Village family and friends!
We are excited for Sunday school to resume for all ages this Sunday morning! Join us at Byron Baptist Church (410 N. Ann St., Byron) at 9am!
Sunday school is from 9:00am - 9:45am, and the class locations are as follows:
Main level:
Adults - fellowship hall: men on one side, women on the other
2’s and 3’s - Toddler nursery
Under 2 - Infant nursery
Lower level:
4 years-Kindergarten - Classroom 3
3rd-5th grade - Classroom 5
1st and 2nd grade - Classroom 7
Youth (6th-12th grade) - Classroom 8
Following Sunday school we will gather in the main auditorium for our weekly worship service. One change taking place to what The Village has historically done will happen in our nursery care. Typically babies that are checked in to the nursery for Sunday school remain there through for the morning worship service. Byron Baptist’s practice has been to to dismiss children to the nursery and for children’s church after singing. Throughout the summer, a number of VIllage parents have expressed how much they have enjoyed their families being together for the singing portion of our Sunday morning and then taking their children to the nursery. This also allows for nursery workers to participate in singing and praying together with the church, something they have typically missed out on. So, parents, please pick your children up from the nursery after Sunday School and they can be returned when children’s church is dismissed.
Also this Sunday, I am excited to open the Word of God together with you and begin looking at the “One Another” statements of the New Testament. I am calling this sermon series, “One Another: A Compelling, Christ-created Community.” In the King James Version of the Bible there are 100 uses of the Greek word ἀλλήλων which means one another. When ἀλλήλων is transliterated (that means spelled with a different alphabet) into English, it becomes the word allēlōn pronounced al-lay’-lone (Thank you, blueletterbible.com). It’s interesting, when I see and hear this word in Greek it reminds me of the words “All alone”—which is the exact opposite of what it means! I’ll explain a bit more about this Greek word on Sunday, but for now, my best research shows that this Greek word is used nearly 100 times in the English Standard Version (ESV) Bible. So, write that down, two major English translations of the ancient texts both use “one another” nearly one hundred times. That means that ἀλλήλων, or one another, is a word/phrase that we must pay attention to.
In Mark 12:30-31, Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength; and the second is like it, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” A scribe asked, “Who is my neighbor?” We often ask, “How am I supposed to love my neighbor?” I submit to you, loving our neighbors begins with fulfilling the ἀλλήλων, the “one another” commands from God’s Word.
Lord willing, I’ll see you Sunday at 9am for Sunday School!
Grace & Peace,
John
You can reach the elders anytime by email at:
Jon Collins, jcollins@thevillagemi.com
John White, jwhite@thevillagemi.com