THE INFORMER Church of Christ ~ New Albany, Mississippi

www.nacoc.us May 21, 2019

This article is not speaking of Paul Simon’s song released in 1977, “Slip Slidin’ Away.” We are speaking of a spiritual trend claiming the souls of scores of unsuspecting and unconcerned New Testament Christians. One of the greatest dangers facing any Christian is that of drifting away. This being the case, we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away (Heb. 2:1).

Drifting is dangerous because it requires no effort. It will not allow us to “get upstream” or make spiritual progress in our lives. It is dangerous because of the subtly of it and the gradual pro-cess like erosion that little by little etches our spiritual integrity away gradually. We must be alert because it can be an unconscious process, catching us blind-sided.

Drifting begins in the heart long before there are signs visible to others. James gave a warn-ing, “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin: and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death” (Jas. 1:14-15). The wise man Solomon gave similar caution, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. ‘Eat and drink!’ he says to you, but his heart is not with you” (Prov. 23:7).

There are some warning signs to indicate if you are developing a backslider’s heart. You may be sliding if you expect less of yourself and have to become increasingly urged to work for the Lord. If you spend less time reading God’s Word you may be adrift. The Psalmist addressed this multiple times when recording the Psalms. Notice what he said in Psalms 1:2, “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.” He urged his readers later, twice in the same Psalm, to be heads-up. “Oh, how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day” (Ps. 119:97). “How sweet are Your words to my taste, Sweeter than honey to my mouth” (Ps. 119:103). Spending less time in praying should put us on the alert. Jesus addressed this need by saying, “Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart” (Lk. 18:1). Another Old Testament statement of concern is found in Proverbs 15:8, “The sacrifice of the wick-ed is an abomination to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is His delight.”

The toleration of “little sins” in your life paves the way to spiritual departure. Imagine all the obstacles a person might have to overcome if he were to walk from New York City to San Fran-cisco. One man who accomplished this rare achievement mentioned a rather surprising difficulty when asked to tell of his biggest hurdle. He said that the toughest part of the trip wasn’t traversing the steep slopes of the mountains or crossing hot, dry, barren stretches of desert. Instead, he said, “The thing that came the closest to defeating me was the sand in my shoes.”

Slip Sliding Away

Mike King

A Parable On How We See People

A man was exploring caves by the seashore. In one of the caves he found a canvas bag with a bunch of hardened clay balls. It was like someone had rolled clay balls and left them out in the sun to bake. They didn’t look like much, but they in-trigued the man so he took the bag out of the cave with him. As he strolled along the beach, he would throw the clay balls one at a time out into the ocean as far as he could. He thought little about it until he dropped one of the balls and it cracked open on a rock. Inside was a beautiful, precious stone.

Excited the man started breaking open the re-maining clay balls. Each con-tained a similar treasure. He found thousands of dollars worth of jewels in the twenty or so clay balls he had left. Then it struck him. He had been on the beach a long time. He had thrown maybe fifty or sixty of the clay balls with their hidden treasure into the ocean waves. Instead of thousands of dollars in treasure, he could have taken home tens of thousands, but he just threw it away.

It’s like that with people. We look at someone, maybe even ourselves and we see the external clay vessel. It doesn’t look like much from the outside. It isn’t always beautiful or sparkling so we discount it. We see that person as less important than some-one more beautiful or stylish or well known or wealthy. But we have not taken the time to find the treasure hidden inside that person by God.

There is a treasure in each and every one of us. If we take the time to get to know that person and if we ask God to show us that person the way He sees them, then the clay begins to peel away and the brilliant gem begins to shine forth.

May we not come to the end of our lives and find out that we have thrown away a fortune in friend-ships because the gems were hidden in bits of clay. May we see the people in our world as God sees them. ~ copied

FILL IN THE BLANK

“My ____, forget not my ____; but let thine _____ keep my ___________: For ________ of days, and _____ _____, and _______, shall they ____ to _______. Let not ________ and ______ forsake thee: ______ them about thy ______; ______ them upon the _______ of thine ______:So shalt thou ______ ______ and good ____________ in the _____ of ______ and _______.

