Tag Archive for: bulletins

Estes Echo

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Poinsettias

Donor                                                      In Memory of
Frank and Susan Bradford                      Beverly Bradford
Frank and Susan Bradford                      Herbert Bradford
Frank and Susan Bradford                      LaVonne Scott
Susan Edmonds                                         Jim Edmonds
Rex and Denise Phillips                           Vickie Ellis
Rex and Denise Phillips                           C. H. Phillips
Mary Lou Hardy & Family                      Neil Hardy, Sr.
Hibbett & Moore Families                      Gene Hibbett
Anne Phillips                                             O. H. Phillips
Trent and Suzanne Scott                         Mae Mathis
Trent and Suzanne Scott                         Norman and Linda Scott
Sandra Wilson                                           Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Mathis
Sandra Wilson                                           Mr. and Mrs. C. E. McGonagill
John McCaskill Family                            Howard McCaskill
Roy and Dorothy McIntyre                     Roy and Lucille McIntyre
David and Keith Ross                               Willie Mae Ross
Mildred Beard                                            Edd and Lillian Scott

Donor                                                     In Honor of
Jesse, Alex & Andrew McCaskill            John and Michelle McCaskill
John McCaskill Family                            Jim and Glenda Stanley
Martha Waller                                           Mildred Beard

Estes Echo

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The Limpet and the Rock

There is a little sea creature called Noto acmaea testudinalis. It is a little gastropod animal having arched, non-spiraling shells with broad ventral openings. These little things are all over the world. They cling tenaciously to rocks and submerged timber. They are better known as Limpets.

The BBC recently reported that scientists have measured the strength of the teeth of the ubiquitous limpet. These persistent creatures use their “teeth” to cling to rocks. High-tech measurements indicated that these small creatures’ teeth are stronger than all but the very strongest of man-made substances–tougher than Kevlar and many high performance carbon fiber materials. Imagine a piece of spaghetti holding 3,000 two-pound bags of sugar; that’s an equivalent strength.

The lives of these small creatures revolves around clinging to the sides of a rock and clinging tenaciously to it. They face their biggest danger when they leave the rock where they have made their home–a small scraped out place in the rock’s surface.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon made use of the limpet in the following illustration.

Our little friend the limpet does not know much, but he clings. He cannot tell us much about what he is clinging to, is not acquainted with the geological formation of the rock, but he clings! He has found something to cling to; and with his little bit of knowledge, he uses it to cling to the rock of his salvation; it is the limpet’s life to cling. Thousands of God’s people have no more faith than this; they know to cling to Jesus with all their heart and soul and this suffices. Jesus Christ is to them a Savior strong and mighty.and they cleave to him as to a rock unmoveable and immutable.

“In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God” (Psa. 62:7).

I cannot comprehend the nature of God, but I believe (Job. 9:10). God is beyond my comprehension. Where my feeble understanding fails, faith takes over. I need no deep and complicated explanation of my God in heaven in order to have a faith that keeps me in the cleft of the Rock of Ages. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I” (Psa. 61:2).

O Rock in the desert, I fly unto thee,
When tempest and storms sweep the sky.
I hide in the cleft that was riven for me,
For safety on Thee I rely.

–Submitted

Estes Echo

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Setting the Table

Tables. They aren’t complicated items like smart phones and plasma, flat-screen televisions. They aren’t the piece of furniture we spend the most time using. But some of my fondest memories have been made while sitting at tables. Tables are a gathering place, where people come together to be nourished…yes, physically, but for me, the social nourishment around the table is just as important as the food. Growing up, our family dinner table was the setting for prayers, sharing stories about the day’s events, lots of laughter, and of course, lessons about good manners. And, although the process was repeated day after day, I would definitely have missed the absence of a single meal. Today, I continue to look forward to the times I spend with my family around our table. I arrive at the table hungry, but always leave full.

We have the opportunity every Sunday to come together at a different table, the Lord’s Table. Like our dinner table, the Lord’s Table isn’t fancy. But its purpose is profound. We arrive at the table hungry. Hungry for purpose, hungry for forgiveness, hungry for time to reflect on our gratitude for God’s grace, hungry to bond with those of like faith. When we join our Christian family at this table, we arrive hungry, but leave full…full of purpose, full of forgiveness, full of gratitude for God’s grace, and full of love for our Christian family.

At times, I have found myself leaving the Lord’s Table unsatisfied. Those are the times that I came to the table, but failed to take advantage of the spiritual nourishment provided by experiencing the body and blood of Jesus. I allowed my mind to wander to worldly concerns, rather than focusing on the purpose of the commemoration. Let this message encourage each of us to reexamine our mindset, and renew our focus as we participate in the Lord’s Supper.

–Lee Hibbett