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Hugh Vol. 43 November 27, 2018 Number 47
If I Could Save Time in a Bottle
By Barry Kennedy
“Time in a Bottle” hit the charts at #1 in December 1973, three months after Jim
Croce (singer-songwriter) died when his plane crashed on September 20th. Mr. Croce
wrote this song for his son A. J. and it appeared on his first album “You Don’t Mess
Around with Jim” released in 1972. There are very few people who have not heard this
song and like it or not, its message is appealing to most everyone. Could you imagine being
able to control time? Think of the endless possibilities this would afford us. No doubt Mr.
Croce, when writing this song, was not thinking he would be leaving this life so soon. The
lyrics speak of a longing to spend time with one dearly loved. We all enjoy the
opportunities given to us to be with the ones we love. Certainly, we all have said, “I wish
this moment would never end.” Are we not wishing for time in a bottle?
Good king Hezekiah was blessed to have some “time in a bottle” so to say (2
Kings 20). Isaiah brought word that death was coming to Hezekiah. “Thus saith the LORD,
Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live” (2 Kings 20:1). Many people have
heard a similar message from doctors even today. Oh, that we could bottle up the time that
we have right now and save it “till eternity passes.” Of course, one problem arises with that
lyric, eternity will never pass. That is why we are to set our houses in order. Hezekiah was
blessed with fifteen more years of life (2 Kings 20:6). He had that time given to him in a
bottle so to say. What did he do with this unique gift?
He boasted his blessings before the world. God had blessed Judah with great
wealth and a kingdom to be desired. Hezekiah had just dodged the invasion of Assyria
through God’s deliverance (2 Kings 18, 19). Assyria would not have wanted to risk life and
limb for an invaluable conquest. Sennacherib had Judah in his sights, wanting to add
another spoil to his treasury. The one thing Sennacherib did not realize was that God was
with Judah (2 Kings 19:32-35). In the wake of this victory and the addition of fifteen years
to Hezekiah’s life, he chose to “show-off” the treasures of his house and the temple (2
Kings 20:12, 13). Hezekiah felt that he could trust Berodach-baladan, prince of Babylon,
because he showed concern for Hezekiah in his sickness. There is nothing wrong with
being hospitable, friendly, and sharing, but there was no reason for Hezekiah to “show off”
the treasures of God. It looked as though Hezekiah was the one solely responsible for
Judah’s success. It is never acceptable to leave God out of our lives (James 4:13-17).
Hezekiah did, as do many, fail to consider what the result of his actions would be.
Hezekiah would have benefitted, as would we all, from Solomon’s words, “Pride goeth
before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18).
He brought hardship upon his people. Paul made it very clear how that “none of
us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself” (Romans 14:7). We are not alone in this
life and our actions do quite often produce consequences on others. Moses wrote
concerning this very point. “The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving
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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
PREACHER
Barry Kennedy ... (931)787-7108
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 Classes............. 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.
EAST MAIN CHURCH OF CHRIST
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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God made me grateful by the example of His
great love. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a
man lay down his life for His friends” (John 15:13).
For man to stop and to consider this truth must
produce a response. That is not to say that everyone
who thinks about Jesus’ death will be saved. To reject
Jesus is not the correct response, but it is a response
none the less. It has been said that ingratitude is the
first step toward apostasy (total rejection of God).
Paul let the Roman congregation know that
ingratitude was one of the reasons God gave some up
to serve their own lusts (Romans 1:18-32). God is the
“SOURCE” of all things (John 1:1-5), but the fact that
He gave up His life to secure our lives with Him
should cause us to be grateful. Sadly, some will not
thank God for anything. Their hearts are too hard for
the love of God to penetrate, germinate, and produce
faith (Matthew 13; Romans 10:17). Jesus said, Ye are
My FRIENDS, if ye DO whatsoever I command you”
(John 15:14).
Yes, God made me grateful because of who
He is and because of what He has done for me. He is
the Almighty God of Heaven who created all things,
and although man contaminated this life with sin, He
did not give up on us (Romans 3:23; 6:23). He has
made salvation from sin available to all men
everywhere (John 3: 16; Titus 2: 11-14; Hebrews 2:
9). How can one not be grateful when considering
these words, “Who his own self bare our sins in his
own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins,
should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye
were healed” (1Peter 2:24). Knowing the blessings of
God, it is easy to see that the first step toward
apostasy is ingratitude. God made me grateful, how
about you?
Community Outreach Item:
Toothpaste
Community Outreach
Program
The Community Outreach
Program would like to ask
each one who can to choose a
tab off the trees on the table
in the foyer to purchase items
for the Nursing Home residents to be given to them at
Christmas. Please return items to the building by
December 1st
. Thank you for your help!
