For May 31, 2009

News

1. Attendance on May 24 – 497

8:30 a.m. – 257
9:45 a.m. – 240

2. CARE Ministry -- Every Tuesday night -- supper at 5:30, outreach/in reach activities at 6:00 p.m.

3. Date Night -- This Saturday, June 6. Encourage couples married and dating to attend. Childcare is provided. A guest speaker will take a few minutes to address a helpful topic for couples, then couples will be able to go out for dinner on their own.

4. "Celebrating God's Gifts" -- Next Sunday, June 7. This is a variation of the former church wide talent show. We want to celebrate all the gifts God has given to our people. There will be singing and other acts, but there will also be handmade crafts, foods, artwork, etc. on display. These will be donated and open for bids to purchase these items. All proceeds will go to the college scholarship fund given annually to graduating seniors. Encourage members of your class to donate their talent (gift) as we celebrate God's blessings together!!

Current Unit of Study -- "Choose Spiritual Paths"
This is the final week in the unit study of the book of Micah. Micah prophesied during the time of Isaiah. His message was one of warning and hope. He warned of God’s impending judgment yet he prophesied about God's mercy displayed in the future. In our lessons for this unit, we will be challenged to make choices in our life that will fulfill God’s purposes and not our own. “Choose Spiritual Paths” that lead to obedience and blessing and avoid paths that do not. The first two lessons in this series deal with two paths the we should NOT follow. The final two lessons present paths that we should take.

Lesson Supplement for May 31

Explore the Bible
"Commitment: A Path to Effectiveness”
Micah 7:1-7, 18-20

Intro. – This week’s lesson challenges us to be effective Christians. America has been known for quite a while as a Christian nation. However, if this has been the case, recent headlines and survey results seem to indicate a shift toward fewer Christians and less Christian influence in America in recent days. We could debate when this turning point took place. Some might say it started long ago. Others might argue that it is only a recent phenomenon. Regardless of when the shift began, it appears to be gaining, and Christianity in America may be declining. Perhaps this is because at some point along the way, we Christians lost our effectiveness. According to today's lesson, the path to effectiveness is called "Commitment." If we have lost our effectiveness, then it is potentially the result of a lack of genuine commitment to our Lord and His purposes. Let us recommit our whole being to the Lord and return to effectively impacting society for God!

Micah 7:1-6 – Have you ever felt alone and isolated because of the stand you take for God? Micah certainly did. As he looked around, he saw no one living a truly committed life for the Lord. That can be discouraging. Micah saw no godly people. He saw no one who practiced God's way of love toward God and others. He saw people at all levels of society deal unjustly with others. In fact everyone seemed to be "out for themselves," living selfishly at the expense and the disregard of others. Even one's spouse could not be trusted. When there is no trust in a society, that society can crumble.

Micah 7:7 -- In the middle of this morally decaying society Micah feels lonely and isolated because he has made his own decision about how he is going to live, and it is not the same decision that his fellow citizens have made. Micah decides to remain fully committed to the Lord and trust in Him, believing that God will judge the people and will vindicate him. Notice that Micah says he "will wait for the God of (his) salvation." This waiting was an active waiting. It was not sitting up on the hillside to wait and watch God bring down His judgment on the people like Jonah did with Nineveh. Even though it may be a long time before God would vindicate Micah for choosing to be committed to God, Micah was committed to obedience to God regardless of what society around him was doing. If you have ever felt isolated because of your stand for God, realize there really are others who are striving to live the same way you are, though they may be difficult to find. If you do know others who are striving to be totally committed to God, then bond with these individuals and encourage one another. However, if you do not find others to encourage you, do like Micah and make the commitment to "look to the Lord" and wait, no matter how long it takes, because God will hear you!

Micah 7:18-20 -- This final section is a proclamation of the confidence that Micah has in God. This confidence encourages him to persevere in his commitment to the Lord even while society around him is crumbling under moral decay. His confidence is not based on what he can do in his commitment of loyalty to God. His confidence is based solely on the uniqueness of God -- that God will forgive and pardon those who repent. Who is a God like that! God does not overlook sin. He detests sin. Yet He loves the sinner and will forgive the repentant heart. Micah includes himself among the sinners in verse 19, but he knows that if he remains faithful and committed to the decision he expressed in verse 7 to live righteously, then God will remove his sins from him. God will do this for all who repent from sin and live truly committed lives to Him. Verse 20 indicates that the final result is that God will show loyalty and love to the very society that had become corrupt in Micah's day.

Commitment – How can Christians return to effectively impacting our society? The answer is to choose spiritual paths, one that will lead us to be fully committed to God and His ways. We must choose to serve the Lord wholeheartedly regardless of what other people around us decide to do. We must live in confidence that God is the victor. This confidence will sustain us when we feel isolated and lonely because of our commitment to God. Lead your students to commit to encourage one another toward faithfulness to God in all things. Be encouragers to one another to help remove feelings of isolation such as Micah felt. Lead your students to re-commit their lives to total obedience to God in all areas. If we as believers do these two things, we will be effective once again in impacting society for God!

For Further Help with this Week's Lesson Visit http://www.lifeway.com/articleclick/?id=166474 and read Dan Kassis' weekly article

Comments Welcome -- Any ideas for illustrations, other scripture, or class activities to enhance the lesson?