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Nile
Street Notes
Anna Church of
Christ 104 Nile Street,
Anna, Illinois 62906 833-5815 |
Website: www.annachurchofchrist.com
Vol 23. Issue
32 August 9, 2009
Attitude Makes the Difference
When you have an unpleasant task to
perform,
ATTITUDE
makes the difference.
When you have a relationship to
mend,
ATTITUDE
makes the difference.
When failure has spoiled your day,
ATTITUDE
makes the difference.
When you come to the end of your
rope,
ATTITUDE
makes the difference.
When you find yourself among
negative people,
ATTITUDE
makes the difference.
When others have control over your
career,
ATTITUDE
makes the difference.
When all external supports are gone,
ATTITUDE
makes the difference.
When confronted with challenging
circumstances,
ATTITUDE
makes the difference.
When tempers rise and things are
tense,
ATTITUDE
makes the difference.
When our feelings and emotions are
crushed,
ATTITUDE
makes the difference.
When life has dealt you a hand
that’s unfair,
ATTITUDE
makes the difference.
When people insist on having their
way,
ATTITUDE
makes the difference.
When life calls you to her stage to
perform,
ATTITUDE
makes the difference.
- J.J. Turner
SERMON TOPICS
A.M. – “Did God Really Inspire The
Bible’s Writing?” (II Tim. 3:16-17)
P.M. – “The Silence and
Commandments
of
Holy Scripture” (Deut. 12:32)
Those For
Whom We Are Praying:
Nigeria & friend of
Gerald Cowan. Kidnapped and shot in the arm last Sunday night (8/2). Has been
released and his wounds are being treated. Please pray.
Kathleen Ritchey
Rodney & Nikki Lingle
Bill Whitnel
Ken and Gilda
Snell
Lowell Karraker
Mitchell Shock – Grandson of
Rosemary’s cousin.
Austin Detering
Carlos Wright – Dr. says cancer is currently “dormant.”
Charles Dillow – Freda’s brother-in-law
Paul Etherton - Sara Wilkins' father. Cancer in lymph nodes.
Jean Brown –
Kris’s aunt.
Diana Schultz
- Recovering from injuries sustained in a car crash.
John Bradley -
Broken finger is healing.
Wisdom From Proverbs: “He that is surety for a
stranger shall smart for it: and he that hateth
suretiship is sure” (If you promise to pay a
stranger’s debt, you will regret it. You are better off if you don’t get
involved) (Prov. 11:15).
Sentence Sermon: “Sin is not hurtful
because it is forbidden; it is forbidden because it is hurtful.”
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
* Thanks to all who took part in painting the
Fellowship Hall ceiling.
* Ladies’ Day will be September 19. Shelley Hazel will be the speaker and
the theme will be, “Women Teaching Women.” Italian food and salads have been decided on
for the luncheon. Sherry will post a sign-up sheet before Sept. 19. We plan to
feed 60.
* Today is Flower Fund Sunday.
* Let’s remember to contact those we haven’t seen in a few weeks.
* Please
continue to drop any Bible questions in the Question & Answer box in the
foyer.
* Also continue
boycotting Pepsi products as they support the homosexual agenda. If you haven’t
signed the boycott, why not?
Is it right for a Christian to financially
support sin?
Hearing assistance for any service is
available upon request.
BIBLE QUESTION/ANSWER:
Last week’s
answer: It was Aaron acting by
the command of Moses. Ex. 8:17
New question: Who made an axe head float?
Quotable
Quote: “The years teach much that
the days never know.” - Emerson
Birthdays &Anniversaries
Kody Travelstead - Aug. 9
Shane & Sara Jones - Aug. 10
Long Walk Part of Gift
An African boy listened carefully as
his teacher explained why Christians were such giving people. The teacher said,
“Jesus taught us that giving gifts is an expression of our love and friendship
for Him and each other. Jesus said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to
receive’” (Acts 20:35).
A couple of days later the boy
brought the teacher a seashell of lustrous beauty. “Where did you ever find
such a beautiful shell?” the teacher asked. The youth told her that there was
only one spot where such extraordinary shells could be found.
When he named the place, a certain
bay several miles away, the teacher was speechless. She knew that it would have
taken the young man hours to walk to the bay. Also, he would have faced many
dangers from the jungle and rocky cliffs of the seacoast along the way. “Why,
it’s gorgeous and wonderful, but you shouldn’t have gone all that way to get
the gift for me,” the teacher joyfully exclaimed.
His eyes brightening, the boy
answered, “Long walk part of gift.”
This story brings to mind the long
walk that was part of God’s gift to mankind. First Peter 1:20-21 states that
Jesus “was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in
these last times for you, who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from
the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.”
Christ’s long walk began in the mind
of God before the foundation of the world, and was proclaimed by the prophets
of the Old Testament. He then voyaged from heaven to earth to be born of a
virgin, and He grew up to show people the way of heaven. He walked upon the
earth and then went to a shameful cross to pay humanity’s debt of sin,
journeyed from the cross to the tomb, was resurrected on the third day, and
finally completed the journey by returning to heaven.
Hebrews 4:15-16 reminds us that “we
have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our
infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let
us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy,
and find grace to help in time of need.”
And we may ask, “Why all this
trouble, God?” And God would say to us, “The long walk was part of the gift.”
- Mark T. Tonkery
ONE
HUNDRED PERCENT MARRIAGE
The
success of marriage, or any other human relationship or endeavor, is a
percentage game. Someone with more rhetoric than logic and accuracy said, “If
you give a hundred percent to your marriage and your spouse also gives a
hundred percent, you will have a two hundred percent marriage.” It sounds good,
but it is not logical and cannot be true. It is like saying, “make a hundred
and ten percent effort.” It is supposed to mean simply “make an extra
effort, do more and give more than expected.” But literally giving or
doing one hundred and ten percent is impossible. If you give everything
you’ve got and do everything you are able to do, that is a hundred percent. You
cannot exceed that. Nobody can possibly give more than a hundred percent of
what he has, in anything. One hundred percent is all there is – there isn’t any
more. Now about the marriage, if each mate gives a hundred percent to the
marriage they will have a hundred percent marriage. If each one gives fifty
(that is called “meeting half way”) they will have a fifty percent marriage. If
one gives a hundred percent and the other gives five percent they will have a
five percent marriage. Unless the partners are trying to find ways to improve
their marriage as a personal relationship, continuing to give themselves
completely to it, they will not only have a deficient and defective marriage,
but may end up losing whatever they have already invested in it. Is there an
application to life in the church here? No one can have a one hundred percent
relationship with the church or with the Lord who is Head of the church unless
he gives one hundred percent of himself. If one expects and receives a hundred
percent from the church or the Lord, but only gives ten percent of himself, he
has a ten percent relationship. Many complain that “the church is not doing
enough for me,” when the fact is they are not giving enough of themselves to
secure any real or lasting benefits. Scripture says, “Give yourselves to God as
a living sacrifice” (Rom. 12:1). If you aren’t receiving properly from God or
from the church, perhaps you should examine what you are giving before you
start complaining.
- Gerald Cowan via The Encourager