FISHING LESSONS: JOHN 21:1-18

JESUS HAD PROMISED TO MAKE THE DISCIPLES "FISHERS OF MEN". MATTHEW 4:19

THIS POST-RESURRECTION APPEARANCE CAN BE APPLIED TO WINNING SOULS FOR HIM.

DON'T FISH WITHOUT JESUS - VSS. 1-6

THE DISCIPLES WENT FISHING WITHOUT JESUS AND CAUGHT NOTHING.

WITH JESUS' HELP THE NETS WERE FULL.

WE CAN'T EXPECT TO WIN SOULS TO CHRIST WITHOUT HIS ENABLING POWER. JOHN 15:5

DON'T FRET OVER THE CATCH - VSS. 7-11

OFTEN WHEN WE LEAD SOULS TO CHRIST WE WORRY ABOUT THE SINCERITY OF THE DECISION AND THE CONSISTENCY OF THE CONVERTS. JUST AS THE NET HELD ALL THE FLESH, THE LORD JESUS HOLDS ALL THOSE THAT SINCERELY TRUST IN HIM. JOHN 10:27-31

DON'T FUSS WHEN CORRECTED - VSS. 12-18

IN ORDER FOR PETER TO BE THE VERY BEST FISHER OF MEN, JESUS NEEDED TO DEAL WITH ISSUES IN HIS LIFE, AND ENCOURAGE HIM. JESUS WILL CORRECT US AS WELL TO MAKE SURE WE ARE GOOD FISHERS OF MEN. HEBREWS 12:5-11

Prayer Requests for Feb. 15th

Reminders:
-Next Class Activity is set for Feb. 28 to Bonanza in Lincoln. Please contact Glennie if you are planning on going!
-See Ralph or Glennie if you would like to sign up for their Monday night bible study.

1. Laurie goes to the doctor tomorrow at 9:45 for tests. May any anxieties that you have, leave you and know that God is right by your side through all of this. We love you!
2. Jill was in an accident this week. We are so thankful that she is okay.
3. Please pray for Shelley and her family. She has a heavy burden for a Christian-based teen center and is trusting the Lord to work out all of the details. We pray for your vision and willingness to follow where God leads you.
4. All of the prayers for Roy has helped him to do better with his health issues, namely diabetes.
5. Be in prayer for Kelly & Steve and their unborn baby boy that has a heart condition. May you strengthen this little baby's body and give comfort and peace to his parents that are awaiting his arrival!
6. Glennie's sister, Rebecca, and her husband, Steve, are praying for their housing situation. It has been a blessing being able to stay with Steve's parents after their home was demolished by a tornado.
7. Keep Mr. & Mrs. Good in your prayers. May they stay healthy and safe and know how much we love them for teaching us and being such beautiful examples of living for Christ.
8. Ralph & Glennie, we thank you for your dedication and willingness to serve by all you do for our class.
9. Keep all of our class members and families uplifted in prayer.
10. For all of our class members that have other duties and cannot be with us each Sunday, we thank you for all you do and pray that you will feel the Lord's presence. Mel & Jane, thanks for being such a blessing and wonderful teachers to our children every Sunday.
11. Keep Troy and Jenney in your prayers with their new endeavor. May they know how much of a blessing they were to us while they were at Calvary. Keep in touch!
12. Al & Jean, we hope the warmer weather allows you to go out and hand out tracts. Thanks for being such a big part of our trail ministry while you were here.
13. Keep Gail in your prayers as she is still recovering at home. Contact the church office if you are willing to take a meal to her.
14. David and Lori Hines, we hope that Florida is treating you well. We miss you and hope that you are doing well.
15. Let's pray for our pastors and all of the members of our wonderful church! I LOVE Calvary and what it stands for. What an AWESOME God we serve!

