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October 25, 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
Our thanks to the men who participated in our fall dinner program for our ladies. It was a joyous time together, and we enjoyed being able to let out Christian women know how much we treasure them and how special they are to us. In Acts 2:46-47 we see that one of the icharacteristics of the first century Church was that they ate togethet every day and had glad hearts and favor with all the community. Every time we get together and enjoy being family we copy in a small way what was a major activity of the early Church.
POTLUCK: Next Sunday is November 1, and we will be together once again to eat and enjoy one another in Christian fellowship. We always have a good time together, lots of food, and a chance to talk about plans for future work together. There is a lot to talk about this month (see below) and we urge everyone to stay.
BUILDING WORK: If you have not looked at the downstairs, be sure to do so. We have spent a lot of money to get the basement dry, and able to meet state codes. We have a drain system that will keep the water out and allow our classrooms to be used without the constant threat of being flooded. There is also an egress window which will allow us to have classes in the lower level without the risk of a fire trapping children in the basement. We need to work on elevating our children's classes and increasing the Bible school participation. This will aid that effort immensely. Our thanks to Bill GIbson for his hard work on this project.
TODAY'S
LESSON
SIN
INTRODUCTION--We live in a culture that trivializes sin.
TV--Is anything really wrong?
Politics--What is acceptable?
DAVID'S SIN--2 Samuel 11 Politics--What is acceptable?
Galatians 6:7-8
Passage does not say we cannot be
forgiven.
God does not promise to undo the consequences.
God does not promise to undo the consequences.
2 Samuel 12:9-12--Violating God's
word is despising it.
2 Samuel 12:13-14
THE CONSEQUENCES OF DAVID'S SIN2 Samuel 12:13-14
How does David respond to his
sin? How do we?
God takes away David's sin--the relationship is restored
The consequences of the sin are NOT removed.
God takes away David's sin--the relationship is restored
The consequences of the sin are NOT removed.
Contempt does not go away easily.
What is the Church known for? 2 Samuel 12:15--he baby dies
(note vs 20).
HOW DOES THIS PLAY OUT IN OUR
OWN LIVES? Parental sin affects children.
Major problems occur in David's family 2 Samuel 13:1-14--Amnon rapes
Tamar.
Absolom kills Amnon (verse 29).
David and Absolom are estranged (2 Samuel 14:24, 28).
Absolom begins a coup (2 Samuel 15:1-6).
David flees. Absolom takes David's concubines (2 Samuel l6:21).
Absolom is killed (2 Samuel 18:14-15, 33).
Political rebellion splits the nation (2 Samuel 20:1-2).
Our sins are ugly and far reaching!!
Absolom kills Amnon (verse 29).
David and Absolom are estranged (2 Samuel 14:24, 28).
Absolom begins a coup (2 Samuel 15:1-6).
David flees. Absolom takes David's concubines (2 Samuel l6:21).
Absolom is killed (2 Samuel 18:14-15, 33).
Political rebellion splits the nation (2 Samuel 20:1-2).
Our sins are ugly and far reaching!!
A man who abuses his body is
sinning--1 Corinthians 3:16
We can be forgiven, but
consequences are huge.
Mates who cheat, do not work at their marriages are sinning.Unloving, unworkable marriages
bring pain--Ephesians 5 :22.
Parents who do not put kids first, do not train kids sin"Children in rebellion bring
massive pain--Ephesians 6:1-4.
Being a part of a Church split is sin--love conquers.John 13:34; 15:17
1 John 3:11-23; 4:7-21
1 John 3:11-23; 4:7-21
Congregations die--a consequence
of sin
What do you do about your sin? HALLOWEEN
Is it not amazing how secular holidays change? I can remember as a kid that halloween was a time when we would go from house to house and get enough candy to make us sick. There was nothing dangerous or sinister about the holiday, and relatively little went on that was destructive--usually just a few squashed pumpkins. In recent years we have seen children's candy laced with drugs or broken glass. There have been witch celebrations that are used to ridicule Christianity, and even some horrible situations where a person was killed in a Satanic or witchcraft ritual. Costume parties used to be a fun time where people would look ridiculous for fun, and bobbing for apples and taking a hayride were as active as the celebration became. Now we have ghost parties that turn into drunken fights, and vandalism that runs into the millions of dollars in some metropolitan areas
The change is not a change in the history or origin of the holiday. Histonans can tell us about the beginnings of the traditions we have. We know that the jack-o-Iantern was used to scare away evil spirits in Europe in the distant past. We understand that there could be dangerous secular traditions associated with some of our fun things today.
I can remember a neighbor who had her six kids hand out a card when they trick-or-treated that said "We are Christians and we would, not trick you. We would like to treat you to a meeting we are having to tell the world that Jesus loves you and that no one has to fear ghosts or goblins because our God is in control." They then had the time and place of the meeting.
If you have trick or treaters who come to your house, how about taking one of our business cards from the foyer and write a note on the back or attach it to a card telling the parents and kids that we love them and we are here to serve them. 1 John 4:1-3 tells us to "Try every spirit" and shows us that anything that denies that Jesus has come in the flesh from God is to be avoided. Our kids need to learn the difference between fantasy and serious challenges to our faith. Wearing a ghost costume and having a good time with the neighborhood is not a time for debate. It can be of time of letting people know who we are and that we stand for good things, the rejection of evil, and being concerned about their souls.
Happy Halloween!
Is it not amazing how secular holidays change? I can remember as a kid that halloween was a time when we would go from house to house and get enough candy to make us sick. There was nothing dangerous or sinister about the holiday, and relatively little went on that was destructive--usually just a few squashed pumpkins. In recent years we have seen children's candy laced with drugs or broken glass. There have been witch celebrations that are used to ridicule Christianity, and even some horrible situations where a person was killed in a Satanic or witchcraft ritual. Costume parties used to be a fun time where people would look ridiculous for fun, and bobbing for apples and taking a hayride were as active as the celebration became. Now we have ghost parties that turn into drunken fights, and vandalism that runs into the millions of dollars in some metropolitan areas
The change is not a change in the history or origin of the holiday. Histonans can tell us about the beginnings of the traditions we have. We know that the jack-o-Iantern was used to scare away evil spirits in Europe in the distant past. We understand that there could be dangerous secular traditions associated with some of our fun things today.
I can remember a neighbor who had her six kids hand out a card when they trick-or-treated that said "We are Christians and we would, not trick you. We would like to treat you to a meeting we are having to tell the world that Jesus loves you and that no one has to fear ghosts or goblins because our God is in control." They then had the time and place of the meeting.
If you have trick or treaters who come to your house, how about taking one of our business cards from the foyer and write a note on the back or attach it to a card telling the parents and kids that we love them and we are here to serve them. 1 John 4:1-3 tells us to "Try every spirit" and shows us that anything that denies that Jesus has come in the flesh from God is to be avoided. Our kids need to learn the difference between fantasy and serious challenges to our faith. Wearing a ghost costume and having a good time with the neighborhood is not a time for debate. It can be of time of letting people know who we are and that we stand for good things, the rejection of evil, and being concerned about their souls.
Happy Halloween!