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Aldridge Road
church of Christ
Kingdom Courier
Volume 4 Issue 10 March 7, 2010
Integrity
Via Kettering Ohio church of Christ Saturday February 13, 2010
Have you ever been in a situation that forced you to make a difficult choice-one that threatened to compromise your values? We can all say that we have been in such a circumstance-probably many times. Sometimes we make the choice that upholds our principles, and at other times we buckle to the pressures and fall short. Whenever we are faced with these temptations we learn a little bit more about how much integrity we possess.
David writes in Psalms 26:1: "Vindicate me, O LORD, For I have walked in my integrity. I have also trusted in the LORD; I shall not slip." We see the integrity of David through accounts from God's Word: he upheld his faith in God despite the threat of the giant named Goliath (I Samuel 17:37), he extended kindness to Jonathan's son when others may not have (II Samuel 9), and he was even called a man after God's own heart (I Samuel 13:14). In spite of this, we often remember David for a moment where he compromised his integrity.
David sinned in taking Bathsheba, who was already married to a soldier named Uriah (II Samuel 11). David continued to comprise his values after committing this sin and ultimately had Uriah killed. And while we note this as a time of great failure in David's spiritual life, we also note the great integrity demonstrated by Uriah during this incident. When David attempted to cover up his sin, Uriah refused to disrespect the men who were serving in battle. When David sent a letter with instructions for killing Uriah, David recognized the integrity of this man enough that he sent the letter by Uriah's own hand. Integrity is so very much tied to our reputation-temporary lapses of judgment can have a very long term impact on the value of our name.
Proverbs 20:7 reads "The righteous man walks in his integrity; His children are blessed after him." Integrity is obtained by first studying God's Word so that we understand the right way to walk in this life, and then making a commitment to always walk in this manner. There will be times when we will not withstand the forces of temptation pressing upon us, and our integrity will begin to crumble just like a poorly constructed building. When this happens the Word of God can build us back up: "So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified." (Acts 20:32) Let us consider the importance of having integrity in our spiritual walks, and learn from the words found in Titus 2:6-8: "Likewise exhort the young men to be sober-minded, in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you."
~ WELCOME TO OUR VISITORS & GUESTS ~
We extend a cordial greeting to all visitors and guests. Whether you are new in town,
looking for a new church home, or just passing through, we're glad you are visiting with us.
So that we may have a record of your visit,
please fill out a visitor's card that will be picked up
by one of our young men during the service.
Please come back soon and let us
become better acquainted with you.
Check out our website: www.churchofchristspa.com
Approaching Special Events
9th Lynn & Mary Lynn Terry...Anniversary
11th Susie McConnell...Birthday
17th Jason & Liz Haywood...Anniversary
22nd Bob Wisener...Birthday
25th Kenny Knapp...Birthday
SUNDAY MARCH 7 ~ PRIVILEGED TO SERVE:
SONG LEADER_____ AM - Bill Hunter PM - Martin Harrison
OPENING PRAYER__ AM - Don Spencer PM - Joe Espenschied
SCRIPTURE READING___AM - Assigned/Austin Essner
LORD'S TABLE__ Bread __________ AM/PM - Charles Treadwell
__ Fruit of the Vine _ AM/PM - Travis Turman
PREACHING ____________________ AM/PM - Tony Essner
CONTRIBUTION _________________ AM/PM - Charles Treadwell
ANNOUNCEMENTS ______________ AM/PM - Tyler Baker
CLOSING PRAYER_ AM - Buddy Partain PM - Dan Smith
~~~ Wednesday (10th) Closing Prayer: Gary Pope ~~~
MARCH SERVICE ASSIGNMENTS:
Baptismal Assistants ____ Bill & Ruth Reiss
Flowers and Food ______ Bill & Mary Jane Hunter
Meet and Greet ________ Buddy & Carolyn Partain
Nursery Attendants _ 7th Beth Pope
___ 14th Neva Tharp
___ 21st Marty Smith
___ 28th Kaci Baker
Building Maintenance and
Preparation of Communion Trays
Jerry & Betty Richardson
March 7th - March 20th
Tabetha, daughter of Joe and Betty Espenschied, is recovering from surgery in which growths were removed that were affecting cardiac function.
She now has an address card that lists her Harding University address. Check the container in the foyer for hers and other new cards that you might need to update your church directory.
