Good Friday morning everyone!
I hope you've had a good week and are looking forward to coming together as a church family Sunday morning. I've had a terrific week of study prep. I put everything else aside and invested most of my week in studying Matthew 25:14-29, what most people will recognize as the Parable of the Talents.
I've never actually taught on this passage before. As you can imagine the resources available are immense. After 3 days of research I had far more material than I could possibly fit into one weekend. So we're going to split up the talk over two weeks. I hope you can come to both because I think there is so much we can learn together! Can you tell I'm more than a little excited?
The children of Church Requel should all come Sunday too. If you're wondering how we are going to top the brownie sermon from two weeks ago, I think I've figured out a way! I'm giving money away! Yes, you heard me right. I'm going to pay kids to come to church! Ha!
Actually, I'm investing into them. I figure the best way to learn the parable of the talents is to see it in action. So I'm going to give each elementary age child at crisp, new 10-dollar bill. Then I'm going to ask them to put that money to work in some way over the next 4 weeks. Maybe some will buy brownie mix and then sell the brownies. Maybe some will buy and sell candy... for a profit. Maybe someone will buy a snow shovel and shovel out some driveways. The possibilities are too many to list.
I'm confident that my money will be well invested with the kids for the Church Requel ministry. In 4 weeks - on Palm Sunday - we'll bring the kids back up front and find out how they did. And, yes, they will have the opportunity to drop their profits along with my original investment into the offering basket.
In other news...
Church Requel Audio Podcast for this past week is now up for your listening pleasure. I update you on what's been happening this week. And you have the chance to listen to last week's sermon, "How To Relate Wisely To Others." Click here to listen!
Zumba Class Tuesday!!! Many of you have been asking for this. Our own Sara Scott is a Zumba instructor - par excellent! She is offering weekly Zumba classes in the downstairs fellowship hall at Church Requel every Tuesday. Meet her and many of your friends at 7pm. The cost will be $5. The class lasts for one hour. This is a great way to support one our own members, as well as to enjoy some fitness, fun and fellowship! Thanks Sara!
Women's Bible Study This Wednesday - The ladies will meet for the 3rd time at 6:30pm Wednesday evening, Feb. 27th, at Mary Kay Pierce's home. The women are starting a new study, "Esther: It's Tough Being A Woman." This would be a great opportunity to join this wonderful group of ladies. Good food. Sweet fellowship. Great learning!
Next Neighborhood Meal - Saturday, March 2nd - Sheri Nichols tells me that we are planning a spaghetti dinner with meatballs. Here's how you can contribute. This will be your last Sunday to bring food to church. We're looking for boxes of spaghetti (not the thin kind, Sheri says), jars of spaghetti sauce (any kind - we'll combine them together), and cans of fruit or fruit cocktail. A few days before we cook up the meal, we'll buy the meat for the meatballs and the bread. That night everyone can bring desserts just like last time. (Dessert hint: the pies were gobbled up first!)
Membership Class - March 23rd. We plan to offer our next Membership Class on Saturday, March 23rd. We'll hold the class at Church Requel and will begin at 8:30 am with a continental breakfast. We'll be together all morning and will serve a noon lunch for all who come. If you'd like to be an official member of CR, this class is a must. You can come even if you are not sure you want to be a member.
I think that will be more than enough for all you Church Requelers! I can't wait to see you Sunday morning. Bring a friend with you! We still have plenty of seats available! With great affection, Pastor Mark
