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December 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: It is the first Sunday of the month, and we always look forward to a great meal at our monthly potlucks. There will be plenty of food, so if you did not bring anything do not worry about it. After the potluck we will have a congregational meeting on the children's worship idea. We really need everyone here to participate in the decision. There is an article on the back page of this bulletin. Please be sure to read through it before the meeting. If you have any concerns about what is being planned, be sure to see John Clayton
BRR: I am writing this before the parade, but the weather forecast for Friday night is that it will be cold. A bunch of us will have been sitting on a trailer float put together by Bill and Patty Gibson. The purpose of this activity is to let the community know we are here and part of wholesome things going on in the area. Thanks to everyone who participated and to the Gibsons for all their work on this project.
THANKS: Cynthia and I have just returned from 7500 miles of driving from Fort Collins, Colorado, to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, to Simi Valley, California (near Los Angeles). We had great lectureships with good crowds at all places. We also got to spend Thanksgiving with Cynthia's father and visited some close friends of mine. The program on the Colorado State Campus went very well with the room packed. The follow up program with the congregation also went well. The Church is very strong there. In Winnipeg we had good crowds and lots of interest. God has blessed our work richly, and we enjoyed time to talk as we traveled. Thanks so much for keeping us and our work in your prayers.
--John Clayton
TODAY'S
LESSON
FAN THE GLOW INTO A FLAME
INTRODUCTION--2 TIMOTHY 1:6 Timothy was struggling--have you ever struggled?
Courage was waning--ours can too.
Faith had weakened-- ours can too.
Discouragement had set in.
2 Timothy 1:7-8--Fear is a spirit that Satan uses.
Our power, our love, our mental state can be affected.
The Bible gives us some suggestions to help us.
REMEMBER YOUR PAST
Titus 3:3--look at this list.
| Foolish | Living in Malice | Living in envy |
| Disobedient | Hateful and hating | Serving Lust |
| Deceived | Deceiving |
WASH AND RENEW--TITUS 3:4-7.
God's love and kindness is amazing--verse 4.
Some people will not allow love
and kindness.
Washing and regenerating of the Holy Spirit.Force is all they understand.
Acts 2:38--A promise made to us
about the Holy Spirit.
1 John 1:5-7--Active process--continuous.
Titus 3:5--The Spirit IS active, but we have to allow it.
AVOID Titus 3:8-11. 1 John 1:5-7--Active process--continuous.
Titus 3:5--The Spirit IS active, but we have to allow it.
"You can't out puke a buzzard"--Ira North
Some people just like to argue.
Pick your fights. REGENERATE--RENEW--Titus 3:5.
Retreat--Mark 6:31-32. What did Jesus do?
When was the last time it was
just you and God?
Fellowship--what did the first century Church do? Acts 2:41-47
Why do we have potluck dinners?
Why do we have Wednesday and Sunday night fellowships?
Obey--Every New Testament conversion story.Why do we have potluck dinners?
Why do we have Wednesday and Sunday night fellowships?
Acts 2:37
Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch--Acts 8.
The Phillipian Jailer--Acts 16.
Cornelious--Acts 10.
Obedience applies to us every day we live.Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch--Acts 8.
The Phillipian Jailer--Acts 16.
Cornelious--Acts 10.
Never too late to make a fresh
start.
THE
FIRST CENTURY CHURCH And CHILDREN'S WORSHIP
This afternoon after a potluck lunch together, we plan to work out the details of having a children's worship during at least the preaching part of our service. One obvious question is the question of whether the first century church that we emulate had such a thing as children's worship. To get a grip on such a question, we have to understand how the first century church functioned. They did not have buildings like this one and worship was conducted in people's homes. In Acts 2:41-47 we see this happening, and in Acts 16:14-40 we see Lydia being the place where the church met. In Acts 20:7-9 we see a worship service in the evening in a home with a long preaching service. Someone had to be caring for the children while Paul was preaching for that long a time. The problem with this was that the potential for abuse was high. All of 1 Corinthians is a story of such problems with social issues and bragging about who converted a person being considered important.
Children are not specifically mentioned in these verses, but households are mentioned and children would be a part of that. There is no methodology given, but it is a necessary inference that children were being cared for during the worship. When Paul preaches long and late someone is caring for children in the same house. Women had a major role in bringing up children as faithful believers. In 2 Timothy 1:5 Timothy is great faith is associated with his mother and grandmother. In 1 Timothy 5:14 the importance of women in their work with children is taught, and Titus 2:3-5 clarifies how vital the work of teaching is for women, with specific mention of older women being involved in training younger women to teach and love their husbands.
The importance of the church training children is also emphasized in the qualifications for leaders. First Timothy 3:4 and Titus 1:6 both emphasize the way children reflect the spiritual nature of their fathers. This congregation needs to look at the unique problems our children are faced with and how we can meet the needs these children have. Romans 12:1 discusses what real worship is--that we should present our bodies as living sacrifices. Whatever preparation it takes for these sacrifices to be presented is biblical and spiritual. Treating children as second class citizens, or minimizing the importance of their teaching is a major error.
There will be a proposal made this afternoon of how we can revise our worship and do a better job of addressing the needs of our young people. This needs to be a congregational decision made with understanding and a desire to do what is right and best for the children as well as the adults. Be here and be a part of it.
This afternoon after a potluck lunch together, we plan to work out the details of having a children's worship during at least the preaching part of our service. One obvious question is the question of whether the first century church that we emulate had such a thing as children's worship. To get a grip on such a question, we have to understand how the first century church functioned. They did not have buildings like this one and worship was conducted in people's homes. In Acts 2:41-47 we see this happening, and in Acts 16:14-40 we see Lydia being the place where the church met. In Acts 20:7-9 we see a worship service in the evening in a home with a long preaching service. Someone had to be caring for the children while Paul was preaching for that long a time. The problem with this was that the potential for abuse was high. All of 1 Corinthians is a story of such problems with social issues and bragging about who converted a person being considered important.
Children are not specifically mentioned in these verses, but households are mentioned and children would be a part of that. There is no methodology given, but it is a necessary inference that children were being cared for during the worship. When Paul preaches long and late someone is caring for children in the same house. Women had a major role in bringing up children as faithful believers. In 2 Timothy 1:5 Timothy is great faith is associated with his mother and grandmother. In 1 Timothy 5:14 the importance of women in their work with children is taught, and Titus 2:3-5 clarifies how vital the work of teaching is for women, with specific mention of older women being involved in training younger women to teach and love their husbands.
The importance of the church training children is also emphasized in the qualifications for leaders. First Timothy 3:4 and Titus 1:6 both emphasize the way children reflect the spiritual nature of their fathers. This congregation needs to look at the unique problems our children are faced with and how we can meet the needs these children have. Romans 12:1 discusses what real worship is--that we should present our bodies as living sacrifices. Whatever preparation it takes for these sacrifices to be presented is biblical and spiritual. Treating children as second class citizens, or minimizing the importance of their teaching is a major error.
There will be a proposal made this afternoon of how we can revise our worship and do a better job of addressing the needs of our young people. This needs to be a congregational decision made with understanding and a desire to do what is right and best for the children as well as the adults. Be here and be a part of it.