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July 13, 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

FAIR IS LESS THAN A MONTH AWAY: Very shortly we will be setting up our fair booth at the Cass County Fair. We are going to repeat last year's exhibit on “Dandy Designs” with a few modifications. The booth got a lot of interest last year, and we will be having a special children's question board in addition to last year's adult boards. Be sure to save July 28 – August 2 to work the exhibit. We had a visitor recently from last summer's booth, and people have e mailed us wanting to know if we are doing the same booth this year, so we do have interest in the community.

Reminder: the SENIOR DEVO will not be held in July.

FROM THE CLAYTONS: The teen camp with 140 kids in Northwestern Ohio Christian Camp went very well, but we are still recovering from bugs, camp food, dirt, and constant talking. This Tuesday we hope to leave for the Lake Tahoe Family Encampment in California and some family visits on the west coast and at York College. We hope to be home by August 15. Please keep us in your prayers.

TODAY'S LESSON

BLESSED ARE THE MERCIFUL

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John Clayton
INTRODUCTION: BLESSED ARE THE MERCIFUL — Matthew 5:7. The beatitudes of Matthew 5 tell us what is needed for faith to begin and grow. As we grow older in faith, we should begin to reflect the image of God in our own lives — our lives should radiate our faith outward.
Take the quiz on the back page of this bulletin.
I. MERCY IS NOT JUST NOT GIVING FULL ATTACK.
A. Grace — the idea of undeserved favor — mercy
B. Mercy is God not giving us what we deserve.
1. Avoiding immediate consequences
2. Imagine getting zapped every time you sin.
C. If God were only righteous, he would be hard.
1. Demanding, Unapproachable
2. Sometimes parents, spouses are that way.
D. “Thou shalt not” tempered with “Father forgive.”
II. WE NEED SOLID STANDARDS TO LIVE BY.
A. Deuteronomy 7:9; 1 Chronicles 16:34; Joel 2:13
1. God's mercy relates him to our distress
2. Psalms 6:2 – 4; 25:7
3. Luke 18:13; Titus 3:4 – 6
B. God's mercy allows us to approach him.
1. Hebrews 4:16
III. THE BIBLE IS FULL OF EXAMPLES OF GOD'S MERCY.
A. Lot — Genesis 19:15 – 16
B. Matthew 17:18-20 — Disciples were paralyzed by not trusting God's mercy in hopeless situations.
1. Never believe God cannot forgive you.
2. Never give up on people or yourself.
C. The test — this is a staring place.
1. Jesus wants you to practice mercy — be different and radiate Christ by your mercy.

THE BACK PAGE

TAKE A TEST ON TODAY'S SUBJECT

Rate yourself from one to ten on the following characteristics, with a 1 for things you are very weak at and a 10 for things you are exceptionally strong at and need little or no improvement.

  1. What is your level of compassion for others?

    .....1.....2.....3.....4.....5.....6.....7.....8.....9.....10

  2. How do you respond to the needs of others?

    .....1.....2.....3.....4.....5.....6.....7.....8.....9.....10

  3. How harshly do you judge others?

    .....1.....2.....3.....4.....5.....6.....7.....8.....9.....10

  4. How easy is it for you to be kind to others?

    .....1.....2.....3.....4.....5.....6.....7.....8.....9.....10

  5. What is your capacity to not seek revenge?

    .....1.....2.....3.....4.....5.....6.....7.....8.....9.....10

  6. Can you stand for what is true without destroying others in the process?

    .....1.....2.....3.....4.....5.....6.....7.....8.....9.....10

This is a part of our lesson today. It is between you and God, so do not share it with anyone else. The idea of a lesson like this is to move us to look at what we are and how we need to improve ourselves. This is not only vital in how it affects our relationship to God, but it is also important in how we treat each other, and what kind of a message we personally send to the world about our faith and how our relationship to God shapes and molds us as a person. Study these questions this week and pray about how God can help you improve.

— John Clayton