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Announcements Plus Devotional Aids

Let's Learn a Bible Verse!

Sing to the LORD, you saints of his; praise his name. For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.
--Psalm 30:4-5 (NIV)

 

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Contents

Announcements

Mothers' Day Service

We hope you will join us for a special service in honor of mothers on Sunday, May 11th at 9:00 a.m. We are asking our members to consider bringing us a photo of their (living or deceased) mother alone or with children to put on a special display table. We will celebrate the lives, care, and sacrifices of our mothers and express our gratitude to our mothers who helped bring us into this world.

After the service, please join us in the Christian Life Service for a brunch in honor of our mothers, prepared and served by the men of the church. Come and be blessed.

May Newsletter is now online

Holy Week Services

Maundy Tuesday service report. We had 26 people to share the sample Passover meal as we commemorated the Last Supper or our Lord before his death on that cruel cross. We thank the people who helped prepare the meal and told us about the meaning of each item on the plate. We were blessed and touched by the meal and also by the symbolic foot washing service.

On Sunday, April 13th at 9:00 a.m., we will be waving palm leaves during the Palm Sunday service. On Holy or Maundy Thursday at 7:00 p.m., we remember the Last Supper of our Lord. The serving of Communion will include very small samples of the foods that Jesus and his disciples would have had at their Passover meal. The meaning of each item to the Jewish people will be explained as we sample the foods.

Then on Good Friday at 7:00 p.m. we go the Grace Chapel Global Methodist Church for a joint service of all the Global Methodist Churches in Caldwell County to commemorate the ultimate sacrifice that our Lord Jesus made for us on the cross. We express our sorrow for what Jesus had to do to save us from our sins.

Then joy comes in the morning on Sunday, April 20th at our Easter Sunrise Service at 7:00 a.m. We invite you and your family to help us celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus, then stay for fellowship and a free breakfast after the service.

Christ has come. Christ is risen! Christ will come again! Happy Easter!

Easter Egg Hunt and Party Apr 12 - Report

2 straw baskets with colorful eggsWe entertained 23 children with their parents and grandparents, and told them the real story of Easter, as well as, playing games, singing, and having lots of fun. We thank all our workers and ask God to bless these efforts to witness for our Lord to the young and old.

All children of the community (with responsible adult) are invited to our annual Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday April 12, 9-11:00 a.m. Breakfast biscuits will be served.There will be songs to sing and games to play with lots of free candy, prizes, stories, including the story of Jesus and his love for us, the egg hunt, and fun, fun, fun! Rain or shine! Everything is free!

 

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Quote to Ponder

“I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.”  --G. K. Chesterton

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For Meditation

Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent--the LORD detests them both. (Proverbs 17:15 NIV)

It is not good to punish an innocent man, or to flog officials for their integrity. (Proverbs 17:26 NIV)

He who mocks the poor shows contempt for their Maker; whoever gloats over disaster will not go unpunished. (Proverbs 17:5 NIV)

 

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Mini-Bible Lesson #96: Church Work

References: Acts 1-2; Proverbs 3:3; James 2:14-25.

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?  --James 2:14

Pastors and other church leaders can become discouraged when much of the congregation refuses to become involved in ministry efforts or Bible study classes, or prayer meetings, etc. There are church members who will come to every meal prepared by the church (free or a fundraiser), and bring their children to Easter Egg Hunts, or special singing services, or parties or events with fun activities, but refuse to join a Sunday School class, or meet for prayer, or volunteer to serve on a committee, or give money regularly to the church budget. They tend to be “now you see them, now you don’t” church attenders, not Kingdom workers. Where is their spirit for God and his work? Maybe the problem is a lack of the Spirit of God in their lives. Or they simply ignore or have not learned how to access the Holy Spirit’s power.

We can help the Spirit by avoiding unbalanced emphasis in our preaching and teaching. We can stress the experience of the Spirit at the time of conversion too much and new Christians do not learn that the Spirit can also empower them for mission and how to become more holy in Christ every day (entire sanctification).

Yet, again, too much emphasis  on the ‘perfecting’  of a Christian’s life can lead to inaction from fear of doing something wrong or unnecessary guilt or concentration on the letter of the law over the Spirit of the law. But all believers need regular study and reading of God’s Word. We need to communicate with our Lord often, and reading his Word is one way to know God and to learn from him. He calls to us from his Word, and his indwelling Spirit opens his Word to us to guide us and encourage us.

Corporate worship affirms our faith publicly and encourages us and strengthens our faith and our Christian bonds with fellow believers. To use a worship service or Sunday school/Bible study class for entertainment or socializing does not build us up in the faith. It may bring people into the church, but it is too shallow and empty of hard truth to lead people to saving grace in a deep, lasting belief in Jesus as Lord and Savior.  Socialize but don’t stop there. Get to the hard truths.

Learn and teach church doctrine. Learn and teach how to speak of the need for salvation. Learn and teach how to defend the Christian faith. Discover ways to answer the hard questions and objections one will encounter when witnessing about Christ to unbelievers. Strengthen your own faith by discussing and searching for answers to your own hard questions or doubts that beset you at times. Then pray for God’s power to do what is right and what is righteous throughout your life. This is the way to become a confident and powerful witness for Jesus our Lord.

 

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Special Resources

The picture below is our new Resource Room with books, dvds, videos, and a TV screen (not shown in photo). Individuals are encouraged to take resources home for Bible study or reading; and classes can use the room to show videos related to their studies. We would appreciate donations of books or dvds, especially for young children for this collection.

 

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Ongoing Collections - Updated - 10/09/2023

CCC & TI Food Pantry Collection - Yearly in April

Throughout the month of April, we will be collecting single serve, microwaveable or ready-to-eat items for students at Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute. Suggested items: single serve Ramen Noodles, macaroni and cheese, crackers with cheese or peanut butter, cookies, single serve canned meats, etc.

Oakhill Backpack Ministry

We are beginning to collect single serve, easy to microwave or use food items to send home with needy children, such as, fruit cups, mac and cheese, snacks, noodles, etc. The children will receive a backpack of these items to take home on the weekends, and use for themselves and their families. Put the items in the old fellowship hall. We thank you for helping.

Local Schools Supply Closet

We continue to collect items for our local teachers.This ministry provides items for teachers and their students that they cannot obtain through the regular budget.

They include the following: Clorox wipes, hand sanitizer, hand soap, paper towels, facial tissues, sharpies, dry board markers highlighters, black/blue/red ink pens, colored pencils, glue sticks, composition books and notebook paper (wide and college ruled), crayons, scissors (children's type), index cards, construction paper, pencil sharpeners, sheet protectors, file folders, large and small legal pads, white out, paper clips, staples, pencil pouches, markers, rulers, ring binders, card stock white/assorted, 3 ring note books, large and small pencil top erasers, and post it notes.

South Caldwell Christian Ministries

We are collecting non-perishable food and clean used clothing in good condition that will be taken to South Caldwell Christian Ministries. You may leave the items at the church on Sundays or during normal office hours (8:30 to 1:00 p.m., Monday-Friday).

We thank you for helping us to minister to the needs of our community.

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Contact Information: 828-396-2214 or emcdudleyshoals@yahoo.com;
4948 Burns Rd., Granite Falls NC 28630