Easter is coming!

Easter is a special Sunday when we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection from the grave, victorious over sin and death. What good news we have to share with the world around us. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! I think we sometimes loose sight of the wonderful message that God has given us to share. This world seems to be in a tailspin, with earthquakes, tsunamis, nuclear meltdowns, wars and rumors of wars. It is important that God’ people remember that God has not given up on us. The risen Lord is still moving across the world, reaching the lost, healing the broken and changing lives. The surprising thing is that He has chosen to do this through us. Those who love and follow Jesus are his hands and feet in the world today.
There are many ways to serve the Lord and share his love. Isaiah puts it this way: and if you spend yourselves on behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. Is 58:10 We can boldly spend ourselves on behalf of God because He has freely given himself for us. God desires that we bless others as He has blessed us. And He has blessed us abundantly.
Saturday April 23, the day before Easter, we will be sharing the good news of Jesus by way of a simple act of kindness. We will meet at the church at 10 Am and then head over to a local self-serve car wash to dry cars. Why dry cars? It is a simple way of letting people know that God loves them. It is also a simple way for us to learn how to bless people. I hope you can come and help. Many towels are needed for this event, so please bring towels to worship and leave them in the basket in the lobby.
Another way you can spend yourself in blessing others is to step outside your comfort zone and bring a friend or neighbor to worship. When surveyed about how people came to be part of a church the number one answer is that someone brought me to church. Think of someone you know who needs a touch from the Lord, ask them if you can pick them up on Easter Sunday. Come worship the Lord!
Pastor Steve

lent at New Hope

A special addition to worship during lent is art work by Ron Garcia. Most folks at church know Ron as our bass player, but he is also a very accomplished artist. Each Sunday, Ron is painting a picture based on the sermon and theme for the day. Jim Olsen has made big cut out letters for each Sunday's theme. Thanks Jim and Ron! After worship the pictures are hung along with the theme word in the lobby. Ron also is a professional picture hanger and art display person. We will use all the pictures on Maundy Thursday for our worship celebration that evening.