LESSON 5: Today you will be with Me in Paradise CURRENT SERMON SERIES

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1 April 1, 2018 Vol. 34 No. 13 CURRENT SERMON SERIES In this sermon series, we have looked at the words of Jesus from the cross. With each statement He made, Jesus taught us valuable life lessons. As we close the series today, let us strive to make each day a Red Letter Day! LESSON 5: Today you will be with Me in Paradise

2 Your place for weekly news and updates! We are so glad to have you here today! Whether you are a first time guest or a regular visitor, you have a choice in where to worship and we're glad you chose to be with us! Your presence honors us as well as our Lord. And if you are an official part of our church family, we're glad you're here today, too! It takes all of us to be the church God intended us to be! I'm grateful to David Leigh for teaching my Wednesday night class while I was away last week. I bring you greetings from your friends (and a family member or two!) from the Calvert City congregation. I enjoyed being part of their Spring Series as we talked about how strong Christians immerse themselves in the Word of God. Today is Easter and the world stops to remember the resurrection of our Lord. While we as Christians celebrate it every Sunday, there is nothing wrong with remembering the specific day that the tomb was found empty. I love my wife every single day, but I still celebrate our anniversary! The empty tomb is the heart of the Christian's faith and the source of the Christian's hope. EVERYTHING we believe and practice is connected to this simple fact: HE AROSE! -David Salisbury Being Cross Bearers "...and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus." Luke 23:26b (KJV) The story of Simon of Cyrene offers us some timeless truths. He was selected to carry the cross of Jesus by the Roman guards after Jesus fell beneath the heavy load. Charles Spurgeon says "We see in Simon's carrying the cross a picture of the work of the Church throughout all generations; she is a cross-bearer after Jesus." Today as many celebrate the resurrection of Christ, let us remember that He rose for a reason. He rose so that we might live for Him and glorify Him with our lives. Jesus did not suffer and die to take away all our suffering. He did not walk the road to Calvary so that our road in life would be smooth and easy with no problems or struggles. In fact, just like Simon, we must take up the cross today and bear it after Jesus. Jesus' words in John 16:33 ring true with us: "In this world you will have tribulation." We should never see the cross of Christ as a way to avoid pain and suffering. It did not lead Jesus away from hardship and it will not keep heartache away in our own life. If we follow our Lord, it will not lead us away from the difficult times in life, but through them. So, let us remember that, like Simon, we carry the cross after Jesus. We do not go this way alone. When we face hardship and trials, we do not do so by ourselves. We are following the steps of the Savior. He knows all about our heartaches and sorrows and He walks with us to strengthen us every step of the way. Finally, we should note that Simon's momentary pain brought him an everlasting reward. Before that moment, very few people knew Simon of Cyrene. But since that day the world has known his name. Because of his "slight, momentary affliction", God worked in him "an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison," (2 Cor. 4:17). And the same can be true of us! If we will persevere and endure in this life, we can look forward to an eternity of glory and honor with God and the angels. The cross of Christ is a lesson for us all and we must work to carry the message of the cross to all the world today. With His help and following Simon's example, we will do so! -David 2 Corinthians 5:9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.

3 Spring Retreat Bible Image of the week The Sr. High Spring retreat SIGN-UP sheet is in the youth room. Brian Egerton (Associate North Lexington) will be our keynote speaker for the retreat. The dates are April SIGN UP AND PAY BY APRIL 15! It's going to be AWESOME! Questions or Suggestions? Nathan Woolard - Youth and Family Minister nathan@hcofc.com or (919) AN APRIL FOOL'S MESSAGE Be sure to sign up for the remind groups below that apply to your family and text your name to (919) Championship Party - April 2 HYG Devotional - April 14 Sr. High Spring Retreat - April VBS - May April Fool's Day is a pretty fun day for the most part. It is a day full of jokes and quite a bit of laughter, (and unless you are dealing with someone who takes things "too far," the day as a whole is fairly enjoyable). While it is usually fun and games, it's also a day full of mistrust where you are often living on the edge. You never know if someone is telling you the truth or if they are just pulling your leg in order to spring the APRIL FOOL'S trap. As a result of this, we are often more critical and observant of what is being said or done on April 1st than we are on a normal day. After all you don't want to be the one that is "played for the fool." The big question though is, "Are you playing yourself for a fool on a day to day basis when looking at your spiritual life?" Too often we put up a front and act like a Christian when we have to and then the moment we get the chance to put off the act, we become who we really are. We are Christians "when it counts" and the rest of the time we are content with living as we see fit, instead of as God sees fit. If we are doing this, then we are playing ourselves for a fool and also fooling others. We are fooling ourselves into thinking that how we are living is alright (and that this lifestyle will get us where we need to go) and we are fooling others by making them think we are something we aren't. While pulling April Fool's jokes may be fun, we should never make our walk with God into an April Fool's joke. Our spirituality is far too important to fool around with. Our eternity, and the reputation of the church and of Jesus Christ depends on you and how you live! Therefore, my challenge to you is to not treat your Christianity as an April Fool's joke. Treat it with integrity, where you aren't trying to fool anyone, but are doing your best to be the genuine article. BE A CHRISTIAN (PERIOD). Colossians 3: Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. Genesis 4 - Sunday Morning Class Thoughts from last class: Nathan Woolard "Worship involves two elements: act and attitude. Jesus said this when He told the woman at the well, "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:24). Our "spirit" refers to our attitude towards worship..."truth" refers to how the worship is conducted (the act of worship)...worship must be conducted in a Biblical way." - Justin Roger s In the Beginning: Life Lessons from Genesis (Page 34) Both Cain and Abel made offerings. This is important. Cain did not skip the worship service. He was there and was involved. But just being in the right place was not enough. The quality of his worship was poor, so God rejected his worship. It is possible for us to be so distracted by the outside world that we fail to offer acceptable worship. - Justin Roger s In the Beginning: Life Lessons from Genesis (Page 34)

