The Collinsville Herald A Weekly Publication of the Collinsville Church of Christ.

Volume 11 Sunday, May 16, 2021 Number 20

Collinsville

Church of Christ

P.O. Box 158 2115 Daniels Creek Rd Collinsville, VA 24078

Phone: (276) 647-8454 Fax: (276) 622-2929

Message Alert: (276) 794-4035

Times We Meet:

Sunday: Worship: 11:00 a.m.

All other regularly scheduled services are temporarily can-

celled to ensure the safety of our members and guests

during the coronavirus outbreak.

Office Hours: Mon.—Thur.

9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.

Sign Me Up! Have you ever received an offer that seemed too

good to refuse? Perhaps at a department store

the clerk entices with 25 percent off your pur-

chase if you sign up for a credit card. Or, you

watch a demonstration of a fantastic new product

but the catch is you must buy it right away if you

want the best value. Maybe you have even been lured into one of

those “free kitten” or “free puppy” deals in the dollar store parking lot.

Sometimes we are quick to say, “Sign me up” and don’t think about liv-

ing with our decision on a daily basis—whether it is good or bad.

Not only does this happen in worldly decisions, but also in spiritual

decisions. When Peter, Andrew, James, and John were all called to

follow Jesus, they “straightway” and “immediately” followed him (Mat.

4:18-22). Did they realize the kind of commitment they were making?

Did they understand the sufferings they would have to endure? Jesus

would later speak of the great commitment and sacrifice in following

Him. He said that He had no place to lay His head (Mat. 8:20) and a

man must forsake all that he has to be His disciple (Luke 14:33). Fur-

thermore, Jesus would speak of the suffering that His followers must

endure by being persecuted (Mat. 5:11) and hated because of Him

(Mark 13:13).

We are not much different today. Following after Christ is a big deci-

sion and there are persecutions and sacrifices involved (2 Tim. 3:12).

Yet, it is wonderful when people make that decision very quickly and

show themselves to be dedicated every step of the way—no matter

what. Such was the case with Peter, Andrew, James, and John. In

spite of human weaknesses, they proved to be valuable servants of

the Lord until the end of their lives. They said, “Sign me up” and they

meant it! There were no gimmicks, presents, or accolades; but, there

was the promise of something greater to come. We have the same

promise of an eternal inheritance (Col. 3:23,24). So, what do you say?

“Sign me up!” —Derrick Coble

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To Sign Up!

Go To: 365.polishingthepulpit.com/ — Click: Sign Up

Click: I Am A Member of Subscribing Congregation

Type: Collinsville Church of Christ —Type: Your name and email — Click: Sign Up

Once these steps are completed, Matthew will get your request and ap-

prove your account. You will receive an email to create your password and

then you will be all set.

Right Thinking Our thoughts control our life. “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true,

whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are

pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if

there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these

things” (Philippians 4:8). The God of peace will be with Christians who faith-

fully think and do right things. “The things which you learned and received

and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:9). Honor,

integrity and purity in life can only come from right thinking. Only by thinking right can evil be over-

come in our life. Wrong actions are expelled from the life of a Christian by right thinking. Christian

character is the outgrowth of pure thoughts. To become a Christian you must hear the gospel

(Romans 10:17), believe in Jesus (John 8:24), repent of sins (Luke 13:3), confess Jesus as Lord

(Romans 10:9-10), and be baptized into Christ (Galatians 3:26-27). You must then stay faithful as an

overcomer in order to go to heaven. Let’s go to heaven together. I love you. —Charles Box

Ten Percent In Malachi 1:8, the Lord is very put off about the sacrifices offered to Him. He

calls out the people because what they offer to Him, they would not offer to

a political leader. It is this way today, I am afraid. We offer to the Lord

something, but if a prominent leader or a person of note arrives in our

presence, we have a custom to presenting our best to that person. The up-

side-down approach reflects the misguided life.

Our offering to the Lord should be the first fruit of our lives. The Lord needs nothing from us, but

He wants our lives and what we give to Him to reflect what is important in life for each of us. Of

course, what we give reflects His importance (or lack thereof) to us.

