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Vol. 45 November 10, 2020 Number 44
I CAN’T QUIT NOW!
Barry Kennedy
Life has been described as being “like a box of chocolates, you never know
what you are going to get” (Forrest Gump). I have never seen this movie, but I
have heard this quoted many times. One must realize that there is some truth to that
statement. It may be that someone reading this article may be having one of the
most unexpected situations occurring in his life. It could be something wonderful
or terrible, but either way totally unexpected. Most of us welcome the unexpected
pleasures of life. They tend to uplift us and give us a new zest for life. On the other
hand, the unexpected tragedies have the potential to make us want to quit, give up,
or throw in the towel so to say. How can we as Christians learn to develop the
never give up attitude that we so desperately need to succeed? We should be
asking, “what will it take to get myself to the I can’t quit now mindset?”
First, we must realize that mindset is key. Please do not misunderstand
this point to mean mind over matter, but one’s mindset can help or hinder any
situation. God placed before Israel the awesome task to conquer the land of Canaan
(Deuteronomy 20). God also understood how that seeing the enemies’ numbers,
horses, and chariots might cause the Israelites to quit (Deuteronomy 20:1a).
Therefore, Moses said, “The Lord thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out
of the land of Egypt” (Deuteronomy 20:1b). In other words, God brought you out
of Egypt with a strong hand; don’t quit now! The mindset must be established
before the task. Maybe we all need some Bible boot camp to help ready our minds
to endure.
Next, we must remember that it’s an individual task. Many, if not most,
find comfort in stepping back and letting others take on the difficult tasks. This
person would not hesitate to quit when the going gets tough. “If thou faint in the
day of adversity, thy strength is small” (Proverbs 24:10). In the end we all will
have to give an account of our individual lives before God. “For we must all
appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things
done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad” (2
Corinthians 5:10). Paul went on to say, “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord,
we persuade men...” (2 Corinthians 5:11). Are we persuading others? Don’t quit
now!
Finally, we must recognize that we are not alone. Moses and the children
of Israel needed to be reminded not to let their powerful enemies bring them down.
“For the LORD your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your
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ELDERS
Mike Childers..............397-6453
Dennis Hallmark..........255-5557
Mark Hitt.....................322-0917
Bobby Lindley.............260-9193
DEACONS
Wade Bryan.................419-5552
William Harris.............416-8149
Ricky Lindsey..............255-8136
Jeff Mansel ..................871-0357
Jimmy Spearman .........840-8957
Michael Wilson ...........891-0891
MINISTERS
Barry Kennedy....(931)787-7108
Alex Blackwelder (731)879-9196
SECRETARY
Renee Childers
Office...........................842-6116
Fax...............................842-7091
E-MAIL
eastmaincoc38804@gmail.com
WEB PAGE
eastmaincoc.com
SUNDAY SERVICES
Worship .......................8:30 a.m.
.....................10:00 a.m.
Bible Classes ...............9:30 a.m.
.............11:15 a.m.
Singing or Devotional
Last Sunday of the Month
MID-WEEK
SERVICES
Wednesday Classes .....7:00 p.m.
1606 East Main Street
P. O. Box 1761
Tupelo, Mississippi 38802
“Thou shalt observe to do all that they inform thee”
(Deut. 17:10)

--article continued from page 1—
enemies, to save you” (Deuteronomy 20:4). God
always promises to be with His people “for he hath
said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee”
(Hebrew 13:5b). Jesus told His disciples “Lo, I am
with you alway, even to the end of the world”
(Matthew 28:20). “What shall we then say to these
things? If God be for us, who can be against us”
(Romans 8:31)?
It may be that the one reading this is in the
middle of a devastating situation and there seems to
be no light at the end of the tunnel. Have you ever
had a good day? How many times have we allowed
one bad day to negate a lifetime of blessings?
Really look around and count your blessings to see
what God has done, and what He wants to do
(Matthew 10:22; 1 Timothy 2:4; Revelation 2:10).
We must seek God’s help to realize our need to
have the right mindset to not give up; remember
that it is our individual task to not give up and
recognize that we are not alone, so we don’t have to
give up. “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for
whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap”
(Galatians 6:7). The bottom line is: we can’t quit
now!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wedding Shower
A wedding shower
will be held in honor
of Zoe Wright, the
bride-elect of Wesley
Funderburk, this
Sunday, Nov. 15
“drive by” at the church building from 1:00-3:00
p.m. Wesley & Zoe are registered at Elizabeth
Claire’s, Bed, Bath & Beyond, and Reed’s.
Sympathy
Our sympathy is extended to the family of Pete
Barber who passed from this life on Nov. 7 after an
extended illness. Funeral services were held Nov. 9
at Pegues in Tupelo. We will sorely miss brother
Pete at East Main. Please keep Charles and the
family in your prayers.
Joyful Rebellion
The girls’ joy-
ful rebellion group
will meet this
Wednesday, Nov.
11 at 6:00 p.m. in
the multipurpose
room before Bible
class. See Beth
Reed if you need more information.
Thank You Notes
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
The 2020 fall food drive for Pine Vale was a
wonderful success. We had enough congregations
that picked the traditional route pick-up to meet our
current pantry needs and keep us stocked for most
of the year. We also had a great number of
congregations that gave money for perishables or
other needs (I call this our milk and meat fund).
Some sent cash/checks, some sent gift cards, and
others sent money directly to our local grocery store
accounts. These funds will be an excellent boost to
our food budget this year. I thank you and pray that
your blessings for us bring blessings to you.
Thank you,
Randy Collum
Executive Directory
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To the members of East Main Church of Christ,
Thank you so much for continuing to support our
patients! The happies that you send each month are
greatly appreciated. You all let your light for Christ
shine through the generous donations. Please know
that we appreciate you!
Lauren Thompson, LMSW
Radiation Oncology Social Worker
John Duke stationed in Gulfport, MS
Caleb Williams stationed in Quantico, VA
Rob Cross & family stationed in South Korea
Ty Nichols stationed in Germany

