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| AUGUST 30, 2020 WESTFIELD CHURCH OF CHRIST 1610 WESTFIELD LOOP, HOUSTON, TX 77073 ELDERS: James Fillyaw: 713-560-5104; Hubert Crowson: 281-732-9606; Jerry Loyd: 713-775-5377; Church Office: 281-821-8531 CHURCH SERVICES NOTICE: Church services have been curtailed for a period of time. We do have available prefilled communion cups, masks and gloves on the table in the foyer, if you desire to worship with your family. If you need any of these items, call one of the elders for entry to the building. May God bless the Westfield Church and its efforts. Amen. “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another, and so much the more, as you see the day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25). HAPPY BIRTHDAY FOR AUGUST 2nd Jerry Loyd; 6th Hannah Drake; 15th Suzie Higgins; 19th Kaymi Clayton; 23rd Gwen Huffman; 29th Leilani Baker; 31st Angie Lee; HAPPY ANNIVERSARY FOR AUGUST 24th (’56) Hubert & Ethel Crowson; READING THE NEW TESTAMENT: SECOND TIMOTHY: Chapter 2:20-26: An Unashamed Workman: Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels. The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will. Chapter 3:1-9: Difficult Times Will Come: But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. (For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, rejected in regard to the faith. But they will not make further progress; for their folly will be obvious to all, just as Jannes’ and Jambres’ folly was also. (More Next Week! Stay Tuned!) FREEDOM By Frank Himmel, Herty Church of Christ, Lufkin, Bulletin Too often, people have the idea that being “free” means being at liberty to do whatever they want. Surely you can see that if that were so, no one would have any freedom; life would be utter chaos. James spoke of God’s word as “the law of liberty” (1:25). That phrase indicates that God’s law provides freedom in some sense. It also suggests that freedom is bound by law, a principle that is true in all realms, not just the spiritual one. We live in a country where freedom abounds. For example, I am free to go into any supermarket I choose and gather up a basket full of whatever groceries I prefer. I am not, however, free to take them home without paying for them; criminal law precludes that. And if week after week my cart is full of junk food, my body will suffer the consequences; Physiological laws dictate that. Freedom, both in the civil and religious realms, is not only misunderstood, at times it is misused. “Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bond slaves of God” (1st Peter 2:16). <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> The Most Difficult Command! By Wayne Jackson, House to House Bulletin On July 2, 1893, the celebrated Restoration leader, J. W. McGarvey, delivered an address in Louisville, Kentucky. It was simply titled “Repentance.” If God were giving special miraculous gifts, McGarvey said he would not ask for the gift of healing, prophecy, or tongues. Rather, he would ask for the power, above everything else, to cause men to repent. He continued this marvelous discourse by saying, “The greatest obstacle to the salvation of men is the obstinacy of the human will.” He pointed out that, comparatively speaking, it is not all that difficult to persuade multitudes of the divine nature of Jesus of Nazareth. An honest consideration of the evidence is tremendously compelling. Nor is it a rigorous task to lead folks to be immersed in water for the forgiveness of their sins, once they are convinced they are lost and without the hope of eternal life apart from obedience to Christ (2nd Thess. 1:8-9; Heb. 5:9; 1st Peter 4:17). McGarvey forcefully emphasized that the most difficult obstacle in the path to genuine conversion “is to induce them to repent.” People do not change their minds or lives very easily. Since repentance involves both, it is challenging. Further, repentance implies a person is on the wrong path (Luke 13:3), and none of us wants to admit we are wrong. Men want Christianity without conversion and forgiveness without forsaking. When there is authentic penitence, salvation is possible. ATTENTION: Our next open-pantry day has been put on hold for a few months. Let’s not forget to restock the pantry. NOTICE: The program, ‘In Search of the Lord’s Way’, airs on Sunday mornings: On DISH Network, 7 to 7:30 a.m., local TV channel 57. On Uverse, 6:00 a.m., Sunday, ch. 1180. Check your provider if different. ATTENTION: The worship service at Village on the Park, on Sundays, has been put on hold for an unspecified time. It shall return soon. TEST YOUR BIBLE KNOWLEDGE! ‘Bible Riddles’ You Should Know (Easy From the O.T.): 1.Jacob had a daughter; So you remember her name? She was loved by a Hivite prince, but he, her virginity, did profane. 