CHRISTIAN NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION

What sort of New Year’s resolution should a Christian make? Here are some suggestions:
(1) Pray to the Lord for wisdom (James 1:5) in regards to what resolutions, if any, He would have you make;
(2) Pray for wisdom as to how to fulfill the goals God gives you;
(3) Rely on God’s strength to help you;
(4) Find an accountability partner who will help you and encourage you;
(5) Don’t become discouraged with occasional failures; instead allow them to motivate you further;
(6) Don’t become proud or vain, but give God the glory. Psalm 37:5-6,

“Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.”

...A SAVIOR IS BORN

Mary gave birth to her first-born son. She dressed him in baby clothes and laid him on a bed of hay, because there was no room for them in the inn. That night in the fields near Bethlehem some shepherds were guarding their sheep. All at once an angel came down to them from the Lord, and the brightness of the Lord’s glory flashed around them. The shepherds were frightened. But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid! I have good news for you … a Savior was born.” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Luke 2:7-11a

BRENDA'S COOKBOOK

Click on button marked,"BRENDA'S COOKBOOK" on the right, under PRAYER LIST. Check out the recipes your classmates already have posted. You can send in your recipes right there online or see Brenda for a printed form to fill out and turn back in. Get your best recipe on the web for everyone to enjoy!

COMMON MEN, UNCOMMON CALLING

For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.
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CLASS VISITORS - 12/13

We were blessed with 3 visitors to our class today.

Johnny and Renee Boronda

Louise Keeler

YOU ARE CHANGEABLE AND TWEAKABLE

God loves you just the way you are, but he refuses to leave you that way. He wants you to be just like Jesus.
Isn’t that good news? You are changeable. You aren’t stuck with today’s personality. You aren’t condemned to grumpy-dom. You are tweakable.
God will change you. And he will change you to be just like Jesus. Jesus felt no guilt; God wants you to feel no guilt. Jesus had no bad habits; God wants the same for you. Jesus had no anxiety about death; you needn’t either. God’s desire, his plan, his ultimate goal is to make you into the image of God.
My prayer for you is that you feel the Master’s touch—as he touches your heart, alters your outlook, and transforms you, inside-out.
Remember, he wants you to be just like Jesus.
—Max Lucado

CHRISTMAS CARD

The American Civil Liberties Union (A.C.L.U.) is working very hard to get rid of the CHRISTMAS part of this holiday. We should all send them a nice, CHRISTIAN card to brighten up their dark, sad, little world. Make sure it says "MERRY CHRISTMAS" on it, but don't be rude or crude.

Here's the address. It will be the best .44 cents you'll spend this Christmas.

ACLU

125 Broad St.

18th Floor

New York, NY 10004

PRAYER REQUEST

Please pray for my mother, Lucy Walker. She will be having eye surgery Tuesday 12/8 to remove a growth from her eye. This is an out patient procedure. Please pray for God to guide the doctor's hand during the procedure and for healing and good results for my mom.
Also, please pray for Rachel's dad, Jeff Jones. He goes for the results of his PET scan today. He has not been feeling very well and he has had the hicups for about 2 weeks and the doctors cannot seem to get them to stop. He is miserable!! Also, pray for comfort for Rachel.
UPDATE 12/8: We got bad news today about Rachel's dad, Jeff Jones. He has liver cancer and also a tumor on his diaphragm. He has had the hiccups for 3 weeks and now they have discovered the tumor is causing them. Rachel is going to Texas in the morning at 6:00 a.m. Please pray for traveling mercies. We will know more tomorrow; but, Jeff's wife says no treatments will be given and it doesn't look like Jeff will last very long. He is very weak. Please pray for comfort and peace for all of us and that God will be glorified in the end. Rachel is quite upset with it being so close to Christmas. Please pray for God's will and his timing. Love and blessings, Julie Williams

"flyfaith" - LATEST ADDITION

After their amazing concert last Sunday we added "flyfaith" to our "SITES OF INTEREST" section on this page. Its another great way to share Christ with our visitors. Its found in the right column below the God's Daily Word. Click on "flyfaith" or just click on their picture and be blessed.

Since forming the band in 2000, flyfaith has inspired audiences in the US, Canada, Asia and Western Europe; playing community events, coffee houses, universities, conferences, conventions, camps, retreats, and churches. Their signature is not just their musical talent, but their contagious spirit and unique ability to connect with any age audience.

