Midweek Update: April 22, 2020

The shortest verse in the English Bible, John 11:35, contains two words: “Jesus wept.” This sentence, as Ted Powers shared in Sunday’s sermon, answers very simply, yet directly, some of our deepest questions. Questions such as these: Does Jesus care about my life? Does he know the level of anxiety and fear I struggle with on a daily basis? Does it matter to him that I don’t know whether I’ll be able to pay the bills next month? Does he recognize the stress and the tension in my marriage? In my relationship with my children? In my loneliness?

“Jesus wept.” This is a simple statement overflowing with the love of God and the compassion of Jesus Christ as he looks at a people ravaged by sin and in need of healing and forgiveness. We need to be reminded of this truth day in and day out; Jesus has greater love for us than we can imagine, and not only that, he has the power to forgive sin and to raise people from the dead! He is our compassionate and powerful King.

Here are a few updates and reminders for this week:

This Sunday: April 26

Worship Service: Teaching Elder Ted Powers will share from Psalm 46, a psalm that rivets our attention on the goodness and power of our God.

Going Deeper with Ted Powers: This Sunday we will once again offer the opportunity to meet with Ted via Zoom at 12:15 pm. If you would like to join the meeting, at 12:15 on Sunday, click this link sent to your email. I will be sending a follow-up email with the link later in the week.

Missional Prayer Service: In the Sunday morning email, in addition to the worship service link, we’ll also be including the link to the Missional Prayer Service. This service will include video presentations from several of our missionaries and church members who are serving the Lord in various ways during the coronavirus pandemic. We will pray for each of them, and also for our church, community, and nation.

Prayer Requests

Even though we are not meeting in person for worship during this time, we want to ensure that we continue to pray for the specific needs of our congregation. If you have a prayer request that you would like included in the Prayers of the People, please contact me ([email protected]), Rosa Matos ([email protected]), or Susie Wetherington.

Teaching on the General Epistles and Revelation

Starting May 3, John Higgins (no stranger to our adult Sunday school class) will be teaching on the General Epistles (the letters in the New Testament not written by the Apostle Paul) and Revelation. We will be posting a video lesson of John teaching on our website during the week, which will be followed by an online discussion with John via Zoom on Sunday. We will be updating you soon with more information.

Face Masks

If you are in need of a face mask, or would like to volunteer to sew face masks for organizations in need, please contact Natalie Wierenga.

Finally, as you know, the Illinois stay-at-home order is set to expire on April 30^th. At this point, Gov. Pritzker has yet to announce whether the order will be extended and what modifications (if any) it may entail. Your elders are staying informed of these matters and will communicate any updates regarding our church services and activities.

Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth! (Psalm 46:10)

In Him,

Pastor Rhett