August 10, 2016—Volume 46, Issue 32

This Week’s Lessons Sunday Morning Sermon A New Creation 2 Corinthians 5.16-21

Sunday Night Sermon The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever Genesis 32.22-31

GOOD NEWS

We have a new brother in Christ! On Thursday evening, August 4, I had the wonderful privilege of baptizing my oldest son Luke into Christ for the forgiveness of his sins. He has been studying his Bible and asking good questions about baptism for the past two years. After much prayer and study, he decided it was time for him to be baptized. Luke is 12 years old and is a sixth grader at Avery Trace Middle School. His proud parents are Buddy and Angela Johnson. Please encourage him as he begins his new walk with Christ!

SAVE THE DATE: SEPTEMBER 17 - MEN’S CONFERENCE AT JEFFERSON AVENUE

On September 17, Jefferson Avenue will be hosting a new event called Renew Men’s Conference. This will be a joint effort in cooper-ation with Sycamore Church of Christ. The goal of this Men’s Confer-ence will be to promote biblical manhood and encourage our men to be spiritual leaders. Keynote speakers for the day will be Bill Watkins (preacher at Crieve Hall Church of Christ) and Dr. Aubrey Johnson (preacher at Peachtree City Church of Christ). We want to encour-age all of our men here at Jefferson Avenue to attend this special conference. It will bless you and your family!

IN LOVING MEMORY

Our sister in Christ, Shirley Zachary, passed away this week after a short battle with cancer. Shirley lived most of her life in Lebanon, but moved here after her hus-band’s death to be near her sisters. She was a member of our congregation and later a member at the Pippin Church of Christ where she attended with her sister,

Stella. Shirley continued to come to Dr. Bill Flatt’s Wednesday after-noon Bible class and enjoyed many friendships in that class. She will be missed.

Chris Bohannon passed away early Monday morning at the age of 51. Chris and his wife Kim were members of this congregation for many years. He had a deep love for his family and had many friends. Please com-fort Kim and their two sons, Mason and Parker in this time of loss.

Buddy Johnson

Those we prayed for

in July:

Kathy Adams, Hugh

Adams, Linda Alcorn,

Kenneth Allen, Paul-

ine Ballard Family,

Herman Bean, Becky

Bean, Dean Boles,

Jack & Fay Borden,

Kaye Bowman, Maggie Brown, Sophie Brown,

Rene Canfield, Joy Carter, Karma Carter, Peggy

Cooper, Tammy Crabtree, Matilda Craighead,

Doyle Crosley, Ashleigh Hamilton Crossman,

Margaret Cunningham, Jim Dale, Mary Dyer,

Earline Elkins, Nancy Fitzpatrick, Louise Flatt,

Dani Flynn, Jeremy Fortner, Geneva Glasgow,

Anthony Hammock, Wilma Hayes, Blake Hou-

ston, Tim Jennings, Ann Judd Family, Susan

Leonard Family, Dave Leaf, Angela Leffew, An-

drew Manley, Shawna Martin, Rhett Massey, Pat

McCanless, Sterling McCanless Family, Bruce

McCormick Family, Cheri McCormick, Marian

McDoniel, Diane Miller, Buddy Morgan, Stacey

Mott Family, Paula Palk, Lyman Schroeder,

Daphene Emogene Scott, Jan Shepherd, Jan

Shuster, Gladys Simmons, Claudine Smith, Marty

Smith, Evelyn Solt, Cornelia Steakley, Lyda Tay-

lor, Jordan Terry, Jackie Tidwell, Aletha Tino,

Bret Vetter and Charles Williamson

Galatians 2:15-16 We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Je-sus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

Paul had a tremendous ability to place vital theological principles within practical issues. Over the last two weeks, we have seen practical ways to disagree with people and still be in pursuit of Jesus. It may seem as though that Paul shifts away from those issues to the is-sue of justification and works in our text this week. How-ever, Paul shows how these ideas are connected.

Ultimately, justification does come from being right. When you have disagreements with people, simply being in the right position or holding the right view doesn’t gain you anything before God. Faith justifies. Right action and right knowledge (while expected by God) doesn’t save you. Simply knowing the proper intellectual frame-work doesn’t gain you standing before God. This truth should change the way we view disagreements. As I look back over my experiences, there are more times than I care to remember that the disagreements I have encoun-tered were escalated by my own need to be right and to prove a point.

What do we do with a text like this?

When you view faith as the only thing that ultimately matters, you tend to humanize those with which you disa-gree. Have you ever disagreed and treated the opposite point of view as either: unintelligent, disregarders of bibli-cal text, selfish, entertainment seeking, ignorant, etc.? Sure you have. I have. It’s simply too easy to view oth-ers with whom we disagree through some made up lens of ignorance. When we view faith and justification proper-ly, we can humanize people. The last thing you should do is correct someone by telling them they are just igno-rant of the truth you already know. They may in fact be ignorant, but telling them they are ignorant won’t result in anything close to a victory.

