041209

God’s Desire for Congregations (Part 2)

Pictures Needed!

[Note: This is the conclusion of last week’s article which appeared in this space.]

Several members of the Lebanon Road family are working on a “Year-in-Review” DVD for 2009. To make this as complete as possible, though, we need pictures.

3. It was a soul-conscious church. Those early Christians affected a whole region by their exemplary lives. People were attracted to Christ when they saw their joy and conduct. Real evangelism is more than talk—it is life! Evangelism grows naturally out of what we are. Good News is for spreading, by our mouths and our actions. 4. It was a surrendered church (1 Thess. 1:6). An example is a powerful thing. When individual Christians surrender to Christ, they will be like Him. That is the basis of unity. When each one follows Christ, there

will be no problem getting along with each other. 5. It was a waiting church. They were thoughtful of Jesus’ return and they waited for God’s Son (1 Thess. 1:10). Their waiting was motivation for service. Let us never lose sight of Jesus’ coming! May our goal always be to be the church that God desires!

—John Denney

Please take pictures at any and every event you attend, and send them (via email or CD-Rom) to the church office. We feel that this will be a great encouragement at the end of 2009, but we need as many pictures as we can get to make this project complete. Thank you for your help!

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LEBANON ROAD CHURCH OF CHRIST 2307 Lebanon Road Nashville, TN 37214

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Current Resident or

Lebanon Road

Church of Christ 2307 Lebanon Road; Nashville, TN, 37214 * (615) 883-6918 www.lebanonroadchurchofchrist.org

Volume 57, No.15

April 12, 2009

Not in Vain!

Adam Faughn

One of my favorite hymn lines is “Vainly they watch His bed—Jesus, my Savior— vainly they seal the dead— Jesus, my Lord.” That line, from “He Arose,” shows the difference in man’s power and the power of Christ. The stone over the tomb’s opening was large, but it wasn’t large enough. The guards were trained, but they were not trained well enough. Man’s best attempts at keeping Christ in the tomb were all in vain. Today, the religious world stops and thinks of the resurrection. Since we know that Christ was raised during the Jewish Passover, we know that this (according to Jewish calendars) is the time of year it occurred.

Many will flock to Sunrise (or Sonrise) services, while others will come to special dramas. Sadly, many will not return to a church building until around the end of December. I love this day, but no more than any other Lord’s Day. While the reminders are all around that many are celebrating the risen Lord, it is sad that many fail to see that Christ has given us ways to remember Him constantly. As we partake of the Lord’s Supper each week (cf. Acts 20:7), we are remembering the life of Christ, including his resurrection.

When one is baptized, we see a picture of the death, burial, and resurrection of our Savior (cf. Romans 6:4). It hurts me to see some minimize Christ’s resurrection to just one day each year. It is far more powerful than that! It is more powerful than anything man can even imagine. Think about His resurrection today, but be encouraged by it every day. For “if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain” (First Corinthians 15:14). “But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead” (v.20). “Hallelujah! Christ arose!”

Elders Johny Baker 758-7654 Wayne Davidson 758-2705 Earl Flynn 889-1659 Ted Fox 754-7607 Charles Myers 883-6837 Jim Schroeder 754-8990 Cliff Wilson 889-6477

Pulpit Minister Adam Faughn 973-4483

Outreach Minister Harry Middleton 292-3164

Youth Minister Worship With Us Sunday: Worship 9 AM & 6 PM * Bible Classes 10:20 AM Wednesday: Bible Classes 7 PM

Sunday Sermon Preview AM: What God Did/What We are to Do PM: Unity

JD Buckner (731) 336-4768

The Sick

Worship Leaders

Curt Hickey is recovering at home. Hilda Thomas is recovering at home.

