Sullivan church of Christ – Sullivan, MO
Date: June 5, 2005
WHY DON’T YOU GO TO EVERY SERVICE?
Too Busy............................. Read Heb. 9:27
Too Many Hypocrites........... Read Rev. 3:4
Too Tired.............................. Read Matt. 11:28
Too Far................................ Read Rom. 8:38-39
Someone hurt my feelings... Read Matt. 6:12
Clothing not good enough... Read James 2:1-5
Church not popular............. Read Matt. 7:13-14
Had company...................... Read Luke 10:38-42
Weather too bad.................. Read Rom. 8:35
Don’t want to...................... Read Heb. 4:1
** The next time you intend to miss a service of the church, find the reason, then
read the passage! And, ask yourself, “Will this excuse work on judgment day?”
Heb. 10:24-25 — “And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good
works: (25) Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is;
but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”
BEFORE YOU QUIT
Dub McClish
Quitters never win and winners never quit! Show me a man or woman who is a real
achiever and I will show you someone who has refused to quit when the hurdles
were high and the head winds were strong. The “easy” way to “overcome” problems
is to drop out. It is also the wrong way. The only time we should be willing to quit
is when we are doing something wrong.
There is not an easy way to estimate how many battles have been lost, how many
inventions have failed to materialize, how many marriages have dissolved and how
many athletic records have gone unshattered because someone quit. We must
await eternity to learn how many souls will be lost, how many good works died and
how many spiritual victories failed because a brother or sister quit a post of
service. God’s word teaches by example and precept that God takes no pleasure in
quitters. What if Noah had grown weary before he finished the Ark, and quit?
What if Moses had let the problems of leading Israel through a barren wilderness
get him down so that he drew up his hands and quit in dismay? What if Jesus had
quit when his own brothers rejected him, when his best disciples displayed sinful
ambition, when one of his twelve betrayed him for money and when another denied
he even knew him? What if he had quit when the attacks from his enemies became
increasingly harsh, till it was apparent they would not stop till he was dead? What
if Paul had quit when the Jews rejected his preaching and followed him about,
stirring up more opposition? What if he had quit in utter discouragement in one of
the many prison cells he occupied?
So, you’re tired of being taken for granted? You’ve been at the same task now for
several years in the church and you’re tired? Somebody mistreated you and
unjustly criticized you, you say? The new has worn off of the bus evangelism
program and it turned out to be hard work, so you are going to drop it? Before you
quit, remember, “No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for
the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). Also, reflect on Paul’s encouragement: “And let us
not be weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Gal. 6:9).
There is truly a crying need in the kingdom for people who will work till death, if
necessary, to finish their task! —SELECTED
IT SHOWS IN YOUR FACE
You don’t have to tell how you live each day,
You don’t have to say if you work or play.
A tried and true barometer serves in its place,
However you live . . . it shows in your face.
The false, the deceit, that you wear in your heart,
Will not stay inside where it got its start.
For sinew and blood is a thin veil of lace,
However you live . . . it shows in your face.
If your life’s been unselfish — for others to live,
And care not what you get but try always to give.
And you live close to God, in His infinite grace,
You don’t have to tell it . . . it shows in your face.
(Author Unknown)
5 TRAGEDIES
—> A man struck a match to see if the gas tank of his car was empty. IT WASN’T!
—> A man patted a strange dog on the head to see if the critter was affectionate.
HE WASN’T!
—> A man speeded up to see if he could beat the train at the crossing. HE DIDN'T’
T!
—> A man touched a wire to see if it was charged. IT WAS!
—> A man quit going to church to see if God really meant business. HE DID!
“It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
(Hebrews 10:31)