The most important thing about this text is this: We are justified by faith! I have spent a great deal of time at-tempting to connect this text to the previous, but ultimate-ly, being justified by faith is the heart of this text. When a person believes they are justified by their faith in God rather than their works of service, I believe, it will change many things. From the heart behind service, to the impe-tus of service itself, understanding that you don’t save yourself will create joy (contentment and hope despite circumstances) that covers everything. God Bless, John

Philippians 4:10-13: “I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were in-deed concerned for me, but you had no opportuni-ty. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me." When we hear about the strength and the power of God—we tend to think about these really big and great things. Things that stand out, that are visible and obvious, life changing things. When we think about somebody literally having the power of God at work in their life, we may think along those same lines. That those people that have the power and strength of God are the ones that can do or are doing great things. Those people that stand out do world changing things. People that are out there helping the homeless, feeding the hungry, preaching the word and doing “BIG” things for others, those are the ones that we typically say have God’s power. It’s interesting, to me, that when we see what the power and strength of God looks like working through people in Philippi-ans 4, its not about that at all. God’s power isn’t shown in people who are great and talented, it’s shown in people who are content. God’s strength doesn’t help you preach the greatest sermons or feed the most hungry, it helps you en-dure. Don’t misunderstand me—you can preach great sermons and do great works and have the strength and power of God. But you don’t HAVE to be able to do those things to have his power and strength. God isn’t interested in you being the most talented person, but he is interested in you being able to be content with who and where you are in life. Paul knew what it was like to have a little and to have a lot, and he was able to endure both situations because of Christ. It is only through Christ that I’m able to endure when I’ve hit absolutely rock bottom, and it’s only through Christ that I’m able to be content when it seems like things are going my way.

Matt

News, Prayers & Announcements

Christian Service Group (CSG): Leaders for the month of August are Jim & Marian Dale. Assisting are Jim & Evon Hicks and those with last names beginning with the Let-ters K, L, M, N, O, P Q and R.

Bethesda: Doyle Crosley, Lyman Schroeder, Jan Shuster & Lyda Taylor Heritage Pointe: Peggy Cooper, Wilma Hayes & Marian McDoniel NHC Healthcare: Evelyn Solt, Aletha Tino At Home: Hugh & Kathy Adams, Herman & Becky Bean, Maggie Brown, Matilda Craighead, Margaret Cunningham, Mary Dyer, Geneva Glasgow, Ralph Medley, Pat McCan-less, Gladys Simmons, Claudine Smith, Marty Smith, Cor-nelia Steakley, Jordan Terry and Charles Williamson

Thank You! Words cannot express the love I have for this church fam-ily. Thank you so much for all the cards, calls and espe-cially your prayers during my hospitalization and recent fall. I truly am very thankful to be a part of such a won-derful church family. In Christ, Cheri McCormick

I want to thank everyone for remembering me in prayer as I continue to remain at home. I miss being able to be there with you in worship. Matilda Craighead

Gaylon & Frances thanks everyone for the aluminum can donations. We were able to deposit $73.00 in the well fund. Keep the cans coming.

Our Sick Earline Elkins was able to be back in church with us Sunday. Jackie Tidwell is scheduled for heart surgery at Vander-bilt early Wednesday morning. Jean Pennington will have back surgery this Friday. Doyle Crosley remains at Bethesda in room #206-A. Patsy Johnson, sister of Elizabeth Johnson and sister-in-law of Geraldine Jackson, remains in Cookeville Regional ICU, room #319, and is improving. Lyman Schroeder remains in Bethesda, room #502-A. Sylvia Tackett is recovering at the home of her sister, Sue Wheeler, following an automobile accident. Hazel Holloway is home recovering from an accident which required 17 stitches on her leg.

Sympathy to the family of Chris Bohannon in his pass-ing. His family will receive friends at the Hooper-Huddleston & Horner Funeral Home on Thursday, from 1:00 PM until time for the funeral to be held there at 4:00 PM. Chris was the husband of Kim for 23 years, father of Mason and Parker Bohannon, Son-in-law of Bob & Barba-ra Garland, brother-in-law of Scott & Libby Capps and the uncle of Jordan Capps. ****Jefferson Avenue will be providing a meal for the family of in the Fellowship Center on Thursday following the burial. We will be preparing food for approximately 50 people. If you can assist in preparing food or in serving, please contact Jim Dale.

Sympathy to the family of Shirley Zachary who passed away Sunday afternoon. Her funeral was held Tuesday.

Sympathy to Geneva Davis in the passing of her neph-ew, Terry Lee Sherfield. His funeral was held Sunday in Clarksville, TN.

MAGI UPDATE: 615 boxes completed and about 500 to go! Thank you so much for your generous donations. Our next Work night will be August

15th, at 4:40 PM in our Fellowship Hall. August items are: crayons, spiral notebooks, calculators, yo-yo’s and marbles. Dinner Provided: Call Lisa or Paula if you’re coming.

Young at Heart: August 20 - Sutton Store We are going on a magical journey down memory lane on Saturday, August 20, for dinner and music. The cost is $16.50 and must be paid by August 13. There are 9 seats left. We will leave at 2:45 pm from the church parking lot. Sign up sheet is on the YAH board. See J.C. & Annita Young for more information and for all final details.

