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Are we confident that our light is bright
Vol. 47 July 12, 2022 Number 27
WHERE DID THE NINE GO?
Barry Kennedy
There they were, ten men dying from one of the most horrifying diseases
known to man, leprosy. Their plight was one of pain, distress, and isolation.
Many had fallen to the destruction of leprosy in their time. In fact, it wasn’t until
in the late 1930’s that effective treatment started being administered for leprosy;
oh, but these ten lepers found a power far greater than that of any manmade drug.
These ten lepers encountered the power to heal both soul and body. “The Spirit
of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the
poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the
captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are
bruised,” (Luke 4:18). No doubt the ten lepers were very distressed and feeling
the pains of their disease, but when they saw Jesus, they cried out, “Jesus,
Master, have mercy on us” (Luke 17:13). Jesus’ response was simple, but very
effective. “Go show yourselves to the priests” (Luke 17:14). When they turned to
obey, they realized that their leprosy was gone! One returned to thank the Lord,
which lead Jesus to ask, “Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?”
(Luke 17:17). What a powerful question; so, “where did the nine go?”
Some of them may have gone to their families. That would be understandable,
considering lepers were commanded to remove themselves from the healthy
(Numbers 5:2). What a wonderful reunion that must have been! The sad part is
that they forgot to stop and say thank you to the Savior. They would have shown
more love for their relatives than for the giver of life. Jesus addressed this
problem: “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and
he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” (Matthew
10:37). Jesus did not say that people are to despise, forsake, or forget their
families. In fact, honoring father and mother, along with brotherly love are
commands (Ephesians 6:1-3; Hebrews 13:1). Jesus was simply making it known
that God must come first (Exodus 20:3; 1 John 5:20, 21; Matthew 6:33). Would
we sell out the Great Physician for our families? If so, we would not be doing
them or ourselves any real lasting favors.
Others may have gone back to their careers. No doubt, these nine were on
terminal disability. Many fail to see the great blessing that goes along with a
good work ethic. Some of the nine lepers may have found themselves missing
their jobs and could not wait to be gainfully employed again. Of course, there
would not be anything wrong with this attitude, after all, the Bible says, “if any
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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
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........................9:00 a.m.
Bible class..................10:15 a.m.
Worship......................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)

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would not work, neither should he eat” (2
Thessalonians 3:10). So, what would be the problem?
They forgot to take time to show any gratitude to the
one who made them able to work (James 1:17).
Others may have gone on a vacation. Vacations are
a wonderful time! The family gets to be free and have
fun. It is a time to shake off some of those daily
routines and live a little. These poor men were not
able to get much joy in life due to their terrible
disease. Now that Jesus has healed them, they no
doubt had the desire to celebrate. After all people need
some down time. Even Jesus took time to relax and
get away (Matt. 14:23). So, what was their problem?
They forgot to thank the one who restored their joy.
Many today choose to vacation from God. Could there
be any greater showing of ingratitude, than for one to
be blessed with the ability to go on a trip, and then not
worship the creator and giver of all things? Jesus
made it clear that the kingdom of God and His
righteousness must be sought first (Matt. 6:33).
Some may have gone to their church. This one
must have been the right thing to do. It would be
totally appropriate to go to the priest and start
worshipping right? After all Jesus said, “Go show
yourselves to the priest.” The problem with this
thinking would be that Jesus was right there before
them and they left Him behind to go their own way.
Jeremiah said it best, “O LORD, I know that the way
of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh
to direct his steps” (Jeremiah 10:23). Where is the
gratitude in today’s “churches” which will not even
wear His name, much less teach His doctrine?
Truth is, we are not told where the nine went, but
we know for sure where they did not go and that was
back to thank Jesus for His bountiful gift. Many today
are like the illustrations used earlier. They are more
focused on the physical aspects of their families,
careers, vacations, and their religions. Jesus used this
situation to say that gratitude must be the Christians
attitude. We need not forget to say, “if the Lord wills”
(James 4:15). May we all learn a valuable lesson of
what not to do from the nine. May God help us to be
more like the appreciative leper who showed
gratitude.
Ladies’ Fellowship
The ladies’ monthly fellowship will be held this
Thursday, July 14 in the multipurpose room at 6
pm. Christine Wilson is teaching. There will be NO
meal this month.
Tuesday Mornings with
the Master
Don’t forget Tuesday Mornings with the
Master every Tuesday in the multipurpose
room from 10-11 am. Anyone who can
come, and help is welcomed.
Sympathy
Our sympathy is extended to Paul Blansett in the
loss of his father, Wayne Blansett, who passed away
Sunday, July 10. Funeral services were held July 12 at
11:00 am in Tupelo.
Pack the Backpacks
The Community Outreach Program
needs your help with “Packing the
Backpacks” for area schools this
upcoming year. Please check the table
in the foyer and grab a supply tab of
what you would be willing to purchase. Please return
the supplies by Sunday, July 24. Thank you for your
help.
Desserts for Maywood
Our week at Maywood
Christian Camp is July 17-
23. Many of our youth and
adults will be going over to
spend the week. We have
been asked to help provide
desserts again this year.
Amanda Dickinson will be carrying them over on
Wednesday, July 20. Please have the desserts at the
church building on that day by 9:00 am.
Contribution for
Maywood
All of the contribution this Sunday, July 17 will be
given to Maywood Christian Camp. Maywood has
been a great outreach ministry for almost 70 years,
and many have been led to Christ through the
teachings there.

