Family News and Notes
Men's Business Meeting following services this evening. All men are encouraged to attend.
See you at VBS beginning Monday, June 13. Make plans now to attend.
If you have not yet picked up your new church directory you need to see Grady Duncan.
Summer Christian Camp at Camp Cisco, for 8th grade thru 12th Grade, July 24July 29. See Bob Hedges for applications. If you have already Sent in an application please advise Bob so we can obtain an exact number attending, for transportation arrangements.
Vernon Garrett was scheduled for back surgery on Friday June 10 at 10:30 AM, at the Texas Spine & Joint Building in Tyler. He hopes very much that this surgery will relieve the pain he has been experiencing for many months.
Lonita Thompson, sister of Glenn Parham, was taken to Titus Regional Medical Center emergency room last Wednesday evening and was later transferred to Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler, She was to have surgery son afterward. She has been in Room 494, Dawson Tower.
THANK YOU AND Sisters in Christ: I want to spend this moment to thank you all for the cards, prayers, and phone calls in which you remembered me while in the hospital during my recent surgery. The road I must ravel towards a full recovery from surgery is still long and somewhat painful. I ask for your prayers continually that God will allow me a full recovery from the paint I have suffered for some time now.
For the love of Christ
Jody Sparks"
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RANGERS vs BRAVES Those who have bought tickets and plan to attend, as well as any others, need to meet with David at the front of the auditorium following services this morning to discuss departure time, etc. A bus has been chartered to take everyone to the game. The seats are $20 per person and the bus holds 33 people so the first 33 who give David $20 will get a seat.. He has to pay for all 33 whether that many or even less ride. So, by all means, if you said you were riding the bus you need to do so or David is out the money for your seat. Tentatively the group is scheduled to depart at about 3:45 pm, or a little before, on Monday the 13th. A little earlier would be better just to be on the safe side. So, don't miss the meeting.
A BIG THANK YOU to everyone who worked so hard to make our opening night of SBYSNET such a great success! Our hats are off to you for your love for youth which was proved by your gracious willingness to help. We had a great crowd (123 I think), a great lesson ("If I Were Young Again"), by a great preacher (our own Johnny Ramsey), and a great time of good food and warm visiting after the service (best burgers and dogs I ever ate at a SBYSNET gathering)! SPECIAL THANKS to Bob Hedges and Veleta McFerrin for organizing all the food and lining up all the cooks, kitchen helpers, servers, and set-up & clean-up volunteers, who included: Frankie Sargent (thanks for bringing your big grill and cooking in the heat), Jacques Glover, Daniel McCary, Robbie Hedges, Zack Hedges, Rhonda Hedges, Jeanie Jaggers, Sara Neal, Suzanne Charlton, Bronson Roper, Austin Neal, Jonathan & Benjamin McCain, Cory Kessler, Devin Phillips, Kelly Pierce, and Weldon & Jo Ann Miller. Thanks also to Rodney Cook and Tim Dale at Western Sizzlin for loaning us a meat warmer, and finally THANKS to the "anonymous donors" who provided either the food items or the money needed to purchase the dogs, burgers, buns, trimmings, chips, cookies, and drinks. Forgive me if I missed anyone, but THANKS! D. Mc.
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You are cordially invited to a
Bridal Shower Honoring
Keely Roper
Bride-elect of Daniel McCary
on June 19, 2005
2:00 pm to 3:30 pm
in the multi-purpose room
North Jefferson church of Christ
2311 North Jefferson
Mt Pleasant, Texas
Selections at: Mason Hardware, Target, and Wal-Mart
(Keely would love to have a copy of your favorite recipe)
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Rhodney's "Funny Bone"
Youth is such a wonderful thing. What a crime to waste it on children.
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PRAYER LIST
Justin Barker, Rachel Barker, Louis Bell, Annah Brown, Sue Browning, Billye Campbell, Perry Cooper, Vernon Garrett, Zenith Hargrove,
Howard Horton, Hollis Lee, Winnie Patton, Johnnie Rex Phillips, Helen Roper, Dorothy Sargent, Alva Mae Sheets, Jody Sparks
ALSO: Melba Boyd, Denise Dering, Wesley & Juanita DuBose, Ruby Jeffery, Bascom Perkins, Lonita Thompson
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I've had it With Sports!
