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Vol. 47,
No.35 SOUTHSIDE ORACLE November
12, 2004
The Bulletin Board
Senior Dinner – This Saturday at noon our young people will again host
our seniors in a Thanksgiving Dinner. This is an annual event and we so
much appreciate the youth and their sponsors who make this event possible.
Care Packages – We are preparing two more care packages for our college
students who are away from home. The boxes are set up on the table by the
side entrance. Please take a look at the lists and choose an item or two to
contribute to this effort. The students this month are Bethany Stanger and
Holly Shilts. If you have any questions, please see Colleen Windell. Thank
you for your help.
Blood Drive – The blood drive last Saturday went very well even
though the number of donors was smaller than in the past. Several people
from the community also contributed. Our thanks to all who gave blood or
helped.
The
Sick – Elfriede Wandsnider is recovering at home following her recent
hospitalization.
Moved –
Michael and Tawn Earnest have moved to Madison, TN. We will miss
them….Julie King has moved.
Contact us for details.
ATTENDANCE RECORD
Two
years ago Last year Last week Goal
Bible
classes 119
147 132 170
Morning worship
203 225 *254 250
Evening worship
70 110 52 80
Contribution $3134.08
$4439.40 $4412.00 $4500.00
(*) first service,
160; second service, 94
Remembrances
Julia and
I have been sorting things out recently in order to get rid of a lot of
items we no longer need. After 46 years in the same house, that’s a lot of
sorting! It’s a slow process because it involves so many decisions. What
do we keep, what do we throw away. Old papers, old letters, old pictures,
yes, especially the pictures. We ran across some photos from my parents’
wedding that we didn’t know we had and some drawings and writings of the
children when they were young. If you have ever gone through the process,
you know what I’m talking about.
Our
possessions from the past identify who we are. They reflect the good days,
and also the pains and sorrows related to family. Our identity is vital to
everything we do. What I am today is pretty much the sum of what I have
done and been in the past. We must know who we are to be able to go
forward. One of the tragedies of Alzheimer’s disease is the loss of
memory. If one loses his ability to know who he is, he also loses his
ability to function.
Those of
us who are Christians took upon ourselves a new spiritual identity when we
accepted Christ as the Lord of our lives. “Therefore, if anyone is in
Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2
Corinthians 5:17). In fact, our lives have been merged with Christ. “For
we know that the old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin
might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin” (Romans
6:6). When we became children of God we renounced the bad things of the
past in order to pattern our lives after Jesus.
And so,
today, Christian friend, remember who you are. Remember the day you
accepted Christ and the vow you made to follow in his footsteps. What a
wonderful memory! The days and the months, even the years have past, but
the resolution, the memory is still there. It defines who you are as a
spiritual being. Perhaps you have slipped and forgotten your resolve. The
memory is now painful. It needn’t be if you will allow it to prompt you to
once more take up your cross and follow Jesus. Remember - you are a child
of God! __Monroe E. Hawley
Calendar of Events
November 13 – Senior dinner sponsored by our youth,
12:00 noon
November 14 –
Elders/deacons meeting, 4:30 p.m.
November 14 –
Praise and Palate, 6:00 p.m.
November 16 –
Christian Workers’ Meeting, 9:15 a.m.
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