Announcements
Easter
is April 20!!
Maundy
Thursday--
Thursday,
April 17 @ 6:30
Easter
Egg Hunt--
This
will be Easter Sunday @ 10 am. Please bring Easter Eggs to donate by
this Sunday!
Easter
Cantata--
During the worship service on Easter morning @ 10:45.
Sunrise
Service--
7:00am on Easter morning on the patio of the McMillan Building.
Community
Kitchen Spot
There
are a lot of hungry and homeless children of God and the community
needs some help feeding them. If you would like to help out, please
bring the following items to church this Sunday & put them on the
bookshelf.
Plastic
Forks, Knives, Spoons
Dinner
Napkins
Heavy
Duty Sectional Dinner Plates
Dessert
Plates
New
Hope News
Sunday
School—Don
Kaller is going to be teaching the adult Sunday School class in March
& April.
Pray
For:
Norma
Capone
Peggy
& John L.
For
those still dwelling in the uncertainty of Flight MH370's
disappearance
For
teachers and students, who deal with the anxiety of violence in
schools
For
those in the Ukraine
For
the kids in confirmation class
Links
Keith's
Random Thoughts
My bushes died. Well,
they look dead. I keep thinking that if I wait long enough, they'll
come back eventually. (I can't help but laugh at the thought of
doing this with my goldfish that died a few months back. “Just
wait, Rachel, it might come back eventually!”) There are some
signs of life, but overall, they look sad. And dead.
But they just may come
back. It was obviously a tough winter, and perhaps these particular
bushes are just waiting to see if spring is really here, or if this
is just some tease before the snow and freezing temperatures return.
Maybe I need to go outside and assure them that spring is really
here, that Easter is near and that perking up a little might improve
their chances of not being dug up.
Looking at my bushes, I
can't help but reflect on my own life. I wonder how often God looked
down from heaven and thought, “Is there any faith left in that kid?
Or should we go ahead and just give up hope on him?” Surely, I
have given God moments to doubt the sincerity of my declarations of
faith. My life's direction has not always sought Christ first, and
perhaps God wondered if there was any hope.
If the Bible is clear on
anything (and I think it's clear on a lot of things!), it is pretty
evident that God is patient. The entirety of the Old Testament
testifies to God's willingness to endure patiently the rejections of
Israel. God threatens and warns many, many times before taking
action. God patiently waits for the people to turn back.
I think God is patient
with us, with me, too. God knows we are tempted by sin. God knows
that sometimes, we give in to temptation. We hurl vicious thoughts
(and sometimes words) at those closest to us. We cut corners. We
idly waste time. We choose not to grow in faith.
But God waits, and
continues to prod us via the Holy Spirit. Christ keeps urging us to
grow, and God returns and refreshes us, day after day, hoping that we
will choose the wiser path, the one that pursues God and the faithful
life.
So I'll give those
bushes an extension on life in my front yard, for they remind me of
God's patience towards me.
Text
for this Sunday
Mark
11:1-11
(Common
English Bible)
When
Jesus and his followers approached Jerusalem, they came to Bethphage
and Bethany at the Mount of Olives. Jesus gave two disciples a task,
2 saying to them, “Go into the village over there. As soon as you
enter it, you will find tied up there a colt that no one has ridden.
Untie it and bring it here. 3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you
doing this?’ say, ‘Its master needs it, and he will send it back
right away.’”
4
They went and found a colt tied to a gate outside on the street, and
they untied it. 5 Some people standing around said to them, “What
are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 They told them just what Jesus
said, and they left them alone. 7 They brought the colt to Jesus and
threw their clothes upon it, and he sat on it. 8 Many people spread
out their clothes on the road while others spread branches cut from
the fields. 9 Those in front of him and those following were
shouting, “Hosanna! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of
the Lord! 10 Blessings on the coming kingdom of our ancestor David!
Hosanna in the highest!” 11 Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into
the temple. After he looked around at everything, because it was
already late in the evening, he returned to Bethany with the Twelve.
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