Nile Street Notes

Anna Church of Christ

104 Nile Street, Anna, Illinois 62906

833-5815

Vol 23. Issue 17 April 26, 2009

IF YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO, DO IT

“.... They were men that understood the times and knew what Israel ought to do.”
– 1 Chronicles 12:32

     You will find many experts with knowledge of the times today. They can identify all the conditions and attitudes prevailing in our society. Based upon what has happened before and what is happening now, they are able to predict what is going to happen soon. And some of what they expect is not very pretty, not too pleasant to think about.
     For some years, before the moral bottom seemed to fall out of civilization, we heard a great deal from the experts about the inevitability of man’s progress. Evolutionists and all their kin and ilk assured us that man would go forward as surely as sparks fly upward. We do not hear that much these days. Instead it appears that man may destroy himself and his whole world. The wiser of the wise-guys are looking for holes in which to escape the consequences of their own inventions. Prejudice, hatred, envy and lust have always produced and supported the tension that explodes easily into violence. Self-serving and power hungry people have never cared who else may be hurt so long as they get their own. Moral perverts seek to control the minds of others in order to gain more freedom to indulge themselves. Man has the power to destroy himself both physically and morally – not only does he have the inclination to destruction, he has the power to destroy on a universal scale. Instead of creating a paradise, man has contrived a global madhouse. The experts have correct knowledge, but they do not really understand the times. Their explanations too often leave God out. They do not know what the people ought to do, now or at any other time. When people do not know the scriptures and the power of God they are easily mistaken about what they should or should not do (Matthew 22:29). It may seem trite to say it, but if mankind would “fear God and keep His commandments” (Ecclesiastes 12:13), people would not have to be so desperately afraid of each other today. We need to find out which way God wants us to go, and get going in that direction.
     We need a REVIVAL. We must have a revival of interest in truth, in wholesomeness, and spiritual godliness. We need a revival of attention, of listening while God speaks to us. We will certainly perish unless we experience a revival of zeal in doing what we already know to do. If you do not know what to do, you had better be finding out. And when you know you ought to do, you had better do it.

– Gerald Cowan via The Encourager

SERMON TOPICS

A.M. – The church of Christ’s Choice”

(Matt. 16:17-18)

P.M. – “The Glory of Heaven” – Part 2

(Rev. 21:10-18)

Those For Whom We Are Praying:

Kathleen Ritchey

Rosemary Dillow’s mother & Son–in-law

Jerry & Betty Ward

Rodney & Nikki Lingle

Bill Whitnel

Ken and Gilda Snell

Lowell Karraker

Mitchell Shock – Grandson of Rosemary’s cousin.

Austin Detering – Baby battling pneumonia.

Carlos Wright

Veda Pryor

Wardell Barnhart's sister

Charles Dillow – Freda’s brother-in-law

Paul Etherton - Sara Wilkins' father. Cancer in lymph nodes.

Wisdom From Proverbs: “The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable: but the mouth of the wicked speaketh frowardness” (Prov. 10:32).

Quotable Quote: Draw a circle, not a heart, around the one you love because a heart can break but a circle goes on forever.

Welcome! If you're visiting with us, we extend you a special welcome and invite you to come back at every opportunity. If our worship seems unusual to you, please let us know what' you find different. We endeavor to worship "in Spirit and in truth" (Jn. 4:24) and do only what scripture authorizes (Col. 3:17, Deut. 4:2; Rev. 22:18-19).

UPCOMING ACTIVITIES/MEETINGS

* Gospel meeting concludes today at West End Blvd. in Cape. E. Ray Cox speaking.

* Gospel meeting in Vienna, IL w/Andy Erwin begins today& goes through Wednesday.

* Let’s remember to contact those that we haven’t see in a few weeks.

* We have invitation letters to our services to mail out. If you’d like to be a part of this, see R.W.

* Feel free to drop any Bible questions in the Question & Answer box in the foyer.

* Food Pantry needs canned fruit.

* Please read the information on the bulletin board concerning Pepsi’s support of the homosexual agenda. Their products are Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Mountain Dew, 7Up, Sierra Mist,

and others. Please read the label to see who produced the soda and avoid purchasing it. Should a Christian financially support such sin?

Hearing assistance for any service is available upon request.

BIBLE QUESTION/ANSWER:

Last week’s answer: It doesn’t. John Wesley is credited with saying this.

New question: Who volunteered to carry the Cross for Jesus?

Sentence Sermon: Worry is like a rocking chair; no matter how much you rock, you get nowhere.

Birthdays &Anniversaries

Ron & Susan Schultz - 4/29

A Lesson From Lamentations

There can be no doubt that the prophet Jeremiah held a special place in God’s divine plan for mankind. In the book of Lamentations, one reads poetry that expresses Jeremiah’s grief regarding the sinful attitudes of the people of Judah. God judged and punished the people for their sins, so what can we learn from their lesson?

First, we must notice that God will punish those that seek to live against His will. Lamentations 1:8, “Jerusalem hath grievously sinned; therefore she is removed all that honoured her despise her, because they have seen her nakedness: yea, she sigheth, and turneth backward.” The people of Jeremiah’s time lost their freedom and homes because of their unwillingness to obey God. As Jeremiah recorded, the people were punished because of sinned. God allowed them to make their own choices, but the people had to also own up to their decisions. Even with that being said, God’s punishment is aimed to serve many purposes; one main one is found in Proverbs 13:25.

Second, we should always remember that God is always willing to give us a chance to return to Him as long as we are “the one making the move.” Lamentations 3:22-23 records Jeremiah’s hope, “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning, great is thy faithfulness.” Today, in 2009, God still provides us with the opportunity to reconcile our lives to Him. There are two key words in the previous scripture. 1) Mercies are outward manifestations of pity and 2) Compassions are exhibitions of kindness shown as a result of being moved by pity. Both expressions are ascribed to God and both end with (s). My point is that God continues to shower us with pity and kindness in order to show us His love for us.

Finally, Jeremiah shows us in this short book that the way to reconcile with God must begin with man’s prayer for restoration. In Chapter 5 of the book, Jeremiah prays, “Turn thou us unto thee, O Lord, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old.” (v.21) Prophets were men called by God to call the people back to Him. When the people forgot about His ways, He sent these men to remind the people. Today, we do not have such prophets. Regardless of what some may say today, modern day prophets do not harmonize with the Bible 1 Corinthians 13:8 and Hebrews 1:1-2. We do need, however, to pray to God. Prayer must be done with a penitent heart and by the individual who needs God’s pity, compassion, and mercy. Have you prayed today?

- Ryan Thornsberry