Destiny

Destiny

When the wind blows

Everything will fly

There is no time for a show

It's no time to lie.

For God has a plan for you

It may not be what you want

But there is always a time or two

For you must be a soldier like an ant

There should be no "what ifs"

Or "should haves" or "could haves"

It may not come when you want it

For life isn't half and half

For God has much love for us

And He will give you peace

For the moment you get to heaven

You won't have to rush

Or worry about whether you've

Finished the race

Collela L. Ebron

Platinum Friend

This poem was submitted by one of our young singles and I believe it has a good message for all of us.

Platinum Friend

Jesus is a platinum friend
Always there until the very end.
Eager to lend a helping hand
For He Himself made the land.

Jesus is never far when you need to talk
For He has walked the walk.
Cause He knew the road would be rough
So He made man tough.

Jesus has a plan for us all
All we have to do is call.
For God don't make no mess
Which is why we are forever bless.

Jesus is our joy and pride
For he makes us ready for the ride.
He is always there to catch us when we fall
For He is well rounded like a ball.

This love is like no other
Which is why we call Him our Father.
For He is there through thick and thin
Cause He loves us like kin.

Collela Latisha Laleeta Ebbron

Fall Gospel Meeting

Our Fall Gospel Meeting will be held in October. The dates are the 17th - 19th. This year's theme is "Roles of Members." The meeting will commence on Sunday evening the 17th at 6 pm and will continue on Monday and Tuesday evenings at 7 pm. Our Sunday evening speaker will be Arthur Medlock from the Bainbridge congregation. His topic will be "Role of Women." Monday night's lesson will be "Role of Men" and it will be brought to us by Bobby Smith of the Montezuma congregation. Then our concluding lesson will be taught by Steve Waller from the Hartley Bridge Road congregation and it will be on "Role of Members."

We invite all to come and learn what the scriptural role is for everyone in the Lord's church. Maybe you want to serve but just don't know what you can do in the Lord's service. These lessons are designed to equip you with the information you need so there will no longer be questions. Plan on being with us every evening if you can. We will treat you like family and welcome you with open arms of love. See you in the meeting!

Sincerely,

Eddie Garcia/Minister

New Member

On the 11th of this month Warren Baker placed membership with our congregation. He was baptized at Beattie Road Church of Christ, one of our local sister churches. We are blessed to have him in our family and to watch him grow as a Christian. Please pray for him and others that are seeking church families.

Respectfully submitted,
Eddie

Quarterly Sing

This past Friday evening, 16th of July, our congregation hosted the second area quarterly sing. We had over sixty individuals attend representing at least six or seven of our local congregations. The singing was heavenly and one could tell that God was truly being praised through song.

After singing the majority of our guests stayed for refreshments so we could get to know them better. There was laughter, individuals catching up on relationships, future events being talked about and of course the eating of the wonderful food that had been prepared. Nothing like conversation over a hearty meal.

All in all everyone seemed to have a wonderful time and we will look forward to the next quarterly sing in October which will be hosted by the Sylvester church of Christ.

Sing and make melody in your heart!
Eddie

New Additions to the Body

This morning was an exciting time for our congregation. We had one restoration and one individual professing Christ as God's only begotten son and then getting baptized for the remission of his sin. We also had three other individuals that came forward with concerns that they wanted their church family to pray about. All in all this has been a glorious day for the Lord and a deadly blow for the devil.

On June 27th we had another baptism and another restoration to the body on the 9th of July. God is steadily working in the lives of individuals and we praise Him for these decisions.

If you would like to know more about the churches of Christ, please feel free to contact us and we will be happy to share our knowledge to help you grow in Christ.

Rejoicing in Christ!
Eddie

Cremation

To my knowledge, the Bible does not mention the practice of cremation. Out of my curiosity, I decided to do a little research on the subject.

Cremation was first introduced to the Western world by the Greeks about 1000 B.C. to deal with the many soldiers who died in battle. Armies burned the bodies and took the ashes home for funeral and burial rather than leaving them on the foreign battlefield. The Romans followed the Greeks in this practice and it grew and became a status symbol in Rome. However, the practice ceased in A.D. 100, probably due to a shortage of wood as well as a lack of encouragement from the religious leaders of the day, mainly Roman Catholic. Some thought erroneously that cremation would interfere with the promised resurrection from the dead.

After Western Europe converted to Roman Christianity, cremation was rarely done until the 19 Century except in emergencies such as mass burials of people who died from the plague. India and Eastern countries favor cremation as an ancient and favored means to take care of the deceased. Cremation was made legal in England in 1884, again for reasons of sanitation, and it grew in acceptance with the Medical community's approval.

The first Crematorium was built in the United States in 1876, but the practice had been comparatively unpopular. By 1970, only 8% were cremated in the United States in comparison to Europe's 50%. Cremation has become more important in the last few years due to the lack of cemetery space and mounting burial expenses. Japan's cremation was illegal until 1875, but is now done nearly 100% of the time. Only the Orthodox Jewish faith forbids the practice of cremation.

Today, cremation is looked upon as an acceptable choice for the individual involved or the family to decide. I, personally prefer burial, but that is my preference probably because it has been the choice of my ancestors over the years. Actually, I don't guess the decision has any great consequence since the outcome will be the same in either case. As Christians we realize this is our temporary home and look forward to our eternal home with the Lord. Cremation or burial make little difference in our final destination whether it be Heaven or Hell. The important thing is not how we die and are buried, but how we choose to live our life......in concert with God's will or in disobedience to His commands...........we all have a choice!
I am working on mine!

