This article summarizes a story told by the author's father about J.D. Tant, a well-known preacher from the early 20th century. Some ruffians tried to disrupt one of Tant's gospel meetings by paying a man to come forward for baptism and then curse afterwards. Tant was warned about their plan but assured the brethren he would handle it. During the baptism, Tant dunked the man underwater for an extended period, emerging gasping for air instead of cursing. The story illustrates how early preachers dealt with disruptions while spreading the gospel message. It praises Tant and other "pioneer preachers" for their work establishing churches in difficult environments

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Are we confident that our light is bright
Vol. 46 September 7, 2021 Number 34
How An Old-Time Preacher
Handled Mischief
Author Unknown
One of the best-known preachers of the first half of the twentieth
century was J. D. Tant (1861-1941). My Dad knew Brother Tant and heard
him preach. A few months before Dad died, he was telling me about some
of the preachers he had known and some of the things that had transpired
in former days. Among those events was the following story of Brother
Tant that Dad said took place about 1912.
Brother Tant was preaching in a Gospel meeting somewhere in
south Texas and was baptizing a goodly number of people as they heard
the message of truth so powerfully taught. Some ruffians decided to
disrupt the meeting and offered the "town clown" a side of ham and a
bushel of corn if he would go forward at the meeting to be baptized and
come up from the water cursing. The brethren "got wind" of what was
going to take place and anxiously warned Brother Tant. He assured them
that he would take care of it if it did occur and for them not to worry. Sure
enough, the suborned man came forward amidst several other
respondents. Closing the service under the old "brush arbor," by lantern-
light all made their way to the creek for the baptizing's. Brother Tant
baptized all the genuine folks first in a very meaningful way, saying
something similar to what all Gospel preachers say when baptizing. After
all the legitimate baptisms, he then said, "One more man has come tonight
and if he'll now join me here in the creek, we will take care of the matter."
The man then waded out into chest-deep water to Brother Tant with the
ruffians mingled in the crowd looking on, all ready to laugh brother Tant
to scorn when the man came up from the water cussing. But brother Tant,
holding the man firmly in his strong arms, said with a loud voice, "For a
side of ham and a bushel of corn, I now dunk one of the most worthless
characters that ever was born."Whereupon Brother Tant pushed him under
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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
MINISTERS
Barry Kennedy....(931)787-7108
Alex Blackwelder (731)879-9196
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 class..................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.
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 water and held him there for a bit, and
when he finally did lift the man up above
water level, the fellow was spewing and
gasping for breath! Instead of cursing, he
realized he was no match for brother Tant and
hurriedly and meekly left the scene.
While the story is humorous, it gives us
insight into what tough environs the "pioneer
preachers" took the Gospel, and how they
handled the situations which arose.
Remember, the Bible says, "Answer a fool
according to his folly, lest he be wise in his
own conceits" (Prov. 26:5). Dad said the
meeting continued for several more nights
with numerous other responses. And the
church of our Lord was established in another
Texas town. Thank God for men like J.D. Tant.
The tiniest dewdrop hanging from a
blade of grass is big enough to reflect the
sunshine. Are you big enough to reflect Christ
in your life (Matthew 5:14-16)?
~~~~~~~~~
Monthly Ladies’
Fellowship
All the ladies
and young girls of
the congregation
are invited to the
building this
Thursday, Sept. 9
at 6:00 p.m. in the multipurpose room for the
monthly devotional and fellowship. There will be
no meal this month. Please come and invite others!
Sympathy
Our sympathy is extended to Gary Williams in
the loss of his sister, Renee, on Sept. 4 from Covid
related illnesses. She lived in Florida.
Congratulations
Clayton Long & Savanna
Bell were united in marriage on
Sept. 2. We will try to have
their address next week in the
bulletin. We wish for them a
long life of happiness.
Brain Freeze
Don’t forget this
Wednesday evening, Sept.
8, after Bible class in the
multipurpose room every-
one is invited to enjoy ice
cream and fellowship.
Area Youth Meeting
The monthly
Area Youth Meeting
will be held this
Sunday, Sept. 12
beginning at 5:00
p.m. at the Verona
congregation with
Alex Thornton speaking on “God Calls Me to be
Faithful Even When…I am in the Minority and Feel
Alone (Noah).”
Ladies’ Day
The Amory congregation
is hosting a Ladies’ Day on
Saturday, Sept. 18 from
9:30 a.m. until noon with
Debbie Dupuy speaking on
“Remind Me Lord.” Lunch
will be provided.
People are funny; they want
the front of the bus, the
middle of the road, and the
back of the church.

3. Daily Bible Reading
September 8............................................................Joel
September 9...................................................Amos 1-2
September 10.................................................Amos 3-5
September 11.................................................Amos 6-7
September 12.................................................Amos 8-9
September 13...................................................Obadiah
September 14.................................................Jonah 1-2
Birthdays & Anniversaries
Birthdays: Robert Kingsley (Sept. 8), Haden
Bland (Sept. 9), Bryce Roby (Sept. 11),
Evelyn Thompson (Sept. 11).
