The Visitor » 2010 » January

HERE AND THERE
by Wes Price

We will be looking forward to having Karl Jones with us tonight to preach for us. Every time I catch him with a free Sunday evening, I try to get him to give you folks some really good preaching. Come and join us for a great message from God’s Word.
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Join Mack Lyon and Phil Sanders on IN SEARCH OF THE LORD’S WAY this coming Sunday, January 24th, at 7:00 a.m. on Channel 27, KDFI-TV for an interesting lesson entitled, “Born of God.” What does it mean to be “born again”? Is it some kind of “better felt than told” experience? Is it some feeling one gets at the “mourners’ bench? What does the Bible say about our new birth in Christ? I believe you will profit from the biblical answers given in this lesson

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The church received a lovely note from Rick and Rhonda Ramsey thanking us for all the cards, prayers, phone calls and visits while Lewis Hinton was in the hospital. He is now back at their home. Keep praying for his complete recovery. ————-

ATTACK IS ALL I KNOW – During one of the battles at Shiloh of the Civil War, a young boy who was serving as the drummer for a northern regiment was ordered to beat “attack.” Responding to his sharp summons, the troops stormed up a hill, but met fierce enemy fire and came to a halt. The captain called to the boy to beat “retreat.” The boy drummed, but again he beat “attack.” I said, “retreat,” the officer shouted. Tears came to the boy’s eyes and he said, “Captain,” ‘attack’ is all I know. They never taught me to beat ‘retreat’” Hearing the familiar signal, the men resumed their onslaught and to their own surprise captured and took the hill. When one becomes a Christian, his only orders are to march forward in serving God and fighting sin. He must
face the worst enemy mankind has ever known—the devil. Peter describes this enemy and warns, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Peter 5:8). Paul teaches, “Neither give place to the devil” (Eph. 4:27), and “Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Eph. 6:11). There is no turning back! When the going gets rough, it is a temptation to retreat, but the Lord wants us to continue our attack and never retreat. Benny Bristow-

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We regret to announce that Jean Lovell will be moving to Bedford. As soon as we have her address and telephone number, we will make it available to you. Keep her in your prayers as she makes this difficult move. It is necessary so that she can be closer to her children and we all certainly understand both her pain of leaving and necessity of moving.
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Colossians 3:15
Let the peace of God
rule in your hearts.

PRAYER LIST
Tom Duvall – Grace Presbyterian Village – Room 1016 Tom is improving.

Lewis Hinton is back home with Rick & Rhonda Ramsey.

Felix Gonzales will begin radiation treatments on Jan. 26 for cancer.

Ann Miller, sister of Fran Womelsdorff, will have surgery on January 21 for carotid arteries.

Sherry Reynolds, daughter of Evelyn Dillon, is scheduled for colon surgery on Tuesday, Jan. 26 at 2:15 p.m. in the Baylor Hospital Hoblitizel Building.

Rita Wood’s dental surgery has been rescheduled for Jan. 25.
Remember All On The Prayer List: R. C. Bell; Addie Bennett; Dr. “J” Coats; Urbanelle Cox; Ruby Faas; Gloria Garcia; Magdalena Gonzalez; Rita Harrison; Doris Henry; Bill Hinton; Ed Horn; Mike & Mary Jackson; Mary Catherine Jayroe; Jean LaPine; Nancy Lindley; Jacob & Joyce Locke; Pat Mercer; Dorothy Mooney; Billie Morgan; Bobby Muirhead (sister of Billie & Jean Thompson); Vernon & Mary Ruth Percival; Henrietta Pummill, Eugenia Ratliff (sister of Ann Taylor); Lois Rodriquez; Mary Russell; Nancy Spurgeon; Treva Traylor; Augustina Vasquez; Fran Womelsdorff; Marie Works
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VITAL SIGNS: January 10, 2010 Bible Study 59 Offering $4,166.00 Morning Worship 81 Budget $2,893.27 Afternoon Worship 44 Wed. Eve. Bible Study 1/06/2010 36

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Ladies & Men’s Bible Classes
Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at 10:30 a.m.
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THE PARADOXES OF THE CROSS OF CHRIST
Jesus Christ Came into the World (1 Tim. 1:15; Matt. 20:28) That We may Enter into Heaven (John 14:1-3; 2 Cor. 5:1)

Jesus Christ was Born in the Flesh (John 1:14; 1 John 4:2-3) That We may be Born of Spirit (John 3:5; 1 Pet. 1:23)

