West-Ark Newsletter, 12 May 2002

The past four weeks I challenged you through our Sunday morning sermons to encourage your faith in God to grow to new levels. The basic point of these lessons was to place your confidence in the God who gave us His son, Jesus Christ. The sermons were: Look At Life As God Does; Our Attempt for a Faithless Salvation; In Salvation's Recipe, There is no Substitute for Faith;
God's Purposes, Not Ours.

Last Sunday in each lesson (God's Purposes, Not Ours and Prayer: Three Levels of Concern) I challenged you to develop a specific understanding. Faith expresses confidence by prayerfully seeking God's eternal purposes.

Last Sunday I informed each assembly that Sunday's worship assembly (May 12th) would focus on praying. In what is considered "sermon time," I will share some readings and four different men will lead prayers. The prayers are to be what I refer to as "focus prayers." As worshippers, we will (1) humble ourselves before our Great God and (2) express confidence in Him and His purposes. Those who shall lead prayers are:

Please include May 12th worship assembles in your prayers this week. Make these requests to God through Christ. May the heart of each person present be touched in ways that bring each of us closer to God and each other. May God's Spirit work without resistance in our hearts, minds, and lives. May Jesus Christ be the Lord of each life present. May he direct every aspect of our lives every moment we live. Help Sunday be special occasions of worship. Do more than come. Come in a prayerful attitude. Come having spent a week prayerfully seeking God's guidance for your life and for this congregation.

The month of May is such a busy time for many of us. Graduations are happening, weddings are being planned, the first official holiday of the summer is only 2 weekends away, and another school year is almost history. Family vacations are being planned, and before we know it, the dog days of summer will be upon us. Then, of course, there's Mother's Day this weekend. Don't forget to send Mom a gift or at least a card.

Many of us in the congregation are preparing for Mission Trips in June to Guyana, South America or to The City of Children in Mexico. I appreciate the commitment from those who are making the trip but also the willingness of the West-Ark congregation to be involved in reaching out around the globe to share Jesus.

Our VBS will be happening July 22-26. If you'd like to help out, there is always room for volunteers in many capacities. Simply let me know that you're available or see Carolyn Harrell or Dena Jenkins for more information.

Currently, there are a couple of openings for teachers and co-teachers in several of our children's Bible Classes. If you're interested, please see Ted Edwards for more detailed information.

With all the activities that will fill our summer, you may be having a difficult time juggling schedules in your family in order to fit it all together. It's great to know that even in the busiest of times, God miraculously has your life all under control, and that you really don't have to worry about a thing. Even if you tend to stress about things - give it all over to Him!
We serve a God who has said, "Never will I leave; never will I forsake you." Remember also what he said in 1 Peter 5:7, "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." See you in Bible Class!

Congratulations to Amanda Burkhart who is graduating from the U of A with a B.S. in Communication Disorders. Amanda will be entering graduate school in August at NSU.

Congratulations to Luke Mason (formerly of West-Ark) who will graduate from Nixa High School on May 23rd. Luke is the son of Vicki Mason and grandson of Virgil and Dorotha Kirchner. Luke's announcement came with a note from Vicki (note below).

Dear West-Ark Family,
Luke, Amy, Mom, Dad, and I are thrilled to be able to send this announcement. Luke has come very far, and I'm proud of him. Without your love and support we would not have been able to make the move and seek the opportunities he needed. I think and pray for you all often. Anyone able to get up this way is certainly welcome. Give us a call at (417) 724-8018. Vicki Mason

**Banana Split #2**
Attention KFC 1 and 2. Sunday evening, May 19, we will celebrate the end of classes with the 2nd Annual World's Largest (as far as we know) Banana Split Extravaganza. Everyone come to the FLC and bring your appetite!

Cloy Evans, brother of Norma Jean Breedlove and Steven's uncle, is in ICU at Baptist Hospital, Little Rock following surgery. He has also been diagnosed with leukemia.

