Here it is -- another new year. This is not a "leap year," so there will be 365 days in 2005. In those 365 days there will be 8,760 hours -- that is 525,600 minutes. It would be great if every member of our congregation would make a sincere effort to read the whole Bible from cover to cover this year. There certainly is adequate time to get that done -- 525,600 minutes is a long time. Another way of approaching it would be to try and be a daily Bible reader this year. Let's all give it a shot! It will be a good thing to take time to read the word of God each day because:

1. "Blessed is he that readeth" the message of the Lord (Revelation 1:3),

2. It will help us keep our "affections ("mind," ASV) on things above, not on things on the earth" (Colossians 3:2).

3. It will help us be more familiar with the word, and as a result, we will be better prepared to teach the gospel (Mark 16:15) and "to give an answer" to those that ask questions (1 Peter 3: 15).

4. If we will approach it with the right attitude, our faith will be increased (Romans 10: 17).

5. It will help remind us of our responsibilities to our Lord (Luke 9:23; Ecclesiastes 12:13).

6. It will help us grow spiritually (1 Peter 2:2; 2 Peter 3:18)

7. It will be an encouragement to other brothers and sisters if they learn that we keep our nose in the Book (Matthew 5:16).

8. It will help us hide God's word in our heart that we might not sin against Him (Psalm 119:11).

9. It will help us be better prepared to do battle with our enemy, Satan, who will once again this year put forth a tremendous effort to try and cause us to become unfaithful to our Savior (1 Pet. 5:8,9).

10. Jesus wants us to "search the scriptures" (John 5:39), and reading God's word each day can be a helpful part of that process.

Reprinted from “The Gospel Light”, Antioch church of Christ, Blue Springs, MS
submitted by James Huggins

If you were unable to attend any of the 2005 Florida School of Preaching Lectureship this past week, you missed some great teaching, preaching, discussions and singing concerning this year’s theme, “Do You Understand Church Growth?” All is not lost though, you may still purchase the book (contains much more material than the actual lectures) in either hard-copy printed form or on searchable CD-ROMs in PDF format. You may also purchase audio CDs of the individual lectures or the entire audio of the 2005 lectureship on a single CD in MP3 format. Contact the school or see Bob Bauer or Dotty Gutzler if you need more information on acquiring any of these items. You may also listen to most of the lectures on the FSOP web-site – www.fsop.net .

Ladies’ Work Group
The Ladies Work Group is scheduled to meet tomorrow evening (Monday) at 7:00 pm in the ladies’ work room behind the annex. All of our ladies are invited to attend and participate in the group’s activities.

Our hearts go out in deepest sympathy to the family and friends of sister Nan Alexander who passed away this past Sunday morning (January 16) in Tennessee. The Alexanders were members here at Orange Street for many years and brother Alexander was the preacher here during the early ‘80s and was serving as one of our elders when he passed away in the mid-nineties. Keep the family in your prayers.

It would be ridiculous to pass where a sparrow was drinking water and see him spit it out as he complained of how bad the water tasted. Man has correctly been labeled as the most selfish creature of God's creation. Can we not like the bird be content when troubles come -- knowing God is on our side and that we are strengthened by spiritual exercise of rail? God's creatures remain peaceful and content as God provides.

“ It is better to look ahead and prepare than to look back and regret.”