The time of our meeting is at hand! The meeting will begin on the 4th and continue thru the 9th. Services will be each evening at 7:00PM. Bro. Chris Reeves is to do the preaching at this time. We of course must realize that there are certain duties to be performed by each member of the church in order for this meeting to be a success.

ATTEND EVERY SERVICE - Each member of this church ought to attend every service UNLESS they have a REASON and not an excuse for missing. What will your neighbors see in you if you willfully forsake the assembly? Let your light shine by attending every service.

INVITE OTHERS The very purpose of this meeting is to save the souls of men and women. Each member at Eastside ought to invite someone to come and hear the gospel of Christ, Invite your parents, husbands, wives, children, yea, even your enemies to hear the gospel of Christ, This is something that each child of God ought to do in order to make the meeting as God would have it, However, there is another part we can play in this meeting that I fear we often overlook...

PRAY FOR THE MEETING. The beloved Paul left us this example in Rom 10:1-3, we should pray for:. ■  

THE PREACHER: Bro. Reeves is no stranger to the people in this area, He has been here before and we can expect him to preach the truth. He is a capable and able man in the pulpit. Yet, Bro. Reeves needs the prayers of the saints of God, We ought to pray that he will have the physical strength and wisdom to perform the task of declaring the Lord Jesus,  

PRAY FOR ONES OUT OF CHRIST: In Rom 10:1-3 Paul was praying for the Jews that were out of Christ, This was his HEART'S desire. Such ought to be the heart's desire of every child of God, We ought to be praying for the people out of Christ that something will said during this meeting that will melt their stubborn will and obey the gospel of Christ.

PRAY FOR THE ONES THAT HAVE FALLEN: Yes it is sad, but it is true that we have some that have fallen by the wayside. We ought to pray that they will return to their active place in the kingdom of God.

THANKSGIVING: We ought to pray and THANK GOD for the many blessings that we enjoy. Let us be thankful that Bro. Reeves is willing to come our way and preach the gospel and for the power that is in the gospel of Christ. Let us be grateful that we can bring our young ones to hear the right way of life. Let us be thankful for the elders that are so concerned over the souls of men, and for members that  

are working hard to lead men and women to Christ. The meeting is at hand! Let us pray as we have never prayed before. Let's make this one of the best meetings that we have ever had.

It seems that many of our brethren are determined to be 'non-traditional' in their beliefs and practices. It has almost reached the point where being 'traditional' is now the uncommon thing! The approach and mindset of some is apparently: 'If this is the way it has always been done, it must be wrong — let's change it.'

Concerning this 'non-traditional' way of thinking, let us offer these observations:

If any 'tradition' is being bound in place of, or in favor of, God's law, then such 'tradition' should be immediately exposed, denounced, and discarded. In rebuking the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus said: "For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men … Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition … Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition …" (Mark 7:8-13). Let us never be guilty of binding our human traditions as they did.

Remember that some 'traditions' are handed down to us by divine inspiration, and these are important and necessary to our salvation. Paul said: "Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle" (2 Thess. 2:15). And he instructed this: "Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us" (2 Thess. 3:6). Therefore it is essential that we honor every God-given 'tradition'.

Finally, think about this: Things that are done 'traditionally' (based upon lawful areas of judgment) have become 'traditional' for a reason. Basically, these specific ways and means have been chosen because they work well. Good and wise brethren have seen the expediency of these methods over time, and thus they have grown to be the 'norm'. Changing these things just to demonstrate that we are 'non-traditional' is neither prudent nor necessary.

Think!