Sowers Class Lesson Feb. 15

1 TIMOTHY 6
ABOUT FALSE TEACHERS

THEIR DOCTRINE IS WRONG
1 TIMOTHY 6:3 - IF ANY MAN TEACH OTHERWISE, AND CONSENT NOT TO WHOLESOME WORDS, EVEN THE WORDS OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, AND TO THE DOCTRINE WHICH IS ACCORDING TO GODLINESS;
THEIR DOCTRINE IS IGNORANT
1 TIMOTHY 6:4 - HE IS PROUD, KNOWING NOTHING, BUT DOTING ABOUT QUESTIONS AND STRIFES OF WORDS, WHEREOF COMETH ENVY, STRIFE, RAILINGS, EVIL SURMISINGS,
THEIR DOCTRINE IS PERVERSE
1 TIMOTHY 6:5 - PERVERSE DISPUTINGS OF MEN OF CORRUPT MINDS, AND DESTITUTE OF THE TRUTH, SUPPOSING THAT GAIN IS GODLINESS: FROM SUCH WITHDRAW THYSELF.

1 TIMOTHY 6:6-10, 17-19
THE WISE INVESTOR

**EVERYONE HAS MONEY TO INVEST.
**CHILDREN AND TEENAGERS INVEST THEIR MONEY IN CANDY, ICE CREAM, BASEBALL CARDS, GUM, VIDEO GAMES, BICYCLES, CARS ETC.
**ADULTS HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO INVEST IN FOOD, HOUSING, CLOTHING, MEDICAL EXPENSES, TELEVISIONS, COMPUTERS, VACATIONS, AND A HOST OF OTHER THINGS.


BASED ON 1 TIMOTHY 6:6-10 AND 10-7, WE WANT TO TALK ABOUT BEING A WISE INVESTOR OF THE WEALTH THAT GOD HAS GIVEN.

THE WISE INVESTOR HAS THE RIGHT PRIORITIES - VS. 6
GODLINESS AND CONTENTMENT ARE BETTER PRIORITIES THAN BECOMING WEALTHY OR ACCUMULATING MERCHANDISE.

THE WISE INVESTOR HAS THE RIGHT PERSPECTIVE - VSS. 7-10
WE BROUGHT NOTHING INTO THE WORLD WITH US. NOTHING WILL LEAVE WITH US. VS. 7
IF WE HAVE THE "BASICS" WE ARE TO BE CONTENT. VS. 8
THOSE WHO DESIRE TO BE RICH ARE ASKING FOR TROUBLE. VS. 9
THE LOVE OF MONEY IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL. VS. 10

THE WISE INVESTOR FOLLOWS THE RIGHT PROCEDURE - VSS. 17-19
RICH PEOPLE ARE NOT TO TRUST IN THEIR RICHES, BUT IN THE LIVING GOD. VS. 17
RICH PEOPLE SHOULD USE THEIR WEALTH TO BLESS OTHERS. VS. 18
NOBODY IS SAVED BY HIS OR HER WEALTH. HOWEVER THERE ARE REWARDS FOR THOSE CHRISTIANS WHO INVEST THEIR MONEY FOR THE GLORY OF GOD. VS. 19

1 TIMOTHY 6:10-12

**ADVICE FOR GODLY LIVING
1. FLEE! - VSS. 10-11A
WE ARE TO FLEE COVETOUSNESS BECAUSE THE LOVE OF MONEY IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL.
2. FOLLOW! - VS. 11B
INSTEAD OF SEEKING MONEY AND THE THINGS IT CAN BUY, WE ARE TO FOLLOW AFTER RIGHTEOUSNESS, GODLINESS, FAITH, LOVE, PATIENCE AND MEEKNESS.
3. FIGHT! - VS. 12
THE GOOD FIGHT IS OF AND BY FAITH.

He IS faithful!

