Announcements
Mark
Your Calendars--
On
Wednesday, April
2 @ 6:45 we will have a representative from Jews for Jesus to explain
how the traditional Passover meal foreshadowed Jesus' death &
resurrection. If you're interested in helping prepare for this event, please send me an email. We need someone willing to host the representative on the night of April 2 and some help preparing for the event.
Youth
Committee--
Meeting
on March 18 @ 6:30
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.
Fruit
of the Spirit--
Sunday evenings @ 6:15
Pray
For:
Norma
Capone, Christine
Dyer
Peggy
& John L.
This
whole situation in Crimea. I think we especially need to pray for
the individual people. It's easy to focus so much on the global
implications and the bigger situation that we forget about people
like you and I who are just struggling to live their daily lives in
the midst of this chaos.
For
the kids in confirmation class: Ashley, R.J., Chase, Jade &
Jackson
Links
Keith's
Random Thoughts
I get pretty excited
about baseball season. To me, there is something grand about
stretched out in the sun with a baseball game on the radio... it just
feels right. The long months between the end of the Reds' season and
the beginning of Spring Training games can be pretty bleak for this
baseball fan. The rhythm of pitching and hitting brings an added joy
to my life.
It's pretty easy for me
to get caught up in baseball. I can spend a day thinking about it,
wondering how the Reds will do this year, examining their flaws and
rejoicing in their strengths. I can wonder about the other teams in
their division and how other moves might affect the team. I can
think about the matchup tonight and wonder why player X is struggling
so badly. In short, it can occupy my mind.
Baseball is one of many
things that can do so. We all invest a lot of time thinking about
things, about people and situations. Most of our thoughts don't lead
us toward resolution or progress, they just turn the wheels of our
minds. We think about our jobs and our health and our families and
our friends and the future and the world news and the weather and we
often speculate about the many possible ways life can go wrong. We
think a lot.
What happens, at least
with me, is that I think about all these things so often that I
forget to think about God. I don't mean to, I just get so caught up
thinking about everything else that I don't have any leftover time to
give to God, and while I promise to do better tomorrow, there is
often a new batch of thoughts (or the old ones) then.
It's not that these
things are bad. It's just that God doesn't want to be resigned to
the leftovers. God wants to be first in our minds, and he wants the
awareness of his presence and love to permeate our family, friends,
jobs, etc. We can enjoy these things as faithful disciples.
It's a tough balance.
It requires intense re-training of our hearts and minds, and it
requires hard work that is easily avoided. I think it's worth it,
though. I think that investing our time and energy in such training
will yield peace in our hearts and minds down the road. A confidence
and awareness in God's presence is worth working toward, isn't it?
Maybe I'll think on that
during the next ballgame...
Text
for this Sunday, March 9
Acts
9:1-22
(Common
English Bible)
Meanwhile,
Saul was still spewing out murderous threats against the Lord’s
disciples. He went to the high priest, 2 seeking letters to the
synagogues in Damascus. If he found persons who belonged to the Way,
whether men or women, these letters would authorize him to take them
as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3 During the journey, as he approached
Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven encircled him. 4 He fell to
the ground and heard a voice asking him, “Saul, Saul, why are you
harassing me?”
5
Saul asked, “Who are you, Lord?”
“I
am Jesus, whom you are harassing,” came the reply. 6 “Now get up
and enter the city. You will be told what you must do.”
7
Those traveling with him stood there speechless; they heard the voice
but saw no one. 8 After they picked Saul up from the ground, he
opened his eyes but he couldn’t see. So they led him by the hand
into Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind and neither ate nor
drank anything.
10
In Damascus there was a certain disciple named Ananias. The Lord
spoke to him in a vision, “Ananias!”
He
answered, “Yes, Lord.”
11
The Lord instructed him, “Go to Judas’ house on Straight Street
and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying. 12 In a
vision he has seen a man named Ananias enter and put his hands on him
to restore his sight.”
13
Ananias countered, “Lord, I have heard many reports about this man.
People say he has done horrible things to your holy people in
Jerusalem. 14 He’s here with authority from the chief priests to
arrest everyone who calls on your name.”
15
The Lord replied, “Go! This man is the agent I have chosen to carry
my name before Gentiles, kings, and Israelites. 16 I will show him
how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”
17
Ananias went to the house. He placed his hands on Saul and said,
“Brother Saul, the Lord sent me—Jesus, who appeared to you on the
way as you were coming here. He sent me so that you could see again
and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Instantly, flakes fell from
Saul’s eyes and he could see again. He got up and was baptized. 19
After eating, he regained his strength.
He
stayed with the disciples in Damascus for several days. 20 Right
away, he began to preach about Jesus in the synagogues. “He is
God’s Son,” he declared.
21
Everyone who heard him was baffled. They questioned each other,
“Isn’t he the one who was wreaking havoc among those in Jerusalem
who called on this name? Hadn’t he come here to take those same
people as prisoners to the chief priests?”
22
But Saul grew stronger and stronger. He confused the Jews who lived
in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ.
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