Eastside church of Christ - Russellville, Alabama

Eastside church of Christ - Russellville, Alabama The Eastside church of Christ is a group of Christians working together to spread the gospel in and around Russellville, AL. We look forward to meeting you!

We would be happy to study with you if you have questions about anything that we say or do. Church of Christ

08/16/2024

The lessons from our Summer Bible Series with Bryan Gibson are available on our website. Tonight is the last night of our study. Come and worship God with us.

06/16/2024

If you're in our area today, we'd love for you to worship with us this evening. We will be having a song service at 4 PM.

04/11/2024

GIVE GRACE TO THOSE WHO HEAR

“Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.” (Ephesians 4:29)

If we are not making it our goal to give grace when we speak to others, we shouldn’t be surprised when they do not receive our words as edification. It is true that some do not want to hear the truth. We can’t control their desire to hear. We are commanded to control what we say and how we say it, and it is hard to find any room for an exception in what Paul said: “only such a word as is good for edification.”

Verbally “dunking” on people is often how debates are judged in our culture, even if the “dunkers” arguments are actually pretty weak. It’s all about harsh words and clever insults. We may think that we see some “dunking” in the teaching of men like John the Baptist, Paul, or even Jesus. But do we really think that Jesus was only trying to score points when His words seemed to cut right to the heart of the very issue His hearers were trying to avoid? Maybe we need to consider the difficulty of judging the tone of a speech on paper before we accuse any of God’s messengers of “dunking” on anyone. We need to be careful not to impose our desire to be verbal “dunkers” on the example of God’s messengers in order to justify speech on our part that is not seeking to be gracious and edifying.

Grace without truth is reckless and such an approach will almost certainly mislead us to a destination of false comfort. Yet, truth without grace is discouraging and unattainable. God did not deliver His truth to us without grace. Our efforts to speak truth in a gracious way does not mean that someone will get away with their sins if they refuse to repent. But God will decide when the time of repentance has past.

We may have to draw lines of fellowship if someone refuses to repent. This is in keeping with the truth. Still, those lines are drawn with the hope that the pain of separation will awaken the impenitent to their sins. “If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of that person and do not associate with him, so that he will be put to shame. Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.“ (2 Thessalonians 3:14, 15) ��There just doesn’t seem to be any way for disciples of Jesus to give up the goal of imparting grace, even when we feel pretty confident that someone is not being honest.

01/20/2024

Due to the weather, tomorrow’s (01/21) services will be:

1:00 Bible Study
2:00 Worship

Please use caution when arriving at the building as the parking lot and sidewalk may still be icy.

Pick-up and drop-off assistance will be available to those who want to pull up to the front door.

10/04/2023

CAN'T or WON'T?

The words can’t and won’t are sometimes used interchangeably, but when we say that we can’t do something the most literal meaning would be that we are unable. In other words, the task in question is impossible or improbable due to our lack of ability or lack of opportunity. When we say that we won’t do something we are saying that we lack the desire or the will to participate in the task at hand.

Sometimes we say that we can’t, but we really mean that we won’t. When Boaz first approached the closer relative about the prospect of redeeming Elimelech’s property, the closer relative said, “I will redeem it.” (Ruth 4:1-6) However, when he realized that he would have to take Ruth as his wife and raise up an heir to Elimelech, he said, “I cannot.” What changed? Was he suddenly unable to afford what he had just said he was able to buy or was he unwilling?

Sometimes preachers or Bible class teachers may hear some capable teacher present a lesson and say, “I can’t teach like that.” We may study with another teacher and see the way that they organize their notes or the sheer volume of their notes and say, “I can’t prepare material like that.”

Yet, many of us may try new things or keep trying to teach because we know that it is important. In this process we have probably discovered that we can do a lot of the things that we once thought were impossible. We may have lacked the knowledge, but we didn’t really lack the ability and we have become better teachers and better Christians because we did not give up on the work.

Sometimes we say that we won’t, but maybe we should say that we can’t. The only thing keeping some Christians from committing certain sins may be the fact that the sin in question just doesn’t appeal to them. When Potiphar’s wife came to Joseph begging him to commit adultery with her, Joseph did not say that he was unwilling to do so (Genesis 39:7-10). He said, “How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” Joseph viewed the prospect of committing this sin as an impossibility because he knew that God would know and be dishonored by his sin.

Have we ever been asked to try something new in our service to God that we knew was going to be difficult? Did we say, “I can’t,” all the while meaning that we were really just unwilling to go through what it might take to learn some new skill?