Since we have been in a financial crisis, we haven't had a lot of food. I almost went to the food pantry a few times. The other day my brother-in-law called me and told me that they were no longer going to eat red meat. I said, "Ok." He said that because of this, they had a couple hundred dollars worth of beef left in his freezer and they wanted to give it to us. God is SO AWESOME!

-T

What an Awesome God We Serve!

I was waiting for a check because we didn't have any money left and I was already overdrawn. I knew the amount of the check so I wrote the deposit slip out, took the tithe out, and was left with something like $79.56. I was fully aware that the next day I was going to have to pay $80.00 for my son's school. When I received the check it was for more than I had expected. I reconfigured my tithe, paid my son's tuition and, believe it or not, I was left with $79.56! This is so God.

-T

Cast All Your Cares Upon Him

"As much as we think we are teaching and guiding our children they are teaching and guiding us right back. They remind us to take time away from our never ending "To Do" lists to cuddle together and read a book or go outdoors and enjoy a beautiful day by blowing bubbles or playing ball. Sometimes they let us know in a simple way we're doing a good job and remind us what is really important.

Travis sent us a letter that he wrote at school in 3rd grade. They were practicing letter writing and each child took a stamped envelope to school as part of the assignment. His letter arrived at our home on Wednesday, February 11, 2009 and said,

"Dear Mom and Dad,
Thank you for providing food.
Thank you for shelter.
Thank you for clothing me.
Thank you for loving me.
I'm so glad to be your son.
Love,
Travis"

Sunday, February 8, 2009 after church my husband and I were trying to visit and look at something on the computer just the two of us. It wasn't even noon yet but both boys and especially Travis were famished and thought they wouldn't survive another second if they didn't eat right now. I said, "Have you ever not been fed? Some children are hungry but there is no food for them to eat." It made an effect for maybe 5 minutes and then he was back at it, and then Andrew chimed in from the top of the stairs. I thought he'd written the letter AFTER this exchange but that wasn't the case when I looked closer. He'd written it on February 4, 2009. Our children hear us even when it doesn't show or seem to register at the time.

Today in the Sowers Class, Mr. Good reminded us that Food, Shelter and Clothing were our physical needs to be met AFTER giving God and the church the 10% tithe that is commanded in scripture. Everything given after that first 10% is a true offering."
-JMB

GO TO SOW – WEEP TO REAP

CLOSE YOUR EYES AND VISUALIZE
HUMANITY FLOWING PAST
THE SHORE ON WHICH WE SAFELY STAND
TO DEATH AND ETERNITY AT LAST
THERE’S FATHER, MOTHER, BROTHER, SIS
WILL THEY BE AMONG THOSE WHO MISS
THE GIFT OF SALVATION THAT WE HOLD DEAR
OR WILL WE BE FAITHFUL TO BRING THEM NEAR
LET THOSE WHO WOULD BE CARRIED AWAY IN THE FLOOD
FIND TRUE SALVATION UNDER THE BLOOD
LET US WHO KNOW, TELL THEM HOW
AND EARNESTLY SEEK TO DO IT NOW
CAST OUT YOUR LIFELINE WITH FEAR AND LOVE
AND TELL THEM OF JESUS, THE SAVIOR ABOVE
JESUS SAVES, HE STILL DOES
HE’LL MAKE OF YOU SOMEONE NEW
CLEANSE THE SIN THAT WAS
THE HOLY SPIRIT WHISPERS
“NO MORE MUST YOU BE ENSLAVED”
JUST BELIEVE HIM, JESUS SAVES
(written by: Mr. Good)

PAID IN FULL!

