CITY OF GOLD
We considered five Bible characters Sunday morning that were looking for the city of gold
in God’s word. Abraham looked for it (Hebrews 11:10), John saw it (Revelation 21:1,2),
David prepared for it (Psalm 15), Moses sacrificed for it (Hebrews 11:24-27) and Paul longed
for it (Philippians 1:23). I want to take a closer look at Moses and what he was willing to
sacrifice for the city of gold.
The text (Hebrews 11:24-26) states, “By faith, Moses… When we think about what Moses
had and what he was willing to give up, we realize what a sacrifice he made from the human
standpoint. He was called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. We might say today, “He had it
made.” Moses knew there was something greater than what Pharaoh had to offer. He chose
God over Pharaoh because he knew that God was greater. The word refused means to
deny, to refuse to accept something offered. Moses also knew there would be consequences
to the choice he made. He made the choice to suffer affliction with the people of God. The
Egyptians were persecuting the children of Israel. Read Exodus one and two to see the
situation that the Israelites found themselves in. He made the choice to suffer affliction with
the people of God rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. The New King James
has the “passing pleasures of sin,” and a footnote for passing, “temporary.” Moses
considered the reproach of Christ grater riches than the treasures in Egypt. Moses was
thinking about spiritual treasures instead of earthly treasures. He knew there was a reward
awaiting the one who would follow God faithfully.
What is the lesson for us? We also must choose to give up the world’s sinful pleasures in
order to gain the lasting joys of the next one. Pleasure is not necessarily sinful, but it is one
of Satan’s most effective tools. Take time to read Luke 8:11-15, 2 Timothy 3:1-4, I Timothy
5:6. Sinful pleasures pertain to the flesh, which call for additional stimuli (which often cause
one to sink deeper and deeper into sin). We need to remember, pleasure is fleeting. We must
make wise choices.
ARE YOU PATIENT?
James begins and ends his epistle with the topic of patience. “The testing of your faith
produces patience.” (1:3). James asks us to consider the patience of Job. (5:11).
Be careful when you do consider the topic of patience. Due to current usage of that word in
our language, you may have the wrong notion of what the Bible is encouraging. Therefore,
you may miss what God is really looking for in a patient disciple.
In the modern use of the term, I am a patient man. If I go to a doctor’s office for a ten
o’clock appointment, find the office full of others who have ten o’clock appointments, and am
kept waiting until eleven o’clock, I handle that very well. I am prepared to wait for I expect it. I
generally carry a newspaper, making sure that I have my pen so that I can go to work on the
crossword puzzle. When I am eventually called from the waiting room and my weight and
blood pressure are taken by the nurse, my weight may be up, but my blood pressure remains
that of a person of calm demeanor. That is what we mean by patient.
Another person may boil. They may complain (loudly so that the doctor’s staff is sure to
hear) about how “my time is as valuable as doctor’s time!” The person may just leave in a huff
when their patience runs completely out. That is what we refer to as impatient.
God was thinking of something slightly different, though, when he instructed us in his word
to learn patience. As a matter of fact, depending on what English translation you use, you
may even find the thought expressed as endurance or perseverance. The idea is to be able
to remain faithful, even when life is not fair; to stick close to God even when sticking doesn’t
seem to be beneficial; to be steadfast even when reason tells you to cut and run; to keep
trusting in the face of abuse; to keep looking to Jesus no matter how distracting the world
around you becomes. Dr. Phil always wants to know about our behavior, “What is your payoff
for that?” Patience means that you keep behaving as Jesus would behave, if the payoff is
delayed, or even if it looks like payday will never come.
How was your 2013? Was life fair with you? Did doubt attack? Were you abused even
when you were doing what was right? Did the world seductively reach out to you? Oh, but you
are still here. You still wear the name of Christ. That is patience.
When 2014 is over and done are you determined that you will still be here then, too? If you
determination holds, that is patience
By Cecil May III, BulletinGold, 01/14
AMEND THINGS
“Little said is soon amended” (Miguel de Cervantes).
THE ONLY WAY TO AVOID HAVING TO MAKE AMENDS IS TO DO NOTHING. If we’re
actively involved with life, doing our best to do as we should, we’re going to make some mistakes, and
when we do, amends will have to be made. Looking at it one way, the less we say and do, the fewer
apologies we’ll have to make. “Little said is soon amended,” as Cervantes said, and there is definitely
some wisdom here. But on the other hand, life is about more than the negative avoidance of mistakes;
in a larger sense, it’s about the positive use of our abilities to accomplish as many good results as we
can. We can’t give up or stop trying. Making amends is just one of life’s necessities.