2.How old was Abram, when God changed his name; Indicating he would be father to many nations of fame? Answers to Last Week’s ‘Bible Riddles’: 1. 40 years (2nd Chron. 9:30); 2. Elisha (2nd Kings 4:38-41); 3. Hiel of Bethel (1st Kings 16:34). <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Our memory verse for AUGUST comes from the New Testament book of Matthew. Only one verse. Easy and familiar. Repeat it over and over. You can do it. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter” (Matt. 7:21). REPEAT IT AGAIN; THEN AGAIN; TEN TIMES TEN +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Second Best? By Cindy Hess Kasper Leah must have laid awake all night thinking of the moment when her new husband would awaken. She knew that it was not her face he expected to see, but Rachel’s. Jacob had been a victim of deception, and when he realized that a “bait and switch” had occurred, he quickly made a new deal with Laban to claim the woman he had been promised (Gen. 29:25-27). Have you ever felt insignificant or second-best? Leah felt that way. It’s seen in the names she chose for her first three sons (Gen. 29:31-35). Reuben means “See, a Son”; Simeon means “Heard”; and Levi means “Attached.” Their names were all plays on words that indicated the lack of love she felt from Jacob. With each son’s birth, she desperately hoped she would move up in Jacob’s affections and earn his love. But slowly Leah’s attitude changed, and she named her fourth son Judah, which means “Praise” (v. 35). Though she felt unloved by her husband, perhaps she now realized she was greatly loved by God. We can never “earn” God’s love, because it’s not dependent on what we do. In truth, the Bible tells us that “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5: 8). In God’s eyes, we are worth the best that heaven could offer---the gift of His precious Son. Amen. Nothing speaks more clearly of God’s love than the cross! FINGERED VERSE Written Anonymously During the First World War, men were out gathering the wounded and the dead. They found in a lonely and secluded spot the lifeless body of an American boy. He was lying on his face. His right hand was stretched before him, and his index finger was glued with his own blood to an open page of the New Testament. When they pulled his finger from the printed page, they found it had been lying on the Scripture, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” (John 11:25). Dying far from home, thinking of a reunion with family and Christ. REMEMBER IN PRAYERS…. Norma Hicks; Sharon (Norma’s dtg.in-law); Violet Kendrick & family; Jean Williams; Kenneth Bone; ‘Ro’ Higgins (Roy Higgins son); Selena Baker; Louise Drake; Ramona Jackson; Ed Walker; Ken, Beverly, Kamryn Fillyaw; Ronnie Weaver; Suzie Stephens; ‘Cotton’ Weaver; Evalette Dunbar; Jim & Sande Endy; Amelia Williamson; Rebecca Stone; Faye Stephens; Billie Nelson; Henderson family; Ethel & Hubert Crowson; Don Blackwell; Mildred Edmonds; Maya Briggs; J. O’Brien; Ina Henry & Family; SPECIAL PRAYERS TODAY FOR…. Sis. Ethel Crowson, due to some problems had to be taken to HNW Hosp., but should be back to the home nursing facility by the weekend, 830 Hodgkins, Hou., TX, 77032. Remember her and family in your prayers. Sis. Ina Henry doing well. Remember her and family in your prayers. Bro. Jim Endy doing better at home. Remember the family in prayers. Sis. Evalette Dunbar having some tests. Remember her in your prayers. Baby Maya Briggs doing better. Remember her and family in your prayers. Sis. Mildred Edmonds is fighting cancer. Remember her in your prayers. Sis. Rebecca (Becky) Stone needs our prayers. Remember Ken, Beverly, and Kamryn Fillyaw in your prayers. Remember Bro. Cotton Weaver in your prayers. Bro. Kenneth Bone doing well and still needs our prayers. Ronnie Weaver still needs our prayers. Ed Walker still needs our prayers. Bro. Shawn Henderson & family needs our prayers as they deal with illnesses. “. . . The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much” (James 5:16b). |