Anniversaries: None this week.
Our Sick
James Simmons is in room 103 at The Meadows
in Fulton for physical therapy. Star Ray, Lee
DuBois and Perry Hand are all recuperating from
surgery. Kirk Sheffield’s dad, Roddy, is home
following colon surgery to remove cancer. Kirk’s
mom, Delois, fell last week and underwent hip
replacement surgery. Maggie Simineau continues at
home with a broken arm. Wade Bryan’s cousin,
David Darnell, has been placed on hospice. Frankie
Estes’ son, Len, is home from NMMC after having
some stints. Christine Wilson will undergo sinus
surgery Sept. 15. Roger Sanderson’s nephew’s
wife’s mother, Michelle Bellew, is in the Oxford
hospital with Covid, but doing better. Donna
Lussier, a member of the Estes congregation in
Henderson, is critically ill with Covid. Mark &
Susan McNutt, Billie’s son & daughter-in-law, are
sick with Covid.
On-Going Illnesses
Mary Lou Walden, Evelyn Thompson, Steve Kelly,
Bettye Davis, Frankie Estes, Shirley Lyons, Caroline
Willis, Carol Hood, Bill Goff, Donny Dulaney, Adam
McCurley, James Goddard, Mitch Maclean, Mary
Starz, Sheba Tuggers, Steve Higginbotham, Shauna
McMickin, Stella Pittman, April & Olivia Pounders
Nursing Homes
Nancy Haywood, Randy Attaway, Shirley
McCarthy, Bob McClure, Brenda Dawson
EMYG News
Hello!
I hope you’re having a fantastic week and enjoyed
the longer weekend with family and friends.
We had a fantastic time at TGIF Friday night. We
still have many of our youth group who aren’t
coming to them, so please encourage your kids to
go! They’ll be glad they did!
Be sure to look at the updated September calendar
on the youth board.
Don’t forget, this coming Saturday, we leave for
Top Golf at Birmingham. Be at the church building
at 11 if you plan on riding the bus. After top golf (if
the group wants), we may stop at the Birmingham
Mall for a shopping spree and supper. Bring money
for one meal out.
For just a minute, I want you to consider grape jelly.
Sounds a bit strange, I know! Most mornings, I
wake up (actually I’ve woken up every morning
since I was born ) and before I shower, I have
breakfast. My breakfast normally consists of
microwaveable sausage biscuits. Over the last week,
I have been putting jelly on them and wow, they
sure taste good! What does grape jelly have
anything to do with our spiritual walk with God?
There’s nothing wrong with grape jelly, but by way
of example, grape jelly does nothing good for your
body. I looked at the back of my grape jelly and
here are its ingredients. It includes Concorde
grapes, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, fruit
pectin, citric acid, and sodium citrate. Most of these
ingredients are known for not being good. But we
think, “but it tastes so good!” Spiritually speaking,
Satan tries many ways to hook each of us with his
sinful bait. Sometimes, that bait is in the form of
“grape jelly” where it looks so appetizing, and we
know we would really enjoy it. And sometimes we
give in to Satan’s trap. What Satan doesn’t advertise
is guilt, regret, broken relationships, and so much
more. My point to all of this is not to get everyone
to stop eating jelly. No, rather, to be more aware of
our sinfulness and to not be driven by what might
seem okay on the outside, all to find out afterwards
that Satan was written all over it.
Let us be people who can identify potentially sinful
threats disguised as “grape jelly” so we can appear
before God as blameless as we can. God loves you
and so do I. Alex

4. Men to Serve Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021 a.m.
Announcements.............................. Dennis Hallmark
Bible Reading.........................................David Bates
Opening Prayer ....................................Larry Presley
Lord’s Supper
Wade Bryan
Lead Singing......................................Donny McKay
Closing Prayer......................................... Perry Hand
Ushers .................................. Greg Lyle & Ian Willis
Please meet in the library by 8:45 a.m.
Sunday 11:15 a.m. service
Opening Prayer ................................... Dale Dulaney
Closing Prayer....................................Ricky Johnson
Lead Singing....................................Michael Wilson
Wednesday, September 15, 2021
Opening Prayer ...................................... Chad Willis
Lead Singing........................................ Greg Hughes
The elders kindly request that men leading in public
worship wear the best dress clothes they have.
Contact the Ricky Lindsey (255-8136) if unable to serve.
Attendance & Contribution
Mid-Week, 9-1-21 ....................................................... n/a
Sunday 1st
Worship, 9-5-21 ...................................... 169*
Sunday Bible Class..................................................... 175
Sunday 2nd
Worship.................................................... 122
Contribution (budget $7,900) ................................ $9,370
*This does not include the livestreamed views.
Pantry item........................................... Peanut butter