Good Friday morning Church Requel!
What do you think about when you hear the word, "church"? Do you think of a building? A denomination? A group of Christians? A time and place when and where you worship each week?
What about "family?" That's what comes to my mind this morning when I think of Church Requel. As a church we are all the other things too: a place, a building, a group of Christians, a worship service on Sunday mornings at 11am. However, this past Wednesday night I witnessed something very special - a family gathering to pray for a specific need.
This past Sunday morning Cindy stood up and said that she felt God's Holy Spirit moving her to suggest we gather to pray especially for Loni. Loni had told us the week before that she had received the unfortunate news that her cancer had returned. With no fanfare or big announcement, the plans were quietly made by the end of Sunday's worship to gather back again Wednesday night to pray for Loni and her husband, Mark.
Wednesday night about two dozen of us gathered together. We sang a few songs, read of few Scriptures and then surrounded Loni and Mark and simply prayed for God's healing touch. We prayed for their marriage. We prayed for their strength. We prayed that they might experience God's power. We prayed for God's opportunity to use them through this tribulation for His glory. We prayed one at a time, some longer prayers, some shorter ones. All sincere and full of love.
After about 45 minutes we were finished... at least with the singing, Scripture reading and praying part. For the next 60 minutes afterward I patiently waited as our church members - family to one another through Christ - stayed and visited and talked. Once again the greeting time was the prominent feature of the evening!
I didn't want to rush anyone away. There was no other place I had to be. So I got out my ukulele and just played some background music while everyone else visited and talked. It was what I could do. As I played I thought of the body of Christ and how everyone this night did what they could do. Each one of us was important and together we made up the body of Christ. A family. A body. When church is good, it is REALLY good. Wednesday night was REALLY good!
It's been about 10 years now (next month) since I lost my job at another local church. At the time I wondered why? I know I was angry. I sought the counsel of a wise woman and friend, who reassured me with her quiet confidence. She understood my feelings, but she wasn't worried about it. She actually had more confidence in me at that moment than I did. She showed up Wednesday night! It was like God saying to me, "See I got this. All things work together for the good of those who love me!" And it gave me an even greater faith to pray for Loni too. Because God's got her right in the palm of His great hand too.
Sunday Morning Worship. This will be the first Sunday of the month so our children will take the lead in many of our worship experiences. Joining the adults in our praise team (Brandi, Cindy, Amanda, Tamara and Chris) will be Tre, Jacoby, Bubby Sivon and Saudaie. Wow what a huge praise team! Joining Jonathan in the tech booth will be Grayden and Cohen. Also Saudaie will be singing our opener song. (This will be about 4 minutes before the 11 o'clock start time, so make sure you come early!
Our sermon Sunday morning will be titled, "Sharing The Gospel." This will be our 20th lesson from Acts, this time focusing on 8:26-40. We all have the privilege and the opportunity to share the good news of Jesus with people we know and love. Is there a right way, or at least a better way to share the gospel? Sunday we will consider once more the story of Philip the Evangelist. We'll get up close and personal with the way Philip went about sharing the good news of Jesus. Want a head start? Just open up your Bible app and go to "Events." Or you can see the sermon notes in your browser window here.
Hoodies & Long Sleeve T-shirts! For the next two Sundays we'll be taking orders for brand new Church Requel hoodies and long-sleeved T-shirts. They have our logo and our mission on the front: loving God, loving people. We will offer each in four colors: Navy blue, Black, Charcoal Heather and Deep Forest Green. We expect to have delivery by the first week in December, in plenty of time for Christmas!!!
The pullover hoodies are Hanes EcoSmart 50/50. This mid-weight hoodie is a customer favorite. Comfortable (but slightly small) fit. Their best-selling hoodie. YM - YXL and all adult sizes. The cost for the hoodies will be $22. There is an additional $4 cost for the 2XL, 3XL and 4XL
Long-sleeve T-shirts are Hanes ComfortSoft Tagless. Generous Fit. Will keep you warm all year round. All sizes available for the long sleeved T's. The cost for the long-sleeved T-shirts will be $14. There is an additional $2 cost for the 2XL, 3XL and 4XL.
Funds must accompany your order. Checks to Church Requel. Cash always welcomed too. You can download an Order Form PDF here. Circle the product and sizes you want in each color and then subtotal on the right. Bring the form with you and give your order to Brandi or Pastor Mark. We'll also have order forms printed out and waiting for you at Church Requel this Sunday.
Unfortunately the pictures and colors didn't come out real well on our home-made printed order forms. So I'm giving you pictures here in this newsletter so you can see what they look like. Just click on any small thumbnail to see the larger photo:
Remember to set you clocks back! Sunday morning we get an extra hour of sleep before church, so don't forget to set your clocks back before you go to bed Saturday night. Otherwise you may be arriving early with Brandi, me and the Praise and Tech teams... which is totally ok with all of us!
Can't wait to see you all Sunday morning at 11am! Love you much! Pastor Mark
