A Deliberate Sacrifice
During our Lord's earthly abode He said, concerning His life, "No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself" (John 10:10). Now, when Christ died on the cross, it was because He gave up His life voluntarily; no man had the power to take it from Him – He gave Himself as a ransom for all (I Timothy 2:6; Acts 20:28).
Friends, in a voluntary sacrifice, one thing stands above all the rest and that point is LOVE. "Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down His life for us" (I John 3:16). You see, Christ loved mankind so much that he voluntarily laid down His own life for each and every one of us (Romans 5:6-9). But to accomplish this, He also had to voluntarily leave Heaven, take upon Himself the habitation of flesh (John 1:14), endure temptation (Matthew 4:1-11), and then be cruelly crucified for crimes which He did not commit. Yet, He did all of this deliberately.
Beloved, if our Lord was willing to do all of this, what should be our response to such a wonderful display of LOVE? The only proper response would be for us to love Him back (I John 4:19). Yet, how can we demonstrate this to Him? Remember, Christ did not leave us empty handed when seeking an answer to this question. He informed us that "if you love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15). Friends, the evidence of our love for Christ can only be seen in our deliberate submission to His will (Luke 9:23). Whether we are talking about one's initial obedience to the Gospel of Christ (Acts 2:38, Mark 16:15-16; Rom. 10:9-10; 10:17), returning to Christ as a wayward child of God by way of repentance and praying for forgiveness (Acts 8:22), or by growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior through continual hearing and of doing His will (Rev. 2:10; II Pet. 3:18). Christ voluntarily sacrificed for you and me because He loved us so – will we deliberately offer ourselves for His use because we love him too?
Allen Weakland
Current Concerns
Nancy Taylor received great results from her tests.
Rocio Chacon received a good report from her biopsies. She will eventually still have to have the tumor removed, but it is benign.
Betty Reeves, sister of Robbie Butler, fell on Monday night, August 11th. She has a broken arm and a large hematoma on her head.
Prayer List
Fran Arbuckle; Mildred Bell; Mark Brewer; Makalyn Conner; Rocio Chacon; Mildred Heslip; Cecil Hext; Estella Morolez; Lily Munos; Mable Riggs; Dolores Sanchez; Erin Whitlock; Delora Wood; Thomas Wood.
Shut-ins
Mary Dunn; Fay Gann; Cecil and Mildred Hext; Virgie Price; Charles Tucker.
Events
Watch In Search of the Lord's Way with Mack Lyon every Sunday morning at 7:30 am on CBS, channel 7. This week's topic will be entitled, "Things Old and New in Christ."
We will have special services on Sunday, August 31st. We will have our regular morning Bible class and worship service and then a potluck luncheon. We will have our evening service immediately following the potluck luncheon. There will be no 6:00 p.m. service.
The Northside Church of Christ in Midland will be hosting their Ladies' Day on August 23, 2008. Their theme is "The Way Christian Women Should Act in the Church." If at all possible please contact our office if you plan on attending so that we may give them an approximate head count at least a week before the event.
FYI
We will have a special collection on Sunday, August 17th for the following needs that have surfaced: Alan Villa Vencencio had emergency appendectomy and needs help with medical expenses, Paul Jayapaul needs an operation and needs help with the expenses, and Jean Grenier needs financial assistance to purchase building materials to complete his barn into a church building. Please plan ahead for this special contribution.
We are needing someone to head up organizing the visitation program. If you are interested and able to do this, please contact one of the elders.
The Truth for Today Commentary series edited by Eddie Cloer has published its newest commentary. This volume is 1st and 2nd Thessalonians by Dr. Earl Edwards of Freed-Hardeman University. We have one copy available for purchase for $29.99.
Odessa Christian School is in need of a computer teacher. If you are interested, contact Shona Wood.
Youth
There will be a youth devotional on August 17th for all junior high and high school kids immediately following evening services. It will be held at Lon and Lana's house and hosted by The Howard's and Glenna Callendar. Boys bring drinks and girls bring desserts.
Bible Quiz Question
We will be using questions from Nehemiah until November in order to help our study for the upcoming Bible search in Cleburne, TX. There will be more than one question to answer. Parents please try to help your children answer these questions at home.
This week's answers must be submitted by August 20th. (Read Nehemiah l:1-11 and Deut. 30:1-5)
Question: 1) What is Nehemiah talking about when he says, "We have dealt very corruptly against Thee?"2) Of what promise does Nehemiah remind Jehovah? 3) What condition would any return to Jerusalem require?
Office News
Our food coordinators for the month of August are Sharon Bell and Susan Simmons.
We are preparing to print out new pocket directories to be ready by the first week of September. There are several people whose information has changed and several of our newer members who have not turned in their information to the office. Please provide us with any new information as soon as possible.
We are trying to fill our pantry. Every two weeks we will have new suggested items. This week's suggestions are assorted fruit juices, canned meats, and canned potatoes.
| August 17, 2008 | Morning | Evening |
|---|---|---|
Announcements | Mike Smith | Mike Smith |
Song Leader | Ronnie Lane | Rudy Ochoa |
Sermon | Allen Weakland | Allen Weakland |
Opening Prayer | Mike Smith | Mike Smith |
Scripture | Harmon Rex | Lon Howard |
Second Prayer | Jordan Horton | Ronnie Lane |
Closing Prayer | Steve Horton | John Bethune |
|
||
West |
John Wood |
Craig Wesson |
East |
Tony Marrs |
Jeff Wood |
Other Responsibilities: Elder: Mike Smith ~ Deacon: Don Easlon ~ Pulpit: Jeff Wesson ~ Table: John Wood ~ Song Leaders: Ronnie Lane
Sunday AM
"Humility of Christ"
(Matthew 23:11)
Sunday PM
"Crown Him Lord of All"
(Colossians 1:13-18)
Our Records
Bible Class... 101
Morning Worship... 157
Evening Worship... 103
Wednesday... 126
Contribution $4,955.99