You are invited to a Bridal Tea for Sarah Beth Roberts, bride elect of Jared Smith, on Sun-

day, August 14 from 1:30-3pm in the Fellowship Hall. They are registered at Borden’s, Belk and Sears.

Meals Needed: Two of our families have expressed a need for occasional meals to help them out while they are recu-perating. If you would be willing to assist, please see or contact Jim Dale 979-2895.

Gospel Meeting: Freddie Clayton is holding a meeting at the Livingston Church of Christ. John Mayher will take a van on Tuesday, August, 16, leaving at 6:00pm. All are welcomed to attend.

C

hu

rch

of

Ch

rist

52

1 S

. Jef

fers

on A

ve.

Coo

kevi

lle, T

N 3

8501

14 - Amy Allen 14 - Larry Harkleroad 14 - Lucy Smith 16 - Sam Brown 16 - Michaela Norton 16 - Kyle Story 17 - Ayden Loftis

SH

EP

HE

RD

S

Gle

nn

Bin

kley

D

ou

g F

ow

ler

Do

n F

oy

Bo

bb

y L

ane

Joh

n R

ho

des

*L

eig

hto

n S

isso

m

*Cha

irman

of M

onth

M

INIS

TE

RS

B

ud

dy

Joh

nso

n

Pul

pit M

inis

ter

Joh

n N

ich

ols

A

ssoc

iate

Min

iste

r M

att

Co

llin

s Y

outh

Min

iste

r B

o P

erez

H

ispa

nic

Min

istr

y Jo

hn

May

her

V

isita

tion

Min

iste

r D

EA

CO

NS

Ja

son

Ben

nett

Will

iam

Bird

wel

l S

am B

row

n P

hilli

p B

urr

DE

AC

ON

S (

con

t.)

Bria

n C

arve

r R

andy

Cha

ffin

Ken

Cla

rk

Jim

Dal

e Ja

son

Fow

ler

Cha

d G

ilber

t S

eth

Gilb

ert

Jim

Hic

ks

Sea

n K

elly

C

huck

Lan

kfor

d B

ryan

Lin

er

Bob

Mac

kie

Ken

May

es

Bria

n M

cDan

iel

And

y M

ilton

D

ean

Ols

on

Jim

my

Pat

ters

on

Dav

e P

iggo

tt

Gay

lon

Pre

sley

B

ud S

imps

on

Pet

e S

tory

D

on V

iar

Don

nie

Wes

tbro

oks

August 14—20

Parent Meeting August 17: We will have a parent meeting next Wednesday, August 17, in the Fellowship Hall after class. This is especially im-portant for parents of Juniors and Seniors. 9/11 - T4C @ Double Springs 11/18-20 - Fall Retreat @ Indian Creek

Su

nd

ay, A

ug

ust

7, 2

016

Bib

le C

lass

……

……

……

……

……

……

……

..292

S

unda

y M

orni

ng…

……

……

……

……

……

….5

84

Sun

day

Eve

ning

……

……

……

……

……

……

.243

W

edne

sday

Nig

ht…

……

……

……

……

……

...28

9

Con

trib

utio

n……

……

……

……

……

……

.$24

,744

Chu

rch

Offi

ce…

……

……

……

……

931-

526-

4605

In

form

atio

n Li

ne…

……

……

……

...93

1-52

8-10

06

Fax

Lin

e……

……

……

……

……

….9

31-5

20-8

708

Mot

her’s

Day

Out

……

……

……

….9

31-2

60-7

861

Em

ail

Chu

rch

Offi

ce (

Mar

y)…

……

……

.info

@ja

coc.

org

C

hurc

h O

ffice

(C

arol

)……

..car

ol.h

art@

jaco

c.or

g

Bud

dy J

ohns

on…

……

……

…..b

uddy

@ja

coc.

org

Jo

hn N

icho

ls…

……

……

……

…..j

ohn@

jaco

c.or

g

Mat

t Col

lins…

……

……

……

…..m

attc

@ja

coc.

org

Jo

hn M

ayhe

r….…

……

..joh

n.m

ayhe

r@ja

coc.

org

B

o P

erez

……

……

……

…..…

……

..bo@

jaco

c.or

g

Mot

her’s

Day

Out

……

……

..lau

ra.fo

x@ja

coc.

org

Ser

vice

Sch

edu

le

Sun

day

Bib

le S

tudy

……

……

……

……

..9:0

0 A

M

Sun

day

Mor

ning

……

……

……

……

…..1

0:00

AM

S

unda

y E

veni

ng…

……

……

……

……

....6

:00

PM

W

edne

sday

Bib

le S

tudy

……

……

……

...6:

30 P

M

17 - Elijah Myers 18 - Joyce Drake 18 - Byron Heinzman 18 - Scott McCanless 19 - Paul Fortner 19 - Waylon Fowler 19 - McKenzie Neill

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JeffersonAvenueCOC

Web Site: http://www.jacoc.org