First Church of ChristFirst Church of ChristFirst Church of ChristFirst Church of Christ 206 West Church Street 206 West Church Street 206 West Church Street 206 West Church Street

P.O. Box 301P.O. Box 301P.O. Box 301P.O. Box 301 Lynn, Indiana 47355Lynn, Indiana 47355Lynn, Indiana 47355Lynn, Indiana 47355

Sunday Worship and Study TimesSunday Worship and Study TimesSunday Worship and Study TimesSunday Worship and Study Times

Sunday School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9:30AMSunday School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9:30AMSunday School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9:30AMSunday School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9:30AM Sunday AM Worship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10:30AMSunday AM Worship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10:30AMSunday AM Worship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10:30AMSunday AM Worship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10:30AM

The Lynn Christian is:The Lynn Christian is:The Lynn Christian is:The Lynn Christian is: Published by First Church of Christ in Lynn,

Indiana on a bi-weekly basis for the distinct

purpose of informing its members and friends of its ministry of

“making disciples” to the glory and honor of Christ her Head!

Vol. XXIX September 16, 2014 No. 19

FULLY ENGAGED IN THE FELLOWSHIP & THE FIGHT

Jesus said to His disciples, “...and on this rock I will build My

church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail (stand up)

against it.” (Matthew 16:18b)

One week last month, in many of our Sunday School classes,

we reviewed and examined the Scripture text from which the

verse above is recorded. As you may also recall from that

week, we looked at a brief passage from the Apostle Paul’s

letter to the church at Rome. Interestingly, in that letter the

Apostle encouraged the individuals of the church in that city to

do something that would, in essence, help bring the words of

Jesus about the gates of Hades into reality... Paul wrote,

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to

offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to

God—this is your true and proper worship.” (Romans 12:1) In

other words, he was saying that if we have not consciously

given our lives to God each day... “a living sacrifice” (not just a

hour or so on Sunday mornings), then we have not really

begun to worship Him as He desires, let alone cause the gates

of Hades to be concerned.

Of course, this thought may raise some questions concerning

what “a living sacrifice” would look like in our lives. Perhaps

the verses that follow can help answer some of our questions.

. . . Continued on next page . . .

Facts and Figures:

09-07-14 General Fund $ 2249.20 09-07-14 Missions $ 562.30 09-14-14 General Fund $ 2350.45 09-14-14 Missions $ 587.62

The Lynn ChristianThe Lynn ChristianThe Lynn ChristianThe Lynn Christian

. . . Continued from previous page . . .

For a example, a few verses later, the Apostle listed some helpful

applications that we should probably examine a bit closer. First,

he compared our individual, physical bodies and their functional

design with the Church herself... the body of Christ. Just as our

human bodies have been designed to accomplish various tasks,

the body of Christ has also been equipped to accomplish various

works in the fight against the gates of Hades. God has brought

many different people into His church and given them an

assortment of talents and abilities.

As we examine verses 6-8 in chapter 12, the Apostle Paul also

identified seven (7) specific types of service which God has given

to various members of the Church family that can be used in the

fight against the gates of Hades. However, unless we fully

commit our lives each day by using those gifts and abilities, we

fail to give our true and proper worship of the One who created

us and saves us!... and we fall short in the fight against the gates

of Hades.

So that leaves us with an obvious and very important question...

Is God pleased with us? Have we offered ourselves as living

sacrifices, using the gifts and abilities He has given us, in the fight

against the gates of Hades?

In the process of preparing to share these thoughts here, I was

reminded of a book that I had never taken the opportunity to

read, but knew that many others had been encouraged by it...

perhaps you have, as well. It was written over 50 years ago, but

its message still needs to be shared because so many of us in the

Church today still need to become living sacrifices... to fully

commit our everyday lives to Christ and His mission.

The Company of the Committed, written by Dr. David Elton

Trueblood in 1961, addressed “the question of how the Church of

Jesus Christ can be so reconstructed as to play its potential role in

the redemption of contemporary civilization.” Dr. Trueblood

recognized that the modern day version of the Church, especially

in western culture, had evolved into a “society” that often fails to

pursue her true mission and needs to revisit the real source of the

purpose and plan to accomplish it... to share the saving love of

Jesus with the world!

