THE HEIGHTENER                                  

"Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall exalt you."  -James 4:10


Volume XXX

April 6, 2010

Number 14

                                                                    

VIEWPOINT

 After that, He appeared in another form to two of them  .  . . (Mark 16;12)

Oswald Chambers asked, "Have you seen Jesus?"  (My Utmost for His Highest).  He continues:

"Being saved and seeing Jesus are not the same thing. Many people who have never seen Jesus have received and share in God’s grace. But once you have seen Him, you can never be the same. Other things will not have the appeal they did before.

"You should always recognize the difference between what you see Jesus to be and what He has done for you. If you see only what He has done for you, your God is not big enough.  But if you have had a vision, seeing Jesus as He really is, experiences can come and go, yet you will endure 'as seeing Him who is invisible' ( Hebrews 11:27). The man who was blind from birth did not know who Jesus was until Christ appeared and revealed Himself to him (see John 9). Jesus appears to those for whom He has done something, but we cannot order or predict when He will come. He may appear suddenly, at any turn. Then you can exclaim, 'Now I see Him!' (see John 9:25).

"Jesus must appear to you and to your friend individually; no one can see Jesus with your eyes. And division takes place when one has seen Him and the other has not. You cannot bring your friend to the point of seeing; God must do it. Have you seen Jesus? If so, you will want others to see Him too. 'And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either' ( Mark 16:13). When you see Him, you must tell, even if they don’t believe."

        O could I tell, you surely would believe it!
        O could I only say what I have seen!
        How should I tell or how can you receive it,
        How, till He bringeth you where I have been?

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I look forward to seeing you Sunday with a Bible, a smile, and a positive word!  RA

 

   

 

    

Calming Anger Down

 

In a west Texas town a few years ago, employees in a medium-sized warehouse noticed the smell of gas. Sensibly, management evacuated the building, extinguishing all potential sources of ignition -- lights, power, etc. 

After the building had been evacuated, two technicians from the gas company were dispatched. Upon entering the building, they found they had difficulty navigating in the dark. To their frustration, none of the lights worked. 

Witnesses later described the vision of one of the technicians reaching into his pocket and retrieving an object that resembled a lighter. Upon operation of the lighter-like object, the gas in the warehouse exploded, sending pieces of it up to three miles away. 

Nothing was found of the technicians, but the lighter was virtually untouched by the explosion. The technician that was suspected of causing the explosion had never been thought of as "bright" by his peers. 

Years ago, 
Jim Croce, in his song, "You Don't Mess Around With Jim," used to sing about things that you don't dare do (pull the mask off the Lone Ranger or tug on Superman's cape, for example). He might have done well to add, "You don't flick your Bic inside a building with a gas leak"! In an explosive situation, the last thing you want to do is provide the spark. 

We've all been around those kinds of situations (not literally, but figuratively) -- where someone was angry and it wouldn't take much to create an explosion. We have two choices in that setting, described by 
Solomon in this way: "A gentle answer will calm a person's anger, but an unkind answer will cause more anger." 

How I admire those people I know (and my wife is one of them) who have a calming effect on those around them (including me), gently stifling the flames of anger before they burst in flames. 

"Wise people calm anger down." 

May God help us all to be wise. 

Have a great day! 

Alan Smith 

(Thought for the Day)

      

 

 

 

 

   

 

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL

There will be a planning meeting on Sunday, April 11 for everyone who will interested in helping with VBS this year.  We plan to stay after the morning assembly for a meal and start working on VBS.  See Susan May for further information. 

 

 

 

FROM THE MAILBAG

Cedar Grove Church of Christ,

Thank you to our Cedar Grove friends for the love and support you've shown in helping us get through losing our Step Mom, Grandmother, and friend, Kay Buckner on March 6th.

Through the years, Kay's love for Cedar Grove and Christ never faltered, even during her most trying of times. And, I know that she loved each one of you very much and considered you her true family. Our family is comforted with the knowledge that Kay now rests with the Lord and so many of the people she loved who were waiting for her in heaven. I personally look forward to the day when we will all be together again.

The love and kindness that you have all shown will never be forgotten. May God bless and keep each of you in the shelter of his love.

Your sister in Christ,

Donna Bledsoe

 

 

 INNER CITY MINISTRY

Please remember to bring clothing and food items for the Atlanta Inner City Ministry.  We want to have a full load for our delivery in April.              

 

 

YOUTH CHORUS

The Detroit Youth Chorus will be at Cedar Grove on Thursday, April 8 and will have a program for us.  We will have a meal for them at 5:30 and the program will be around 6:30. 

There is a list posted on the bulletin board to sign if you are wiling to be  host family for the night.  There is also a list to help; with the meal. 

 

 

WORLDWIDE EVANGELISM

Harvey Starling will be visiting Cedar Grove on Sunday, April 18.  This is one of the highlights of our year at Cedar Grove. 

In addition to Harvey's presentations, there will be a special contribution for Worldwide Evangelism

 

 

GOLF TOURNAMENT

The 13th annual Camp Inagehi Golf Tournament will be on Saturday, April 24 with a 2:00 tee off at the West Pines Golf Club in Douglasville.  More information is on the bulletin board.   6:30. 

 

 

SISTER ACT

The ladies' class will NOT be meeting on Tuesday, April 6.  So many of our group will be out of town for spring break that it was decided to skip this month's meeting. We plan to have our usual Salad Supper for our meeting in May.

  

 

CONGRATULATIONS

Congratulations to Josh May who has been nominated to the United States Achievement Academy  Yearbook by his Advanced U.S. History teacher.  It is a rare honor as you can only be included in the book by receiving a nomination of a teacher.  He will be eligible for one of 400 USAA Scholarships.     

 

 

OUR SICK

Paula Anderson's mother, Jean McBride, has been hospitalized in Huntsville, Alabama.

Jeannette Bulllington is now recuperating at home.

Continue to remember Susan Carson, Dick Northcutt, J. W. Raines, Richard Smith and Geneva White.

 

 

 

 

APRIL BIRTHDAYS

    April 3

               Jim Morrow

    April 10

               Amber May

    

               Katy Robison

    April 11

               Pat Tatum
    April 16                Jim May
    April 18                Anne Raines
    April 19                Susan May
    April 22                 Gary Kato

    April 26

               Armando Banuelos

    April 30

               Devin Hunt

    

               Cheryl Putman

 

 

 

 

 

THOSE TO SERVE - April 10, 2010

Welcome

Ross Anderson

Song Leader

Craig Hodges

Opening Prayer

Alan Henderson

Lord's Table

*Greg Cannon

 

* Mitch Robison

 

Bill Baker

 

Josh May

Scripture Reading

Joe Minichowski

 

Psalm 30:1-5

Closing Prayer

Kenneth Fincher

Welcome -PM

Ross Anderson

Song Leader

Craig Hodges  

Opening Prayer

Jim May

Scripture Reading

David Hamby

 

Psalm 56:10-13   

Closing Prayer

    Ed Kelly   

Communion Preparation

Nancy Kirkland

Nursery Attendant

            Sharon Hodges

Riley Minichowski

   

 

RECORD 4/3/2010

Bible School

57

Worship AM

87

Worship PM

N/A

Wednesday Bible Study

23

Contribution

$ 2,360.00