wherewith ye were called (Eph.4:1). In Ephesians 4:2, Paul gives us four ways to walk worthy in the Lord s sight. God Calls Us to Walk in Lowliness.

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1 ABRAHAM Our Vacation Bible School got off to a great start with 91 in attendance. We studied about Abraham and his journey from his homeland of Ur to the land of Canaan. A study of Abraham covers a period in the book of Genesis from Genesis He is talked about throughout the Bible. He is often referred to as the father of the faithful. Abraham was first referred to as Abram. His name was changed when he was ninety-nine years old to Abraham. God said to Abram, Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. (Genesis 17:5). His wife Sarai had her name changed to Sarah in Genesis 17:15,16. God told Abram to leave the home in Ur and travel to a place that God would show him. (Gen. 12:1-3). He promised to make of Abram a great nation. Several promises follow in this section of scriptures. It is interesting as Wayne pointed out in the lesson Sunday night that God was taking Abram from what was a great city with highly civilized and educated people in it. I have read before that homes in Ur, such as Abram would have lived in, were so modernized that they had bathrooms in them. Now God is telling Abram to start on a journey and I will tell you when you get there. You will dwell in tents from this point on. Can you imagine going from your home to dwell in a tent? Some of us like to camp, but not all the time! God will tell Abram where to go. The thing is, Abram did what God told him to do. Abram was human and he made mistakes along the way. Early on he made the mistake of going down to Egypt and telling a lie about who Sarai was to protect himself (Genesis 12). Later he would try to rush God s plan regarding a descendant by having a child with Hagar. This was not what God wanted (Genesis 16), and was not the fulfillment of his promise. Even though Abraham made numerous mistakes along the way, he kept trying to correct the wrong and follow God s will. One of the things that stand out in my mind is the number of times he is referred to as a friend of God. Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever? (II Chronicles 16:7). But thou, Israel, art my servant Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend (Isaiah 41:8). In James 2:23 he is called the friend of God. What a great honor for God to call you his friend. ---L. Cole WALK WORTHY As the chaperone for sixth grade boys on a school trip to Chicago, I took five, 12- year-olds to eat in a nice restaurant. The nice hostess, who had an obvious limp, told the boys, Walk this way and I will take you to your table. I was embarrassed when the boys lined up behind the woman, like chicks behind a hen, and each limped just as she did across the crowded restaurant. That is obviously not what the unsuspecting hostess meant by, Walk this way. When Paul used the word walk, he evidently used it as a synonym for live. In our text, he is telling Christians how to live in an ungodly, perverse world. We certainly need that message today. Just before Paul listed the seven ones of unity in Ephesians 4:4-6, he encouraged the brethren to walk worthy of the vocation

2 wherewith ye were called (Eph.4:1). In Ephesians 4:2, Paul gives us four ways to walk worthy in the Lord s sight. God Calls Us to Walk in Lowliness. What does it mean to walk in lowliness? Walking in lowliness means that we esteem others better and more significant than we do ourselves (Phil.2:3). Walking in lowliness means that we will be clothed with humility; we will wear humility toward one another like we do a shirt, especially when we are young (cf. 1 Pet.5:5). Walking in lowliness means that we do not display a voluntary humility, a false, self abasement only when people are watching us (Col.2:18). Paul was a powerful apostle and missionary, yet he served the Lord with all humility in Ephesus (Acts 20:19). He could have been rude and arrogant, especially in the presence of false teachers and those who practice sinful worship, but he belonged to the Lord and served others with humility. Paul was very important to the Lord s church, yet he served ordinary people on a daily basis with lowliness. God Calls Us to Walk in Meekness The Greek word that Paul chose to use here for meekness can mean gentleness, humility, courtesy and considerateness. Meekness, along with some of the other attributes Paul describes, are among the fruits of the Spirit (cf. Gal.5:23). To walk in meekness we must have the genuine attitude of humility, otherwise we cannot restore those who have been overtaken in a fault (Gal.6:1). Walking in meekness means that we must be Christians who instruct those who oppose themselves so that they will be led to repentance (2 Tim.2:25). Walking in meekness includes being evangelistic and always being ready to give a gentle answer to every man that asks for a reason of the hope that is in us (1 Pet.3:15). When we are assigned a difficult task, it is good to have an example. Jesus Christ is our perfect example of meekness and gentleness (cf. 2 Cor.10:1). If we had been on trial before Pilate, how many of us would have kept our mouths shut? Having the power to call thousands of angels but refusing to do so is likely one of the greatest temptations Christ faced during His death. Picture Jesus with the children and you get a glimpse of His meekness. God Calls Us to Walk with Longsuffering. Surely we all have learned by life experiences that God is patient. Think about how, because of His longsuffering, God has patiently endured sinful humans (Rom.9:22). God patiently waited [for 120 years] while Noah was preparing the ark (1 Pet.3:20). Would the world still be standing if you or I were God? As God s servants, we must be longsuffering and patient. We walk with longsuffering when we patiently approve ourselves to God (2 Cor.6:6). When we walk with longsuffering we imitate God and do not hastily or harshly pass judgment on the motives or hearts of others (Rom.2:4). We should remind ourselves and our fellow Christians that God s promises are inherited through faith and patience (Heb.6:12). Paul wrote that Jesus displayed perfect longsuffering by showing him mercy, especially before his conversion (1 Tim.1:16). Paul did not deserve to be forgiven; he had helped murder Christian people. God forgave Paul. Would you or I have chosen Paul, much less forgiven him?

