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October 14, 2012

WELCOME!
WE'RE GLAD YOU'RE HERE

We are a group of believers who simply try to follow the Bible as a guide for all we do. Everything done in our worship service is something for which we have a Bible basis. You are welcome to participate as much or as little as you wish. We will sing hymns together and we will observe the Lord's Supper or Communion together. We will also have an opportunity to give to the work of God in this area. This collection is for the members here, and if you are visiting you should not feel and pressure to give. Our lesson time will be divided into two groups. The young children will go to our classroom area in the basement where they will be taught the Bible at a level they can understand. The adults will stay in the auditorium for a lesson at an adult level. We do try to serve the community, and if you have some needs that we can help you with, mention it to one of the members.

FAMILY NEWS

NEW CONGREGATIONAL BROCHURE — We mentioned last week that we need to work on our image in the community, and two of the suggestions we made have been worked on by Karl Marcussen. One is a new color brochure that is based on materials we have used in the past — a four-color brief explanation of what makes us unique and what our belief system is and how we express it when we are together. Please get one and read it over (there is a copy available at this link. It is a pdf file and needs Acrobat Reader to open it). Any suggestions are welcomed. There is also a visitor card that is a improvement of previous cards we have had. When you have visitors, encourage them to fill out the card and give it to you or put it in the contribution plate. A welcome letter will be sent to them and the address will be used for that and to help them if they need assistance in some way. Be a part of this — greet visitors warmly and let them know we are glad they are here.

KID'S PROGRAM STILL ON — We had a weather postponement of the “Kid's Day” Saturday at Gibsons. It is now scheduled for October 20 at 1:00 at Pitcher Lake. See the Gibsons if you have a question about it, and plan to come and be a part of it.

TODAY'S LESSON

THE RESULTS OF SALVATION, NOW AND LATER

Isaiah 12:2

INTRODUCTION
A. What have you gained by becoming a Christian?
B. For many people there are false expectations.
1. “God is my salvation.”
2. Not “heaven is now.”
C. The plan of salvation makes sense.
1. Believe — Mark 16:16; John 3:15, 36; 1 Corinthians 1:21; Galatians 3:33; Hebrews 10:39
2. Repent — Luke 13:3; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 17:30; Romans 6
3. Confess — Romans 10:9; Matthew 10:32; 1 John 4:15; 2 John 7
4. Baptism — 1 Peter 3:21; Acts 22:16; 16:33; Romans 6
5. The Christian life — 2Timothy 4:7 –10
SALVATION HAS OTHER BENEFITS.
A. Isaiah 53:5 — peace healing
B. John 10:10 — Purposeful life, full life
C. John 11:25-26
SALVATION BRINGS STABILITY — I will trust and not be afraid.
A. Numbers 23:19 — You can trust God.
B. Matthew 6:25 – 53 — Trust God to provide.
C. Isaiah 58:11,13 — Trust the plan of God.
D. You and those you love need stability.
SALVATION BRINGS STRENGTH — “The Lord is my strength.”
A. Isaiah 40:31 — God does provide strength — all kinds.
B. Matthew 6:11 — Our daily bread
C. Philippians 14:13 — DO YOU BELIEVE THIS?
SALVATION BRING GOD'S SONG -“and my song.”
A. Psalm 100:2
B. Psalm 40:2, 3 — IS THIS TRUE?
C. Acts 2:46 — “Glad and sincere hearts”
D. Ephesians 5:19 — “Make music in your heart.”
SALVATION IS MY SAFETY (SALVATION).
A. My way of escape — 1 Corinthians 10:13
B. Psalm 46:1
C. Psalm 23
D. 2 Corinthians 5:17 — We are a new creation — past is behind us.
HAVE YOU REJECTED ALL OF THIS? WHAT IS YOUR CHOICE?

FROM THE QUESTION BOX

“Who was the oldest man and how did he live that long?”

We get a lot of questions in the question box that no one can answer. That does not mean we cannot explore the questions and learn as much as we can. The above question is one of those questions.

The oldest man that is recorded for us in scripture is Methuselah who according to Genesis 5:27 lived 969 years. Methuselah's father Enoch lived 365 years and then according to Genesis 5:24 God took him from the earth, apparently without him dying. Enoch's father was Jared and according to Genesis 5:20 he lived 962 years. What is especially interesting is that this is the period right before the flood. Noah was Methuselah's grandson and God tells us in Genesis 6:3 that man's life expectancy was shortened to 120 years by the time of the flood, and Psalm 90:10 tells us that in David's time it was 70 to 80 years. It is worth mentioning that these long ages are not peculiar to the Bible. Babylonian records record a Babylonian king living over 1,000 years. Chinese and Egyptian records record rulers living over 900 years. From a scientific standpoint, we see no evidence of people living such astronomically long times. Does that make all these ancient records including the Bible myths?

We have said over and over in our Bible studies that to take the Bible literally, you have to look at who wrote it, to whom, and how people of the day would have understood it. Our calendar and our years are Gregorian years established after Christ died, and while we cannot be sure exactly what system was being used in Methuselah's day, it is certain that a different calendar was used than ours. The point of the ages being given in the Bible is for comparison not chronology, and there is no reason to doubt the accuracy of the Bible in this area, but there are questions we cannot answer. We need to take Acts 1:7 to be true in cases like this.