Jesus Christ was Born of Woman (Gal. 4:4; Isaiah 7:14) That We may be Born of God (John 1:11-12; 1 John 5:4)

Jesus Christ Became Son of Man (Phil. 2:5-8; Luke 19;10) That We may be Sons of God (1 John 3:1-2; Gal. 4:6)

Jesus Christ Accepted Poverty (2 Cor. 8:9; Luke 9:58) That We may be Made Rich (2 Cor. 8:9; Eph. 2:7)

Jesus Christ was Rejected of Men (John 1:11-12; Isaiah 53:3) That We may be Accepted of God (Eph. 1:6; Acts 10:34)

Christ Became the Man of Sorrows (Isaiah 53:3; Matt 23:37) That We may Rejoice and be Glad (Phil. 4:4; 1 Pet. 4:13)

Jesus Christ was Made Sin for Us (2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Pet. 2:22-24) That We may be Righteous of God (2 Cor. 5:21; 1 John 3:7)

Jesus Christ was Put to Death (Luke 24:46; Matt. 16:21) That We may be Made Alive (Col. 2:13; Eph. 2:1)

Jesus Christ was Cursed on Earth (Gal. 3:13; Isaiah 53:7-8) That We may be Blessed Above (Gal. 3:14; Rev. 14:13)
================================================== LET’S FACE UP TO IT
A catalog of man’s sins and weaknesses seem almost endless but one weakness leads the way. We have never been quite willing to accept a personal responsibility for the things that we do. It started in the Garden and has not stopped. Flip Wilson capitalized on this weakness with his. “The devil made me do it.” Parents are blamed for the misconduct of their children; husbands or wives are made to feel guilty for the shameful acts of a philandering mate; elders and preachers are held responsible for erring church members; when someone quits coming to worship, word is circulated that they can’t come because of the misconduct of someone who is coming. This is pure nonsense! In most cases, it is because of personal responsibility in unpleasant situations. Since the time will come when we will have to accept full personal responsibiltiy for every-thing that we have done in this life, why not start now? We cannot accept the responsibility for what others do, but we can and must accept full personal responsibility for what we do, so let’s face up to that now while we can. (Read 2 Cor. 5:10) Layton Plaster of Kansas City

IMPOSSIBLE SILENCE
Should a person keep his religion to himself? Do you consider it “bad form” to talk about religion? Most of us at one time or another have had to deal with someone who used little tact in their approach. To put it mildly, they were obnoxious! So perhaps then and there we decided that from now on we would be silent about our Christianity. If that has been our choice, we have made a big mistake. Why? Because that’s incompatible with being a Christian. We have our marching orders from Jesus and that involves teaching all nations – something the early Christians did with enthusiasm. Being silent was not, and is not, an option (Matthew 28:18-20). The apostles had to deal with authorities who told them “not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.” Obey man or God? That was the question, God said speak; man said be silent. Do you remember their response? “But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; {20} for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:19-20). We should be thankful for their decision. As H. G. Wells once said, “The trouble with so many people is that the voice of their neighbors sounds louder in their ears than the voice of God.” Remember the conduct of the early Christians when they were being persecuted for their faith. They were scattered abroad, but they were not silent. They “went about preaching the Word” (Acts 8:4). We, too, need to understand that we are associated with God in a divine purpose and “we cannot but speak the things we have seen and heard.”
John Gipson Windsong Church of Christ
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HERE AND THERE
by Wes Price
We are pleased to tell the congregation about our newest member. He is Chester Rowland who was baptized on Monday afternoon. He is the brother-in-law of Oleta Landin, the widower of her sister Lillian. Oleta has been studying with Chester about his own destiny nearly since the passing of her sister. And her efforts were brought to fulfillment when Chester made the good confession and was baptized into Christ. He will be ninety-six on his next birthday. We hope that his health will permit him to be with us today, but we never-the-less rejoice over his new birth in Christ.
There are copies of the 2010 Budget of the Jefferson Boulevard church available in the foyer. Feel free to review it and ask one of the elders if you have any questions about it.
As best we can tell, all the members of this congregation have now received a copy of the book, “The Family of God” by Batsell B. Baxter. If you were missed, please let the office know and we will mail you a copy. You will be pleased to know that in their latest report, Doyle and Barbara Kee reported the distribution of Bibles which we sent funds last year to help purchase in the French speaking countries of Africa. They were distributed in Bujumbura and Muganyi, Brumdi and Goma, Bukava, Uvira and Fisi, RD Congo. Now let’s pray that God will work powerfully through His word in these Bibles for the salvation of those precious souls in Africa and continue to pray for Doyle and Barbara and their work there.
By Jan 4, 2010, we have sent World Bible booklets to new students in Kenya: 234 and in Sierra Leona, 199 for a total of 433. We have 43 members who have at least 1 WBS student and 7 of the 43 have students in both Kenya and Sierra Leone.
We still have addresses available for new students in Kenya. Please continue to join us in mailing these lessons.
We were saddened this past week on January 1, with the passing of our beloved sister and friend, Mary Taylor. She brought the new year in with great style by saying goodbye to this world and journeying to her new home in heaven. Her memorial service was held at the graveside in Laurelland on Sunday afternoon, January 3. Her son-in-law, Gayland Lamb did a beautiful job with his remarks about this wonderful Christian. I am personally glad to have been considered her friend for more than thirty years. We will look forward to seeing her again on the other side. When life gets rough, you want some good news. Today, there’s some really good news from the Word of God. It can make an eternal difference to your soul. The gospel is good news every person must have.
Join Mack Lyon and Phil Sanders on IN SEARCH OF THE LORD’S WAY, January 17, at 7:00 a.m. on Channel 27, KDFI-TV for their message on THE GOSPEL.

