-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Family Lines Newsletter, October 16, 2008
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

**Using Life As An Investment of Faith**
By David Chadwell

 

After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”  Then He said to Thomas, “Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.”  Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”  Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”  John 20:26-29

 

We often say, “If I had lived in Jesus’ day, believing would have been easy!  If I had opportunity to see what they saw, placing faith in Jesus as the Christ would have been easy!”  You can decide for yourself, but speaking for me, I am glad I did not live then.  I do not conclude it would have been easier to have faith in Jesus when he was alive.

 

“Why would you conclude that?”  For several reasons, I hold that conclusion.  (1) Many were ruled by incorrect motives.   Read Matthew 13:10-16; Matthew 15:1-14; John 6:26-33; and John 9:35-39.  I fear I might have been one who did not wish to understand, or who was inconsistent, or who focused on physical needs rather than the spiritual meaning, or who experienced the power but did not know who Jesus was.  (2) There were only about 120 (Acts 1:15) who remained committed to Jesus immediately after Jesus’ death.  Who am I to think I would be one of those?  Jesus healed a lot more the 120 people!  (3) What God sent Jesus to do was radically different than most Jewish people expected!  Not even the prophets and the angels understood what God was doing. They were curious in the extreme about God’s actions (1 Peter 1:12).  (4)  Many Christians died in that first 100 years for no reason other than faith in Jesus Christ! Are we willing to give our blood to retain our faith in Jesus Christ?  (Today’s Christians find differences in congregations to be insurmountable obstacles—what a comparison!)  I am not so certain that I would embrace faith in the resurrected Jesus in their circumstances!

 

A faith that challenged always existed as the foundation that caused people to follow God.  God obviously was working toward His solution to sin in Genesis 12:3 when He promised Abraham his descendants would bring a blessing to all nations.  From the time of that promise to Jesus’ coming was approximately 2,000 years.  When Jesus’ ministry began, neither Jesus nor his ministry was at all what the Jewish people anticipated.  Not even the apostle Peter fully understood what God was doing long after Jesus’ resurrection—carefully read Acts 10:9-20, 29, 34-36.  There has never been a time when it was easy to invest life in Jesus Christ through faith in God’s work through him.

 

Dare to trust in Jesus by being “one who has not seen,” but one who believes in God’s work in Jesus Christ.  Never stop believing in what God did and continues to do in Jesus!  Never trust yourself!  Always trust in what God did in Jesus!  Serve Jesus because you trust God.  Dare to be who you are because you trust who Jesus is!  Always view life as an investment because your life is an investment—whether you view it that way or not!

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Page 2 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

**Remember in Prayer**
• Bill Brazelton is scheduled for surgery next week (10/23/08) at St. Edward Hospital for treatment of an abdominal aneurysm. (This is a week later than we first thought.)
• Chase Turpin is waiting for an appointment to be scheduled at the Mayo Clinic.
• Gary Schaper had hip surgery Wednesday (10/15/08) at Sparks Hospital.

 

**Continued Prayers**
• Charles Edens (Tammy Cypert’s uncle)
• Donna Wheeler (friend of Tammy Cypert)
• Dotty Saegert (Niketa Stinchcomb’s mother) has prayer pager 441-2378.
• Inez Hatfield
• Jessie Moore
• Joel Prigge (Louise Howard’s brother-in-law)
• Larry Treat
• Lloyd Priester
• Louise Cline
• Margaret Stone
• Taylor Vincion (Lisa Broom’s great-nephew)
• Vivian Flood

 

**New Phone Number**
Linda Shank, 646-6376

 

**Welcome, New Members**
Trey & Rachel Greer
Children: Will & Suzy
321 Garrison Creek Drive
Roland, OK  74954
Phones: (R) 479-414-2371    (T) 479-414-2379

 

**Farewell and Best Wishes**
Harold Dickens will be moving soon (by November 1st) to NW Arkansas to be closer to his daughter and family.

 

**Baptism**
Taylar Lovelace, daughter of Jeff & Michelle, was baptized into Christ by her father Sunday morning, October 5th.  Congratulations to Taylar and the Lovelace family!

 

**Welcome, Blessed Baby**
Congratulations to Jim and Deborah Wilson on the safe arrival of a granddaughter, Andreanna Marie, who was born October 5th in Bangkok, Thailand.  Andreanna weighed 7lbs. 3 ozs.

 

**Prayer Pagers**
• Ashton Stein,  784-7490 

• Dotty Saegert, 441-2378
• Shirley Hughes, 441-2386 

• ALL Pagers, 441-2395

 

**Address Requested for Cards**
Brenda Wilson
595 E. Tucker Road
Mayfield, KY 42066
Brenda is a former West-Ark member and the daughter of Helen Needham, who died last week.

 

**JOY Bunch October Fun!*
Prizes will be awarded!!  Join us at 6:00 p.m. in the Family Life Center on October 18th.

 

**Family Fall Fest**
Sunday, October 26, 6:00 - 7:45 PM in the Family Life Center
This event is for the entire family!
Everyone is invited!
6:00 - 6:30  Devotional
6:30 - 7:45  Family Fall Fest
• Fun games and prizes
• Food and fellowship
• Trick-or-Treating
• Costume parade
Bring your friends!
Grab the grandkids!
See the food menu on page 3!
http://www.westarkchurchofchrist.org/temp/fallfestposter.pdf

 

**More on Family Fall Fest**
Check out our bulletin board in the foyer to see ALL the ways you can make our Family Fall Fest fabulous!
• Individually packaged candy
• Fast-foods toys and other goodies left over from birthday parties, etc.
• Cash donations
You may leave toys/goodies in the tub near the elevator.