"We still pay bills the old-fashioned way with an envelope and stamp and personal check. A few we pay over the phone or on-line but the majority still go snail mail.
The benefit to paying them this way is the chance to enclose a Bible tract along with payment for services rendered.
On February 2, 2009 I mailed seven, "If at first you don't succeed, don't try skydiving. 101 of the World's Funniest One Liners" Bible tracts to the following destinations:
Mission Hills, CA
Minneapolis, MN
Wilmington, DE
Dallas, TX
Urbana, IL
Birmingham, AL
Southeastern, PA
Handing out tracts this way is within my "comfort zone". I'm not ready for, "Did you get one of these?" live and in person yet. Maybe soon. Working up to being bolder and braver.
It occurred to me that mailing Bible tracts with monthly bills is symbolic of the love of Jesus in more ways than one.
1. He encouraged us to be His Disciples and spread the Gospel.
2. He died on the cross and "PAID IN FULL" with his own life so our sins would be forgiven if only we believe with our whole hearts in His birth, death and resurrection and decide to follow Him."
-JMB

Catch of the Day

"Somebody in back…" by John Fischer

The following exchange took place in a CBS interview Katie Couric conducted recently with the crew members of US Airways Flight 1549 that went down January 16 in the Hudson River with all passengers remarkably surviving.

"Did you, at any point, pray?" Ms. Couric asked the pilot, Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger.

"I would imagine somebody in back was taking care of that for me while I was flying the airplane," he replied.

It was a loaded question, and a stellar answer. The man had literally seconds to make a decision where to land the plane, gliding 77 tons of metal, jet fuel and precious human cargo into a perfect water landing that did not break the plane into bits and pieces. "Let's bow our heads for a few moments of silent prayer" was probably not on his agenda at the moment. But "somebody in back" was most likely taking care of that for him.

Prayer is vital to a Christian's life. Prayer is our link to the eternal and an act based solely on our faith in an unseen God. It's probably something we could all use more of in both cases of our own prayer experience with God, and the support of others praying for us. But sometimes, you've got to just concentrate on landing the plane and count on the fact that somebody in back is praying.

Often, these days, I feel like I'm trying to keep my plane from crashing, and although it's not like I don't have time to pray, it's nonetheless comforting to know that somebody in back is.

In truth, I think we need to be in both of these positions at the same time. We need someone in back praying for us, and we need to be that someone for someone else.

And remember, as important as prayer is, sometimes you just have to land the plane.

Feb. 8 Sowers Class Lesson: JOHN 14

1. LET NOT YOUR HEART BE TROUBLED: YE BELIEVE IN GOD, BELIEVE ALSO IN ME.
2. IN MY FATHER'S HOUSE ARE MANY MANSIONS: IF IT WERE NOT SO, I WOULD HAVE TOLD YOU. I GO TO PREPARE A PLACE FOR YOU.
3. AND IF I GO AND PREPARE A PLACE FOR YOU, I WILL COME AGAIN, AND RECEIVE YOU UNTO MYSELF; THAT WHERE I AM, THERE YE MAY BE ALSO.
4. AND WHITHER I GO YE KNOW, AND THE WAY YE KNOW.
5. THOMAS SAITH UNTO HIM, LORD, WE KNOW NOT WHITHER THOU GOEST; AND HOW CAN WE KNOW THE WAY?
6. JESUS SAITH UNTO HIM, I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE: NO MAN COMETH UNTO THE FATHER, BUT BY ME.

JESUS IS COMING

JESUS IS COMING! WE DON'T KNOW WHEN, BUT HE'S COMING!

JESUS IS COMING! - BE COMFORTED - JOHN 14:1-3

NO MATTER HOW BAD THINGS SEEM TO BE JESUS IS COMING AGAIN! THINGS WILL THEN BE BETTER!

JESUS IS COMING! - BE COGNIZANT - LUKE 12:35-40

WE NEED TO BE AWARE THAT JESUS IS COMING AND ACTIVELY WATCHING FOR HIM.

JESUS IS COMING! - BE CONVERSANT - 1 PETER 4:7, 1 PETER 3:15

WE NEED TO TALK TO GOD IN BEHALF OF OTHERS.

WE NEED TO TALK TO OTHERS IN BEHALF OF GOD.

