“The First and Great Commandment”

By: Larry Yarber

“But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were

gathered together. Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him,

and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou

shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This

is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy

neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets”

(Matthew 22:34-40).

Love is of God. John said, “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and

every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God;

for God is love” (1st John 4:7-8). However, love is manifested through deeds and not in word

alone. John again said, “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for

us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world’s good, and

seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth

the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in

deed and in truth” (1st John 3:16-18). Jesus once asked His own people, “And why call ye

me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say” (Luke 6:46)? And again, “Not every one

that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the

will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). Lip service will not take any one to

heaven.

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Gary Barr, Loeta Barr, Helen Batterton,

Floyd & Marcella Brown, Reagan Bryan,

Wilma Cobb, Faye Dawson, Imogene

Dold, Larry Grisham, Wayne & Udean

Halford, Mearl & Louise Harris, Mary

Henry, Minnie Hicks, Lucy Jo Hubbell,

Everett Johnson, Kelly Marsh, Mary Sue

Marsh, Bettie Maxwell, Phil Martin, Pat

& Opal McFarland, Gerry Roberts, Eddie

Robinson, Betty Sage, Bill Stine, Linda

Taylor, Linda Ward, Leona Willard, Gail

Wolff & Sibyl Wright.

BrookeHaven Sue Ellen Moore

NHC Velnora Wilkening

Udean Halford

Pleasant Valley

Manor Louise Cook

Leota Crawford

Joe Powell

West Vue Elsie Croney

JoAnn Eagleman

Bobby Jo Gish

Hazel Henry

Helen North

Lois Shelton

Dennis Smithson

Lucy Tackitt

Charlie Ward

Those We Love

In Need of Prayer

Members in

Nursing Homes

Room 201

Room D8

Room C9

Room 505

Room 206

Room 404

Room 215

Room 404

Room 412

Room 713

Room 211

Room 807

Room 411

Room 602

Room 808

CHURCH OF CHRIST …for the perfecting of the saints *Maturing

…for the work of the ministry *Serving

…for the edifying of the body of Christ *Growing

111 South Curry St.

West Plains, MO 65775 www.cschurchofchrist.church

417-256-3925 E-Mail: currycofc@centurytel.net

Office Hours 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. / T - F Volume 29, No. 37, September 13, 2015

COME JOIN US IN OUR

WORSHIP!

Sunday Bible Study 9:30 a.m.

Classes for all ages!

Morning Worship 10:30 a.m.

Evening Worship 6:00 p.m.

Wednesday

Bible Study 7:00 p.m.

KJV Requested For Pulpit, Classrooms and Scripture

Reading.

Bible Word Search Countries of the Bible

H A E J K Y E G H D N X P L A

B P T T D C B N M A P R A S H

S H S I H S R A T S O E A A A

I I W M L I C T B S D M Z I F

A L J I N E O U H Y A P T G M

J I P N D G M P A R L A D T H

J S S O A S W D I I L O M O P

U T N R T U C A N A A N N N Z

D I M Z E R V W G L I H I T K

A A C T E P N H I Q S D C G Z

H O I T P Y G E J P A G N A A

J M E C D C M C Q O F A Z I O

F F W O M V W K U U W W B A Z

H S S L O I Y W H J K W H R R

R H L I J X F P V R L I P V B ASSYRIA CANAAN BABYLON PERSIA

TOGARMAH TARSHISH ROSH ACHAIA

MACEDONIA PUT ASIA MINOR INDIA

GALATIA PHILISTIA SAMARIA CYPRUS

CRETE ETHIOPIA MELITA EGYPT JUDAH

Congregational News A Warm Welcome

To Our Visitors! We want to welcome each and every one of

you to our worship services today! We hope

you will stay after services, so that we may

become better acquainted with you! If you would, please fill out an attendance card

located in the pew in front of you and drop it

into the collection plate, so that we may have a

record of your attendance.

**Any woman that is interested in sewing

pillow cases for ConKerr Cancer (Cases For

Smiles), we will meet in the small auditorium

on Tuesday, September 15th from 9 – 12

a.m. We will work together to make pillow

cases for children suffering from catastrophic

illnesses including cancer. If you have fabric to

donate or need more info please contact: Terri

Wood, Patsy Atkinson or Doreen Bridges.

See table in foyer for sermon cassette

tapes. The elders have decided to give

them away. Take as many as you like.

Men’s Retreat at

Hammond Mill Camp Friday, October 2nd after 4:30 p.m.

Saturday, October 3rd

See signup sheet on bulletin board if you

will be attending this year’s retreat. If you

have questions, see Cliff Shipley, Lance

Shipley or Jim Davidson.

