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Are we confident that our light is bright
Vol. 46 October 26, 2021 Number 41
THE TRAGEDY OF A WASTED LIFE
Steve Higginbotham
The first time I saw this man, he was in his house drinking beer. I had been asked by a
preacher friend of mine to go with him and make a visit to this man’s home. I consented, so
off we went. We arrived at the little run-down shack where he was staying, and after
knocking several times, this man finally answered the door. We introduced ourselves and
were invited in. The living room, which also served as a bedroom, was a fog. The smoke
from countless cigarettes was heavy in the air –so heavy it was difficult to breathe. Lying
on a makeshift bed in the living room was a woman with whom he was living. As we tried
to talk to him about his spiritual condition, he sat drinking his beer as he listened.
A typical story of another wasted life, right? Well, yes and no. It was indeed another
wasted life, but it was not your typical story. You see, the man we went to visit that day
used to be an evangelist. He came from a Christian home. He graduated from a Christian
University, earning a Master’s Degree. He preached for several congregations and was
probably best known for the books he had written. But things went tragically wrong in this
man’s life. He began a life of drinking. Then it wasn’t long until he began womanizing and
destroyed his marriage.
Now after turning his heart away from God for a season, he sits in a small, dark,
smoke-filled room, drinking his beer, with his life in a shambles. In the corner of that small
room were boxes containing the books and tracts that he had written. They stood almost as
a monument of his prior usefulness, and a final vestige of the man he used to be.
My point in telling you this is that none of us is immune to sin. Don’t deceive yourself
into thinking these things just couldn’t happen to you. They can, and they do happen to
people just like you. The apostle Paul warned us that even he had to discipline his body to
bring it into subjection lest, he himself, should be disqualified (1 Cor. 9:27). Satan is a
respecter of no one. If he would dare tempt the Son of God (Luke 4), then he will surely
tempt you and me. We must be aware of the devices of the Devil (Eph. 6:11). We must not
flirt with, but rather flee from sin (1 Cor. 6:18). We must learn to develop an abhorrence
rather than a tolerance of the things which displease God (Rom. 12:9). We must love the
truth more than our own selfish desires (2 Tim. 4:2-4). We must remember that we are
humble servants, and not duly ordained monarchs in the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 3:5-8).
And we must continually remember to take heed lest we fall (1 Cor. 10:12).
A wasted life is always just one decision away. Oh, we can always return to God in
repentance, and He will receive us back. But returning to God does not undo the damage to
our bodies, our health, our families, our reputations, and the church.
The last time I saw this man, we were sitting on the front pew of the church building
where I preach. He was drunk, thick-tongued, and his speech was slurred. As we sat there,
he openly wept aloud over his wasted life, and expressed hope that God would understand.
Not too long after that meeting, he died from complications of his drinking.
His life was a tragic waste, but it will ever serve to remind me of what can happen to
one, anyone, even a faithful proclaimer of the gospel, who chooses to walk in the path of
sinners. May we choose to live so that when we reach the end of our lives, we don’t have
to lament in sorrow and regret.
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)

2. TAKING HOLY THINGS
FOR GRANTED
Bob Prichard
In my recent Bible reading, the following passage
was significant. “And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of
Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire
therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange
fire before the LORD, which he commanded them
not. And there went out fire from the LORD, and
devoured them, and they died before the LORD”
(Leviticus 10:1-2).
This tragic situation came about because these two
sons of Aaron were careless in their service to God.
What struck me in my reading of the passage this time
is what I read in the two verses before this. “And
Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the
congregation, and came out, and blessed the people:
and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the
people. And there came a fire out from before the
LORD and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering
and the fat: which when all the people saw, they
shouted, and fell on their faces” (Leviticus 9:23-24).
Did you notice what happened? The “glory of the
Lord” appeared to the people, and the Lord sent a fire
out that consumed the sacrifice, and “all the people
saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.” And then
in the very next verse, Nadab and Abihu brought
down more fire from the Lord by their disobedience.
It makes me wonder; how could they have done this?
Weren’t they paying attention? Didn’t they realize the
power of God? Didn’t they know what they were doing?
