Home

Worship Services

Sermons and Classes

Location

Contacts

Bulletins

Links
Bulletin cover

February 16, 2014

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

LADIES: Let Julie Marcussen know if you will read Christian Woman magazine if she orders one or two to be passed around so that everyone can read it. There are great articles by Christian women in this magazine, but if no one is going to read them, we will not order it.

NEW CLASS ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Starting this coming Wednesday, we will begin a study of Abraham. We did a class on Moses at the end of last year, and several people expressed the feeling that it was very helpful and some new ideas and understandings came out of the study. Abraham is another great biblical hero, and we need to understand how he got to be such a pillar of faith, and how our beliefs are tied to him.

TUESDAY NIGHT CLASS AT CLAYTONS': This coming Tuesday will mark the area wide fellowship and Bible study at Claytons'. Christians from all over Michiana gather to study God's Word and to have a time of fellowship and sharing. This class has been going on for over 30 years, and has 20 – 30 people coming. Join us at 7:00 and share in good Christian fellowship, snacks, and Bible study. Just come and bring your Bible, nothing else is needed. If you need directions, see John.

TODAY'S LESSON

THE DEVIL'S WEEDS

 Sound on icon

John Clayton
INTRODUCTION
A. Satan — the opposing spirit.
B. There are two types of beings that exist.
1. Time dependent sentient beings like us
2. Beings that do not experience time — angels.
C. The battle between good and evil involves us.
1. Ephesians 3:8 – 10
2. Ephesians 6:11 – 12
3. Job 1 & 2
D. We become time independent when we die.
1. Revelation 21:3 – 
2. Mark 12:25
E. Evil is a choice of sentient beings.
F. We need to understand what Satan is, how he works.
I. SATAN SOMETIMES WORKS WITH BRUTE FORCE.
A. This can be in the name of religion:
1. KKK
2. Crusades
3. Islam
4. Mormonism
B. Atheism can be used — Peter Singer, Mao, Stalin
C. Does not work, not Satan's M.O.
II. SATAN MAINLY MIXES BAD SEED WITH GOD'S GOOD SEED.
A. Matthew 13:24 – 30
1. Notice bad seed resembles wheat.
2. The world has a mix — war, beauty, power, food, sex, sensual pleasure, lust, politics, joy, love.
3. Church has a mix too — all the problems.
B. Jesus'solution — Matthew 7:15 – 20
III. SATAN SOWS SECRETLY — "AT NIGHT"
A. God does what he does in the open.
1. Why do we print the sermon in the bulletin, online?
2. Food pantry, coats, help for needy
B. When we serve Satan we hide it — personal.
1. Expect to be surprised by evil.
IV. SATAN TRIES TO IMITATE GOD'S WHEAT — HIS GOOD THINGS.
A. False religious teachers are as old as time.
B. Jeremiah gives five tests to give preachers.
1. Jeremiah 23:9 – 14 — Morals
2. Jeremiah 23:16 – 17 — Source
3. Jeremiah 23:21 – 22 — Integrity
4. Jeremiah 23:29 – 32 — Whose words
5. Jeremiah 23:33 – 36 — Opinions
V. ULTIMATE ANSWER TO SATAN WILL COME.
A. Matthew 13:29 – 30 — At the end, Satan will lose.
B. Revelation 20:7 – 15

THE BACK PAGE

OPTIONS FOR 2014

Believe it or not, spring is coming. The grass will turn green and the big pile of snow between us and the garage next door will melt and the moles will start tearing up the front yard. One neat thing about spring and summer is that we can get to the building without having to worry about ice and snow making the trip dangerous. Our attendance will go up and we will be working on cleaning the building and getting the flowers planted outside.

With the coming of better weather, we need to plan for the outreaches we are going to make to the community in the coming year. We are not here to keep house and make our property look good. We are here to preach the gospel of Christ to a lost and dying world, and to reach out in a special way to the Dowagiac/Niles/Cassopolis/Eau Claire area. There are a variety of things we can do, and here is a partial list for you to look at, think about, pray about, and talk about.

  1. Fair exhibits: We have last summer's booth from the Cass county fair, and we can do that fair or some of the other fairs in the area.
  2. Area wide singing: Invite other congregations and the community to join us in a singing of gospel hymns and songs and spiritual songs. In the past our sister congregations have come, but the community has made a small response.
  3. Gospel meeting: Invite a brother from outside the area to come and preach a gospel meeting here in our building/inviting the community and sister congregations to come.
  4. Have a VBS with classes for all ages: We could solicit help from a Christian College or a large sister congregation.
  5. Community special issue meeting: Have a guest speaker on a topic of widespread interest to be held on a neutral site.
  6. Special class: A lady's class or special topic class well advertised to the community.

We will have a congregational meeting soon to talk about our plans.

— John Clayton