“But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness…” Matt. 6:33

March 4, 2007 Volume 7, Number 9

ASSIGNMENTS

SUNDAY AM

Pat Lambert….……...…ANNOUNCEMENTS
Eric Gott….……................…LEAD SINGING
Tom Hodge.……....……..OPENING PRAYER
Tom Hodge.……..………………...SPEAKER
Steve Livingston.......……CLOSING PRAYER
Michael Long & Heath Blair..…...….GREETERS
Steve & Melanie Livingston.. HALL MONITORS

LORD'S TABLE
Michael Long, Ed Lewis, Heath Blair
Jeff Dickson, Jimmy Fazekas, James Pendley



Chad West....…....….....……….SERVE NURSERY
Wanda Morris…………..…PREPARE COMMUNION
Deana Pendley…..…BAKE COMMUNION BREAD
Tom & Pam Hodge.CLEAN LORD'S SUPPER TRAYS

PICK UP COMMUNION CUPS
AND CHECK VISITOR’S CARDS
Pat and Cheryl Lambert
Ethan, Austin and Jordan Lambert

COUNT CONTRIBUTION
Kip Jones, Fred Duke, Eric Gott and Jimmy Fazekas

SUNDAY PM

Pat Lambert……...…..…ANNOUNCEMENTS
Jeff Dickson.…....…………...LEAD SINGING
Gene Pennington..….…...OPENING PRAYER
Tom Hodge……...…………………SPEAKER
Ed Lewis…..…....……….CLOSING PRAYER
Michael Long & Heath Blair.........…GREETERS
Paul Baker...……....……….LORD'S SUPPER

WEDNESDAY NIGHT

Pat Lambert……….ANNOUNCEMENTS
Heath Blair.….…....…...LEAD SINGING
Kip Jones….…………..………..PRAYER
Steve Conner……………..INVITATION

Schedule of Services

Sunday

Bible Study…………………... 9:30 AM

Worship…………………….. 10:25 AM

Evening Worship…………….. 5:00 PM

Wednesday

Bible Study…………………… 6:30 PM

Attendance Record

Bible Class…....…...........48
Worship…………............73
 Sunday Evening..................56
 Wednesday Night …….....n/a

 

News and Notes

 

Couples’ Retreat
The 10th Annual Couples’ Retreat in Gatlinburg, Tennessee was enjoyed by 26 people from 5 congregations. We were blessed with safety, good weather, and good fellowship. We took part in nightly devotionals and worshipped together with the Sevierville church of Christ.

Teen Rally Meeting
All teens, parents, and others who are involved with preparations for the Teen Rally on March 10 are asked to meet Wednesday night Feb. 28 after Bible study in the auditorium. Also, we will meet here at the building Saturday morning, March 3rd at 9:00 AM to advertise our Teen Rally.

Somebody Loves You Banquet
Sunday, March 4 at 3:30 P.M.
Honoring those age 50 and over
Hosted by our Teens and Youth

Area Youth Devotional at Jacksonville
Our young people and several adults will be attending the area devotional that will be at the Jacksonville Church of Christ this Sunday, March 4. The group will be leaving our building at 5:00 PM for the devotional at 6:00 PM.

Ladies Bible Class
The Ladies Bible Class meets every Wednesday morning at 10:00 AM. Kim Gott is the teacher.

“Beacons of Light”
Those age 50 and over are encouraged to attend a re-organizational meeting for the “Beacons of Light” on Sunday, March 11th after evening services. This group has done several service projects in the past and they plan to continue this good work.

“Cheer Group”
Our youth in the 6th grades and under will once again have a “Cheer Group” to work on projects to encourage others. They will meet each month when the men have Leadership Meetings. The first “Cheer Group” project will be on Sunday, March 25 at 3:00 PM. They will meet upstairs to work on their projects. Thanks to Kim Gott for organizing these efforts.

 

“Care Packages”
The Ladies Bible Class will be sending “Care Packages” to Robert Stigers and Gary Sanders in Iraq. If others would like to contribute to the packages, the following items are suggested: beef jerky, Jolly Ranchers candy, cheese or peanut butter crackers, canned chips, Starburst candy, Skittles candy, chocolate chip cookies, dried fruit, nuts, fruit snacks, Fruit Rollups, envelopes, Ziploc baggies, Post-it notes, sunscreen, Chapstick, and magazines (Popular Mechanics, Popular Science, Time, People, Entertainment Weekly and any sports magazine). These items are needed by March 14th. You can place them in Room 105 –the Ladies Class room.

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Area Events

Area Wide Singing

Arab Church of Christ

Friday, March 2 at 7:00 PM



Ladies’ Day

Ironaton church of Christ in Talladega

Saturday, March 3rd - Registration at 9:00 AM

Speaker: Pam Clark

“What on Earth are we Teaching our Children?”



“Our Christian P’s and Q’s”

Saturday, March 10 – Registration at 8:30 AM

Speaker: Rebecca Horn

Oxford Church of Christ

 

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Paul’s View of the Church

 

The apostle Paul was an inspired writer and wrote a large portion of the New Testament. When he became a Christian, he spent the rest of his life preaching and teaching the truth, thus expanding the borders of the kingdom. He died a faithful Christian (2 Timothy 4:6-8). We may assume his view of the church would be correct and that it is one we should all hold today. So what was Paul’s understanding of the church?

Paul’s view of the church was that it was grand and glorious (Ephesians 5:27 ). Rather than minimizing the church, he exalted it and lifted it up before the eyes of the world. He was willing to suffer in any way to help people enter into it. The glory of Christ was to be seen in the church ( 3:21 ).