Prov. 3:1-4

The Silent Camp

Lying at rest from the battle and strife In this brave, busy world of ours!

Lying in peace, with their rams laid down ‘Neath the soft, green turf and the flowers!

War, and victory, long since past They rest in their last calm sleep,

While over their graves the steadfast skies Their tenderest vigils keep.

Hark! The sound of the soldier’s tread,

And the roll of the muffled drum! Down the street to the silent “camp”

The loyal regiments come. Hearts are filled with a loyal pride,

And eyes with ardor glow, As they deck with blossoms the quiet graves

Of the comrades lying low.

Think you, e’en as the years roll on — And men are busy with care,

And toil and pleasure, profit and loss, Each having his burden to bear —

That loving thoughts of the “brave and true,” Who answered their country’s call,

Can fade, and pass from men’s hearts away, As leaves from the branches fall?

Ah, no! For out to the springtime breeze

Our beautiful flag is spread, And tells its story of praise and love

For the brave and honored dead. And we, who yet in the ranks remain

Fighting the foes of life God grant we honor the cause and die

Glad victors in the strife.

~ Mary D. Brine ~

Memorial Day Quotes

The purpose of all war is ultimately peace.

~ Saint Augustine

Till the war-drum throb’d no longer, and the battle-flags were furl’d; In the parliament of man; the Federation of the world.

~ Alfred Tennyson

And I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free, and I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me and I’ll proudly stand up next to her to defend her still today, cuz there ain’t no doubt I love this land, God Bless the USA. ~ Lee Greenwood

PRAYER LIST

Billy Joe Garner remains in room 222 of the local hospital. He had a biopsy this past Fri. to determine if the infection was in his bones.

Eleta Grimmett had a heart monitor implanted Mon. Her cardiologist wants to monitor her heart rate in order to best treat her condition.

Nancy Petrowski, daughter of Deloris Crowe, is in Baptist Hospital Desoto Co. with pneumonia and congestive heart failure. She also has suffered a heart attack and will have a heart cath later this week.

Carey Mayer, brother-in-law of Roger Clayton suffered a heart attack last week and then had open heart surgery Fri. He is doing pretty well.

Madison Barns, 16 year old granddaughter of Deloris Crowe’s friend from Ripley, is scheduled to have open heart surgery Thus., at Le Bonheur.

Bill Lyon has been suffering with vertigo.

Audrey Anna Young left Mon. with a group from Freed-Hardeman University to Costa Rica for an 11 day research trip. Please pray for her safety and the others as well.

Continue to Remember:

Joel Baxley, Phares Birdwell, Don & Sherri Blackwell, Mary Bradley, Daniel Cross, Shane Crotts, Arelus Dye, Prebble Foster, Ray Franks, Lana Gann, Benita Garner, Phillip Haynes, Shane Hutton, Bobby & Sue Marques, Sarah Martin, Rosie Moore, Elizabeth Phagen, Mildred Shackelford, Mary Williams

Expectant Mother: Alyce Jennings, girl, Sept.

Shut-Ins: Bill & Helen DePriest, Linda Griggs, Billy Joe Garner, J.D. Stroud

Nursing Home/Assisted Living:

Joe Downs, Jerry & Lucille Gibson, Laura Mae Harris, Price Senter

Military List:

Derek Bradley, Tevin Bradley, Chase Seals, David Wilhite

I’ve Learned…

Make no judgements where you have no compassion.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

May 27. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Olen Clark May 27. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sheila King May 30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Larry Cobb

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY May 31. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jim & Emily Gann

For daily devotional & updates call NEWSLINE @ 534-0016

Visit our website @ http://www.nacoc.us

Email: nacoc15s@gmail.com

AREA EVENTS

The next Area Wide Youth Meeting will be held at the Mayfield Church of Christ June 9th, at 6:30. Following the Area Wide Meeting everyone is invit-ed to Veterans Park in Tupelo, for Singin’ in the Park, from 8:00-9:00pm.

