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April 11, 2021
CORONA VIRUS ISSUE 43
FAMILY NEWS OF
THE CHURCH OF CHRIST ON M 51 S
This is the church bulletin for the congregation of the Church of Christ that meets in Dowagiac, Michigan, on M 51 just south of the city. Ordinarily we meet on Sunday morning for Bible study and worship and also on Sunday evening and Wednesday night for a Bible study. Since the pandemic forced us into not having meetings at our building we have been meeting via Zoom on our smartphones, tablets, and computers. After almost two months of worship under the trees we have moved into the building with our Zoom meetings for those who are not able to meet in person. Everyone is welcome to participate in this worship service at 11:00 on Sunday morning. If you want to participate with Zoom, contact Karl Marcussen at marcusen@michiana.org to get the information to join us. |
DUE to the COVID-19 pandemic
and government mandates we
will not have some
of Bible classes until further notice.
FAMILY NEWS
OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST ON M 51 S
APRIL 11, 2021
This bulletin is distributed in a variety of different ways. It is distributed during our worship services at the church building; it is made available on the web at our dowagiaccoc.org website; and it is sent by e-mail/messaging in connection with our Zoom broadcast invitations. However you receive it, we hope it will be informative and encouraging. We are not a denomination, but a local effort to encourage people to follow what the church was like in the first century. We have no man-made creed and only follow the Bible. We do not have religious titles and do not solicit donations. Come and learn more by visiting with us, e-mailing us, or calling us.
LADIES: The congregation in Holland, Mich., is having a “Ladies Day of Inspiration” April 24 with Becky Blackmon of Hewitt, Tex., the speaker. She is well known and does many women's retreats. The program starts at 9:00 A.M. and lunch is provided. If you are interested in going, please contact Patty Gibson for more information. (Social distancing is encouraged and masks will be available). They are also hosting a meeting with Joe Wells titled “Faith Over Fear” on May 2 – 5.
HIGHWAY CLEAN UP: this Saturday, April 17. This is a great community service, and we need a good turnout so we can spend just a few hours on a Saturday morning picking up trash on the road. We will meet at the building at 10:00 A.M. and if we have enough people we will be done by noon. If you have questions call Richard Hoyt.
Remember: The FOOD BANK TRUCK will be unload in our parking lot on April 27 at 4:00 P.M. and given to those in need. This is an outside activity and we need all hands on board. Please plan to help.
BESIDES OUR MEETINGS IN THE BUILDING we have these meetings on Zoom:
- Sunday @ 11:00 A.M. our Sunday worship service
- Wednesday @ 7:00 P.M. our Wednesday Bible study
Contact Karl Marcussen, if you need help.
TODAY'S LESSON
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John Clayton |
I. INTRODUCTION (John referred to our concluding song: “ Give Me the Bible.”)
A. Is it a book of fairy tales? — atheist view.
B. Is it just a great literary work? — academic view
C. CONTAIN the word of God? — denominational view
Out of date for the 21st century
D. Is an ancient symbolic “moral myth”? — media view
E. Is it plenary inspiration — God breathed?
2 Timothy 3:16 and John 1:1 — “Word” — logos
II. CHALLENGES TO THE BIBLE BEING GOD BREATHED
A. Creation — Proverbs 8:22-36 and Genesis 1:1
B. Evolution — Genesis 1:11-31
C. Was Eve the “mother of all living”? — Genesis 3:20
D. Hard to believe messages
1. Historical — The flood, Babel, Goliath, cavemen
2. Miracles — Did Jesus rise from the dead?
“Beyond Reasonable Doubt” series
3. Heaven and hell — punishing or punishment?
III. YOUR DECISION ABOUT THIS IS IMPORTANT.
A. Eternal consequences — 1 Corinthians 15:13-22
B. Determines how you live
1. Psalm 53:1-3
2. Romans 1:16-25
3. Hebrew 4:12 — What controls your lifestyle?
IV. HOW DO YOU MAKE YOUR DECISION?
A. Take the Word literally — Who, to whom, why.
B. Study logically and carefully.
1. Separate tradition from what it says.
2. Time, the “Garden,” dinosaurs, the fruit, etc.
C. Be open to evidence — the Does God Exist? series.
D. Look at what works — Galatians 3:27-28
1. Study the “Sermon on the Mount.”
2. Carl Sandberg — “Never seen it tried.”
V. PASCAL'S ANALOGY: If the Bible IS God's Word and I reject it, what have I gained and what have I lost? If the Bible is NOT God's Word and I reject it, what have I gained and what have I lost?
THE BACK PAGE
NEEDS
I HAVE COME THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE LIFE,
AND THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE IT MORE ABUNDANTLY.
The above quote is from John 10:10. It is in the midst of a group of parables that Jesus used to describe the relationship between God and man. We do not hear this passage preached a lot because modern humans do not deal with sheep a lot and thus have a hard time understanding what Jesus was saying. I am told by those who raise sheep that they are easy animals to take care of because they are not very smart and bond quickly and completely to the shepherd.
Jesus points this out to the Pharisees he was talking to but they did not understand what he was saying (John 10:6). Even though most of us do not know much about sheep, we can still understand what Jesus was saying. In John 10:4 we are told that sheep know the voice of the shepherd and will follow him but flee from a stranger. The Bible gives us the voice of Jesus and if we believe, we will hear what he says and follow him. The voice of Jesus is loud and clear in God's Word as today's lesson points out. Do not listen to any other voice!
In John 10:7-10 Christ points out that alternatives to what he calls us to are thieves and robbers and we are not to hear them because they come to steal and destroy. In our day of scams and fakes this is especially relevant. In John 10:12-13 Christ points out that alternatives to Jesus are just hirelings who do not care for the sheep. The hireling does not love the sheep and puts no value on them.
In John 10:15 Jesus says that he lays down his life for the sheep, and we know that his death on the cross fulfilled that statement. Christ concludes this discussion by saying that there is one fold and one shepherd. It is only in Christ that we have love, value, forgiveness, and the hope of something better. Christ gives us life and gives it more abundantly than any alternative. God has provided for our needs in a way that beats any alternative.
— John Clayton
Our sign by the street!
Sign saying from a church east of LaGrange, Indiana on US 20.
Scripture links/references are from BibleGateway.com. Unhighlighted scriptures can be looked up at their website.
www.dowagiaccoc.org
04/20/2021
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