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May 1, 2016

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

POTLUCK TODAY: Please plan to stay and enjoy the time together today. Remember we go to Timbers at 2:30 p.m. on this first Sunday of the month for a devotional and communion service with them. We need all the help we can get in ministering to these folks. It is not just the worship time, but also the visiting and taking them to their rooms. This is a growing work, so join us for that time together with the staff and the folks who live there.

PUT IT ON YOUR CALENDAR — JULY 10 — Congregational Picnic: We have reserved a pavilion at Madeline Bertrand County Park south of Niles for a special area-wide meeting of Christians. Lunch will be at 1:00, a singing at 3:00 followed by a devotional. We are inviting sister congregations to join us for a time of fellowship, singing, and unity. A flier is available in the lobby for you to take to give to friends and to remind yourself of that date. We are the host, so we all need to be there. Our thanks to Lana Fox for making the arrangements.


TODAY'S LESSON

FEAR

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John Clayton
INTRODUCTION
A. What are you afraid of?
1. Lots of candidates
B. Fear does bad things to us — depression, paralysis.
C. Our faith should reduce fear.
D. Three times in Acts Jesus tells Paul not to fear.
I. ACTS 18:9 – 10
A. Threats to believers can paralyze us — can even be family, friends
B. Jesus uses others to help us
1. Verses 12 – 16 — Government rescues Paul.
2. Romans 13:3
C. Christianity is a friend of civil order.
II. ACTS 23:11 – 14
A. Our threats are less dramatic.
1. If we stand for something there will be threats.
B. Jesus uses people to solve the threats — verse 16.
1. God works in mysterious ways.
C. Things do not always go as we want them to.
1. Romans 9:1 – 5?
2. Ultimately things work out — do not fear.
III. ACTS 27:23 – 24
A. Are you afraid to die? — How afraid? — Why?
B. Look at Paul's situation.
1. Caused by bad decisions of others
2. All hope of survival is considered gone.
3. Paul is still functional.
C. Great Christians lose their fear of death.
1. Philippians 1:23 – 25
2. 2 Timothy 4:6 – 8
IV. BACK TO “WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF”
A. What was Paul's reaction to fear — prayer.
B. What caused Paul's fears to diminish ?
1. Philippians 4:11 – 13?
2. Will you learn as a Christian ?


THE BACK PAGE

SERMON TOPICS

One of the challenges that anyone who preaches regularly faces is what to preach on. There is always a tendency for a preacher to preach on his “pet peeves” — those things that he has an emotionally charged opinion on. Many times such topics are matters of opinion, and while I might agree with the preacher's opinion the fact is that it is an opinion, not a clear biblical teaching.

Another tendency of preachers is to preach on safe topics — things that are so basic that no one is going to learn much of anything. Preaching on baptism has been an example of this in congregations of the Church of Christ. To preach the fundamentals of baptism to a congregation of senior Christians is not a good choice of topics. The opposite of this is to speak on a subject that is so technical that few know what you are talking about.

The Greek word euaggelion which is translated “gospel” in your Bible literally means “good news or tidings.” In passages like 1 Corinthians 1:17 Paul distinguishes between the good news and baptism. Paul says “Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel.” The rest of Corinthians deals with the gospel, and involves living the gospel as a new creation. In reading Corinthians, one realizes that the gospel involves moral decisions, marriage, relationships, worship, and faith in the resurrection.

All of us need to be concerned with the gospel. That involves not only telling it to the lost, but with living the gospel as Christ calls us to live. The issues of our day are the same as the Corinthian brethren. Our sermons need to address those issues, not the comfortable subjects that Paul refers to as the “milk of the word” (see 1 Corinthians 3:2). Let us stay with the whole gospel in our lessons.

— John Clayton


Our sign by the street!

Our sign on the street says, HOW DO CHILDREN SPELL LOVE? T-I-M-E!