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The Art of Self-Denial
By Jay Launius
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One of the most difficult things for Christian people to practice is self-denial. Yet that is exactly what God expects of His people. If we allow ourselves every pleasure of our heart’s desire, we’ll become spoiled to the point where we will believe that we “deserve” all these things in order to be happy and content.
But the truth is, when we obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine (Rom. 6:17), we made a commitment to God to deny ourselves many of the pleasures in life in order to serve Him, the church, and other people. Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23). In the parallel passage in Matthew, Jesus asked, “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matt. 16:26). To put it in our own terms, Jesus is asking, “What good will it do you if you have the grandest house, the best recreational vehicles, go on the best vacations, send your kids to the finest schools, attend the best parties, go to weekend sporting events, or get the big promotion at work, if it means you’ll wind up on the wrong side of judgement. Will you exchange these temporary pleasures and then spend eternity in hell?
Wow! That’s pretty heavy stuff there Jesus. But it’s exactly what He means. To make it even more difficult, our friends and neighbors are going to think we’re crazy because we don’t take part in every social event that’s happening (1 Peter 4:4). When we are totally committed to Christ, we’ll make these sacrifices in order to serve our heavenly Father and in the end, it will be worth it all. Jesus also said, “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” (Matt. 16:25).
Jay Launius – 2021
Maud church of Christ
Maud, Texas
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Elders
Leon Cort
Mark Craigwell
Raleigh Gallington
Carlfred Malcolm
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Minister
Mark Craigwell
Assistant Minister
Denver Simmons
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Deacons
Anthony Johnson
Gregory Johnson
Albert Martin, Jr.
Walter Maxwell
Richard Meuse
Barry Person
Jason Reid
In Memoriam
Gone, but never forgotten, our beloved brother,
James W. Wade, Sr.
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Sermon for Sunday, March 9, 2025
Title: The Fallen Faithful
Text: Romans 3:23-26
Speaker: Bro. Mark A. Craigwell
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REMEMBER TO SET YOUR CLOCKS AHEAD ONE HOUR ON SATURDAY NIGHT. MOST SMART PHONES AND ELECTRONIC DEVICES WILL AUTOMATICALLY MAKE THE CHANGE. | |
Final Arrangements for Mr. James McLaurin | |
Final Arrangements for Sis. Barbara Malcolm | |
MISSION HILL WOMEN WRITERS GROUP ANNUAL ANTHOLOGY READING | |
Sis. Sandra Wade is a member of this group and will be reading some of her work at the Annual Anthology Reading on March 15th. All are welcome to attend. Click anywhere in the announcement above to attend via Zoom if you cannot attend in person. The program runs from 1:00 until 2:30 p.m. | |
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Roxbury Christian Academy
The Church of Christ in Roxbury is in the process procuring a facility to open the Roxbury Christian Academy, a new Church of Christ elementary school in Boston, MA. Our plan is to begin operation in September 2025 and we solicit your prayers in this undertaking
Our Challenge and Request
We are in the process of securing the financing for the school and your pledges and donations will help greatly in that process. We have a signed Purchase & Sales agreement with the seller and are working with lenders. Several of these have declined and those remaining are very interested in the financial support we can gather and anticipate for this effort. It is a very large undertaking for a congregation of our size.
We invite/encourage you to make pledges toward the school for donations to be completed later in the year – please complete the linked pledge form – or to make immediate donations using this donate link, which is exclusively for this effort.
Note: If we are ultimately unable to complete the current process, we will refund your donations. We are committed to opening a Christian school in Boston and will redirect our efforts to other methods and facilities for opening a school if the current effort cannot be completed.
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UPDATED TRANSPORTATION PROCEDURES
Effective immediately, members who wish to request van transportation for Sunday morning services must sign up at least 24 hours prior to requested pick up time via a link that will be provided each week. If you are unable to sign up using the link to the sign-up form, please contact Bro. or Sis. Reid to sign up.
Link for Sunday, March 16, 2025
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Don't Miss Out! Please scroll through the entire e-bulletin each week to be certain not to miss any important announcements or links. Many items are repeated each week, but there are also new announcements that you'll miss if you don't scroll through the entire bulletin.
Current and Upcoming Events
Mission Hill Women Writers Group Annual Anthology Reading: Sis. Sandra Wade invites all to join her in person or via Zoom, as she reads some of her writing at this annual event on Saturday, March 15th at 1:00 p.m. See News & Notes Section for details.
Third Sunday Fellowship: Sunday, March 16th, hosted by the Bedford Street Church of Christ in Abington. See Upcoming Events for details.
Inspire New England Conference: March 21-22 at the Manchester Church of Christ in Manchester, CT. See Upcoming Events for details and cost.
