Prayer
List
Kathy
Hill received a good report. We need to keep her in our prayeers.
Florene
Griffin is in Woodland Nursing Home room 423. It is behind TMC.
Dale
Counts did not received a good report
A
friend of Don Hickerson Della Skerkis has asked for our prayers.
James
Griffin, Jimmy Griffin, Jerry and Betty Harris, Billie Phillips,
Billie Bradford, Betty Clark, Eddie Hickerson, Gary Hickerson,
Dorothy Hodges, Bobbi King, Audrey McKin, Beryl Miller, Della Price,
Eddie Rolens, and Brian Scott.
Serving
in the military;
Faith Balzen,
Cody Blomstedt,
Travis Counts, and
Chris Johnson. All are in the U.S. at this time.
Tyler Davies has
been deployed to Guam.
Josh Van Deren is scheduled to be deployed to
Africa in July.
Let
us pray for our country and government leaders and those who are in
harms way, military and civilian personnel.
“The
effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much…
Don’t
Forget Our
Spring Meeting will be April 1st
to April 4th. Services will begin at 7:30pm each night. Plan now
to attend and invite others.
There
will be a Work Day March 31 8:00am to prepare the Church, Grounds and
House for our Meeting.
This
month’s Fellowship has been moved to April 1st
after morning worship service.
Pantry
Item:
April
Announcements: Don Harrington
Lord
Supper: Don Baker, Robert Courtney and Robert Embry
April
1 Prayers: Morning: Don Bake and Robert Embry
Evening:
Alex Miller and Greg Counts
Scripture Reading: Don Harrington
**********
IS YOUR
LIGHT SHINING?
by
A. C. Quinn
Christians
are to be lights--the influence of all that is good and
right--reflecting to a lost and dying world. The Son of God. Jesus
instructs Christians with these words: “Ye
are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be
hid. Neither do men light a candle,, and put it under a bushel, but
on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
Let your light
so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify
your Father which is in heaven.” (Matt.
5:14-16).
Most,
if not all, little children who have been brought up in the church
have been taught the song: “This
Little Light of Mine, I’m Gonna Let It Shine.” It,
of course, is based on Jesus’ instruction to “let your light
shine.” How tragic it is for Christians to teach such an imperative
lesson to the young only to teach them quite the contrary in real
life. Children grow up seeing and being influenced by parents and
others with whom they must live whose lights are hid “…under a
bushel.” You see, the imperative to let your light shine is also
embraced in Paul’s instruction to the Ephesians: “And,
ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in
the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Eph.
6:4).
Christian
influence--shining lights--does not only affect children and family;
it affects the world as well. Paul speaks to the church at Philippi
regarding this issue: “That
ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in
the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as
lights in the world” (Phil.
2:15). It is a forgone conclusion that it is difficult to get people
interested in God, the gospel, and the church. The primary reason for
this problem is the lights of Christians are not shining as they
should. As the old song so aptly expresses: “You
can’t be a beacon if your light don’t shine.”
How
does your light shine in the world around you? Is it a shining
example of the Lord demonstrated through faithfulness, love and good
works, or is it hid “..under a bushel” of worldliness and
unfaithfulness? How about your epistle? What do men read in the book
of your life? It is simply another demonstration of the Christian’s
life as it is lived daily before the world. What does the world read?
Make no mistake about it, it is read: “Ye
are our epistle
written in our
hearts, known
and read
of all
men: Forasmuch
as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle
of Christ
ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the
living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the
heart” (2Cor.
3:2-3).
There
will be an opening of the books (Revelation 20:12-15), and judgment
shall be based on the content of those books.
Is
your light truly shining? Is your epistle (book) fact or fiction?