REJOICE! NEW CHRISTIAN (95 Years Old)
Chester Rowland
756 Bizerte Ave Dallas, TX 75224 Phone # 214-948-7284
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PRAYER LIST
Tom Duvall – Methodist Central – Room 4151 Felix Gonzales will begin radiation treatments on Jan. 26 for cancer. Rita Wood will have dental surgery Monday.
Remember All On The Prayer List: R. C. Bell; Addie Bennett; Dr. “J” Coats; Jack Coe (son-in-law of Wayne & Nadine Pruett); Urbanelle Cox; Ruby Faas; Gloria Garcia; Magdalena Gonzalez; Rita Harrison; Doris Henry; Bill Hinton; Lewis Hinton; Ed Horn; Mike & Mary Jackson; Mary Catherine Jayroe; Jean LaPine; Nancy Lindley; Jacob & Joyce Locke; Muriel McMillion, Pat Mercer; Dorothy Mooney; Billie Morgan; Bobby Muirhead (sister of Billie & Jean Thompson); Vernon & Mary Ruth Percival; Henrietta Pummill, Lois Rodriquez; Mary Russell; Nancy Spurgeon; Treva Traylor; Ann Tomaszewski’s Aunt Lou; Augustina Vasquez; Fran Womelsdorff; Marie Works
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VITAL SIGNS: January 3, 2010 Bible Study 59 Offering $3,651.50 Morning Worship 82 Budget $2,893.27 Afternoon Worship 42 Wed. Eve. Bible Study 12/30/09 26 ———–

Ladies & Men’s Bible Classes
Tuesday, January 12, 2010 at 10:30 a.m.
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NEW ADDRESS FOR:
Marie Works 7757 S. FM 148 Kaufman, TX 75142-7227

Mary Russell % Pat Morris 239 Autumnwood Trail Gun Barrel City, TX 75156

Phone 903-887-1498

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Reflections – By Jack Armstrong

By the time this article gets to you all the huffing and puffing and shopping and gift swapping will have come and gone. It’s a happy sentimental time, but somehow I think we’ve all gone a little overboard in the giving of gifts.

Even though we may not feel like this is the right time of year for our Lord to have been born, what with the shepherds out in the fields and all, we can still have a season of good will and family get-togethers. Actually, we celebrate the Lord each first day of the week by communing around his table to show our love for him, our faith in him, and our thanks to him for what he did for us.

Of all things to happen, our kids wanted us to have the get-together for the holidays at our house and eveything turned out fine.

We pray you all had some wonderful times with your families, and all went great!

We would like to take a line or two to thank Bro. Wes and Alma for the planning of the get-togethers and their special classes during the past year. I know it takes a lot of time and effort to do what you two do and we just want you to know we love you dearly and appreciate you so much!!

It’s been great visiting with you and we’ll see you next time the good Lord willing.

Remember: “When Duty Becomes Desire” Semper Fidelis (Always Faithful)