Eastland eBulletin 12.30.07
For Your Benefit...
- Monthly reports from the various preachers we support have been moved. They are in a large literature rack beside the south entrance to the auditorium. They are on the corner of the nursery wall beside the Bible Reading bulletin board.
- Personal benevolence opportunity — Tack Chumbley is seeking help for a woman in Illinois with whom he is having Bible studies. There is information in the monthly report rack (above).
Calendar
- Jan 1 (Wed) — Prayer service.
- Jan 4-5 (Fri & Sat) — Bob Waldron meeting.
- Jan 6 (Sun) — New quarter begins.
- Jan 13 (Sun) — Monthly singing @ 5:00 pm.
Sign Up!
Ready for a challenge in the New Year? We have several things for which you can sign up.
- Daily Bible Reading — We have 1 & 2 year plans. Signup sheet is on the bulletin board next to the nursery. Samples are on the same bulletin board. Copies for you are in the literature rack.
- Reggie's "Heretics" Class — He'll be having a class based on the book, Will the Real Heretics Please Stand Up? The meeting times have not yet been determined. The signup sheet is a yellow sheet on the main bulletin board in the lobby.
- Cloyce's "Discipline" Class — A study of the spiritual disciplines (Bible study, prayer, fasting, simplicity, solitude, worship, etc). Meets on the 2nd Saturday each month in 2008 at 7:30 in the morning.
- Duties, Duties, Duties — The deacons are happy to have volunteers for the various work lists (Lord's Supper preparation, meal list, transportation, etc). Please see one of the deacons if you are want to help with some aspect of the work here.
Next Year?
By Reggie Robarts
By Reggie Robarts
The next bulletin you will receive will be dated January 6, 2008. It is interesting how the passing of time is viewed by various sources. Job says, "My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and are spent without hope." (Job 4:6). It is ironic that he refers to them as "fast moving" when most scholars think Job lived to be 200 or so years old. The old hymn, As The Life of a Flower, refers in the chorus, to the years as "gliding away." They quickly pass without notice and suddenly we are struck with the realization that our time on earth is nearly spent. Where did it go? Jim Croce's beautiful song poses the wistful desire, "if I could keep time in a bottle," but, alas, if cannot be done. The Psalmist says, "As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, or if due to strength, eighty years, yet their pride is but labor and sorrow; for it is soon gone and we fly away." (Psalms 90:10). So 2007 is history and what is, is. 2008 is yet to be written and can be, with God's help and guidance, what we desire it to be.
As 2008 looms ahead we can start thinking of things that will make it significantly better than 2007. What changes can we make to insure that coming year has some meaningful spiritual accomplishments? Or will we be content to have the same ole, same ole, as in the past? I am thinking about Eastland and its future and my hope is that we will strive for excellence and not be content with mediocrity. This will not happen by accident but by effort on your and my part in implementing practical things that will help us achieve success.
Two things are on my mind that I know will help us become a more productive and fruitful congregation.
First, as they say in the coaching profession, we need to buy into the new adult Bible class program. The elders adopted this, after much thought, because they believed it would help strengthen the members Bible knowledge, and as a result make a more committed group of Christians. There is a dearth of needed understanding of Scripture that makes it impossible for us to be what God wants us to be. We believe that these studies will help us overcome this deficiency. This is a long term program, 4 years, but when it is complete there will be a greater appreciation of who we are, what God requires of us, and what we need to do to achieve the spiritual maturity we must have. It is going to require that everyone come to class having made preparation to learn. Everyone must read the lessons in advance and be prepared to participate if they are going to benefit. While this is true of some already, it is not true of all. A couple of quotes from the authors of the material in the introduction to the book of Genesis which serve as an introduction to the whole study:
"Through the years, most of our classes have failed to convey a coherent grasp of the whole Bible. We have tended to follow the same time-worn methods year in and year out, methods which obviously does not get the job done. We have gone through the motions of teaching without any real learning taking place. It is possible for us to know our Bibles, and for our children to know theirs. All it takes is a common sense approach to the matter, and confidence it can be done. Just remember that every class, every chart, every tool used, must be directed to teaching the Bible in a coherent manner."
"The material is not designed to read aloud to your students in class. In fact, to be effective, do not read either the Bible text or this book aloud to your class. Instead, study your text thoroughly, read this material to help you better understand exactly what is happening, and then present the information in such a way you make the story "come alive." (This is obviously addressed to the teachers but it also indicates what is incumbent on the students as well).
Let me encourage you along with all the elders to be present on January 4th and 5th for Brother Waldron's introductory lessons on this material. Let's get started on the right foot and have this the most meaningful period of Bible study in the congregation's history.
One word on the class commencing after the first of the year on Will the Real Heretics Please Stand Up. I hope before this is over every member will read and study this book. I have changed my mind about having 13 or so lessons on the contents. We will have only four or five and we will discuss the things that we determine to be stimulating and attitude changing for each of our lives. I am reading this book for the 3rd time and become more and more convinced that it can help make a real difference in our understanding of New Testament Christianity and in our daily living. The commitment to the truth and godly living displayed by these first and second century Christians is inspiring and uplifting. More on this later.
Jan and I wish for each of you a great year of service in the Master's kingdom in 2008.
