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March 15, 2009TO 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
Let
us
remember that we have several classes in which we all can
participate. Larry Brewer is taking us through the Book of James
on Sunday mornings at 10:00. Wednesday evenings at 7:15, Bill
Gibson is walking us through the prophecies in the Old Testament that
point to Jesus and what He came to do when He lived among us.
Since John Clayton is out of town for several weeks, we are having some special presentations by the men of this congregation. This Sunday Jim Harasewicz is speaking twice. For the morning sermon he is speaking on “How to be a 24/7 Christian,” with the scripture from 2 Peter 1:1–12. This evening he is wanting us to “Make a Friend—Find a Need!” He would like us to take notes during the sermon.
Let us remember all the people we know who have a need of our prayers. Keep in mind the people who are on our prayer list, but we also need to remember those who are not on that list—in particular, John, who is traveling, visiting his family, and also heading to Colorado to hold lectures with a congregation in Grand Junction.
Many of us have access to a computer. The computer has a reputation of getting some of us into trouble, like browsing too much, or playing games for too long, but it can be very beneficial. The rest of this week’s bulletin has two articles taken from two different Web sites that offer us some devotional material. The first one, “In Friendship and Peace,” is written by Russ Lawson from Ohio. He has a Web site, “Messages from the Heart” (http://mfth.net), on which we can subscribe to his devotionals. On the back page is another devotional reading that is from a series that is called, “What Jesus Did.” This is part of the Web site called “Heartlight: Search God’s Word” (www.searchgodsword.org). This site has many resources that are available. Besides the “What Jesus Did” column, there is a daily reading plan for the Bible, as well as a column, “Today in Christian History.”
Since John Clayton is out of town for several weeks, we are having some special presentations by the men of this congregation. This Sunday Jim Harasewicz is speaking twice. For the morning sermon he is speaking on “How to be a 24/7 Christian,” with the scripture from 2 Peter 1:1–12. This evening he is wanting us to “Make a Friend—Find a Need!” He would like us to take notes during the sermon.
Let us remember all the people we know who have a need of our prayers. Keep in mind the people who are on our prayer list, but we also need to remember those who are not on that list—in particular, John, who is traveling, visiting his family, and also heading to Colorado to hold lectures with a congregation in Grand Junction.
Many of us have access to a computer. The computer has a reputation of getting some of us into trouble, like browsing too much, or playing games for too long, but it can be very beneficial. The rest of this week’s bulletin has two articles taken from two different Web sites that offer us some devotional material. The first one, “In Friendship and Peace,” is written by Russ Lawson from Ohio. He has a Web site, “Messages from the Heart” (http://mfth.net), on which we can subscribe to his devotionals. On the back page is another devotional reading that is from a series that is called, “What Jesus Did.” This is part of the Web site called “Heartlight: Search God’s Word” (www.searchgodsword.org). This site has many resources that are available. Besides the “What Jesus Did” column, there is a daily reading plan for the Bible, as well as a column, “Today in Christian History.”
IN FRIENDSHIP AND PEACE
A
friend,
Grace, sent me a note the other day and ended it with the phrase, “In
friendship and peace”. That thought has stayed with me and I
thought about how much that phrase said about what our Christianity is
about. It also expresses something that those outside of Christ
can’t understand and I’m afraid that many Christians struggle with
also. What is it? It is finding peace!
The apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 4:6–7, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus” (NLT). Another translation says it this way, “the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (NIV).
How is that possible, to receive a peace that transcends all understanding? People who don’t know Christ really don’t understand. They don’t understand how we can sleep peacefully at night. They don’t understand how we go through our daily lives without worrying about what terrorists are going to do, or our jobs, or our families; and the list could go on and on.
Those who are in Christ can have peace because we know we have a better home coming. We have the promise of greater riches in heaven and better promises than anything we can have here on this earth.
Have you ever said the children’s prayer? You know, the one that you taught to your children or grandchildren, the one that goes like this: “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.” Ask yourself if you really believe those words. Can you pray them with the sincerity of a child today? If not, why not? What is holding you back? Could it be the way you live or the way you think about your life (your perspective)?