I don’t know all of the reasons that Nadab and
Abihu made their fateful choice, but one thing is
obvious. They took holy things for granted. They were
the right people, with the right implements of worship,
doing the right thing, in the right place, but in the
wrong way. And they paid for it with their lives.
I wonder how often we are guilty of taking holy
things for granted. Have you ever partaken of the
Lord’s Supper, and then realized that you didn’t even
think about what Christ did for you? Most all of us are
guilty of singing words we don’t mean or believe in
worship. When we sing “Anywhere with Jesus,” do
we mean it? When we sing, “all to Thee, I surrender,”
do we mean it?
The Lord has blessed us with His mercy, in that He
has not destroyed us like Nadab and Abihu. But can
we continue to take holy things for granted?
“Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be
moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God
acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our
God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:28-29).
Trunk or Treat
Fall Festival
Everyone in the congregation is
invited to building on Sunday, Oct. 31 at
5:00 p.m. for “trunk or treat” in the
parking lot. Please come and decorate
your trunk and hand out candy to the
children as they come by in their
Halloween costumes. Following
that we will have a chili/hotdog
supper in the multipurpose room.
Also, several will have games set up
to play and a costume & trunk
decorating contest following supper.
Please come and enjoy this period
of fellowship with our church family.
Sympathy
Our sympathy is extended to Staci Rushing in the
loss of her mother, Faye Moore, on Oct. 16 in a car
accident. Funeral services were held Oct. 18 at By
Faith Baptist Church in Pontotoc. Please keep Staci
and her family in your prayers!
Brain Freeze
Don’t forget that this Wednesday,
Oct. 20 following Bible class we will
have Brain Freeze in the multipurpose
room for anyone who would like to
enjoy an extra time of fellowship and ice cream.
Bridal Shower
A bridal shower will be held in
honor of Olivia Blansett, bride-elect
of Frankie Puente, this Sunday, Oct.
24 “come and go” from 2:00-3:30
p.m. in the multipurpose room. Olivia & Frankie are
registered at Amazon and Bed, Bath & Beyond.
Response
Leigh Bland came forward Sunday morning to
confess things amiss in her life and ask for prayers of
forgiveness. We commend Leigh in her desire to live
pleasing to God.
November 2021
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1
John 1-3
2
Staci Rushing
John 4-5
3
Eric Barnette
Brain Freeze
John 6-7
4
Kent Nichols
Dillard & Trish
Scribner
John 8-10
5
John 11-12
6
John 13-16
7
Daylight Savings
Time Ends
Ladies—Sr. youth
girls host devo. @
4pm
John 17-19
8
Stuart Childers
John 20-21
9
Acts 1-2
10
Greg & Keisha
Gholston
Brain Freeze
Acts 3-5
11
Ladies’ fellowship
Acts 6-7
12
Lori Blansett
Sr. Youth TGIF
Acts 8-9
13
Acts 10-12
14
Shelby Holloway
/Scott Childes
Bridal Shower
Area Wide Youth
Meeting @ New
Albany 5:00 p.m.
Acts 13-14
15
Acts 15-16
16
Acts 17-18
17
Bobby Joe
Lindley
Brain Freeze
Acts 19-20
18
Melvin Duke
Kirk Sheffield
Acts 21-23
19
Tony Donald
Rachel Scribner
Sr. Youth TGIF
Acts 24-26
20
Jimmy & Brenda
Spearman
Howard & Robin
Tindall
Dean & Kristie
Webb
Acts 27-28
21
Shirley Lyons
Sr. Youth Devo. @
Kent & Missy
Nichols
Romans 1-3
22
Dale & Lavern
Dulaney
Jeff & Natalie
Mansel
Kyle & Summer
Smith
Romans 4-6
23
Lee DuBois
Debbie Hallmark
Romans 7-8
24
Sydney
McMickin
Tammy Minor
Brain Freeze
Romans 9-11
25
Romans 12-16
26
Eli Rushing
Rodney Voyles
Shawn & Jean
Mounce
1 Cor. 1-4
27
Addie Hitt
Christina
Lindley
1 Cor. 5-7
28
Amy Smith
1 Cor. 8-11
29
Eddie Simmons
1 Cor. 12-14
30
1 Cor. 15-16

3. Daily Bible Reading
October 27...............................................Luke 14-16
October 28...............................................Luke 17-18
October 29...............................................Luke 19-21
October 30...............................................Luke 22-23
October 31.................................................... Luke 24
November 1.................................................John 1- 3
November 2..................................................John 4-5
Birthdays & Anniversaries
Birthdays: Cooper Blansett (Oct. 28), Olivia
Blansett (Oct. 30), James Burney (Oct 30),
Dean Webb (Oct. 30), Staci Rushing (Nov.