That's right brethren, your preacher is fed up with sports of every kind, and I have decided just to quit them all completely! Mind you, I'm not talking about giving up on just the Dallas Cowboys, pathetic losers that they have been the past few years, I'm talking about giving up on the whole enchilada - football in the fall; basketball and hockey in the winter; baseball, tennis, and golf in the spring and summer; and soccer the year around. I am done with them all! I am giving them all up entirely! The sports business will never see another dime of my money, nor will they ever see me in attendance at another game. In fact, I don't intend to waste another moment of my time attending a sporting event or even watching an event on television.
Do you want to know why I'm so disgusted with sports? I can give you 10 good reasons why I'll never have anything to do with sports ever again! Here they are:
1.When I was a kid my parents made me go to all the games. I resented their cramming sports down my throat like that. Now that I am no longer under their authority, I'm not going to attend any more games.
2.Every time I went to a game the people in charge asked me for money. Not only that, they never seemed to be satisfied with what they received, because they were always asking for more money for special events, even though they raised the ticket prices nearly every year.
3.Some games went into overtime, which caused me to be late for dinner or my favorite TV shows. If they can't get out on time, I'm just going to stay home.
4.I went to a lot of games, but never once did the coaches come by to visit me in my home.
5.The seats in most of the stadiums are too hard and not at all comfortable, especially when the games run into overtime. Besides, it's always too hot or too cold in those stadiums to suit me., and it even rains sometimes in Texas stadium with that hole in the roof!
6.The people I sat by at the last game I attended were not very friendly. Even if I hadn't rushed to my car before the last buzzer, I doubt they would have stayed around to visit with me after the game.
7.It often seemed to me like some of the folks who attended the games were hypocrites. I suspect some came only to see their friends, to observe what others were wearing, or just to watch the halftime show.
8.The games were never exciting enough. I often left feeling like I hadn't received anything from being there. If the umpires and referees weren't so demanding of the teams playing by the rules it might have been more entertaining, but it's just the same old-fashioned game week after week, year after year.
9.One of the things that contributed greatly to my disenchantment with sports was the fact that the games were mostly played on Sundays, which is the only day I have off from work, and the only day I can sleep in. Besides that, they even had the audacity to schedule some games at night, in the middle of the week, when I was too tired to attend after a hard day's work. What really made me mad, though, was when they suggested I was really not a loyal sports fan if I wouldn't attend the midweek games.
10.Finally, I don't plan to attend any more games because if I did I would have to take the boys along too. I don't want to force the boys to be sports fans by cramming it down their throats like my parents did to me. I want them to be able to decide for themselves what sport/s they like best, or even whether or not they will ever participate as a sports fan at all.
Of course by now you're bound to realize I've had my tongue firmly planted in my cheek, as I've merely shared the excuses people use for not being faithful to the Lord. The real reason I don't attend more sporting events is I really don't care all that much about sports. I suspect that's also the real reason why people aren't more faithful to the Lord, because they really don't care all that much about Christ and His church. Do you care? David McCain
When No one Is Watching
-Floyd Kaiser
(Guest article from "The Southwesterner" - Ada, OK)
There is no doubt that obedience to the word of God was a central theme to Jesus' preaching and teaching. In Matthew 7:21 Jesus announced, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven."
Even though we think we understand everything about obeying God, I'm not so sure we do. Take for instance what Paul wrote in Philippians 2:12, "So then, my beloved just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling."
Consider that OBEDIENCE IS TO BE RENDERED EVEN WHEN NO ONE IS WATCHING.
The Apostle was instrumental in establishing the Philippian church and preached for them occasionally through the years. They were like a family to him. He longed to be with them. However, when he writes this letter, he is in a Roman jail having been persecuted for preaching the gospel. He's away from them.
So, he writes and admonishes them to go right on obeying God in his absence. Even when their beloved preacher was not around to see what they were doing, he says, "Obey just like you always have."
It's a problem for our youth especially. Often they will think, "I can't wait to leave home and get out from under the star of Mother and Dad. I can't wait to not have to account to them for everything I do." I have seen it happen numerous times when teenagers go to college that they go through a period when they go relatively wild. They suddenly have no one watching their every move. No curfew. No rules. They don't even have to clean up their room. For many kids, it takes a while of this before they come back to how they were raised.
But, it is not just a problem with young people. I've seen fine Christian adults who fell prey to temptation while on business trips. Being away from their spouse, they do things they would have never thought of doing while at home.
Sometimes we do better when we know that someone is watching. However, obedience to God should never be contingent upon someone watching. Why? Because obedience to God should not be something we do just to please others. It must be from the heart. It needs to become part of our nature.
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