At the INFOdesk@baylife.org this week:
- Easter Services - Saturday, April 23 @ 6 pm & Sunday April 24 @ 8:30, 10, & 11:30 am
- National Day of Prayer – May 5 | meet at the Pole Barn in
Brandon - Parent/Child Dedication – May 7 & 8 | Applications available at INFOdesk or in Children/Student Building lobby
- Scrapbook & Crop Day – May 7 | a fun day out supporting Bay Life missions
- Parent's Night Out – May 13 | 6 – 9:30 pm in the Children/Student Building
Easter Greetings Lifers,
(Coming to you in written word amidst the extreme clutter of a pastor’s desk around Easter...)
Pray this finds you well – I find I am doing quite well myself. Fact: God is always good, even when things around us aren’t (or, better said, especially when they aren’t). But, as mentioned, things with me are particularly good - I am stoked about the next 4 days of remembering Good Friday and Easter with you all. You hear me preach it all the time that without the cross we have no cause for gathering, that Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection form for us the foundation for and focus of our faith. But still, there’s just something special about the actual day on our calendars that we set aside to commemorate His grace – if you haven’t offered a prayer of thanks yet this week (or even if you have) for His saving work on your behalf, now’s as good a time as any. I’ll wait.
Pray this finds you well – I find I am doing quite well myself. Fact: God is always good, even when things around us aren’t (or, better said, especially when they aren’t). But, as mentioned, things with me are particularly good - I am stoked about the next 4 days of remembering Good Friday and Easter with you all. You hear me preach it all the time that without the cross we have no cause for gathering, that Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection form for us the foundation for and focus of our faith. But still, there’s just something special about the actual day on our calendars that we set aside to commemorate His grace – if you haven’t offered a prayer of thanks yet this week (or even if you have) for His saving work on your behalf, now’s as good a time as any. I’ll wait.
MID-EMAIL PRAYER PAUSE
Hey, as long as you’re in prayer mode, let me throw this in your mix. If you are reading this at work, take a look outside your office/cubicle/closet at the others who work with you. Anyone there need Jesus? More than at any other time of the year, people are open to going to church on this weekend. They just need someone to ask them. How about those of you reading this in your house – can you see out a window to the homes of your neighbors? Who among them needs a Savior? Listen, I know that we may not feel like we know our co-workers/neighbors well enough to ask. Or maybe we just assume that they already have a place picked out for Easter services. But maybe you do know them well enough – maybe they haven’t decided if they’re going to church on Easter, let alone where. Maybe they’re just waiting for someone to ask so they don’t have to go alone. I am amazed at how often God is preparing someone for Himself and all that He is looking for is someone like you or me to be the linchpin in His process.
I saw this with me own eyes (random pirate talk there) just a couple of hours ago. I have a standing Life Group on Thursday mornings at Cracker Barrel. The guys and I usually commandeer the first big circular table as you walk in, but recently we have been adding more men so we have taken to sitting in the back room area to accommodate.
This morning, as we greeted each other and prepared for our study, I noticed a young man sitting by himself in our otherwise deserted section. He seemed to be waiting for someone to join him, so I thought little of his being there. A few minutes passed by as more of the fellas trickled in. I was just about to commence with the festivities when this guy approached us and asked if he could “sit in for the morning”. He had his bible with him (he was waiting for a mentor who was unable to meet him), so he just pulled his chair over and joined our group. He’s planning on joining us at church this Sunday.
Anyway, my point is this – we had no previous relationship, but we shared a proximity. I believe fully that God is always at work around us and that He is ever inviting us to be a part of His plan in another’s life. Perhaps He is doing that kind of thing with you this weekend. Paul wondered the same thing when he wrote to his friends in
11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
Let’s all pray together for people to see Jesus, to “call on the name of the Lord” at our church and at other area churches like we haven’t seen in years around here. Let’s be willing to go across the office, the classroom, the street, the gym (you get the point) to extend an invitation to those around us to join us at one of our services this weekend. I expect that God will pleasantly surprise us with people that He has been preparing for just such a conversation.
Saw a compelling video on the subject this past week – paste the web address below in your web browser and watch the video there entitled “Invite Me In”...
http://www.worshiphousemedia.com/mini-movies/23433/Invite-Me-In
Loving you all and excited for Easter – He is RISEN!
Mark
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