Have we ever been asked to participate in some unrighteousness only to decline..reluctantly? Maybe we have just continually struggled with some sin because it is so appealing and because we have never come to understand that God knows and that He is offended. Joseph’s convictions were such that, in spite of what he may have felt or desired, he felt incapable of committing the sin that Potiphar’s wife set before him because He knew that God would see his sin.

Can’t and won’t may rightly be used interchangeably at times, but they do technically express different ideas. So, let’s be like Joseph who was willing to do everything that he was able to do for God even as a slave and prisoner. Yet, when Potiphar’s wife made advances toward him day after day, Joseph said, “I can’t.” He was so unwilling to offend God that he viewed such a proposal as impossible.

09/11/2023

EMBRACE THE PAIN

“My son, do not reject the discipline of the Lord or loathe His reproof, for whom the Lord loves He reproves, even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.” (Proverbs 3:11, 12)

There are a lot of reasons why bad things happen. However, the Lord also uses pain to reprove us. Many times we may be comfortable, but it would be best for our spiritual development to go through a change. So, when we experience pain we must try to honestly identify what is causing it.

Are we being attacked by evil men? Then keep the faith and know that our brethren and Jesus Himself have all glorified the Father by persevering in their faith. If we have to die for the cause of God in this life, we will live with Him in eternity.

Are we experiencing the consequences of a world marred by sin? Has our fleshly body just finally worn out? Then pray for strength to finish our race and remember that the sinless Son of God experienced torture and death on our behalf. His resurrection is the assurance of our own resurrection in Him.

Have we been careless in our walk with God? Are we reaping the fruits of fleshly living and thinking? Are we surrounding ourselves with people who uphold us in our carelessness? Repent and ask God for forgiveness. Begin sowing the fruits of zeal and faithfulness. Try to encourage those around us to do the same. If they will not, sow the fruits of zeal and faithfulness without them. God will restore us and we will see the blessings of a living faith.

What if our pain doesn’t seem to be caused by any of these things? The Lord may be using the pain or the change to discipline us. We may not be actively engaging in evil things or behaving carelessly, but we may not necessarily be growing either. Growth often requires us to get out of our comfort zones. When we reach a point in our spiritual walk where the only thing holding us back is our own fear of taking the next step, the Lord may give us a little push. If we get too attached to this world, the Lord may send us a reminder that this world is not our home.

There are some things that do not change. The Lord does not change. His word as the standard for our practices in life and in service to Him does not change. We, however, are imperfect. There is a sense in which we are always changing. We must always be growing. We cannot count ourselves as having apprehended already. We must press on toward the goal.

If we are being disciplined by the Lord, do not despise it. Embrace the pain and look for new opportunities to serve the Lord in it. Search His word for answers and ask Him for help to see the way that He wants us to go. Remember that when things were going well, He was with us then and we needed Him then. Thank Him for this painful experience which is serving as a reminder that we need Him now and at all times.

08/25/2023

RESPONSIBLE BUT NOT ABLE

“For who regards you as superior? What do you have that you that you did not receive? And if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” (1 Corinthians 4:7)

I was generally taught to believe that if you were steady in your work you would usually achieve your goals. There was a sense of pride associated with working and not having to be provided for by others. I do believe that this is still generally true because Paul said that those who will not work do not deserve to eat (2 Thessalonians 3:7-10). God has placed us in a sowing and reaping world. Work almost always produces some kind of increase and we are told by God to work in order to have what we need.

This brings us back to the verse under consideration: “What do you have that you did not receive?” This seems to be a rhetorical question. There is a sense in which nothing that we have is completely earned. Paul was talking about the spiritual standing of the Corinthians and the gifts in which they were boasting. However, isn’t it also true that we cannot prosper materially apart from God’s gifts? God gives us sunshine, rain, good health, and the increase of our labors. What would our material efforts mean without these things?

The Bible is full of statements which make disciples responsible to live faithfully before God: “Keep the faith,” — or — “Be faithful until death and I will give you the crown of life,” — or — “if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.” Any position that denies human responsibility will render these passages meaningless. Is it possible that we could understand something about our responsibilities before God when it comes to salvation by thinking about our responsibilities to work for food?

We are not really able to feed ourselves. Yet, we are responsible to work for our food. This is why Paul teaches us to work and to be thankful. In the same way, we cannot save ourselves from sin. Our good deeds cannot pay the price for our bad deeds. Only the blood of Jesus can cleanse us from our sins. Yet, we are responsible to believe God, to do what He says, and to confess our sins to Him, even after we have become Christians. This is why Jesus said that when we have done all the things we are commanded to do we ought to say that we are unprofitable servants (Luke 17:7-10). You see, we only did what we should have been doing as creatures who are made in the image of God and subject to Him. We glorify Him by our obedience, but we are only saved because He has provided redemption through the blood of His Son.

