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November 28, 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.
REMEMBER CHILDREN'S WORSHIP. Our services today will start with singing, prayer, and communion. After the communion our children will be dismissed to the fellowship area for a lesson at their level while the adults listen to the sermon for today. Parents need to decide whether they want their children to stay with them or go to the children's worship, but we would encourage all younger children who cannot understand the adult lesson to go and have a lesson which will be at their level. Our goal is to have 100% of what we do here understandable by 100% of us.
THANKS. We appreciate everyone who is working with the children's class during worship. Kamoka Castañeda and Samantha Wheeler have been teaching these precious young people in recent weeks, but we want to have everyone share in all of our teaching efforts. You will get more out of it than you give, but we do not want the load to fall on just a few people. Let Patty Gibson know that you are available to help, and she will work out a schedule so we rotate it among all of us.
NEXT WEEKEND IS BUSY. We have a lot going on next weekend, and we hope everyone will participate in everything. On Friday we have our float in the Dowagiac Holiday Parade starting at 7:00. Saturday evening at 6:00 we have our dinner to honor the ladies. Sunday morning after services we have our monthly potluck. None of these things require knowledge or showmanship--just come and join in letting the community and our ladies know you are a part of God's work in this area, and thankful to be involved.
TODAY'S
LESSON
THE WISDOM OF GOD
Proverbs 8: 12-30
INTRODUCTION--Some make God an illogical magician--God speaks = God zaps.
WISDOM ISA CREATION OF GOD.
THE WISDOM OF GOD
Proverbs 8: 12-30
INTRODUCTION--Some make God an illogical magician--God speaks = God zaps.
Genesis 1:3--What happened?
Psalm 148:5=--Was a natural process involved?
GOD DOES NOT CALL MANKIND TO
BLIND ACCEPTANCE. Psalm 148:5=--Was a natural process involved?
Attractive--we do not have to
think.
Makes faith a blind acceptance.
Makes faith a blind acceptance.
Psalm 19:1-2; Romans 1:19-22;
Isaiah 40:26; Isaiah 45:18
Proverbs 8--deals directly with God's methods Verse 1--God calls us to use our
intelligence.
Verses 4-11--God is not a God of ignorance or illogical understanding. The creation makes sense.
Verses 4-11--God is not a God of ignorance or illogical understanding. The creation makes sense.
Verse 22--Before the creation God
uses wisdom to do His will. God
existed before there was space, time, energy.
Verse 24--All water system--the basis of life
Verse 25--Mountains and hills are designed with resources.
Verse 26--The earth's fields, soils, nutrient systems
Verse 27--The atmosphere is designed with wisdom.
Verse 29--Boundaries of land and sea are established.
Verse 30-31--Wisdom is God's tool of design.
BIBLICAL WORDS USED TO DESCRIBE
GOD'S ACTIONS ALWAYS INVOLVE A PROCESS John 17:24; Ephesians 1:4; 1
Peter 1:20; 2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 1:2
Verse 23--God used wisdom in the quantum mechanical world--the matter
and energy that would form the world.Verse 24--All water system--the basis of life
Verse 25--Mountains and hills are designed with resources.
Verse 26--The earth's fields, soils, nutrient systems
Verse 27--The atmosphere is designed with wisdom.
Verse 29--Boundaries of land and sea are established.
Verse 30-31--Wisdom is God's tool of design.
Genesis 2:7--Yatshir--man of the dust of the
earth
Genesis 2:8--Planted
Genesis 2:9--Made all kinds of trees
Cosmos is stretched out (natah in Hebrew)
Genesis 2:8--Planted
Genesis 2:9--Made all kinds of trees
Cosmos is stretched out (natah in Hebrew)
Isaiah 40:22; 42:5;
44:24;
45:12; 48:13; 51:13; John 9:8; Psalm 104:2; Jeremiah 10:12; 51:15;
Zechariah 12:1; Job 37:18
Gen 2:3--"These are the things the Lord created and made." THE
GIFT
Things were tight financially, and the mother was struggling just to keep food on the table. She came into the kitchen and found that her five-year-old daughter had taken a roll of expensive gold wrapping paper she had saved for a special wedding that was coming up, and had used the whole roll to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree. The little girl explained that the box was her Christmas present, and she could not find any other paper to use, which placated the mother to some extent.
When Christmas morning came around and the family opened their gifts, the mother opened the box with the gold wrapping paper and found it completely empty. The mother was pretty disturbed, because it appeared the daughter had just wrapped an empty box wasting the expensive paper and not having even a simple gift inside it. She finally confronted the daughter and said "Young lady, don't you know that when you give someone a present, there is supposed to be something inside the package?" The little girl smiled and said "On Momma, it's not empty. I blew kisses into it until it was full!"
The gold box has been at the center of the family's home ever since that Christmas, and whenever the mother faced difficult problems or was discouraged she would open the box and imagine that she was taking out kisses and remember the love of the child who put them there.
In a very real sense, each of us has been given a golden box filled with unconditional love and kisses from God. "God is love. Whosoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him" (1 John 4: 16). "Because of your service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift" (2 Corinthians 9:13-15).
Our salvation is a gift from God. We have to open the package to receive it, but it is full of God's grace.
The idea is from Robert Rodriguez who is in our prison work.
Things were tight financially, and the mother was struggling just to keep food on the table. She came into the kitchen and found that her five-year-old daughter had taken a roll of expensive gold wrapping paper she had saved for a special wedding that was coming up, and had used the whole roll to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree. The little girl explained that the box was her Christmas present, and she could not find any other paper to use, which placated the mother to some extent.
When Christmas morning came around and the family opened their gifts, the mother opened the box with the gold wrapping paper and found it completely empty. The mother was pretty disturbed, because it appeared the daughter had just wrapped an empty box wasting the expensive paper and not having even a simple gift inside it. She finally confronted the daughter and said "Young lady, don't you know that when you give someone a present, there is supposed to be something inside the package?" The little girl smiled and said "On Momma, it's not empty. I blew kisses into it until it was full!"
The gold box has been at the center of the family's home ever since that Christmas, and whenever the mother faced difficult problems or was discouraged she would open the box and imagine that she was taking out kisses and remember the love of the child who put them there.
In a very real sense, each of us has been given a golden box filled with unconditional love and kisses from God. "God is love. Whosoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him" (1 John 4: 16). "Because of your service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift" (2 Corinthians 9:13-15).
Our salvation is a gift from God. We have to open the package to receive it, but it is full of God's grace.
The idea is from Robert Rodriguez who is in our prison work.