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Family
Lines Newsletter, June 21,
2007
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**Holy Manners: Sincerity**
By
David Chadwell
And this I pray, that your love
may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that
you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and
blameless until the day of Christ ... (Philippians 1:9, 10)
Our sincerity is a window that
reveals our motives. In this culture, there are few things that irritate
any of us more than having a person fake sincerity. Why are we offended
so much by fake sincerity? One significant reason is this: When a person
fakes his or her sincerity, he or she hides his or her motives.
Successful con-artists are masters at faking sincerity.
Their primary motive is to scam you and thereby bring you harm. However,
they are effective in making you feel that they care infinitely about your hurt
and dilemma. Their real motive is to gain your money or your
valuables. They make you think their real motive is compassion.
Their fake sincerity hides their real motive.
Because we grasp the nature and
importance of sincerity, Christians understand the need to be
transparent. Because we are family in Christ, we want each other to
know, I am trustworthy. I neither seek to hurt you nor use you.
Because my sincerity is real, you can see my motive. I do not seek to
deceive you, but to encourage you.
Sincerity requires compassion. One
of the reasons for Christians being easy to deceive is found in their
compassion. Christians are compassionate because they care about
people. Their caring is genuine.
Sincerity within the Christian
family can be difficult. Are we all the same? No! While we
differ in personalities, we are all in Christ. I do not have to be ditto
marks of you, and you do not have to be ditto marks of me for us to care
about each other. Our sincerity with each other always declares, We may
differ, but you never have reason to fear me. I have your back, and I will
never stab it!
If people who refuse to turn to
God do not learn good spiritual manners from the Christian family, can they
learn good spiritual manners elsewhere? If they cannot see in us a
sincerity that is trustworthy and caring, where will they observe it?
Never forget that the way you treat others speaks more eloquently about your
attitudes and motives than just about how you feel about that person.
Just as Jesus Christ is to us in our weaknesses and flaws, we are to others
in Christ in what we regard to be their weaknesses and flaws. Physically, I love
my family, flaws and all, and my family loves me, flaws and all. I do not
love only those in my family who are just like me, and they do not love me
because I am just like them. Is that not the way it is in your
family? That is the way it needs to be in Gods family!
"We will know by this that we are
of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him in whatever our heart
condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things." (1 John
3:19, 20)
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**The Power of Prayer**
Bill
Stokes' surgery went well on Monday, and he is doing great.
Bob Williams
(father of Debbie Belote) is recovering from surgery and waiting on test
results.
David Allison (Barbara Smiths son-in-law) is recovering from
surgery to amputate both legs.
Janet Tabor (friend of Missy Blasdel) is
waiting to be scheduled for brain surgery at UAMS. Janet is having severe
problems with vision and headaches. Missy asks that we pray for Janet and her
family as she awaits surgery.
Jill Brightwell (sister of Jenna Dickey and
former Guyana team member) contracted malaria on a recent mission trip. She asks
for prayers for recovery from this illness.
Laurie, the daughter of Marvin
& Bobbie Hughes, is suffering from severe headaches. She will receive pain
management before surgery is considered to relieve this condition.
Lorene
Turner, a former West-Ark member, will have a pacemaker replaced, Friday, June
22, at Baptist Hospital in Little Rock.
Luis Mendez had back surgery on
Tuesday (6/19/07). He is feeling much better and is recovering at home.
Lyndell Fosters test results were good. He is scheduled for surgery to
remove a tumor from his small intestine on July 10.
Ed Grist requests
prayers for his granddaughter, Madelyn Grist, a 7-year-old with Cystic Fibrosis.
Madelyn is currently in a Wichita, Kansas, hospital with a bacterial
infection.
Wendy Grist (Eds daughter-in-law) is suffering some
severe symptoms from Lupus. Jeremy (Eds son) is taking care of both of
them (Madelyn and Wendy).
Mary Wray (Vicki Andersons mother) has moved to
a nursing home in Van Buren for rehabilitation.
Minnie Oakley (Blake
Frosts grandmother) is recovering from colon surgery.
Nicole Wilson had
bunion surgery on Wednesday (6/20/07). She will be off work for about a
week.
Retta Rodin (Gretta Paynes mother) is still in Sparks ICU in
critical condition.
Rusty Howard (son of Wilburn & Louise) had his
first chemotherapy treatment on Monday.
**Bereaved**
Dora Harriman
(mother of former West-Ark minister Jack Harriman) passed away this morning
(6/21/07) in Huntsville, AR. Please remember the Harriman Family in your
prayers.
**Welcome, New Members!**
Alan
& Tami Buchanan
Jake, Jesse
2506 B Dora Rd
Van Buren, AR
72956
Phone: 471-3356
James & Julia Garrett
1305
N. 25th St
Van Buren, AR 72956
Phone: (918) 774-7112
Adam Dizer
5100 S. Zero,
#1707
Fort Smith, AR 72903
Phone: (423) 240-9228
Joe Morgan
3514A South N
Street
Fort Smith, AR 72903
Phone: (865) 335-5841
David Moore
5100 S. Zero,
#1707
Fort Smith, AR 72903
Phone: (501) 593-7158
Anthony & Jackie Sofio
5100
S. Zero, #1710
Fort Smith, AR 72903
Phone: (214) 507-0743
**Baptisms**
Michael
Cain
309 S. 3rd, Apt. 3
Van Buren, AR 72956
Phone: (479)
410-1969
Michael was baptized Sunday night by Jack Lewis.
