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FAMILY NEWSPOTLUCK TODAY: Please stay and eat with us. We have plenty of food, so don’t feel you have to bring something. TIMBERS TODAY: 2:30 at Timbers Nursing Home. We need singers and greeters to the folks there. FIREWORKS TODAY: Come to Bible study at 6:00 and then join us at the Gibsons after services and bring a salad, chips, dessert, or left over casserole from the potluck. Bring a lounge chair to use during the fireworks. If you need directions ask one of those leading worship. CONGREGATIONAL PICNIC NEXT SUNDAY: We are having a congregational picnic at Madeline Bertrand County Park at the main pavilion, south of Niles at 1:00. This will be followed by a singing at 3:00 and a devotional service at 4:00. We are inviting surrounding congregations in the area to join us. This is a picnic potluck, so plan accordingly. We will not have our usual 6:00 service here at the building next Sunday. SHULTS-LEWIS: Remember to bring paper goods to the building for pick up. They plan to pick it up the week of July 24.
TODAY'S LESSON
INTRODUCTION
A. What does July 4 mean to you?
I. GOD WANTS US FREE OF SOCIAL BOUNDARIES.
B. Acts 22:24 – 29 C. God's desire is that all people be free. A. GAL 3:26 — Unrestricted in social activities I Cor 10:27
II. GOD WANTS US FREE OF POLITICAL BOUNDARIES
B. Church in Corinth shows what happens otherwise. 1. 1 Corinthians 1:12 — Following human leaders
C. Romans 14:17 – 192. Verse 21 — Affluence vs influence 3. Can destroy our worship of God? — Verses 27 – 29 A. Galatians 3:28
III. GOD WANTS US FREE OF SPIRITUAL BOUNDARIES.
B. Matthew 22:17, 21 C. Romans 13:6 – 7 — This was a corrupt government. D. John 18:36 A. Flow limiting are the world religions.
IV. GOD WANTS TO FREE US FROM THE CONTROL OF SIN. There is a war of independence going on.
1. Islam — Mecca, programmed prayer
B. Galatians 3:28 – 292. Catholicism — rituals 3. Hinduism — shrines C. Galatians 3:3 – 7 — YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD, NOT A SLAVE TO GOD. D. There are limits — 1 Corinthians 10:23 — Not hurting others. E. Colossians 2:13 – 14 and 20 – 23 A. What do drugs do — what is addiction?
1. To become habituated (a natural dwelling place)
B. All sin enslaves — God calls us to freedom.
1. Romans 6:1 – 7 then 19 – 23
C. Make this a different “Independence Day”
1. Be “free at last” THE BACK PAGEINDEPENDENCE DAYThe 4th of July celebrates the “birth” of the great country in which we live. On July 4,1776 Congress gave approval to the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain, although the date was not declared to be a paid Federal holiday until 1938. Politicians will make speeches, there will be a few parades, and fireworks will be shot off by every town, and patriotic songs will be played and sung with red, white, and blue banners covering the areas where all of this is done. It is man's selfish nature that attracts him to some kind of slavery. The great independence of 1776 was from a king far across the ocean who wanted to tax and control a people who were a mix of people from a dozen different nationalities, not just British. Since the Revolutionary War we have had a series of wars to stop people from enslavement. The Civil War was perhaps the most tragic and least rational. Christian people know that God has created all of us to be equal (Galatians 3:28). The world wars were understandable as tyrants tried to take over weaker countries and had to be stopped to avoid enslavement to a political system far worse than the English monarchy. In recent years America has been dragged into wars that are at least to some degree related to the selfish economic lust of our culture. We have gotten into wars where oil, gas, uranium, precious metals, rare chemicals, and food resources are the issue. The politics of trying to get the “right” leader in a foreign country so our economic stability is not threatened is so complex that it is very difficult to understand. As Christians we are told over and over to learn to be content with what we have (see Philippians 4:11; 1 Timothy 6:8; Hebrews 13:5). We need to be independent from economic slavery and understand that the road to peace and happiness does not lie in enslaving ourselves or anyone else to things. Be thankful for what you have and for living in America in precious freedom that few in this world have ever known. — John Clayton Our sign by the street!
Sign saying from www.sayingsforchurchsigns.com |
