GOOD MORNING WEST OAKS FAMILY!

In 2009, William Faulkner's novel Absalom, Absalom! was named the best Southern novel of all time. The novel is set in 19th-century Mississippi and follows the greedy rise and tragic fall of the family of a would-be-Southern patriarch and aristocrat. Faulkner chose the title of his novel from the tragic story of King David and Absalom.

Absalom had a kingly and charismatic appearance but a self-serving bent. He gradually saw himself as a successor to his father's throne and began gathering supporters among the northern tribes of Israel to raise an army, mount a rebellion against his father, and take over the throne. But in a battle with King David's armies, Absalom was killed, (hung by his hair in a tree) throwing David into an extended season of grief. Even though Absalom was his enemy, David loved him unconditionally, even at the time of his death.

Loving an enemy unconditionally is the New Testament's picture of our salvation. Thank God today for His unconditional love which compelled him to send his only son Christ to die for us (Romans 5:10).

2 Samuel 19:4
But (King David) covered his face, and the king cried out with a loud voice, "O my son Absalom! O Absalom, my son, my son!"

PRAYER REQUESTS
Judy & Grayson Corder, Nancy Mosher ,Cephas Goodman (pneumonia), Jackie Freeman, Priscilla Laughlin, Duane and Sharalyn Boykin, and Donna Scott. Keep praying for Israel, our Pastor Tommy, our pastor's wife Teresa, and our school.

DID YOU KNOW?

• **The author of the hymn, 'What A Friend We Have In Jesus', Joseph Scriver, was born into a wealthy and devout family in Northern Sea Patrick, Ireland in 1819 & completed his education at Trinity College and shortly after graduation, his life took a tragic turn when just 1 day before his marriage his fiancee was thrown from her horse and drowned in the River Bann. Overwhelmed by grief, Scriven left Ireland for Canada, settling in Port Hope, Ontario, Canada. A decade after his first fiancee's death, Scriver fell in love with Eliza Roshe and tragedy struck again when she died from pneumonia. Despite these losses, his faith remained unwavering. In 1865, with the music of Charles Convers he wrote 'What A Friend We Have in Jesus' which originally was a poem he wrote to comfort his mother during one of her sorrowful times. It became one of the most beloved hymns worldwide. Joseph Scriver died of drowning in 1886.
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• **Interested in joining Zellwood Station West Oaks church members for lunch on the First Friday of each month? The next one is this Friday at 12:00 p.m. If so, send an e-mail to Karyn.Boatwright@kzoo.edu & she will tell you the venue. Please join us on the First Friday for Fellowship, Friendship, Family, Fun, Fried Foods, and Festive Frolicking

Wit and Wisdom

• Our church is prayer-conditioned.
• Suffering from truth decay? Brush up on your Bible.
• Compassion is difficult to give away because it keeps coming back.
• Worry is the darkroom in which negatives can develop.
• He who angers you controls you.
• Does the bible teach to kill another. . . or simply to die for another? [John 3:16].
• Be ye fishers of men -- you catch them & He'll clean them.
• Coincidence is when God chooses to remain anonymous.
• Follow the word of the Lord: "If anyone makes the statement: 'I love God', and yet is hating his brother, he is a liar" (John 4:20).