EAST TAMPA CHRISTIAN CHURCH
7824 S. 24th Ave., Tampa, Fla. 33619 / (813) 626-2507
Terry Tyree, Minister
ORDER OF WORSHIP
Announcements
Prayer
Sermon
Invitation Song
Communion Song
Communion / Offering
Praise Songs
Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)
Battle Belongs
Even Then
Closing Prayer
“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
ON THE CALENDAR
Sunday: Sunday School: Adults, 9 a.m., Children, 9 and 10 a.m., Worship, 10 a.m.
Tuesday: Hunger-Free Mission food sharing, 10 a.m.
Wednesday: Bible study and prayer meeting, 6 p.m.
THIS AND THAT
Birthday this week: Tom Morrissey (Saturday)
Meditations next week: Terry Tyree
FROM THE WORD
CHOOSE JOY IN TIMES OF TROUBLE
Laughter heals. The psalmist declares that God himself sits in the heavens and laughs (Psalm 2:4), and the writer of Proverbs describes the “woman of strength” as one who can laugh at times to come (Proverbs 31:25). Life can become taxing at times, and moments come when we desperately need a change. Laughter is one way the Creator gave us to switch gears and punctuate monotony with joy. Humor is an exit from the mundane “road of life.” Laughter is a simple yet reasonable prescription for some of life’s ills and most of its tedium (Proverbs 17:22).
Physicians have assigned healing properties to humor, especially in cases of mental illness, such as depression. Certainly, humor defuses tension and helps put one at ease.
With so much tragedy in life, choosing humor instead of despair is good scriptural advice. Humor generally involves an acceptance of the ups and downs of life and the determination not to take ourselves too seriously. To combat stress, to relieve tension and even to provide delightful diversion in the midst of trials and sufferings, laughter and a keen sense of humor may prove to be precious possessions.
Jesus himself was unpredictable and witty and full of life in his responses. He used irony, word play and hyperbole to get across his messages. In Matthew 22:15–22 Jesus cleverly eludes the trap of the Pharisees and unmasks their hypocrisy—he asks a Pharisee for a coin with an image of Caesar and an inscription proclaiming Caesar to be god, knowing that to carry such a coin was breaking two commandments (Exodus 20:3–4).
Dwell on the good. How can you have a “cheerful heart” in the midst of grief and brokenness? The apostle Paul admonished us to trust God even within tragedy and choose to dwell on what is good in the person or situation (Philippians 4:6–9).
A number of Hebrew and Greek words are used in the Bible to convey the concept of joy—a word found more than 150 times in the Bible.
Joy comes from God as a result of faith and obedience (John 15:10–11, Romans 15:13). The abundance of joy is in direct proportion to the intimacy and steadfastness of a believer’s walk with the Lord. Sin in a believer’s life can steal joy (Psalm 51:8,12). True joy is evident regardless of circumstances. The Spirit-filled believer continues to rejoice even amid troubles (James 1:2–3). Biblical joy is clearly different from earthly, temporal pleasures that are bound to circumstances.
The purpose of joy is to provide blessing for the believer. Joy enables you to enjoy all that God has given—health, family, friends, opportunities and salvation. As you experience true joy, it can then be shared with others (Romans 12:15). Abundant joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit for those who walk in faith.
thenivbible.com
ADDITIONAL
TODAY IS THE DAY OF SALVATION
The invitation at the close of each worship service extends an opportunity for anyone outside of Christ to unite with him and become a Christian through belief (John 3:16); repentance (turning away from sin,
Acts 2:38); confession of belief in Christ (Romans 10:10); baptism into Christ for forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit (Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38, Romans 6:1-8) and devoting the rest of your life to
Christ (Matthew 10:22).
The Lord’s invitation also is open to anyone desiring to rededicate his or her life to Christ; to baptized
believers wanting to transfer their membership to this congregation, or to request prayer support.
ABOUT US
For more than a half-century, we have been a restoration plea fellowship in unity with other independent New Testament church bodies. Certainly, we are not the only Christians, but we are Christians only.
In that regard, we assume no denominational name. We observe the Lord’s Supper every Sunday to honor him and reflect upon his great sacrifice on our behalf (Acts 2:42, 1 Corinthians 11:23-28, Hebrews 10:25).
We teach directly from the Bible. Where it speaks clearly – such as the Gospel plan of salvation and other directions or commands – we seek unity. In matters of opinion, where the Bible does not expressly speak, we seek liberty. In all things, however, we speak love for one another, just as Jesus loved us and laid down his life for us!
If you agree with these matters, please join us to proclaim salvation and unity to those who need to hear it in the name of our blessed Lord and only Savior, Jesus Christ. We urgently invite you to do so since his glorious return is imminent.
OUR ELDERS
Jim Fairchild (813) 361-7809 jfairchild@famins.com
Dan Hefner (813) 244-9843 danshirlh@msn.com