In Preparation for Sunday

 

April the 5th, 2009 is PALM SUNDAY.  Unlike most years, this Holy Week, of Palm Sunday through Easter, coincides with the Jewish Celebration of Passover. 
 
In celebration of this correspondence we are having a special worship service this Palm Sunday.  Organizing our service around the days of Holy Week, we are going to travel through the events of this special week and remember the amazing Jewish/Christian preparation God made so his people then and now can understand the deeper spiritual and theological significance.
 
In doing this observance, we have decided to follow what is often called the "Jewish timing" to celebrate the week rather than the "traditional days" we received from our Catholic Tradition, the timing of which had its beginning at the Council of Nicaea.  In pre-traditional timing we are not going to follow the Easter Triduum in which Jesus' crucifixion is celebrated on Friday, but rather on the "Preparation Day" when the lamb was being sacrificed in The Jewish Temple on Thursday.  If you are interested in the discussion of this, in which the author studies the biblical support and the difference in the delineation of days (the next day begins at sundown) here is a good article:
http://www.tedmontgomery.com/bblovrvw/GoodThursday/index.html
 
But whether we follow the "traditional days" or the more "Jewish timing" of the events of this Holy Week, the celebration of both focus on the events of Holy Week.  During Holy Week 2009 our own celebrations will be held on the traditional days with our Seder Feast on Maundy Thursday, our Tenebrae Service (Service of Darkness - in which we remember the excruciating crucifixion) will be on Good Friday evening, and our Resurrection Celebration will be throughout Easter Sunday morning beginning at sunrise with our SONRISE SERVICE at Leadbetter, and then our regular  Sanctuary Worship times.  Both calendars place the resurrection of Jesus on the "First Day of the Week" in the early morning hours.  It is this Easter Celebration that represents the great hope of our hearts and of our faith!
 
Be in prayer as we enter into Holy Week this Sunday and remember all that God has been doing for over 3 millennium to bring us into his family of loving and forgiving care.
 
Pastor Denny

Holy Week Events

 

Palm Sunday April 5th: Special worship service beginning Holy Week 8:00, 9:30 & 11:00am. Children pre-school-6th grade will be singing in each service. Please have your child line up at the kitchen 10 minutes prior to each service.  

 

Palm Sunday April 5th: We will be showing the "Passion of the Christ" at 5pm in the sanctuary followed by a discussion of the film led by Pastor Denny. Childcare will be provided. Due to the nature of the film, we recommend the minimum age to view the film as 17.

 

Thursday April 9th: Seder Messianic Passover Dinner at 6pm. Reservations are required and the cost is $10 per person.

 

Friday April 10th: Tenebrae Service of Darkness at 7:30pm. Remembering the Passion of Christ and His last seven words.

 

Saturday April 11th: Easter Egg Hunt at Mesa Park at 10:00am. Bring eggs to hide, the church will provide the candy.

 

Sunday April 12th: Easter Sonrise Service at Leadbetter Beach at 6am. Invite family and friends to join you for this special worship service. Refreshments will be provided at the beach.

Church Finances

 

In this time of financial struggle, please remember your church family:

Offerings Needed YTD:  $159,600.00
Offerings Receive YTD:  $136,924.40  (85.79%)
Still Needed YTD:          $22,675.60  

 

D.E.P.T.H

 

God has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end (Eccl. 3:11)

 

Thursday April 16th @ 7pm. Dr. Robert Mann will be discussing "Time & Eternity". The concept of time is foundational in both science and Christian faith.  We use it to measure change and to reflect upon our own existence.  But what is time?  And what is eternity?  This public lecture will present our modern scientific understanding of time -- its origin, direction, measurement, perspectives and destiny -- and what the implications of this might be for theology.  Topics in cosmology, quantum physics, and relativity will be explored to highlight  both the advancements and limitations in our knowledge of time. Several questions for theological reflection and scientific inquiry will be raised.  
   
This D.E.P.T.H seminar will be held in the upper room from 7-8:30pm on Thursday April 16th. Coffee, tea & dessert will be served.  

Memory Verse

 

John 3:16 & 17
16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." 

John 1:1-18
1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning. 3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
 
6There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.
 
10He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God- 13children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.
 
14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only,[d] who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
 
15John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.' "  16From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. 17For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only,who is at the Father's side, has made him known.  

Celebration of Ministries

 

You can enjoy the Celebration of Ministries Slideshow online by clicking HERE or visiting our website at: http://fmcsb.org/2009_COM.html

Women's Spring 1-Day Retreat 

 

Join us on April 25th at our church for a day of refreshment and renewal. This year we are privileged to have Re. Dr. Delia Nuesch-Olver join us as our guest speaker. She has been a pastor, church, planter, professor at Seattle Pacific University and is currently serving as Director of Latin America Free Methodist Ministries. 
 
When: Saturday April 25th from 9am-4pm (lunch included at 12noon).

Where: Santa Barbara Free Methodist Church at 1435 Cliff Dr.

 

Cost: $25 for early registration received by Sunday April 1, 2009: after April 1st the cost will be $35.

 

Limited scholarships are available-contact Cheryl Wayman:965-1338x229. (Registrations are transferable but not refundable and here are no part-time rates.)

There will be a love offering taken for our missionaries Delia Nuesch-Olver and Kyle Leon in Costa Rica.

 

If you have any questions or if you would like to donate to the retreat scholarship fund, please contact Cheryl Wayman.

Registration is required.