We’re Here, It’s 2020

Jeff Curtis

     Well, the new year is upon us. That means that we just finished another year. Each person reading this had good and bad changes in our lives. We lost loved ones and there were babies being born. Life goes on.

     The question is “resolutions.” Everyone makes them, whether we call them a resolution or not. We all want to try to some extent to make the coming year better than the last or even the past few years.

     There are several changes taking place. First of all, you have a “new” preacher this year. There may be some skepticism about one preacher leaving and another coming in. My “resolution” is to make this change as easy as possible. I want to work with the elders and deacons and members to help everyone here to grow spiritually.

    One way we can grow is to use the Bible to best of our ability. The Apostle Paul tells us to, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2Timothy 2:15, KJV). He also told young Timothy that the Bible is all that we need for every aspect of our life, husband, wife, child, father, mother, Christian. “¹⁶ All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2Timothy 3:16-17, NKJV).

     Another thing we can do to help ourselves grow is to pray. Again, the Apostle Paul told the Thessalonians to “Pray without ceasing” (1Thess. 5:17, NKJV). I don’t know that he is telling us to constantly pray and never take a break, but I do believe he is encouraging us to pray every time we have an opportunity or whenever the need arises. King David was a good example of a man / leader that prayed. Every time he was to make a decision, he would turn to God is prayer.

    Something else that will help us grow in the new year is faithful attendance. Jesus said that where two or three are gathered together in His name, He was there in their midst Matthew 18:20, NKJV. Why would Christians not want to be in the presence of Jesus, the Son of God? The Hebrew writer also told Christians in the first century, who were under intense persecution that they were not to forsake the assembling of themselves together. So many times, we try to justify our missing the services. When we have a “slight” headache, or guests show up, we justify missing. The Christians in the first century were told, “not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some,” (Hebrews 10:25, NKJV). In the same context they were told to encourage and provoke unto love and good works one another, v.24. It is difficult to grow when we choose to miss the assembly of the saints. When we choose to not be in the presence of Jesus.

Our Aim

    Our aim as a church is to reproduce in this community a church of the Lord Jesus Christ such as was planted and nurtured by inspired apostles of Christ in New Testament times. In name, in worship, in organization, in spirit, and in life, we propose to emulate the Church of the New Testament.

    Our aims are not social, political, or economic, but spiritual. Our program is, therefore, spiritual. It is our aim to live and to teach others to live to fit ourselves and others to live eternally with God in a better world than this. We believe in the all-sufficiency of the Gospel of Christ and the Church of Christ to effect this grand and glorious result. We, therefore, in our teaching and practice exalt the Christ, His teaching and His church.

    Believing that we save ourselves as we participate with Christ in the salvation of others, we earnestly covet the opportunity to do service to our fellowman. We, therefore, extend to all a fervent invitation to attend our services. Every visitor is our honored guest and will be accorded a warm welcome. We should like to know you personally and for you to know us better religiously.

    If you are a visitor to our area, we welcome you to our community and urge that you test the warmth of the members of this congregation. We believe the New Testament simplicity of our worship and the Bible-based teaching in our classes and from the pulpit will challenge your interest and your respect. (Borrowed from Heath Rogers, Knollwood Reminder)

Yesterday I lost something that was something precious to me. It was my billfold. While the contents are important, the billfold itself meant more because it was Robert Jackson’s. I will keep searching high and low for it and hope it turns up. Just recently I thought about putting it up lest something like this happen, but thought, “No, Robert would want me to use it.” It reminds me that things we hold precious can be lost. Sometimes we find what is lost and sometimes we don’t. I hope my billfold turns up, but I must continue to search for it or it will remain lost. It reminds of three parables Jesus told in Luke 15.

Jesus talked about the lost sheep the lost coin, and the lost son. First, Jesus spoke about the lost sheep. There was a shepherd that had one hundred sheep until one came up missing. Someone else may have thought, “What difference does one make? He still has ninety-nine. That one won’t make or break him financially.” However, this man had a shepherd’s heart and the thought of the sheep being lost and alone touched the shepherd’s heart; so, he left the ninety and nine and searched for that one lost sheep. To him that sheep was precious; it had value. When he found it, he called his friends to come and rejoice with him over the lost sheep he found. Now it was possible that shepherd could have searched high and low and never found the lost sheep. Imagine how pained he would be to search and never find his lost sheep.

Then Jesus told of a woman who had ten coins and lost one. She swept her house and looked high and low until she found her lost coin. Now she still had nine coins, but that one coin had value. That woman called for her friends to come and rejoice with her for finding her coin. Now there was the chance the woman may have never found the coin and imagine her disappointment.

Then Jesus ups the ante; He talks about a lost son. To the father whose son was lost the sheep and coin may seem minor. He watched for his lost son to come to his senses and come home from the far country. The difference between the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son is that the son had a freewill to choose whether to come home or not. Imagine how the father felt day in and day out. His words are very telling in vs.24 when the son came home: “For this my son was DEAD and IS ALIVE AGAIN; he WAS LOST and IS FOUND…” However, some lost sons and daughters do not come home. No matter how much we want them to, they have a freewill and so often we blame ourselves when in reality they have decided on their own to live in a lost condition. I feel for parents who look out and even though they know where their children are physically, they know they are lost spiritually. What does one do when is looking for their lost child to come home? I don’t know all the answers; my boys are still young and I don’t know what they may do as they get older, but let us look what the father did.

(i)He didn’t condone the sinful ways of his son! It might have been easy to condone the sin just so his son would not heave home and go into the far country. I find it interesting the son knew if he was going to live in sin he wasn’t going to do it in his father’s house. In fact, he left the country and went into the far country. As difficult as it is we cannot condone the sin of our children. That will only make it easier for them to continue in the sin. Love doesn’t ignore sin, love deals with it. I don’t think that means we are always on them and nag them to death, but we let them know that we love them and are concerned about their soul when given the THE EASTSIDE ENCOURAGER A publication of the Eastside church of Christ Shelbyville, TN 1803 Madison St. Shelbyville, TN 37160 www.churchateastside.com January 7, 2018 opportunity.

(ii )He was always ready for the son to come home! He was watching and waiting for the day his son would come home. As long as he was in the far country he was lost. Not only did the father not know where he was, but he was spiritually lost. The father didn’t know if the son was dead or alive, but he did know that spiritually he was dead. However, the father never gave up. He kept watching and looking (vs.20) so when his son was a great way off the father saw him and ran to him. Had the son never came home the father would have still kept looking until he died.

(iii) He did not let his children lead him astray! In our grief over a lost child, we must be careful not to let such sorrow cause us to lose our faith. We may feel helpless, hopeless, and broken over the lostness of our child. We may say, “What’s the use? I can’t reach them!” and in our distress, we lose our faith. We need to remember that we cannot trade our soul for theirs and that each one is accountable to God for their own soul. While our heartbreaks over a lost child, why would we want to break our Heavenly Father’s heart by leaving the faith? We can’t quit serving God just because they did and we are heartbroken.

(iv) He kept looking! I’ m going to keep looking for my billfold. I fear I may have tossed it out with some trash. I may go to the dump and look. Why you ask? Because it’s precious to me. If something is precious to you, you keep looking. When one precious child is lost, keep on looking for ways to encourage them to come home to the Lord. When one returns call your friends together and rejoice!