03/29/2020 Newsletter
Updated: Mar 31, 2020
A Word From Pastor John~
I hope everyone is having a safe and healthy week, please let us know if there's anything that you need. A big thank you to everyone who has helped and donated towards our pantry at the church. I'm thankful we are able to help our community in this time of need.
As we move towards the end of the Lent season, we are reminded of the third and final temptation that Jesus faced in the wilderness. This temptation had to do with earthly power and authority. Even though we are children of the most high king, we are sometimes tempted to become obsessed with power and influence in the here and now. Jesus reminds the devil that God is the only one who is worthy to be worshiped and served.
May the Lord be at work in your life this week.
Pray For One Another
Our pastors and their families
The world as we all continue to navigate this pandemic.
Yolanda Porter
April Shilliam
Leonard and Barb Keeler
Hope Baca
Val Jordheim's daughter, Erika
Dawn & Frank Sundstrom
Tonya Fleming's great nephew, Ben
Cory Echenbarger
Erin MacDougal
Terry and Cristy's family
Barbara's family
Alisha
Lillian Brock
Kara & Frank Mathey's daughter
The many unspoken requests
Bible Reading Plan: Week 14
This year, we are reading through the Bible chronologically using The Bible Recap Plan in YouVersion.
Take a bookmark from the front lobby if you'd like to keep track that way and go through at your own pace.
Use bible.com OR the YouVersion app
Day 92: Judges 8-9
Day 93: Judges 10-12
Day 94: Judges 13-15
Day 95: Judges 16-18
Day 96: Judges 19-21
Day 97: Ruth 1-4
Day 98: 1 Samuel 1-3
Before you read God’s Word today, seek His help with these 5 prayers:
1. God, give me wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. 2. God, let any knowledge I gain serve to help me love You and others more, and not puff me up. 3. God, help me see something new about You I've never seen before. 4. God, correct any lies I believe about You or anything I misunderstand. 5. God, direct my steps according to Your Word.
Mission Minute
Please be in prayer for wisdom as health officials and those in authority combat the coronavirus.
Remember to continue practicing caution (wash hands, keep your hands away from your face, stay at least 6 feet away from those not already in your circle) and common sense.
Blessings!
Talma Harmon
Missions Advisory Council
Opportunities to Give and Serve
If you're able:
Volunteer at our "Bread Bank Plus". We're running it Wed-Fri 8am-12pm... call or email the church office.
Help get Bibles to the Navajo speaking
people in prison here in Arizona: Serve God by serving your church:
Nazarene News
Tennessee church holding drive-in services to help preserve community
by Daniel Sperry for Nazarene News | 27 Mar, 2020
Gallatin First Church of the Nazarene is getting creative with its services during the COVID-19 pandemic by hosting a drive-in church service in its parking lot.
After one week of hosting Sunday services online via live stream, the staff began discussing other ways to hold services. Children’s Pastor Shaun Stevenson brought up the idea of a drive-in church service.
“As soon as he said it, we jumped all over it,” said Kevin Rector, lead pastor of Gallatin First Church of the Nazarene.
The church averages roughly 200 on a given Sunday. This week, they had 67 cars in their parking lot, loaded with individuals, couples, and families to participate in the service while doing their best to practice social distancing.
“One of our big goals here is to maintain a sense of community and connection in the church,” Rector said. “We are trying to help people stay connected as much as possible in a time where there is a lot of isolation.”
The drive-in service isn’t the only thing Gallatin First is trying to do to preserve the church’s community during these times. The church will begin hosting four different virtual small groups via Zoom, a videoconferencing platform that has grown in popularity during the pandemic. In those small groups, there will be prayer and fellowship followed by discussions based on the sermon that week.
In addition, the church developed a call list of almost every member. The pastoral staff and members who have volunteered will call to check in on people in the congregation and pray with them.
The youth group conducted its normal youth service over Zoom, doing games, worship, and even splitting into their gender- and age-based small groups, all to help preserve the sense of community the group usually experiences. The children’s group has a Facebook live message and response time.
Rector felt it was important to combat the feeling of isolation in any way possible in order to help the church and the surrounding community get through these difficult times.
“The way I described it to somebody is that for a lot of people, the worship service helps to sort of set the pattern of time in our life,” Rector said. “We have these rhythms of time that we go through in our regular lives, and the coronavirus has disrupted a lot of those rhythms. So it felt to me like having an opportunity for people to come to the place they normally come to and see people they normally see; even if it’s just waving at each other through the window, it would bring some sense of peace to people in the midst of that.”
https://nazarene.org/article/tennessee-church-holding-drive-services-help-preserve-community
Congregation Corner
The line in the song "Blessed Be The Name" that says "He gives and takes away" keeps going through my head. Even though it seems like things are being taken away right now, God is still providing. I'm being taken care and I see how He meets our needs even in times of hardship. Every morning and throughout the day, I'm reminded that all I have is His anyway, so I need to be willing to let go.
-Submitted by Josh Billings
You can contribute to our newsletter! Is God showing you anything this week? A devotional page or song you really enjoyed? What's your favorite Bible passage and why? Just email me: mosaicnazarene@gmail.com
Upcoming Events
New! UPDATES page (for all your Covid-19 time Mosaic news)..... go HERE
For upcoming events and weekly schedule, go HERE (scroll down a little)
Check out the monthly bulletin and flyer turn-style in the church lobby
For our live Google calendar go HERE
This Week
Stop in for yourself, neighbors, friends, and family.
Let's be the hands and feet of Jesus!
