Good Friday morning Church Requel!
You are an absolutely gorgeous, beautiful church! I know I am your pastor and so I can be - perhaps - excused for my favorable bias. But in my corner I do possess evidence that proves my case. Check out this photo of the last time you served a meal to those who are hungry in our neighborhood!
You will have another opportunity this Saturday evening (tomorrow night!) to demonstrate your beauty by serving another meal. Please come by 4pm and if you wish to be especially beautiful, bring a dessert. I know you are excited to serve. Here is a message I received yesterday from Deb: "See you at the meal on Saturday - I will come early to help. Deb S."
Awesome Plans For Palm Sunday! Make sure you are at church in plenty of time Sunday. We'll start right at 11am with a powerful Palm Sunday greeting from Cheryl Buckley. You won't want to miss it!
Brandi will follow that up with her solo rendition of "Hosanna (Praise Is Rising)" by Paul Baloche. This is one of my favorite songs that Brandi sings. Really! I don't think you'll be able to sit through it. You'll be looking for your own palm branches to wave!
Our band will lead three congregational songs: "How Great Thou Art" by Stuart Hines (and also yours truly - we have a special rendition we sing at Church Requel and you only get to sing this special part here! Aren't we lucky!?); "Good Good Father" by Chris Tomlin; and "The Blessing" by Kari Jobe.
Our students will read our Scripture reading for the day - Romans 8:31-33. Then they will sing together another song by Chris Tomlin, "Our God," another Church Requel favorite!
Sunday Sermon - "God Is For Us" - I am very excited to bring you this Sunday's sermon. We will be continuing our Romans 8 study. This will be our 11th sermon from Romans 8. (We are nearing the end. Sermon #13 and the last one will be on April 24th.)
We bring so much good news Sunday morning. Your Heavenly Father is for you! God is on your side. He doesn’t miss a thing you do. He is cheering you on. He loves you with an everlasting love. God’s love for you endures forever! God cares for you and me because His love never ends, never tires, never wears out, never falters! (Ok - I have to stop now. Otherwise I'll give it all away.)
If you want to read more, you can! I have published the sermon already over on your Bible app. Check it out under "Events" and "Church Requel." You can also just click here to see the sermon text in your browser. http://bible.com/events/48873148
Following the sermon I am privileged to sing you a special song, "How Deep The Father's Love For Us," originally written by Stuart Townend. In a moment of inspiration (as in after I wrote this week's sermon), I wrote a couple of new verses for this song. You'll hear them Sunday morning for the very first time!
It looks like this is going to be another very special weekend for us here at Church Requel. I hope you can come and be a part of it. If you live far away or are unable to come Sunday, you can still watch online. We will stream the worship service on our Facebook page as well as on YouTube. Here is the YouTube link for Sunday. https://youtu.be/qEqg_YUnt88
Remember our Special Sound System Fund. Last week I told you all that we have approved of a special giving fund to improve our sound system at Church Requel. Many of you have responded so beautifully with your affirmations. We even received our first donation last Sunday. Thank you for that. We will keep this special fund open through the end of May. If you would like to give in person at Church Requel, just mark your envelope with the words, "Sound System." If you are giving online, go to give.ChurchRequel.com and click on the designation, "Sound System."
Hope to "see you" at Church Requel one way or the other this weekend. Love you! Pastor Mark