Instrumentation:

Liza Romeo -Guitar and Vocals

Cynthia Floyd - Bass and Vocals

Sarah Beth Kerr - Guitar and Vocals

THEIR MISSION NEEDS OUR PRAYERS

GOD WANTS TO KNOW YOU !

God desires to be as close to you as he was to Christ,
so close that he can literally speak through you and
all you need do is translate.

God desires to be so close that tuning in to him is like putting on headphones.

So close that when others sense the storm and worry,
you hear his voice and smile.

SEARCH AND RESCUE

The nature of God is to seek and to save sinners. From the opening pages of human history, it was God who sought the fallen couple in the Garden. In Ezekiel 34:16 God says, “I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken, and strengthen the sick.” The Almighty was portrayed as a Savior throughout the Old Testament (Ps. 106:21; Isa. 43:11; Hos. 13:4), so it is appropriate that when Christ entered the world of human beings as God in human flesh, he was known first of all as a Savior.
Even Jesus’ name was divinely chosen to be the name of a Savior. An angel told Joseph in a dream, “You shall call His name Jesus, for it is he who will save His people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). The very heart of all redemptive teaching is that Jesus entered this world on a search-and-rescue mission for sinners. That truth is what characterizes the gospel as good news.
But it is good news only for those who perceive themselves as sinners. The unequivocal teaching of Jesus is that those who will not acknowledge and repent of their sin are beyond the reach of saving grace. All are sinners, but not all are willing to admit their depravity. If they do, he becomes their Friend (cf. Matt. 11:19). If they will not, they will know him only as Judge (cf. Matt. 7:22).

CLASSMATE BIRTHDAY

Saturday December the 5th is Rick Davis birthday.

CLASS CHRISTMAS PARTY

I thought I would mention our Christmas Party to all of you and let you be thinking about a possible date. Please check your calendars and see about December 18th or 19th. We can decide or even take a vote on Sunday. The 19th might be interfering with some family events that some members are having (couple have mentioned to me).
If these do not work, we can look at the 11th. We are having Joe's group from his office on the 12th, but I could possibly make it happen.

Love ya, Brenda

EYES ON THE FATHER

It does us much more good to think about God as it does to think about anyone or anything else. God wants us to begin and end our prayers thinking of him. The more we focus up there, the more inspired we are down here.
Magnify. When you magnify an object, you en-large it so that you can understand it. When we magnify God, we do the same. We enlarge our awareness of him so we can understand him more. This is exactly what happens when we worship—we take our minds off ourselves and set them on God. The emphasis is on him.

THE GIFT

One of the most precious gifts God has given us is His Word, the Bible. Wrapped in the glory and sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ and delivered by the power and ministry of His Spirit, it is a treasured gift—the gift that keeps on giving, because the Giver it reveals is inexhaustible in His love and grace.

CLASS VISITOR!

We have been blessed again with another class visitor.

Phil Keathley has been in attendance the last two weeks. He already fits right in and appears like he has been with us a long time. His contributions during the class study time have been a welcome part of our worship.

LADIES NIGHT OUT!

A few of us were hoping for a LADIES NIGHT OUT before we get into the Thanksgiving & Christmas rush time. Is anyone up for a pottery night? Just wondering if Tues 11/17 or Thurs 11/19 would work with you guys? My favorite place to do it is in Green Hills - Brush Fire Pottery - 4004 Hillsboro Rd. If you are have never gone to a paint your pottery shop it is a lot of fun. You walk in and there are shelves full of ceramic pieces that have been already fired once. You pick out what you want to paint. You can pick a $10 mug or plate or a $50 Neyland Stadium. The choice of what to paint will be the hardest part of the night. You then add a $6 paint fee ($3 on Thursday night). You do not have to be creative to do it. I think it will be a good opportunity to sit and talk and laugh with each other. We would need to meet by 5:30 to get there. Please let me know if you can join us and if Tuesday or Thursday would work better for you

KIM MORROW

NO EXCUSES

The devil continually tempts us to justify our sins and to reason away our faith. He constantly entices us to respond to our emotions—especially fear, anger, and hatred—rather than to respond with faith. Don’t listen to him! Choose to respond with your faith.
When you respond with faith in Jesus Christ, you put your adversary on the run.

CLASSMATE BIRTHDAY

Peggy Paul's birthday is Wednesday November 4th.

CLASS VISITOR

Our Class was blessed with another visitor on Sunday October 18th. Glen Fisher attended on a day when Joe was away for a Teachers Meeting. We all hope he returns to our class again.