Holding One Another

Up in Prayer

Loeta Barr was taken to the ER

at OMC late Thursday night. Please keep

her in your thoughts and prayers.

Thank You Marvin & Louanna Green wish to thank all of

their friends for coming out to share in their

50th anniversary celebration last Saturday.

Thanks again for your love & friendship.

Charity suffereth long and is kind; charity envieth

not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her

own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil…

1 Corinthians 13:4, 5

September Birthdays

& Anniversaries

Tuesday – Donnie Holloway,

Gavin Kenslow

Thursday – Craig Davidson

Chris & Marietta Caldwell

Saturday – Wayne & Udean Halford

Sophia Sydow

Have you Greeted the Visitors?

***Jesus as head of His church sits on the right

hand of God; the church which He purchased with

His blood is His spiritual body. His spiritual body is

composed of many congregations of people each

entrusted with the Gospel, to be used in seeking &

saving the lost. Most congregations have some

means of seeking the lost: television, radio,

evangelistic meetings, visitation programs, etc.

Since God designed the church to be evangelistic,

every opportunity of reaching out to the lost should

be employed. ***One such opportunity to

“reach out” to others presents itself when

visitors attend Gospel meetings or worship

services of the church. What should be our

reaction toward such visitors? Some visitors

may be family or friends of church members,

while others may attend as a result of an out-

reach program of the church. Regardless of

what might have brought them - they are

present & merit some kind of response on our

part. Should we be so wrapped up in our own

members that we ignore our visitors? Should

we stand & whisper to another member, “I

wonder who those people are?” Should we just

make a casual observation to see if someone we

invited is present, while overlooking other

visitors? Or, should our primary concern be to

greet every visitor, become personally

acquainted with them, learn something of their

interest in the church, and assist them in

whatever their present need might be? ***Since

our ardent concern should be to make every

visitor welcome, a good answer to the above

questions might be in a proposed question:

What would Jesus do in a similar circumstance?

The answer most assuredly is that our Lord

would be visitor-conscious-and so should we! Young Christians should seek to make welcome

other youth who come into the assembly. Adult

Christians should greet & make welcome every

visitor regardless of age. Of course, this takes

awareness, time, and concern – but that’s New

Testament Christianity! Continued next column at top

Scaggs/Alsup Annual Hayride

Saturday, October 3, 2015 Non-scary hayride at 6:00

Meal at 6:30 p.m.

With hayride following

Bring a side dish or dessert

Also don’t forget the chairs &

blankets.

GOSPEL MEETING

With Toney Smith

OCTOBER 18th

– 21st

LADIES DAY

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17th

“The Season’s of a Woman’s Life”

Our Ladies Day will be held in

conjunction with our regular gospel

meeting with Toney Smith.

***When concern is shown to visitors first,

then brethren can visit among themselves.

One purpose of the open worship assembly

is to give outsiders an opportunity to

observe & participate in first century

Christianity in action in the twenty–first

century. There is no greater spiritual joy

than to exercise some part in the conversion

of a lost soul-such could be the outcome of

taking time to greet all visitors and making

them feel welcome! ~~~~~~~~~~

Love of and for God is the keeping of His commandments. Jesus said unto His disciples, “If ye

love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). A few verses later He said again, “He that

hath my

commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved

of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him” (1st John 14:21). A

moment later He said once more, “Jesus answered and said unto him, “If a man love me, he

will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our

abode with him. He that loveth me not

keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent

me” (John 14:23-24). If we do not keep the sayings of God it is because we really do not love

Him. In one of his general epistles, John concluded, “For this is the love of God, that we keep

his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous” (1st John 5:3).

As love of, and for, God is to be manifested through deed and not lip service, so is love

for our fellowman. When we love others as we should, we will always seek their good and not

their demise, Paul penned, “Owe no man anything, but to love one another: for he that loveth

another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill,

Thou shalt not steal, Thou; shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be

any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy

neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the

law” (Romans 13:8-10). Earlier we noted how love for our brother will move us to care for

his good (1st John 3:16-18). Paul further commented on this disposition in his letter to the

Corinthians, “Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not

itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily

provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all

things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things” (1st Corinthians 13:4-6).

Love is the epitome of Christianity.

Perhaps our Lord said it best when He said, “By this shall all men know that ye are my

disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:35).

