February 8, 2015 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.

SNOW SUNDAY: We had a snow day last Sunday, February 1, so we are using the bulletin that was published last Sunday. John is using the sermon he had planned to use last Sunday. John and Cindy will be out of town for several weeks, so our Wednesday class mentioned below will be postponed for several weeks. Bill Gibson will be directing our Wednesday classes for those several weeks.

NEW CLASS ON JAMES: One of the things that sets this congregation apart is our emphasis on studying the Bible. One of the most practical books in the Bible is the book of James, written by the brother of Jesus and full of practical, useful advice and teaching about living the Christian life. Richard Hoyt is teaching this class and has spent a great deal of time researching this book and its teaching. Come tonight at 6:00 and enjoy an hour of study together.

INTEGRATING THE NEW AND OLD TESTAMENT: Our sermon this morning and our Wednesday night study is focused on the connection between the Old and New Testament. Why do we have both and what purposes are served and what messages are revealed. Join us on Wednesday at 7:15 and bring a snack for some fellowship and discussion time after the class on Wednesday.

TODAY'S LESSON

THE PURPOSE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
John Clayton

One of the problems any church or organization that depends on donations has is how the money that is given is used. All of us know that there have been cases where charities misused money or where leaders stole money from the charity. Even though we are not a big organization with a huge budget, it is important for everyone to be confident that funds are used wisely and that money is being spent on what we gave it to be used for, not on someone's personal pleasure.

We do not pay our congregational preachers or teachers anything. If we have a guest speaker, we might pay them an honorarium or expense money — such as Shults-Lewis or Glynn Langston, but that is a rarity. Essentially all of the money you give goes to serve the community or to maintain our facility including repairs, snow removal and fuel costs.

This past week we have had a good example of how money is used. We had several people come to our food bank this past week, which is normal. We also had a woman call who needed help. She had nothing but the clothes on her back, had not eaten in a while, and was trying to get to Grand Rapids where she said her son could help her. It became very obvious that she had some emotional problems, and had been in some confrontations with people in the area. Samantha got her into a local motel Saturday night. Cynthia fed her and we got her on a train to Grand Rapids Sunday to meet her son.

This is pure service to the community and to a person in need. What will come of it is unknown and in God's hands, but many people in the community, including the local police, saw what the church was doing. Acts 2:47 talks about the church “having favor of all the people,” and this is one way we do that. Your contributions are used to meet needs in our area.

Our sign by the street!

Sign saying from www.sayingsforchurchsigns.com