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Family Lines Newsletter, June 28, 2007
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**Holy Manners: Humility**
By David Chadwell
 
“Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:1-4)
 
One of the most difficult yet one of the most essential Holy Manners to develop is humility.  We hear much about boldness and courage.  We hear little about humility.  To us it seems that boldness and courage go well together, but humility goes with neither.  Perhaps the human concepts of boldness and courage easily become self-centered expressions (we like self-dependence) and humility becomes a selfless expression (we are wary of dependence on anything other than self).
 
It takes enormous boldness and courage to yield to God so completely that you allow God to defend you and determine your behavior.  On numerous occasions, Jesus tried to teach the twelve God’s admiration of humility (see Luke 9:46-48; 18:15-17; 22:24-30; Matthew 18:1-6; 20:20-28; Mark 9:33-37).  Not until Jesus’ death and resurrection did they learn that lesson.  Do not be deceived!  The lesson is NOT learned easily!  To think and behave righteously in the middle of an unrighteous onslaught is hard!
 
Even those who profess godliness mistake humility for cowardice!  Yet, in a parable in Luke 18:9-14, the humble sinner was forgiven, not the man who “dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s.”
 
That is hard for even us Christians to swallow!  The person who gave God 10% of everything, who was honest in his dealings with others, who was not controlled by sexual desires, and who fasted insulted God!  The penitent man who unquestionably did wicked things was forgiven!  Why?  Because sinful behavior was unimportant?  No!  Because God exalts human humility and debases human arrogance!
 
Paul said if everything you believe about righteousness is true, make me completely happy.   How?  Do not be self-centered!  Be ‘others’ centered!  Who was the example of that?  None other than Jesus himself!
 
If I am your brother or sister in Christ because God placed us both there when we were baptized into Christ, Holy Manners demand I consider you and your needs as more important than mine.  To arrogantly banish you is just plain rude!
 
How many problems would be instantly solved in our brotherhood and our congregations if humility reigned and arrogance vanished.  Understanding the importance God attaches to humility certainly makes this statement sobering: “Now concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies” (1 Corinthians 8:1).
 
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**In Our Thoughts & Prayers**
• Paula May requests prayers of healing and well-being for her daughter, Alexis Roland.
• Tests results for Anna Dickerson (Coleen Shirley’s sister) were negative. This means she can begin radiation treatments soon.
• Bob Williams (father of Debbie Belote) will heal for 6 weeks and then have 6 treatments for bladder cancer.
• Daphne Moore (Missy Blasdel’s mother) had a CT scan of her chest yesterday (6/27/07) which indicates lung cancer. She is being scheduled for a lung biopsy.
• Janet Tabor (friend of Missy Blasdel) is scheduled for brain surgery in Little Rock on June 28th.
• Jean Dicks fell and broke her arm last week.  She has been in some pain from the break.
• Lyndell Foster is scheduled for surgery to remove a tumor from his small intestine on July 10th.
• Ed Grist requests prayers for his granddaughter, Madelyn Grist, a 7-year-old with cystic fibrosis. Maddy is receiving IV antibiotics (at home) for a bacterial infection. Wendy Grist (Ed’s daughter-in-law) has lupus and is suffering some severe swelling in her feet and legs.  Jeremy Grist (Ed’s son) is taking care of both of them (Madelyn and Wendy).
• Ona Dickens is recovering from 2 knee replacement surgeries. She is also seeking treatment for a throat problem. 
• Tonya Jenkins, Lila Hull's niece, has been diagnosed with breast cancer.
 
**Continued Prayers**
• Mary Wray (mother of Vicki Anderson)
• Minnie Oakley (Blake Frost’s grandmother)
• Retta Rodin (mother of Gretta Payne)
• Rusty Howard (son of Wilburn & Louise Howard)
• Severino Belotendos (Kimberly Shawver’s sister-in-law’s father)
 
**Bereaved in Prayer**
• Isaac and Virginia Mobley in the death of their nephew, Melvin Nation, Jr.  Services were Saturday (6/23/07).
• Kevin Allen in the death of his grandmother, Doris Clyma. Funeral services were Monday (6/25/07) in Van Buren, AR.
• Peggy Pistole in the death of her aunt, Mima Dunn, a member of Branch Church of Christ.  Services were Tuesday (6/26/07) in Charleston, AR.
• Wanda Wear in the death of her nephew, Gary Cooper.  His funeral service was Wednesday (6/27/07) at the National Cemetery.
• Julia Garrett in the death of her grandfather last weekend.
 
**Baptism**
Shay Dotson (daughter of Jennifer Dotson) was baptized Sunday night by Brad Pistole. We’re proud of you, Shay!
 
**Welcome, New Members!**
Gary & Rachel Vancil
Tristan
105 Cheyenne Street
Poteau, OK 74953
(918) 721-9474
 
Prayer Pager
• Lyndell Foster, 441-1648
 
**Pray for Our Military**
Adam Morrissun
Bob Collier
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.
 
**Change of Address**
Chad Graham
3020 S. Hwy. 162
Alma, AR 72921
Phone: 479 632-0181
 
**West-Ark Calendar**
• July 1, Sunday PM - Guyana Mission Team Presentation
• July 4, Wednesday PM – All adult, Gateway, and FLOCK Bible classes will follow a normal schedule. In the Youth group, junior & senior high classes will be combined.
• July 8, Sunday PM – Guest Speaker, Ron Brown
 
**Wedding Shower**
A shower honoring Kevin & Kathryn Davis is planned for Sunday, July 8th, 3:00-5:00 PM in the Annex.  They are registered at Dillards & Wal-Mart.  Kevin is the son of Harold & Linda Davis.
 