Congregational 2019 Theme

“Letting the Lordship of Jesus, in me be seen in 2019”

THANK YOU NOTE New Albany church of Christ,

We would like to thank everyone for the care and concern shown to us in the loss of my moth-er. The calls, cards, texts, and visits mean more than you will ever know.

Love, Bill & Karen Botts

SENIOR OUTING An outing for our senior group is being planned for Fri. May 31st, for lunch, at the Rattlesnake Café near Tuscumbia, AL. Please sign the list in the foyer if you are interested in going.

CARE GROUPS MEET Care Group 3 will meet next Sunday night May 26th, following services at the home of Phil & Paige Young. The monthly youth devo will be held there as well.

Care Group 1 will meet June 2nd, at the fellowship building after morning services for a potluck meal. If you have any questions please see Steve Todd.

PANTRY ITEMS

Peas

THE INFORMER

May 21, 2019 Volume 20

THE INFORMER (USPS 581-500)

Church of Christ

511 Hwy. 15 South, P.O. Box 148 New Albany, Mississippi 38652

(662)534-4649

POSTMASTER: Send address changes

(Form 3579) to: The Informer, P.O. Box

148, New Albany, MS 38652

SCHEDULE OF SERVICES

Sunday School...................9:30

Morning Worship............10:30

Evening Worship...............6:00

Wednesday Bible Study....7:00

MINISTER

Mike King ................ 507-0625 Home ....................... 534-6872 Office ....................... 534-4649

ELDERS

Richard Jennings ......316-1305 Troy Robertson ........316-3163 Phil Young................316-2059

DEACONS

Greg Clayton……....252-9762 Roger Clayton .......... 538-8195 Shane Crotts..............316-6364 Jason Jennings .......... 801-3260 Randy Wall .............. 316-9255

Periodical

Postage Paid

New Albany, MS

TO SERVE

Scripture............Clay Jennings A.M. Prayer........Dane Coggin Closing……...Hunter Jennings P.M. Prayer...Richard Jennings Closing..............Ruston Adams Wed. 5/29..........Greg Harrison Wed. 5/29..........Dillon Clayton Lock 5/26….......Matt Jennings Usher 5/26……...Shane Crotts Security 5/26…..Matt Jennings

OUR RECORD

Sunday School.....................83 Sunday A.M.......................101 Sunday P.M..........................84 Wednesday...........................83 Contribution..............$3,192.00 Budget.......................$4,095.92

Memorial Day!

Memory is an important part of the human experience. God creat-ed our minds in such a way that we can store information regarding past events and recall that information in the future. These facts range from the mundane tasks of life, such as brushing our teeth every day because we learned the necessity of doing so in the past, to more profound concepts, such as the sacrifices made by Ameri-can soldiers throughout history who fought and died to protect oth-ers in our nation and world.

On Monday, our country will remember those valiant soldiers who donned the uniform of service to their fellowman, and gave their lives for freedom, a cause they deemed greater than them-selves. We remember their great sacrifices, and acknowledge the biblical precept of laying down our lives for others (John 15:13).

On Sunday, Christians will gather to remember the One who taught us to sacrifice for others. Jesus lived a life of ser-vice, spending His time on earth doing good (Acts 10:38), teaching truth (John 6:63; Eph. 4:21), and ultimately giv-ing His perfect life as an atonement for our sins (John 10:18).

There are many memorials man observes throughout his days. But there is none so important as the one commanded by God: the Lord’s supper (Matt. 26:26-29; 1 Cor. 11:23-26). Let us not fail to remember the supreme sacrifice, and let us proclaim His death until He comes!

~ Matt Clifton, via Bulletin Digest