The Pat Howard Sunday School Class: March 2016

Thursday, March 31, 2016

1st Sunday of April

This Sunday Is

Sunday

So ........Rise and Dine

and Give God The Glory!!!

Come get fed this Sunday, physically and spiritually!!

We continue our pursuit of the "I AM" statements that Jesus gave to the Disciples...

Our focus this week is

John 14:1-7

Our Need for Peace

Atticus Finch, the small-town Alabama lawyer in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, is one of the most beloved characters in American literature. Throughout the novel, Atticus maintains a calm poise in all situations—whether facing down a rabid dog or dealing with a racially-motivated mob. Several times in the narrative, Atticus tells his children, Jem and Scout, “It’s not time to worry.” Atticus is always very open with his children, so they trust that if there ever is a time to worry, he’ll tell them.

Trouble has a way of finding us, and it’s easy to let those troubles cause us to worry. It would be nice to a have our own version of Atticus Finch—someone to tell us, “It’s not time to worry.”

The truth is that we don’t need a fictitious character like Atticus. We have Jesus, who offers us something far greater. He doesn’t just offer words in an attempt to comfort us; He offers Himself. Jesus does what no Atticus Finch could ever do: He gives us true peace even in the midst of trouble.

Saturday, March 26, 2016

THIS SUNDAY

COME CELEBRATE

A LIVING SAVIOR

SEE YOU IN

SUNDAY SCHOOL!!

Thursday, March 17, 2016

Take it to the Lord in Prayer!

Take it to the Lord in Prayer!
Dr. Jay Wolf

God’s Word invites us to live in the atmosphere of prayer. “You shall make your prayer unto Him, and He will hear you, and you shall pay your vows.” (Job 22:27)

The dear hymn reminds us, “O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry, everything to God in prayer.”

Follow me down this ordinary road.The meeting with your friend started as an amiable encounter that awkwardly morphs into a disagreement. What commenced as a conversation turns into a confrontation. The tension becomes so thick you can cut it with a knife. Wisdom prompts you to separate before things disintegrate. Then when you separate, it’s time to communicate with the Lord. When you get alone with God then the communion of conviction comes and you move from confusion into revelation. More often than not, the Holy Spirit has shown me that I was in the wrong and need to ask for forgiveness.Next, you make a vow to the Lord to untie the relational knot.You operate in the spirit of Isaiah 1:18, “Come let us reason together, says the Lord, though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow.”

Summary: Use prayer to untie relational knots by retreating, reflecting and receiving God’s instructions.

To Whom or What Are You Enslaved?

Dr. Jay Wolf

"For he who was called in the Lord as a bond-servant is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a bond-servant of Christ. You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men." (1 Corinthians 7:22-23)

We are surrounded by slaves!

Every day you interact with people who are functional captives. You may protest: "That's impossible. Slavery is illegal!" Actually, slavery, bondage and captivity exist in a multitude of forms.

Many are bound with invisible chains. Some people are slaves to their work. We call that workaholism - it is legal, encouraged in many circles and is widespread. Others are slaves to possessions. That form of bondage bears the title of materialism. Countless people are enslaved to the expectations of other people. Their bondage comes in the form of an insatiable desire to please people.

Every form of ugly slavery and seductive idolatry diminishes your walk with God. Beloved, the Lord calls you to know His truth and find freedom in Christ. You can break free from enslaving bonds to people, things, work, substances or self-defeating habits. God calls you to the counter-intuitive decision to enslave yourself to Jesus and in doing so you are set free! When I became captivated by the love of Christ and consumed with His expectations for my attitudes and actions, I was set free from conforming to the expectations of others.