Family Lines — June, 2013

Posted by Debbie on May 31, 2013 under Bulletins, Front Page Announcements

Posted by Debbie on May 26, 2013 under Front Page Posts

West-Ark and CURE will provide long-term assistance to the tornado damaged communities around Moore, OK. These recovery efforts are measured in months rather than days. Yet, we can begin raising funds that will equip our people with West-Ark, CURE, Lions for Christ, and West-Ark Youth Group who are making plans now to assist in the months ahead.

If you would like to donate to our Tornado Relief efforts in Oklahoma, make your check payable to West-Ark Church of Christ or CURE. Please designate the check for “Tornado Relief” and drop it by the church office or mail to:

Attn: Oklahoma Tornado Relief
West-Ark Church of Christ
900 North Waldron Road
Fort Smith, AR 72903

Cure Update for 6/7/13

CURE continues to work with the Central Church of Christ in Moore, OK and the Lakeview Church of Christ in Shawnee. Both serve as staging areas. Our first trip was to Moore. CURE provided them with cots, air mattresses, linen, blankets, and towels to set up housing for approximately 100 volunteers and an air compressor to inflate the air mattresses. Wednesday (June 5) we completed our second trip, first stopping off in Shawnee to deliver clean-up supplies, garden rakes, rope, florescent ribbon, sunscreen, insect repellent, first aide, chap-stick and baby formula. Then on to Moore where we delivered 6 pallets of laundry detergent, dryer strips, dish soap, zipper-type storage bags, boxes and tape, and additional bed linen for 50 volunteer workers. While there we visited with coordinators at both sites, and they provided us with a list of most needed items. Shawnee identified generators, tents, cots, air mattresses and bed linen. Central in Moore requested food, personal care items and additional bed linen. Needs change on a daily basis. On our return trip we stopped by Muskogee and picked up 2300 pounds of linen. We have already begun to purchase these items and plan to make our third trip next week.

CURE also was busy this week with medical equipment that is destined for Eastern Ukraine and Haiti. 1 trip to Osceola, IA; 2 trips to Columbus, MS; 2 trips to Judsonia, AR; and we picked up 2 truck loads of medical equipment from a clinic in Roland. Next week looks like a repeat of this week.

Lions for Christ Update 6/7/13

A group of our college students (LFCs) spent June 4-6 working hard with chainsaws and lots of muscle to clear debris in Shawnee and Moore, OK. Photos and videos are posted in Facebook [West-Ark Church of Christ and Lions for Christ at UA Fort Smith.] The LFCs coordinated their efforts with the Church of Christ Disaster Relief Team which has officially set up in Norman, OK.

God Does Not Hate Us

Posted by Chris on under Front Page Posts, Sermons

Click Here For Audio

May 26, 2013 –

Lamentations 3:19-24

The thought of my suffering and homelessness
    is bitter beyond words.
I will never forget this awful time,
    as I grieve over my loss.
Yet I still dare to hope
    when I remember this:

The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
    His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness;
    his mercies begin afresh each morning.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance;
    therefore, I will hope in him!”

Jerusalem and Oklahoma

Some things are the same between Jerusalem and Oklahoma

Daring to Hope
Trusting in God
God’s faithful love does not end – The steadfast love of the Lord does not cease if an army invades or a tornado destroys!

Some things are not the same

This is not God’s wrath
This is not a divine response to sin (we go too far when we attempt to claim that!)

I reject those who claim that God is hateful and that God enjoys pouring down destruction. Those who claim this should read Lamentations 3:33 – “For he does not enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow.”

Let God be God and you just be his child. Stop trying to be the prophet and stop trying to make yourself into God’s spokesperson on “the news of the day.”

God does not spin up tornadoes in order to teach us a lesson!

God makes his teaching clear through his son, Jesus Christ.

How would Jesus respond to these questions about suffering and disaster?

Luke 13:1-5 – About this time Jesus was informed that Pilate had murdered some people from Galilee as they were offering sacrifices at the Temple. ²“Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other people from Galilee?” Jesus asked. “Is that why they suffered? ³Not at all! And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God. ⁴And what about the eighteen people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them? Were they the worst sinners in Jerusalem? ⁵No, and I tell you again that unless you repent, you will perish, too.”