ELDERS: Roger Spencer Paolo Di Luca (304) 758-4924 Evangelist rgspencer@frontier.com (304) 559-7735 paolo05@gmail.com

DEACONS:

Jr. Daugherty Gary Durig

Dave Hood Herb Jung

Jim Rice

Office: 304.455.2130

Email: office@bridgestreetcofc.org

Web: www.bridgestreetcofc.org

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BRIDGE STREET CHURCH OF CHRIST PO BOX 292 NEW MARTINSVILLE WV 26155

God’s Plan for Man’s Salvation

* * * * * * * * * * * * “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Acts 16:30

The Gospel Must be HEARD Rom. 10:17 John 8:32

The Gospel Must be BELIEVED John 8:24 Mark 16:16

Sins Must be REPENTED OF Luke 13:3, 5 Acts 2:38

Christ Must be CONFESSED Matt. 10:32-33 Rom. 10:10

There Must Be BAPTISM (Immersion) for the Remission of Sins Acts 2:38 1 Peter 3:21

There Must Be CHRISTIAN

GROWTH and FAITHFULNESS 1 Peter 2:2 Rev. 2:10 2 Peter 3:18

June 17. 2018

— Paolo Di Luca

The Lust for Wealth

The wise man teaches: “Do not overwork to be rich; Because of your own understanding, cease!” (Prov. 23:4). The principle expressed here is not that it is wrong to have wealth or a lot of money. Rather the commandment is for those who live their lives ruled by and driven by the craving of accumulating more money and wealth. It is evidence of a clear lack of contentment. The Bible teaches that “godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Tim. 6:6). To spend an entire lifetime working toward becoming rich, for the sake of riches itself, is a great loss. Being content with what God gives us and working diligently and faithfully as we have opportunity for His glory and in balance is great gain. The real issue is not how much money is in the bank but it is the state of the heart of the individual. Is it possible to earn a lot of wealth in a godly fashion and still maintain a healthy balance in life, and more importantly, a devotion to the kingdom of God first and foremost? Is it possible to be rich and wealth is not your god or the primary driving mechanism in your life? We must heed the Scriptures and recognize that we need to be discerning enough to stop chasing money lest it harm our walk with Christ. We are called to be responsible stewards of our talents but first and foremost we must be devoted and committed to God, trusting in His providence and care: “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heav-enly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matt. 6:31-34 emp. added). Let us not fall prey to the popular trick of the devil that the abundance of wealth is the answer. The gospel is not about making us rich, and God never promised such a thing. Jesus said that we will have trouble in this world and that we are to look forward to the life to come (John 16:33). The emphasis in Scripture is on being rich in the life to come: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt. 6:19-21; cf. Luke 12:21). The lust for wealth always exposes what is in our hearts. God is not interested in money and material wealth. There is nothing that exists that He does not own (cf. Ps. 50:10), and those who love Him can trust Him that He will give them what they need without them having to sacrifice their morality or their faithfulness to Him. As Christians, we are not supposed to live an existence based only on money and wealth. What if the stock mar-ket crashes? Will we jump off of buildings or kill ourselves like many did in the last financial crash? They worked for money only to enjoy it for a short time and then see it all vanish. Their heart was in the money, and when the money was gone, they assumed they had nothing to live for. It is so sad, but it exposed them for who they were inside. The victory over the deceitfulness of wealth is a heart attitude that recognizes that money does not satisfy or provide the security that only God can. “Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful” (Mark 4:18-19). Money is a great barometer of our hearts, so let us make sure that it is not taking any of the authority and joy that is to be God’s alone. Do not focus on acquiring wealth but recognize that life is more than money. Life is about knowing, loving, and worshipping God. May God give us undivided hearts, not compromised by greed and enslaved only to doing His will.

WORSHIP SCHEDULE Sunday

Bible Study 9:45 a.m. Morning Worship 10:30 a.m. Evening Worship 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday Bible Study 7:00 p.m.

Week of June 10

Bible Study 46 AM Worship 66 PM Worship 45 Wednesday 44

ATTENDANCE RECORD:

SCHEDULED TO SERVE june 24: ANNOUNCEMENTS: R. SPENCER SONG DIRECTOR: am B. CAMPBELL pm SINGING SERVICES PRAYER: am A. SKINNER pm READING: M. HOOD WAIT ON TABLE D. MELOTT D. MOSER SERVE CONGREGATION: S. HOOD Jo RICE CLOSING PRAYER: am G. DURIG pm GREETER D. HOOD’S Wednesday Invitation: June 27, 2018

B. Campbell

PREPARE COMMUNION—June 2018 Sue Skinner

Bridge Street

Church of Christ 1139 S. Bridge Street - PO Box 292

New Martinsville WV 26155

Messenger

Paolo Di Luca

We are honored to have you with us to-day! Please return this evening—6:30, and Wednesday evening at 7:00 pm for our mid-week Bible Study. It is our de-sire to be a congregation of the Lord’s church as described in the pages of the New Testament. If you have any questions about what we do during worship, we in-vite you to seek out one of our elders.

IN SEARCH OF THE LORD’S WAY

Every Sunday morning Channel 7 - Wheeling

“Scripture is All Sufficient” June 10, 2018

Services at

NMHC Wednesday 1:30 pm

Welcome to Services

Family: Joyce Campbell Linda Durig Susan McCoy Mike Moore Barb Nolan Brenda Riggs Sue Skinner Wilda Thomas Lisa Wade

Friends: Becky Black - testing Sharon Pugh

UPCOMING AREA EVENTS:

July 2 - 4: Vacation

Bible School hosted by Camden Avenue,

Parkersburg. “R.U.N. the Christian Race!”

6:30-8:00 pm. Classes cradle roll to adult.

Bridge Street Church of Christ

2018 Vacation Bible School One Day Bible Camp

June 30, 2018

9:00 am—1:00 pm

Jesus fished for us— We fish for others

For those who would like to donate towards supplies for this year’s VBS, please give your contribution to Paolo or Lyn. Extra flyers are available in the foyer to be handed out to invite others to attend.

Keeping those of our family in Prayer: Clair Twyman has been suffering with Bronchitis for sever-al days. Neoma Spratt will be having back surgery tomorrow. Please keep her in your prayers. Sarah Bland has been able to be back with us. It is good to see her out again! Bruce Campbell remains at home recovering from recent back surgery.

FUNNY

PATIENT

STRONG

hERO

RELIABLE

PROVIDER

“By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he’s wrong.”

Charles Wadsworth

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“To a father growing old, nothing is dearer than a daughter.”

Euripides