Estes Echo
Join the ladies of Estes as Doritta McDaniel discusses how our lives can be a gift to Jesus and to one another.A luncheon will be provided by the Estes ladies. Babysitting for children five and under will be provided.
Saturday, April 23
Estes Echo
Godly Joy
“Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation!” (Hab. 3:18). We often emphasize the need for our sorrow to be godly sorrow, but is it any less important for our joy to be godly joy? If it is dangerous for worldly thinking to infect our sorrow, is it any less of a problem when it jeopardizes our joy?
To begin with what is it about godly joy that makes it “godly?” The answer is not hard to find. Just as godly sorrow is focused on God, rather than self (it grieves what our sins have cost Him and not us), godly joy is also focused on God. It rejoices in whatever God rejoices about: the accomplishment of His purposes, the triumphs of His cause, the redemption of those who accepted His salvation, and yes, even the carrying out of His justice.
I believe one prominent feature of godly joy is that it rejoices in the life-path that God lays out before us. That is, it finds joy in following the path that God indicates rather than the one we might have chosen. It genuinely rejoices in the accomplishment of God’s will, whatever that might mean for us personally. As Evelyn Underhill put it, “This is the secret joy. We shall no longer strive for our own way, but commit ourselves, easily and simply, to God’s way, acquiesce in his will, and in so doing, find our peace.”
Jesus is obviously the great example here. He experienced no greater joy than being a part of the fulfillment of His Father’s purposes, even when the role required of Him was painful and difficult. On one occasion He said, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work” (John 4:34). He derived more joy from obedience than most people get from a great meal.
Without the focus that Jesus had on the Father’s glory, joy tends to degenerate. It becomes the product of nothing more than the selfish indulgence of our desires, with little or no regard for whether that indulgence helps or hinders the outworking of God’s purposes in the world. And in the end, that kind of “joy” (if it even can be called that) is a distinctly unsatisfying thing. It leaves a dry, dusty taste in our mouths. But GODLY joy, that is a different thing altogether! When our joy is the overflowing of GOD’s joy, well, that is what Eden was about. And our Father has not given up on it.
–Gary Henry (from the “Sound Words” Bulletin’s online collection, Tomlinson Run Church of Christ)
Estes Echo
We have had another great Lads to Leaders year! We had over 70 people go to convention, including several new families.
This year, the congregation helped develop future leaders for the Lord’s church in several events. These event include things that we see in the front of the church (worship activities), events that happen in the back of the church (teaching) and events that include everyday life (art, video, homemaking).
- Song Leading
- Song Composition
- Speech
- Making Videos
- Puppets
- Bible Bowl
- Memorizing Scripture
- Reading Scripture At Home
- Reading Scripture In Worship
- Good Samaritan
- Creating Bulletin Boards
- Teaching Bible Classes
- Pictures
- Photographs
- Homemaking Skills
Lads to Leaders requires HUNDREDS of volunteer hours to make the program great. We have volunteers who gave up Sunday naps, Saturday chores, and even Easter with their families. Lads to Leaders would not be what it is without them.
We will have a Lads to Leaders Recognition Fellowship, Sunday, April 10, after evening worship. This is a great time to say thank you to our volunteers and to congratulate our children. It will be a finger foods fellowship (of course).
If you can’t make it next Sunday, shake a volunteer’s hand and give a child a hug. They ALL deserve it.
–Brent Rudder
Estes Echo
This past Sunday, brother Jim Corner with World Bible School delivered a class and sermon exhorting us to consider personal evangelism and to spread the gospel through the World Bible School program. These messages were scheduled as a means to restart a program that has been a part of Estes for a long time. Through World Bible School, Bible lessons are mailed all over the world; those lessons are then “graded” and mailed by church members in the U.S. – even here at Estes. Many have expressed a desire to be involved in mailing material through the program. Some have expressed a need to be taught more about the program and what they can do. Your level of involvement can be very flexible; those with more time can handle more students. If you have limited time, your involvement can be less. If you are interested in helping with World Bible School, please contact me. I can be reached via email at northrop_j@yahoo.com. You can also contact me by phone (my number is in the directory).