Daily Bible Reading
November 11 ...................................................Acts 6-7
November 12 ...................................................Acts 8-9
November 13 ...............................................Acts 10-12
November 14 ...............................................Acts 13-14
November 15 ...............................................Acts 15-16
November 16 ...............................................Acts 17-18
November 17 ...............................................Acts 19-20
Birthdays & Anniversaries
Birthdays: Lori Blansett (Nov. 12), Bobby
Joe Lindley (Nov. 17). Anniversaries: Kelly
& Evelyn Thompson (Nov. 11).
Our Sick
Jean Mounce and Norma Deaton are home from
the hospital. Linda Hand will go back to Cedars to
resume her physical therapy this week. Gail Geno
underwent back surgery Monday in Memphis. Jill
Rice, Debbie Vines’ mother, continues at Sanctuary
Hospice. Kirk Sheffield’s mother, Delois Sheffield,
is in CCU at the Corinth Hosp. with COVID. Also,
Bobbie Estes, Chad Willis & Kristie Webb’s aunt,
is in the hospital with COVID. Lisa Lindsey’s dad,
Jack McKinney, is home with COVID and her
mom, Linda, has the flu. Joe Smith has tested
positive for COVID. Wade Bryan’s brother, Mike
& his wife Gina; Susan Reed’s aunt, Francis Smith,
and her sister, Rita Payne; Katherine Mansel’s
sister, brother-in-law, nephew, parents, aunt and
uncle all have COVID.
On-Going Illnesses
Steve Kelly, Mary Lou Walden, Bettye Davis,
Frankie Estes, Stella Pittman, Donny Dulaney, Adam
McCurley, James Goddard, Bill Goff, Tommy Goff,
Leroy Brown, Jadon Parish, Jerry Smith, Mitch
Maclean, Mary Starz, Sheba Tuggers, Homer Smith,
Shirley Roberts, Merlene Johnson, Thomas Lloyd,
Steve Higginbotham, Brenda Dawson, Jimmy
Lindsey, Brian Carver, Sean Koehn
Nursing Homes
Evelyn Willis, Nancy Haywood, Randy Attaway,
Shirley McCarthy, Veona Harris, Bob & Clara
McClure
EMYG News
Thanks again to everyone who helped with the
T.G.I.F last week. It was a blast! Thanks for inviting
your friends to play a live version of Clue.
Don’t forget our Fall Retreat this weekend, Nov.
13th-14th at Maywood Christian Camp. The speaker
for the weekend is Dr. Mark Blackwelder.
If you plan to spend the night on Friday,
please let Alex know ASAP. There will be a bus
leaving the parking lot of the church building at
7:45am on Saturday if you would like to ride.
The schedule:
FRIDAY(OPTIONAL)
4:00pm – Leave church building
5:00pm – Arrive at Maywood Christian Camp
5:45 – Walking Tacos
7:00 – Singing
7:20 – God’s Fire from Heaven (1 Kings 18)
8:30 – 10:00pm – Free Time
10:30 – Lights out
SATURDAY
8:00 – Breakfast
8:45 – God’s Fire Around Us (2 Kings 6)
9:30 – Break
9:45 – God’s Fire Before Us (Exodus 13-14)
10:30 – Free Time
11:15 – Lunch/Free Time
1:00pm Break Out Sessions
Barry Kennedy – Green Group
Mark Hitt – Blue Group
Mike Childers – Orange Group
Alex Blackwelder – Red Group
1:45 – Free Time/Rope Course/Basketball game
3:45 – Group Picture
4:00 – Grill Out
5:15 – God’s Fire Within Us (Luke 24)
6:00 – Clean-up/Pack up/Leave for Home

Men to Serve Sunday, Nov. 15, 2020 a.m.
Announcements...........................Bobby Joe Lindley
Bible Reading........................................Aaron Willis
Opening Prayer ................................... Dale Dulaney
Lord’s Supper
Tim Davis
Lead Singing.................................Alex Blackwelder
Closing Prayer......................................... Larry Long
Ushers ....................Ricky Lindsey & Mike Childers
The elders kindly request that men leading in public
worship wear the best dress clothes they have.
Contact the church office (842-6116) if unable
to serve.
Bible Classes (streamed each week)
Adult class................Jeff Mansel (Facebook/YouTube)
Adult class.......... Barry Kennedy (Facebook/YouTube)
College class.....Roger Sanderson/Tim Davis (Facebook)
Attendance & Contribution
Mid-Week, 11-4-20 .................................................. 121*
Sunday 1st
Worship, 11-8-20 ........................................ 33
Sunday Bible Class................................................... 162*
Sunday 2nd
Worship.................................................. 142*
Contribution (budget $7,900) ................................ $8,576
*This does not include the livestreamed views.
Pantry item........................................Spaghetti sauce
Mark Your Calendars!
Fall Family Retreat – November 13th--14th
Services will be livestreamed this Sunday at
10:00 a.m. if you do not feel safe attending the
service in person.