June 8, 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

SOMETHING NEW NEXT SUNDAY: We are planning to try something new for our adult Bible class for the next two Sundays. Instead of having our class in the auditorium in a lecture type of format, we are going to try a discussion class on the subject of submission in the fellowship area. We will have the tables in a closed setup so we are all facing one another and we will discuss the topic. Bring a beverage. Study Hebrews 13:17; Ephesians 5:21– 22; Colossians 3:18; 1 Peter 5:5; and James 4:7. The class will start at 10:00 a.m.

SHULTS-LEWIS AND INDOGAN COMMODITIES REQUESTED: One of the ways we support programs for young people is to assist organized efforts in our area to serve them. Shults Lewis Children's Home in Valparaiso, who we help, has asked us to collect all kinds of sauces for them to use in feeding their children. Bring any sauce you would like and we will relieve their needs by giving them everything from barbecue sauce to Picante. Camp Indogan has asked us to collect saltines and cake mixes for the same purpose. Just bring what you can and leave it on the pew in the lobby.

TODAY'S LESSON

PSALM 119
John Clayton

THE BACK PAGE

WHOSE RESPONSIBILITY?

Next Sunday is “Father's Day.” Mother's Day is one of the most important commercial holidays of the year. There are more flowers and special meals on Mother's Day than any other secular holiday. It is also one of the busiest days of the year for “upscale” restaurants (not fast food places), i would suggest to you that “Father's Day” is of a much lesser recognition because the role of “Father” is so poorly defined. It is pretty easy for a man to impregnate a woman and thus be a “father” in a biological sense. For most people today, it has become pretty clear that this process does not really define being a father. Science has now eliminated the necessity of the male in the reproductive process, and artificial insemination has grown in popularity in our secular society.

Lack of faith in the Bible as God's Word for man is a primary cause of this whole picture. In rejecting the Bible as the sole guide for our lives, mankind has undermined the role of father. In passages like Ephesians 6:4 and Colossians 3:21 it is the father who is addressed by God as having the responsibility of leading the children to success in life, and these passages talk about doing so without provocation or discouragement. As men have shied away from faith and obedience to God, women have had to step up and assume responsibility for the raising of the child. This has evolved into a general rejection of fatherhood as a role for the male.

Being the kind of father God calls men to be is hard, and most men are too afraid to even attempt it. A great comic of our time has said “Being a father is hard, I know because I is one.” I have to “amen” that statement. Even under the best of conditions kids are affected by the media, by peers, by school, and even video games. Daily interaction with love, affection, and concern are important for a child to grow up to be a success. Many of our children are ignorant of God's Word. Come next Sunday as we talk about the role of the Father and what God expects of us as Christian men.

— John Clayton