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| JANUARY 3, 2021 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 Sunday worship services only at 10:00 a.m., until further notice. 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 JANUARY 14th Rebecca Stone; 25th Louise Burns; 27th Heather Drake; 26th Kamryn Fillyaw; HAPPY ANNIVERSARY FOR JANUARY None Listed If there is anyone left off either list and should be on, please let Hubert know. READING THE NEW TESTAMENT: HEBREWS Chapter 10:26-39: Christ or Judgment: For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and “The fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries” (Is. 26:11). Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.” (Dt. 32:35). And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” (Dt. 32:36). It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God. But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings, partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated. For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one. Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. “For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay. But My righteous one shall live by faith; and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him” (Hab. 2:3-4). But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul. (Continued Next Week, Lord Willing! Stay Tuned!) THE PARABLE OF THE TEACUP! ‘Food for the Soul,’ 2006 A couple went to England to shop in its beautiful stores. They both liked antiques and pottery and especially teacups. One day while shopping in a beautiful little shop they saw a beautiful little teacup. They said to the clerk, “May we see that? We’ve never seen one quite so beautiful.” As the clerk handed it to them, suddenly the teacup spoke, “You don’t understand,” it said. “I haven’t always been a teacup. There was a time when I was red and I was clay. My master took me and rolled me and patted me over and over and I yelled out, ‘Let me alone,’ but he only smiled and said, ‘Not yet.’ “Then I was placed on a spinning wheel,” the teacup said, “and suddenly I was spun around and around and around. ‘Stop it! I’m getting dizzy!’ I screamed. But the master only nodded and said, ‘Not yet.’ Then he put me in the oven. I never felt such heat. I wondered why he wanted to burn me up, and I yelled and knocked at the door. I could see him through the opening and I could read his lips as he shook his head, ‘Not yet.’ Finally the door opened; he put me on the shelf, and I began to cool. ‘There, that’s better,’ I said. And then he brushed and painted me all over. The fumes were horrible. I thought I would gag. “ ‘Stop it! Stop it! I cried. He only said, ‘Not yet.’ Then, suddenly, he put me into another oven, not like the first one. This one was twice as hot and I knew I would suffocate. I begged. I pleaded. I screamed. I cried. All the time I could see him through the opening nodding his head, saying, ‘Not yet.’ Then I knew there wasn’t any hope. I would never make it. I was ready to give up. But the door opened and he took me out and placed me on the shelf. One hour later he handed me a mirror and said, ‘Look at yourself.’ And I did. I said, “That’s not me; that couldn’t be me. It’s beautiful. I’m beautiful!’ “I want you to remember, then,” he said, “I know it hurt to be rolled and patted, but if I had left you alone, you’d have dried up. I know it made you dizzy to spin around on the wheel, but if I had stopped, you would have crumbled. I know it hurt and was hot and disagreeable in the oven, but if I hadn’t put you there, you would have cracked. I know the fumes were bad when I brushed and painted you all over, but if I hadn’t done that, you never would have hardened; you would not have had any color in your life. And if I hadn’t put you in that second oven, you wouldn’t survive for very long because the hardness would not have held. Now you are a finished product. You are what I had in mind when I first began with you.” MORAL: God knows what He is doing (for all of us). He is the potter, and we are His clay. He will mold us and make us into a flawless piece of work to fulfil His good, pleasing and perfect Will (Heb. 12:3-9). ATTENTION: Let’s not forget to restock the pantry. As a reminder, the pantry is ‘always’ open for any that have a need. Amen. NOTICE: The program, ‘In Search of the Lord’s Way’, airs on Sunday mornings. Check your network provider for time and channel. 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 N.T.): 1.In this city Peter was on a housetop; While hungry, he had a vision; Three times God told him to eat unclean animals of Jewish derision. 2.Two disciple were talking sadly, about the crucifixion in Jerusalem; To what city were they going as Jesus met and waked with them? 3.What prophet’s words was the eunuch reading, when Philip arrived? After Philip preached to him Jesus, the eunuch desired to be baptized. Answers to Last Week’s ‘Bible Riddles’: 1. The Rich Young Ruler (Luke 18:18-23); 2. To be cast into a herd of swine (Mark 5:1-12); 3. James, Joses, Simon, Judas; His sisters are not named (Matt. 13:55- 56). <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Our memory verse for January comes from the New Testament book of Ephesians. Only one verse. Easy and familiar. Repeat it over and over. You can do it. “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 5:6) REPEAT IT AGAIN; THEN AGAIN; TEN TIMES TEN <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> DOING WITHOUT By Frank Himmel, Bossier City, LA, Church of Christ A nurse was showing a patient to his hospital room. “Now,” she said, “We want you to be happy and enjoy yourself while you are here, so if there is anything you want that we haven’t got, let me know and I’ll show you how to get along without it.” Is that not one of the great keys to happiness? There was a man in the Bible who had little money, no security, no real home, poor health, little leisure time, and few friends who had not deserted him; Yet Paul wrote in these circumstances: “Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need; I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:9-11). If we have Christ, we just might amaze ourselves at what else we could do without. Amen. THE PROBLEM OF HEARTLESS PRAYER! David wished for us a significant blessing from God when he simply said, “May He grant you according to our heart’s desire.” We must learn to look deeply into our own hearts and be careful about our desires, for God is quite likely to grant us our “heart’s desire.” Ultimately, that is the only thing He will grant. In the long run, that which we receive from God will turn out to be the thing we’ve most honestly and deeply wanted, not the various things we’ve pretended to want. Our creator is not to be manipulated by whims and impulses and superficial requests. Rather, He acts on the basis of what He sees when He looks into the very depths of our true will. If we are sometimes disappointed in the results of prayer, the explanation is often that God has yielded to the course we’re actually demanding to follow, rather than give us what we’re “prying” for. We pray, for example, for spiritual strength and don’t seem to receive it. Does God know that we’re not willing to make the sacrifices that real strength would require? God is not in the business of granting such wishes. Because He loves us, He will probably leave us in the school of selfish hard-knocks a while longer, until we learn to truly desire something better. Anonymous 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; Don Blackwell; Maya Briggs; J. O’Brien; Sis. Burns dtg., Xavier; Donnie & Ina Henry & family; SPECIAL PRAYERS TODAY FOR…. Sis. Burns’ dtg. Xavier, undergoing tests. Remember her & family in prayers. Donnie & Ina Henry doing well. Remember the family in your prayers. Jim & Sande Endy doing well. 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. 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). Please keep Brother Crowson and family in your prayers. LINK TO SISTER CROWSON'S MEMORIAL |