NEW BLOG ADDED TO OUR SITE

Please double click on Bro. Andre's photo and check out his new blog. It will remain in our "Blogs of Interest" section here on our main page and in the future you can click on it there to continue checking out what he is posting for all of us to read.

Remember - SUCCESS IN LIFE.

CLASSMATE BIRTHDAY

Friday October 16th is Debbie Roach's Birthday.

PRAISE FROM PANSY LEECH!!!

Thank you all for praying for my mom, Linda Suiter. It is a miracle .... she is home, healing and attending Church services at South Haven Baptist Church in Springfield. I am so thankful that God has given her a little more time on this earth with me and the family. I am also thankful that God has given her a renewed spirit - a jolt of sorts. Thank you all for praying and I love you so much!

love,Pansy Leech

NEW CLASS PROJECT

Joe and Brenda introduced a new class project today. If we are successful in carrying out the plans, we will share the love of our church and our class with 2,500 people over the course of the next 14 months. The plan evolves around a new Class Business Card that was handed out this morning to members in attendance. On the back of the card is a 2010 calendar. Class members only need to Distribute 6 cards a month during the normal course of their day to meet the 2,500 goal. After class Brenda was passing out packets of cards to our in-service-members as well. This is a project that everyone can be involved in. That 2,500 number is limited only because that is how many cards we have on hand at this time, but more can be ordered if needed.
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NEW CLASS MEMBERS

Rob and Caye Darnel informed Joe and Brenda last Sunday, Sept. 27th of their decision to formally join our class. They are a wonderful couple that has already been a great addition to our class. The information they share in our class discussions has been a blessing to all in attendance.

IMPORTANT: From LeAnne Hale

The Nursery workers on Wednesday night are in desperate need of some relief. The young moms that are keeping the nursery have a real desire to be in Bible Study on Wed nights. I think there are 3 that would really love to take a class this semester- but are not able to because no one has volunteered to help out with the small children. Even if you could commit to helping for 1 month- I know this would be a big help. These ladies are “stay at home moms” that aren’t even able to get a break at church (many times they stay in the nursery hall on Sunday mornings as well).

I just wanted to be sure that “our” class was aware of the real need. If you feel compelled to help out- call Jessica Suggs 389-6832, or Stephanie Ragland 974-7720.
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Love ya’ll,
LeAnne

CLASSMATE BIRTHDAY!

Saturday September 19th is the birthday of Beverly Davis.

PRAYER REQUEST

My mother, Linda Suiter, is in Northcrest Medical Center with 10% lung function. Her doctors are working to get fluid off the back part of her heart, which is in irrepairable shape. She is not in good health now and hasn't been for several years - she will rapidly decline from this current state if she does not listen to the doctors. Please pray that my mother will hear/understand/put into action all that the doctors have told her....at this point, it requires her to step out and make life changing decisions.....and life saving decisions.....please join me and help me pray for my peace and help through Jesus to be compassionate/understanding/kind - I need these prayers so bad.....I thank you all and I appreciate you all helping me pray for this situation.

I love you all! Pansy Leech

PRAYER CHAIN COMPLETE

Cody Coleman is back home after a tour of duty in Afghanistan. He has been the target of our Class Prayer Chain since Sunday July the 26th.

STEAKLEY'S / SATTERFIELD ANNIVERSARY

Sunday August 16th is the 34th wedding anniversary of Joe and Brenda and Bill and Paula

CLASS VISITOR

We were blessed Sunday 8/16 with our first visitor this year not connected to a holiday.

Anthony Burls (Tony) was a guest of Andy and Peggy Paul.

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PRAYER LIST ADDITION : Tony has a job interview this week and asked that we pray for it to go well.

CLASSMATE PRAYER REQUEST

From Julie Williams: Please pray for Rachel's Dad, Jeff Jones. He is having a PET scan tomorrow. He finished his chemo treatments a couple of weeks ago and the doctors want to see if the cancer has returned. He has not been feeling very well for the past week. Please pray for Rachel as she is very worried about her Dad. She gets married Oct. 2 and we are hoping and praying that her father gets to feeling better. Love and Blessings. Julie Williams

CLASSMATE PRAYER REQUEST

Kim Morrow: Please add my aunt Peggy Birdwell to the prayer list. She has been attending Grace for over a year now and sits with me in the balcony every sunday. During the night Friday, she got up to use the restroom and passed out and broke her ankle in three places which required surgery on Saturday. Sunday evening they moved her to the heart unit and before they got settled in the new room they then decided to move her again to the Cardiac care unit to watch her closer. They now think she may need a pacemaker. She is still in lots of pain from the surgery.