Tori Sweatman was baptized
Wednesday night by Brad Pistole. Tori is a member of the West-Ark youth
group.
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**Change of Address**
Richard
Branum
2623 South Waldron Road
Fort Smith, AR 72903
Phone:
452-9991
**Prayer Pagers**
Lyndell
Foster, 441-1648
**Military Prayer List**
Please
add Beth Fredericks brother-in-law, Bob Collier, to this list. He leaves for
Iraq next week.
Adam Morrissun
Brian
Perkins
Brian Harris
Jeff Amos
Jonathan Smith
Kyle Evans
Michael
Anderson
Ron Wheat
Stephen McElroy
Thomas Lara
Wes
Roper
**Missionaries in Prayer**
Our missionary families in Vietnam and Laos.
John Paul & Ruby Lee
Hundley in France.
Steve & Colleen DeLoach, Operation Guyana.
Evangelists and their families with whom we work in Ethiopia and
Nigeria.
**New Adult Class**
Room 106
(off the main foyer) is the location of a new class for the 20-Something age
group on Wednesday evenings beginning June 20th.
**Wedding Announcement**
Matt
Greer and Lindsey Harmon were married June 16th at Central Church of Christ in
Little Rock. Matt is the grandson of Tom & Mary King, and the son of
Mark & Suzie Greer of White Hall, AR. Lindsey is the daughter of Rick &
Tammy Harmon of Bella Vista, AR.
**Notes of Thanks**
Dear Fellow
Christians:
I want to thank the church for your donation to the library as a
memorial to my sister who died Sunday morning, May 27th. Also, I appreciate each
of your personal comforting words.
Yours in Christ,
Paul
Quenin
I am now home!!! Thank you
for the times you helped during my time of healing. I thank all those who
helped me.
Bonnie Marrs
**VBS Thanks!**
A HUGE Thank
you! to all who helped make VBS 2007 possible. Without all of your hard
work and dedication, it simply would not have been possible. May our
children, families, and church family be blessed because of your efforts.
To Him be all the glory and praise!
**Wedding Shower**
A shower
honoring Jessica & Stanta Cotner is planned for Sunday, June 24, from 2:00
3:30 p.m. in the Annex. The Cotners are registered at Wal-Mart. Jessica is the
daughter of Ken & Lisa Hollomon. Couples are invited to attend.
**Attention Green Valley Day
Campers**
Sunday, June 24, is the deadline to let Beth Frederick know if you
need a ride to Green Valley Day Camp.
**Ladies Video
Class**
Wednesdays, 7 PM in Room 222
Were watching videos on the Old
Testament. Ladies are invited to attend.
**The HOPE CHEST**
We have a
great need for:
Clothing for babies and younger boys and girls sizes
newborn through Toddler 3.
Mens shoes (mainly tennis shoes) in all sizes.
If you have any items in these sizes which you can share, they will be most
appreciated. New items are also welcome. OUR RACKS ARE ALMOST EMPTY AND SUMMER
IS JUST BEGINNING. Just put your donations in the large container in the
foyer.
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**Family Life Ministry**
By
Brad Pistole
Do you ever feel overwhelmed? Life
can get so BUSY sometimes, cant it? Its sometimes hard to know where to begin
and what to spend your time focusing on.
I hear this reason given a
lot when it comes to reading the Bible. People get very intimidated by the
concept of following all of those rules. Many people end up overwhelmed and
realize that they cant possibly measure up to all of those expectations, so
they usually dont even try.
If you think about it, there are
66 books in the Bible and there is SO MUCH information to digest. Someone
reading it for the first time realizes its not humanly possible to do
everything just right.
So what do you think? When there
is so much information and so many different things to pay attention to, what
should get the most attention? Should you focus on the RULES, the TRADITIONS,
the DOCTRINES, appropriate WORSHIP styles, etc? Where should you
begin?
Jesus was asked a question very
similar to this so it would be good for ALL of us to take a step back and listen
to his response. We should keep this as a constant reminder of what we should
remain focused on. After all, Jesus said there are two things in scripture that
deserve MORE attention than everything else.
Do you remember what he said?
Please take the time to read it: Matthew 22:35-40.
After he gives the answer to those
who had asked him the question, he reminds them of something very important. He
says, All the other commandments and all the demands of the prophets are based
on these two commandments. (vs. 40)
How different would the church be
if we focused on the words of Christ and put into practice these two things? How
would this change our world?
May God help us all as we strive to
live daily in accordance with the MOST IMPORTANT things he has taught us and may
we put these two things ahead of everything else on our to do
list.
**Happy Birthday**
June 24
Trish Carson
Clint Jones
June 25
Debbie Hendrix
John Kamp
Betty Porter
June 26
David Gates
June 27
Patrick Murphy
Cami Stancil
June 28
Jean Dicks
June 29
Bethany Brown
Sedalia Douglas
Margaret Thompson
June 30
David Burns
Shane Hughes
Judy Walker
**Morning Nursery**
Sharon Fairies
Bernice Rogers
Kristin
Smith
**Evening Nursery**
Angela Dunavant
Denise Lusby
**Attendance and Contribution Count**
Sunday AM Worship 705
Bible
Classes 502
Life Groups 9
Contribution $20,349
Childrens
Home $282
Lao Worship
Attendance 41
Contribution $226
Iglesia de Cristo
Attendance 41
Contribution $134
Office Phone (479) 452-1240
Fax (479) 452-5767
office@westarkchurchofchrist.org
www.westark.org---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Making
disciples for Jesus who are eager to serve
others."
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