Bulletin, 3-5-19

1. 4
Hugh Vol. 44 March 5, 2019 Number 8
“Amazing Grace”
(Conclusion)
By Barry Kennedy
“Twas grace that taught my heart to fear and grace my fears relieved; how
precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed.” These are the words of the
second verse in John Newton’s great song “Amazing Grace.” How many times
have we stopped and considered the words of this song? Countless numbers have
sung and continue to sing the words of this song yet, they still come away never
understanding the grace about which they sing. Many see this grace as an
emotional outpouring of God’s love upon us. You know, it is the “better felt than
told” religion. With many, the only way that God’s grace can be amazing is that it
must take away any responsibility directed toward man. Yet, nowhere in the Bible
do we read of this man-made grace.
The first verse in the KJV of the Bible to use the word grace is Genesis 6:8,
which states: “But Noah found “GRACE in the eyes of the Lord.” What was it
about Noah that set him apart from all the other inhabitants of the earth? Are we to
assume that God just arbitrarily chose Noah? Verse nine gives the answer to this
question. “These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in
his generations, and Noah walked with God” (Genesis 6:9). According to this verse
Noah was just, perfect, and he walked with God. Do we not get the idea that Noah
was obedient to God? However, verse eight said that Noah found grace with God.
Is not grace unmerited favor? Seems that verse nine is teaching that Noah worked
his way into the heart of God. The problem stems from a misunderstanding of
God’s grace and man’s works.
Twas grace that TAUGHT my heart to fear. . .” It was God’s grace that
made known God’s way. No good parent would ever come home and punish his
child for doing a wrong he had not been taught. Neither would God be very
gracious if He punished without direction. Noah knew how to just because God
had revealed it unto him (that’s part of God’s grace). Noah knew how to be saved
from the flood (God’s judgment) because God revealed it unto him (that’s part of
God’s grace). The people who were drowned were taught what to do; also, part of
God’s grace (Genesis 6:3; Hebrews 11:7; 1Peter 3:19, 20). God has always made
known His plan for man, starting with the first man Adam and continuing even
today. The hard truth is that not all will heed the warnings of God (Genesis 6:54;
Romans 1:21-25; 2Timothy 4:3).
--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)

2. --article continued from page 1--
Paul informed Titus how that grace has been
made available to all men (Titus 2:11). Paul, by
inspiration, continued to tell Titus what many need
to hear today (i.e. grace teaches a certain lifestyle).
“Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly
lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and
godly, in this present world; Looking for that
blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the
great God and our Savior Jesus Christ;” (Titus
2:12). How many “grace only doctrines” fall at the
feet of this one verse? All of them! So many who
deem themselves “spiritual” choose to argue with
anyone who would say we must be obedient in
order to enter Heaven. Their arguments are
emotionally driven and appealing to the lack of
perfection with which we all suffer. They must
remember God said Noah was perfect (Genesis 6:9).
No, not perfect in that he never sinned, but
complete. How? God made it clear. “Thus did
Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so
did he” (Genesis 6:22).
Has God’s grace taught our hearts to fear? If
not, His grace will never our fears relieve. Are we
willing to study the whole council of God? Paul
said that he did not hold back anything that
pertained to the souls need. “For I have not shunned
to declare unto you all the counsel of God” (Acts
20:27). God’s unmerited favor is called grace. Yes,
it is true that my obedience to His will does not earn
me a place in heaven (Ephesians 2:8, 9), but that
does not mean that God is going to overlook my
transgression, of which I am not willing to repent
(1Corinthians 6:9, 10; Galatians 5:20, 21). “For by
Grace are we saved through faith” (Ephesians 2:8a).
“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by
the word of God” (Romans 10:17). Are we letting
God’s Amazing grace teach us how to live in this
life and the life to come? “How precious did that
grace appear the hour I first believed.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Visitation Team #2
Visitation team #2, Mike
Childers’ team, will meet briefly
after services in Room 10 this
Sunday, March 10. There will be
NO meal this month.
Sr. Adult Fellowship
The Senior Adult
fellowship will be held this
Thursday, March 7 at 6:00
p.m. at Taylor’s Restaurant in
New Albany. The bus will
leave the building at 5:20 p.m.
Our Ladies’ Day
Our ladies’ day here at East Main has been
scheduled for Saturday, April 27 with Jane
Washington speaking on “Walking with the Lord.” If
you would like to help on a committee, the sign-up
sheets are on the desk in the church office.
Thank You Notes
To the members of the East Main Church of Christ,
Thank you so much for the Valentine happies that
you made for our patients. You all have shown these
patients that someone loves them and cares for them.
When patients are faced with a difficult diagnosis, it is
caring individuals like your outreach program who go
the extra mile to show them not to give up because
someone still cares. Matthew 5:16 says, “Let your
light so shine before men, that they may see your good
works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
So, thank you East Main, for letting your light
SHINE. NMMC “Cancer Center”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks for your donations to the CCU waiting
room. They are very appreciated. NMMC
Karen, Caron, Joe & Heather
Community Outreach
Item for March:
Dishwashing liquid
John Duke is stationed in Long Beach, MS.
Caleb Williams is stationed in Norway.
Dylan Kelly, Steve Kelly’s grandson, is in Kuwait.