JESUS IS COMING! - BE CLEAN - TITUS 2:11-13

AS WE LOOK FOR THE BLESSED HOPE WE SHOULD DENY UNGODLY AND WORLDLY LUSTS, AND LIVE …SOBERLY, RIGHTEOUSLY, AND GODLY, IN THIS PRESENT WORLD.

JESUS IS COMING! - BE CHALLENGED - MATTHEW 25:13-29, ROMANS 12:3-8

WE DON'T KNOW THE DAY OR THE HOUR THAT JESUS WILL COME, BUT GOD HAS GIVEN EACH OF US TALENTS AND ABILITIES THAT NEED TO BE USED FOR HIS GLORY. WE SHOULD BE CHALLENGED TO USE WHAT WE HAVE FOR HIS GLORY AND THE FURTHERANCE OF HIS KINGDOM.

Next Class Activity is Sat., Feb. 28th!

MARK YOUR CALENDAR!

We hope you can join us for our next Sowers Class Activity:
Saturday, February 28th as we travel to Bonanza in Lincoln for dinner!
We will leave the church parking lot at 4:15.
A sign up sheet will be in Sunday School on Sunday.
Please direct any questions to Glennie.

Glennie is also going to start a small group ladies devotional/Bible study at her house on
Monday evenings at 6:00.
She will have more details and a sign up sheet for this as well.

Please continue to be in prayer for Gail as she continues to recover.
Keep Laurie in your prayers as she has some health issues that she is dealing with.
Keep sowing the seed and email me any encounters you have for the Lord!

Have a blessed week.

We lost one of our very own dear teachers this year and a sweet teacher was hired to teach the rest of the year in her class. The teacher, Laura Beth, was in her room on one of the days that the kiddos had off due to the extreme cold. I received a phone call from the janitor at our school, Ron, who had an opportunity to witness to Laura Beth and he called me to let me know of their conversation, that he left her with a bible tract, and that we should pray for her and an opportunity for me to talk with her as well.

I prayed that I would have an opportunity and about two weeks later I went into the work room to copy a few papers before I left for home and the Lord had Laura Beth working in there as well. We talked about school and such for the next few minutes and then I told her that I had heard that she was able to talk with Ron a few weeks ago. I asked her if she knew where she was going to go when she died and she smiled and sweetly answered, Heaven. I asked her if I could ask her a few questions and I took her through three of the commandments so she could see her need for salvation, this FREE gift from our Lord and Savior. Then, I took her through the courtroom scene and at the point when I told her that she would be standing in front of our almighty God and he would be sentencing her to hell based on His Laws, "someone" would walk through the doors in the back of the courtroom and say that HE would take her place and pay for her sins, she teared up and was shaking. She said that the tears and shaking were good because she could not believe that the Lord would do this for her. She definitely had her eyes opened! She was surprised that her pastor had not told her about this greatest gift of all time! I went and got her a few bible tracts to read and told her that we could talk when she was ready.

I know that Lord is working on her heart! Pray for her!

Update on Gail:
She fell January 23, 2009. It is a bad break. Two broken bones at the left ankle and a sprained right ankle. The outside break is clean but the inside break is separated. Two doctors will do the surgery on Thursday, February 5th. It will need a plate and screws. It will be 6-8 weeks in a cast - cannot put any weight on it and then physical therapy for about 6 weeks. She wrote, "Thank everyone for praying for me and that I miss them." She's thankful she had a trac phone in her purse with 1 1/2 minutes left on it - enough to call her daughter for help when she fell. Her family came to her rescue that day and she's at her parent's now.