2). Anniversaries: Chad & Susan Willis (Oct. 30).
Our Sick
Nancy Haywood and Lori Blansett’s father,
Larry Cobb, continue hospice. Twinette Wallace is
undergoing treatment for Trigeminal Neuralgia.
Maggie Simineau is recuperating from arm surgery.
Gail Geno is home with a broken shoulder. Russell
Deaton is having problems with dizziness. Susan
Reed will undergo tests at UAB Wednesday. Wanda
& Scotty Bishop are home recuperating from Covid.
Steve Kelly’s nephew, Woody Turner, is home with
covid. It was good to see Perry Hand & Betty Long
in services Sunday following illnesses. Prayers have
been requested for Duke Loden, Star Ray, Stella
Pittman & Barbara Wright’s cousin-in-law, and
Mary Puckett, Brenda Spearman’s great niece.
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, Stella Pittman, April & Olivia
Pounders, Glenda Barnette, Barbara Bishop, Debbie
McCoy, Larry Kennedy, Brian Carver
Nursing Homes
Randy Attaway, Shirley McCarthy, Bob McClure
EMYG News
Ladies
All the ladies are invited to the
building on Sunday, Nov. 7 at 4 pm
for a devotional led by the young
ladies in our youth group. Please
come and encourage them!
Response
Susan Reed came forward Sunday morning to
confess things amiss in her life and ask for prayers of
forgiveness. We commend Susan in her desire to live
pleasing to God.
Sympathy
Our sympathy is extended to Donny McKay in the
loss of his mother, Blanche Chamblee, on Oct. 22.
Funeral services will he held Tuesday, Oct. 26 at 6
pm, with visitation from 4-6 pm, at Cleveland-Moffett
Funeral Home in Amory.
Also, our condolences to the family of Don Fox
who passed away Oct. 23. Funeral services were held
Oct. 25 at the Mayfield Church of Christ building.

4. Men to Serve Sunday, Oct. 31, 2021 a.m.
Announcements.............................. Dennis Hallmark
Bible Reading......................................... Chad Willis
Opening Prayer .................................... Greg Hughes
Lord’s Supper
Barry Kennedy
Lead Singing..............................................Mark Hitt
Closing Prayer......................................Larry Presley
Ushers ................Andy Baldwyn & Jason Dickinson
Please meet in the library by 8:45 a.m.
Sunday 11:15 a.m. service
Opening Prayer ........................... Youth Led Service
Closing Prayer............................. Youth Led Service
Lead Singing............................... Youth Led Service
Wednesday, November 3, 2021
Opening Prayer ...........................Hunter Underwood
Lead Singing......................................Hugh Scribner
The elders kindly request that men leading in public
worship wear the best dress clothes they have.
Contact Jimmy Spearman (840-8957) if unable to serve.
Attendance & Contribution
Mid-Week, 10-20-21 .................................................. 138
Sunday 1st
Worship, 10-24-21 .................................. 166*
Sunday Bible Class..................................................... 142
Sunday 2nd
Worship.................................................... 141
Contribution (budget $7,900) ................................ $8,960
*This does not include the livestreamed views.
Pantry item........................................... Peanut butter
Trunk or Treat
Fall Festival
Everyone in the congregation is invited to building this Sunday, Oct. 31 at 5:00 p.m.
for “trunk or treat” in the parking lot. Please come and decorate your trunk and hand out
candy to the children as they come by in their Halloween costumes. Following that we
will have a chili/hotdog supper in the multipurpose room. Also, several will have games
set up (BINGO for the Sr. Saints) and a costume & trunk decorating contest following
supper. Please come and enjoy this period of fellowship with our church family. A food
list is posted in the foyer.