On Wednesday, April 6, 2016, those interested in working with the World Bible School program are invited to meet in the Fellowship Room during Bible class time. We will go over the logistics of how the program works and will assign new contacts to anyone who desires them. ANYONE can be involved in this work – college and high school students are encouraged to participate. Adults of all ages can attend and learn more. If this is a busy time of year for you and you feel you cannot participate but might want to in the future, we will offer a similar class periodically to maintain our knowledge and involvement. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.
No one can do everything but everyone can do something. Isaiah declared, “Here am I! Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8). Today, we have the opportunity to express the same sentiment. Please consider being a part of the World Bible School ministry.
-Jeremy Northrop
Estes Echo
CHRISTIANS IN AN ELECTION YEAR
Since the Second World War, the United States has been the most militarily powerful and influential nation in the world. Understandably we take pride in our country, in its history of political freedoms, in its place among nations. Sometimes this pride becomes problematic. Our pride in country, our nationalism, can supplant our love of God. We become American Christians rather than Christian Americans.
This problem of misplaced allegiance and identity is evident in times of crisis and during presidential elections. In our nation, with its republican form of government, elections have always been important, and in recent years, presidential elections have especially loomed large in their cultural significance. Every four years, one can do a survey of comments on social media and see many Christians express fear over the outcome of the presidential election. We pray for a Godly leader, one who will lead the United States in a Godly direction, then grow afraid when a person whose agenda we oppose is elected. To counteract these fears over presidential election outcomes, we need to think bigger. Our God is awesome. He’s sovereign over this world. He’s bigger than any president or presidential candidate.
We can learn something about proper attitudes toward nations and leaders from the Scriptures. The prophet Habbakuk learned that God uses ungodly people to achieve His purposes. Daniel served two different empires, the Babylonian and later the Persian. Neither empire was Godly, nor were its rulers. We learn from the book of Daniel that all rulers are ultimately subject to God. Daniel knew this truth, and practiced it when he prayed to Yahweh despite the edict of the ruler Darius. It didn’t matter if an ungodly king passed a law against the exercise of Daniel’s faith. He still prayed and trusted God to take care of the details. And God took care of the details: He saved Daniel from destruction. That was miraculous. What wasn’t miraculous was how God providentially used the Persians and their policy of tolerance toward subject peoples to get the exiled Jews returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple.
Paul, a Roman citizen, spread the gospel throughout the Mediterranean basin. The Roman peace that allowed him to travel freely was the same rule of law that executed his Lord. That same rule of law protected Paul’s life and allowed him to carry his message to Rome itself. In the case of these two empires, the Persian and the Roman, separated by a span of over six hundred years, the ruling authorities were instruments of God’s providence, unintentionally fulfilling His will. We can pray that God use our leaders today in the same way. They can unintentionally be instruments of God’s providence. He ultimately is in control. He reigns in our lives regardless of who governs our country. And whether they know it or not, our presidents are subject to God’s will and His redemptive plan.
Regardless of the outcome of this year’s presidential election, our citizenship will still be in the Lord’s Kingdom. We walk by faith, trusting and obeying God. We know that Jesus holds our souls in his hands. Love, Joy, and Peace fill our lives. In this tumultuous political season, we have a great opportunity, to be faithful witnesses and show our fellow Americans the love of God, the grace of Jesus, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.
–Greg Massey
Estes Echo
Supplementing Your Faith
Peter mentions “supplementing your faith” in his second letter. This is a response to what he mentions in verses 3 and 4, that God grants his great promises that provide an escape from the corruption of this world. Because of what God has done for his people, they should make every effort to supplement their faith. Let’s take a look at 2 Peter 1:5-7:
5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. (ESV)
Isn’t it interesting that Peter tells his readers that they are to play a very active part in growing or supplementing their faith? These wonderful qualities are not things that the Lord just simply bestows unto His people, who then passively receive. His people are called to give all diligence to these things, working in partnership with God to add and increase them. In fact, Peter thinks this is so important that he plans to “always” remind about this (vv 12-15). He plans to remind so well that when he is gone, those that have heard this message can recall his very words.
