[Sunday] Plainly Overcome - Comfort Comfort

Sermon From 1st Service ;)

As we approach the crucifixion, Jesus is giving comfort amidst coming hardship, revealing a deeper connection with the Father and to peace despite future scattering. All this echoes the story of Lazarus, where Jesus' power over death foreshadows His ultimate sacrifice for humanity.

 QUESTIONS FOR THE WEEK:   Comfort Comfort: Plainly Overcome

1. When are times when you’ve felt scattered in the world?  When are times when you’ve caused others to feel scattered?

2. Read John 16:25-17:6.   Jesus says that He speaks plainly and to take heart that He’s overcome the world.  Describe some times when Jesus was scattered.  How does Jesus overcome those times?

3. What does it mean that Jesus overcame the world for you?

About the Image Used here.

One of my Favs.

Find more info Here https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/collection/s0169V1962

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What Had happened at Grace this week. 

New Song, “The Power of The Cross"

Here is Grace’s Recording for Sunday

On March 17th 2024 we are singing
“The Power Of The Cross”
(Keith Getty | Stuart Townend. CCLI Song # 4490766)

1. Oh to see the dawn of the darkest day

Christ on the road to Calvary

Tried by sinful men torn and beaten then

Nailed to a cross of wood

2. Oh to see the pain written on Your face

Bearing the awesome weight of sin

Ev'ry bitter thought ev'ry evil deed

Crowning Your bloodstained brow

Chorus This the pow'r of the cross

Christ became sin for us

Took the blame bore the wrath

We stand forgiven at the cross

3. Now the daylight flees now the ground beneath

Quakes as its Maker bows His head

Curtain torn in two dead are raised to life

Finished the vict'ry cry (Chorus)

4. Oh to see my name written in the wounds

For through Your suff'ring I am free

Death is crushed to death life is mine to live

Won through Your selfless love

Closing This the pow'r of the cross

Son of God slain for us

What a love what a cost

We stand forgiven at the cross

Listen to the Orginial.
Grace’s Version is up Top

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On the News! Talking about Haiti

Lots of difficulty in Haiti right now.

We are working on a solution to get supplies in.

If you would like to send support to Haiti, please give here.

Choose Haiti in drop down.

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. —

For nearly 20 years, Habitat for Children Ministries has provided supplies to the children of Haiti.

Now, when the need is at its greatest, the group in Port St. Lucie is struggling to help.

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“For me, seeing what’s going on right now, it hurts,” said Meschac St Amour.

St Amour grew up in Haiti and is now the president of Habitat for Children Ministries.

Cris Escher is the Vice President.

“We provide health care, food, community services for families, especially children, in Haiti,” Escher said.

Haiti is currently in turmoil.

Gang activity and widespread violence have left essentials like food, water, and medicine in very short supply.

Most residents have been forced to shelter and are unable to leave their homes.

“Sometimes, people are not just dying because of the gun activities,” St Amour said. “They’re starving.”

“With limited movement, without gas, without food, you can’t do that, and it’s scary,” Escher said.

Habitat for Children Ministries has about half a dozen people on the ground in Haiti trying to help.

But they’ve been unable to get much-needed supplies into the country.

The airports are controlled by the gangs, and the roads are shut down.

Despite that, St Amour and Escher promise they will find some way to get those supplies to those who need them.

Right now, they’re just not sure how they’ll do it.

“We’ve got to be ready,” St Amour said. “We’ve got to be ready when it’s open. Because right now, it’s hard. It is hard, so we have to keep them alive.”

“And that will happen,” Escher said. “And it’s going to happen soon.”

Because of the difficulty delivering supplies, Habitat for Children Ministries is asking for donations of money.

Donations can be made on their website.

[Wednesday] Isolation and Community - Speaking Comfort Comfort

Dinner Potluck 5:30PM
Service 6:30PM

Speaking of Living Together

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What Had happened at Grace this week. 

[Sunday] Blind Joy - Comfort Comfort

The world may boast victory in the face of our struggles, leaving us blind to the bigger picture. But Jesus, the one who illuminates our innermost being, whispers a promise of sight beyond the present darkness. Like the man born blind, our blurry vision will someday come into focus, revealing an unstoppable joy.

