Clintwood Church of Christ

06/04/2026

Message from the Scriptures
BY RICK MULLINS
The Unnoticed Servant
In a few NT verses, Paul mentions
names of people and calls them
servants. Rom.16:1 Phoebe. Col.1:7
Epaphras. Col.4:7 Tychicus. In Rom.16
he mentions approximately twentyseven
names plus mother, sister,
household and saints. These are real
people to Paul. They meant something
to him. Look at how Paul describes
these people: Our sister... a servant of
the church... a helper of many... my
fellow workers in Christ Jesus... risked
their own necks... my beloved... who
has worked hard for you... My kinsmen
and my fellow prisoners... who are
outstanding among the apostles... who
were in Christ before me... approved
in Christ... who has worked hard in the
Lord... a choice man in the Lord. Only
a few of these names will we ever
remember when talking about a bible
character. Yet these men and women
were servants in the Lord’s work.
We can do the same today. Our
names don’t have to be in the limelight
to be important to God. We can bring
that cup of cold water to those in
need and be pleasing to God. There
is another name that Paul mentions in
2nd Tim.1:16 that stands out to me. His
name is Onesiphorus. What unnoticed
thing(s) did this man do to have Paul
mention him by name? He refreshed
me often. We have to remember that
Paul was in a Roman prison. And this
prison was unlike any prison we have
today. He didn’t have the creature
comforts that our prisons have.
2nd Tim. 4:6 “For I am already being
poured out as a drink offering and the
time of my departure is at hand.” His
death was near and he knew it. He had
a lot of friends as was mentioned in
Rom. 16, but either they were no longer
in the area or in prison themselves or
they had turned against Paul like he
says in vs 15 “This you know, that all
those in Asia have turned away from
me….” He said in 4:9 “Be diligent to
come to me quickly for Demas has
forsaken me… Onesiphorus was there
for him and it was not just a few times,
it was often.
Paul also said he was not ashamed
of my chain. I think Paul was saying
that he was not ashamed to walk into
that prison and personally say that
I’m a friend of Paul and that I’m a
Christian. Paul wrote in Rom. 1:16
“For I’m not ashamed of the gospel of
Christ….” He also told Timothy in vs
8 of 2nd Tim. “to not be ashamed of
the testimony of our Lord.” We can’t
be ashamed either. We have to stand
for the truth of the gospel. Paul also
said he sought me ought. Onesiphorus
was not from Rome, but he comes to
this large city and maybe for days had
been looking for Paul and he finally
finds him in prison. He didn’t give up.
He didn’t turn away. He was not going
to go back to Ephesus (I think) w/out
doing his very best to find Paul.
He finally says to Timothy in vs
18 “you know how many ways he
ministered to me in Ephesus. We might
not remember this man or his name,
but Paul certainly did. He wanted the
Lord to bless he and his family. We
can learn so much from this one man
and these few verses. We might have
a friend in need and we might say
“If you need anything, just call”. But
that friend never calls and we never
check on them. Would that be like
Onesiphorus? No. He would try his
best to make sure his friend his ok.
Let us do our best to be an unnoticed
servant!!!!
If you have any questions please
write to Rick Mullins at Clintwood
church of Christ. P. O. Box 746,
Clintwood Va., 24228 or email me
at [email protected]. Please
check our page. We meet on
Sunday 10 a.m. for bible study and 11
a.m. for worship and again at 4 p.m.
for worship. We meet on Wednesday at
7 p.m. for bible study. We have singing
on the 1st Wednesday. Please join us
so we can open the word of God and
learn together. Thank you.

06/04/2026

Message from the Scriptures
BY RICK MULLINS
It’s Just About Time
Solomon had a lot to say about time
in Ecc. 3:1-8. He says “To everything
there is a season, a time for every
purpose under heaven”. Whether it be
rain or sun, hot or cold, day or night
there is something happening. He said
a time to be born and die, plant and
harvest, kill and heal, break down and
build up, weep and laugh, mourn and
dance, cast away stones and gather
stones, embrace and not embrace, gain
and lose, keep and throw away, tear
and sow, keep silence and speak, love
and hate, war and peace. Do you see
the major contrast in all these sayings?
Somebody, somewhere in the world
right now is doing one or more of
these things. You may never plant a
garden, but someone is. You may gain
today, but lose tomorrow. You may
build something today, but tear it down
tomorrow. We just don’t know how
tomorrow will work out or if tomorrow
will even come.
James 4:13-15 “Come now, you who
say “Today or tomorrow we will go
to such and such a city, spend a year
there, buy and sell, and make a profit;
whereas you do not know what will
happen tomorrow. For what is your life?
It is even a v***r that appears for a little
time and then vanishes away. Instead,
you ought to say “If the Lord wills, we
shall do this or that”. Let’s look at some
other passages that talk about time and
see what we can learn:
• Time will end – For us as individuals
and for the world. Heb. 9:27 “And
as it is appointed for men to die once
and after this the judgement.” 1st Cor.
15:22 “For as in Adam all die….” He
is talking about spiritual death as well
as physical death. 2nd Pet.2:10 “But
the day of the Lord will come as a thief
in the night, in which the heavens will
pass away with a great noise, and the
elements will melt with fervent heat,
both the earth and the works that are in
it will be burned up”.
• Our time is limited – Because we
will die, we only have so much time.
And even the time we do have may be
hindered by sickness or other things
so we need to use it wisely. Ecc. 12:1
“Remember now your Creator in the
days of your youth, before the difficult
days come….” Eph. 5:15-16 “See
then that you walk circumspectly, not
as fools but as wise, redeeming the
time….” We have been given a coupon
of time. We need to redeem it. Jesus
said in John 9:4 “I must work the works
of Him who sent me while it is day;
the night is coming when no one can
work”.
• The time to obey God is now – 1st
Pet. 4:17 “For the time has come for
judgement to begin at the house of God,
and if it begins with us first, what will
be the end of those who do not obey
the gospel of God”. 1st Pet. 1:17 “And
if you call on the Father, who w/out
partiality judges according to each one’s
work, conduct yourselves throughout
the time of your stay here in fear”. Peter
is not saying we need to walk around
all fearful, but we need to know what to
expect from God. Soloman said in Ecc.
12:13-14 “Let us hear the conclusion of
the whole matter: Fear God and keep
His commandments, for this is man’s
all. For God will bring every work
into judgement, including every secret
thing, whether good or evil”. 2nd Cor.
6:2 “For He says, “In and acceptable
time I have heard you, and in the day
of salvation I have helped you. Behold
now is the accepted time; behold now is
the day of salvation”. Don’t let time slip
away. Think of your spiritual life now,
while there is still time.
If you have any questions please write
to Rick Mullins at Clintwood church of
Christ. P. O. Box 746, Clintwood Va.,
24228 or email me at mullins_rick@
yahoo.com. Please check our Facebook
page. We meet on Sunday 10 a.m. for
bible study and 11 a.m. for worship
and again at 4 p.m. for worship. We
also meet on Wednesday at 7 p.m. for
bible study. We have singing on the
1st Wednesday. Please join us so we
can open the word of God and learn
together. Thank you.

