Calendar

• Tonight — Monthly singing @ 5:00.
• Next Sunday Afternoon — Kid's Singing @ 4:25.
• October 19-21 — Fall Meeting with David Thomley.

 


Almighty and tender Lord Jesus Christ,
I have asked you to be good to my friends,
And now I bring before you what I desire in my heart for my enemies…

If what I ask for them at any time
Is outside the rule of charity,
Whether through weakness, ignorance, or malice,
Good Lord, do not give it to them
And do not give it back to me.

You who are the light, lighten their darkness;
You who are the whole truth, correct their errors;
You who are the true life, give life to their souls…

Tender Lord Jesus,
Let me not be the cause of the death of my brothers,
Let me not be to them
A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.

Let them be reconciled to you and in concord with me,
According to your will and for your own sake.

Do this, my good creator and my merciful Judge,
According to your mercy that cannot be measured.
Forgive me all my debts
As I before you forgive all those indebted to me.
Perhaps this may not be so
Because in your sight I have not yet done this perfectly,
But my will is set to do it,
And to that end I am doing all I can.

I have prayed as a weak man and a sinner;
You who are mighty and merciful, hear my prayer.




For this week…


Many of us regularly use our computers, and most of us who do use the internet regularly.

Your home page (I'm not trying to insult anyone) is the first place you go to when you log onto the Internet. It might be the website of the company that provides your internet service. Or, it might be a place you frequently visit.

Why not make it someplace that has a spiritual message?

Numerous churches have websites with articles and devotionals on them each day. Eastland's website has the weekly eBulletin, plus audio recordings of our sermons, plus a few other goodies. There are also various Bible-related websites with good content.

So why not begin your cyber-day in the right way? Start it with thoughts of God!




It's easy to get caught up into all of the negatives in our world today. Oh, I know, if you just look around, you will see some things that bring you down: terrorism, politicians who love their political party more than they love their country, celebrities who believe they are above the law, gambling scandals in the NBA, dog-fighting in the NFL and steroid tainted records in Major League Baseball. It's enough to make you want to tune out Washington, Hollywood and pro-sports!

Sometimes I feel similar to the Psalmist when he said, "When the foundation begins to crumble, what can the righteous do?" (Psalm 11:3) Of course, the only righteousness any of us have is through Christ, but do you ever feel like everything is crumbling around you? David has good news for us in the following verse: "The Lord is in His holy temple; the Lord is on His heavenly throne." (Psalm 11:4b)

There is more good news!

• God's power has not been diminished.
  • Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).
• God's love is unconditional. We don't have to earn His love; we only need to receive it.         
  • For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).
• God wants us to be reconciled unto him. God does not hold our sins against us. He wants to have a relationship with us!
  • God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation (II Corinthians 5:19).
  • As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us (Psalm 103:12).
• God gives us eternal life through Christ!
  • For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

So, when the headlines or the network news brings discouragement, remember the Good News God has for each of us.


Hmmm...

A group of PhD candidates at USC were eager to finish their work so they could be called "Doctor". A newly-degreed professor told them about a friend who called his house asking, "Is the doctor in?"

His 10-year old son answered, "Yes, but he's not the kind who can do you any good."