Placed Membership
Last Sunday, Nov. 11 Mike & Carol Cross made
known their desire to be recognized as members of
the East Main congregation and work under the
oversight of our elders, Mike Childers, Dennis
Hallmark, Mark Hitt & Bobby Joe Lindley. Their
address is 763 CR 1451, Saltillo 38866, and their
phone numbers are 871-7400 (Mike) and 871-1920
(Carol). Please welcome them into our number.
Visitation Team #4
Visitation Team #4, Mike Ratliff’s team, will
meet this Sunday, Nov. 25 at noon in Room 10
briefly to hand in cards and get new ones. There
will be NO meal.
Wednesday Thanksgiving
Prayer & Praise
This Wednesday, Nov. 21 our evening Bible
study will be a little different. Everyone will be
asked to stay in the auditorium for a period of
Scripture readings, prayers, and songs. Please make
plans to be here!
Parents of All Youth
All the youth and their parents will be hosting a
holiday luncheon for our Senior Saints in the
multipurpose room on Sunday, Dec. 2 at noon. We
need ALL parents to please sign the food list posted
in the foyer beside the tract rack so we will be sure
to have plenty of food. Thanks so much for your
help.
John Duke is stationed in Long Beach, MS.
Matt Duke is stationed in Ft. Carson, CO.
Caleb Williams is stationed in Norway.
Dylan Kelly, Steve Kelly’s grandson, is in Kuwait.
Ty Nichols, Patsy Nichols’ grandson, is in
Oklahoma
December 2018
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1
Katherine Mansel
Trish Scribner
2 Corinthians 1-4
2
Sr. Saints’ Holiday
Luncheon
Area Youth Meeting
@ West Main
2 Corinthians 5-9
3
Laura Bennett
Grady & Debbie
Vines
2 Cor. 10-13
4
Galatians 1-3
5
Galatians 4-6
6
Amanda
Dickinson
Marla Laney
Linda Parker
Michael Wilson
Ephesians 1-3
7
Austin McMillen
Ephesians 4-6
8
Sr. Youth
Christmas party @
Sheffields
Philippians 1-4
9
Hilda Ratliff
Visitation Team #2
Colossians 1-4
10
Wanda Bishop
1 Thess. 1-5
11
Mikki Gilliland
2 Thess. 1-3
12
1 Timothy 1-6
13
Larry Long
Ladies’ fellowship
& Ornament
Swap @ 6 pm
2 Timothy 1-4
14
Weston Beckner
Titus-Philemon
15
Lynn Sanderson
Hebrews 1-5
16
Twinette Wallace
Nursing Home
Singing
Hebrews 6-9
17
Wesley &
Raleigh Bass
Hebrews 10-11
18
Hebrews 12-13
19
James 1-5
20
Rommie
Dilworth
Ian Willis
1 Peter 1-5
21
Greg Lyle
2 Peter 1-3
22
Suzanne Long
1 John 1-5
23
Laverne Raper
Visitation Team #4
2 John-Jude
24
Revelation 1-3
25
Revelation 4-5
26
Revelation 6-7
27
Kyle Smtih
Revelation 8-11
28
Marla Harris
Revelation 12-14
29
Ander Bass
Revelation 15-17
30
Asher Bass
Shauna McMickin
Youth Led Services
Revelation 18-20
31
Terry Kingsley
Robert & Betty
Kingsley
Revelation 21-22

3.
Daily Bible Reading
November 28.......................................1 Corinthians 8-11
November 29.....................................1 Corinthians 12-14
November 30.....................................1 Corinthians 15-16
December 1...........................................2 Corinthians 1-4
December 2...........................................2 Corinthians 5-9
December 3.......................................2 Corinthians 10-13
December 4..................................................Galatians 1-3
Birthdays & Anniversaries
Birthdays: Amy Hughes (Nov. 28), Eddie
Simmons (Nov. 29), Katherine Mansel (Dec. 1),
Trish Scribner (Dec. 1), Laura Bennet (Dec. 3).
Anniversaries: Grady & Debbie Vines (Dec. 3).
Our Sick
Lauren Lindley is in room 386 at NMMC. She is
doing better, but no visitors still, please. Jean Mounce
went home Monday from NMMC. LuAnne Funderburk
& Tommy Goff, Patsy Nichols’ brother, are home
recuperating from surgery. Mary Ann Wallace will begin
radiation treatment this week. Debbie Duke’s mother,
Carol Nichols, is undergoing chemo & radiation
treatments for her lung cancer. Debbie Vines’ mother,
Jill Rice, is very ill at this time with Alzheimer’s.
Charles Tharp is on home hospice care. Lexie Dickinson
is having kidney stone problems.