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Daily Bible Reading
July 13..................................... Song of Solomon 5-8
July 14........................................................Isaiah 1-4
July 15........................................................Isaiah 5-8
July 16......................................................Isaiah 9-12
July 17....................................................Isaiah 13-16
July 18....................................................Isaiah 17-20
July 19....................................................Isaiah 21-23
Birthdays &
Anniversaries
Birthdays: Wade Bryan (July 13), Hallie
Brown (July 15), Kannon Smith (July 17),
Susan Willis (July 18), Casey Gullett (July
19). Anniversaries: Dolline & Waymon Gibson
(July 16).
Our Sick
Beth Reed will be admitted to the Women’s
Center this Thursday to deliver baby Ellis. Debbie
Duke is awaiting test results. Betty Long continues
her therapy at Cedars, Room 712. Barbara Wright
has Covid, and Danny is recovering from it.
Summer Smith is home with a broken tailbone.
Heather & Lee DuBois are home sick.
On-Going Illnesses
Mary Lou Walden, Evelyn Thompson, Annie
Martin, Bettye Davis, Steve Kelly, Barbara Bishop,
Bob Smith, Doug Wallace, Frankie Estes, Shirley
Lyons, Stella Pittman, Caroline Willis, Carol Hood,
Bill Goff, Sheba Tuggers, Brian Carver, Michelle
Maclean, Linda Butler, Pam Gassaway, Ricky Britt,
Larry Kennedy, Nathan Hale, Dawn Brown, Terry
Blckmarr, Freida Gardner
Nursing Homes
Randy Attaway, Shirley McCarthy, Bob McClure
The task ahead of us is never as
great as the Power behind us!
EMYG News
Hello!
I hope you have had a great weekend. 28 of us
embarked on a little road trip to Six Flags and we had
a blast. Grateful to those who went and made the trip
great. This coming week, a group of us will be at
Maywood. Our passage/theme will be taken from
Luke 24. We look forward to having a great time
deepening our faith in God and growing in our love
for each other. Below are some pics of this weekend!

4.
Men to Serve Sunday, July 17, 2022 a.m.
Announcements................................Michael Wilson
Bible Reading........................................ Aaryn Vines
Opening Prayer ........................................Will Davis
Lord’s Supper
Alex Tucker
Lead Singing.....................................Barry Kennedy
Closing Prayer........................................... Joe Minor
Ushers ..................Terry Kingsley & Andy Baldwyn
Please meet in the library by 8:45 a.m.
Sunday 11:15 a.m. service
Opening Prayer ................................. Terry Kingsley
Closing Prayer.........................................Jeff Mansel
Lead Singing...............................Bobby Joe Lindley
Wednesday, July 20, 2022
Opening Prayer .................................Shawn Mounce
Lead Singing....................................Michael Wilson
The elders kindly request that men leading in public
worship wear the best dress clothes they have.
Contact Ricky Lindsey (255-8136) if unable to serve.
Attendance & Contribution
Mid-Week, 7-6-22 ...................................................... 132
Sunday 1st
Worship, 7-10-22 ...................................... 142
Sunday Bible Class..................................................... 153
Sunday 2nd
Worship.................................................... 142
Contribution (budget $9,334) ................................ $6,797
*This does not include the livestreamed views.
Pantry item........................................... Peanut butter
Maywood Christian Camp
Our week at Maywood Christian Camp is July 17th
-23rd
. Please go online
and register ASAP if you plan to attend either as a camper or a staff
member. The cost for campers is $180. If you are staff, your children may
attend for $90. Register at maywoodchristiancamp.com.