Sunday Morning (Contact Ralph 871-4849) Opening Prayer: Jim Schroeder Closing Prayer: Tommy Moore Read Scripture: John Smith Sermon: Adam Faughn Song Leader: Lynn Wright Serving Lord’s Supper: (Contact: David 754-7085) Cary Clay 1 Joel Ledbetter 2 Scotty Studer 3 Paul Woods 4 Wayne Gordon 5 Jimmy Owen 6 Ronnie Oakley 7 Blake Biggs 8 Sunday Evening (Contact: Cary 883-5909) Opening Prayer: Lon Keele Closing Prayer: Steve Ledbetter Read Scripture: Wes Carnahan Sermon: Adam Faughn Song Leader: Lynn Wright Serving Lord’s Supper (Room) Sammie Hunter 1 Sonny Gossett 2

Thank You... Ralph and I appreciate all that the church has done for us, the cards, calls, visits and especially the prayers. We care for and love everyone. Ralph and

Linda Brewer We want to thank you for the cards, calls, prayers and especially Harry & Geraldine’s visit to the hospital. Marion is doing much better. With our love, Marion

& Mary Campbell

Bridal Tea In Honor of Brittany Herald Saturday, April 18th 2:00-4:00pm Fellowship Hall Brittany and J.R. are registered at Macy’s; Sears; Target; and Bed, Bath and Beyond

After Taxes Slim Pickins Party Sunday, April 19th Following evening services Bring the young’uns and enjoy Dinner will be provided Bar-B-Q, Beans & Greens, Salad, Cornbread, Dessert & Drinks RSVP on your attendance card

Grab Bag Swap Grab a bag from the foyer and bring to the party something from your home that you don’t need or want any longer (new or used, hand-made or store bought). Put it in the bag, tie it up and bring it

Page 2

by Harry Middleton

Wednesday, April 15th (Contact: Billy 642-6817) Read Scripture: Mike Markwood Opening Prayer: Johny Baker Speaker: Adam Faughn Song Leader: Lynn Wrigjht

JD’s Column

SOUL SEEKERS (UPDATE)

Hello everyone! I hope you are very well this day!

Door Knockers Our last meeting of the Soul Seekers (last Saturday) was very productive. Many of the items discussed and made a part of the program will help as we begin the actual work we intend to undertake. Everyone seemed to be excited about getting started as we left the fellowship hall about 10:30 a.m. Plans are for the program to get underway on Saturday morning April 25, 2009. We plan to meet at 9:00 and have a short devotional and be encouraged by one of the members who has participated in such a program before. After being assigned to a specific area, everyone will be on their way for door knocking. After completing their assigned area they will return to the fellowship hall to share their morning experiences. With all of this completed, we should be finished by 11:00 o’clock. Each team will be made up of two or three people. We would like for one of them to be a teenager. There will be an adult baby sitter at the building for those of you who would want to participate and have small children you would not want to take with you. We think everything is covered and look forward to April 25. Thank you for praying for the success of this important work!!

We have quite a few things to remember for the month of April. Sunday, April 12, at 4:30 PM we will have a youth planning meeting to talk specifically about the Graduation Banquet among other ideas for the next few months. April 19, we will have a short devo following the fellowship meal after evening services. We need a host for the devo on April 26, if you can host please let me know! Originally we had planned for our next camp meeting to be April 19, but I have to conduct services at Heartland on that Sunday. As a result, we are moving our camp meeting to Sunday, April 26, at 4:30 PM. I need some youth to help me rake up leaves at Mickey Bell’s yard on Saturday, April 25. It shouldn’t take long, so if you can help let me know! I ask our young folks to remember the Heartland service on April 19 at 4:00 PM and the Sycamore service on May 3 at 2:00 PM. There’s still more to talk about, but this will do for now! If you have any questions, please just ask me.

Visitation Team #2 and letter writers will meet tonight.

Mark Your Calendar...

Announcements: Harry Middleton - Ted Fox

April 8-14: Pictorial Directory Pictures taken

Nursery Attendants: Denise & Lisa Ledbetter

April 13: Elders, Deacons and Preachers meeting at 7PM

The Record

April 19: Slim Pickins’ Party

April 18: Spring Golf Scramble

Sunday Morning Worship:

343

Sunday Evening Worship:

251

Sunday Bible Study:

268

Wednesday Night:

189

Contribution:

$15,111.50

May 8-9: Ladies Retreat at Cedars of Lebanon—Sign up Soon! May 31: Graduation Banquet June 14-17: VBS 2009 July 5-10: Summer Camp at Valley View July 20-26: Mission Trip to Beech Island, SC—See JD for more details Page 3

Thank you very much! --JD :)