Let’s work for our food and give thanks to God for what we receive. Let’s also believe in God and commit ourselves to doing whatever He says. He made us new creatures in Christ for this very purpose (Ephesians 2:10). However, we must never begin to think that we have earned salvation or forget to be thankful. We were dead in sin and God has made us alive in Christ. How could we possibly boast in ourselves?

02/17/2023

HOW WE FORGIVE

“For I will be merciful to their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.” (Hebrews 8:12)

As Jeremiah looked forward to the blessings of the new covenant, the necessity of forgiveness was set forth. The new covenant was not an achievement of the old covenant. The new covenant was God’s means of repairing the damage that had been exposed by the old covenant. The countless animal sacrifices showed that the problem of sin was huge and that the price was too high for men to pay.

Let’s accept the sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice as settled in the minds of Christians and consider a question together. What if God forgave us the way that we forgive others? What if God stacked up so many conditions, and clauses, and caveats in order to avoid saying what we seem to think - we will never forget what has been done to us and we really have no intentions of forgiving?

God does require a lot from us in one sense. He requires us to believe in Jesus and to serve Him so completely that we would give up any claims to do our own will over His will forever. Yet, He doesn’t require us to try to make up for all of the wrong that we’ve done. He only requires that we commit to giving up wrong things. To those who have become disciples, he only requires that we ask for forgiveness and He promises to remember our sins no more.

This is mercy, and this is the only way to for us to be reconciled to God. We can’t undo the bad things that we have done to God in the past by doing some good things in the present. We can’t really make up for the bad things that we have done to one another either…but we can forgive, we can forget the past, and we can move forward with the hope of a better future if we’re willing to honor those who have hurt us the way that God honors those who have hurt Him. He invites and encourages them to be reconciled to Him. He does not use His rights as a perfect and holy God to hold us hostage when we wish to be forgiven.

To be clear, God does expect evil things to be given up. If we truly desire forgiveness and reconciliation, we have to become servants of Jesus and we have to remain committed to the process of putting on the new man. Those of us who find ourselves in a position to forgive others would do well to appreciate the fact that if we cannot forgive completely without a continual rehashing of the past, we will be disobeying God and we will be in need of forgiveness ourselves.

“For if you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.” (Matthew 6:14, 15)

08/20/2022

Just a reminder about the potluck tomorrow at the Canteen

Various doctrines affirm that men inherit the guilt of Adam’s sins. We don't believe in salvation by works, but we don't...
11/20/2021

Various doctrines affirm that men inherit the guilt of Adam’s sins. We don't believe in salvation by works, but we don't believe that men inherit the guilt of Adam either. We invite you to be with us as we humbly consider the question: Can Sin Be Inherited?

To God be the glory!

9 AM - Bible Study (2 Corinthians 2)
10 AM - Worship (Sermon: Can Sin Be Inherited?)

6 PM - Worship (Sermon: Psalm 15 - Who Can Live with God?)

There are a lot of feelings that we go through when we are faced with repentance…but repentance is not a feeling. In ord...
11/13/2021

There are a lot of feelings that we go through when we are faced with repentance…but repentance is not a feeling. In order to repent, we have to know that something is wrong…but repentance involves more than just knowing that something is wrong.

We invite you to come and worship with us tomorrow as we consider the question: What is Repentance? Your presence would be an encouragement to us.

9 AM - Bible Study (1 Corinthians 16)
10 AM - Worship (Sermon: What is Repentance?)

6 PM - Worship (Sermon: What Should Churches Value?)

The word gambling may not be used in any English version of the Bible. However, we want to think about some Biblical pri...
10/23/2021

The word gambling may not be used in any English version of the Bible. However, we want to think about some Biblical principles that may be violated by gambling. We hope that you will join us tomorrow to worship God!

9 AM - Bible Study (1 Corinthians 11:1-16)
10 AM - Worship (Sermon: Is Gambling a Sin?)

6 PM - Worship (Sermon: Psalm 10 - The Pride of the Wicked)

Address

15820 AL/243
Russellville, AL
35653

Opening Hours

Wednesday 7pm - 8pm
Sunday 9am - 11am
4pm - 5pm

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Eastside church of Christ - Russellville, Alabama posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Place Of Worship

Send a message to Eastside church of Christ - Russellville, Alabama:

Shortcuts

Share

Category