Also, from The Home Connection, Home Sweet Home Ministries January 2009 newsletter:
1. Weekly Worship Services - We're happy to announce that regular worship services are now part of the services we offer at Home Sweet Home. Every Thursday at 5:30, directly after evening meals, staff and clients gather in the education room at the Billy Shepler Center for a time of worship and praise. These worship services are held by churches volunteering their pastors, elders, and worship teams. We need more volunteers> to ensure worship services will continue on a regular basis. If you or your church group feels led to join our ministry in this way, please call or e-mail our Director of Client Services, Andrea Andrews at aandrews@hshministries.org or 309-828-7356 x 215.
2. Needed: One or two dedicated volunteers for the kitchen> We are in serious need of one or two individuals to be committed to preparing and serving meals in our kitchen on Saturdays and Sundays. If you would like to help, please call Carolann at 309-828-7356 x 229.

Catch of the Day

Sign of the times by John Fischer A writer for the Los Angeles Times ended his article today on Super Bowl ads by remarking on the Bud Light commercial that ended with a guy being thrown out of a second story window. "Next, you'll be saying they will lay off guys who sit around and review commercials." He concluded. "Don't be ridic…. (Editor's note: This review has been ended because of cutbacks. We wish the writer success in his future endeavors.)"
* There's no reason to believe this is a joke. Yesterday I heard that the Times just cut 500 jobs. Many are saying it's going to get worse before it gets better. The economy right now feels a little like an airplane in a tailspin; and we wonder when or if the engines will kick in and allow us to pull out of this free fall before we all hit the ground.
What should the spiritual response to this be? Just be cool, everything's in God's hands? I'm not so sure it's that easy.
Fear is most likely the biggest obstacle. I know it is for me. Fear is a natural human emotion and not very easy to control, even though Jesus and His angels often said, "Fear not." It's hard to tell yourself not to be afraid. But fear can also be a healthy motivation to change. We let fear get the best of us when we allow ourselves to be frozen by it. If fear creates inactivity in us, it has succeeded in overcoming us. But if, instead, we use fear to motivate ourselves to step out in spite of our fear and seek creative alternatives to our problems, then we are actually turning fear into a positive force. It can be done.
The storm is raging, the boat, carrying the disciples, is in peril, but Jesus is out on the water. You can brace yourself in fear on the boat, or get out of the boat and go join Jesus on the water. On the boat there's just fear and paralysis. On the water, there may be fear, too, but there's also one heck of an adventure waiting for you! So what will it be?

On the first Sunday of every month our church takes a food collection for Ministry and More, a local food pantry. Usually our family goes shopping for canned food and other personal hygiene items they request for the people in need of assistance.

For the December 7, 2008 collection we did something different. In 2nd grade our son's teacher made crackers with her class. They made them for each classroom at the school. Within the cracker was candy, confetti and a note of good tidings for the Christmas season. This was placed inside a piece of cardboard tube, wrapped with tissue paper and the ends tied with a ribbon. It makes a festive package. You crack them open and the candy falls out to be enjoyed.We built on this idea but placed Bible tracts in snack size ziploc bags with and assortment of hard candy (especially peppermints since it was Christmas time). Then the bag was placed into a piece of cardboard tube, the tube was wrapped with tissue and the ends tied with ribbon. When we ran out of tubes and tissue we continued to use the snack bags and wrapped them with regular Christmas wrapping paper.

This plan B was a lot faster even though it didn't make as attractive of a package.We made 83 before running out of candy and tracts. We didn't spend as much money for the monthly gift to Ministry and More in December, but it took a lot more time to make the crackers than it did to go to the store for some canned goods.We included a note with the box of crackers to Ministry and More, but no signature. The final line of the note was, "Just a little something to give with food and love during the Christmas Season."

We could make these bundles up using an assembly line as a class for Ministry and More to give out all year - not just at Christmas time. For now it's something I'm glad we did in December. Just felt like the right way to spend an evening. We could use big plastic eggs toward Easter time with candy and some of the smaller scale Bible tracts. Something to think about.

Here are two links about crackers:
http://www.chicaandjo.com/2008/11/19/make-traditional-english-christmas-crackers/

http://www.mahalo.com/How_to_Make_Christmas_Crackers