Get Baptized, Find Eggs, Raise the Roof, Sing Loud and more
Dear Stillmeadow Family,
Lean in and consider what God may be saying to you about jealousy and loyalty in today’s Lenten Devotional.
Scripture: 1 Samuel 18-20, Psalm 83
GodStory:
In our readings for today, David’s experience of Saul and Jonathan feels right out of a Hollywood screenplay. With King Saul, David encountered jealousy: “Saul became still more afraid of him, and he remained his enemy the rest of his days” (1 Sam 18:29). With Saul’s son Jonathan, David encountered loyalty. “Jonathan said to David, ‘Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in the name of the Lord…’” (1 Sam 20:42)
OurStory:
Jealousy is a haunting vice, stirring murderous thoughts and sometimes even actions. Loyalty is a heroic virtue, stirring sacrificial thoughts and actions. In Jesus’ life we see how the jealousy of the religious leaders led to his false accusations and unjust execution. But we also see how the loyalty of Jesus led him to stay faithful to his Father and his love for all people, despite the cost and the pain. In OurStory and relationships today, we have a choice: follow Jesus in the way of loyalty and service or follow the way of Saul and others like him in the way of jealousy and destruction.
Blessing:
May you be the kind of friend who remains loyal despite the cost and the pain, so that others may experience the loyalty of Christ through you.
Daily Prayer Focus: All who suffer from mental illness.
Grateful for, praying for and cheering for you in this journey with Jesus,
Pastor Josh
PS Check out the services from Sunday (Stillmeadow Lane and York City)
PPS: It’s not too late to jump into the reading plan. We’re in Joshua and Judges this week. Check out our reading page here.
PPS This year’s Lenten Devotionals go with our Bible reading plan and each one features an aspect of GodStory and OurStory. Sign up to receive them daily in your email (click here to sign up), or you can pick them up at our welcome desks.
The Main Announcements
There are plenty of things going on as we pursue Jesus together, but we invite you to…
Get Baptized on Easter: April 20
Find Eggs at the Easter Egg Scramble: April 12
Raise the Roof: April 26
Sing Loud at the Honor and Glory Concert: May 9
Baptisms on Easter
Have you given your life to Jesus? The next step is to be baptized!
Baptism is the ancient symbol of the church to recognize that a person has been cleansed of their sins, has died to their old way of life and has been raised to Jesus’ way of life. For the baptized it is an opportunity to say “I am all in” to the way of Jesus.
We want to celebrate your new life in Christ with baptism on Easter Sunday, April 20. If you have questions, you can ask pastorjosh@stillnaz.com. And you can sign up at www.stillnaz.com/baptism. We’ll have a Baptism prep class on April 13.
Easter Egg Scramble: April 12, 10AM
Join us in welcoming our neighbors and families for the Easter Egg Scramble. You can volunteer or donate. We’re looking for donations of individually wrapped candy and coins for the Easter Egg Scramble. Drop off your donation at Kids Welcome Desk by April 6th. For information contact pmoses@stillnaz.com.
We are looking for volunteers to help with:
Set up/clean up, Greeting, Snacks, Face Painting, Other odds and ends
Please reach out to Jessica Hurlbert at jmhankey@comcast.net to sign up!
We are looking forward to sharing the GOOD NEWS that Jesus is Alive to our kids and families of the community!
Roof Help: April 26 at 8AM
We are replacing the roof on the garage. Can you help us? If you can serve please let us know by emailing pastorjade@stillnaz.com. Lunch will be provided!
Honor and Glory Concert: May 9
Honor & Glory Concert
Bring your friends and family and support Stillmeadow Youth Ministry!
You can also donate tickets that will be used to invite youth in our community!
You can buy your tickets HERE.
Grow with us in a Prayer Group
We were made to grow in maturity in our Prayer life.
Prayer Group- As we grow together, prayer is the foundation for our community. We have many groups that focus on prayer. Checkout our prayer opportunities at stillnaz.com/prayer.
Serve with us in the JTAG Choir or Orchestra, or in Welcoming a Refugee Family
You have been gifted and we’d be honored to serve with you. We’d love to have you partner with us. Click the “Serve” button below for more opportunities.
JTAG Choir & Orchestra
Do you like to sing or play an instrument? You are invited to join the JTAG choir or orchestra for the upcoming Easter Music presentation! For questions or to sign-up please email pastorjohn@stillnaz.com.
Welcoming a Refugee Family
We have an opportunity to welcome and serve a family from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. If you are interested in helping, please fill out our form and we’ll be in touch.
Pray with us through our York County Lenten Prayer Guide and our Missions Prayer Card
You can find the guide to prayer and submit a prayer request at stillnaz.com/prayerrequest.
Give with us to support Human Life Services and the Easter Egg Scramble
Human Life Services
We recognize that every human, from the womb to the tomb, is worthy of respect and dignity, which is why we support the work that Human Life Services does to help women with unexpected pregnancies. We encourage you to give to their mission by selecting “Human Life Services” or writing it in the memo of your giving.
Easter Egg Scramble
We are asking for candy and coins to fill the eggs with this year. Donations (candy & coins) will be collected each Sunday in both the Adult Welcome Desk and the SNK Welcome Desk areas. If you can volunteer to stuff eggs, eggs will be handed out starting March 16th and due back by April 6th. Questions? Email pmoses@stillnaz.com.
Thank You…
Stillmeadow Church of the Nazarene,
Thank you so much for you encouragement and support of the Northeast Neighborhood Association. You have been an invaluable partner and we share in the mission of “Proclaiming Jesus” to the families and individuals we serve. Pastor’s Jade and Chastity are doing a phenominal job in demonstrating the love of God to the families we serve. May you be blessed individually and corporately for all you have done.
~Darlene Leonard-NENA (Northeast Neighborhood Association)