Good Friday, Easter and VBS2024
Dear Church Family,
Now, for today’s Lenten Devotional from Lorraine Lauer.
John 13: 8b~Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me.”
I witnessed two foot washing ceremonies in my life that have truly impacted me in a powerful way. The first time was at my daughter’s wedding in 2020 and the second time was at Stillmeadow’s Maundy Thursday Lenten Service in 2023.
I used to view foot washing as an outdated “religious ritual.” And if I’m brutally honest, I’m ashamed to say that I thought it was a rather gross practice to get down and clean someone’s feet. However, now that I have a better understanding of this custom, I’m happy to say that I embrace the absolute pure beauty of this sacrificial practice. God is teaching me the importance of humility and pure servanthood.
The early Christian church introduced this custom for us to imitate the humility and selfless love of Jesus, who washed His disciple’s feet at the Last Supper. If we desire to partner with Jesus to love and serve better, we must allow Him to wash our dirty feet clean to walk in humility to build His Kingdom. HE is our only hope to walk righteously and clean.
Are you willing to humble yourself to serve your world sacrificially this Lenten season and beyond?
What is God calling you to surrender in humility today?
Lorraine Lauer
PS…here are other ways to engage the Lenten Season
Good Friday Service
Tuesday and Wednesday night we walked through the first 9 stations of the cross and on Good Friday we will walk through the final 5 into the tomb with Jesus. Join us at 7PM on Good Friday (March 29) on our Stillmeadow Lane Campus for a time of powerful prayer and reflection on the price God paid for us.
Easter Services on Sunday
And on Easter morning, let us celebrate that Christ has risen! We have prepared for 10+ baptisms at each of our services and are looking forward with great anticipation for what God has in store for each of us!
Bring a friend and join us at 9:00 and 10:30 at our Stillmeadow Lane Campus or 11 at our York City Campus!
Daily Readings and Reflections
Each week we provide reflection questions and daily scriptures for personal and family growth beyond Sundays.
Reflection Questions and Daily Scriptures
Watch the Palm Sunday (Mar 24) Service
Stillmeadow Lane Service—Pastor Josh Kleinfeld
York City Campus-Casey Harrison
Vacation Bible School 24
VBS24 is all about the good news of Easter! You can register your children (3yrs-5th grade) and invite your friends now. You can also begin praying for the event and volunteer. Click the buttons below!
Grow with us
No one matures alone. Check out our listing of other groups and let us know if you’re interested in one. If you’d like help, you can contact Karon Kagan (kkagan@stillnaz.com) or Pastor Tabitha Martin (pastortabitha@stillnaz.com).
M.O.R.E Class-Dig deeper into the sermon of the morning! This group is led by Steve Yinger and John Lackey and meets Sunday at 10:30AM in the Sprenkle House ground floor conference room.
N.O.M.A. Home Groups-No One Matures Alone. These groups meet in homes across the county on Sunday nights with the purpose of maturing in Christ together through connecting with Jesus in the study of scripture and intentional prayer together. When you sign up for a NOMA Group, a group leader will reach out with location details.
Serve with us
You have been gifted and we’d be honored to serve with you. We’d love to have you serve on our Kids Ministry Team for VBS or on a regular basis. And click the “Serve” button below for more opportunities.
Kids Ministry - Join an incredible team of people investing in and growing with the youngest generation of believers at Stillmeadow. If you’re interested in regularly serving on Sunday morning, click the button below and select any of the options under “Kids Ministry.” If you’re interested in serving with our Vacation Bible School (June 10-13), sign up at www.stillnaz.com/vbsvolunteer24.
Pray with us
You can find a guide to prayer and submit a prayer request at www.stillnaz.com/pray. This week, let us pray for…
The Governor of Pennsylvania, the General Assembly, and all who work in State Government. All who work in businesses which provide services to others. All who work in construction. Hospitals and nursing homes: patients, residents, and staff; all who provide health care. Victims of violent crime; all who commit violent crime. All senior citizens.
Pray for Jonathan Phillips our missionary to Romania:
Jonathan just began a Sabbatical. He asks: “Please pray that this will be a time of rest and restoration, focusing on my relationship with God, so that I will feel refreshed and ready to resume activities when I return to Romania at the end of June. (That sentence has way too many words that begin with the letters “re”!) Pray for ministries and administrative tasks in Romania, that they will continue without any problems during my absence.”
Prayerfully Give: Most sabbatical-related expenses are covered by a generous donation received by Global Missions designated for missionary sabbaticals. However, Jonathan is still responsible for covering some of the expenses. Of course, this is in addition to raising his normal expenses as a sponsored missionary. Since he is taking a sabbatical in place of home assignment this year, he will not be in the US to raise funds until 2025. If you wish to make a donation to his deputation account give to stillnaz.com/give and select Jonathan Phillips.
Give with us
Joy Boxes on Sundays!
On Sundays at the Stillmeadow Lane Campus, we will be receiving our physical offerings through our Joy Boxes at the two entrances to our Family Life Center. You may give when you enter for worship or when you exit to serve the world. This will replace the receiving of offerings by passing the baskets in the middle of our worship services. And it will be similar to the way offerings were received in Jesus’ day! Read Luke 21:1-4 for an example of giving. May we give with the generous and sacrificial spirit of the poor widow that Jesus lifted up in that passage.
Help Us Collect 100 Tubes of Toothpaste
Hooray! We met our goal of 900 toothbrushes for the district assembly Crisis Care Kit assembly party, so we signed up to collect 100 individual 4.0-6.4 oz tubes of toothpaste! Bring those to the compassion room. If you already purchased toothbrushes, just bring those in as well!
And if you want to make a Crisis Care Kit yourself, here are the instructions.
New Financial Stewardship Series
Throughout the year we will be offering a financial stewardship series with one-time classes on different financial topics. Check out the information on the flyer below!
Play Softball on the Stillmeadow Team
Spring is just around the corner and softball team sign-ups are here. The season runs from the end of April to the end of July. Expected costs will be $45 per player. If interested in playing, please contact Todd Henry, tdaehenry@comcast.net, 540-809-8211 or Tyler Warntz, twarntz@gmail.com, 717-521-6542 before March 29th.
Condolences
To Jody Nitchman & Family. Jody’s mother, Joan Plitt passed away March 7th, and her father, John Plitt passed away March 11th.
I conclude this message with our theme verse for the Lenten Series:
“For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.” Mark 8:35
Let’s save our lives by losing them for Him and His gospel…
Pastor Josh and the Stillmeadow Team