To Paul, the church was beautifully connected to Christ as the head of the body (Colossians 1:18 ), and Christ was to have preeminence in it. As its head, Jesus is the fullness of the body (Ephesians 1:22 -23). Paul had no problem seeing the church as one because he viewed it as the body of Christ (4:4) and realized Christ has only one body.

Thus, Paul often stressed the oneness and unity of the church. To a divided church at Corinth in his day, he wrote a condemnation of their divided state over men and urged them to give up their allegiance to men and follow Christ alone (1 Corinthians 1:10 -15). We can rightly assume that Paul would pronounce the same condemnation upon denominationalists today who give their allegiance to the authority of men over that of Christ. Paul strongly believed that divisions in the church over men were sinful. He believed that Jesus’ prayer of unity of the church was to be followed (John 17:20 -23) and that if the Lord prayed for such unity, it must be possible to have it.

Paul also saw the church as a unit made of many differing parts. In speaking of the church as a body, he taught that the one body has many different roles in it. In 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 and Romans 12:4-8, he urged individual Christians to use their special talents and abilities in the church to help it function and grow. Each member is to respect the roles of others because all play an important part in the body.

Paul’s view of the church also included the truth that the church was the kingdom of God on earth. To the church at Colossae he wrote, “who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love” (Colossians 1:13 ASV). Rather than viewing the kingdom as coming at some future time, Paul saw it on earth now and being delivered back to God when Jesus comes again (1 Corinthians 15:24). Paul was not a premillenialist.

One other fact stands out in Paul’s understanding of the church. He saw the church as a body commissioned to uphold and proclaim the truth (Ephesians 3:9-11; 1Timothy 3:15 ). This fact is reflected in his writings and his actions. His epistles are filled with admonitions to preach the Word and to oppose false doctrine (2 Timothy 4:1-2). Those in error are to be disfellowshiped by the church if they refuse to give up their false teachings (Romans 16:17 ). His tireless efforts to carry the gospel to the lost and many persecutions testify to his zeal to teach the truth and to uphold the gospel (2 Corinthians 11:16 -33).

Paul felt strongly about the one true church of Christ . He saw it as the glorious body of Christ, the kingdom of God on earth. Because of this belief, he taught the truth about the church and sought to keep it pure doctrinally. He stood for the unity of the body and opposed all who would divide it. We would do well to have Paul’s view of the church and to follow it today.

by Walter Swain
February 2007 – Gospel Advocate

 

                                                                              

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 In Our Prayers

Updates: Kevin Edmondson was back at services last Sunday, we are thankful he is better. Marshall Hall received a good report on his recent heart tests. Don Guest, father of Stacy Long, is now at home. Georgia Parnell has not been feeling well due to her heart problems and arthritis. David White, one of our young people here at East Gadsden , was involved in a car accident last week. He is undergoing tests for a possible concussion and internal injuries. Cristy Chumney was scheduled for tests in Birmingham on Feb. 26. Remember all of these in your prayers.

Sympathy: We offer our deepest sympathy to Jolaine Bowers and her family in the death of her mother, Betty Lankford. Mrs. Lankford’s funeral service was held on Monday, Feb. 26.

Shut In: At Home- Frances Wesson, Martha Phillips and Ruby Brown; Floyd Hollis is at his daughter’s home and Katie Pendley is at Wanda’s home

Coosa Valley Healthcare: Canolia Bone –Rm 208

Meadowood Retirement-Walter Thompson Rm 107

Prayer Requests: Canolia Bone; Doyle and Betty May; Amanda Davis; Melissa Telfrey; Katie Pendley; Russell Horton; Floyd Hollis; Marvin Wing; Larry Phillips, kidney transplant soon; Janice James; Harvey Sheppard; Ed Turner; Shelia Stansell; Ruby Brown; Frank Payne, colon cancer; Ken Pylant, friend of the Hodges, has prostate cancer; Ottey Simon-young girl from Guyana with an eye tumor; Amy Stigers and Anna Sanders and their families as Robert and Gary are in Iraq; Sara Murphy- 7 yr old girl with non-Hodgkins lymphoma; Rita Waller, sister of Sandy Statom, who has lost peripheral vision in both eyes; Shane Leath, a relative of Wanda Laney, has leukemia and other health problems; Tara Lovell, friend of the Blys, has health problems; Bill Carter, friend of the Blys, has a spot on his lung; Merlene & Steve Gregory, anniversary of their son’s death; Kendall Conder, friend of Kacie Jackson, having health problems; Grant Lassiter, friend of Kacie Jackson, having family problems; family of Ronnie & Cheri Kitchens; family of Betty Lankford; Cristy Chumney-having tests; Jennifer Adair-has cancer; Jeannie Drieling-having tests for possible eye tumor

In the Military- Mack Johnson, William Gregory, Jared Jacobs, Jeff Brewster, Steven Whitehead, Randy Brown, Johnny Matherne, Jeff Erwin, Bill McCarver, Stan Gunter, Kevin Latta, Allen Yancey, Nathan Silvey, Gary Sanders and Robert Stigers

God’s Word

2 Tim 2:24-3:1 NKJV

“24 And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient,

25 in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, 26 and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.”

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Weekly Programs

Radio: Sun. at 8 AM - WAAX/570

With Ronny Johnson



TV: "In Search of the Lord's Way"

with Mack Lyon

Sunday at 7:30 AM - Channel 11



"Preaching the Gospel" with James Watkins

Sunday at 7 AM - Channel 11



“Dayspring” with James Segars

Mondays at 9:30 a.m. on Channels 8 & 14



Jerry Jenkins - Thursday at 7 PM - Channel 5

Earl Barnett - Sunday at 6 AM- Channels 4 & 9