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February 15, 2009
TO 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. FAMILY NEWS
SPECIAL FOR OUR LADlES. The men of the congregation want to let the ladies of the Church know how much we appreciate and treasure them. The world celebrates a special day called Valentine's Day in this country, but having many other names and traditions in other cultures. Many times this celebration emphasizes sexual connotations of love, but as our lesson this morning emphasizes, one of the most important facets of love is commitment. The God of the Bible is a God of love and we are commanded over and over in God's word to love one another and to nurture that commitment. SOME GOOD NEWS. We have a number of good things to report today. Bill Gibson is gaining on the infection that he got from his surgery. Do not slap him on the back to congratulate him, but he is better. Donna's daughter and Judy Earnst that we mentioned as having tests both got good test reports, although Judy does have breast cancer and will be undergomg radiation, but the lymph node tests were negative so it had not spread. LITERATURE. There are numerous publications with good Christian messages and teachings in them in the lobby in the tract rack and on the table as well as old bulletins. Please take these home and leave them out for family and guests to read. All of that material is there for you to take, so please use it and make it available to others. Remember that we also still have the New Testaments available for you to give to family and friends. TODAY’S LESSON
LADIES--WE LOVE YOU
INTRODUCTION--February
14--World celebration
VERSE 1--WITHOUT LOVE YOU ARE
NOTHING
Clanging gong--gets attention,
that is all.
VERSEs 2-3--GREATNESS INVOLVES LOVENeed to show love, not just talk it. Tracey Lawrence "You find out who your friends are." Talk is cheap--the purpose of our dinners. If you are attracted by greatness
and not love, you are going to be disappointed.
VERSEs 4-7--WHAT ARE THE PROPERTIES OF LOVE?Einstein, John Edwards, Jim
Bakker, Hollywood
Who has loved you and why?Real love goes way beyond sexual issues.
Who in your life has shown
these properties? The fact is for most of us it was a woman.
VERSE 8--WHAT REALLY
ENDURES? Love never fails.
HOW DO WE SHOW OUR LOVE?VERSES 8-13--WHAT IS PERFECT? Look at what is not perfect and
will ultimately fail.
Religion Knowledge (Science) God Heaven--the Kingdom in Heaven Verse 12--When do we see "darkly?"
Get a glimpse--our benevolent
work
When we are forgiven Everything in verses 4-7
By our obedience When did your mothers love hurt
you the most?
THE OLD FARMER'S ADVICE Your fences need to be horse high,
pig tight, and bull strong.
Life is simpler when you plow around the stump. A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor. Words that soak into your brain are whispered, not yelled. Meanness doesn't happen overnight. Forgive your enemies. It messes with their heads. Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you are. It doesn't take a very big person to carry a grudge. You cannot unsay a cruel word. Every path has a few puddles. When you wallow with the pigs, expect to get dirty. The best sermons are lived, not preached. Most of the things we worry about will never happen. Don't judge folks by their relatives. Always drink upstream from the pasture. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer. Don't interfere with something that doesn't bother you. If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging. The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with looks back at you in the mirror every morning. Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgement. Letting the cat out of the bag is a lot easier that putting it back in. If you think you are an important person of influence, try ordering someone else's dog around. Submitted by Bill Salmons
Speaking of a bumble bee being faster than a John Deere tractor, we need to have some volunteers to relieve Dave Pickens on yard work. If you can give some time this coming growing season, please let Dave know. We need people to not only mow, which is about a four hour per week job, but also to take care of watering, planting, and building the flower gardens and grounds around our building. Roof work and replacing some doors and windows also need to be done. Let us know if you can help. |