This article discusses a message that Moses received from God through a burning bush that was not consumed by fire. God called Moses to go to Pharaoh and demand that the Israelites be set free. Moses doubted himself and made excuses, as people often do when given opportunities to serve God. However, God empowered Moses and used him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. The article encourages Christians to accept the opportunities God gives them and not make excuses due to doubt, as God will help them accomplish whatever He asks.

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Vol. 44 October 8, 2019 Number 39
A Message Through Fire
Joshua Kennedy
Each of our lives will go through some sort of change. Whether it be
a new job, a new town, or new people in our lives, there is always going to
be change in our world. The question that we must ask ourselves is this:
what are we going to do with that change? There was a character in the
scriptures who was faced with that exact question. Moses was faced with
many changes in his life. He went from being a young Hebrew baby to the
prince of Egypt. Moses was no stranger to things changing around him, but
even though he had been through much change, his greatest change was
yet to come.
We read that Moses was living in the land of Midian while he was
hiding from Pharaoh (Exodus 3). Moses was tending his father-in-law’s
sheep when he noticed a bush that was on fire. The bush was burning, but
for some reason, it was not consumed. God then spoke to Moses and gave
him a charge. He told Moses to go to Pharaoh and tell Pharaoh to let the
Israelites go. Moses then did what many of us would do today. He tells the
Lord that he is not the man to talk to Pharaoh. He made excuses over and
over again. We today tend to do the same thing. We have each been given
amazing abilities that we can use for the cause of Christ, but too often we
limit what we can do. Why do we doubt what God can do? We are afraid of
what the world may think, but do we really understand who God is? Think
about what Moses was doing. He was arguing with God! Moses was so
critical of himself that he was willing to argue with the very Being that
created him. Just like Moses, we tend to be self-critical. We make excuses
either because we don’t want to do something or because we feel inferior to
the task. The truth is we are more than conquerors through Christ (Rom.
8:37). We have been given great opportunities to spread the gospel of
Christ, and we should not be ashamed. God is the one who has given us
our talent and our charge (Matt. 28:18-20). He has not asked us to do
anything that we can’t do. This is what Moses had to accept. God gave him
--article continued page 2--
ELDERS
Mike Childers..............397-6453
Dennis Hallmark .........255-5557
Mark Hitt.....................322-0917
Bobby Lindley.............260-9193
DEACONS
Wade Bryan.................419-5552
William Harris.............416-8149
Ricky Lindsey .............255-8136
Jeff Mansel..................871-0357
Jimmy Spearman.........840-8957
Michael Wilson ...........891-0891
PREACHER
Barry Kennedy ... (931)787-7108
SECRETARY
Renee Childers
Office...........................842-6116
Fax...............................842-7091
E-MAIL
eastmaincoc38804@gmail.com
WEB PAGE
eastmaincoc.com
SUNDAY SERVICES
Worship....................... 9:00 a.m.
Bible Classes............. 10:15 a.m.
Worship..................... 11:15 a.m.
Singing or Devotional
Last Sunday of the Month
MID-WEEK
SERVICES
Wednesday Classes .....7:00 p.m.
EAST MAIN CHURCH OF CHRIST
1606 East Main Street
P. O. Box 1761
Tupelo, Mississippi 38802
“Thou shalt observe to do all that they inform thee”
(Deut. 17:10)

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the charge, gave him the means, and gave him the
opportunity. We know that later on, Moses became
the great leader that Israel needed. He led the children
of Israel out of Egypt, through the wilderness, and to
the border of the promised land. God protected His
people then, and He has promised to be with us as
well (Matt. 6:33).
