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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
Sweden--All hearts day Romania--Dragobete Day
Slovenia--Key of roots day Finland-Friends day
Japan--Choko Day UK--Jack Valentine Day
Love is a special blessing from God
I CORINTHIANS 13 Wonderful Bible chapter
VERSE 1--WITHOUT LOVE YOU ARE NOTHING
Clanging gong--gets attention, that is all.
Need to show love, not just talk it.
Tracey Lawrence "You find out who your friends are."
Talk is cheap--the purpose of our dinners.
VERSEs 2-3--GREATNESS INVOLVES LOVE
If you are attracted by greatness and not love, you are going to be disappointed.
Einstein, John Edwards, Jim Bakker, Hollywood
Who has loved you and why?
Real love goes way beyond sexual issues.
VERSEs 4-7--WHAT ARE THE PROPERTIES OF LOVE?
Patient Kind Does not envy
Does not boast Is not proud Is not rude
Is not self seeking Is not easily angered Keeps no record of wrongs
Does not delight in evil Rejoices in truth Always protects
Always trusts Always hopes Always perseveres
 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.
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
HOW DO WE SHOW OUR LOVE?
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.