032909-Bulletin.html

March 29, 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

POTLUCK AND EGG HUNT: Next Sunday we will have our normal potluck and the theme will be "Easter Dinner." The word "Easter" actually was a Germanic word used originally to denote the festival of the vernal equinox (beginning of spring). It was adopted by the denominational world to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. The Greek word "pascha" which actually means "Passover" is translated "Easter" in some translations in Acts 12:4, but that is an inaccurate translation. So why do we have an Easter Dinner and an egg hunt? It is not because God told us to, or because we have an example in the Bible. Like Thanksgiving and President's Day, there are holidays that the world around us celebrates that we have the option to participate in or not participate in. The religious world actually does not celebrate Easter until April 12, but we are doing these two things next Sunday because we enjoy being together and doing fun things. The choice of next Sunday is because we normally have a get-to-gether on the first Sunday of the month. The Easter egg hunt is a fun thing for the kids, and we enjoy watching them and having fun with them. It has no religious significance, but it is a positive time for all of us. See Patty if you do not know what food to bring. Come and enjoy a great day with us, and bring a friend if you wish. We want to be known for our love and laughter and service to others, not for what we do not believe in or for the bad attitude we radiate toward those who celebrate special days. If you have some doubts read Romans 14:1-13.

TODAY'S LESSON

Today's lesson is comparing world religions--how the Christian religion compares to other world religions, not the differences between various Christian denominations.

RELIGION	DIETY	RULED BY	TEACH	REQUIRES
BUDDHISM	Buddha	4 Truths	Detachment	Meditation, Denial
ISLAM	Allah	Legalism	Earn reward	Ritual, Jihad
JUDAISM	God	Law	Follow	Obey Law
PANTHEISM	Plural	Conscience	Unity	Honor
CHRISTIANITY	Christ	Grace	Love	Love, Obey
PASSAGES	John 14:6 Matthew 1:21 Hebrews 5:8-9 Acts 4:11-12	Ephesians 2:8-9 Luke 17:10 Romans 3:233	John 13:34 Matthew 5:43- 1 John 2:10- 1 John 3:11-	Acts 2:38 Romans 6:16 2 Thessalonians 1:8 Hebrews 5:9

SO YOU THINK TIMES ARE TOUGH?

There is no question that we are in some hard times, but to get things in focus all one needs to do is to look back to the 1500s when a lot of the sayings that we all know got started. How they got started or where some of our modem devices came from may not be that well known to most of us. Here are some for size.

(1) Houses had thatched roofs--thick straw piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so cats and dogs (and other small animals and bugs lived in the roof). When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would fall off and thus the saying "It's raining cats and dogs."

(2) In the bedroom this posted special problems where bugs and droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet over the top offered some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.

(3) They cooked in a kitchen with a big kettle that hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot--mostly vegetables. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold over night and then start over the next day. This is where the rhyme "Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old" came from.

(4) Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the upper crust.

In the first century, the Church was faced with similar hardships. What is interesting about this is that the Church dealt with the hardship in a very different way. In Acts 2:44-47 we see the Church sharing their possessions and even selling goods to meet the needs of fellow Christians. The Church was the leader in the hard times of the first century, and we seek to be the Church today we need to follow their example. The economic crisis can be a wonderful opportunity to let the world see real Christianity.