Thursday, April 2, 2009

Bishop Earl Sutton - Arrangements

The services of Pastor Earl Sutton will be handled by:

Ridouts Brown Service Funeral Home
711 Memorial Drive SW
Decatur, Alabama
256-353-1511

The family will be receiving friends Saturday, April 4, 1009 from 6:00 PM to 8 :00 PM (CDST).

The funeral service will be Sunday, April 5, 2009, at 2:00 PM.

Please continue prayer for the family.

Good Stewardship

In these times of economic challenges, every Christian must decide the prudent steps to take in order to be a good steward of whatever resources one has.

It is not the time to stop tithing and giving. We need God's blessings now more than ever. It is not the time for the windows of Heaven to be closed.

Among prudent cutbacks, there are also other areas Christians should not cut. The folks at Money Talks News advise that cutting some things may save you now but cost you later. Examples?

  1. Your oil change. Skipping oil changes might save you 30 bucks today, but a seized engine could cost you $5,000 down the road. Something you might cut back on? Tune-ups. If your car is running well, it’s probably ok.
  2. When it comes to car insurance, don’t cut your liability. But if your car is only worth a few hundred dollars, you might consider dropping collision. Weigh the cost/benefit.
  3. Your health: many people are tempted to skip or cut doses in half to prolong prescriptions. Bad idea … even if you’re feeling fine. Good idea? Ask your doctor about generic substitutes or free samples.
  4. And finally your home. Even if the value of your home is falling, the cost to rebuild it isn't: don’t lower your coverage. Do however, look into raising your deductible. Going from $250 to $1,000 can save 15% or more.

Bishop Earl Sutton Passes

Bishop Earl Sutton, life-long pastor in Alabama, passed away before Noon today. Arrangements will be announced as soon as they are made. Please be in prayer for the family.

Beautifully Singing Preachers

Recently, I read an advertisement for a person to travel to various restaurants and report on the quality of the food. Hmmmm ... thought about applying, but changed my mind! Weight control, you know.

In these tough times it would have a double-whammy effect if you took the position — give you a job and, in addition, get you a free meal every day. Not bad!

Reflecting on this task, I thought about Ezekiel. The crowds came to hear him preach. But it’s said of Ezekiel’s preaching (33:33), "Yes, to them you are like a singer of love songs who has a beautiful voice and plays skillfully on an instrument. They hear your words, but they don’t obey them."

Of course there’s nothing like that going on in the church today!

No one today would shop around for the best preacher in the community because they enjoyed his style. Of course not. They’re interested in what he has to say only because they want to learn to become more faithful Christians. Having discovered such an eloquent preacher, no one today would listen to and enjoy his sermons and then fail to go home and practice what he preached. Of course not! They all are anxious to leave the service so they can get at it!

I wonder how much of this sort of thing is actually involved in the church attendance of many today. We don’t have divine revelation on the issue as Ezekiel had, so we can’t read hearts (on this mattert see previous blogs about reading the heart).

Even if such pulpit entertainment isn’t your prime concern in attending church, even if you aren’t a sermon taster travelling about from church to church (or from Bible conference to Bible conference ) in search of beautiful singing and skillful playing from the pulpit, isn’t there at least a touch of this attitude in you? Shouldn’t we all become aware of the fact when it exists and root it out of our lives? You know we should.

[from Institute for Nouthetic Studies Blog by Jay Adams]