Preparing for Easter

Easter is the highpoint of the Christian Calendar. While we have freedom from extra religious rules (see the sermon from two weeks ago), we also have the joy and responsibility of growing in Christ. Lent is a season that the Christian Church has historically used to focus and identify with Christ. For an interesting article on Lent, check out “What Christians Get Wrong About Lent“.

One of the primary way to grow in Christ is through reading and studying the Bible. Many people don’t know where to begin. If you’re interested in growing in faith as you read about Christ this Easter, check out one of the Easter Reading Plans offered through YouVersion.

Reasonable Faith

Some topics that I read about don’t necessarily fit into the discussions we do in a Community group or discipleship group. Some of us are wired to read and discuss things that have an academic element to them. While I’m not sure if we’ll keep calling it this, but there has been a fair amount in interest in the idea as I mentioned it informally and have called “Saturday Seminary”. We’ll read an article ahead of time and discuss it. It is not a lecture by me; rather, it is an interactive discussion that assumes you have read the article. Of course, you can feel free to disagree with the author, read other resources, etc.
The first topic we’ll discuss is the challenges atheists present to Christianity. The internet is full of of people making truth claims about science, atheism and faith. While there is a reasonable way to counter the arguments of atheists, many believers feel unprepared to discuss the topic reasonably.
We’ll hold the first discussion on Saturday, March 29 at 9:00am. If you are interested in discussing some academic, yet practical topics, feel free to check it out. After we get enough signups, the article will be distributed. To sign up, check out the event in our online community here (If you haven’t logged into our online community, you can get more info here.), connect with me or comment below.

Changing Time

While most of wish we could erase things from our past–to go back and change time–we can’t. We do however have the opportunity to change the future…and to change our clocks this weekend! OK, so that’s not really changing time, but it will make you on time for the gathering this Sunday, thereby avoiding the awkward “why is Jeff speaking already when I’m only 5 minutes late…” moment when you realize that you forgot to change your clock. So, remember to set your clocks forward an hour this week!

Of course, if you’re like many of us and wake up to your cell phone (which should update by itself), just remember to go to bed a bit earlier and we’ll see you at 11!

Toiletries for the Homeless

We’re currently collecting toiletries for the homeless. Items to include are shaving cream, bottled water, wet wipes, deodorant, toothbrush/paste, soap and hand sanitizer. In order to help in the distribution, please place all items in a single, gallon-size ziplock bag. A sample can be found on the Welcome Table as you enter the gathering on Sundays. Feel free to distribute bags on your own, drop off bags on Sunday or connect with John Rundle about how to best get them into the hands of people who need them.

Kids God Time Sheets & Monthly Parent Cue (Sunday, March 2)

Church and familyEach month we supply a Parent Cue for parents and a weekly God Time sheet for kids.

We post the monthly Parent Cue discussion sheet and the week’s God Time exercise for the lesson that was taught this Sunday. Copies of these are also available on the welcome table as you enter the main worship space. Or, for your convenience, you can download them below.

Parent Cue Discussion Spiritual Discussion Starter Sheet
For the material this month: Monthly Parent Cue – March 2014.

God Time Quiet Time Exercise for Kids
For the lesson from Sunday: God Time March 2.
Looking forward to next week’s? Forget to pick one up? Check out the one for God Time March 9.

What’s the deal with these anyway?
Our goal as a church is provide you with resources to help your children grow spiritually. We’re doing our best to make things simple and easy. Please feel free to give us feedback on this!

  • The Parent Cue is meant to be a resource for you to discuss and reinforce the lesson with your kids. The monthly sheet contains discussion questions for each week. They are designed to help you understand what your kids are learning and talk with your kids about spiritual principles in a relaxed way. They make great dinner conversation!
  • The God Time is intended to help kids learn to spend some quiet time with God on their own so they learn to grow spiritually and begin to take responsibility for doing spiritual things on their own. (Of course, they can be fun to do as a family and you’re welcome to help them and model it for them as they learn!)

Need instructions, click here.

 

 

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