Worship
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There are many individual approaches to strengthening the spiritual life, including: choosing to fast, praying more often, reading the Bible and devotional literature, engaging more often in public worship, serving God more intensely in the world. We miss the mark if we focus only on our desires. Lent ought to be a time of deeper dedication to God and seeking ways in which we can help to further God's kingdom on Earth. Join us during Lent for Mid-Week worship: Ash
Wednesday 2nd
through 6th Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m.: Second
Wednesday in Lent Third
Wednesday in Lent Fourth
Wednesday in Lent Fifth
Wednesday in Lent Sixth
Wednesday in Lent |
40
DAYS TOWARD SPIRITUAL HEALTH|
JESUS WEPT Recently, as I completed my evening prayers, I suddenly sensed the words "Jesus wept". I remembered that these two words are the words of the shortest verse in the bible, but try as I might, I could not remember the context in which they had been written so long ago. Turning in my bed, I began to ask what could have made our Lord cry? I fell asleep thinking of many reasons that might have made him weep. The next morning I found bible verses surrounding the incident of his anguished tears. Jesus cried at the loss of his beloved friend Lazarus. Among the throng at the grave site, Jesus was surrounded by a multitude of relatives and friends of Lazarus mourning his death. Seeing their grief, Jesus felt the pain and anguish around him and he wept! But now I asked myself why did these words come to me and why at this time in my life? Was our Lord and Savior reminding me that he weeps for me as he wept for Lazarus? I believe that Jesus, in the compassionate love he feels for us all, weeps at our suffering and our grief. He is reminding me that he feels and experiences the heartbreak of each soul that he has created when that soul's body experiences mortal death. Jesus feels the pain we all feel when someone we love dies or when we see others suffer. This act is another affirmation of his unending love for me and for all of us as we walk the road to an eternity to be shared with him in his heavenly home. He considers death as an enemy encompassed by the ages - from the fall of man until the end of the earth, and his heart is engulfed by sorrow. Yes, Jesus wept. He weeps for us and with us. Even as he weeps, he is letting us know that every Christian dies and falls asleep on this earth and immediately awakens in the glorious presence of the Lord - awakens to a new life in which there will be no sorrow, no pain in that mansion he has prepared for us (John 14:2) In
his service, |
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WHAT
IF?. . . . . . WHAT IF during your day of leisure, you had an emergency That you needed God's intervention to resolve? WHAT IF you called out to God and no answer was forthcoming? WHAT IF GOD had decided that he was going to take the day off and not be available to help His flock with their problems and needs? DON'T PANIC! GOD NEVER TAKES ONE MINUTE OR ONE DAY OFF! He is always there every minute of our lives to comfort, to give us His grace, to bring us release from our problems. HE ALWAYS KEEPS HIS PROMISES. All too often, we all have Sundays when we feel the need to skip church for whatever reason we come up with. There are acceptable reasons such as illness, trips out of town, etc., but how many times do we do this with no valid reason? We, all of us, as practicing Christians, have a duty to thank our Lord for His continuous blessings and grace by coming to His House on Sunday to thank and praise Him for those continuous blessings, and to hear His holy word. This
message is intended as a wakeup call and may not be palatable
to some, but think of it as spinach. You may not like it, but
it is good for you (and yes, I'm not fond of spinach either,
but I eat it too)! So eat your spinach and come to His house
next Sunday and enjoy your leisure after the service. In
His Service, |
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ASSURANCE OF THE ASCENSION After the Resurrection, the risen Lord instructed his followers not to leave Jerusalem. It was there, Jesus said, that they would receive "the promise of the Father" (Acts 1:4 NRSV). What was that promise? It was that they would be baptized not with water but with the Holy Spirit. Shortly after that utterance, Jesus was "lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight" (v. 9). The Ascension reminds us that even though Jesus isn't physically present on earth, as the living Christ he is as near as we allow him to be. Jesus' Ascension offers us the assurance that God is now available to all people all the time. He lives as a guiding, loving Spirit in our midst. |
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PENTECOST, THE CHURCH'S BIRTHDAY Pentecost was originally a Jewish harvest festival when the first fruits of crops were given as offerings to God. On the first Pentecost after Jesus' resurrection, the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus' followers. They were filled with power and love, thus empowering them to witness to God's actions in Christ to all who were nearby. Some 3,000 people responded to their claims that Christ was Lord and Savior of mankind. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus' first followers on the day of Pentecost is often called the Church's birthday. You can read the entire story in Acts. 2 |
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