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September 6, 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
POTLUCK TODAY! Stay and be a part of this monthly event--good food, great fun, and time to talk about and plan for the future work of the Church here. Some major decisions need to be made today, so be a part of providing input and knowing what is going on and why.
PEOPLE NEWS. Madge Harasewicz has returned to the care facility where she lives and seems to be doing OK. Patty's mom, Viola, is doing very well. She is up and even went out to eat this past week. She is still at Bill and Patty's. Ruth Sullivan, who Julie and Karl have been looking after for a very long time, passed away this past week and her funeral was Wednesday. Larry Fox had cataract surgery this past Thursday. Lana Fox continues to struggle with throat problems. Keep the Fox family your prayers, they are working through a number of health issues. John and Cynthia Clayton leave this Wednesday for the Does God Exist? Canyonlands Seminar and lectureships in Tuba City, AZ; Pueblo, CO; and Indianapolis, IN. They will not be back with us here until October. Keep the Claytons and the ministry they are doing in your prayers.
TODAY'S
LESSON
GOD'S
PLAN IN SIX VERSES
ROMANS 1:1-6
ROMANS 1:1-6
INTRODUCTION--The essential Bible message is easy!
We complicate things by our
questions.
Five basIc things we can all understand.
UNDERSTANDING 1--The Old
Testament message is that man needed redemption and could not do it on
his own--Romans 1:1-3. Five basIc things we can all understand.
Genesis 3--Man rejected his
relationship with God.
UNDERSTANDING 2--God himself
overcame what separates man from redemption--Romans 1:4.Man tried everything to reach
what he had lost.
Hebrews 11:16:40
All Old Testament stories testify to man's futility.Hebrews 11:16:40
John 1:1-10,14--all the promises
of God come true--Bill Gibson's class.
"With power"--Look at what Jesus overcame--nature (storms), human institutions, human suffering, death.
With a Spirit of Holiness--not by force or deceit--Matthew 26:53
Ephesians 2: 12-20--Removed the barriers
Matthew 11:28-30
UNDERSTANDING 3--God gave us the
Church."With power"--Look at what Jesus overcame--nature (storms), human institutions, human suffering, death.
With a Spirit of Holiness--not by force or deceit--Matthew 26:53
Ephesians 2: 12-20--Removed the barriers
Matthew 11:28-30
Ephesians 3:9-10
Life's problems will not be solved by human institutions.
UNDERSTANDING 4--Jesus will
cause us to make a choice--Matthew 6:4. Life's problems will not be solved by human institutions.
Matthew 12:30; Luke 11:23
Matthew 26:14-16--Judas made a choice.
Matthew 16:16-20--Upon Jesus the Church is built.
UNDERSTANDING 5--God calls us to
make the right choice--be restored to what man lost.Matthew 26:14-16--Judas made a choice.
Matthew 16:16-20--Upon Jesus the Church is built.
It is not an afterthought on
God's part.
Acts 2:38--we cannot carry what
separated us from God.
Verses 41 & 47--The Lord adds
those who obey.
Not a human institution--not based on any work.
Acts 2:38b--We are given a gift to help us. Not a human institution--not based on any work.
We are redeemed--no longer
alienated from God
FOLLOWING
THE PATTERN
One of the most commonly asked questions about the Church that meets here, is the question of how we are different than any of the other religious organizations that exist in the Dowagiac area. For many of us that may be a hard question to answer, and many of us who give an answer give an answer that really is not correct. If you say something about the fact that we do not have an organ or a piano, that is not a good answer. Even worse is to say we do not believe in music. If you say that we have communion every Sunday, that again is not a good answer. If you say it is that we do not call our preacher "Reverend" or "Pastor", that again is not what makes us different.
We are not different because of something we do or do not do in this building. We are different because we reject and do not do as an act of worship anything that was not practiced by the Church we read about in the Bible. We do not see the Church we read about in the Bible doing anything that approached entertainment. We do not see any individual given a title or having authority over another individual. We know 100 percent sure that the Christians met and engaged in singing together with everyone participating in a variety of different kinds of scared music. Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16 both mention hymns, psalms, and spiritual songs. They also use the Greek word "ado" meaning to sing an ode, or chant or reading--something everyone does together. Romans 15:9 and 1 Corinthians 14:15 refer to a process where a song that is not an ode or a chant is sung. This is closer to what much of our song service is--a created song expressing a common concern, praise, or admonition. Worship is not a spectator sport, and we are to all participate with the understanding that we are not judged on the basis of how well we sing, but the fact that we participate.
We are different then because of our high view of scripture, and the fact that we do not depend upon tradition or history to tell us what to do or how to do it. We encourage all men to accept what God tells us to do, and not add innovations or refuse to do something just because of a human judgement of whether it is necessary or not. If we cannot find an act of worship in the Bible, then we will not engage in it during our services. Come and join us in being just Christians, worshipping and serving God as best we know how, using only the Bible to determine what we should do and how we should do it. --John Clayton
One of the most commonly asked questions about the Church that meets here, is the question of how we are different than any of the other religious organizations that exist in the Dowagiac area. For many of us that may be a hard question to answer, and many of us who give an answer give an answer that really is not correct. If you say something about the fact that we do not have an organ or a piano, that is not a good answer. Even worse is to say we do not believe in music. If you say that we have communion every Sunday, that again is not a good answer. If you say it is that we do not call our preacher "Reverend" or "Pastor", that again is not what makes us different.
We are not different because of something we do or do not do in this building. We are different because we reject and do not do as an act of worship anything that was not practiced by the Church we read about in the Bible. We do not see the Church we read about in the Bible doing anything that approached entertainment. We do not see any individual given a title or having authority over another individual. We know 100 percent sure that the Christians met and engaged in singing together with everyone participating in a variety of different kinds of scared music. Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16 both mention hymns, psalms, and spiritual songs. They also use the Greek word "ado" meaning to sing an ode, or chant or reading--something everyone does together. Romans 15:9 and 1 Corinthians 14:15 refer to a process where a song that is not an ode or a chant is sung. This is closer to what much of our song service is--a created song expressing a common concern, praise, or admonition. Worship is not a spectator sport, and we are to all participate with the understanding that we are not judged on the basis of how well we sing, but the fact that we participate.
We are different then because of our high view of scripture, and the fact that we do not depend upon tradition or history to tell us what to do or how to do it. We encourage all men to accept what God tells us to do, and not add innovations or refuse to do something just because of a human judgement of whether it is necessary or not. If we cannot find an act of worship in the Bible, then we will not engage in it during our services. Come and join us in being just Christians, worshipping and serving God as best we know how, using only the Bible to determine what we should do and how we should do it. --John Clayton