Now I’m not saying this is easy. The devil’s
most potent weapon is doubt. Doubt can cause us to
do things that we ordinarily wouldn’t do. The truth is
doubt is just another way that the devil uses our own
feelings against us. No one wants to be an outsider or
to be looked at as weird, but we must realize who we
really serve. There is nothing that the world can do to
us. God has promised us a home in heaven with Him
if we do His will (John 14:2). The world can do all it
wants, but that is our reward. Let us never be ashamed
of who we serve and who we are. It took a message
through fire to convince Moses to go to Pharaoh; let
us be convinced by the sacrifice of our Lord. May we
all strive to give others this same hope.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pine Vale’s Fall Pantry
Drive
East Main will be collecting items for Pine
Vale’s fall pantry drive for the next couple of
weeks. They will be sending a truck by sometime
in October to pick these items up. Our assigned
items are: Toilet Cleaner
Spaghetti sauce (NO glass jars)
Disposable plates/cups
Thanks so much for your help!
Ladies’ Monthly
Fellowship
The ladies’
monthly fellowship
will be held this
Thursday, Oct. 10
beginning at 6 p.m.
in the multipurpose
room. Please eat
supper before you come. We will be listening and
discussing the first lesson in our “Digging Deeper”
books by Cindy Colley.
Gospel Meetings
The Danville congregation in Biggersville will
host a Gospel Meeting October 13-15 with
Jameson Steward speaking Sunday night at 7:30
p.m. and Monday-Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.
The Tilden congregation in Fulton will host a
Gospel Meeting with Jimmy Bates speaking at
1:00 p.m. Sunday and at 7:00 p.m. Monday-
Wednesday.
Thank You Notes
During a time like this we realize how much our
friends & relatives really mean to us. Your
expression of sympathy will always be
remembered. Thanks for the prayers, cards, food
and flowers during the loss of my loved one. All is
appreciated. Charles Barber
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On behalf of Laverne Raper’s family, I would
like to thank East Main church for opening the
doors & feeding our family. It was a great way to
honor my (our) grandmother and there is no place
she would have rather her family been at that time.
The outpouring of kindness shown to “Merna” (as
we called her) from her church family will forever
be appreciated. She loved you all! Love,
The Family of LaVerne Raper)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Our East Main brothers & sisters,
It is not possible for us to even begin to offer
enough thanks for the amazing welcome you all
have offered our family. It was our hope that
during this gospel meeting that we could be an
encouragement to you all. Instead, we are leaving
here edified and stronger than when we arrived just
a few days ago. Thank you, dear brethren! God be
with you till we meet again. In Christ,
Scott, Melissa, Walker, Tanner & Hunter Cain
John Duke stationed in Long Beach, MS
Caleb Williams stationed in Iraq
Rob Cross & family stationed in South Korea

3. Daily Bible Reading
October 9...........................................Matthew 21-22
October 10.........................................Matthew 23-24
October 11.........................................Matthew 25-26
October 12.........................................Matthew 27-28
October 13...................................................Mark 1-3
October 14...................................................Mark 4-5
October 15...................................................Mark 6-7
Birthdays &
Anniversaries
Birthdays: Ken Pearson (Oct. 9), Tyler
Barnette (Oct. 12), Beth Reed (Oct. 12), Ian
Reed (Oct. 14), Brittany Webb (Oct. 15).
Anniversaries: Carester & Charlie Ruth Hallmark
(Oct. 10), Jon & Ainsley Millard (Oct. 10).
Our Sick
Hanon Ray is doing well following surgery on
his neck. He was able to be here Sunday. Jean
Mounce saw her surgeon at UAB Monday. They
have postponed further surgery due to so much
inflammation. Pete Barber is still having problems
with fluid in his lungs. Mary Lou Walden has a
slight case of pneumonia. Evelyn Willis continues
at the Meadows. Andy Baldwyn’s mother,
Stephanie, is at the Meadows in Fulton for therapy.
Barbara Franks, Tammy Minor & Stephanie
Baldwyn’s mother, is having some heart problems.
Little Theo Dulaney, Dale’s grandson, continues at
LeBonheur. Marlon Geno was home sick Sunday.
