LEBANON ROAD CHURCH OF CHRIST

2307 Lebanon Road Nashville, TN 37214 Non-Profit Org US Postage Paid Nashville, TN Permit 2464

Lebanon Road

Church of Christ
2307 Lebanon Road; Nashville, TN, 37214 * (615) 883-6918 www.lebanonroadchurchofchrist.org

Volume 60, No.02

January 08, 2012

Welcome Ron and Dodie!

What a way to start off 2012! Last Sunday was filled with excitement, as we kicked off another new year. Our theme, Back to the Basics: Where are Your Roots? will serve us well as we seek not only to grow in our own maturity, but also as we seek to share the trust of Jesus Christ with others. It was also an exciting day because we welcomed two new members to the Lebanon Road family. Ron and Dodie Allen have been visiting with us for some time, but have been in a time of transition from their former home in Mississippi. Now, they are settled in our area, and have placed their membership with us. We know that you have made them feel welcome, and we pray that will continue. We are thankful for their presence with us, and we look forward to many good days ahead, as they serve the Lord with us here. It was a joy to see a good number in attendance last Sunday night. While we need to continue to press forward in our attendance on these nights, 223 of us made the effort and were present to worship God. We gave out a special Bible reading plan that will walk each of us through the basics of the Bible over the

Adam Faughn
course of 2012. If you did not get one of the sheets for January and February, they are available in the foyer. It is not too late to get started, as we seek to plant our roots deeply in Gods Word. This morning, we will be spending our time together thinking about something else that is of first importance, as we did last week to begin our year of going back to the basics. When asked what the greatest command was, Jesus gave a clear answer. While we may know His answer, we may have not considered some of the implications of that greatest of all commands. We want to do that together this morning. I hope you will be with us, and I pray that you will invite someone else to join you as we worship God together. Did you pick up a copy of our goals for 2012 last week? If not, why not? They are challenging, and will focus our efforts on some very important works. If you have not gotten a copy, please do so today and begin praying about areas in which you can help Lebanon Road reach these goals.

Elders
Joe Adams 773-2331 Johny Baker 758-7654 Ralph Brewer 871-4849 Wayne Davidson 758-2705 Earl Flynn 889-1659 Steve Ledbetter 889-8614 Jim Schroeder 754-8990

Or Current Resident

Worship With Us Sunday: Worship 9 AM & 6 PM * Bible Classes 10:20 AM Wednesday: Bible Classes 7 PM

Why? is Not a Sinful Question

When Christians suffer, many things commonly run through their minds and emotions. There is always a checklist of things to do, because society requires us to. There are people we want to notify, and others (employers, for example) we feel the need to notify. In addition to those normal things, Christians ask questions, as does anyone else. We want to know what went wrong, if we could have done something differently, and other important information to try to flesh out in our minds what is happening. In these times, many Christians feel sinful for asking the most common question that is asked in a moment of suffering. They ask, Why? and then many Christians feel wrong for having asked that question. The thinking is that they are wrong because everything that happens is Gods will, and we are just supposed to accept whatever comes our way. There are two thoughts I have that I hope will help you.

Adam Faughn
1. Not everything that happens is Gods will. If someone decides to abort a baby, for example, that is not Gods will. The same is true when we suffer. While some suffering is part of the will of God, not all of it is. 2. Those in Scripture who asked why in times of suffering were not castigated for it. Job asked why many times. He was not reprimanded by the Lord for that question, but for questioning Gods control and, basically, blaming the Lord. While we may never find the answer to our question of why? when we suffer, there is nothing wrong with asking that question. But, before ending, let me offer one Biblical suggestion. If you find yourself asking the Lord why something is happening, couple that prayer with a prayer for wisdom. When you will ask that prayer in faith, God has promised He will grant wisdom (James 1:6). You still may not receive the answer you desire, but your eyes will be opened to seeing more of this life, including suffering, from Gods viewpoint.

Pulpit Minister
Adam Faughn 973-4483

Outreach Minister
Harry Middleton 292-3164

Sunday Sermon Preview

AM: The Greatest Command (Mark 12:28-34) PM: Genesis 3: Hopelessness and Hopefulness

Youth Minister
JD Buckner (731) 336-4768

Sick List
Norma Dean is recovering at home following lung surgery. No Visitors Please. Bertha Garcia is at Donelson Place in room 101. No Visitors Please. Estelle Pirtle is recovering at home. No Visitors Please. Blake Rader is at Vanderbilt Childrens hospital in ICU and surgery was planned for the end of the week.

