August 31, 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.

POTLUCK NEXT SUNDAY: A lot has been going on with school starting and summer winding down. This next Sunday is the first Sunday of the month, so come and enjoy a time of sharing and enjoy good food and good fellowship.

WINTER COATS: For many years now, we have given winter coats to children in the area who do not have coats. We want to change how we do this. In the past we have bought a bunch of coats and then found kids that would fit into the coats. We always end up with a bunch of unclaimed coats we have entrusted to someone else. What we would like to do this year is to find out how many coats are needed, and what size each of them are. This is where we need your help. When you go to open house or meet a school administrator in the area, tell them what we are doing and ask them to give you a list of needed coats and sizes. We do not need names, just how many are needed and what size they need to be. If you have a question about this see Bill or Patty Gibson. These are new coats and last winter taught us how badly needed such things are in Michiana in January.

TODAY'S LESSON

GO TELL!
John Clayton

Tomorrow is a special day in America. In the late 1800s, manual laborers worked 12 hour days, 7 days a week. Children as young as five years old began working in factories and mines. On September 5, 1882, 10,000 workers marched off their jobs and to Union Square in New York City protesting these conditions, and in Chicago in 1886 the Haymarket riot took place in which several policemen and several workers were killed in a similar protest. On May 11,1894, there was a Pullman Strike in which the army killed several workers protesting conditions on the railroad. Six days after that Congress established Labor Day to set aside a time when workers would be recognized as contributors to the well being of the nation.

Since those days labor unions have changed and America has changed. Now Labor Day has little to do with honoring the working class. It has become the last day of summer, the last day to wear white, the beginning of some football seasons, and the first big school year sale at malls as families get ready for school.

In Jesus' day the working class was oppressed and used by the wealthy and by the politicians. In the “Sermon on the Mount” in Matthew 5 – 7, Jesus gave the common man practical teaching that “had authority, not as their teachers of the law.” Jesus “had compassion on them because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd,” (Matthew 9:36). Jesus realized that material things and prosperity frequently separated men's hearts from God, leading him to say “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:23-24).

We need to be reminded that most of the people around us are “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” and remember on this Labor Day that our mission is to bring Christ into the lives of these folks by telling them about how much better our life is now with Christ. Today's lesson is all about how to do that.

— John Clayton

Our sign by the street!

I Come to the Garden Alone

I come to the garden alone, / While the dew is still on the roses; / And the voice I hear, falling on my ear, / The Son of God discloses.

CHORUS: And He walks with me, / and He talks with me, / And He tells me I am His own, / And the joy we share as we tarry there, / None other has ever known.

Song 805 from Praise for the Lord songbook, published by Praise Press, Nashville, TN, 1997

This World Is Not My Home

This world is not my home, I'm just a passing thro'. / My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue; / The angels beckon me from heaven's open door,

They're all expecting me, and that's one thing I know, / My Savior pardoned me and now I onward go, / I know He'll take me thro' tho' I am weak and poor

Just up in gloryland we'll live eternally, / The saints on every hand are shouting victory, / Their songs of sweetest praise drift back from heaven's shore

CHORUS: And I can't fell at home in this world anymore. / O Lord, you know I have no friend like you, / If heaven's not my home then Lord what will I do; / The angels beckon me from heaven's open door, / And I can't feel at home in this world anymore.

Song 684 from Praise for the Lord songbook, published by Praise Press, Nashville, TN, 1997