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DUE to the COVID-19 pandemic FAMILY NEWSWELCOME TO OUR VISITORS: Like everyone else, we are trying to avoid COVID-19 among all of us. Some of us are more vulnerable than others. We ask everyone to keep six feet from others and wear a mask so that no one becomes ill by attending worship. Some of us will be participating virtually through Zoom at home and others will be in the building. If in the future you wish to participate in Zoom at home contact Karl Marcussen at 574-514-1400 and he will help you join us. OUR THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO WORKED ON THE FOOD TRUCK on September 10. This is a great service to the community, and we have so many people who have spent great amounts of time and energy making our Food Bank work. “Then the King [Jesus] will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink … whatever you did for one of the least of these … you did for me’ ” (Matthew 25:34-40). SHULTS-LEWIS COMMODITY DRIVE: Shults-Lewis has moved our date to October for them to pick up the commodities to use in their work with children. Our commodities are paper towels and canned fruit. We still do not have a specific date as they are going to several congregations, but we need your help and your donations by the first Sunday in October. SEPTEMBER 26 — HIGHWAY CLEANUP. Please mark your calendar to come to the church building at 10:00 AM on the last Saturday of the month and help clean up our section of M-51. Bring a mask and any pick up tools you want (although grabbers are available). The more people we have the faster we will be able to get this done. This is the last cleanup of the year, so let us make it good. IF YOU NEED POWER FOR TODAY, CALL 269-687-9426. TODAY’S LESSON
PSALM 61:2 — “From the end of the earth will I fly to thee when my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock which is higher than I.”
(Some songs that we sung this morning are “Rock of Ages” and “My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less.”) INTRODUCTION — Satan is attacking God's people. A. Psalm 11:2-3 — Foundations are vital.
I. ALTERNATIVES: What are you comfortable with?
B. “Sela” — a rock of security, a defense, a refuge, an immovable foundation C. Foundations are important in buildings and in life. 1. Cornerstone — controlled construction
D. Psalm 118:22; Matthew 21:42; Acts 4:11; 1 Peter 2:7
2. Isaiah 28:16 — God laid a foundation. 3. Satan wants you to reject that cornerstone. Remove it and everything collapses. A. Politics — Matthew 22:21
II. THINK OF THE O.T. ROLE OF “ROCK” (FOUNDATIONS)
The government will fail you.
B. Family — Cain and Abel, Joseph, David, Jacob/EsauC. Friends — David and Jonathan, 1 Kings 12:8-19 D. Science including medicine E. Money — Luke 12:18 — The rich farmer — Ecclesiastes 1:2 F. Work — Ecclesiastes 2:11 A. Altars — a place of sacrifice — Noah — Gen. 8:20
III. SO, WHAT IS YOUR ROCK? What do you depend on?
1. Abraham — Genesis 12:7-8; 13:4; 13:18; 22:9; 26:2
B. Rocks provided resources — Exodus 17:6 — Rock of Horeb.2. Moses — Exodus 17:15; 20:24-26 C. Rocks supported Moses in battle — Exodus 17:8-12. Your faith is a rock to support you in hard times.
D. Rocks shield us — Exodus 33:18-23 — foundation protects.E. Rocks gave direction — 10 Commandments in stone. A. Psalm 61:2 — We need a rock higher than we are.
B. Ephesians 2:19-22 C. Matthew 16:16-19 — We need that same foundation. D. Psalm 118:21-29 THE BACK PAGE21ST CENTURY WORSHIPThis past Sunday (September 13) we all got a taste of what worship is going to be like in the future. Thanks to a lot of hard work by Karl Marcussen, assisted by Gerry Bundle and Richard Hoyt, we were able to have a safe and secure worship of God together. That in spite of the fact that some of our members were in Indianapolis and six other cities that I know of. That in spite of the fact that the preacher was 15 miles away from the pulpit. That in spite of the fact that several of the listeners were too ill to leave their bedrooms. What a wonderful thing that is only possible because of the technology of today! We need to be careful we are not like the old guy who said “I've seen a lot of changes in the church and I've been opposed to every one of them.” One of the beautiful things about the worship of the biblical church is that it can happen anywhere and under any conditions. The first century church met in the Temple, in a house, in an upper room, in prisons, and later in caverns under the city. We need to be careful we do not make the same mistake as the denominational world around us where a single structure becomes the only place where worship can be conducted. Realize the potential that we have with this new technology. We can have a really good preacher located many miles away (like Jim Harasewicz in Indy) speaking at our services. We have already had visitors coming in on ZOOM whom we may not even know (this is already happening). The COVID-19 is just the beginning of things that Satan is going to use to try to shut worship down. There will be other viruses even if this one gets tamed. If you read the history of plagues even in the twentieth century you know that this is not a onetime thing. Climate change is bringing catastrophes like the fires on the west coast we see now. God has given us great tools to use in our new world even with all the change going on. — John Clayton Our sign by the street! Sign quote from www.sayingsforchurchsigns.com Scripture links/references are from BibleGateway.com. Unhighlighted scriptures can be looked up at their website. www.dowagiaccoc.org |
