"This is the day the Lord has made. Let's rejoice and be glad today!" Psalm 118:24 GWT
Good Friday morning Church Requel!
We have a wonderful weekend in store for us! I'm so excited to share it with you. And I know you, too, are really looking forward to the great things God will accomplish among us over the next 3 days.
Saturday Night - Feed The Hungry. Tomorrow evening is our turn to feed the hungry in our neighborhood. All week long you have been dropping off food, so I know you are all looking forward to serving together. You've done this so many times most of you know the drill. However, some of you are new and this is your first time. There are two ways you can help out. (1) Make a dessert. We have a good, solid meal lined up for everyone. Adding a homemade dessert is a special treat for many of our guests. You can bring your dessert with you on Saturday if you are volunteering, or drop them off at the church no later than 4:30pm Saturday. (2) Come and help! The more volunteers we have the better. If you are planning on volunteering, please show up by 4:00. Our guests will arrive between 4:30 and 5:00 and will wait upstairs in the auditorium. We serve meals for one hour starting at 5:00pm. Cleanup is usually over by 7:00pm.
Sunday Morning at 11am. Our worship service will emphasize the theme, "This is the Day!" From beginning to end, we will focus on the fact that today - this moment - is all we really have. We can't change our yesterdays. We have no guarantee of tomorrows. So we need to make the most of every moment we have. We'll talk about the fact that each day is not about us; rather it's all about God! The point of our lives is to point to Him!
There are a few special things happening this Sunday. For one, Sharma and Anna are both singing with me on the Praise Team Sunday morning. This is their first time and I know they are both really excited to be on the team. We really enjoyed our rehearsal last night. Both bring great worship skills to the platform. Sharma has a great voice and a beautiful, worshipful heart. Anna is one little animated praise machine! She also has a few fun surprises for you! You won't want to miss a moment so plan on coming early Sunday morning.
We also have a fun children's sermon in mind for Sunday morning. As always I'll hold back the details so you and the children can be surprised. I will, however, drop a few hints. The sermon involves sunglasses and a portrait of Jesus. Hmmm...
Baptistery Special Fund. Last weekend we announced that we are raising funds to purchase a new portable baptistery for Church Requel. This will give us the ability to continue our tradition of baptising people within our worship services - always such a great blessing to everyone! As you can see in the photo on the right, when not in use the baptistery will store away nicely. This special fund opportunity will be available to you for the next 6 weeks. We are so grateful to Jack and Sheri Nichols for their willingness to make up financially whatever is lacking at the end of the six weeks. Sunday morning we will play another video for you so you can see all the great features of the baptistery we have chosen. If you missed last week's announcement (or just want to see it again), click here to watch the video on our Facebook page.
Upcoming Sermon Plans. Now that our Toxic sermon series has come to an end, many of you have been wondering where we are going next in our weekly talks at Church Requel. Next weekend is Mothers Day, so I have some thoughts I want to share about the value of influence in the lives of others. Hopefully it's a great talk for moms and all influencers!
The following weekend, May 19th, will be a really special day at CR. My brother, Todd, will be in town for Jessica's wedding and has agreed to preach for us the next day. I've often said that Todd is my favorite preacher. So if you want to hear your preacher's favorite preacher, put May 19th on your calendar.
Finally, starting on Memorial Day weekend, May 26th, we begin a new 7-week sermon series called "Stressbusters." I think you'll love these talks all from the 23rd Psalm!
This Week's Podcast. If you really want to be an insider at Church Requel, you need to do two things. First, you have to read this far down in the weekly newsletter! Ha! (Your pastor never lacks for words when talking about our church plans!) Second, you must become a regular listener to the weekly Church Requel podcast. Each week I talk about the things going on at the church - things we probably wouldn't write down. It's not that anything I say is a secret exactly... it's just more personal stuff. What are we thinking? What's the back story from the week before?
This past week, for example, I share some personal details about my bicycle plans this summer. I also attempt to read the lyrics to the Cinderella song, which Jessica and I will dance to on her wedding day. Yes, I got a little choked up. What dad wouldn't? Each week you also have the opportunity to listen to last weekend's sermon. It's a great chance to review. You'll hear something new each time you listen. You can listen to this week's podcast on the blog or on our church website.
One last personal note. I'm running in the Capital City Half Marathon Saturday morning. It is my first long run event since I injured my back in 2001. I would greatly appreciate all your thoughts and prayers at 8am tomorrow morning. I will be one of 14,000 runners! It should be quite a celebration!
Affectionately Yours In Christ, Pastor Mark
