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March 22, 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.

GOOD NEWS! We are officially into spring! That means a lot of new things for us to start thinking about. Our highway clean up is tentatively scheduled for April 18. Walter Swann bought some new clean up wands to make the work easier, and Richard Hoyt has all the paper work done and the materials accumulated to meet state requirements. We have talked about giving a plant to our neighbors during that effort. If we decide to do that, we need to start working on getting the plants. There are some 35 houses on the highway we clean, so that will be a little extra. We are working on sending a letter to our neighbors to let them know we are coming.

We also need volunteers to work on the yard and on the equipment to do the mowing — servicing, sharpening, getting plants and scheduling work times. See Richard Hoyt if you can help in this work or if you have questions about the highway clean up project.

TODAY'S LESSON

THE VINE AND THE BRANCHES

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John Clayton
INTRODUCTION — John 15:1 – 17
A. Easy to understand agricultural analogy
B. Four main characters
1. Husbandman — God
2. The vine — Jesus
3. Fruitful branches
4. Unfruitful branches
I. THE HUSBANDMAN OR VINE DRESSER — God
A. The creator and sustainer of the vine and branches
B. God created us, provides for us — Acts 17:28
II. THE VINE — THE TRUE VINE: VERSE 1 — JESUS CHRIST
A. Other kinds of vines are not from God.
1. Matthew 7:16 – 20 — Subject is false prophets.
B. The test is the fruit of following these other vines.
1. Mohammed, Lenin, Dawkins
III. TWO KINDS OF BRANCHES
A. What it does not refer to — denominations, religions
1. Church has not been established yet.
2. Other systems fail the fruit test.
B. Fruit is the proof of being the right branch.
1. How we are changed — Romans 6:19 – 23.
2. What we reflect and are about — Galatians 5:22 – 23.
3. How we use our time — James 4:13 – 17.
C. Unfruitful branches wither
1. Claiming to be a Christian is worthless — Matthew 7:21.
2. Doing is the issue — Matthew 25:31 – 46 — Goats/Sheep
3. James 1:27 — Showy religious acts are not fruit.
IV. WHAT ARE YOU A BRANCH OF?
A. Political party, business, union, entertainment?
B. Religion (not Jesus) — 1 Corinthians 1:12, Philippians 4:13
C. Fruit branches are grafted — Romans 11:16 – 24; John 15:1
D. Be a branch, rooted in Jesus — the true vine.


THE BACK PAGE

DEATH

We are a congregation that has a large number of older members. Because of that, death is a constant presence among us. For some of us it is family members who are nearing the end of their life, and while we know it is coming, we are never really prepared for it. For those of us who are nearing our departure from this earth, passages like Psalm 23 are a huge encouragement to us. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” Built into us is an instinctive desire to live, but when quality of life gets really bad, we know that it is better to die.

For those who are left behind, the battle to deal with death is really harder. Like David in 2 Samuel 12:23 we have some comfort in knowing we will eventually go to those who have died, but we know they cannot come back to us. The finality of death disturbs us, and no matter what we feel about the departed we ache when we realize we will have to go on now without them.

It is at this point that the Christian family becomes so very important. Comforting one another in the time of loss is biblical. The Greek word for comfort is “parakaleo” meaning “to call along side” and is used all through the New Testament. We have to trust God's mercy, kindness and love and realize that judgement or worry is not to be a part of grieving for one who has died.

This past week has brought us face to face again with death. It is vital in times like this that love, comfort, companionship, caring, being there, listening, and prayer be a part of our support to those who have lost a loved one. Jesus wept when he saw the pain of losing what you love (John 11:35), and Jesus will ultimately destroy death (1 Corinthians 15:26).

— John Clayton


Our sign by the street!

Our sign on the street

Sign saying from www.sayingsforchurchsigns.com