Peter is telling his readers that one’s faith needs the addition of these special qualities in order to be effective and fruitful. In fact, he says that lacking these qualities is akin to being spiritually blind, forgetting the “sin cleansing” one experiences as a Christian. Paul not only lists these qualities, but tells his readers that they should be working to increase the effect these qualities have in their life.
The significance of these qualities for the Christian can easily be seen. Consider the following:
Virtue: How many friends can be had, how many lives can be touched, by a virtuous person who seeks what is good and moral, and chooses to act that way? Seek to grow in good moral character.
Knowledge: What condition would one be in spiritually if the effort was not made to know the truth about God? Think of the promises that would be missed. Always seek to understand God’s will.
Self-control: How many sins would have never become sins if one’s self-control was an active and increasing quality? Grow your capacity to be in self-control. Learn to skillfully master your passions.
Steadfastness: Imagine the lives that can be touched if one consistently lives for Christ. Imagine how the world would be if it adhered to God’s commands. Imagine the influence one has who is a steadfast child of God.
Godliness: Godliness is a personal attitude toward God that results in one’s actions in honoring and pleasing God. Understood as devotion to God, godliness is the natural path one takes seeking to live a godly life, seeking to demonstrate the quality of godliness to a dark world.
Brotherly affection: What would life look like if one sought to outdo another with love and affection? Treating others with kindness, good will, friendliness, and care can dissolve hatred, remove jealousy, calm tensions, and demonstrate the love of God.
Love: It is impossible to consider love without thinking about the love of God, a love that provides salvation to a sinful world. Love brings the prior qualities together. Paul, in 1 Cor 13, says it best as he describes love as not rude, not resentful, not rejoicing in others’ wrongs, not envious, not arrogant, etc. In other words, love is sincere, patient, lasting, caring, and kind even when the situation is unloving.
Review the list again. Grade yourself. Does your life demonstrate these qualities? Is there an obvious omission of a quality or qualities? Is growth in these qualities stale or on the increase? Supplement your faith with:
- virtue
- knowledge
- godliness
- brotherly affection
- self-control
- steadfastness
- love
–Mark Scott
Estes Echo
2016 Goals for the Estes Church of Christ
Each January the Estes elders have a one day retreat at Chickasaw State Park. We spend the day talking about the Lord’s work at Estes. We finalize the budget for the coming year, talk about possible sermon topics, discuss the spiritual and physical needs of our congregation and in general try to find ways to push forward the cause of Christ. Toward the end of our day we set concrete goals for our work as elders of this wonderful congregation of believers. Below are the goals we have set for ourselves for 2016.
Short Term Goals
- Continue to strengthen programs such as Connections, 6-2 ministry, and Visitation program to build stronger relationships and promote spiritual growth among members and non-members.
- Add at least one more classroom to better utilize the office area or Scott house.
- Evaluate each mission point for which we are the sponsoring congregation.
- Begin onsite visit rotation of our mission points.
- Have at least one congregational meeting.
- Have at least one group meeting with the deacons.
- Add a new stateside mission.
- Strengthen our local outreach program by starting a database of area visitors and starting regular communications to them.
- Implement Phase 1 of the Expansion Program and consider Phase 2 implementation.
Long Term Goals
- Evaluate Phase 3 and Phase 4 of the Expansion Program.
- Develop themed weekend seminars to serve our members and our community.
– Richard Taylor
Estes Echo
New Members’ Recognition Dinner
In Luke 19:10 Jesus reveals His main purpose for coming to this earth: “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” He has always been concerned for the lost and he stresses how urgent the harvest continues to be. Jesus says again in John 4:35 “Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!” Before ascending back up to heaven, he gave His disciples that same mission recorded for us in Mt 28:19-20: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” Jesus was all about saving people and wants His church to be dedicated to that mission as well.
Even though we can always do better and never want to become complacent in our service, it can be very beneficial to reflect how well we performed throughout the past year. We had a wonderful year at Estes in 2015! With 17 new members baptized into Christ and added to His church and 27 new members coming our way, the Lord added a total of 44 new members to the church at Estes during 2015 and the first couple of months in 2016!