On-Going Illnesses
Frankie Estes, Donny Dulaney, Adam McCurley,
Mary Jordan, Bretta Robinson, James Goddard, Bill
Goff, Leroy Brown, Jadon Parish, Jerry Smith, Mitch
Maclean, Mary Starz, Aspen White, Ezra Golman,
Sheba Tuggers, Ruby Clark, Homer Smith, Don
Blackwell, Brenda Williams, Jill Rice, Ann Letteri
Nursing Homes
Nancy Haywood, Randy Attaway, Shirley
McCarthy, Mary Southern, Veona Harris, James
Nichols
Door Knocking
Our door knocking efforts
Saturday, Oct. 5 were very
successful! There were around
48 from the congregation who
participated, with several more
working ahead to get materials
ready to hand out. Around
400 doors were knocked with 175 contacts made.
Thanks to everyone who helped make this effort of
“seed planting” in our neighborhood successful.
Area Youth Meeting
The monthly area wide
youth meeting will be held
this Sunday, Oct. 13 at the
Antioch congregation in
Blue Springs beginning at
5:00 p.m. Please let Tim
Davis know if you will be
riding the bus.
Chili/Hot Dog Supper &
“Trunk or Treat”
Everyone in the congre-
gation is invited to the building
on Saturday, Oct. 26th
5:00
p.m. First, we will have “trunk
or treat” from 5:00-6:00 p.m.
Everyone is encouraged to
come and stand by your cars in
the parking lot and pass out candy as the children
come by in their costumes.
Then at 6:00 p.m. we hope
everyone will come into the
multipurpose room for hotdogs
and homemade chili. A food list
will be posted soon in the foyer
beside the tract rack.
Come and enjoy a period of fellowship with your
church family!
Outreach Item for
October: Baby wipes

4. EAST MAIN’S
FAMILY RETREAT
November 1st & 2nd at
Maywood Christian Camp
WE WANT ALL AGES TO ATTEND!!!!
Reed Swindle will speak 3 times on Saturday.
There are two lists in the foyer beside the tract rack to sign: 1. If you are coming and your
t-shirt size, 2. If you plan to attend Friday night or just Saturday).
Plans are to bring the bus over Saturday morning for the day for those who may not feel
comfortable driving to Hamilton, AL.
Come and enjoy a great period of fellowship with your church family!
Men to Serve Sunday, Oct. 13, 2019 a.m.
Announcements.......................................Jeff Mansel
Bible Reading............................................Sam Hood
Opening Prayer ...........................Bobby Joe Lindley
Lord’s Supper
Terry Kingsley & Roger Sanderson
Serve Congregation, East Side:
Clinton Kingsley, Robert Parker, Jalon Mansel
Serve Congregation, West Side:
Chad Willis, Ian Willis, Aaron Willis
Lead Singing....................................Eddie Simmons
Closing Prayer...................................... Paul Blansett
Ushers .............. Jimmy Spearman & Andy Baldwyn
Please meet in the library by 8:45 a.m.
Sunday Afternoon
Opening Prayer ..................................Hugh Scribner
Closing Prayer................................... William Harris
Lead Singing....................................Michael Wilson
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
Prayer.....................................................Mike Ratliff
Lead Singing......................................Hugh Scribner
Contact Wade Bryan (419-5552) if unable to serve.
The elders kindly request that men leading in public
worship wear the best dress clothes they have.
Greeters .............................Hugh & Rachel Scribner
..................................Lee & Heather DuBois
Prepare Lord’s Supper—October .....................Larry
& Judy Bates
Nursery.......................Alicia Smith & Ashton Smith
Pantry...............................................Canned chicken
Attendance & Contribution
Mid-Week, 10-2-19..............................................157
Sunday 1st
Worship, 10-6-19 ...............................185
Sunday Bible Class ..............................................176
Sunday 2nd
Worship.............................................172
Contribution (budget $7,900)..........................$8,501