On Sunday, after the Snow...

view from church building office looking east

We have a spring snowstorm that's just beginning. Cars and trucks are whipping by out on Hwy 12. It may not be so easy come tomorrow morning.

BUT IT IS SPRING!  It won't be long until we're warming up!  By this weekend it will be in the 40s and next week in the 50s!  YAY!  Praise God!  Don't despair!  New life is on it's way!

Besides the change in the weather, we're looking forward to a special morning on Sunday.  Worship will be led by Don Begarowicz and a group of others who he's gotten to know over the last few years through our church.  (See below for more about Don & his wife Robin.)

I wanted to give a heads up on how we're planning to proceed on Sunday. 

One thing we've learned as we've been studying scripture together in various groups for the last year or more is that the way we typically do our Sunday morning service isn't really "set" or "commanded" by God.  Therefore, from time to time we have changed things up a bit and we plan to do that this Sunday (as we announced on March 30).  We want everyone to be as comfortable as possible so we're sharing this now.

Here's what we're looking forward to on Sunday morning April 6:

• After a song and our "church family time" with some explanation of the day, we'll begin with the first part of the Lord's Supper -- "On the night he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, 'This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me.'"
• This Sunday's homemade bread will be gluten free.
• The New Testament tells how the disciples came together to share the Lord's word with a meal.  Our Sunday April 6 "meal" will be the Word itself.  We live 'by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.' (Deuteronomy 8:3, Matthew 4:4).

After the first part of communion -

• Don will share his personal testimony to how God has been at work in his life.
• We'll have some time for prayer ministry, for worship in song and offering.
• Then Don will share a message on Remembering the Sabbath to Keep it Holy.  This will be part of the series we're sharing on the Ten Commandments.  Click here to learn more. 

• Toward the end of the service we will share the wine (or grape juice as an alternative) as we see in the Word of God: "In the same manner He (Jesus) also took the cup after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.'  For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes."  This will be the "second part" of communion.

Those who will be leading worship on Sunday would like to encourage everyone to get involved in spiritual growth beyond our weekly time of worship.  It is through participating in these prayer and study opportunities that we are set free to share the Lord's love in a variety of ways, including what we will share this coming Sunday.

Some of these spiritual Growth opportunities are:
+ Daily Prayer and Bible reading - check out the resources available on a table near our building entrance.
+ Sunday morning Bible study
+ Monday evening "Christian Camaraderie" at the Begarowicz home.
+ Tuesday evening prayer (here) or Bible study at Morris Excavating.
+ Wednesday evening youth and "JAM" and the women's study at Denise Ertl's.

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Now, as I promised above, I'll take time to say a little more about the Begarowiczes because they are relatively new to the Cokato area. I appreciate both Don and Robin so much.  They are friendly, positive, hard-working, "get it done" people who I've grown to trust since they first appeared in our community in 2011.

Christmas 2011
Don (on your right, back row)
Robin (also on your right, front row)

Don and Robin came to the DC area back in 2011 (my guess) to be resident managers at the Cokato Lake RV Resort and Campground.  Not only did they jump in and sing with our choir that year, and not only have they become key leaders in our church (Robin on the board of directors and Don as an indispensable member of our Audio-Visual crew, not to mention the ones who have decorated the church for Christmas two years in a row!) they've taken Holy Spirit powered initiative to form the already mentioned "Holy Spirit Christian Camaraderie" at their home, inviting any and all on Monday evenings for conversation, worship, prayer and scripture study.  It's been great!

I am very much looking forward to Sunday, after the snow.  I hope you are too.

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