Greetings!
NO WEDNESDAY NIGHT MEAL, NO CHILDREN'S ACTIVITIES AND NO REGULAR YOUTH ACTIVITIES BECAUSE OF SPRING BREAK. NURSERY WILL BE OPEN FROM 7- 8 P.M. TO SUPPORT THE CHANCEL CHOIR.
The JOURNEY OF LENT - "March Madness, Choosing Sides, Jesus, Barabbas and Pilate." While thousands, perhaps millions, of people are following "their" team right now everyone wants their favorite team to win and get in the NCAA tournament. They want their team to get in the field of 64 (actually 65 - they let two potential sacrificial lambs play each other to get in the tournament for the opportunity to be beaten by the overall top seed on the first day. This year, that top seed will be KU). For whatever reason, we have deep loyalties to "our" team and we want them to win, look good and make us proud personally. Folks can get pretty wrapped up in this stuff this time of the year. We like to choose sides.
This Sunday is probably the most painful remembrance of people choosing sides in the wisdom of the scriptures and certainly in the life of Christ. As Jesus is presented by Pilate to the public he asks the blood thirsty hoard whether they want to set free Barabbas, or, Jesus. When presented with these two men they are caught up in the crowd they don't choose Jesus, they choose the other. When we are confronted with the opportunity to follow Christ on the journey of Lent, do we choose him or do we choose the other?
We are challenged this Sunday as we continue to immerse ourselves in the story of the last 24 hours of Jesus life. Adam Hamilton's book continues to invite us to a deeper experience of faith, penance and turning toward God to prepare for Resurrection Sunday on Easter.
BAPTISM CLASS
The season of Lent is in important time of preparation. For those adults who have not been baptized and for those families who have children that have not been baptized mark your calendars for this Thursday, March 18, at 6p.m. I will be holding a baptism class for those who would like to attend this month and prepare to be baptized or have your infant or children baptized. Contact the church office or e-mail me at nathans@pvumc.com to be part of the class or to get more information.
RETHINKing 4 YOU
You can pick up your own copy of the "Rethink PVUMC" results at the Connecting Point Sunday morning. You'll find the many visions the planning groups spent time considering for three weeks last month. The results are based on a deeper study of "5 Practices of Fruitful Congregations." Take time to look these over and look forward to updates from Church Council on the opportunities to serve based on these visions.
REMEMBER THIS SUNDAY...
Newsletter Deadline for April is March 17 by the end of the day.
Bulletin Deadline is 1p.m. each Thursday.
Nathan D. Stanton
Pleasant Valley United Methodist Church
24 Hours Sunday School Class CONTINUES Sunday
This past Sunday, 83 people joined together in Fellowship Hall to go deeper in the book "24 Hours that Changed the World."
If you missed last week, no worries! Join us this week to learn more about the last day of Jesus' life. Class continues sunday and March 21, 28 and April 11. No class on Easter Sunday because of worship schedule.
Means of Grace for your Lenten Journey
Sundays: Corporate worship
Mondays: Prayer Read Mark 15:1-15
Tuesdays: Fasting Read Joshua 5:9-12; Gilgal is a place of significant transition in the biblical accounts. The word itself seems to come from a Hebrew verb meaning "to roll" or "roll away" and from a noun that refers to the circle of stones that may be described in Joshua 4:1-8. Joshua led the people across the Jordan (west to east) to enter the promised land, shame was removed), manna was no longer needed, and the celebration of the feast of Passover could be properly offered again.
Wednesdays: Constant Communion - Read Psalm 32; A confession of sin and disgrace, and a proclamation in song that God's prodigal mercy cleanses and heals us.
Thursdays: Search the scriptures - Read 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 The word for God's prodigal mercy is reconciliation. Reconciliation starts from God, reaches through Christ to all who are in Christ "without counting their trespasses against them," and so through us to all the world and back to God again. While Paul uses his "ambassadorship" (verse 20) to plead with the community in Corinth to be reconciled with God, his larger argument identifies reconciliation as a core ministry of mercy for all followers of Jesus
Fridays: Spiritual Discipline and Reflection - Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 This story has it all: a father eager to offer mercy, a child who takes advantage of it, but "comes to his right mind," and a "faithful" child who mistakes mercy for indulgence. God's mercy does look indulgent, prodigal. And it is just such mercy we are all invited, and that early Christians and Methodists expected us, to practice. Trust the power of this story to convey God's prodigal mercy toward us and to invite us to become more and more like the father Jesus describes. Did you worship God this week? Were you part of a community of faith?Did you pray this week? Did you fast this week? Did you participate in communion with Christ? With others? Did you read your Bible this week? Did you spend time with Christ through the study of scripture, devotional reading and prayer?
Saturdays: Works of Mercy
John Wesley taught people to be Christians in both word and deed, in order to express the love of God. We invite you to spend some time each Saturday in service to others.
Feeding the 3,000 The PVUMC community will be in mission together by seeking to feed 3,000 families. Take time to purchase and donate either cans of tuna or boxes of macaroni and cheese. We are trying to raise 3,000 of each. Drop them off at the front of the sanctuary. Mission and service will be organizing them each week to help us know where we are on our count.
Remember to drop them off anytime at the church.
Let's "Feed the 3,000" families and do a great work for God! |
