October 26, 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 AT A NEW TIME: Remember that two major events happen next Sunday. First is that we “fall back” resetting our clocks. Second is that being the first Sunday of the month, we will have our monthly potluck. Plan to stay and enjoy a great meal and special time together.

CHRISTMAS FLOAT — SAVE DECEMBER 5 when we will have a Christmas float in the city holiday parade. We need everyone there for this event, so please mark it on your calendar. All you need to do is sit on a hay bale on a wagon, smile, wave, wish people in Dowagiaca Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and join all of us in singing “Jingle Bells” and a few Christmas carols — sheet music provided.

SUNDAY NIGHT CLASS: Do you have a Bible subject we have not studied that you would like to see us study? Richard will finish his “Harmony of the Gospels” class in the next several weeks, and will start a new class. Give Richard a suggestion of what you would like to see us study. Richard is an excellent teacher who works hard on preparing materials for us, so help him out with a subject we can all profit by studying.

TODAY'S LESSON

WHAT IS YOUR SOUL? HOW DO WE KNOW?
John Clayton

This is Halloween week. Already we are seeing all kinds of articles in newspapers and church bulletins, and hearing all kinds of stories on talk shows about the “evils of this pagan holiday.” No one questions the historical nature of Halloween. There is no question that in the Dark Ages all kinds of evil things were associated with the end of October. This was a time when Christianity was being attacked on many fronts. People were looking for all kinds of alternatives to the plain teachings of the Bible, and the dark arts, magic, satanic worship, and belief and worship of spirits and angels were in full swing. Some terrible things were practiced including human sacrifice and horrific immoral acts of a sexual nature.

When I was a child, Halloween was a time of playing tricks on people in the neighborhood. There was nothing religious about Halloween at all; and, in fact, I was totally ignorant of the historical background for the holiday. People carved pumpkins with strange faces on them, and on the night of Halloween the pumpkins got strewn across people's porches and were sometimes used in “pumpkin fights.” We had one old man in the neighborhood that used to fix up pranks to get the kids stealing his pumpkins, which included water bombs and rotten pumpkin packets you stepped in if you got off his sidewalk. After all that, he had us all in for hot chocolate and cake.

How did Halloween change? Why now do we have children being warned not to eat candy picked up from people they do not know because it may be laced with poison or a dangerous chemical? Why do police have to be on special patrol to stop kidnapping and vandalism? The fact is, because our nation has discarded God and Christianity, our culture is bent on substitutes for faith. The dependence on drugs for feeling good, and the emphasis on things and the selfishness of “looking after number one” has brought instability into what used to be a happy time of fantasy and good will. Galatians 5:15 – 26 finds Paul listing what is from God and what is used to replace God. Let us use the destructive nature of this season to teach our children and neighbors what happens when Jesus Christ no longer rules men's hearts.

— John Clayton

Our sign by the street!