3. Daily Bible Reading
March 6................................................ Joshua 22-24
March 7.................................................... Judges 1-2
March 8.................................................... Judges 3-5
March 9.................................................... Judges 6-8
March 10................................................ Judges 9-12
March 11.............................................. Judges 13-16
March 12.............................................. Judges 17-19
Birthdays &
Anniversaries
Birthdays: Christine Wilson (Mar. 6), Pete
Barber (Mar. 7), Patsy Nichols (Mar. 9),
Scarlett Smith (Mar. 12). Anniversaries:
Justin & Brittany Webb (Mar. 10).
Our Sick
Jean Mounce is recuperating from surgery last
week at UAB. Christina Lindley’s uncle, Lee
Graham, is in rehab in Atlanta following another
stroke. Jill Rice, Debbie Vines’ mother, continues at
the Sanctuary Hospice House. Weston Agnew, a
friend of Lauren Long, underwent eye surgery last
week. Mitch Maclean, Billie McNutt’s brother’s
grandson, is recuperating from surgery at St. Jude.
On-Going Illnesses
Laverne Raper, Frankie Estes, Donny Dulaney,
Adam McCurley, Linda McCurley, Mary Jordan,
Bretta Robinson, James Goddard, Bill Goff,
Tommy Goff, James Nichols, Sheba Tuggers,
Sherry Gregory, Shirley Owens, Nathan Hale,
Leroy Brown, Jadon Parish, Carol Nichols, Jerry
Smith
Nursing Homes/Assisted
Living
Nancy Haywood, Randy Attaway, Shirley
McCarthy, Mary Southern, Veona Harris
Written in Sand and Stone
Two friends were walking through the desert and
got into an argument. One friend slapped the other one
in the face. The one who got slapped was hurt, but
without saying anything, wrote in the sand: Today my
best friend slapped me in the face.
They kept on walking until they found an oasis.
Thirsty, they stopped for water. The one who had been
slapped got stuck in the mire, fell in, and started
drowning. His friend saved him. That evening, he
wrote on a stone: Today my best friend saved my life.
The friend who had slapped and saved his best
friend asked him, “After I hurt you, you wrote in the
sand and now you write on a stone, why?” He replied:
“When someone hurts us we should write it in sand
where the winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But,
when someone does something good for us, we must
engrave it in stone where it will be long remembered.”
Learn to write your hurts in the sand and carve
your benefits in stone. Someone observed that it
takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to
appreciate them, a day to love them, but an entire
lifetime to forget them.
–via House to House:Heart to Heart
“…contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive
him, and comfort him…” (2 Cor. 2:7).
Area Youth Meeting
The monthly Area Wide
Youth Meeting will be held this
Sunday, March 10 at 6:30 p.m.
at the Fulton congregation with
Ryan Gallagher speaking on “Fragile Faith.” Please
let Tim Davis know if you will be riding the bus.
7th
WEEK SQUAD
SPRING RETREAT
The Annual 7th
Week Squad Spring
Retreat at May-
wood Christian
Camp will be held
March 29-31 on the
theme “Called to Be Holy” (1 Thess. 4). The cost is
$40. If you would like to go, please see Tim Davis.

4. Go Into All the World
“IN CHRIST ALONE...”
June 7th-8th
Please register at eastmaincoc.com by March 31!
Speakers: Eric Owens, Joe Wells, Jonathan Bates & Harrison Moran
This camp is for ages 13-22 and is being hosted by the East Main Church of Christ, 1606 East
Main St., Tupelo, MS 38804. Please see Josh or Barry Kennedy for more information.
Men to Serve Sunday, Mar. 10, 2019 a.m.
Announcements..........................................Mark Hitt
Bible Reading.......................................John Mounce
Opening Prayer ..............................Dennis Hallmark
Lord’s Supper
Mike Ratliff & Larry Presley
Serve Congregation, East Side:
Larry Bates, David Bates, Zac Tucker
Serve Congregation, West Side:
Jimmy Spearman, Andy Baldwyn, Joe Minor
Lead Singing....................................James Simmons
Closing Prayer.......................................Harold Roby
Ushers .................Ricky Lindsey & Jason Dickinson
Please meet in the library by 8:45 a.m.
Sunday Afternoon
Opening Prayer .....................................Wesley Bass
Closing Prayer..........................................Will Davis
Lead Singing....................................Eddie Simmons
Wednesday, March 13, 2019
Prayer ...................................................... Larry Long
Lead Singing...............................Bobby Joe Lindley
Contact Michael Wilson (891-0891) if unable to serve.
The elders kindly request that men leading in public
worship wear the best dress clothes they have.
Greeters ....................................Perry & Linda Hand
................................Zac & Savannah Tucker
Prepare Lord’s Supper—March....................Jason &
Amanda Dickinson
Nursery.....................Nicole Wynne & Ashley Davis
Pantry.......................................... Canned vegetables
Attendance & Contribution
Mid-Week, 2-27-19..............................................161
Sunday 1st
Worship, 3-3-19 .................................198
Sunday Bible Class ..............................................200
Sunday 2nd
Worship.............................................185
Contribution (budget $7,900)........................$10,372