Northeastern Youth Conference in Newark, NJ: April 11-13. Open to all youth and their parents. A sign-up sheet will be posted on the Youth & Family bulletin board. See Youth & Family Ministry section for details.
Comic Camp: Roxbury: April 21-25 at the Roxbury Branch of Boston Public Library. See Upcoming Events for details.
New England Bible Institute Church Leadership Conference: April 25-26, in Farmington, CT.
Warwick CoC Youth Rally: Saturday, April 26th. Featured speaker, Bro. Phillip Morrison, Jr. See Youth & Family Ministry section for details.
Ministry Meetings and Events
The Singles’ Ministry meets the 1st and 3rd Mondays of the month at 6:30 p.m. at the church building.
The Couples’ Ministry has resumed meeting the 2nd and 3rd Friday of the month via Zoom. See Couples' Ministry section below for connection information.
Young Adult Ministry Bi-Weekly Devotional: Every other Monday at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom. See Young Adult Ministry section below for connection information.
Tech Day: 3rd Saturday of the month, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. at the church building. Bring your cell phones, tablets, and laptops for help with your tech issues. See Bro. Javier Jackson, Jr., or Bro. Jerard Samuel for details. Sign-up sheets will be posted monthly.
Community Outreach: Our next monthly community outreach grocery distribution will take place on Saturday, March 22nd at 9:30 a.m. at the church building. All are welcome to participate.
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The congregation is requesting member support of its Mission Fund as we provide an educational stipend to Bro. Phillip Morrison while he attends Sunset International Bible Institute full time for the next 18 months to train as a minister. We are asking members to commit/pledge at whatever amount your heart and ability can provide for this period of time. This is a commitment over and above your regular giving and we hope all members will participate to the level of their ability and heart for God. Our target is to provide $3,000 per month and all commitments, whether large or small, are helpful and appreciated.
Please make checks and money orders payable to Church of Christ in Roxbury and write Mission Fund in the memo line.
Electronic donations may be made via the E-Giving option at ChurchofChristinRoxbury.org/e-giving. Specify Mission Fund in the comments section.
Click here to complete the pledge form electronically.
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OUR CURRENT COVID PROTOCOLS | |
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Until further notice, we have suspended the requirement for attendees to sign up in advance to attend Sunday worship. We have also suspended attendance taking at our in-person services, classes, and events. Masking remains optional.
Remember that although COVID numbers are down, COVID has not gone away, and is one of the leading causes of death in the United States. Please protect yourself and those around you by adhering to the guidelines below.
If you test positive for COVID after attending an in-person church event, please notify us by email at cocroxbury@gmail.com or by text to Sis. Gloria Gallington at 617-922-5987 so that notifications can be made as needed.
For up-to-date information regarding COVID in Massachusetts, click the link below:
COVID-19 Updates and Information | Mass.gov
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We will continue to offer two Sunday morning worship services to accommodate in-person attendees
The first service begins at 8:30 a.m. and runs until approximately 9:45 a.m.; the second service begins at 11:00 a.m. Our weekly Bible classes for all ages begin at 10:00 a.m. We will continue to livestream the 11:00 service on our YouTube channel, and we encourage members to utilize e-giving, even when attending in person. As noted under News & Notes, it is no longer necessary to sign up in advance to attend worship services in person.
E-giving link
https://churchofchristinroxbury.org/e-giving
Livestream link
Church of Christ in Roxbury - YouTube
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Our next monthly community outreach grocery distribution will take place on Saturday, March 22, 2025, at 9:30 a.m. at the church building. All are welcome to participate. Distribution begins at 11:00 a.m. | |
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Remote & In-Person
Class/Meeting Schedule
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Wednesday Night In-Person & Dial-In Bible Study
Wednesday evenings at 6:30 p.m. in-person and via freeconferencecall.com.
Dial in number: 978-990-5000
Access Code: 261232#
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REMINDER: Please remember to mute your phone or computer when joining any of the above conference calls to avoid interrupting the class or service you are entering, particularly if you are joining the call after the event has started. | |
The Couples' Ministry meets the second and third Fridays of the month at 7:00 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Meetings resumed on Friday, January 10, 2025. | |
Ladies' Day 2025, Saturday March 8th Tirrell Room, Quincy Massachusetts
"Labor of Love" (Proverbs 31:18)
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Jamila Lyiscott
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Our next Women's Class will take place on Sunday, March 23rd at 5:00 p.m at the church building and via Free Conference Call.
Dial in number: 978-990-5000
Access Code: 261232#
Or join the class online at join.freeconferencecall.com/carl95fred
The book we will be reading for 2025 is Consider One Another by Aubrey Johnson. It is available from Amazon.com for $13.99 plus tax.