A children's songbook is being put together. If you have any songs that you would like to include, please hand them in to Neva Tharp. She will need the title of the song, the lyrics, and the tune to which it is sung.
Please have these in by March 7th.
Q E S F G H Q E S F G HQ E S FQ E S F G H Q E S F G HQ E S FG HQ E
The youth group is planning a trip to Harding University on April 3rd for "Spring Sing." They will be attending the 2:00 PM performance. Please sign up if you plan to go and include the number of tickets you will need. Final count is needed by Sunday March 14th as tickets will be ordered on March 15th.
Contact Craig or Charlotte Grisham if you have questions.
The Women's Class that meets on Wednesday evening has organized a prayer circle which is a network of women that receives prayer requests and thanksgivings, forwards them to the next available person in the network, and prays immediately for each request. The Women's Prayer Circle list is in the foyer.
Further Instruction for the pray-ers: If you are calling and cannot make contact with the next person on the list, simply leave a message if possible, and call the next pray-er on the list. Keep repeating this until you reach someone. In this manner, the prayer request will not be stymied by an answering machine or voice mail.
Also, the class has decided to share an evening meal out each month. The first occasion will be at 6:30 PM, March 9th at the Olive Garden. An invitation is extended to every woman of the church to join the class in this fellowship.
If you have missed Dwight and Nona Long, they are visiting a daughter in Saratoga, AR and will be returning with spring's arrival. Nona says they have been staying fairly busy. Dwight has been doing repairs on the ranch and fishing in the ponds or Millwood Lake. For shopping, they go to Nashville and Ashdown.
For workers of the church...needing cleaning supplies, class material, copy paper, or other church related resources, Charlotte Grisham will take care of your needs requests.
She has posted three clipboards...one in each of the following three rooms: the cleaning supplies room, the office, and the teachers' resource room.
Please list your needs on the appropriate clipboard, and Charlotte will shop for them.
"May integrity and uprightness protect me,
because my hope is in you."
__Psalm 25:21 NIV__
Don't confuse God's patience
with his final response
Continue to pray for:
Alford, Jim friend of Dan Smith; cancer
Avala, Pam aunt to Melissa Partain; health issues
Broadwell, Janet health issues; cancer
Brown, Adam Lee nephew of Dan Smith and son of Larry & Janice Brown; safety while serving our country in
Afghanistan; returns in June
Buckley, Buck father of Brian Buckley (church webmaster); cancer
Burtsfield, Renea career change; continuing education
Campbell, Connie parent of one of Pat Treadwell's former students; continuing breast cancer treatment
Campbell, Rusty relation of Bill & Vickie Walters; suffered critical injuries on the job
Craig, Annette friend of Tammy Hines; Leukemia
Espenschied, Amanda recovering from pneumonia
Espenschied, Tabetha health issues; recovering from surgery
Franklin, Marie mother of Kathy Hutson; suffered a stroke
Gooden, Tom Ed cousin of Bill Hunter; treatment for lymphoma (second stem cell transplant)
Government Officials "1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for
everyone, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all
godliness and dignity. 3 This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior" (1 Timothy 2:1-3 NRSV)
Haitian, Chilean, and other nations victims of earthquake and tsunami devastation
Hughes, Ricky friend of Sue Wisener; car crash; condition upgraded; in rehab and recovering at home
Jordan, Brenda chronic illness
Kostelaz, Ed & Cami health issues; Ed facing knee and spinal surgery
Magness, Shelly chronic issues with hip replacement
Mitchell, Leona mother of Vickie Walters; chronic health issues
Morris, Thearlene "TK" friend of Buddy & Carolyn Partain; health issues associated with cancer treatment
Pam aunt to Kaci Baker; health issues
Partain, Ed & Genevia chronic health issues
Partain, Ashley second of three in a series of procedures at ACH, Tuesday (9th) for implementation of the BAHA system
that will improve her hearing
Reiss, Ruth health issues
Richardson, Jerry health issues
Roper, Jordan son of Dr. Roper; kidney failure; needs transplant
Smith, Dan recuperating from stent procedures
Staerker, Walter friend of Dan Smith; cancer
Stevens, Kim friend of Mary Lynn Terry; cancer
Tarr, Bela friend of Dan Smith
Treadwell, Charles & Pat issues with grandchildren, especially Ashleigh's health problems
Turman, Travis & Carolyn health issues
U. S. Service Personnel Out of harm's way abroad and their safe return home
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