December 22, 2019

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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 any pressure to give. Our lesson time will be divided into two groups. The young children can go to our classroom area in the basement where they will be taught the Bible at a level they can understand, while the adults stay in the auditorium for a lesson at their level. We do try to serve the community, and if you have some needs that we can provide, mention it to one of the members. Thank you for worshipping with us.

FAMILY NEWS

NEXT SUNDAY: We have mentioned several times that there will be no classes this coming Wednesday or the Wednesday after that. December 25 and January 1 are typically family times with a lot going on and many of our number will be traveling to be with family over the holidays. We will have our normal schedule next Sunday with Bible Class at 10:00, worship at 11:00 AM, and Bible class at 6:00 PM. We would urge everyone to plan to attend these classes. The classes are discussion classes where people are free to bring up concerns, questions, or misunderstandings. You can grow and mature in your faith and knowledge of God's Word by being a part of the educational program of this congregation. Start 2020 with a new resolve to be a part of all of our classes.

TODAY'S LESSON

HIDDEN TRUTHS OF CHRISTMAS
John Clayton

INTRODUCTION

A. Much is said about the meaning of Christmas.
B. Many “why” questions are not answered.

1. Why did God become flesh? (John 1:14)
2. Why was Jesus tempted as we are? (Hebrews 4:15)
3. Why the place, the people and the timing?

I. JESUS CAME INTO A POOR, OCCUPIED COUNTRY.

A. Nazareth — Lower Galilee outside main life — John 1:46.
B. Bethlehem was the city of David, but Jesus was an alien there.
C. Romans had control of everything.

1. John 19:10 — Jesus and Pilate
2. Jesus lived under Roman laws — Matthew 5:14.

D. Why did God not come to man in a prosperous place and time? — Matthew 9:12-13.

II. JESUS CAME INTO THE WORLD AS AN ILLEGITIMATE CHILD.

A. Matthew 1:18-19 — What would you do? What would people believe?
B. Look at the strength of Mary — Luke 1:28-34 and verse 38.
C. Look at the strength of Joseph — Matthew 1:20. Would that be enough for you?

III. OTHER MAJOR WORLD RELIGIONS ARE RADICALLY DIFFERENT.

A. MOHAMMED

1. Rich military leader who married into money.
2. Military techniques were used to establish the “church.”

B. BUDDHA

1. A prince of a Hindu family
2. First saw suffering as a young adult. Retired to a monastic life.

IV. GOD'S WISDOM IS SEEN IN ANSWERING THE “WHYS” OF CHRISTMAS.

A. Jesus understood and has compassion on all humans — 1 Corinthians 10:13.

1. We will not say “Lord, you do not know how it was.”
2. Jesus was not insulated from the real problems of all of us.

B. People in Jesus' day knew He knew what He was talking about — Matthew 7:28.
C. You cannot have a problem that Jesus does not understand — Hebrews 4:15-16.

1. I have no money — Jesus had nothing but his cloak.
2. I was born on the wrong side of the tracks. So was Jesus.
3. I was an illegitimate child. There is no such thing.

Mary and Joseph's hearts were known to God.

V. ARE YOU IN A TIME OF NEED? WHERE DO YOU GO?

THE BACK PAGE

CONGREGATIONAL MEETING

The year 2019 was quite a year for this congregation. We have worked hard to maintain our outreach to the community, but Satan hit us hard with physical problems to our facility. It may not have been clear to everyone how threatened we were when water problems caused the walls in the basement to crack and sag. There was even some consideration of abandoning the property, but experts assured us that the problem could be solved if we were willing to make the necessary investment. The consensus was that we needed to stay where we are because we have so many works in the community, and no alternative was free of expense and maintenance. We will have a final figure for the work that was done in a congregational meeting, but it was in excess of $30,000.

Having this building in good condition and a number of projects operating has been the product of massive amounts of time invested by a handful of men and women who have put us in excellent condition to use what has been done and grow. One other physical issue that needs to be resolved is how to handle the mowing of the grass and care of the gardens. We need to maintain our property so that neighbors and visitors are not turned away by the property's appearance. For the past several years we have used a donated tractor to care for the yard. That tractor is worn out, and the Gibsons and Wallaces have had to use their own equipment many times to take care of the mowing. We either need to hire a lawn service or buy a tractor that any of us could use to avoid what happened in 2019.

Here is a list of outreach events that we have done in the past. Some of these we did not do in 2019. We need as a congregation to decide whether we want to do them in 2020 or not. If we are going to do them we need to set a date to do some of them.

FAMILY FUN FAIR. Do we want to do it again this summer, and if so, when? We have several contacts from the fair and it brings record numbers of people to our facility. The expense is minimal and our advertising blitz reaches more people than a newspaper ad would.

FOOD BANK. We are serving nearly 100 people every month with food. We get the food at reduced prices but with restrictions on what we can do as far as evangelizing those who come for help. We have some users, but most of the people we help are genuinely in need.

COAT GIVEAWAY. Since we started this work of bringing coats to kids who did not have a coat the picture has changed. Denominational churches and some businesses have started providing coats. We still have some who come to us for coats, but the volume has gone down considerably. Our source of coats has been cut off as well. We may want to change our approach on this work.

ENCOURAGEMENT MINISTRY. We send cards to people who are celebrating an accomplishment or struggling with something such as an illness. The cost of this work is the postage and sometimes buying cards.

GLYNN LANGSTON. We send $100 a month to this blind evangelist who reaches out to blind folks throughout the world. He has reached many people with the gospel, and has made help for the blind available throughout the world.

SHULTS-LEWIS. We send $100 a month to this ministry that reaches out with emotional, mental, and spiritual help to children, especially in dealing with life.

AREA-WIDE SINGING. We did not do this in 2019, but having a special day of acapella singing, refreshments, and fellowship with brethren throughout the region is a way of strengthening the church. To do this is labor intense, but does not involve a lot of expense.

CHRISTMAS FLOAT. For many years we have had a float in the Dowagiac Christmas parade. This involves a small amount of money, but allows us to get great advertising for the work we do.

DOES GOD EXIST? This international program is managed through this congregation. The congregation does not put any money into this, but is attached because its tax status is used. Attacks on this ministry necessarily drag the church into questions about the work being done.

CAMP INDOGAN. This summer church camp near Angola, Indiana, brings all ages of young people together for a week of fun and Bible teaching. We have paid the way for a number of young people to go to the camp who could not go without help.

AREA-WIDE YOUTH RALLY. This is a weekend program we sponsored with Willie Franklin in the past. We invited surrounding congregations and we pay the expense of the rally. We did not do the program in 2019 because Brother Franklin had to cancel due to situations in his personal life.

I am sure there are other possibilities — like the flower give away we did. Bring whatever ideas you have when we announce the congregational meeting.

— John Clayton

Our sign by the street!

Thank you Dowagiac for supporting Feed the Hungry

Scripture links/references are from BibleGateway.com. Unhighlighted scriptures can be looked up at their website.