QUESTIONS FOR THE WEEK:   Comfort Comfort - Blind Joy 

1. Describe a time Jesus said something confusing, that was difficult to understand.

2. Read John 16:16-24.  As the disciples are confused, what does Jesus promise?  

3. What illustration does Jesus use to show sorrow and confusion turning to joy?

4. How does Jesus meet us in sorrow and bring joy?

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What Had happened at Grace this week. 

Photo of Wednesdays Dinner!

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A Survival Guide to the Great Exhaustion

Life is not a problem to be solved, but a gift to receive.

Read Whole article here A Survival Guide to the Great Exhaustion - Mockingbird (mbird.com)

Welcome to The Great Exhaustion. That’s how our modern era has recently been christined. With 47 million people voluntarily quitting their jobs last year, the cracks in our broke and burned out generation are beginning to show more and more. From family life, to the housing crisis, to global stressors, it feels like we are more exhausted than ever before. “People are feeling a strain on more than just their work calendars,” Emily Ballesteros wrote in Time last week. “They’re feeling it on their spirits.” From stay-at-home moms to tech executives, there is plenty of weariness to go around…………………………………………….

Read Whole article here A Survival Guide to the Great Exhaustion - Mockingbird (mbird.com)

New Song, “I Danced In The Morning” (Lord Of The Dance)

Here is Grace’s Recording for Sunday

On March 10th 2024 we are singing
“I Danced In The Morning” (Lord Of The Dance) 
(CCLI Song # 78529)

1. I danced in the morning When the world was begun

And I danced on the moon And the stars and the sun

And I came down from heaven And I danced on the earth

At Bethlehem I had My birth

Chorus

Dance then wherever you may be I am the Lord of the Dance said He

And I'll lead you all Wherever you may be

And I'll lead you all In the Dance said He

2. I danced for the scribe And the Pharisee

But they would not dance And they wouldn't follow Me

I danced for the fishermen For James and John

They came with Me And the dance went on (Chorus)

3. I danced on the Sabbath And I cured the lame

The holy people said it was a shame They whipped and they stripped

And they hung Me on high And they left Me there

On a Cross to die (Chorus)

4. I danced on a Friday When the sky turned black

It's hard to dance With the devil on your back

They buried My body And they thought I'd gone

But I am the dance And I still go on (Chorus 2 times)

Listen to the Orginial.
Grace’s Version is up Top

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[Wednesday] Death to Life - Speaking Comfort Comfort

Dinner Potluck 5:30PM
Service 6:30PM

Speaking of Death to Life

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What Had happened at Grace this week. 

[Sunday] Clean Vines - Comfort Comfort

Like a vine tender cares for their vineyard, Jesus nurtures each branch. Nicodemus, once overgrown and shadowed, needed pruning to grow in the light. At the cross, after 3 years of pruning, everyone else saw only darkness, but Nicodemus saw the light of the King.

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What Had happened at Grace this week. 

Lwml saying goodby to Cheryl

[Wednesday] Speak Freedom - Speaking Comfort Comfort

Dinner Potluck 5:30PM
Service 6:30PM

Speaking Freedom to Those in Captivity

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What Had happened at Grace this week. 

Legalism - The Elephant in the Room

Legalism - The Elephant in the Room (1517.org)

There is no AA for legalists. At least not officially. But there ought to be, and it should be called your local church.

Legalism doesn’t always appear as rule-heavy fundamentalism or hell-fire and brimstone. That kind of legalism is obvious and portrayed in Netflix documentaries. The vast majority of Christians can avoid this kind of craziness because it is so easy to identify. However, a more subtle and common legalism is far more difficult to recognize because, sadly, for much of Christianity, it is the thrust of the message being preached, the theology being handed down, and the direction we are being led. 

Legalism is one of those words that gets thrown around a lot in Christian circles to the point that it loses all meaning and power because of its ubiquity. Too often, everyone who does not belong to our preferred flavor of Christianity becomes a “legalist.” When everyone can be labeled something, no one recognizes the proclivity in themselves. 

