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June 30, 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

FOURTH CELEBRATION: The Gibson's have a tradition we have participated in for many years now, and that is a cookout and fireworks celebration on the Fourth of July. This year it will be on Saturday, July 6. Bill and Patty will have burgers, hotdogs, drinks, etc., and the rest of us are to bring chips, salad, or dessert. Be at their house at 6:00 to enjoy time together, and bring a lawn chair because at “dark-o-clock” as Bill calls it, there will be a fireworks display over the lake. It is quite a show because usually people in the campground compete with Bill with their own fireworks. Come and join the fun.

POTLUCK NEXT SUNDAY: Next Sunday will be the first Sunday of the month, and we will have our monthly potluck. Plan to come and enjoy a good meal together.

ONE MONTH TO THE FAIR: A month from today we will be setting up our booth at the Cass County Fair. The balloons, magnets, emery boards etc. are here and the banners, handout sheets, and exhibit boards are under construction.

TODAY'S LESSON

FREEDOM

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Acts 22:24-29
I. INTRODUCTION
A. Anti-lslam video showed what freedom is.
1. Other countries assume the government does it.
2. China and dissidents
B. In Paul's day you were born free or you bought it.
1. Leon Forbes and I have a different view.
2. We take for granted what we did not strive to achieve.
C. What does July 4 mean to you?
1. Fireworks? Cook outs?
D. Democracy: “A government in which the people hold supreme power.” — Webster
E. God calls all people to be free.
1. Free of what?
2. You can be free in a totalitarian state — Paul was.
a. Not as easy as we have it.
II. GOD WANTS US FREE OF SOCIAL BOUNDARIES.
A. Galatians 3:28
B. 1 Corinthians 10:27
C. 1 Corinthians 11:21
D. Romans 14:17 – 19
III. GOD WANTS US FREE OF POLITICAL BOUNDARIES.
A. Galatians 3:28
B. Matthew 22:17, 21
C. Romans 13:6 – 7
IV. GOD WANTS US FREE OF SPIRITUAL BOUNDARIES.
A. Galatians 3:28 – 29
B. Galatians 3:3 – 7
C. 1 Corinthians 10:23
D. Colossians 2:13 – 14 and 20 – 23
V. GOD WANTS US FREE OF THE CONTROL OF SIN.
A. What does meth do?
1. What does “addiction” mean — “To be habituated”
Habituate — habitat — “natural dwelling place”
B. All sin enslaves — God calls us to freedom
C. Romans 6:1 – 7 and 19 – 23


THE BACK PAGE

INDEPENDENCE DAY

This Thursday is a national holiday. The Fourth of July celebrates the “birth” of the great country in which we live. On July 4,1776 congress gave approval to the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain, although the date was not declared to be a paid Federal holiday until 1938. Politicians will make speeches, there will be a few parades, fireworks will be shot off by every town, and patriotic songs will be played and sung with red, white, and blue banners covering the areas where all of this is done.

It is man's selfish nature that attracts him to some kind of slavery. The great independence of 1776 was from a King far across the ocean who wanted to tax and control a people who were a mix of people from a dozen different nationalities, not just British. Since the revolutionary war we have had a series of wars to stop people from enslavement. The Civil War was perhaps the most tragic and least rational. Christian people know that God has created all of us to be equal (Galatians 3:28). The world wars were understandable as tyrants tried to take over weaker countries and had to be stopped to avoid enslavement to a political system far worse than the English monarchy.

In recent years America has been dragged into wars that are at least to some degree related to the selfish economic lust of our culture. We have gotten into wars where oil, gas, uranium, precious metals, rare chemicals, and food resources are the issue. The politics of trying to get the “right” leader in a foreign country so our economic stability is not threatened is so complex that it is very difficult to understand.

As Christians we are told over and over to learn to be content with what we have (see Philippians 4:11; Hebrews 13:5; 1 Timothy 6:8). We need to be independent from economic slavery, and understand that the road to peace and happiness does not lie in enslaving ourselves or anyone else to things. Be thankful for what you have and for living in America in precious freedom that few in this world have ever known.

— John Clayton