EAST TAMPA CHRISTIAN CHURCH
7824 S. 24th Ave., Tampa, Fla. 33619 / (813) 626-2507
Terry Tyree, Minister
ORDER OF WORSHIP
Announcements
Prayer
Sermon
Invitation Song
Communion Song
Communion / Offering
Praise Songs
Holy Forever
Goodness of God
Great Are You, Lor
Closing Prayer
“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
ON THE CALENDAR
Today: Sunday School: Adults, 9 a.m., Children, 9 and 10 a.m.
Tuesday: Hunger-Free Mission food sharing, 10 a.m.
Wednesday: Bible study and prayer meeting, 6 p.m.
THIS AND THAT
Meditations next week: Anthony Jones
FROM THE WORD
1 I cry aloud to the Lord; I lift up my voice to the Lord for mercy.
2 I pour out before him my complaint; before him I tell my trouble.
3 When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who watch over my way. In the path where I walk people have hidden a snare for me.
4 Look and see, there is no one at my right hand; no one is concerned for me. I have no refuge; no one cares for my life.
5 I cry to you, Lord; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.”
6 Listen to my cry, for I am in desperate need; rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me.
7 Set me free from my prison, that I may praise your name. Then the righteous will gather about me because of your goodness to me.
Psalm 142:1-7
1 David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his father’s household heard about it, they went down to him there.
2 All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their commander. About four hundred men were with him
1 Samuel 22:1-2
ADDITIONAL
CRY OUT FROM A DESPERATE PLACE
I don’t like it when difficult things happen. I’d prefer everything to be easy all the time. But then I wouldn’t rely on God, I’d rely on me. And I’d miss the greatest opportunity ever presented to the human soul—the gift of knowing God. This is why, in mercy and grace, God allows difficult things and why, sometimes, He even creates them.
It was God who led the Israelites to the Red Sea. It was God who hemmed them in and caused the Egyptians to march after them. Why? So the Israelites would cry out to God, and experience His power and love and sovereignty in a new way.
It is God alone who parts the waters and moves the mountains and brings revival. It’s God alone who holds this world in his hand. He is an amazing God who hears and knows and answers our prayers. But until we’re faced with a situation we can’t handle on our own, we may never know how great our God really is.
So perhaps today, just like the Israelites, God has brought us to a desperate place that we might cry out to Him and experience His power, love, and sovereignty in a new way. We may be living in distressing times, but we don’t have a distressed God. We have a sovereign God who still hears the cries of His people and answers when they call.
Stacey Salsbery
TODAY IS THE DAY OF SALVATION
The invitation at the close of each worship service extends an opportunity for anyone outside of Christ to unite with him and become a Christian through belief (John 3:16); repentance (turning away from sin,
Acts 2:38); confession of belief in Christ (Romans 10:10); baptism into Christ for forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit (Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38, Romans 6:1-8) and devoting the rest of your life to
Christ (Matthew 10:22).
The Lord’s invitation also is open to anyone desiring to rededicate his or her life to Christ; to baptized
believers wanting to transfer their membership to this congregation, or to request prayer support.
ABOUT US
For more than a half-century, we have been a restoration plea fellowship in unity with other independent New Testament church bodies. Certainly, we are not the only Christians, but we are Christians only.
In that regard, we assume no denominational name. We observe the Lord’s Supper every Sunday to honor him and reflect upon his great sacrifice on our behalf (Acts 2:42, 1 Corinthians 11:23-28, Hebrews 10:25).
We teach directly from the Bible. Where it speaks clearly – such as the Gospel plan of salvation and other directions or commands – we seek unity. In matters of opinion, where the Bible does not expressly speak, we seek liberty. In all things, however, we speak love for one another, just as Jesus loved us and laid down his life for us!
If you agree with these matters, please join us to proclaim salvation and unity to those who need to hear it in the name of our blessed Lord and only Savior, Jesus Christ. We urgently invite you to do so since his glorious return is imminent.
OUR ELDERS
Jim Fairchild (813) 361-7809 jfairchild@famins.com
Dan Hefner (813) 244-9843 danshirlh@msn.com