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September 15, 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

TUESDAY SENIOR DEVOTIONAL: For some 40 years now, there has been a devotional and fellowship time for adults in the home of a member of the Church in the Michiana area. For the past 15 years that get together has been at the home of John and Cynthia Clayton. Christians from the Michiana area meet at 7:00 and have a devotional together followed by snacks and fellowship. We have between 20 and 30 people who come from all over the area and from a number of congregations. Join us! This Tuesday 7:00 at 1555 Echo Valley Drive, Niles. See John or Cynthia if you need directions.

MEETINGS: There are opportunities for spiritual growth and fellowship in the area with a variety of meetings and lectureships. We are posting them on the bulletin board and we encourage you to to check them out.

NEXT SUNDAY — September 22: Jim Harasewicz will be speaking for us as a guest speaker at the 11:00 worship service. We will also have a guest speaker on the 29th.

TODAY'S LESSON

WHAT KIND OF FAITH DO YOU HAVE?

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INTRODUCTION — 40% of Americans say “None.”
A. “Do Churches Produce Atheists?” by Wayne Turner
1. They have not been shown how we know God is.
2. Good questions have not been answered.
3. They have seen a lack of commitment in adults.
a. Priorities, choices exclude God — hypocrisy
4. They see no importance in having faith.
a. Have not seen life changing faith — Galatians 5:22.
b. Irrelevant to sex and marriage is vilified.
B. WHAT KIND OF FAITH DO YOU HAVE?
I. MANY OF US HAVE AN INHERITED FAITH = Acceptance.
A. Parental pressure (rather than example)
B. Becoming independent means dropping all beliefs
II. MANY OF US HAVE BLIND FAITH — Based on feelings
A. Why do you believe? = Shrugged shoulders
B. Stampeded into faith on an emotional level.
C. Emotions can be + or -. Psalms 10 & 13, i.e.
III. WE NEED TO HAVE EVIDENTIAL FAITH.
A. Romans 1:20; Psalm 19:1; Psalm 139:14; Proverbs 8
IV. GOD CALLS US TO ANSWER FAITH CHALLENGES.
A. 1 Peter 3:15; Acts 17:16 – 31
B. Overcoming unbelief — Mark 9:22 – 24
1. Doubt is not bad — unresolved doubt is.
C. Thomas — an example of resolved doubt
John 11:16; 20:24 – 29
V. GOD NEVER CALLED MAN TO BLIND FAITH
A. Proverbs 8:1 – 11 and 22 – 31
B. Matthew 6:26 – 30
C. Romans 1:18, 25
VI. PLAN OF SALVATION REQUIRES A THINKING RESPONSE.

THE BACK PAGE

“HELP MY UNBELIEF?”

One of the most moving stories for me as the father of a multiply handicapped child, is the story of the distraught father in Mark 9:20 – 27. This was a father whose son was a victim of constant epileptic-like grand mal seizures. Verse 20 describes in graphic terms a child falling to the ground, foaming at the mouth, and rolling around on the ground. The father comes to Jesus and, in highly charged emotional terms, cries out “if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” I know the feeling of helplessness that this father and mother were going through. I have cried out to God for help in what appeared to be a hopeless situation when everything you know has been tried and nothing works.

Jesus responds by saying, “If you can? Everything is possible for him who believes.” The father wants to believe that he finally has an answer for his son's affliction, but he is wracked with doubt because he has had hopes in the past and everything has failed. He cries out in agony,“I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief.” Have you ever cried out to God about your unbelief — about your doubt? The father desperately wanted to believe Jesus could solve his problem, but he had been let down before, and he knew little about who Jesus was.

Our lesson today involves the struggle with faith. Many of us have an acceptance of God's existence when our daily lives are going well and we are not threatened with painful situations beyond our control. Eventually Satan will bring a problem into our lives which will challenge our faith. My faith has been tested many times in my life. Probably the most difficult time was when my child was thethreatened with multiple handicaps. Each time a new problem surfaced — blindness, retardation, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, and schizophrenia — I had to decide whether to maintain my faith in God or not.

We do not know what happened to the father or the son in the story. I am sure people gave him all kinds of explanations which did not involve God. So also today help comes, and we may explain it away rather than view it as God's action. The church family, medical help — God sends help in many ways. God, help our unbelief; let us have faith that sustains us in the struggles of life.

— John Clayton