In Christian love,
Jan

Life's A Journey

Have you ever considered how many roles you play in this life.....? It gets pretty complicated and overwhelming when you stop to think how many different roles we have over a life time from birth to old age.

As I look back, over more years than I care to admit, I realize I have a personal "History" that tells a story of my life's journey. I can see the progression from childhood to adulthood. Good decisions as well as bad decisions, happy times as well as heart breaking times, successes as well as failures all together... comprising my life! They all add up to making me the person I am today. Above all else, I consider myself to be a Christian first, among the other roles I have filled......student, R.N., wife, mother of 4 boys and now a grand mother!

I was raised basically by a wonderful "Nannie" who taught me Christian principals from an early age. She sang songs of God and his love for children and read from a big blue Bible story book. After my Bible story, she would remain while I prayed and asked God to bless those I loved, especially her! She was 65 when I was born and a great blessing in my life even today. Every Sunday, my sister and I were up, dressed and set out to walk to Sunday school. It was quite a way from our house, but we didn't mind and sometimes a friend would stop and give us a ride. Those early years and the teaching of God's love were important to my growth as a Christian. It served me well.

My Dad died the beginning of my senior year very suddenly. He was the first person to die in my family, and every two years I lost someone significant.... my "Nannie" died two years after Dad, followed by my sister two years later. Since I was taught to love God and trust him, I can see He never failed me during those darkest moments in my life. He also gave me quite a wonderful man to love, who became my husband and brought much joy into my life as long as he lived. We struggled as most young people do when they start out, but now I can see how God used those struggles to teach us and direct our path and "grow us up"! There were things we both needed to learn and He taught us and even disciplined us in his own gentle way, even though it didn't seem so gentle at times! He taught us the wisdom of setting goals and the hard work plan to achieve our goals. Looking back, I honestly feel, He was always with us. We got our educations completed, prayed to start our family, got involved in church work and were truly blessed as a family. Time will not permit me to dwell on how very gracious God has been in our lives.

We lost our first son after 40 years of marriage....he was 33 and a victim of heart and kidney failure. It was devastating for us, but he was a strong young man and he knew he didn't have long to live. One day, he looked at me and said, "Mom, if I die before you and Dad, I don't want any sad songs and slow walking, I want my funeral to be a celebration of my life!" He was not afraid to die. Only by the grace and love of God did we survive the loss of our first child. God was with us and gave us strength to continue on day by day. Exactly six months later, God took my husband home very unexpectedly and I felt I would surely die myself, but looking back, I can see that God wrapped me in a blanket of healing love from family and friends and in due time He healed the raw pain of separation from those I loved so dearly in this life.

Whatever the future holds for me, I strive daily to leave in God's hands desiring His will for my life. He has allowed many special people to influence me and I am grateful for the love and friendship and encouragement of those people. Oh, I still have times when things mount up and strive to overcome me. I have learned however; God is never so far away that he can't hear my cry or see my tear drops and feel my pain. He is a part of my life. I know God is in control even when things tend to spin out of focus. If I just reach out, pray and have faith, I know He will answer in His own time. I have learned it may not be the answer I want, but it will be the answer I need because He loves me!

I guess what I am trying to say is, we are all part of God's creation and He loves us and desires for us to love Him and obey His will for our lives. He suffered and died to pay our sin debt in this life and has prepared a place for us to spend eternity with Him. I can't help feeling that is what our life on earth is all about ...not just acquiring the temporal things of life, but also preparation for our eternal life. We all have a choice to make and a role model to follow..... that of our Lord, Jesus Christ! Are you preparing and what will your choice be? Where is the road you walk taking you and what awaits you at the end of your journey? It is time for you to consider. Your journey could end tomorrow!

Jan

New Member to the Lord's Body

This past Sunday I had the privilege of baptizing Tyrone Wilson. At that time he confessed Jesus as God's only begotten Son and was added to the Lord's church by God Himself through the act of baptism (Acts 2:47). Jesus said, he who believes,and is baptized will be saved... (Mk. 16:16) We, the Lee County congregation, welcomed him with open arms and look forward to getting to know him better in the days, weeks, months and years to come.

If you are desiring to become a child of God and be added to the Lord's church, we would be happy to show you the way through the Holy Scriptures. May God continue to bless us all!

Amen,
Eddie

Spring Meeting Success

Our Spring Meeting was a huge success and we are now looking forward to our Fall Meeting. The Fall Meeting will be about roles in the Lord's church. We will begin with the role of our women, then our men and finally the role of each member. We are in the process of gathering our speakers for this meeting and we know that God will provide just as He has in our past meetings.

Our Fall Meeting is scheduled for October 17-19. More explicit details will follow in the upcoming months. If you are in our area, we pray you want to participate in this very informative topic, "Roles in the Lord's Church." We promise that you will glean biblical knowledge that can be taken with you to share with the world. Praise God for His written Word!

Eddie

Spring Meeting

We will be conducting our Spring Meeting in May. The dates are the 16th - 18th and the theme is "Faith of Our Fathers." The topics for each night are:

Sunday Evening - "Faith of Our Founding Fathers" - speaker Jim Parker
Monday Evening - "Faith of Our Restoration Fathers" - speaker Jason Willis
Tuesday Evening - "Faith of Our Family Fathers" - speaker George Draine

We invite everyone in the Albany and surrounding area to attend. We know you will be blessed by the messages our three speakers will present. We definitely need more faith, especially those that God has placed in authority over us. Please pray that our meeting will be a success.

Blessings,
Eddie