May 26, 2013 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. Thank you for worshipping with us.

FAMILY NEWS

NEW SHORT CLASS ON SUNDAYS: Karl and Julie will be going to Florida to visit grandkids in June and are gone today so we are taking a break from our Sunday morning Bible study on Acts until June 30 and study Ecclesiastes. That began today, and if you have not been coming because of winter and time problems, now would be a good time to change your habit and join us every Sunday at 10:00.

HARASEWICZ FAMILY AT MISHAWAKA: Jim and Brenda are going to be worshipping with our brethren in Mishawaka beginning today, so they can be more actively involved in the Lord's work. Their efforts to address the needs of family have confined them to Indiana, and while we will miss them we applaud them for wanting to not be superficially involved in the Lord's work.

CASS COUNTY FAIR BOOTH FINALIZED: We have contracted for banners for our booth, and the preparation of materials and the exhibit is underway. Please keep July 29 – August 3 open to work in the booth.

TODAY'S LESSON

MEMORIAL DAY

THE BACK PAGE

MEMORIAL DAY — AN EVOLUTION

It began as Decoration Day when immediately after the Civil War people designated a special day to decorate the graves of those who died in the Civil War. By the end of the nineteenth century, people were putting an American flag on every grave in the national cemeteries. In the early twentieth century the name was changed to Memorial Day because people were visiting the graves of relatives in church cemeteries whether they had served in the military or not. The gradual change of the purpose of Memorial Day was considered to be a good thing, to bring people in touch with the modern times in which we live.

As the twentieth century rolled along, a day was added to the weekend when people did not have to work because people needed time to reflect on the sacrifices that had been made in the past to allow Americans to enjoy the freedom we have. Gradually that was forgotten and the day became a day for family gatherings, and events were added to facilitate family activities — the most notable being the Indianapolis 500 race which was added in 1911. With that success other events have been added and the tourist industry has designated the day as the beginning of the tourist season. The Coca-Cola 600 stock car race was started in 1961, the Memorial Tournament golf event in 1976.

As a country we have moved from a day that began as a solemn reminder of the tragedy of civil war and the incredible pain and loss that it brought, to a day that features barbecues, events with massive use of alcohol, an emphasis on pleasure and entertainment, and virtually no mention of its original purpose.

The same evolutionary process is happening with Sunday. Sunday was the day the Christians came together to give (1 Corinthians 16:1), to engage in the Lord's Supper and to have God's word preached to them (Acts 20:7). It has turned into a day of secular entertainment, special events, and recreation. Where will you be tonight? Are we as a body evolving into something better, or de-evolving into the world?

— John Clayton