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The
Gospel Observer
"Go therefore and make
disciples of all the nations...teaching them to
observe all that I commanded you, and lo, I am with
you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew
28:19-20, NASB).
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April 21, 2019
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Contents:
1) Last Things First (Dan Shipley)
2) All Things Are Yours (Gene Taylor)3) Audio Sermons by Gene Taylor
4) News & Notes
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-1-
Last Things First
Dan Shipley
The scene is Shechem. The occasion is Joshua’s farewell
address just prior to his death. All the tribes of Israel are
assembled to hear the aged Joshua, now 110, as he begins recounting
God’s dealings with their great nation. Showing that God has
continually been with and helping them, he concludes, “Now
therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth…”
(Joshua 24:16).
The scene is Jerusalem. David is nigh unto death as he
gives this last charge to his son Solomon: “I go the way of all
the earth; be strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man. And
keep the charge of the LORD your God: to walk in His ways, to keep
His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His
testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may
prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn” (1 Kings
2:2–3)
The scene is a Roman prison. Paul is writing his last
epistle. In giving his final charge to Timothy, he reminds the young
evangelist not to be ashamed of the gospel (2 Timothy 1:8); to hold
the pattern of sound words (1:13); to suffer hardship as a good
soldier of Christ Jesus (2:3); to give diligence to present himself
approved unto God (2:15) and to persevere with urgency in preaching
the word (4:2) with the assurance that a crown of righteousness
awaits all the faithful (4:8).
Such are the words with which these great men of God conclude the
final chapter of their earthly existence. The last words of any
dying man are generally regarded as having special significance, but
the words of these men ought to be especially so regarded — not so
much because of being last words necessarily, but because of who
they were and what they said with these words.
Joshua, David and Paul were men who had given most of their lives in
consecrated service to the Lord. God had used their tongues and
talents extensively to serve His purposes among men. Through
experience and revelation they accumulated such wisdom as
experienced by few mortals. Joshua, for instance, knew how the lack
of faith could prevent one’s entering into God’s rest. David
understood about temptation and sin, and Paul himself had made the
transition from “chief of sinners” to ambassador for
Christ. As few others could, they perceived how the will of God
complements the greatest needs of man — so their last words deserve
an attentive hearing.
And what do we hear? Though different in expression and separated by
hundreds of years, we hear messages that are strikingly similar. All
emphatically recommend to others the same course they have now
finished. All emphasize serving the Lord. Essentially, they are
saying to all who shall come after them, “Live for the Lord!” or, as
another wise man put it, “fear God and keep His commandments.” After
all, that’s what living is all about. Theirs is a lesson we must
learn! Apart from truly reverencing God and walking in His ways, man
can have no meaningful existence here nor hope of life in the
hereafter. As those destined to go the way of all the earth, may the
last words of these godly men find first priority in our lives.
— Via the Roanridge Reader, Volume 34, Issue 51, Page 2,
April 14, 2019
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-2-
"All Things Are Yours"
by Gene Taylor
"Therefore let no one glory in men. For all things are yours:
whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or
things present or things to come -- all are yours. And you are
Christ's, and Christ is God's" (I Cor. 3:21-23). Do you ever sit and
think about all the wonderful blessings you have as a Christian? Do
you stop to remember all the blessings and other good things God has
sent your way?
Most of us spend too many waking hours thinking about the problems
we have, bills we must pay and day-to-day frustrations. We
focus on what we lack instead of what we have. We not only dwell on
our own imperfections but also on the imperfections of others.
It may be that much of the preaching we hear, mine included, is
responsible for such negative thinking. It is natural for a preacher
to direct his comments against those things which need to be
improved. If we are not careful, though, our total emphasis can
become negative. Such is regrettable. We should be thinking of the
good that is about us -- the encouraging achievements of the past,
the great blessing of the present and the great potential of the
future. It is a marvelous thing to be a Christian! The above text
jumps out at us with this fact. It is an optimistic passage that
when read should send you on your way with a song in your heart and
a prayer of thanksgiving on your lips. Consider what it teaches
about the blessings of a Christian.
Paul, Apollos, Cephas
Why would Paul say that he and these two other men were theirs? The
Corinthians had begun to call themselves after the man who had
baptized them (1:11-12). To wear a man's name meant to belong to
that man. But they did not belong to their teachers. They belonged
to Christ. Their teachers, preachers and leaders belonged to them.
