A good news (gospel) meeting begins tomorrow, the Lord willing, at the church of Christ at East Hill. Wade Webster, who preaches for the church in Southaven, MS, will be our guest speaker. At the beginning of this year, our three shepherds challenged the congregation at East Hill to make special effort to invite guests to be with us during the meeting. Since that time, we have been praying and inviting people to come and be with us.
I hope you can come be with us for this special gospel meeting! When you visit an assembly of the New Testament church, you will find something that appeals to all five of your sense. Here’s what you can expect when you visit East Hill.
1. You can expect to HEAR the Bible. We preach the message of God, not a message from men (2 Tim. 4:2; 1 Pet. 4:11). The Bible is the inspired, inerrant, complete word of God (2 Tim. 3:16-17). It is our guide book for every aspect of life (Psa. 119:105).
2. You can expect to SEE the elders. Our three elders are men who watch over our souls here at East Hill. They are qualified men (1 Tim. 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9), who are active in their work for the Lord (Acts 20:28). Our elders are Joe Christopher, Joe Cooper, and Johnny Jackson.
3. You can expect to TASTE the sweet success of evangelism. East Hill’s theme this year is “Think Souls.” We want to spread the saving gospel message to as many people as possible so that we can all go to heaven together (Mat. 28:19; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-47).
4. You can expect to FEEL welcome. God’s children are characterized by love (John 13:35). Visitors are our honored guests! We cannot wait to meet you.
5. You can expect to SMELL the delightful frangrance of a family who loves each other. New Testament Christians have a wonderful bond of fellowship (1 John 1:7; cf. Psa. 133:1). We would love to study with you about what the Bible says one must do to be added to God’s family.
We hope you will find these preceding points to be true of your visit with us at East Hill. However, there are at least three things that you should NOT expect when you visit.
1. You should not expect perfection. Because we are all human, we struggle with the same problem (sin, Rom. 3:23), and we have the same need (salvation, Titus 2:11-12). God has given us His Will, by which we can secure the same hope of heaven (cf. Acts 4:12).
2. You should not expect pizzazz. Our purpose in coming together is not to entertain one another, but to worship and please God in heaven. God has given us His pattern, and it is our sincere goal to follow His divine Will (1 Cor. 1:31; 10:31; Col. 3:17).
3. You should not expect compromise. We do not want to do anything that will compromise the pure truth of God’s Word (Prov. 23:23; 2 Cor. 2:17; 1 Cor. 9:22). The Word of God is designed to prick our hearts (Heb. 4:12; Acts 2:36). It exposes the sin in our lives and shows us how we can correct our wrongs (2 Tim. 3:16-17) and faithfully give our lives to Jesus Christ (Luke 9:23).
If you’re in the area and would like to come, we’d love to have you! Sunday’s services are at 9:30 AM, 10:30 AM, and 6:00 PM. Services Monday through Wednesday nights will begin at 7:00 PM. For those who cannot attend in person, we have a live stream on our website.