Experience This Week Differently

Hello Church,

This Holy Week is different for Emmanuel.

First, we are having Maundy Thursday (7:00) AND Good Friday (7:00) services.  Amelia UMC will be participating with us.  We are not used to doing both, but I hope you will attend one or both of them.  Each service is unique and adds to the story leading up to Easter.

As I get busy preparing for the week, I am trying to not get distracted.  A post-leave lesson learned is that my doing can get in the way of my believing.  The significance of productive tasks tend to substitute for they 'whys' of doing. 

Faith must trump tasks.  I invite you to think through this.  Faith should drive our tasks.  Our tasks should not drive our Faith.  It is similar to 'salvation by faith' vs 'salvation by works'.  Jesus leads us to Faith which leads us to actions.  Sometimes we think reversing that is a good thing.  It is not.

Second, I hope I will see you at Amelia UMC for the Sunrise Service (7:30) and breakfast (8:00).  The youth have worked hard at getting the service ready for us.  Not only should we support them, but we should let them inspire us on THE most important day of our Faith.  What better way to start an Easter morning than to watch young people lead us in worship??

Third, our 10:30 worship service will have a different look.  We will be talking about resurrection, but it will not just be a history lesson.  It will be a practical look at how we are living into resurrection through our new vision and leadership.  You want proof we are a new thing?  It isn't just the empty tomb.  It is what the resurrected Christ is driving us toward.

Also, there will be Sunday School and Bible Study at 9:30.  The Bible Study will be starting a new journey into the book of Galatians.  I hope to see you there as well.