We do not belong to preachers and elders. They belong to us. Their
place is to serve and they have been provided for our spiritual
good. They are ours!
World, Life, Death
The world is ours. Sometimes it seems the world is passing us by
without paying the slightest bit of attention. Consider the teaching
of Matthew 5:5, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the
earth."
Who possesses the good life? The worldly revelers? Christians are
the only ones who know what life is about (Eccl. 12:13; 2:1–11). Our
present life, and its fullness, is a gift from God (John 10:10).
In one way, death belongs to all because "it is appointed for men to
die once" (Heb. 9:27). But it belongs to the Christian in the sense
that he does not have to fear it (I Cor. 15:55; Psa. 23:4). To the
Christian, death is not a loss but a gain (Phil. 1:21-23). It is a
way in which the faithful are blessed (Rev. 14:13).
Things Present, Things to Come
As to things present, consider Luke 6:38, "Give, and it will be
given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and
running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure
that you use, it will be measured back to you." God's child is
always in His tender care (Matt. 6:25–34).
In the matter of things to come, we have a splendid future if we
center our lives on Christ. The future blessings which will be given
to faithful Christians are incredible (Rom. 8:18-19; I Pet. 1:3-9).
You Are Christ's, And Christ Is God's
The future belongs to us only because we belong to Christ. It is
because we have embraced those truths which He came to teach that we
can have such confidence in our future. Without Christ, and we have
nothing to anticipate but despair.
The future belongs to Christ and His disciples because He is God's.
When we belong to Him, our future is as secure as His (Rom. 8:17).
— via the Centerville Road church of Christ in Tallahassee, Florida
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"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has
blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places
in Christ (Ephesians 1:3, NASB).
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-3-
News & Notes
Shirley Davis was in the hospital in Douglas last Thursday
to Friday, due to an ulcer on her heel for three weeks. They
also eliminated blood clots that were in her leg. Her new knee
is doing fine, but the other is becoming worse.
Rick Cuthbertson is now being treated for blood clots and is
also continuing with his weekly chemo.
Penny Medlock had been moved to a hospital in Atlanta,
due to her condition.
Others to also be praying for: family and friends of Mary Ellen
Aldrich; Pat and A.J. Joyner, Jim Lively, James Medlock, Deborah
Medlock, Mary Vandevander, Michelle Rittenhouse, John Stoval,
Kayleigh Tanner, Amris Bedford, Danny Hutcheson, Roger Montgomery,
Rex and Frankie Hadley, and Tommy Lin
WordPress Version of this week's bulletin:
https://thegospelobserver.wordpress.com/2019/04/21/the-gospel-observer-april-21-2019/
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The
Steps That
Lead to
Eternal
Salvation
1) Hear the
gospel, for
that is how
faith comes
(Rom. 10:17;
John
20:30-31).
2) Believe in
the deity of
Christ (John
8:24; John
3:18).
3) Repent of
sins (Luke
13:5; Acts
17:30).
4) Confess
faith in
Christ (Rom.
10:9-10; Acts
8:36-38).
5) Be baptized in
water for the
remission of
sins (Mark
16:16; Acts
2:38; 22:16;
Rom. 6:3-4;
Gal. 3:26-27;
1 Pet. 3:21).
6) Continue in
the faith, living
for the Lord;
for, if not,
salvation can
be lost (Heb.
10:36-39; Rev.
2:10; 2 Pet.
2:20-22).
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Tebeau Street
CHURCH OF CHRIST
1402 Tebeau Street, Waycross, GA 31501
Sunday services: 9:00
a.m. (Bible
class); 10
a.m. & 5
p.m. (worship)
Tuesday:
2
p.m.
(Ladies' Bible
class)
Wednesday: 7
p.m. (Bible
class)
evangelist/editor: Tom
Edwards (912)
281-9917
Tom@ThomasTEdwards.com
http://thegospelobserver.wordpress.com (Gospel
Observer
website with
pictures in
WordPress)
http://thomastedwards.com/go
(Older version
of Gospel
Observer
website
without
pictures, but
back to March
1990)
http://tebeaustreetchurchofchrist.org/
http://ThomasTEdwards.com/audioser.html
(audio sermon)