Highway Church of Christ, 704 W Jackson, Sullivan IL

61951, Phone: 217-728-4146 or Email:

etsop95@gmail.com (www.highwaycofc.com)

Be sure to “like” us on Facebook.

Dost thou love life?

Then do not

squander time, for

that is the stuff life

is made of.

(B. Franklin)

Wrong Comparison (Word to the Wise): Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished (Proverbs 16:5, KJV). To be proud in heart is to elevate oneself to a position that is too high. A good illustration of this is in Luke 18:9-14. The religious leader (a Pharisee) looked upon himself in comparison to the one to the side of him. He prayed to the Lord about how grateful he was to not be like the tax-collector standing nearby. He compared himself to the wrong standard. The Lord speaks about how one’s prayer was heard, but the other prayer was not. It is that way with us also. We would like to say to ourselves that we would not be guilty of such things and, hopefully, this is so. On the other hand, we need to always check ourselves and be reminded, but that for the grace of God I might be like that particular religious leader that Jesus used as a point of illustration. RT PRESIDENCY: “I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever gathered at the White House—with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.” (John F. Kennedy)

H i g hw a y C h u rc h o f Ch r i s t

Elders: Ron Adams,

Wayne Miller, Ron

Thomas.

Preacher: Ron Thomas

The Persistent Word of God To a conscientious man or woman, the Word of God burns like a flame within the heart; it is not easily squelched. There is something about God’s Word that is unlike anything man ever produced. Whatever it is than man can inspire, there is an inadequate quality to it that will eventually arise. It is not this way with God’s Word. Jeremiah the prophet expressed himself along this line exactly. Frustrated as he was at the time, he resolved to no longer preach the Lord’s Word to a people that had no interest in hearing anything, much less do anything about that which the Lord demanded. On one occasion he said (and wrote), For whenever I prophesy, I must cry out, "Violence and destruction are coming!" This message from the LORD has made me an object of continual insults and derision. Sometimes I think, "I will make no mention of his message. I will not speak as his messenger any more." But then his message becomes like a fire locked up inside of me, burning in my heart and soul. I grow weary of trying to hold it in; I cannot contain it (Jeremiah 20:8-9, NET). Perhaps you can relate well with Jeremiah on this. I hope so. There was a king, however, who could not, did not, and made it a point to not allow others the opportunity to re-

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H i g hw a y Ch u r c h o f Ch r i s t

Lantern

MARCH 6, 2016

late to the same. In Jeremiah 36, the righteous king Josiah (deceased at this time) had a son who was king and who regarded the Lord with scorn. His name was Jehoiakim. The Lord, through Jeremiah, preached and preached of the na-tional leaders need to repent or the Lord would bring such disaster on the nation that the anguish they would experi-ence would be unlike anything they could imagine. This message was received by some, but rejected by most. On the occasion of Jeremiah 36, Jeremiah had his associ-ate write out the Lord’s message and read it in the Temple. This was done and many of the people were alarmed. They passed word to the king, and the king called for the docu-ment to be read in his presence. Having read the docu-ment, the king cut it up and put the writings of Jeremiah into the fire (36:23), representing his scorn for that which the Lord said. To the king, he might have been reacting to this persistent prophet that always preached against him, but to the Lord the king represented Israel’s destruction. To him who is given much, much is expected. The Scriptures teach that the Lord’s Word will accom-plish its purpose (Isaiah 55:10-11), and the Lord’s purpose with His Word is for each to bow the knee to Jesus (Philippians 2:9). In every soul wherein the Lord’s Word burns, those are people who willingly bowed their knees before the Lord Jesus. On the other hand, there are a great many more who look upon the Lord’s Word as a petulant nuisance, and they just want preachers and Christians to stop trying to “force your morality and religion” on them. Representing this latter group in Jeremiah’s time was King Jehoiakim. What the king hoped to “burn away” only sealed, presumably, his eternal destiny (36:30-31). There is a lesson in here for us. Will we learn it? RT

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Highway Church of Christ Page 2

WORSHIP ASSIGNMENTS:

Announcements: J. E. Miller

Prayer (Bible Class): Brandon Craig

Song Leader: Carl Baker

Lord’s Table: Kris Seitz, J. E. Miller, Rich

McCabe, Wesley Seitz

Scripture Reading & Prayer: Wayne Mil-

ler

Closing Prayer: Carl Baker

NEWS and NOTES

On March 14th, a special occasion for prayer for those who desire to pray before the Primary Election vote on the following day. Here at building at 7:00 pm.

SERMONS: Today: Morality/Ethics (Love). Next Sunday: Morality/Ethics (Idols)

Community: Health Fair on March 30th. Info on Bulletin Board.

Potter’s next commodity run is the week of March 13-18. Next Sunday morning at 2:00 am the clocks are set forward.

Might want to use an alarm clock to help you awaken at that hour to “spring forward.”

Also, next Sunday evening we will resume our evening service at 6:00.

Area Wide singing at the Paris Church of Christ on April 2nd. Area Wide Singing at the Parkway Congregation on April 23rd. Info for both on Bulletin Board.

Trivia Night for Exhibit Evangelism on April 16th. There are 3 teams already formed up. Let us see if Highway can form up 3 teams on its own! Sign-up list on Bulletin Board.

Marriage Matters Seminar at Philo Road, March 6-9 with Jerry and Lynn Jones. Information on Bulletin Board.

Youth Rally in Paducah on April 30th; info on Bulletin

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THE FUTURE

IS PUR-

CHASED BY

THE PRESENT