But with success comes a new problem. It’s hard to know who is new and who isn’t! So… the elders have asked the 6:2 Ministry team to coordinate a new members’ dinner to take place after evening services on March 6th. We will take this time to re-introduce ALL of the new members that came our way in the last 14 months. We are asking the entire congregation to support this event and bring potluck dishes, except our new members of course. Just bring yourself and be ready for a fun-filled evening of food, fellowship and introductions.
–The Estes elders
Estes Echo
Rejoice and Rejuvenate
Refreshments | Fellowship | Devo with the Estes Ladies
Monday, February 22, 7-8 pm in the Fellowship Room
Our Mission for Estes Women’s R&R is to connect all women at Estes through devotion to God, fellowship with one another, spiritual growth, and encouragement. Our theme for 2016 comes from I Thess. 5:11, and we will focus on building one another up. We will have monthly meetings- most are already planned and will alternate between Monday nights, Saturday mornings and a few Friday nights. We hope that all women of the congregation will find a way to serve and be uplifted through this ministry. To love one another more, we have to know one another more. We want YOU involved!
Love to cook? Have a great service idea we can all get involved in? Know a great speaker we could invite to our devotionals? Contact a committee member below to share your ideas and help us all enjoy and grow from R&R.
2016 EVENT DATES
February 22 – Monday Building Love – Devo & Fellowship
March 12 – Saturday Building Skills – Talent Sharing
April 23 – Saturday Building Relationships – Ladies’ Day
April 29 – Friday Building Relations, part 2 – Ladies’ Night Out
May 23 – Monday Building Faith – Devo & Fellowship
June 25 – Saturday Building Good Will – Blessings Bags
July 8 – Friday Building Fellowship – Ladies’ Night Out
August 22 – Monday Building Your Spirits – Devo & Fellowship
September 9–10 Building Sisterhood – Retreat
October 17 – Monday Building Trust – Devo & Fellowship
November 14 – Monday Building Gratitude – Soup Night
December 10 – Saturday Building Joy – Christmas Party
Leaders
Coordinators Cherri Walker & Ashley Estes
Service Kelda Massey & Lynne Moore
Food/Setup/Cleanup Tamara Lockridge & Shannon Morris
Invitations/Social Media Kelsey Rotz & Yvette Messenger
Devotional Cindi Cotton & Sara Wood
Event Planning April Schulte & Shawna Northrop
Estes Echo
Honoring Our Senior Saints
…with the Senior Saints’ Valentine’s Day Banquet. It is only appropriate that we all honor our older brothers and sisters, and our young members are to commended for this gift of respect and appreciation. These people in our midst have incredible experience and wisdom to share with all of us. They are wonderful examples of people who have endured hardships, triumphed over problems, savored blessings and success, and offered examples of the faithful Christian walk. Here are some biblical reasons to honor our Senior Saints:
- They are hard workers in the kingdom despite age and infirmity: They will still yield fruit in old age; They shall be full of sap and very green. (Psalm 92:14)
- They are our parents and have sacrificed for us: Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be prolonged and that it may go well with you on the land which the Lord your God gives you. (Deuteronomy 5:16)
- They are great Christian examples: But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine. Older men are to be temperate, dignified, sensible, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance. Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored. (Titus 2:1-4)
- They are deserving of honor and respect: As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age. Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete. (Genesis 15:15)
- They love us: Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a varicolored tunic. (Genesis 37:3)
- They are examples of dedication: And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years and had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers. At that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. (Luke 2:36-38)
- Their proven, steadfast faith in the Father gives them strength and spirit:
Who redeems your life from the pit,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion;
Who satisfies your [a]years with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle. (Psalm 103:4-6)
Say “Thank You!” to a senior saint this week.
Join us
Sunday Bible Study at 9:30 a.m.
Sunday Worship at 10:30 a.m.
Sunday Evening Worship at 5:00 p.m.
Wednesday Bible Study at 7:00 p.m.