On-Going Illnesses
Laverne Raper, Frankie Estes, Donny Dulaney, Adam
McCurley, Linda McCurley, Mary Jordan, Bretta
Robinson, James Goddard, Ray Scribner, Bill Goff,
Linda Bryan, Mitch Maclean, James Nichols, Sheba
Tuggers, Sherry Gregory, Shirley Owens, Mickey
Bailey, Sammy Carson, Nathan Hale, Leroy Brown,
Mike Stroup, Jadon Parish, Charlie Evans
Nursing Homes/Assisted
Living
Nancy Haywood, Randy Attaway, Shirley McCarthy,
Mary Southern, Veona Harris
Jr. Youth & Early Seekers: are invited to
come watch the Tupelo Christmas Parade
this Friday, Nov. 30 at 6:00 p.m. in front of
Sherwin Williams on East Main St.
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iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the
guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the
children unto the third and fourth generation” (Numbers
14:18). No, Moses is not saying that we inherit the guilt
of our father’s sin (Ezekiel 18:20), but we do take on
consequences. Hezekiah would not be the one to go into
Babylonian captivity, but his son and all of Judah
became slaves (c.f. Daniel).
Oh, that we all could learn to look ahead and
evaluate the outcome of our decisions. Most people who
would truly long to “save time in a bottle” are looking to
redo some mistake of the past. They long to “fix” some
embarrassing moment that they cannot not put to rest.
Maybe we should stop and consider that those mistakes
have helped to make us who we are and to remind us
from whence we came. Paul said that he put his past in
the past and reached to the future (Philippians 3:13), but
he never stopped thinking of where God had placed him
(Colossians 1:13). Do we NEED time in a bottle?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Community Outreach
Program
Those helping with the Com-
munity Outreach Program are
asked to meet in the multipurpose
room this Wednesday, Nov. 28 at
6:30 p.m. to assemble the holiday bags for the Nursing
Home residents. If you took a tab off the tree for this,
please have your items at the building by Wed. morning.
Also, we began another project this Sunday. We
have adopted some 60 children from area schools that
are in need during this holiday season. A white tree has
been placed on a table in the foyer with a child’s age and
needs. We are asking that you spend at least $50 on
your child. Please be sure to see Lynn Sanderson,
Kristie Webb, or Renee Childers if you wish to adopt a
child. We will need these items back by Dec. 5.
Our Sympathy
Our sympathy is extended to Dundee Donald in the
loss of her sister, Brandi Bishop, in an auto accident
Nov. 22. Funeral services were held Sunday at Pegues.
Baptism
Our hearts rejoiced this Sunday after services when
Jackson Voyles was baptized into Christ by his grandad,
Perry Hand. We are so happy for Jackson in his decision
to put on Christ in baptism. Jackson is the son of
Rodney & Amy Voyles.

4.
Put the following Bible characters in
chronological order:
Men to Serve Sunday, Dec. 2, 2018 a.m.
Announcements..........................................Mark Hitt
Bible Reading.......................................Britton Smith
Opening Prayer ....................................... Perry Hand
Lord’s Supper
Bobby Lindley & Greg Hughes
Serve Congregation, East Side:
Hunter Underwood, Jacob Bradley, Lee DuBois
Serve Congregation, West Side:
Tim Davis, Will Davis, William Harris
Lead Singing....................................James Simmons
Closing Prayer..................................... Dale Dulaney
Ushers ..........................Andy Baldwyn & Joe Minor
Please meet in the library by 8:45 a.m.
Sunday Afternoon
Opening Prayer ..................................Hugh Scribner
Closing Prayer....................................Ricky Johnson
Lead Singing....................................Eddie Simmons
Wednesday, December 5, 2018
Prayer ...................................................... Larry Long
Lead Singing........................................ Greg Hughes
Contact William Harris (416-8149) if unable to serve.
The elders kindly request that men leading in public
worship wear the best dress clothes they have.
Greeters ................................Lee & Heather DuBois
...............................Greg & Keisha Gholston
Prepare Lord’s Supper—December..................Perry
& Linda Hand
Nursery............................. Tracy Lyle & Logan Lyle
Pantry................................................Spaghetti sauce
Attendance & Contribution
Mid-Week, 11-21-18............................................162
Sunday 1st
Worship, 11-25-18 .............................210
Sunday Bible Class ..............................................203
Sunday 2nd
Worship.............................................195
Contribution (budget $7,900)..........................$9,295
The youth of East Main invite our
Senior Saints
(age 60 and above)
to a holiday luncheon prepared in your honor this
Sunday, Dec. 2nd
Immediately following worship services at noon
in the multipurpose room.
Please sign the list on the bulletin board across from the library if you plan to attend.