DON’T BE AMONG

THE…

o matter the season of the year, the Lord’s work suffers greatly because far too many

brethren are “TOO BUSY” to be involved in the Lord’s work. Yet, they are not too

busy to be “lovers of pleasures!” It isn’t unusual to hear some of these “too busy”

brethren constantly complain about any and everything regarding the Lord’s work. Perhaps,

this is their way of showing “great concern,” and white washing their conscience without being

personally involved in the Lord’s work. In reality, according to the Bible, these “too busy”

brethren do not love the Lord or the church of our Lord. Observe carefully what the Lord said

to the Laodiceans:

“I know thy works, that thou are neither cold nor hot: I

would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art

neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.”

(Rev. 3:15 -16).

Christians in the first century were people from every walk of life, exactly as people of today.

That which sets them apart from nominal Christians today is their deep, abiding love for

Christ and lost souls! Luke records their fervor for lost souls as follows: And daily in the

temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ” (Acts 5:42). It is

truly amazing to read where the gospel …was preached to every creature which is under

heaven…” (Col 3:21)! Brethren, God expects every Christian to be a worker in the vineyard

and to “bear much fruit” (John 15:8). The parable of the barren fig tree (Luke 13:6 – 9 )

drives home the point of what will take place to God’s children who do not bring forth fruit.

While every Christian is not expected to do the same thing, they are expected to do things

within their ability/or abilities (Matt. 25:14-30)! Please, observe, carefully, God’s description

of one that refused to use their ability, “Thou wicked & slothful servant” (Matt. 25:26).

“God does not expect the impossible of any of His children,

but He does expect His children to do what they are capable of

doing!

Brethren, we should never be “too busy” to help build up the local church! Consider also the

N

“The First & Great Commandment” By Larry Yarber

By Ivie Powell

one that makes your life “too busy” to be involved in the Lord’s work is none other than

Satan! “Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices”

(2 Cor. 2:11).

Beloved, building up the local congregation depends on at least the following:

It depends on our ATTITUDE!

It depends on our encouragement!

It depends on our prayers!

It depends on our participation!

It depends on our unity!

It depends on our study of God’s word!

It depends on our cooperation!

It depends on our love for one another!

It depends on our love for lost souls!

Of course, it depends first and foremost on our love for the Lord and His

glorious church!

Beloved, being involved in building up the local work, by its very nature will knit the

congregation and spur us onward in being,”…stedfast, unmovable, always abounding in the

work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Cor.

15:58)! Don’t be among the “too busy!”

A DOUBLE MINDED MAN

By Johnie Scaggs, Jr.

James is a book written in order to instruct us in some very practical ways of living. The

truths which are found in this small but powerful book will aid one in living a better life and

will help him in his dealings with both his brother and sister in Christ and those folks who live

in and for the world. One of the great truths which James wrote was this, “A double minded

man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:8).

Let us ask this question and then answer it in this short article. Who is a “double minded

man?”

(1) A “double minded man” is one who does not keep his eyes focused in the right

direction. Instead of always looking to Jesus when he makes decisions he will sometimes look

to others who pull him in their direction. He will allow his friends and even family to cause

him to make decisions that are not good for the cause of the Lord,

(2) A “double minded man” is one who looks to power in making his decisions. He likes

to think that he alone has the rule and that all others must do as he says and if they do not agree

with him then he will devise a plan to bring them down to their knees. He is ruled by his need

for power instead of his need to follow Jesus.

(3) A “double minded man” is one who lets money stand in his way of making right

decisions. Many times people have been pulled into the wrong direction simply because they

lost sight of the Lord and began to look to the riches of this old world and thus they became

double minded.

(4) A “double minded man” is one who does not always tell the truth! He is one who is

pulled in two or more directions by different things and or people. His decisions will

sometimes be made based upon his love for his family and friends rather than his love for the

Lord.

One who finds himself/herself in this sinful condition of being a “double minded man” is

said by James to be “unstable in all his ways.” Why is this true? Because the one who is

“double minded” is one who cannot be trusted in anything whatsoever. As Luke wrote, ‘He

that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is

unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who

will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is

another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?” (Luke 16:10-12). If you cannot

be trusted to make decisions based upon the Lord and His righteous, instead of the things of

this world such as, money, friends, power and family then you cannot be entrusted with

heavenly things and thus you are called “unstable in all your ways.”

May God help us to always say and do the right thing based on our love for God and not

our love for man and the things of this world.

Hear: Romans 10:17; Matt. 7:24, 25

Believe: Hebrew 11:6; John 3:16

Repent: Acts 2:38, Acts 17:30 Lk 13:3

Confess: Matthew 10:32; Acts 8:36, 37

Be Baptized: Acts 22:16; 1 Pet. 3:20, 21; Mark 16:16;

Galatians 3:27

Remain Faithful: Revelation 2:1