For Your Benefit...

• Now available: August Calendars, August Worship Rosters, July Financial Statements
• Evan Shields will be leaving us next week as he goes off to college at MTSU in Murfreesboro, TN. We wish him God's blessings and care. We will miss him.

By the numbers…

Thanks to Jesse Mindel for keeping track of this.

Sun AM             137              139          133
Sun PM             108              112          107
Wed                 99               97           95
Contribution    $3,915           $4,078       $4,125




We are blessed at Eastland with the ability to record our sermons and post them online. (Actually, my sermons aren't always called blessings, but that's for another article!) What many don't realize is the amount of work that goes into this project.

John Norris has organized this for some time now. He is assisted by his noble sidekick Josh Smith. Each week, Josh takes the recorded sermon and edits it (gets rid of long pauses, weird noises and other such stuff) and posts the sermon on our website. Several other things must then be done.

They need help!

John needs a volunteer or two to do the following things for the next 18 months.

• Download the sermon each week from the website.
• From this downloaded audio file burn a master CD that can be duplicated as needed.
• Burn CDs when requested by members and visitors.
• Help organize and maintain our library of original and master CDs.

Interested? See John Norris!




A copy of the Southeast Christian Church newspaper is dropped off at my house every week.  The July 12th issue contained an article by Chuck Colson, he of Watergate fame, that piqued my interest.  The article was entitled, "In Pursuit of Happiness, and the sub-title was Is the Government To Blame If You Are Not Happy?"

Colson cited the fact that Tony Blair left office last week as Britain's Prime Minister with a 26% approval rating, this despite the fact, that Britain had "enjoyed the longest uninterrupted period of economic prosperity in 200 years."  Blair has the distinction of being the most "unpopular Labor Prime Minister" of modern times.  Usually good economic times are the guarantee of popularity of a politician.  Blair's tenure parallels, somewhat, that of George W. Bush, whose ratings have recently sunk to the lowest of his two terms.  This president is perhaps the most hated and vilified by his opponents of any other president in the last number of years.  This unpopularity too, in spite of the prosperity our economy is now enjoying. Why aren't these two men idolized in their respective countries when "times are so good?"  One reason is the unpopular war in Iraq that has cost both countries billions of dollars and many young lives.  But the other reason is that the governments have failed the people somehow because the people are not happy!

Colson reports that a recent study showed Americans are less happy than they were 30 years ago in spite of enjoying the highest standard of living in history.  The immediate conclusion to be drawn is that "having an abundance of things and money" is no guarantee of personal happiness.  The same was true in Britain.  Real incomes have tripled there since the 1950's.  But the number of people who described themselves as "very happy" had declined from 57% to 36%.  Could we have possibly been wrong all these years that having and happiness are synonymous?  Most Brits (80%) believe that the government's prime objective should be the happiness of the people.  I venture to say that the large segment of the population of the United States feels the same way.

When will we ever learn that the government cannot pass laws declaring everyone to be happy and provide all the tools that everyone needs to make it happen.  The government cannot legislate or engineer happiness.  No matter how many dollars are spent on welfare to relieve poverty, services to meet every need of every segment of the population it will not guarantee the happiness of a single individual.  Happiness, joy, contentment, peace, can only come from within.  Successful life will never come from the abundance of the things we possess.  Luke 12:15.

Two Bible passages come to my mind in relation to this subject.  Solomon sought happiness in every conceivable way this world had to offer.  He had the means; the money and the power to try it all.  He gives an account in Ecc. 2:3-8 of the things he did in his pursuit of a meaningful, purposeful life that would make it satisfying and happy.  He said, "I searched in my heart how to gratify my flesh," and "what was good for the sons of men to do under heaven all the days of their lives."  Wine, women, song, houses, gardens, entertainment, servants to do his every bidding; all the things that spoke of wealth and luxury were part of this poor soul's life.  When it was all done, was he happy?  No! he said it was all "vanity and vexation of the spirit and striving after the wind" The final conclusion he drew was, to fear God and keep His commandments, for that is the whole duty of man."

The other passage is Matthew 5:1-10.  The idea of happiness as revealed by Jesus in the Beatitudes is directly contradictory to the human conception of what is necessary to have those halcyon days we all desire.  He said that happy is the person who displayed utter humility because he would be part of His kingdom.  Happy is the one that mourns (grieves) for he will be comforted.  Happy are the meek (those who do not assert what they have the right and the capability to do, hold themselves in check), they will inherit the earth.  Happy are those who make the seeking of righteousness the driving force in their lives, they shall be filled.  The merciful will find happiness because in extending mercy they will receive it.  The pure of heart will be happy because they shall see God now (in a unique) and surely face to face in the world to come.  Peacemakers will be happy because they show the same attitude as God and so shall be his sons.  And of all things, happy are the persecuted because in suffering for God they have a place reserved in His grand abode.  None of these happy conditions can come from this world or anything it has to offer.  They come through the grace of a loving heavenly Father.

Our lives are going to be what we desire them to be.  But they will never be what they ought to be until God is at the center of them.  Therein lies not only happiness but eternal bliss.