4 Serving the Assembly Sunday, 4.1 AM Service Announcements - Juan Nunez Song Leader - Nathan Woolard Opening Prayer - Greg Warmack Scripture Reading - Russ Barker Sermon - David Salisbury Closing Prayer - Billy Ray Sunday, 4.1 PM Service Opening Prayer - Fred Barnett Scripture Reading - Karl Dawson Closing Prayer - David Hust Wednesday, 4.4 Service Song Leader - Grady Busbey Opening Prayer - Josh Fletcher Devotional - Nathan Woolard Closing Prayer - Steve Stilwell Greeters 4.1 Barbara Ray Caylin Bealmear Bob Brantley Communion Servers Green Street Side Fred Barnett Louis Moschner Tim Tapp Chris Thompson Parking Lot Side Josh Fletcher Glenn Whitledge Scott Schue Jon Nunez The Plan of Salvation Hearing (Romans 10:17) Belief (Hebrews 11:6) Repentance (Luke 13:3) Confession (Matthew 10:32) Baptism (Mark 16:16) Faithful Living (Rev 2:10) What does it mean? Becoming a Christian is just the first step in a life long journey of discipleship. Paul says that living the Christian life is like running a race and the end of our life is the finish line of the race. In Revelation 2:10, Jesus promises a crown of life to His followers who are faithful throughout their life. It doesn t mean we re perfect, but it does require us to be faithful. Don t quit on the Lord! He has promised to be faithful and asks us to do the same. For The Record: Week of March 25, 2018 Sunday AM Class Sunday AM Worship Sunday PM Worship Wednesday Bible Study - 93 Contribution - $ 6, Congregational Leadership: Elders: Fred Barnett, Bob McIndoo, Rodney Newton, Stephen Stilwell Deacons: Jason Arvin, Shane Boggess, Micah Busbey, Brad Carter, Karl Dawson, Josh Fletcher, Juan Nunez, Mark Springer, Leland Steely, Tim Tapp Minister: David Salisbury Youth and Family Minister: Nathan Woolard

5 Continue to Remember Frances Abell Kaycee Burrough Lyn Carter Carol Cummings Juanita Dockery Cathy Fletcher Odie Mays Jim McIllwain Donna Moschner Jane Putman Magdalene Shelton Laverne Thomason Friends and Family Vicki Boggess - cancer - Shane Boggess mother June Bollinger - Marlene Stilwell s mother Lula Bufford - stroke - Louise McIllwain s sister Fran Castellano - Marlena Buchanan s sister Jason Chaplin - Leukemia - Rhonda Fyffe s nephew Ronnie Clothier - Parkinson s - Sharry West s brother Kay Cook - Odie May s daughter Otis Cook - Marlena Buchanan s friend Connor Crossan - cancer - Bob McIndoo s 9 yr. old cousin Roy Daniel - Marlena Buchanan s uncle Curt Dills - Juanita Dockery s brother Jerry Goben - friend of J.B. Slaughter Bill Gotee - cancer - J.B. Slaughter s brother-in-law Martha Harrod - Sue Farris' sister Ruby Hayes - Sue Farris sister Dale Jenkins - sick - Carol Cummings brother David Klesk, Louise McIllwain s nephew Mike Loeffler - cancer - Jean Jenkins nephew Jocelyn Lofton - Laken Fletcher s niece Mike Maddox - Brian Maddox s father Carol Merriweather - Line Street Church of Christ Dennis Osburn - Mary Sue Slaughter s brother Greg Ray - cousin of David Hust Vickie Rogers - cancer - Stephen Roger s wife Sylvia Slaughter - JB & Caroline Slaughter s sister Theresa Smith - cancer - Samantha Thompson s mother Joyce Stilwell - Steve Stilwell s mother Prayer List Updates: Odie Mays will have a check up with her heart doctor this week Kaycee Burrough had surgery Tuesday to put in a port and she is home. Juanita Dockery is home from a stay in rehabitition. Steve Rose, father of Julianna Woolard, recieved good news from his recent test results. Friends and Family continued Glen Thweatt - Valerie Arvin's father Mildred Yates - Mary Taylor's friend Joe Wilder - cancer - Marlena Buchanan's friend's son Jimmy Wilson - brother of Kim Fowler (Marsha Herzog's daughter-in-law)

6 Today thru April 15 - Spring Retreat Sign-up - This Retreat is for the High School age youth group. The cost is $30. The sign up sheet is in the Youth Room. Today - April 30 - Helen Dennis Scholarship Application - This scholarship is open to graduating seniors from our congregation who will be attending a Church of Christ affiliated college or a student who is currently attending a Church of Christ affiliated college. The applications are in the tract rack. Please review the instructions carefully. An individual may only receive this scholarship once. Please return completed applications to an elder or to Juan Nunez. April 8 - Kingdom Kids Teacher Meeting - There will be a brief planning meeting for anyone interested in helping teach our Summer Series Kingdom Kids class in the Youth Room immediately following morning worship. See Micah Busbey if you have any questions. There will be NO Wednesday Night Meal this week. Our next meal will be April 18th. In 2018, we will be using the His Word devotional guide HELEN which DENNIS will take you through the Scholarship entire New Testament in a year. If you would like to buy a book, please sign up in the foyer and we will Applications order the books are as available a group. in The the cost tract for a rack and being accepted through devotional book is $6. April 30. PANTRY NEEDS REMEMBER April 29 Kids Cereal is a 5th Sunday! Peanut Butter Crackers Fruit (single serve containers) The entire contribution goes toward the Building Fund. Please make sure items are not outdated. Thank you.