March 5, 2017

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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 eat with us. We have plenty of food to share with everyone, so do not let that stop you. We need to have time together to share all that is going on with our lives.

TIMBERS TODAY! We will have a worship service at 2:30 at Timbers. We need singers especially, and all of us need to be there to encourage folks that need someone to give them a kind word and talk with them.

SENIORS BRUNCH TUESDAY at Golden Corral in Mishawaka at Douglas and Main streets at 11:00 AM. This is just a time of fellowship and sharing with senior Christians from all over the area. We have a monthly bulletin with news and material of interest to senior Christians. If you are not on the mailing list and want to be, see John Clayton or Karl Marcussen. It is free.

PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS — NO FOOD IN BASEMENT CLASSROOMS: Please do not send any food downstairs during the children's classes. The time is too short and we have kids with allergy problems. PLEASE!

TODAY'S LESSON

GIVING
John Clayton

INTRODUCTION — This is not a plea for money!

A. Acts 20:33 – 35

Paul's quote of Jesus is not in the Bible (John 21:25).

B. Learning to give is hard — yet the basis of Christianity.

Allows the best family, friends, work, sex.

C. God does not need our money — Acts 17:23 – 25.

I. WHAT HAPPENS TO US IF BEING A RECEIVER IS OUR WAY OF LIFE?

A. Narcissism (self love) is a major danger:

Greed, selfishness, hoarding, lust, priority issues

B. Shows up in every aspect of our lives:

1. Abuse
2. Fake religion used for control, gain — Acts 8:18 – 21
3. Acts 20:35 — mentioned at start of lesson

C. Robs us of the best in everything we do.

1. Job, marriage, family, recreation
2. Peggy Lee song “Is that all there is?”
3. Magazines: Life > People > Us > Self

II. HOW DO WE BECOME GIVERS NOT RECEIVERS?

A. Understand we serve a God who has given.

1. Our very existence is against all odds.
2. Our bodies, health — Psalm 139:14 – 15?
3. Psalm 8:3 – 9
4. John 3:16

B. Get away from self serving acts and showmanship

1. Acts 5:1 – 4
2. Matthew 6:1 – 4
3. Give your time.

C. Let God's Spirit work.

1. Luke 6:38
2. Give 10% of your 168 hours per week.

a. Use your unique gift.
b. Use your general gift — prayer, cards, calls.

3. 2 Corinthians 8:3 – 7 — “abound in this grace also”
4. Will you give yourself to God?

THE BACK PAGE

WHAT IS YOUR “ WORLDVIEW?”

In our Wednesday night class this past week, we were studying Galatians 6:7 – 10, and the question of what our worldview is was brought up. For a lot of the class members this term seemed to be new. We did a superficial definition, and I asked the class members to think about their answer for this next Wednesday night class. To help all of us, here is what the American Scientific Affiliation says worldview is:

A worldview is a theory of the world, used for living in the world. A world view is a mental model of reality — a framework of ideas & attitudes about the world, ourselves, and life, a comprehensive system of beliefs — with answers for a wide range of questions:

What are humans, why we are here, and what is our purpose in life? What are your goals for life? When you make decisions about using time — it's the stuff life is made of — what are your values and priorities?

What can we know, and how? and with how much certainty?

Does reality include only matter/energy, or is there more?

Some worldview questions are about God: Can we know whether God exists? … If so, what characteristics does God have, and what relationship with the universe? Have miracles occurred in the past, as claimed in the Bible, and do they occur now? Are natural events produced and guided by God? Was the universe self-creating, or did God create it? Was it totally self-assembling by natural process, or did God sometimes create in miraculous-appearing ways? Does God communicate with us (mentally and spiritually) in everyday life, and through written revelation, as in the Bible? What is God's role in history? Is there a purpose and meaning in history, for each of us individually and for all of us together, or is life just a long string of things happening? What happens after death? *

So what is your worldview? This is a vital question, and one we all need to deal with. The purpose of our classes and lessons from the pulpit is to help us with our worldview. We need to know why we believe what we believe. Join us on Wednesday night for this discussion.

— John Clayton

Our sign by the street!

Our sign on the street says, IF YOU LOVE SOMEONE, YOU WILL GIVE OF YOUR TIME!

Sign saying from Cynthia Clayton

* from http://www.asa3.org/ASA/education/views/index.html