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October 11, 2009

TO OUR VISITORS


The family of God here at Dowagiac Church of Christ wishes to extend to you a warm welcome. If you have questions about our worship services and why we do what we do, we will be glad to give you a biblical answer. The uniqueness of the church of Christ is that we are trying to restore to the best of our ability those things that we see the first century church doing. We are also working hard at building the spirit, unity, and love that Jesus taught and prayed for. We have no clergy, but are working together as equal co-workers trying to serve one another and the area in which we live. Come study with us, grow with us, and serve with us as we strive to do God’s will in all things.

FAMILY NEWS

Willard Wall broke his leg this last week and needs a pin to help him heal. This is very painful, so keep Willard in your prayers. Audrey Gibson is to have cataract surgery Monday, so keep her in your prayers.
Brenda Harasewicz is recovering from her ear surgery. No report yet on how much of a gain she has had in her hearing.
The company that is going to fix our water problem in the basement starts their work on Monday. Our thanks to everyone who helped move everything out of the basement to allow this work to get done.

LADIES--SAVE OCTOBER 24! On October 24 at 6:00 PM the men of the congregation will serve a special "We Love you" meal to all of our ladies. The menu will be "Fall Specialties" and will include local meats and vegetables, salads, dmner rolls, and sumptuous desserts, all prepared by a gourmet cook. This will be served by the men who will serve and wait on the ladies. We will also have a program which will include the men's Thanksgiving for our Christian ladies and all they mean to the Lord's work in this area, and to every Christian man. We do need a count ladies, to know how much food to prepare.


TODAY'S LESSON

OVERCOMING MATERIALISM

INTRODUCTION--We have heard some lessons on the evil, materialism. Today let us talk about how we overcome materialis in practical terms.
GREAT WEALTHY DOES NOT SATISFY.
Ecclesiastes 2:1-11
Lottery winners lives are a disaster.
EcclesIastes 5:10--billionaires and life
NICE THINGS DO NOT LAST.
Remember when you got that ... Where is it now?
Isaiah 51:6
What does last?
POSSESSIONS ARE TOOLS IN GOD'S KINGDOM.
Mark 15:43-47; Luke 23:50-53--Joseph and the Tomb
John 12:1-8;Mark 14:1-9--Mary and the Nard
Mark 14:3--House of Simon the Leper
Matthew 21:2-3--The donkey
Look around you--your house, your car, your computer, your kitchen.
FAITHFUL USE OF THINGS BRINGS MORE.
Proverbs 11:25
Matthew 25: 14-30--talents. See verse 29--Refers to unused things not used faithfully! !
Is not an excuse for greed. 
James 4:1-4--This is a heart message.

PRAYER IN A SWEAT LODGE

Cynthia and I have been on the road for a long time now. We miss our family here, and we are getting pretty tired of the road, but until December we will continue to be domg programs mostly in the western United States. On this last trip we did a lectureship with a Navajo Indian congregation in Tuba City, Arizona, where Paul Ghee is the minister. Paul told me from the start that he wanted me to participate in an Navajo sweat lodge. I expressed doubt, but agreed to try because he thought it would impress the local Navajos.

The night we got there before the lectureship was to start, we were told that the sweat lodge was set up' and both of us could attend. Cynthia was all for it, but I still had my doubts. We drove some 15 miles out of town and then several miles across the desert until we came to what looked like an igloo made out of mud instead of ice. It was about 15 feet in diameter and in the center was a pile of very hot rocks that had been in a fire for many hours. The master of the lodge threw water on the rocks periodically so that the humidity was extremely high in addition to the temperature being maybe 150 degrees. A cowskin covered the door, and it was thrown back so we could enter and then sit cross legged on the floor. I went in and plopped down and looked around. There were a dozen people in the small room ranging from a seven-year-old child to a 80-year-old woman. As the cowskin closed, I realized I was not going to be able to sit in this environment for 90 minutes. I could not breath well, I was clostrophobic, and I hate heat, so I said I would participate from outside the lodge and excused myself. My wife said she would stay, saving face for her rather pathetic husband, and she did.

We have been studying prayer in Bible class on Sunday morning. What happened here was that everyone told of someone or something they wanted to pray for, with everyone sharing family problems, dreams, and hopes for the future. After everyone had voiced their prayer requests, everyone began praying out loud for every request that had been made except their own. As I sat there listening to a mixture of Navajo and English, children's and old timers' voices I thought about how God would view this kind of prayer. After an hour everyone came out of the lodge covered with sweat, united in spirit, and closer to one another having shared life and worship. I am sure God smiles at His purpose in prayer being fulfilled in a unique way. --John Clayton