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FAMILY NEWSCASS COUNTY FAIR AUGUST SIGN UP: In the lobby is a sign up sheet to work our booth. We need someone in the booth from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. We would like to suggest two people in most shifts, and most shifts are three hours. Just meet people and hand out the booklet that goes with the exhibit. You do not have to be involved in any debate, just be friendly. Please help. THANKS to everyone who brought in paper goods for Shults-Lewis. We had quite a stash of vital materials for them and for the children they care for. THANKS to Samantha Wheeler and Cynthia Salmons for making arrangements and taking another group of kids to Camp Indogan. As a congregation, we help kids go to camp who could not go without our help. What price do you put on a week of teaching God's Word to kids who, through no fault of their own, do not get enough of that vital instruction at home? TODAY'S LESSON
INTRODUCTION
A. Where are you in life today?
I. IN
1. Once you were pure and sinless — Matthew 19:14.
B. So how did you get to be an unpure adult?
2. We all need to get back there — Matthew 18:3. 1. Luke 15:11 – 24 — Gives six steps — in and out (see diagram at the bottom of this page).
STEP 1: SELF WILL — Luke 15:12
II. OUT
A. Demand what is legally yours: the son had a right.
STEP 2: SELFISHNESS — Luke 15:3; Luke 15:30.
B. You have a right to live as you wish — a distant land. A. Turned what could be used in a good way to sin.
STEP 3: SEPARATION — Luke 15:13 — “set off for …”
B. Our culture urges extravagance and immorality. What happens when we “set off …”?
STEP 4: SENSUALITY — Luke 15:13 — “wild living”
Fantasy world — tabloids, movies, TV
STEP 5: SELF ABASEMENT — Luke 15:14 — “In need”
Can be physical, emotional, spiritual.
STEP 6: ROCK BOTTOM — Luke 15:16 STEP 1: REALIZATION — Luke 15:17 — “came to his senses.”
III. WHAT STEP ARE YOU ON ? You do not have to do all six steps down!
What does it take for you?
STEP 2: RESOLUTION — Luke 15:17 — Takes guts.
Do you have the courage?
STEP 3: REPENTANCE — A RETURN — Luke 15:18 – 19
Verse 21: No longer wants to live with the pigs.
STEP 4: RECONCILIATION — Luke 15:20
B. Verse 20: Action — not just feeling sorry A picture of God — looking, waiting, willing
STEP 5: RE-CLOTHING — Luke 15:22 — Restored
We can be returned to “little child” status.
STEP 6: REJOICING — Luke 15:23 – 24 and verse 10THE BACK PAGEWhat Will Your Legacy Be?My friend, John Cooper, recently had this article in the Grand Junction church bulletin. I thought it was a great example of what all of us should strive for. — John Clayton As I reflect on my parents' lives, I started thinking about their legacy. My father was a gospel preacher most of his working life, my mom his loyal co-laborer. Together they brought many people to Jesus and raised a family of Jesus followers. Most of their offspring are faithful to the Lord and many are in or were in full-time service to Jesus. They never had much of this world's goods and were not famous in the brotherhood. But they kept the faith and shared it profusely. The definition of “legacy” that I am referring to is “anything handed down from, or as from, an ancestor” (Webster's New World Dictionary). And to sum up what I think are the three greatest parts of their legacy, I would use a phrase used often in Scripture, they gave us “faith, hope and love.” My parents helped us grow in faith by making sure we were at church and involved in church related activities. We were taught about faith from our earliest age. We prayed at mealtimes, bedtimes and in times of trouble and times of blessings. We read the Bible together and learned the basic Bible facts through memorization of Bible songs and Bible verses. They modeled faith by teaching others in our home and taking us with them on evangelistic home Bible studies with others in their homes. My parents helped us grow in hope by trying to encourage us to do the right things since God would reward those “who diligently seek him.” We would talk about the beauty of heaven and how wonderful it will be to all be together one day with each other and with God. I know that is the main reason that I did “not grieve like the rest who have not hope” when my mother died. I will see her again and in much better shape than when she left this world. Thank God for a heavenly hope given us through the resurrection of Jesus. Thank God for my parents who passed this hope on to us. My parents helped us grow in love by loving God, us, and others. I will never forget my dad inviting a stranger in from the alley behind our house for breakfast. He had been going through our trash can for food. I was only eight years old then, but I still remember it vividly. Similarly, though at the time I found it less than enjoyable, I remember when they took us to nursing homes to sing hymns of faith, hope, and love to the elderly. I now realize the love shown in this act of service. May we as a church, and we as parents, likewise leave a legacy of faith, hope, and love to all we come in contact with. Let's leave a legacy of faith, hope, and love, — John Cooper Our sign by the street!
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