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UPDATE - From Bro. Andre': Peggy Birdwell (Kim Morrow's aunt) is scheduled to have a pace maker installed Wednesday 8/12. She is in CCU at Baptist

IMPORTANT: SPECIAL PRAYER REQUEST

Last Sunday Jill Thompson added Tim's dad (Lee) to our Prayer List. This week she

e-mailed with a more urgent request for prayer. Please remember to lift that family up and ask the Lord to address Lee's needs in a way that only he can. Lee and his wife (Barb) have been married 50 years. The family says things have been especially difficult since Tim's sister passed away (17 yrs.).

CLASSMATES BIRTHDAYS

Monday August 3rd is Judy Heth's birthday and Tuesday August 4th is the birthday of Kenny Morrow.

PRAYER CHAIN

The sign up sheet for our

Cody Coleman Prayer Chain

is posted online in case you misplace yours or simply forget your date. Click on his photo then click on the calendar to enlarge.

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IMPORTANT UPDATE
Cody's e-mail address was wrong his correct address is : ccoleman87@comcast.net

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>>>Click on photo>

PRAYER REQUEST

Tim had some minor chest pain at work Monday. We saw our doctor that afternoon, and his EKG was normal. We're all pretty sure the pain was musculoskeletal, but she decided that in light of his risk factors he should have a stress test (treadmill). We'll be at St. Thomas on Tuesday morning - his test is scheduled for 8:00 a.m. I'll have my cell with me but don't know if I'll be able to answer it while we're at the hospital (for those of you who don't have the number, it's 210.0122). The test is supposed to take a couple of hours.

Thanks and much love,
=) Jill T.

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UPDATE 3PM-Tuesday: ALL TESTS WERE GOOD!

DAVIS ANNIVERSARY

Tuesday July 21st is the Wedding Anniversary of

Rick and Beverly Davis

CLASSMATE BIRTHDAY

Tuesday July the 14th is the birthday of our lovely

Julie Williams.

CLASSMATE BIRTHDAY

Friday July 10th is the birthday of

Bill Satterfield.

MORE CLASS VISITORS

All year long the holidays have blessed us with our only visitors and the 4th of July proved tp be no different.

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MINDY TAYLOR

(ANDY AND PEGGY PAUL'S DAUGHTER)

JON SISSON

(FT. WORTH)

CLASS VISITORS

Once again a Holiday has blessed our class with more visitors.

Andy and Peggy Paul

"Ben" the grandson of Bob and Carolyn Burgess

Rob and Caye Darnel

......( return Visit )

SPECIAL PRAYER REQUEST

The last two days have been tough. I've cried more in the last few hours than I did when Ian was facing and going through surgery. I think I was really holding out hope that the cancer part wouldn't be as bad as the removal of the tumor, but now I'm not so sure. We found out yesterday that Ian's tumor was a rare, aggressive kind of cancer.
We covet your prayers. We know it will be difficult to stay in deep prayer for so many months, but if you're wanting to know how you can help, that's what we need. We witnessed Ian sail through surgery and recovery because of all of the prayers, and we want all of you to be able to claim the miracle of his complete healing thanks to more prayers. Prayers for today: Strength, comfort, hope, and peace for all of us as we face an incredibly scary future. Confirmation that the cancer has NOT SPREAD so our battle will not be quite as big. Knowledge for our doctors and medical team as they begin making plans for his treatment. And of course, complete and total healing for our son. .....................................................................Love, The Millers
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.....** Click on Ian's picture to read his Journal **

CLASSMATE BIRTHDAY

Best Wishes to

Ann Crecelius

who celebrates her Birthday on Monday June 15th

CLASS VISITORS

Once again our class was blessed with visitors. Mike Suggs dropped off the first couple after claiming they were related somehow.

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Rob and Caye Darnel

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Jay and Carolyn McDaniel

(return visit)

SATTERFIELD DAUGHTER-IN-LAW

Our new daughter-in-law Tamera, right before the wedding last Saturday May 30th.

