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May 25, 2008TO OUR VISITORS
The family of God here at Dowagiac Church of Christ wishes to extend to you a warm welcome. If you have questions about our worship services and why we do what we do, we will be glad to give you a biblical answer. The uniqueness of the Church of Christ is that we are trying to restore to the best of our ability those things that we see the first century Church doing. We are also working hard at building the spirit, unity, and love that Jesus taught and prayed for. We have no clergy, but are working together as equal co-workers trying to serve one another and the area in which we live. Come study with us, grow with us, and serve with us as we strive to do God’s will in all things.
CLASSES
We encourage you to take advantage of the Bible classes that we have regularly. Tonight we will continue a study of why God has two testaments--the New and the Old. Join us as we learn about the different types of books that are in the Bible and why they are there. Our Wednesday night class is taking us through the miracles that God used with Moses as the Israelites came out of Egypt. This is a complex study and gives us some great insight as to how God functions in today’s world. Our Sunday morning class continues to look at Daniel and some of the implications of his life and the book in the Bible that tells us about what happened during that time. Join us for these wonderful studies.
FAMILY NEWS
The Clayton family wants to thank the Church here for all that was done to help us weather the loss of Phyllis. Your cards, e-mails, calls, and participating in the Memorial Service was deeply appreciated. Thank you for supporting us and sharing in our pain. Keep us in your prayers because there is much pain ahead.
Please help us use the sharing testaments. There is a box of these small New Testaments and you are encouraged to take them and give them to every person you find who will take them. Write the Church name and phone or your own inside the cover so people can get help if they want it.
TODAY’S LESSON
Do not go to Egypt for your salvation--it is not there
Obey God--there are no answers elsewhere.
Tomorrow is another special day that our society has established. Like a lot of our special days, the significance of the day and the intent of the day have been lost. Our selfish materialistic society has attached a variety of economic and recreational goals to this day. It is the beginning of the tourist season for many, the opening day of many recreational facilities, and a day off from school.
Memorial day was first proclaimed on May 5, 1868 by General John Logan. It was begun to remember those who died in the nation’s service, and Logan had flowers put on all of the graves at Arlington. As time went by the name was changed to Decoration Day and graves of all who died in military service were decorated to honor them. Later parades were added and the name was changed to Memorial Day. In the past twenty years the parades have either stopped or have become promotional parades of various causes. The decorating of the graves of those who died defending America has virtually stopped.
There are quite a few lessons that can be seen in this situation. The first is how quickly humans seem to forget those things that have been done for them in the past. The sacrifice of soldiers and their families in the Iraq situation is fresh in the minds of most of us, but remembering the enormous sacrifices of families of World War II is a fading or nonexistent memory.
The second lesson is how relevant God’s instructions are in helping us to remember the sacrifice that Jesus gave on the cross. Our society continues to become more and more materialistic and secular. As that continues the suicide rate and the level of unhappiness are skyrocketing. First Corinthians 11:24 reminds us that God gave us a method to refresh our memory and keep us from forgetting. In the words of verse 30 avoid what is happening in our world today “For this cause many are weak and sickly among you.” Our Christian Memorial Day is every Sunday. Do not take what God has done for you for granted.
GOING TO EGYPT FOR HELP--ISAIAH
INTRODUCTIONIsrael is threatened by the
Assyrians.
God promises Israel he will defeat the Assyrians (14:24-).
Israel ignores God, makes a pact with Egypt (30:1-3).
God condemns looking to pagan solutions (31:1-3).
THERE ARE PROBLEMS AND
CHALLENGES THAT ARE BEYOND OUR ABILITY
TO FIXGod promises Israel he will defeat the Assyrians (14:24-).
Israel ignores God, makes a pact with Egypt (30:1-3).
God condemns looking to pagan solutions (31:1-3).
The Church cannot solve
political problems (Mark 12:17).
Human attempts to deal with sexuality do not work.
The death of a loved one cannot be solved by man.
WE TEND TO GO TO EGYPT FOR
ANSWERS Romans 13:1-7
Verse 4--Civil authority is God’s servant.
We cannot solve every moral issue in our culture.Verse 4--Civil authority is God’s servant.
The first century Church did not.
Bombing abortion clinics is not the answer.
Science cannot tell you how to raise your children.Bombing abortion clinics is not the answer.
Neither can Spock, Oprah, Dr
Phil, etc.
There is no drug that will help you feel
good. Human attempts to deal with sexuality do not work.
Porn, promiscuity do not work.
Trying to make someone love you by human methods will fail.The death of a loved one cannot be solved by man.
Egypt--places separated from
God--human methods.
Throwing money at problems will not solve them.
ISRAEL REPENTS AND IS SAVEDThrowing money at problems will not solve them.
Compare Revelation 3:14-18 with
Revelation 2:9.
Leaving God out of our approach to problems will not
work.How do you
resolve problems? Philippians 4:13
Matthew 11:28
Professional help can be useful, but not the sole
answer.Matthew 11:28
Paul used his Roman citizenship.
Isaiah 37:36-38
God brings solutions beyond what we can imagine.
IF GOD CAN SAVE ISREAL FROM
ASSYRIA, CAN HE SAVE YOU? God brings solutions beyond what we can imagine.
Ministries here.
Leadership here.
Leadership here.
Do not go to Egypt for your salvation--it is not there
Obey God--there are no answers elsewhere.
MEMORIAL DAY
Tomorrow is another special day that our society has established. Like a lot of our special days, the significance of the day and the intent of the day have been lost. Our selfish materialistic society has attached a variety of economic and recreational goals to this day. It is the beginning of the tourist season for many, the opening day of many recreational facilities, and a day off from school.
Memorial day was first proclaimed on May 5, 1868 by General John Logan. It was begun to remember those who died in the nation’s service, and Logan had flowers put on all of the graves at Arlington. As time went by the name was changed to Decoration Day and graves of all who died in military service were decorated to honor them. Later parades were added and the name was changed to Memorial Day. In the past twenty years the parades have either stopped or have become promotional parades of various causes. The decorating of the graves of those who died defending America has virtually stopped.
There are quite a few lessons that can be seen in this situation. The first is how quickly humans seem to forget those things that have been done for them in the past. The sacrifice of soldiers and their families in the Iraq situation is fresh in the minds of most of us, but remembering the enormous sacrifices of families of World War II is a fading or nonexistent memory.
The second lesson is how relevant God’s instructions are in helping us to remember the sacrifice that Jesus gave on the cross. Our society continues to become more and more materialistic and secular. As that continues the suicide rate and the level of unhappiness are skyrocketing. First Corinthians 11:24 reminds us that God gave us a method to refresh our memory and keep us from forgetting. In the words of verse 30 avoid what is happening in our world today “For this cause many are weak and sickly among you.” Our Christian Memorial Day is every Sunday. Do not take what God has done for you for granted.