Bible Verse for Sunday Service October 27, 2024
1 Samuel 12:24
Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you.
Announcements:
Next Sunday, Fellowship Sunday, we serve refreshments between Sunday School and Church. We welcome snacks or goodies for you to share.
We are planning the annual Thanksgiving Dinner for November 17 were we look forward to a delicious meal and a special musical treat. During both the morning worship service and after the dinner, the Gospel quartet “Next Journey” will provide the music. Please sign up on the foyer table if you plan to come and for what food you can bring.
Just a reminder that we will again be participating in the Samaritan’s Purse Christmas Child Box program. So, we will need items for the Awana children to pack in the boxes in November. In the foyer, you will find a sign up sheet with items you could provide by purchasing them. Also, if you prefer, you can support the program by contributing funds instead.
Election Day is Tuesday, November 5: Your vote. Your voice. Your power. Use it wisely.
Special: “His Grace is Sufficient for Me”
Gaylene, Lil and Paula, delighted us by singing “His Grace is Sufficient for Me.” This song, words and music, was written by Thomas Mosie Lister. He was a prolific song writer, writing over 700 songs. He was quite a character, being singer, writer, arranger, and later a minister. If you would like to hear this song performed by one of Gospel greats, please check here. Otherwise you can this performance below or on Rumble.
Sermon:
Pastor Jim spoke to us on Romans 13:1-7 in a sermon he titled “A Civics Course for Christians.” To introduce the idea he reminded us that civics used to be taught in schools, and discussed what he had learned. Our bible addresses civics too. Paul covers it in Romans. If we are not to have a theocratic state like Israel was before exodus, what is the God’s proscription for us. Pastor covered this in a two point sermon.
Firstly, Civics is the responsibilities of Good Government. The most important of which is to create a stable society. By way of historical reminder, he recalled that from the time of the fall to the flood, our guide for life was our consciences. But, the events of Genesis 6 remind us that this was a miserable failure. Besides a stable society, civics provides a way to carry out God’s justice here on earth while we wait for Jesus’ return. That justice provides that the state now punish law breakers, including murderers in accord with His law. Consequently, we should vote for those who uphold God’s law. Lastly under this point, civics should work to encourage and reward good behavior.
In his second point, Pastor spoke to us on the responsibilities of Christian citizens. These are to obey the law, to pray for our leaders and to live out our faith. In short, we are to be salt and light in our world, just like Jesus commanded. We will then have a great testimony for Him. For without God’s help, people will fail on the most important issue, knowing Jesus.
Pastor closed with a quote from Benjamin Franklin. Although he does not appear to be a Christian, he was a theist who recognized that: “God governs in the affairs of me. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable than an empire can rise without his aid.” The question answers itself. Let’s be guided by this advice this election season.
Accessing the Service, Bulletin and Sermon Outline:
Here are the pages from the bulletin, click on the images below to see them full size:
If you would like to have the sermon outline, you can download it here, a pdf file.
If you would like a link to this service you can find it here. It starts a little later as we had difficulty with our camera at the start of the service. Perhaps you would like to share it with your friends. You could also share that link on social media, if you use any of the providers. We use Rumble, a safe alternative to Google’s YouTube.