Worship Leaders
Sunday Morning (Contact: Bill 357-0804 ) Opening Prayer: Wes Carnahan Read Scripture: Shea Cofer Closing Prayer: Bob Butler Sermon: Adam Faughn Song Leader: Lynn Wright Serving Lords Supper: (Contact: David 754-7085) Joe Steelman 1 Gavin Hammers 2 Hollis Flatt 3 David Cook 4 Gene Duke 5 Carlos Denny 6 Joel Greene 7 Adam Wilson 8 Sunday Evening (Contact: Tony 885-6391 ) Opening Prayer Steve Ledbetter Closing Prayer: Tim Roberts Read Scripture: Shane Williams Sermon: Adam Faughn Song Leader: Lynn Wright Serving Lords Supper (Room) Ted Fox 1 Fred Williams 2 Wednesday, (Contact: Tim 885-2009) Read Scripture: Jim Sawyers Opening Prayer: Cary Clay Speaker: JD Buckner Song Leader: Scotty Studer Announcements: JD Buckner - Joe Adams Nursery Attendant: Erin Young

by Harry Middleton
THINKING ON THE COMPUTER
BACK TO BASICS---The worship period on the Lords day should be the most delightful hour in the life of the Christian. There is no reason why it cannot be. But when the worship is so poorly led it is not always a period of joy and gladness. The sermon should be well prepared. It should be a gospel sermon and not a lecture or a beautiful talk to entertain the audience. The terms of salvation should be clearly and often stated, that men might be convicted of sin and moved to obey God. The sermon as a rule should be kept within twenty-five minutes. J. W. McGarvey taught young men that a long sermon indicates poor preparation. The prayers should be inspiring, such as will lift up the hearts of the worshippers to the very throne of God. Brother McGarvey also taught that brethren should give much forethought to their prayers, even as the preacher gives to his sermon. Too many prayers heard these days are simply repetition of familiar phrases used over and over by those who lead the prayers. Our prayers should come from the depth of contrite hearts and be lifted up to the throne of God. When we sing we should sing with the spirit and understanding, praising God and admonishing one another. What I am trying to say is, when those who lead the saints in worship lead well, edify and admonish us to walk close to the Lord, joy is found in worshipping God. But how often is the worship so poorly led that we get bored and wish the service would end and we could get out and go home. Brethren, think on these things! (From Think on These Things by J. Roy Vaughan Gospel Advocate, January 10, 1974, pages 21-22)

Thank You
I would like to thank everyone for your expressions of kindness shown to me during my illness. Your many visits, cards, & prayers were appreciated. Love you all, Jean McIndoo

Lads to Leaders
Lads to Leaders sign up is due by the end of January. Please see Shea Cofer for more information.

JDs Jargon
Hello everyone, Happy new year! I hope you will have a fantastic 2012. I was very excited to see our theme for 2012 last Sunday. It is always so refreshing to get back to basics when it comes to spiritual things. Anytime is a good time when we remind ourselves why we worship God the way we do and why we live the way we live! I want to spend the rest of this article letting you know about the youth events coming up. First, Evangelism University is next weekend in Savannah, TN. EU is such a great spiritual weekend for our students. Please pray for our safe travels. The Bethel church of Christ will have their annual youth rally on Saturday, January 28. I am looking forward to the event and encourage all of our youth to attend. We will leave at 8 AM. Challenge Youth Conference is February 24-26. We always have a fun and rewarding time at CYC. Please pray for our safe travels. We have just begun a study on the life of Jesus for the High School class on Sunday mornings. Wednesday Bible classes have been filled with discussion about contemporary concerns such as Premillennialism, Calvinism, baptism, and church music. Our current topic for Wednesday is women serving as church leaders. Please pray for our youth to develop a strong faith in God, rooted in the truth! Have a great day. Thank you very much! --JD :)

Bordeaux Hospital
A BIG THANK YOU to all our members who assisted our friends at Hilltop Chapel at Bordeaux Hospital with Christmas this year. Thanks to your generosity, a total of $410.00 was collected and going to specific needs of the residents.

Fellowship Hall Reservations

All activities (other than scheduled worship service) for the use of the auditorium, fellowship hall, or other portions of the building, will be reserved by a written application form and turned in to the church secretary three weeks prior to the event. All members and non-members must fill out an application to be kept, on file, in the church office, in order to reserve any church facilities. NO EXCEPTIONS. They must review all check lists and guidelines for these facilities. NO EXCEPTIONS. Sunday use of the buildings is reserved for worship, as well as Wednesday evenings study period. Church activities have preference over all other requests. The fellowship hall may be reserved from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. No one may enter until 1:00 p.m. and the building must be vacated and cleaned by 5:00 p.m.

Mark Your Calendar...

The Record
Wednesday Night 12/28: Sunday Morning Worship Sunday Evening Worship: Sunday Bible Study: Contribution: 204 325 223 226 $11,582.50

Tonight: WYS at Jackson Park Tonight: Visitation team #2 and letter writers will meet following evening worship. January 10: Ladies Bible class at 10AM January 13-15: Evangelism University January 25: Time Saver Supper January 30: Bulletin Board Bash
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