Please see Sis Gallington to pick up your book if you ordered through her.
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2025 Mature in Heart Pennsylvania Dutch Country Excursion: Thursday, September 18 - Friday, September 19
Single Hotel -- $574
Double Hotel -- $441
Triple Hotel -- $402
Quad Hotel -- $383
Couple King -- $915
$125 Deposit ASAP to secure a spot
Must be paid in full by July 31st
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Next men's class is Sunday, March 23rd at 5 p.m. at the church building.
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Registration is now open. Scan the QR code above to register. Reduced registration fee has been extended to committee members until 3/30/25. If you would like to be sponsored please see Sis Juanita Tabb ASAP. | |
The Singles' Ministry now meets the 1st and 3rd Mondays of the month at 6:30 p.m. at the building. | |
Young Adult Ministry (YAM) | |
Black History Month Book Report Competition: The Youth & Family Ministry is sponsoring a Black History Month Book Report Competition, in which all elementary, middle and high school students are invited to participate. Reports are due on February 23rd – elementary school students (2 pages); middle school students (2-3 pages); high school students (3 pages). Reports must include details about the leader’s upbringing, education, early activism and key turning points and their impact on social movements. Prizes will be awarded to the authors of the winning submissions. | |
Monthly Ministry Meeting
1st Sunday of each month at 1:00 p.m.
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Meetings & Events
3/2 - Youth & Family Ministry Meeting, 2pm @church building.
3/3 - Ministers'/Elders'/Deacons' Meeting, 7pm
3/3 - Singles' Ministry Meeting, 6:30pm @church building.
3/8 - Roxbury 2025 Ladies' Day, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. @The Tirrell Room in Quincy
3/9 - Deacons' Meeting
3/9 - Spiritual Development Class, 4:45 p.m. @church building
3/16 - Retention Ministry Meeting after 11:00 a.m. service.
3/16 - Area-Wide Fellowship, 3 p.m. Bedford St. CoC
3/17 - Singles' Ministry Meeting, 6:30pm @church building.
3/21-22 - Inspire New England Conference @Manchester CoC, Manchester, CT
3/22 - Community Outreach, 9:30am @church building.
3/23 - Men's/Women's Classes, 4:45 p.m. @church building
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Ministry Meetings - Please contact your ministry coordinator for remote meeting schedules.
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- Sunday New Converts' Class, 10:00am @church building
- Sunday Bible Class (children) Sundays at 10:00am @church building
- Sunday Adult Devotional/Bible Study, 10:00am @church building
- Sunday Worship Service 8:30 and 11:00am in person and 11:00am via livestream on YouTube. See above for details.
- Men's/Women's Classes, 5pm (4th Sunday of the month) @church building unless otherwise noted.
- Youth & Family Ministry (1st Sunday of the month at 2pm)
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Mature in Heart Women's Prayer (Tuesdays @ 10:30am) VIA TELECONFERENCE (connection info above)
- Prayer Meeting (Tuesdays @ 7pm) VIA TELECONFERENCE (connection info above)
- Mid-Week Bible Study (Wednesdays @ 6:30pm) in person and VIA TELECONFERENCE (connection info above)
- Mid-Week New Converts' Class (Wednesdays @ 6:30pm) @church building
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Healing Hearts (Thursdays @6:15pm) VIA ZOOM
- Couple's Ministry (2nd & 3rd Fridays @ 7 pm)
- Retention Ministry (3rd Sunday following 11:00 service)
- Women's Prayer (Saturdays 9:30am) VIA TELECONFERENCE (Connection info above)
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Close to Him Ministry is an inspiring organization that welcomes both curious seekers and devoted Christians.
They embark on a journey to ignite your faith and bring you closer to God. Whether you’re already on a path of belief or just starting to explore, they offer a warm space to delve into the richness of the Christian faith.
Close to Him Ministry was founded by Bro. Frank Addae. Its mission is to spread the Word of God, provide evidence of His existence, and guide both Christians and non-Christians towards a deeper more meaningful relationship with Him. For more information or to subscribe to Close to Him Ministry, follow this link:
https://www.youtube.com/@ClosetoHimMinistry
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Bro. John Kurpiel, minister for the Lawrence congregation, hosts an international radio program, “Soul Food,” on Mondays and Tuesdays from 11AM until 3PM. The program airs on Ignite Radio Broadcast via Mixlr, an interactive internet radio platform. Use the link below to tune in to listen, or to participate in the conversation. Always free to listen. https://mixlr.com/ignite-radio-broadcast.
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Church of Christ in Roxbury
81 Walnut Avenue
Roxbury, MA 02119
617-442-5826
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