3 God Calls Us to Walk in Forbearance. The Greek word used for forbearing is translated in various ways. In addition to forbearing with someone, it can mean bearing with, showing tolerance, and even accepting one another in love. It means that you put up with someone like you would a son or daughter who has disappointed you with bad choices. Once, Jesus asked how long he was supposed to suffer [bear with] His generation (Matt.17:17). Thankfully, Jesus forbears with our generation, but for how long? Walking with forbearance with someone is especially important when we are persecuted (1 Cor.4:12). Jesus knows about brutal persecution. Walking in forbearance means that we bear with the loud mouth, the Facebook bully, and those who spout off opinions with no regard for what displeases God or hurts people. However, remember, there are far more serious consequences when we stop bearing with one another. As long as we live there will be a need for lowliness, meekness, longsuffering, and forbearing with one another in love. Ted Burleson, Words of Truth, Jan-Feb, 2016 FRIENDS OF GOD Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you (John 15:13-15). THE MAGNITUDE OF GOD S GRACE IS SEEN NOWHERE MORE CLEARLY THAN IN HIS DESIRE FOR US TO BE HIS FRIENDS. We, of course, may reject the terms of His friendship. And when we refuse to remain within His purpose for us, we put ourselves in a place where our Friend s goodwill can do us no ultimate good. You are My friends, Jesus said, if you do whatever I command you. A choice must be made between the world s friendship and God s (James 4:4), and the statement in John 1:11 is a sad one: He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. Yet as long as life lasts, God is still inviting us to be His friends. No one has ever rejected God without breaking the heart of a Father who wishes to show us His love. We are staggered by this love when we hear Jesus say, even to Judas who led the mob when they came to arrest Him, Friend, why have you come? (Matthew 26:50). So God s desire to be friends with us is a truly amazing fact. But we should respond to this fact with more than mere amazement. We should seek God in a way that shows our gratitude for His offer, and our seeking should be characterized by the same faithfulness and obedience that God saw in His old friend Abraham. Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. And he was called the friend of God (James 2:22,23). All these many years later, friendship with God must work the same way in our own lives. To be His friends, through His Son Jesus Christ, is no passive or slothful thing. It is the active

4 enjoyment of all the thoughts and words and deeds that flow back and forth between those whose love is strong enough to govern their character and their conduct. It is in His gentle friendship that our Greatest Friend is always asking, I gave My life for thee, what hast thou giv n for Me? (Frances R. Havergal). All the best qualities of friendship begin in Christ, advance through Christ, and are perfected in Christ (Aelred of Rievaulx). --Gary Henry WordPoints.com MONTROSE FAMILY NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS July 17, 2016 THOSE PRIVILEGED TO SERVE WORSHIP SUNDAY :00 AM Coordinator Steve Anderson Announcements Kaleb Bush Scriptures Reading...Luke 22: Alex Armour Song Leader Opening Prayer Glen Reece George Clay Lord s Supper-Preside: Mitchell Brooks Serve: Jacky Jr., Roger Draper Brian Smith, Billy Halliburton Closing Prayer..Jacky Carver, Sr. Greeter Jacky & Jacqueline Carver Greeter Ted & Vicki Russell Count Offering Jacky Carver, Sr Kaleb Bush AM Sermon Servants of God PM Sermon Guest Speaker WORSHIP---SUNDAY---6:00 PM Announcements Kaleb Bush Song Leader Jacky Carver, Sr. Scripture Reading...TBA.. Alex Armour Opening Prayer Mitchell Brooks Lord s Supper Roger Draper Billy Halliburton Closing Prayer George Clay BIBLE STUDY WEDNESDAY---7:00 PM Announcement Kaleb Bush Song Leader Alex Armour

5 First Prayer Billy Halliburton Opening Prayer Mitchell Brooks Closing Prayer Jacky Carver Sr. Prepare Communion for July Melanie Smith Note: If you are not able to fulfill your assignment listed above, please notify the coordinator so that he can find a replacement. MONTROSE BULLETIN BOARD NURSING HOME: Huey Smith, Opal Agee Pearl Anderson The White House, Lafayette Pat Dyer Broadmore, Murfreesboro Kasel Dillehay Nursing Home, Overton Co. Bob Dillehay Murfreesboro VA home Those on the sick list: Josh Dillard Kathy Harville Gladys Bowling Jimmie Faye Cole Mark Lawrence Cindy Bennett Sandy Williams Gaye Yeaman Charlie Pinckley Brandon Powell OUR RECORD OF LOVE FOR CHRIST 07/10/16 Wednesday Worship Sunday AM Bible Study Sunday AM Daily Bible Readers Worship Sunday PM Remember in prayer those who are at camp this week, both campers and adults. BIBLE READING FOR JULY 01 Psa Psa Psa Psa Psa Psa Psa Psa Psa Psa Psa. 150; Prov. 1,2 12 Prov Prov Prov Prov Prov

6 17 Prov Prov Prov Prov Eccle, Eccle Eccle Eccle. 12; S. of S S of Sol S of Sol Isaiah Isa Isa Isa Isa