Cash donations may be given to Dena Jenkins or Tiffany Null.           

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Page 3
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

**Baby Boy Shower**
for Todd & Adriane Martin
Couples are invited!
Sunday, October 26, 2:00 to 3:30 PM
in the home of Jo Davidson
1811 S. 73rd Circle in Fort Smith.
Todd & Adriane are registered at Wal-Mart and Target.

 

**Coordinator Needed for Poinsettias at Christmas**
In years past, we have decorated the Auditorium with poinsettias at the Christmas season.  Poinsettias are usually purchased in honor or memory of a loved one, left on display for 2-3 weeks, and taken home before Christmas. 

 

We plan on taking orders for plants this year beginning November 2nd, but need someone to coordinate it all.  If you are interested, please contact Lynn Dickey in the office, 452-1240.

 

**Urgent Need to Transport a Child**
The Tutoring Program works with a little boy who needs transportation on Tuesdays from Howard Elementary to the church building.  You would only need to pick him up at 3:00 PM; he has transportation home. If you can help with this very great need, see or call Karen Farris.

 

**The Youth and Family Ministry Search Team Update**
We have invited a candidate to visit with us in Fort Smith on the weekend of October 25-26.
Please see page 4 “Youth News” for the latest information and details.

 

**Girls Making An Impact: Shoe4Africa**
Imagine walking barefoot down the street stepping on broken pieces of glass and hookworms entering your body through your feet.  92% of Kenyan children tested had hookworm, which enter the body through exposed bare feet.  This affects everything from a child’s intellectual development to a woman’s ability to carry a baby to term. This is reality for the people of Africa.

 

If you donate sneakers to people in Africa, it can cut the chances of getting intestinal worms.  West-Ark’s “Girls Making An Impact” are collecting used tennis shoes for this effort.  Since the average monthly wage is $34 in Kenya, and less in the rural areas, buying running shoes is a luxury many cannot afford.  So before you toss out you old tennis shoes, think again.  They can make a difference to someone in Africa.

 

Add your contribution to the large container outside the Library.  For more information, contact Allison Todd.

 

**Dinner Is Served!**
We will be offering the dishes below at the Fall Festival for a donation to SHOE4AFRICA. 
Donations will be used to purchase additional shoes and pay for the shipping to Eldoret, Kenya.

 

MENU

 

SOUTHERN BEANS & CORNBREAD
(Like your mama used to make!)

 

CHEF ANDREW’S “WILDMAN CHILI”
(Not for wimps!!)

 

‘NAWLINS SHRIMP CREOLE
(like you wish your mama could make!)

 

Take out will be available.

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Page 4
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

**youth group // news**

 

Surveys
Thank you to those who returned their surveys! If you forgot to turn in your survey or parent volunteer form, the white box will be out for another week. Please drop them in the box!

 

Home Devotionals  // Sunday, October 19
JR High – Jerry and Meg Canfield
SR High – Mitch and Robin Harper
If you need a ride, vans will leave the church at 5:30 and will return around 7:30. There will not be class in the youth room.
Girls – Bring a dessert    Guys – Bring a 2-Liter drink
Sign up on the youth bulletin board!

 

Youth Minister Candidate Interview Weekend 
October 25-26
During this weekend you will have two opportunities to meet the candidate. The first will be at the hayride hosted by the Olivers on Saturday night. Vans will leave the church at 5:00 p.m. and return around 10:00 p.m. We will cook out and go on a hayride. Make sure you take time to get to know the candidate and his wife. He will be giving the devotional that evening. Please plan to come; we want everyone to be there! (Sign up on the youth board.)

The second opportunity to meet him will be Sunday morning during class. Junior and Senior High will have a combined class in the youth room led by the youth minister candidate.

 

**PRAY FOR OUR SOLDIERS**
James & Megan Johnson
Jered Goddard
Jeremy Grist
John Clark
John Lemley
Lance Hurst
Michael Priester
Mitchell Bryant
Ryan Almond
Shawn Curtis
Will Domer

 

**OUR MISSIONARIES**
John Paul & Ruby Lee Hundley In France & Belgium
Evangelists & families with whom we work in Ethiopia & Nigeria.
Missionary families in Vietnam and Laos

 

**Happy Birthday**

October 19
Janice Prater
Alisha Wewers
Mark Willis

 

October 20
Kathryn Willis

 

October 21
Karen Benjamin

 

October 23
Adam Dizer
Paul Quenin

 

October 24
Alyxander Logan

 

October 25
Mary King
Jacob Null
Kaelin Schaper

 

**Morning Nursery**
Betty Callicott
Carol Schaper
Flora Johnson

 

**Evening Nursery**
Sheila Vaught

 

**Attendance and Contribution Count**
Bible Classes . . . . . 479  
Sunday AM Worship . . . . . 753
Sunday PM Worship . . . . . 168
Life Groups . . . . . 20
Contribution . . . . . $17,066
Children’s Homes . . . . . $276
Wednesday Classes . . . . . 275

 

Lao Worship
Attendance . . . . . Combined with Auditorium for 25th Anniversary.

 

Iglesia de Cristo
Attendance . . . . . 60
Contribution . . . . . $297