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Worship - April 2019

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Church Family,

 In a few weeks, we will gather together for a Night of Worship on Friday night, April 20th at 6:30 pm. This night marks the date of Good Friday, which is the reason for our gathering. We will come together on this evening to contemplate that Cross that Jesus died on. We will look deeply at our sins which put Him on the cross. We will sing, pray, respond together. This will be a powerful evening and I pray that you and your family will make plans to attend!

But before we get to that night, have you ever asked the question, why do we call it “Good Friday?” We are contemplating Jesus’ death on this night. Why don’t we call it “Bad Friday?” The cross was a dark event, which lead to Jesus’ death and his suffering. So it’s understandable if you’ve ever wondered, why is it so good? What makes it good? Well I believe we find the answer in the person of Jesus, and his purpose on Earth. This was no ordinary man who died on that cross. But who was Jesus? We know and believe this to be true - That Jesus was God in the flesh, who knew no sin, and became sin in our behalf. Through Jesus’ death, we find life. Good Friday begins the most momentous weekend in the history of the world. On Friday, Jesus was put to death. And he would have stayed there, if he would have remained in death, this would have been a very bad Friday.

But we know that this Friday, led to Sunday, the greatest day in the history of the world. Jesus rose. He defeated death. He defeated sin. Sin and death had power no longer. Praise be to God for his power through His son! This is very good news for us. While we were dead in our sins, God made us alive through His son Jesus. But in order for that to happen, Jesus had to go to the cross on Friday. He willingly suffered and died, for us.

So where does this leave us now? On Good Friday, we will contemplate the cross together. We will contemplate our sin. We will look at our sins, which placed Him on the cross. And God willing, we will contemplate Jesus, who He is, and we will respond and turn to Him through worship and repentance. And all of this leads to Sunday, April 21st, when we will gather together on  Easter morning, and celebrate what made Friday so good. Jesus is not dead. He is alive. And we worship a risen savior. I pray you will join us! I love you all, and I will see you on Sunday!

In Christ,

Posted by Jared Mitchell with
in Students, Newsletter

Student Ministry - April 2019

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Dear Church Family,
 
We had a blast on our Student Retreat just a few weeks ago! We took a group of 68 people (that’s 54 students and 14 adults) to Highland Lakes Baptist Camp to get away and   focus on the Lord. The goal is to remove distractions and seek the Lord so He can do what He wants to do in our lives. We even take the students’ phones away during the day! At first they hate that, but just 48 hours later they are so happy we did it. It allows them to be focused on what’s happening right in front of them. It allows God to speak to them with less distraction. And God was speaking for sure! At least 5 students prayed to receive Christ, and many others had a deep work done in their hearts.

So maybe that is the key to having a vibrant relationship with Jesus? Maybe we should take 2, even 3 retreats every year so that God can grow us? Well, there’s a problem with this… that’s nowhere near enough retreating for God to do the work that He wants to do in our hearts. We need to retreat to Him way more than just a handful of times throughout the year for us to have a vibrant relationship with God. Think about it. What if you only spent about 5 weekends out of the year with your spouse or children? Those weekends would mean so much, but you would not have a very meaningful relationship with your family. You’d barely know them. You’d constantly be trying to catch up on all the time you missed. None of us would say that is an ideal relationship. So why do we often think about our relationship with Jesus like that? As if we can know Him and love Him well by giving Him a few weekends out of the year, or even just one day out of the week. Do you see that disconnect in our thinking?

That is why I have recently been talking to the students about our need for a daily retreat to the Lord. We can retreat to Him each and every day and encounter the same life-changing Spirit who we are so attentive to when we “get away.” I call this time a quiet time. It is a time that I get away from distractions and focus on God through His word and prayer. We all know we ought to do this. But what if we started thinking about this time as our daily retreat? It’s our time to focus on God and be changed by Christ in us. Wouldn’t you love to have the life-changing experience we tend to have on retreats more often than just once or twice a year? What if God isn’t making changes in your heart because you aren’t retreating to Him enough? This isn’t a work that you must do to win God’s favor. This is you putting your faith into action! Do we believe God can grow us and make us less angry, less anxious, less selfish, less depressed, less afraid, more motivated, more loving, more joyful, more patient, more zealous for good works? Then let’s retreat to Him more often and watch Him go to work in our lives!

 

Posted by Brian Van Doren with

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