A NEWSLETTER FOR THE MEMBERS OF THE GREENWOOD CHURCH OF CHRIST

VOLUME 2 NO. 12                                              May 8, 2005

WHAT?
NO SINGING?

One Sunday morning a preacher stood before the congregation, silently looked at each individual present, and then in a voice that sounded like a crack of doom, he exclaimed, “If I had my way, I'd eliminate singing.  It makes liars of each of you.”

“Take that last hymn for instance.  You sang I Want to Be a Worker at the top of your voice, yet we have to beg you to take part in any work to be done.  In fact many of you have to be “courted” to even come to the services of worshipping our God!”

“You sang I Surrender All, yet you contribute only two or three percent of your income to the greatest cause in the world and that is to spread the gospel of our Savior, Jesus the Christ.”

“You sang Anywhere with Jesus, yet you are always too busy to go and talk to one who needs to hear the gospel, and will sometimes not even drive around the corner to worship the Lord.”

“You sang Give Me the Bible,but when someone gave you one all you did was put it in the closet to collect dust.”

“However, there is one hymn where you speak truth.  I know you mean what you say when you sing I Shall Not be Moved!”

An Adapted Article

ON FIRE FOR GOD!

A SELECTED ARTICLE

An old Negro preacher of the Deep south, who never had to worry about empty pews, always prayed this prayer before his sermon.

“Oh Lawd, give thy servant dis mawnin' de eye of de eagle, and de wisdom of de wolf: connect his soul with de gospel teleform in de central skies.  'Luminate his brow with de sun of heaven; saturate his heart with love for de people; turpentine his 'magination; grease his lips with 'possum; lossen him with de sledge hammer of thy power; lectrify his brain with de lightenin' of thy Word; 'petual motin in his arms; fill him plum full of de dynamite of glory; 'noint him all over with de kerosene oil of salvation and SET HIM ON FIRE!”

DANGER AHEAD!

Gospel Digest - 1959

14,800,000 people will go to meet their God unprepared this year.
1,200,000 will die this month without Christ.
280,000 will pass into eternity this week in a lost state.
40,000 will die without Christ within twenty-four hours.
1,289 will die in their sins within the hour.
21 people die without Christ every minute.

In view of the above facts, we can not wait until next year or even tomorrow to decide to do something about changing this sad picture.  In fact, my Christian friend, have you considered that you might be one of the above numbers?  Are you living so you are pleasing to God?  Are you giving in a manner pleasing to Him?  Beware there is danger ahead!

(The above article is from many years ago.  It is staggering to think about what these numbers have changed to today.)