In its most basic sense, to make amends is to “mend” a situation that has been “broken” by an error
that we’ve committed. And, of course, to “mend” something is to “repair” it. Thus the American
Heritage Dictionary defines “amends” as “reparation or payment made as satisfaction for insult or
injury.” So when we make amends, we “repair” what we’ve damaged, making “reparation” for our
wrongdoing.
To make amends honorably, we must do a good bit more than offer an apology, though that’s the
obvious starting point. Even at the level of apology, we must do more than express regret that
someone’s been hurt. We must (a) acknowledge the WRONGFULNESS of what we’ve done, (b)
commit ourselves to CHANGE (that is, promise that we would never do the same thing again, even in
the same circumstances), and then (c) make RESTITUTION for the damage done, to whatever extent
that may be possible. Obviously, many wrongs do damage for which no perfect restitution can be
made, but we should never fail to try. If we’ve gotten out of the blaming mode and into the amendment
mode, the question we’ll always ask is, “WHAT CAN I DO TO MAKE IT UP TO YOU?”
Making amends is one of the most difficult things in life, but it’s also one of the most important. If
we can’t do it eagerly, we can at least do it WILLINGLY. And just as important, the making of
amends is something we should do REGULARLY. Timely amendments are a part of the maintenance
that keeps our relationships working. If we value these relationships, we’ll spare no effort to fix them
when they break.
“Keep your friendships in repair” (Ralph Waldo Emerson).
Gary Henry - Enthusiastic Ideas - April 28, 2009
MONTROSE FAMILY NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
FEB 02 2014
THOSE PRIVILEGED TO SERVE
WORSHIP----SUNDAY---9:00 AM
Coordinator . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mitchell Brooks
Announcements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jacky Carver Sr.
Scripture Reading...Matt. 22:37-39 … Justin Draper
Song Leader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Opening Prayer. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Jacky Carver Jr.
Steve Anderson
Lord’s Supper-Preside: Harold Smith
Serve: George Clay, Austin Clay,
Kaleb Bush, Glen Reece
Closing Prayer.......................................... Zac Cole
Greeter— Harold & Patty Smith
Greeter— George & Teresa Clay
Count Offering. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jacky Carver, Sr.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kaleb Bush
AM Sermon— Love for God
PM Sermon— Biblical Spirituality
WORSHIP---SUNDAY---6:00 PM
Announcements . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Jacky Carver Sr.
Song Leader. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Jimmy Smith
Scripture Reading Psalm 42:1-2. . . . Justin Draper
Opening Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Harold Smith
Lord’s Supper . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . Roger Draper
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mitchell Brooks
Closing Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Craig Anderson
BIBLE STUDY WEDNESDAY---7:00 PM
Announcements . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Jacky Carver Sr.
Song Leader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kaleb Bush
First Prayer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Billy Halliburton
Opening Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Roger Draper
Closing Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alex Armour
Prepare Communion for FEBRUARY
Patsy Reece
Note: If you are not able to fulfill your assignment
listed above, please notify the coordinator so that
he can find a replacement.
MONTROSE BULLETIN BOARD
NURSING HOME: Hoss West, Larry Kemp,
Richard & Kathy Hommrich (Tim’s parents)
Those on the sick list:
Bob Dillehay—
Kasel Dillehay
Wayne P. Lankford—
Gladys Bowling—
Kathy Harville—
Billy Thompson—has begun treatments
Stacey Browning—friend of Steve Anderson
Linda Solley—friend of Coles, pancreatic cancer
OUR RECORD OF LOVE FOR CHRIST 01/26/14
Wednesday. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Worship Sunday AM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
60
Bible Study Sunday AM .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
59
Daily Bible Readers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
39
Worship Sunday PM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
48
Offering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. $2,813.00
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Feb 02nd. Mens’ Business Meeting
Feb. 09th. Host Bible Bowl @ 2:00 pm.
Feb. 23rd. Fellowship Meal
We are asking each family to bring items for the pantry to be used for needs in the community as they
arise: Item for week: LAUNDRY DETERGENT
BIBLE READING FOR FEBRUARY
01 Lev. 12-14
02 Lev. 15-17
03 Lev. 18-20
04 Lev. 21-25
05 Lev. 26-27
06 Num. 1-4
07 Num. 5-7
08 Num. 8-10
09 Num. 11-13
10 Num. 14-16
11 Num. 17-21
12 Num. 22-24
13 Num. 25-27
14 Num. 28-30
15 Num. 31-33
16 Num. 34-36
17 Deut. 1-3
18 Deut. 4-8
19 Deut. 9-11
20 Deut. 12-14
21 Deut. 15-17
22 Deut. 18-20
23 Deut. 21-23
24 Deut. 24-26
25 Deut. 27-29
26 Deut. 30-32
27 Deut. 33-34
28 Joshua 1-5