Dr. Trueblood began answering his question by declaring that “we

(the Church) shall not be saved by anything less than commitment,

and the commitment will not be effective unless it finds expression

in a committed fellowship.” God has equipped His church with the

resources, not only to accomplish His mission, but also to sustain

and empower each of us with life and strength to do it. Further

still, He uses each of us to share those resources (Romans 12:6-8)

with one another in order to help complete that mission. And

when we do, fully and lovingly committed and working together,

God is pleased.

First Church of ChristFirst Church of ChristFirst Church of ChristFirst Church of Christ

Sept 17 6:00pm . . . . . . . . Men’s Bible Study Sept 20 REVIVE - Indian Creek 6:55am . .Meet at church parking lot for Ladies Conference Sept 23 FIRST DAY OF AUTUMN Sept 24 SEE YOU AT THE POLE 6:00pm . . . . . . . . Men’s Bible Study

First Church of ChristFirst Church of ChristFirst Church of ChristFirst Church of Christ

Sept 27 I.C.M.F. - Chapel Rock 9a - 4:00pm . . . . . . . . . .Workshops Sept 28 3:00pm . . . . .FCC Ice Cream Social Oct 01 6:00pm . . . . . . . . Men’s Bible Study Oct 03 & 04 JR. HIGH JOURNEY Oct 04 & 05 FAITH WEEKEND

Prayer ConcernsPrayer ConcernsPrayer ConcernsPrayer ConcernsPrayer ConcernsPrayer ConcernsPrayer ConcernsPrayer Concerns

Home (Health Concerns): Connie Alka, Jeff Boyer, Charlie Cole, George Hiatt (brother of Sue Haney), Nate King, Alex Lamb, Antoinette Meyers, Gus Michalos, Rex Ratcliffe, Dee Shelton, and Brianna Slonaker Our Missions, including: Purdue Christian Campus House ( Rob Schrumpf ) An evangelistic campus outreach that invites students to experience the grace and truth of Christ. Assisted Living and/or Nursing Home: Addison House (New Castle): Kathy Ratliff Autumn Hills (Bloomington): Helen Stewart Modoc Group Home: Rochella Newland Randolph Nursing Home: Jim Alexander Joe & Eula Newland room #312 Summers Pointe: Beulah Kirk Ruth Welch

FAITH WEEKEND

The church office has forms for all those interested in going to the Newport Aquarium during “Faith Weekend” (October 4 & October 5). Tickets are only $12 each when you fill-out form and send in or fax the filled-out form by Wednesday, October 1. Tickets must be paid for in advance. If you have any questions, please see Robin. Good family fun!

S.Y.A.T.P. - See You At The Pole

This is an annual gathering of Christian students of all ages at a flagpole in front of their local school for prayer, scripture-reading and worship, during the early morning before school starts. The American SYATP events occur on the 24th of September at 7:00am while gathering around your school's flag pole . The events began in 1990, in the United States, where public schools cannot sponsor prayers and some Christians see public schools as hostile to Christian students. It has grown by word of mouth, announcements at youth rallies and churches, and the Internet and now occurs internationally.

FCC Ice Cream Social

Come one, come all. First Church of Christ is having its First Annual Ice Cream Social on Sunday, September 28 at 3:00pm. Bring your favorite homemade ice cream to share! If you don’t have an ice cream maker, you may bring your favorite topping(s) or a dessert. Everyone is welcome to come and eat ice cream and fellowship with us! Let us know what you would like to bring. Sign up sheet on bulletin board. Whitey says he’s bringing “surprise” flavor ice cream. Yummy!

FCC Men’s Bible Study

The men have been having Bible study every Wednesday evening here at the church b u i l d i n g . T h e y a r e approximately half-way through the book, “Friendship with God” by Don Cousins and Judson Poling. It is never too late to join in the men’s study - all men are welcome! Begins each Wednesday at 6:00pm.

Fall is Upon Us!

With leaves changing, baseball’s regular season coming to an end and college and NFL football beginning you know summer’s last fling is upon us. Goodbye to the smell of sunscreen and hello hot apple cider and pumpkin pie.

Twice a year, around March 20 or 21 and September 22 or 23, the sun’s rays shine directly over the Earth’s equator. These two days are known as the spring equinox

and autumn equinox. This year our first day of fall will be September 23. Goodbye summer, hello fall!