Home

Worship Services

Location

Contacts

Bulletins

Links
February 6, 2011

FAMILY NEWS

POTLUCK TODAY. This is our normal monthly time of eating and fellowshipping together. If you did not bring anything, do not worry about it. We have plenty and want you to stay.

CONGREGATIONAL MEETING. After the potluck we will have a short meeting together to listen to different ideas about what our mission objective should be, and what we as a group want to have planned for the coming year, and hopefully for several years into the future. You have been given a sheet with some ideas, and the back page of this bulletin has some possible areas to look at that we might use. Write out your ideas and give it to Bill Gibson or John Clayton and we will let everyone know what people are thinking should be our goals for the next 12, 24, 36, 48, and 60 months ahead and beyond.

SUPER BOWL TONIGHT. All of us are aware that tonight is the Super Bowl. Even though not all of us care, we are going to have a special evening together at Tracey and Larry Brewer's house immediately after services tonight. If you have not signed up on the bulletin board in the lobby to come, do that before you leave this morning so the Brewers know how many pizzas to order. Bring your own drink and something to go with the pizza--chips, salad, fruit, etc. Some of us will watch the game and some will not, but all of us will have a time of togetherness and maybe some discussion of the plans for the coming year.

SPECIAL CONCERNS. Be sure to get one of the sheets that has a listing of people who are ill or have special needs. Use the sheet to send a card, make a phone call, and especially to include them in your prayers. The Foxes should be in Florida now, and hopefully Larry will not have another Florida accident. Dave Pickens, our octogenarian (just celebrated his 80th birthday) has some blockages in the veins in his legs, and is to have treatment to clear the blockages. Keep Thelma Raab in your prayers. John and Cynthia Clayton leave tomorrow for Alamosa and Grand Junction, Colorado. John for a lectureship next weekend and Cynthia to take care of her mother for several weeks as there are a number of illnesses in her family that are taxing their ability to care for her.

TODAY'S LESSON


THE LOWER LIGHTS
Matthew 5:14-16
Song 397--Let the Lower Lights Be Burning
 
INTRODUCTION--Ever try to beach a boat in a storm?
Rocks, jetties, moored boats
Cleveland late 1800s Phillip Bliss
The world around us is in a spiritual storm.
JESUS IS GOD'S LIGHT--THE LIGHTHOUSE
John 1:1-5 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God from the first and everything came into existence through Him and no single thing was made without Him. It was by Him that life began to exist and this life was the Light of mankind. His life is the light that shines through the darkness and the darkness can never extinguish it."
WE MUST BE A "LOWER LIGHT
1 John 1:5-8; Romans 7:14-8:2
It is easy to be a light in today's world.
John 1:6 - 9 We are a lower light
Ephesians 5: 8-14
Colossians 1: 13
Has responsibility--take it seriously--1 Thessalonans 5:5-11
A key to doing this--Philippians 2:14-16
Making it so others can see--Matthew 5:16; 1 John 1:5
Notice "your light." Not all lights are the same.
"This Little Light of Mine, I'm going to make it shine, make
it shine all the time. Put it under a bushel 'no!' won't let
Satan 'whoose it out' I'm going to make it shine "
Ever been in a cave with one candle?
HOW DO WE BECOME "LOWER LIGHTS?"
Every human being has the capacity to be a light.
We are born "lights."
Matthew 18:2-5; Mark 10:14-15; Luke 18:16-17
"Paidion - little child
We choose darkness--1 John 1:8-10.
God wants to restore us--Romans 6:3-14.
If no one lights the candle, there is still darkness.
The Holy Spirit lights our spiritual light--Acts 2:38-39.
Be a lower light--let your light shine
When a light goes out, what do you do? 

LEADERSHIP


We have had several questions in the "question box" in recent weeks concerning leadership in the Church. Like a lot of things, leadership takes time to build. Historically we know that congregations were established and functioned without elders during the first century, but the apostles dealt with that through their authority. In Acts 14:21 Paul and Barnabas worked with congregations in Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch. In verse 22 we read that teaching and exhorting was done with these fledgling congregations, and later in verse 23 we see Paul and Barnabas "ordaining elders in every Church." In Titus 1:5 Paul instructs Titus to ordain elders in every Church--so Churches were functioning without elders until God led them to the spiritual level required for elders to be secured. In Titus 1:7-9 we read about Titus being told how to recognize a man qualified to be an elder. In Timothy similar instructions are given in 1 Timothy 3, and in 1 Timothy 4:14 the laying on of hands of the presbytery (or elder) is referred to as a gift that Timothy had to meet that need.

We are not told how these infant congregations functioned without elders before elders were appointed, but it appears that their size made shepherds unnecessary. Elders are not business managers, CEOs, dictators, or corporate decision makers. Elders are shepherds, spiritual doctors, Bible scholars, teachers, encouragers, examples, and are charged with the spiritual health of the congregation. In a congregation as small as this one is, all of these things have to be done by the group, and for the most part we do it well here.

One thing elders are charged to do is to lead the congregation in evangelism, in promoting the gospel of Christ in the world around us. When we do not have elders, that leadership has to come from within all of us. In the past two weeks we have encouraged everyone who is a member of the Church here to give some thought and prayer to how we should do this. We cannot justify our existence if all we are doing is to maintain a nice physical structure for ourselves and our families. God has blessed us with some very talented people in our midst. We have half a dozen women who have nursing skills and training. We have five or six men who know about motors and engines and repairing problems in a house. We have a dozen members with good culinary skills. We have a dozen members capable of conducting meaningful classes for all age levels. Please write down your ideas and thoughts of where we as a congregation should go and this afternoon let us listen to each other's ideas.