, Ralph Phillips, Helen Roper, Dorothy Sargent,
Alva Mae Sheets
ALSO: Melba Boyd, Denise Dering, Marie Holloway
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An Appeal For Modesty (Part Two)
(True Christians Will Avoid The Appearance Of Evil Apparel)
Sometimes I hear folks say the Bible does not define modesty. Wrong! You're not reading your Bible enough if that's what you think. When Adam and Eve felt shame because of their nakedness, they made fig leaf "aprons" (Gen. 3:7). However, God thought they ought to cover up more, so He made them "coats" of animal skins to "clothe" them (Gen. 3:21). Later, the priests were warned not to use stairs in approaching the altar, lest their nakedness be discovered (Ex. 20:26). They were further instructed to wear linen britches that completely covered their "loins" and their "thighs," lest God strike them dead for revealing their "nakedness" (Ex. 28:42-43). To hear most folks tell it, modesty is an issue of concern only for females, if it's an issue at all. However, please remember that these were men who were told not to reveal the "nakedness" of their "thighs." That kind of lets the wind out of the sails of those who say men can't dress immodestly, doesn't it?
Someone might object, "well that's Old Testament doctrine and we're only restricted by the New Testament." Be careful lest you end up hanging on your own gallows like Haman (Esther 7:9-10), for likewise the New Testament has plenty to say about "avoiding the appearance of evil" by dressing modestly! In the New Testament, "nakedness" is often equated with being in a destitute or demented condition. The poor and the persecuted may find themselves naked, but Christians are taught to benevolently provide clothing for such (Mt. 25:36-44, Jms. 2:15-16). The Gadarene demoniac ran around naked, but he was "out of his mind," as a result of being possessed by devils (Luke 8:27). John once referred to Peter as being "naked," merely because he had removed his outer coat while fishing (Jn. 21:7). Please note, though, that Peter put his coat back on before swimming to shore to see the Lord. Finally, have you ever considered that at least part of the "shame of the cross," which was "despised" by Jesus (Heb. 12:2), was that He was crucified naked (Jn. 19:23)? Cruel Roman soldiers forced nakedness upon Jesus, but now some "Christians" flippantly flaunt their nakedness in public without regard for the "shame" of being unclothed in public.
Brethren, immodest apparel is sinful, not because I said so, but because God said so. It has always been so, and always will be so, no matter what our culture says, and no matter how far a corrupted brotherhood will go to be culturally accepted. Faithful Christians are commanded to be distinctive in every matter of life, including dress (Rms. 12:1-2, I Pet. 2:9). Christian women are instructed to adorn themselves in modest apparel, in such a way as to be identified as one who professes godliness with good works (I Tim. 2:9-10). Finally, every Christian is warned, "Abstain from all appearance of evil" (I Thess. 5:21-22). Please think carefully, wouldn't "immodest apparel" be equivalent to the "appearance of evil," when clothing is worn that is likely to incite lust in normal members of the opposite sex?
Rather than ask, "is it in style," or "is it culturally accepted," to dress a certain way, the faithful child of God, who is interested in pleasing only the Father, will ask the following questions. Will it cause others to lust (Mt. 5:27-28)? Will it put a stumbling block before anyone (Rms. 14:13)? Is it modest (I Tim. 2:9)? Will my clothing, or lack thereof, lead to lasciviousness in others or myself (Gal. 5:19-21)? Does my attire edify others and myself to be more spiritual and to have a pure heart (Rms. 14:19, Mt. 5:8, Phil. 4:8)? Finally, one serious question ought to cause us all to give prayerful consideration to what we wear, and where we wear it. Would I be embarrassed to wear this attire around spiritual brethren, or in the Lord's presence (Rms. 12:17, Gen. 3:8)? If you'll honestly answer that question, you should feel compelled to always avoid the appearance of immodest apparel.
Sadly, though, many brethren today are seemingly blind to the sin of immodesty. Lamentably, some have become so much like the world that they are like those of Jeremiah's day who were "not at all ashamed, neither could they blush" (Jer. 6:15 & 8:12). Therefore what we need are more men like Joshua, who will have enough gumption to stand up and say, "as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (Joshua 24:15), "and that means my whole family will dress modestly." Remember, we are talking about your soul and the souls of your family. Is any soul worth throwing away just to be fashionable or "in-style?" Please give the matter some serious thought as you decide what to wear this summer that will be modest in God's sight. That's always been the standard of modesty. David McCain
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The New School Prayer
Author Unknown
(But possibly written by a student)
Now I sit me down in school
Where praying is against the rule.
For this great nation under God
Finds mention of Him very odd.
If Scripture now the class recites,
It violates the Bill of Rights.
And anytime my head I bow
Becomes a federal matter now.
Our hair can be purple or orange or green,
That's no offense, it's the freedom scene.
The law is specific, the law is precise,
Prayers spoken aloud are a serious vice.
For praying in a public hall
Might offend someone with no faith at all.
In silence alone we must meditate,
God's name is prohibited by the State.
We're allowed to cuss & dress like freaks,
And pierce our noses, tongues, and cheeks.
They've outlawed guns; but FIRST the Bible.
To quote the Good Book makes me liable.
We can elect a pregnant Senior Queen,
And the unwed daddy, our Senior King.
It's "inappropriate" to teach right from wrong,
We're taught that such "judgments" do not belong.
We can get our condoms, and birth controls.
Study witchcraft, vampires and totem poles.
But the Ten Commandments are not allowed,
No word of God must reach this crowd.
It's scary here I must confess.
When chaos reigns the school's a mess.
So, Lord, this silent plea I make:
Should I be shot, My soul please take.
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