**Ministry Opportunity for Ladies**
Please consider becoming a part of our jail ministry.  We rotate our schedule so that you only go once a month for an hour on Sunday mornings at 8:30. Contact Rochelle Brown if you are interested.
 
**The Hope Chest has a great need for:**
• Clothing for babies and younger boys and girls – sizes newborn through Toddler 3.
• Men’s 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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**Raising Spiritual Champions**
by Michael Cole, M.D.
 
It is my view that the Creator of children "loans" them to parents for a couple of decades.  As Christian parents we want to raise them toward an outcome that pleases God.  We recognize that our offspring have souls that have an eternal destiny.  It was proven long ago that parents have more influence than anyone else.  But even the best parents are sometimes heartbroken by bad choices that their children make.
 
Even before our first child was born, my wife and I speculated that our best chance of successfully raising children would be if we identified families whose kids were well mannered and spiritually developing.  When we asked the parents of those children what they thought we should do to properly raise our own kids, some could explain what they did right, but many weren't certain why their children seemed to be turning out so well.
 
How much better it would have been for us if we could have had access to research on thousands of young adult Christians who turned out to be spiritual champions.  What had their parents done right?  What common advice could the parents of these people give to us so we could be more certain that we were making the right decisions about child-rearing?
 
A book, Revolutionary Parenting, was recently published by George Barna which answers those questions.  Instead of being another parenting book that is based on someone's unproven advice, Barna's book is the result of scientific research that shows what really works.  Though it is based on surveying those who got it right, the book is written to be easily understood.  I believe my life as a parent would have been less stressful if I could have read this book when my children were small.
 
As you know, parents are the primary spiritual developers of their young ones.  One of West-Ark’s roles is to do everything we can to reinforce godly behavior that is being taught at home.  The church can rarely, if ever, train your child in Christian virtues that they do not witness in their parents on a daily basis.
 
Barna's book does not contain a formula that you can follow and be guaranteed certain results. Learning from the thousands of families that contributed to the findings of this book, you will certainly increase the likelihood that you will succeed in raising spiritual champions who will spend eternity in Heaven.  I highly recommend that every parent with children still at home or on the way purchase Revolutionary Parenting, read it, and discover how to raise up your children as God intended.
 
"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it" (Proverbs 22:6).
 
 
******Would you like a copy of this book?******
The West-Ark elders wish to assist parents in their child-rearing responsibilities.  As a service to our families, 40 copies of Revolutionary Parenting have been ordered by the church office.  Parents, if you would like to reserve a copy of the book, please call Janice in the office at 452-1240 or e-mail her at Janice@westarkchurchofchrist.org. The price for the book is $12, and the shipment should arrive sometime next week.
 
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**Family Life Ministry**
By Brad Pistole
 
Matthew 22:35-40: “One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: ‘Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?’ Jesus replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.
 
‘The second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the other commandments and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.’ ”
 
Wow! The RELIGIOUS EXPERTS weren’t expecting that reply! They were so sure they “knew it all”…Every single law, every single rule, every single tradition! They were so confident about their knowledge, they thought they even knew exactly what God would and would not do in certain situations.
 
They were so confident they knew Jesus could not possibly be the son of God. He couldn’t possibly be the promised messiah. He wouldn’t look like that, talk like that, act like that, treat people like that, break tradition like that, etc.
 
They thought this question would leave him trapped. They thought they had him right where they wanted him. They would wait for his answer and then reference and cross-reference it with their superior knowledge of the law and make a fool out of him!  Then came his reply!
 
Who would have expected that! It was so hard for them to wrap their mind around. It’s hard for us to wrap our minds around. Jesus told them their “superior knowledge” and “good works” weren’t nearly as important as the way they treated GOD and THE PEOPLE AROUND THEM.
 
As a matter of fact, he told them those other things didn’t even matter…if the most important things didn’t exist first and foremost in a person’s life. He told them that every single law and every single piece of knowledge depended on those two things!
 
How important is it for us to understand this today? Is it possible for us to get so caught up in “doing good things” and “having the right answers,” that we actually forget what is most important to God (I Corinthians 13)?
 
**Happy Birthday**
July 1
Kevin Curtis
Roy Dunavin
Ruth Gouty
Dillon Hamilton
DeAnn Hankins
Hunter Pistole
 
July 2
Trevor Curtis
Nelda Fowler
Dale Lusby
 
July 3
Dwonne Cogswell
Jane Fisher
Lindsey Yowell
 
July 4
Hannah Jones
Suzanne Karr
Jeff Lovelace
 
July 5
Margaret Gillian
Melody Priester
 
July 7
Kristy Abernathy
Amanda Robison
 
**Morning Nursery**
Dena Jenkins
Suzie Jennemann
Melissa Walker
 
**Evening Nursery**
Gina Williams
Tammy Cypert
 
**Communion Servers for July**
David Burns
Bob Davidson
Greg Dockery
Jerry Glidewell
John Glidewell
Mat Griffin
Aaron Hite
Wilburn Howard
Curt Jackson
Kerry Jenkins
Rodney Jones
Randy Moss
Barry Owen
Brent Perkins
Tim Smith
Andrew Todd
Kevin Vaught
Mark Willis
 
**Attendance and Contribution Count**
Sunday AM Worship 686
Sunday PM Worship 246
Bible Classes 453
Life Groups 12
Contribution   $15945
Children’s Home $329
 
**Lao Worship**
Attendance 53
Contribution $307
 
**Iglesia de Cristo**
Attendance 47
Contribution $142
 
Office Phone (479) 452-1240
Fax  (479) 452-5767
office@westarkchurchofchrist.org
www.westark.org
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"Making disciples for Jesus who are eager to serve others."
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