05/31/2026

Gary Mullins preaching this morning on Virtue. 2 Peter 1:5-8

05/31/2026

We invite you to Worship with the Christians that meet in Clintwood tomorrow 5/31/2026.
We meet at 10 AM for Bible Study, 11 AM for Morning Worship and meet back at 4 PM for Evening Worship. Remember to read "Message from the Scriptures" by Rick Mullins each Wednesday in The Dickenson Star. Listen to our podcast called "The Search for Biblical Truth" on Spotify with Gary Mullins & Casey Page. Follow us on Facebook at Clintwood Church of Christ.

05/28/2026

05/27/2026

Gary Mullins teaching our Bible study class tonight on Basic Bible Doctrine.

05/24/2026

Rick Mullins preaching this evening on Serpents & Doves.

05/24/2026

Gary Mullins preaching this morning on Growing in the Knowledge of Christ.

05/24/2026

Message from the Scriptures
BY RICK MULLINS
Finishing the Job
Have you ever hired a carpenter to
start a building project and he never
finished? I have known and read of
people who paid a contractor upfront to
do a certain job and they never started
or never finished.
Finishing a job is very important, but
quite often it doesn’t happen. Some
people are great at doing that while
others aren’t. The bible tells us about a
few things that were started, but never
finished, but also some things that were
finished.
We read in the very first verse of
scripture of God creating the heavens
and the earth. He started on day one and
finished on day six by creating man.
Four times He said it was good and
vs 31 says “Then God saw everything
that He made, and indeed it was VERY
good”. Gen.2:1 “Thus the heavens and
the earth, and all the host of them, were
finished”. God knew what He wanted
to do and He finished the job.
Gen. 2:8 tells us that God planted a
garden and He put man there. Vs 15
said his job was to tend and keep it.
We know that Adam and Eve started
the job, but never finished it. Because
of their sin they were put out of the
garden Gen. 3:23-24.
After many years God decided to
send the flood. He said to Noah to
build an ark. He told him how to make
the ark with a certain wood, exact
dimensions, one door, one window and
certain animals to bring on the ark.
Noah did what God wanted him to do.
He started and finished the ark.
In the NT we read Luke 14 starting
in vs 26 of what Jesus expects of us
if we are to follow Him. Vs 28 say’s
“For which of you, intending to build
a tower, does not sit down first and
count the cost, whether he has enough
to finish it – lest after he has laid the
foundation and is not able to finish, all
who see it begin to mock him, saying
this man began to build, but was not
able to finish.” In essence Jesus is
saying that in order to be His disciple
we need to love our families less than
Him, we need to take up our cross
(daily) and forsake all. If we want
heaven as our home, we have to start
by becoming a Christian and then we
have to finish by being faithful until
death Rev.2:10.
We read in Luke 2:41-49 that when
Jesus was 12 years old, He had a job to
do because vs 49 say’s “And He said
to them, why do you seek Me? Did
you not know that I must be about My
Father’s business?” John 4:34 “Jesus
said to them, My food is to do the will
of Him who sent Me, and to finish His
work. John 17:4 “I have glorified You
on the earth, I have finished the work
which You have given Me to do.”
Finally, while on the cruel cross in
John 19:30 “He said it is FINISHED!
And bowing His head, He gave up His
spirit”. Our Lord was given a job to do
and He finished it.
As Christians, Paul gives us an
example in 2nd Tim. 4:6-8 of how to
start, live and finish our Christian life.
“For I am already being poured out as
a drink offering and the time of my
departure is at hand. I have fought the
good fight, I have FINISHED the race, I
have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid
up for me the crown of righteousness
which the Lord, the righteous Judge
will give to me on that Day and not to
me only but to all who have loved His
appearing”. We love our Savior so let
us be about finishing the job that we
have started.
If you have any questions please write
to Rick Mullins at Clintwood church of
Christ. P. O. Box 746, Clintwood Va.,
24228 or email me at mullins_rick@
yahoo.com. Please check our Facebook
page. We meet on Sunday 10 a.m. for
bible study and 11 a.m. for worship
and again at 4 p.m. for worship. We
also meet on Wednesday at 7 p.m. for
bible study. We have singing on the
1st Wednesday. Please join us so we
can open the word of God and learn
together. Thank you.