WEDNESDAYS IN
MAY
Come join us at 6:45 p.m. for some enjoyable singing. Then at 7:20, we'll have a worship service from Buffs for Christ!
|
|
|
LAST WEEK'S LESSON
Gene Shelburne performed an ordination for Anna Street Church of Christ. Two new elders and two new deacons were added to the leadership. It was a wonderful day to worship. Thank you, Lord!
Sunday's lesson is here.
|
|
|
Church Clothes
As my lady and I were navigating the winding Ozark highway south of Branson last fall, I spotted a one-of-a-kind sign in front of an attractive church in an Arkansas country town. The sign told passersby: “Come to Our Church in Your Underwear.”
My first response was that most of the church attenders I know do that. At least, I assume that they do. But immediately I realized that this was not what the sign meant. It was an in-your-face attempt to endorse the modern conviction that we can show the world how humble and holy we are by how totally we dress down for Sunday worship.
Gone are the good ole days when Sunday-go-to-meetin’ clothes were one way people showed their respect for the Lord. In a majority of churches today, neckties and dress-up suits have vanished. So have lacy frocks and carefully coifed locks for our ladies. Informal attire has become the badge of humility in lots of the worship assemblies in my town. Some folks do indeed appear to get close to “coming in their underwear.”
It’s a good thing that church elder Hervie Champion went to heaven before a sign like that underwear invitation appeared, I chuckled. If he had seen it, he would have had a stroke. In the church of my teen years, Hervie was the self-appointed monitor of proper dress, especially for those of us who had any role in leading worship. Any dude who showed up without a necktie or wearing Levis would get yanked from the program and sharply scolded for dishonoring the Lord.
Lest I be misunderstood here, let me hasten to affirm that when we come to the house of God to praise him, the mood of our hearts matters far more than the mode of our attire. I’m sure the Arkansas pastor who posted that underwear invitation knows this. How many modern, dress-down pastors realize, though, that our people can get just as stinky proud about how informally they dress for worship as we used to about how elegantly we were robed?
Both James and Peter remind us of the proverb that says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” But what will God do to us if we become proud that we are so humble? Maybe we need to read on in Proverbs and hear the warning, “A man’s pride brings him low” (29:23).
|
|
|
|
Gene Shelburne
|
|
Depp vs Heard
At the time of writing this, there are seven different YouTube channels dedicated to streaming the Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard defamation trial. Knowing each channel shows a total number of live viewers, I decided to do some calculations. A whopping 913,000 people were watching the trial at 3:43
PM on Tuesday. Almost a million people?!
At that same moment of calculating, I heard the sweetest of sounds. My eleven-year-old daughter was sitting next to me playing her recorder. For your information, there are a series of strings wrapped around the bottom of her plastic instrument. White, yellow, orange, and green. Her hope is to be “black
belt” before the end of the year. I have no doubt she’ll get it. She is rocking it!
While so many people are obsessed with this trial, I can’t help but wonder whether they may have better things to do! Regardless, this seems to be one of the major stories in our present culture, and I admit that even I have read a few articles about this train wreck. So, is there anything we can learn?
ABSOLUTELY!
A marriage without God is an incomplete one. You can use whatever cliché you want. "It's missing its North Star." "There is no light house." "It's off the rails." These are all true statements. Men and women should strive for holiness running after God, and in doing so, find the life-long companion God
has in store for them.
In a godly marriage you will find all the things that are missing in the fairy tale Hollywood arrangements. Sure the actors of the Silver Screen have money, fame, power, and connections. But most couples seriously lack relationship with each other. They don’t know what it means to serve. Or sacrifice. Be kind. Or patient. They don't know how to forgive when it’s really hard. Or show compassion when no one is watching. Worse yet, they don’t know how to love.
I would take the example my parents have been living the last 50 years over the likes of those actors and actresses. Commitment over convenience. Love over lust. Support over selfish goals. Christ-centered over self-centered.
There was a time I thought I was going to be a famous actor. It is times like this, now 3:58 PM, sandwiched between the old desires of my youth and the wonderful recorder-playing daughter of my present that I say—Thank you, Lord!
Thank you for my wife, my life, my children, my parents, and my church. Thank you for the gift of working in your Kingdom. May I make you proud.
Let’s pray for all those who are tempted by the haunting melody of the stage lights. Whose refrain is often built in the key of “Me.” May they come to believe, love, and follow the Lord Jesus.
|
|
Nathan Keller |
|
Copyright © 2022 Anna Street Church of Christ, All rights reserved.
Our mailing address is:
2310 Anna Street
Amarillo, TX 79106
Services
Sunday
Bible Studies @ 9:45 a.m.
Worship @ 10:30 a.m.
Youth Group @ 6:00 p.m.
Wednesday
Song Practice 6:45 – 7:25
Break 7:25 – 7:35
Teaching Time 7:35 – 8:15
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