The apostle Paul also wrote in Galatians 2:20, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Ask yourself this question: “Who is in control of your life, you or God?” Your immediate response may be, “Of course God is in control of my life!” But is He really? If you have been crucified with Christ, why are you still worrying? Of what are you afraid?
When you were a child you could crawl up on your parent’s lap and they would wrap their arms around you and tell you it was all right, that there was nothing to fear. Where do you go today? In whom do you find comfort? Where do you find peace?
What is the most we could want? Wouldn’t it be to live forever in peace, never to fear death, never to be afraid? That is what we have when we learn to let Christ live in us!
Russ Lawson, Messages From The Heart (http://mfth.net)
This is from Tuesday, March 10, 2009.
The apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 4:6–7, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus” (NLT). Another translation says it this way, “the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (NIV).
How is that possible, to receive a peace that transcends all understanding? People who don’t know Christ really don’t understand. They don’t understand how we can sleep peacefully at night. They don’t understand how we go through our daily lives without worrying about what terrorists are going to do, or our jobs, or our families; and the list could go on and on.
Those who are in Christ can have peace because we know we have a better home coming. We have the promise of greater riches in heaven and better promises than anything we can have here on this earth.
Have you ever said the children’s prayer? You know, the one that you taught to your children or grandchildren, the one that goes like this: “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.” Ask yourself if you really believe those words. Can you pray them with the sincerity of a child today? If not, why not? What is holding you back? Could it be the way you live or the way you think about your life (your perspective)?
The apostle Paul also wrote in Galatians 2:20, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Ask yourself this question: “Who is in control of your life, you or God?” Your immediate response may be, “Of course God is in control of my life!” But is He really? If you have been crucified with Christ, why are you still worrying? Of what are you afraid?
When you were a child you could crawl up on your parent’s lap and they would wrap their arms around you and tell you it was all right, that there was nothing to fear. Where do you go today? In whom do you find comfort? Where do you find peace?
What is the most we could want? Wouldn’t it be to live forever in peace, never to fear death, never to be afraid? That is what we have when we learn to let Christ live in us!
Russ Lawson, Messages From The Heart (http://mfth.net)
This is from Tuesday, March 10, 2009.
Model Prayer
“Model Prayer.” What Jesus Did. Wednesday, March 11, 2009. http://www.heartlight.org/wjd/matthew/0311-wjd.html
“So
when you pray, you should pray like
this: ‘Our Father in heaven, we pray that your name will always
be kept holy. We pray that your kingdom will come, and that the
things you want will be done here on earth, the same as in
heaven. Give us the food we need for each day. Forgive the
sins we have done, the same as we have forgiven the people that did
wrong to us. Don’t let us be tempted (tested); but save us from
the Evil One (the devil).’”
Matthew 6:9-13 (ERV)
KEY THOUGHT:
Much has been written about
Jesus’ model
prayer. Rather than something to be blindly recited, this is a
short guide for disciples on how to pray. The prayer easily
divides into two parts: first, we recognize the inestimable
greatness of God, and then we recognize our dependency upon Him.
As the previous verses indicate, God is our Father whom we can approach
freely as Father, while at the same time revering His holiness.
The first three petitions ask God to accomplish His ultimate will in
our world and reveal His holy purposes to all people. The second
three acknowledge our need for sustenance, forgiveness, and strength to
face the rigors of daily spiritual and physical life. Bottom
line: prayer doesn’t need to be eloquent, but reverent of God,
penitent before God, and dependent upon God while approaching Him with
confidence as His children.TODAY’S PRAYER:
Holy and tender Father, I
pray that you
exert your power in our world and work your will in irrefutable and
glorious ways. I trust you to fill my daily needs as I depend
upon your mercy and grace to forgive me and empower me to
forgive. May my life be used in your service to accomplish your
will. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.“Model Prayer.” What Jesus Did. Wednesday, March 11, 2009. http://www.heartlight.org/wjd/matthew/0311-wjd.html