Have you ever noticed that no one ever admits to being a legalist? You never hear someone say, “I am a legalist” or “I go to a legalistic church.” There is no AA for legalists. At least not officially. But there ought to be, and it should be called your local church. Because whether we like to admit it or not, we are all law-loving legalists. ………………………

Read the whole article at Legalism - The Elephant in the Room (1517.org)

[Sunday] Held Well - Comfort Comfort

To the lost souls feeling orphaned, the lonely drawing water in the heat, the outcasts fearing rejection, and those trembling before evil's seeming victory.  Jesus comforts, "I am your hope, and darkness has no hold on you."

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What Had happened at Grace this week. 

Getting Sober ...... Again

I begged Jesus to turn this wine back into water, but my prayers went unanswered.

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You have heard the story before. You know how it goes. Once upon a time, a sad and lonely agnostic boy from a broken and abusive home turned to drinking and drugging to comfort his heart and mind. And then on his 19th birthday, with a belly full of booze and a brain full of chemicals, God spoke to him: “If you keep doing this, you are going to die. If you follow me, you will live.” Miraculously, he quit partying, became a committed Christian, and within a short amount of time, a Youth Minister (obviously).

At no point in this transformation did I think that I had an addiction, disease, or allergy to alcohol that compelled me to drink. Rather, the real problem was that I was spiritually dead and needed a Savior. I stopped drinking because a spiritual transformation had been accomplished by my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I was not one of those self-righteous straightedge kids who showed up at the hardcore shows with a freshly scrawled X on his hands to flaunt his inner strength and determination to remain out of step with the world by avoiding the crutches of drugs and alcohol. I was the humble Christian kid with infused righteousness who showed up at the hardcore shows with an oversized ><> sharpied on his hands to proclaim his dependence on the Savior and commitment to following him. And I was now extra-friendly in the pit, even to (most of) the tough guys.

I wasn’t counting the length of time I had been sober; I was counting the length of time I had been a Christian…………..

Read the rest of the article at Getting Sober … Again - Mockingbird (mbird.com)

[Wednesday] Lent 2 - Speaking Comfort Comfort

Sorry The stream got Started late.

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Dinner Potluck 5:30PM
Service 6:30PM

How would you share the hope?

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What Had happened at Grace this week. 

[Sunday] Troubled Hearts - Comfort Comfort

Jesus knows Peter is going to deny Him. Jesus knows our own failures. But while speaking to Peter and our failures, Jesus brings comfort to troubled hearts, and He makes room for us.

New Song This Week.

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What Had happened at Grace this week. 

New Song, How Deep the Father's Love For Us

Here is Grace’s Recording for Sunday

On Feb 18th 2024 we are singing
How Deep the Father's Love For Us

1. How deep the Father's love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure
How great the pain of searing loss
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory

2. Behold the Man upon a cross
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished.

3.   I will not boast in anything
No gifts no pow’r no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

Ending.
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

Listen to the Orginial.
Grace’s Version is up Top

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[Sunday] Ash Wednesday - Comfort Comfort

He Loved them to the End

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What Had happened at Grace this week. 

Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras February 13th

Join us for Fat Tuesday. February 13th
Food and Music from 6-8PM

We are serving Pancakes with all the toppings and bacon!
Seating will be outside under string lights with live music.

Our hope is that we would sit with good company and make new friends while growing closer together.

Here is the History of the Fat Tuesday

Mardi Gras refers to events of the Carnival celebration, beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany (Three Kings Day) and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday, which is known as Shrove Tuesday. Mardi Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday", reflecting the practice of the last night of eating rich, fatty foods before the ritual Lenten sacrifices and fasting of the Lenten season.

Related popular practices are associated with Shrovetide celebrations before the fasting and religious obligations associated with the penitential season of Lent. In countries such as the United Kingdom, Mardi Gras is more usually known as Pancake Day or (traditionally) Shrove Tuesday, derived from the word shrive, meaning "to administer the sacrament of confession to; to absolve".[3]