And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 IT’S ABOUT DOING MORE, BUT IT’S NOT.

  Lascassas is a wonderful congregation. Let us not be confused about that. We are not perfect, but we are a work in progress. My hope is that none of you think that the lessons from Romans 12 are coming from a negative perspective. Quite the contrary!
  Sometimes we get comfortable in our level of service.  At other times we become uncertain of ourselves and feel afraid to step out into the deeper waters. We might occasionally get so involved in doing the right things that we forget the main reason we are doing them.
  The Bible provides many examples of people who fell into the trap of substituting a good goal for a better goal. For instance, why do we gather for worship? We are told to do so. We find encouragement from our gatherings. Our assemblies provide a way to share instruction and information.  These reasons are certainly Biblical, but are they the primary reason? We gather together because we are in awe of and desire to praise the Almighty. The other reasons (command, encouragement, sharing) are included in this overarching idea of being in the presence of God.
  Another example would be found in the request of John and James to have position within the kingdom Jesus was about to establish (Mark 10:35-45). The other ten apostles became extremely upset that John and James had done this. Could part of their anger have been that they wanted those positions themselves?  Let us be clear of what we are saying. The twelve were serving the Lord. They believed in his kingdom. They had left much to follow him and were obedient to his commands. They did great things in their efforts to serve. The problem was that they had substituted having a position in the kingdom for the better goal of understanding what the kingdom was to be. They substituted the physical for the spiritual. The governmental model had become their spiritual model as they sought to be effective servants of God. The problem was not what they were doing but why they were doing it.
  On a personal note, this is why I do not think of myself any longer as the minister of the Lascassas Church of Christ. While I am honored to serve you and serve with you, I do not want it to be just a “paid” position or a matter of working a minimum/maximum number of hours per week. I minister to the saints (and to the sinners) because I am first a minister of the Gospel, a minister of the Lord Jesus Christ, and a minister of God.
  Your place within the body of Christ was not assigned to you by the elders or the deacons. It was assigned by God. While you submit to the oversight of the leaders, you do not work for them. You work for God. That is not just a play of words. It is fact. We all have a function(s) within the body. We do not do it because it is our job or a duty that we wearily, grudgingly complete. We fulfill that function(s) because of the privilege of honoring the Lord. We serve the BODY of Christ because the body is CHRIST’S! That is a huge distinction.

The words of the Lord may be the best way
to close our thoughts on this.

And the King will answer and say to them,
“Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to on
of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.”
(Matthew 25:40 NKJV)

 In the love of the Lord,
David

Enter text -or- verse name (John 3:16):

Sermons for Sunday, March 14

10:00 A.M. - Religion According to Romans 12 ... Sincere Service (Verses 9-13)
David West, speaking

Romans 12 ...
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."  Verses 1-2, NKJV

6:00 P.M. - "How Does Your Garden Grow?" (Luke 8:4-21)
Chris West speaking

‘SPRING FORWARD’

this Saturday Night, March 13th,

or you will be late for

Bible Study on Sunday!

Save The Dates …

March 13-14 ... Time Change

March 14 ... Elders, Deacons & Ministers Meeting / 4:30p

March 14 ... Visitation Organizational Meeting / 7p

March 19 ... Friday Night Singing / Lebanon's Highland Heights / 7p

March 21 ... Westbrooks Towers / 2p / Adults Responsible 

March 21 ... Young Teens Devo / 7-8:30 p

March 24 ... Stones River Manor / 6:15p / B. Higginbotham
March 29 ... Congregation provides Room In The Inn meal
March 31 ... 5th Wednesday Supper & Singing

April 4 ... Easter

April 11 ... Elders, Deacons & Ministers Meeting / 4:30p

April 16-18 ... Women's Retreat in Pigeon Forge

April 18 ... Westbrooks Towers / 2p / Youth Classes responsible

April 18 ... Wedding Fellowship for Rachel & Paul / 7p

April 28 ... Stones River Manor / 6:15p / D. Elrod

May 2 ... Tea for Savannah & Rob / 2-4p

May 9 ... Mothers Day

Special Dates To Remember ...

July 12 ... Monday Youth Meeting hosted by Lascassas

July 19-23 ... Lascassas Vacation Bible School

Aug. 6-8, 2010 ... Seminar with Brad Harrub
 
For more information, sign on and go to our church calendar.

Recent Forum Posts:
• Building (Mar 21)

** Our deepest appreciation to Thom (& Judy) Coats for the years of service they have given to Lascassas.  Thom has been a deacon for us since 2001, but recently resigned his position. Our thanks to The Coats' Family for their love & sacrifices. 

 ** Although our Church Pantry is still well-stocked with some items, we are needing a few of the 'staples' again that are in each of our pantry boxes.  Please remember -- due to limited space -- we are asked to buy just the following items …Muffin Mixes (add water, not milk) ... Oatmeal ... Rice ... Crackers ... Jelly ... Spaghetti Sauce ... Beans ... Vegetable Soup ... Ramen Noodles (beef flavor only) ... Canned Peaches ... Canned Pears ... Canned Fruit Cocktail ... Bisquick ... Rice ... Beans

** Please remember the items we've been asked to donate for the Tennessee Children's Home.  Their truck will be here Thursday, March 25th.  They also ask that each family donate $10 to TCH for perishable foods. Items suggested are ... 100% Bottled Orange & Grape Juices ... Spam ... Salad Dressing ... Vienna Sausage ... Aluminum Foil ... Pancake Syrup ... Parmesan Cheese ... Velveeta Cheese ... Paper Towels ... Toilet Paper ... Men's Stick Deodorant ... Disinfectant Kitchen Cleaner

** Ladies:  Please see Mary Neely or Nanette Rhodes if you would like to attend the Women's Retreat but have not paid or signed up yet.

** Church Nursery Needs:  Batteries (mostly AA) and Lysol Spray

** Would you like a CD or sermon outline of any sermons? If so, please contact our church office.

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