Robert Loudermilk in the death of his brother, Cliff. Funeral services were May 3rd in Detroit, Michigan. Robert's address is 6220 South 11th, Fort Smith, AR 72908.

Wayne and Glenda Roberts in the sudden death of their son, Randy, in Tennessee. Randy was recovering from a kidney transplant and developed an aggressive infection. The Roberts' Family had another loss this week when twin granddaughters were born prematurely and did not survive. If you would like to send Wayne and Glenda a card, their address is: 3419 South 27th, Fort Smith, AR 72903. If you would like to send a card to Randy Robert's family, the address is: The Roberts Family, 3436 Towne Village Road, Antioch, TN 37013.

Diane Arnold in the death of her father, Jack Bew, early Thursday morning in Little Rock. Funeral services are incomplete at this writing. Diane's address is 5004 South Cliff Drive, Fort Smith, AR 72903.

Desiring God's will for their lives
and believing that includes each other
Coleen Cowan and Paul Shirley
together with their children
invite you to share their joy
as they are united in marriage on
June 1, 2002, two o'clock in the afternoon
Center Street Church of Christ
Fayetteville, Arkansas
Reception to follow at
Ozark Mountain Smokehouse
215 W. Dickson Street, Fayetteville
RSVP by May 23, 2002
Call 474-5100 or (479) 632-4458

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Because you have
shared in our lives
by your friendship and love, we
Amanda Gayle Russell and Darren James Chilton
together with our parents
invite you to share the beginning of our
new life togetherwhen we exchange
marriage vows on Saturday, the eleventh of May
at six o'clock in the evening
3627 Free Ferry Road
Fort Smith, Arkansas
(home of Mitch and Robin Harper)
In the event of non-cooperative weather,
the ceremony and reception will be held at
West-Ark Church of Christ.

SEX, SEX, SEX: that's right sex is everywhere. It's even found its way into the church in 2002. Last week, I gave a brief introduction into "sex in today's culture" and this week we'll talk some more about how sex is affecting Christians today.

Don't be fooled, Mom and Dad: Satan is good at what he does! Whether you live in a Christian home or not, Satan can and will find a way to influence your children. You must be proactive! You must take control! You must know what is being watched, listened to, and "logged on" to in your home.
Our teenage girls and boys are being targeted by Satan like never before. He has found a way to create spiritual disasters with our kids through "sex media" and he's even convinced them that what they're doing is O.K.

You don't believe me. Let's see if you've heard this before: "But everyone has a tattoo." "Mom, getting my belly button pierced isn't bad. No one will even see it." "They don't make long shorts anymore. The only ones I can find are short." "I don't want to be a freak. I just want to look like everybody else." "They're just clothes. I don't see what the big deal is anyway." These are the comments I felt comfortable mentioning. I've heard many others.

Our girls, especially, are being influenced by today's T.V., radio, internet, country and pop music stars, and girls magazines at an alarming rate. It's "in" in today's culture to show your belly, pierce your belly, show your breasts, show your back, get a tattoo, etc. And it doesn't seem to matter where you are going: school, the mall, or even church. The dress is basically the same.

I hope we realize just how clear the Bible is about our dress, our appearance and our role as Christians in a lost world. I hope we realize what an awesome responsibility we have. I hope we realize that we are not our own. But maybe we don't realize this. Maybe that is evident by the lives we are living.

Maybe we don't even know that the Bible specifically talks about "tattoos" and "sex" and "the way we dress." Really! I've never read that Brad! Maybe it's time for God's people to learn what God's word says and start taking it to heart. I challenge all of you to read the following verses AS A FAMILY this week: Leviticus 19:28, I Corinthians 6:17-20, Phillipians 2:5-13, Colossians 3:1-10, I Peter 3:2-5.

**Schedule of Services**

Sunday Worship (10:30).............667
Sunday Classes (9:30) ...............449
Evening Worship (6:00)..............368
Wednesday Worship (7:00)........ 315
Sunday Contribution ............$17,910