Home
Worship Services
Location
Contacts
Bulletins
Links
March 14, 2010TO 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
NEXT SUNDAY NIGHT. The congregation in Benton Harbor has invited us to join them for an evening of singing next Sunday evening beginning at 5:00. To facilitate that we are not having our normal Sunday night service, but will plan to be a part of their singing. If you would like transportation to the program in Benton Harbor, contact Bill Gibson and he will drive the van. There will be food and fellowship after the singing, but the brethren in Benton Harbor have not asked us to bring food. Join us and enjoy a night of spiritual food and home cooking.
RECORDINGS. We are recording the Sunday morning sermons so that people who are teaching the children's worship and people who are ill and miss services can hear the lessons and participate in the worship. If you or someone you know wants to listen to the services, let us know and we will make copies for you. We can also tape classes if anyone wishes to listen to them. This is not only for our shut ins, but for anyone who has a use for them. The recordings are on cassette, and we have machines if you do not have a cassette player. Check with John Clayton or Karl Marcussen if you are interested.
CLASSES. It is so important for us to grow in our knowledge of God's word. One of the best ways to do that is to attend regularly the classes we have here. The book of James is our Sunday morning class at 10:00, and the book of Romans is our subject on Sunday and Wednesday evenings. Join us and grow!
TODAY'S
LESSON
BRINGING THE GOSPEL TO
LIFE
James 2:14-26
James 2:14-26
INTRODUCTION--
Christian = Christ-like.
What is a "strong man?"
Turning your back on need is not strength.
We are a culture of cowards.
PERSONAL FAITH IS
LEGITIMIZED BY COMPASSION--James 2:14-18.What is a "strong man?"
Turning your back on need is not strength.
We are a culture of cowards.
Does your faith have "feet?"
Can you be moved to tears?
PERSONAL FAITH IS REALIZED
BY OBEDIENCE--James 2: 19-24.Matthew 3:8
Matthew 5:16
Compassion is linked to forgiveness.Matthew 5:16
Matthew 18:21-35
Note verse 35
What is your emotional reaction to tragedy in others.Note verse 35
Can you be moved to tears?
Do you have faith or
acceptance?
Obedience is not a work.
Romans 6:3-4--"Born again" means you died. How?
New life means you had a new start.
PERSONAL FAITH IS EXPRESSED
IN MINISTRY--James 2:25-26 Accepting can be a
bargaining chip.
Faith is a start, not an end.
Satan and his angels believe--verse 19.Faith is a start, not an end.
Obedience is not a work.
Greek is ergon (ergonomics)
= deed (verses 18, 20).
Abraham's faith was made complete by?? Romans 6:3-4--"Born again" means you died. How?
New life means you had a new start.
Most biblical names indicate
doing a ministry
Paul's name was changed from Saul to Paul.
| Dorcas | Cloak service | Acts 9 |
| Onesimus | Prison ministry | Philemon |
| Barnabas | Encourager | Acts 4:36 |
Paul means little man.
What was Paul's ministry as
a Christian.
What are you known for?WORKING
WITH THE BRETHREN
The past two Sundays Cynthia and I
were away from you and working with congregations in the "Bible Belt."
Our first lectureship was with the College Hills Church of Christ in
Lebanon, Tennessee. We had over 1,000 people in the worship service I
spoke at on Sunday morning and over 500 at each of the evening
services. The Church there is doing very well with a huge building that
is heavily used by the community. In addition to speaking at the Church
I was honored to speak to some 500 young people at a Christian high
school, and then to an advance placement biology class at another high
school. I had a class of 60 or so children I taught on Sunday
afternoon, from a local elementary school. The congregation also was
able to put me in touch with a local TV station, and we made some
programs to be aired throughout this week. We expect to have a flood of
e-mails from people who watched the program.
After some exhausting days in Lebanon, we made our way over the mountains to Greensboro, North Carolina. This congregation was the opposite of the one in Lebanon. The Sunday morning attendance was around 60, meeting in a very old and small building. The congregation did not have any young people, and there was no aggressive program being conducted to reach out to people in the area. The congregation is made up of mostly older folks who in many cases have retired from secular work and from the Lord as well. I am not sure how you retire from God, but they just were not willing to get involved and wanted the preacher to do all of the leg work. We had some visitors from the community, and some good discussions about what the future of the Church would be if there was not a change in what they were doing. I was encouraged by the fact that several of the folks there wanted to get things going, and I am hopeful that they will do that.
As I pulled out of Greensboro after the program I thought about how fortunate we are to have our congregation here. We have no preacher and no power struggle to become one. Everyone is willing to get involved and do some work. I told the brethren about the history of this congregation, and tried to get them to see that they too can break out of the cycle of criticizing everyone else and not doing God's will. We talked about the role of division and what causes division. Hopefully the spirits of discord will die down, and the Church there will begin to reach its enormous potential.
Brethren, let us count our blessings and strive to make sure we stay united and committed to doing God's will in all areas of endeaver. We are blessed, and can be used by God in wonderful ways.
After some exhausting days in Lebanon, we made our way over the mountains to Greensboro, North Carolina. This congregation was the opposite of the one in Lebanon. The Sunday morning attendance was around 60, meeting in a very old and small building. The congregation did not have any young people, and there was no aggressive program being conducted to reach out to people in the area. The congregation is made up of mostly older folks who in many cases have retired from secular work and from the Lord as well. I am not sure how you retire from God, but they just were not willing to get involved and wanted the preacher to do all of the leg work. We had some visitors from the community, and some good discussions about what the future of the Church would be if there was not a change in what they were doing. I was encouraged by the fact that several of the folks there wanted to get things going, and I am hopeful that they will do that.
As I pulled out of Greensboro after the program I thought about how fortunate we are to have our congregation here. We have no preacher and no power struggle to become one. Everyone is willing to get involved and do some work. I told the brethren about the history of this congregation, and tried to get them to see that they too can break out of the cycle of criticizing everyone else and not doing God's will. We talked about the role of division and what causes division. Hopefully the spirits of discord will die down, and the Church there will begin to reach its enormous potential.
Brethren, let us count our blessings and strive to make sure we stay united and committed to doing God's will in all areas of endeaver. We are blessed, and can be used by God in wonderful ways.