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ANSWERS TO PRO-ABORTION RHETORIC

The abortion debate has been full of rhetoric on both sides, but those supporting the right to abortion have been especially good at throwing out clichés in this debate. The pro-life movement needs to be able to respond to pro-abortion rhetoric in an effective way.
One of the most frequent clichés is this: “Every woman has a right to control her own body.” We need to consider the four elements of this slogan. First are the words “every woman.” Half of the aborted fetuses are female, so abortion is not exactly pro-woman. So the cliché only applies to grown women seeking abortion, not to females in the womb who would grow up to be women if they were not aborted. Second is the statement “has a right.” Our legal system does not recognize an absolute right over one’s body. We do not allow someone the “right” to get drunk and then drive a car. We do not give people an absolute right to use dangerous drugs, to commit suicide, or to walk around without clothes. Third is the verb “to control.” If a woman wants to control her own body, she could have prevented the pregnancy before it happened. Abstinence is 100 percent effective. The final words are “her own body.” As already discussed, pregnancy means there are two bodies. In a sense the baby controls the mother’s body through various hormonal cues. The fetus would be rejected as foreign tissue if it were not for the placenta that creates an effective barrier between mother and child. The argument that a woman has a right to control her own body may sound good, but flaws emerge when we analyze it.

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Anderson, K. (2005). Christian ethics in plain language (47). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

PRAYER REQUEST

The yet to be born grandbaby of Cody and Missy Coleman will have tests again soon to check the last remaining spot on one of the lungs. This is one of two spots that were found recently during an examination, the other one disappeared on its own - which doctors said from the start could happen. Lets all pray that this last spot is now gone as well.

PRAYER CHANGES THINGS

I can't think of any Sunday School Class that doesn't have a prayer list. To be clear, our Lord doesn't need a list. This is our list. It serves as a great way to keep up with or track those who need and or request our prayers, it also serves as a good reminder so we don't forget anyone, because these lists are usually long. More than likely each of us have told at least one person that we would pray for them and then forget. Even our best intentions can go unattended. We're left feeling bad and struggle forgiving ourselves. A Prayer List is not magic, but the power we have through prayer is. Most lists contain friends, loved ones, or Church Members, people that we care for very much. Some names come from our hearts, some ask for themselves and we can be sure some beg silently, but they all deserve, expect, and trust us to lift them up. These lists contain not only names but also expectations. Our list implies to people that we are committed to praying for them and they expect us to make good on our word, because this is "Church" isn't it?. When we pray we are following our Lord's instructions. His written Word even tells us to, "pray without ceasing." 1 Thessalonians 5:17
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We are blessed to have our Class Pray List at our finger tips 24/7 through our website. adults4christ.com
What we do with these lists says more about us than those whose names are written on them.

GRACE MEMORIAL DAY COOKOUT

The Memorial Day Cookout that was scheduled to take place at the shelter behind the Church on Sunday was moved into the gym due to rain. Which I think was a good thing. Everyone had a great time. The food was excellent and the fellowship was great in the gym because of the closeness it creates by keeping us all together. Its like the Lord had all of us in his arms at one time giving us a big hug. It also made the Pastor's thoughtful project of writing letters to soldiers easier as we waited for the food to be prepared The written letters were collected and separated for mailing. The shelter is nice too- the outdoors can be beautiful, but I think the setup and cleanup time is less in the gym. You can make all your plans in advance with no concerns about last minute changes due to the weather. I think more people will come and more will stay longer just because there is no worry about rain, heat, bugs or having to walk very far.

The gym gets my vote everytime!

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CLASS NOTE: There were so many buns and chips supplied by our class, that Bruce and David both had enough for projects this week and some of VBS. They were afraid some would spoil before they all could be eaten. There was approximately 8-10 bags of chips left and 3-4 very large pallets of buns. Thanks to Tim Thompson for doing such a great job with the money we collected.

A GUEST FOR THE HOLIDAY

Holidays this year seem to provide our best opportunties for class visitors. Mothers's Day gave us our first visitors and Memorial Day gave us our next visitor.

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Phyllis Justiss,

a friend of Bob and Carolyn Burgess blessed our class with her presence today.

CLASSMATES ANNIVERSARY

Tuesday May the 26th is the Anniversary of

Bob and Carolyn Burgess

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>>click on photo to enlarge>>

SATTERFIELD GRANDBABY

Eli Jett Satterfield, was born Thursday May 14th @ 7:36 P.M. His weight was 7 lbs 7.75 oz and was 20 .5 inches long. Mother and Father are doing well. They will be dismissed from Baptist Hospital Saturday afternoon.
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