A joyous welcome to you! We are glad each of you has come to praise the Lord.

Let us be open to the Holy Spirit and receive God’s blessings as we worship.

Message:

Guest Pastor

Aaron Walters

Scripture:

Matthew 18:21-35

Offering:

General Fund

March 14, 2010

The Lord’s Supper, which we celebrate today, is a way the Christian remembers the sacrifice of Christ. If you have not yet believed in Christ as Savior, we invite you to watch and learn. We are glad you are here!

This morning we welcome Pastor Aaron Walters to our pulpit. Pastor Aaron and his wife are currently involved in a CRC church plant in Bellingham. Check out his letter in the March issue of The Heartbeat.

Announcements:

The Deacons will be showing the movie Gifted Hands on March 26 at 7pm.  This is a true story about a renowned brain surgeon who overcame obstacles to change the course of medicine forever. Young Ben Carlson didn't have much of a chance. Growing up in a broken home amongst poverty and prejudice, his grades suffered and his temper flared.  And yet, his mother never lost her faith in him.  Insisting he follow the opportunities she never had, she helped to grow his imagination, intelligence and, most importantly, his belief in himself.  That faith would be his gift - the thing that would drive him to follow his dream of becoming one of the world's leading neurosurgeons.

Do you have a favorite recipe that is not in our church cookbook? Terry Vander Woude is putting together recipes that can be added to the church cookbook and is looking for recipes from our current membership. Email your recipes to her at hopecc@callatg.com. If you don’t have email, you can give her a printed copy of the recipe.

As many of you know, the Jesus Gathering is a church plant in the making under the care of Mitchell and Rochelle Senti and the Envision Ministry. They meet on Sunday evenings, and part of their outreach is to serve a simple meal at 5 pm. Many of you, with your study groups, have helped prepare these meals. I am in need of meals for Sunday March 21st, Sunday April 18th, Sunday May16th and Sunday June 20th. If any of the small groups would like to use this opportunity to serve our community, please call Ida Richards at 676-1993. It requires a simple supper of soup, rolls and cookies for about 25-30 people. Thank you for your care and support.

Next Sunday, March 21: Greeters: David and Ida Richards, Jr. Johnson and Marvin Ward; Nursery: Polly Plekker, Rochelle Senti, Rockelle Ruiter, Melissa Westman; Snacks: Barb Zylstra, Elaine Barringer, Linda Bean; Ushers: Lela Omta, Dan Obbink, Joe Pruitt; Prayer Room: Ali Laninga; Children and Worship: Rosa McAlister.

Whatcom Chorale will be giving a concert of romantic choral works by Brahms, Shumann and Elgar at the First Congregational Church on Sunday March 21, at 3:00. Larry, Mary Jo & Ali all sing with the chorale. Tickets at the door.

This week:

The Dordt College concert choir from Sioux Center, Iowa will be performing at Bethel CRC in Lynden on Tuesday, March 16 at 7:30 p.m. The 51-voice choir is directed by Lynden native Dr. Benjamin Kornelis. Please come and join us.

On Thursday our Ministry Center will be used all day by the US Census Bureau to train their employees.

Join other men this coming Friday for “Men’s Night Out” at the Lynden Fairgrounds. Bring your son, father, nephew to an evening out with other men and boys. Entry fee is $1 or non-perishable food; dinner provided.

It is time to run background checks again. If you are a volunteer working with our children and/or Friendship group please call the church office during office hours this week to furnish your date of birth, full name and social security number.

Prayer requests:

We continue to lift the Roberts and Ruiter families in prayer as they welcome their new little ones into their family. The Roberts girls are GraceLyn (age 3) and FaithAnn (age 2); and the Ruiter’s baby is Amariah (age 9 months).

Our prayer emphasis this week is for our Worship Team. We lift them up and give thanks for their willingness to put in the time and practice so our worship service brings honor and glory to God. If you would like to volunteer to help or have any questions, please talk to Jerry Hop.