We live under the New Covenant, a covenant the Lord calls a better covenant than the Old Cove-

nant. Under the old Law, the people of Israel gave a tithe (10 percent). While there is no percentage

given in the New Testament that speaks to what we give, I know with regard to ourselves, we can

hardly give less than that under this better covenant. Does it put us in a pinch? It has, but not any

longer. Now, it is part of what we do always. Giving to the Lord helped us learn the importance of

constraining our spending in other areas, not spending on things we consider unnecessary. Be-

cause we have approached it this way, our savings account began to have a little more at the end

of the month. Your approach? Give all of who you are to the Lord —Ron Thomas

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What’s Good About Guilt? Guilt is defined as “a feeling of responsibility or remorse for some offense,

crime, wrong, etc.” What is good about this? When sin is committed and guilt

follows, it could lead someone to repentance. It is good guilt that burdens the

soul to the point that the need of a change is seen. It is even better guilt when

the wrong is seen and the need of a change brings about godly sorrow and

produces obedience to the Lord (2 Cor. 7:10). Think of those who have felt the

tremendous pressure of guilt:

Saul felt the pain of guilt as he tried to kill David over and over (1 Sam. 17-31), but it was not good

guilt because it never led to full repentance.

David felt the guilt of sinful adultery (as pointed out by Nathan the prophet) and confessed, “I have

sinned against the Lord” (2 Sam. 12:13). His penitent heart and God’s forgiveness led him to say,

“Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered” (Psa. 32:1).

Peter felt guilt when he denied the Lord after having said he would never deny Him. “And Peter re-

membered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me

thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly” (Mat. 26:75). His guilt was good guilt because it led him

to true godly sorrow (John 21).

Judas felt crushing guilt after he betrayed the Lord. “Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he

saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the

chief priests and elders, Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they

said, What is that to us? see thou to that. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and

departed, and went and hanged himself” (Mat. 27:3-5). Unfortunately, his guilt did not produce godly

sorrow to the saving of his life and soul (Acts 1:25).

So, guilt can work in a positive way or a negative way. Feeling guilt is often good because it means

the heart is still tender and sensitive to the sting of sin (2 Kings 22:19; Rom. 6:23). It means repent-

ance is still in reach because the heart has not yet been hardened by the deceitfulness of sin (Heb.

3:12). The challenge for all is to recognize why guilt is felt. Assess if one is truly guilty and, if so, be

motivated to change from guilty to guiltless (Jonah 3:8-10; Mat. 21:28,29; Luke 15:10). —Derrick Coble

1. “For if God did not spare the __ who __, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into

chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment…”

2. “…and did not spare the ancient __, but saved __, one of eight people…”

3. What two cities does Peter mention as being examples of God’s judgment upon sin?

4. Who did God deliver from those wicked cities?

5. “…then the Lord knows how to deliver the __ out of __ and to reserve the unjust under punish-

ment for the day of judgment…”

Solution: angels, sinned; world, Noah; Sodom and Gomorrah; Lot; godly, temptations

Bible Quiz: 2 Peter 2:4-11

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Joanne Burke. Friend of the Patricks. Cancer.

Drew Clifton. Prayers requested.

Wayne Dixon. WS member. Recovering from a stroke.

Velda Gearheart. West Side member. Cancer.

Laura Goupil. Recovering at home.

Robin Gootam. Recovering at home from Covid-19.

Kathy Hall. Health concerns.

Lincoln Hicks. Child suffering with cancer.

Steve Higginbotham. Preacher in TN, cancer

Hester Hollandsworth. Hasn’t been feeling well.

Matthew Hollandsworth. Health Concerns.

Anna Horn. Health Concerns.

Anita Hopper. Sherry’s mother. Health concerns.

Barbara Kendrick. Lisa’s mom. Health concerns.

Ryan Kendrick. Special needs.

Shep Knight. Child suffering with health issues.

Rita Lawless. Health concerns.

Lucy Lawson. Prayers requested.

Paul Lirette. Prayers requested.

Ruby Mason. Upcoming knee surgery.

Paul Mays. Health concerns.

Ken Moran. Health concerns.

Jaydan Patrick. Special needs.

Mary Ruth Patrick. Health difficulties.

Elaine Smith. Mother to Hilda Hollandsworth. Recovering in a rehab center in FL from a fall.

Mike & Crystal Surber. Health concerns. Lake Dr. Mem.

Nicole Torres. Health Concerns.

Cody Williams. Health concerns.

Dan Winkler. Colon Cancer.

Xander Wilson. Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Stephen Wood. Wife is member at South Hill. Heart Surg.

Grace Zielinska. Prayer requested.

May Birthdays 19th Barney Edwards 22nd Annie Beavers 23rd Liz Thompson 23rd James Patrick 27th Laura Goupil

Blood Drive: We have partnered once again with the

American Red Cross to host blood drives! Please donate at our next drive on June 22, 2021, from 1pm – 6pm.

Please see Gary, Matthew or Jonathan, email ccocva@outlook.com or call us at 647-8454

to schedule your appointment.