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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 on Zoom at home contact Karl Marcussen at 574-514-1400 and he will help you join us. LAST SUNDAY: We need to apologize to anyone who was confused about our meeting last Sunday. Our ZOOM manager, Karl Marcussen, attended a board meeting for Camp Indogan (a Christian camp) and was informed that one of the other attendees had tested positive for COVID-19 and therefore everyone in attendance needed to be quarantined. We are not taking any chances, so at the last minute we realized that Karl could not be at the building and that meant that we could not have a normal service since some of us who were speaking are vulnerable to the virus and participate through the ZOOM system. We have a phone tree set up to let everyone know when weather or other circumstances make it necessary to cancel services, but there was a break in the system and not everyone was notified. The result was that some ended up at the building including the scheduled song leader, but the bulletin and the prayer list did not get to the building, so it was mailed Sunday night. Karl has been tested for the virus and the test was negative so as I write this the plan is to be back to our normal “Virus Schedule” for the October 18. We are continuing all of our ministry work, but until the pandemic is over we need to continue to take whatever cautions are necessary so that no one gets ill by attending services. Thanks for your understanding. TODAY'S LESSON
INTRODUCTION: Who are your biblical heroes — Peter, Paul, etc.?
A. These intimidate us. “I can't do what they did!”
I. ANDREW'S CALLING — John 1:19-42
B. Read 1 Corinthians 12 – 13 C. Today let us study a man named “Andrew.” D. What Andrew was not: 1. Not a preacher or teacher. 2. Not a scholar, not formally educated. 3. Not rich or prominent in society — a fisherman. A. John the Baptist is challenged by the Jews.
II. ANDREW IS ALWAYS ACTIVE  — John 12:1-22.
B. John with two disciples sees Jesus, declares him to be “the Lamb of God.” One of the two is Andrew. 1. These two follow Jesus.
C. Andrew is not easily dissuaded — Mark 13:1-13.2. Andrew brings Peter, his brother, to Jesus. A. The Passover and the “Passion week events.”
III. MAN'ANDREW AND THE FEEDING OF THE 5000.
1. The dinner at Martha's with Lazarus and Mary's anointing. Jesus enters Jerusalem (John 12:17-18).
B. Greeks come seeking Jesus. They ask Philip's help.
1. Philip seeks help — goes to Andrew (John 12:21-22.)
C. Triggers Jesus' comment in John 12:25-26.2. How often do we go for help? 3. Together they go to Jesus. A. John 6 — The problem — big, hungry crowd.
IV. GOD CALLS US TO ANDREW AS OUR ROLE MODEL.
B. Philip — cannot be done. 200 days of pay is not enough. C. Andrew (John 6:8) — “Here's 5 barley loaves and 2 fish.” (John said “6” in his lesson.) 1. Does not know how, but knows the source of help.
2. Turns it over to Jesus to do what he cannot do. 3. What are the challenges in your life? A. Where would we be without those who lead our work, mostly our women?
B. Jesus is concerned about what Matthew 25:31-40 describes. Who among us does these things? John referred to this SONG: “There's a Stranger at the Door.”
THE BACK PAGETHE QUIET ONESI have always had a strong attachment to people in my life and to characters in the Bible that were not the flamboyant preacher types, but were the quiet workers doing the hard work, who made things happen, and were always there behind the preachers. There was a man named Ken Lewis who worked with me when we began our Does God Exist? ministry. One of our first efforts was at the St. Joseph County Fair in South Bend. We prepared an exhibit and made all the arrangements to have a sizable booth. Our preacher at the congregation at the time wanted nothing to do with this because we had a self-learning booth with homemade computers built by our teenagers and a video package that ran continuously in a theater type section of the booth. There was no provision for him to speak to a large group; it was one on one contact both in the booth and in the followup. We had incredible response to the booth, so much so that the South Bend Atheist Association came to the booth and challenged us, saying that no one with a brain would be a Christian. We had six people working the booth and the preacher was there. This turned into a heated debate and quite a crowd gathered. One of the atheist leaders challenged anyone in the crowd who believed in God and thought our message in the booth was valid to step forward. I really expected the preacher to be the first to step forward, but he never did. Who immediately stepped forward was Ken Lewis with some of our handouts in his hands to give to the atheists. Ken was always there making things work. He was not highly educated, never taught a class or preached, but he was always working and always willing. There was a biblical example of this in a man named Barnabas. Our first contact with Barnabas was in Acts 4:36-37 where Barnabas sold a piece of property to meet the needs of Christians who needed help. It was Barnabas who brought Paul to the early church in Acts 9:27 to overcome their fear of him. It was Barnabas who helped Paul in his mission journeys (see Acts 11 – 15). We have quiet ones like that among us. Thank God for the blessing of these quiet ones — like Andrew in our lesson today. — John Clayton Our sign by the street! Sign saying from www.sayingsforchurchsigns. Scripture links/references are from BibleGateway.com. Unhighlighted scriptures can be looked up at their website. www.dowagiaccoc.org |
