Hello! We want each of you to be able to celebrate Easter safely at home with joy and thankfulness for what Jesus has done for us!
With Easter quickly approaching, you can find a free-to-share packet that includes children’s bulletins for Easter celebrating the resurrection of Jesus. You will also find many other activity sheets, lessons and fun activities for you to do with or without children.
Our prayers continue for everyone’s wellness and safety during this time. Thank you to our ministry partners at Home Touch! Pastor Jeff Mount Calvary Lutheran Church, Greenville, MI
In
these anxious times, we who follow Jesus can be assured He is with us
always. Thank you for wanting to continue to share that Good News with
children and families. It is perhaps more important now than ever.
To
help us stay connected and share the Good News with others, we want to
continue sharing resources for everyone’s consideration and use,
especially in our Facebook group. Please feel free to use our Facebook
group as one of several ways to encourage one another. (Heb. 10:23-25, below)
During
a recent Sunshine Club gathering, Helen Harms shared an activity
called, “Exercising His Word”. I encourage you to check out this
resource and possibly use it as a daily devotion exercise. Here’s a
link: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AuEeHoujOjK60xQe078UCLTMCjuf?e=hKkeF2
Just pick out a few verses and do the exercise listed. Be creative!
Children’s Worship Bulletins has also put together a packet of free resources — puzzles, Bible activities, worship bulletins on carefully selected topics and Scripture texts — that you may use and share with others. We pray these will strengthen families, and especially young disciples in the church. You can find the page with links to the PDF files here: www.childrensbulletins.com/covid19-childrens-activities-for-churches
And don’t forget about free access to RightNow Media for personal, family, and small group bible study video devotions, as well as Children’s Videos.
“Let
us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is
faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love
and good deeds, not giving up meeting together (voluntarily), as some
are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more
as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:23-25
During heightened concern about the spread of contagious viruses and illnesses, Mount Calvary will continue to encourage the practice of appropriate measures to limit everyone’s risk. We are following all local, state, and national recommendations and mandates, and will always remain “open” and accessible via phone and email. Please help us remain a “healthy” low-risk center. If you are in any way suspect to having been exposed to a contagious virus (friend or family, travel to high risk area, etc.), if you feel ill or anxious about coming to Mount Calvary, please stay home and restrict your indoor public activities. You are invited to participate in our worship online. Links to our live streaming and recorded worship services, as well as online giving, are available through our website: www.mclc908.org.
FYI, research experts have stated that the chances of contracting a contagious illness through Communion is less than the casual contact everyone has by simply attending worship and in normal everyday life.[i] Our pastor washes (sanitizes) his hands immediately prior to serving Communion, and everyone involved in preparing and serving Communion has been instructed to practice good hygiene and thorough hand washing. We will suspend our practice of “Sharing God’s Peace” as necessary.
By now you’re aware of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services campaign to raise awareness of appropriate hand washing techniques to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other illnesses. Much like how you would try to prevent the flu, you want to practice good hygiene and stay away from people who are sick, says the CDC. This means frequently and thoroughly washing your hands, especially after using the bathroom and before eating. For the latest information, visit Michigan.gov/coronavirus or CDC.gov/coronavirus.
And keep praying!
God’s peace,
PS. 56:9 This I know: God is for me. 10 In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise, 11 in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mere humans do to me? 12 I am obligated by vows to you, God; I will make my thank offerings to you. 13 For you rescued me from death, even my feet from stumbling, to walk before God in the light of life.
Due to icy roads and
forecast snow overnight, we are postponing Sunday worship tomorrow
(Jan. 12) to 3:30 pm. Praise Team will practice at 2:45 pm. We plan on
having fellowship afterwards, but will NOT be having Bible Hour. We
will re-evaluate tomorrow in case we need to cancel service altogether.
is seeking an energetic, conscientious, and entrepreneurial individual to lead and coordinate Youth and Family Ministry (to include preschool through teens). Please send any letters of application and resumes to Pastor Jeff Wilhelm at mclc908″at”sbcglobal.net NLT January 31.
A detailed job description can be viewed or downloaded below.
Mount Calvary will host a traveling Spoke Folk team of bicycling youth and adults from all over the country who share Christian messages of Good News and encouragement through a program of music, skits and puppetry engaging all ages. Our goal is to also have a bicycle safety fair. Volunteers will work together to welcome and support the Spoke Folk team as they develop relationships and share the Gospel with our congregation and the community.
A
“Spoke Folk” Festival will be held at Mount Calvary, Greenville,
Monday, July 22, beginning at 4:00 pm. “SpokeFolk” consists of a team
of bicycling high school and college youth and adults from all over the
country who share Christian messages of Good News and encouragement
through a program of music, drama and puppetry for all ages. The group
is stopping overnight at Mount Calvary, Greenville, as part of their
12-day bike tour in West Michigan. Cameron’s Bicycle Shop will also be
there to show off their bicycles and offer bicycle safety checks.
Activities begin at 4:00 pm, Dinner will be served at 6:00 pm, the
Program begins at 7:00 pm, and an Ice Cream Social will follow.
Everyone is invited to bike or travel over to Mount Calvary, Greenville,
meet the team members, participate in some activities, and enjoy some
food, fun and friendship.
POC: Pastor Jeff Wilhelm
Be part of the Action Team as we welcome the Spoke Folk 2019 team
cycling to Greenville for an overnight stop, Monday, July 22. Bicycle
Safety Fair, Food & Fellowship, Music, Skits, Puppetry & Ice
Cream! Thanks in advance for your help!
Advent,
a preparatory time of waiting and watching, communicates the message of
hope, assisted by the color of the sky, BLUE. Our Christian faith rests
on the hope that Christ, who came in history assuming our flesh, will
also return on the last day of time from that same blue sky he ascended
into long ago.
During
Advent we are urged to slow down, wait, and look past ourselves. We do
this by taking our time (four Sundays and weekdays) getting to the
manger. We do this by staging our journey to Christmas in steps — Advent
greens, an Advent wreath, Christmas trees, a Christmas manger scene,
and then “Joy to the World” and “Silent Night.” We do this by keeping
Christmas long after the trees are put outside and the decorations
packed away — a full twelve days that stretch out what we have waited so
long to celebrate. It’s important to realize that when we
over-schedule church activities, we mirror the busyness of the world in a
bad way. Sometimes there are so many things going on at Church that it
seems literally like a roller coaster ride to Christmas. Advent should
be slower and much more deliberate. During this season, we do not
compete with the harried schedules of the world around us by matching
them event for event. No, we compete by offering what no one can find
except in the Church — the Gospel of the Incarnate Lord Jesus Christ!
Most importantly, we celebrate Advent by listening to the Word of the
Lord, and by hearing that Word with the ears of faith, and by the joyful
acknowledgment that the Christ of the manger has come among us to
deliver the fulfillment of His promised gift of forgiveness, life and
salvation.
Christmas is the season in which we hear the “tidings of great joy” that the Savior of the world was born in Bethlehem. The Second Person of the Trinity had to become man in order to redeem man. After the Feast of the Resurrection, then, the Feast of the Nativity is the greatest in the Church. The atmosphere and appearance of the church building, in addition to its message and music, reflect the exceeding gladness of this celebration.
A gift opens the way for the giver and ushers him into the presence of the great. (Proverbs 18:16)
God’s
gift to us at Christmas is a little like a very special gift received
in the mail. The gift looks plain on the outside, but God knows that
when we take the time to carefully unwrap the package and get to know
what’s inside, we will appreciate the gift very much. In fact, it’s the
best gift we could ever receive!
Similarly,
we are like the brown paper wrap. There are messages about Jesus
Christ to be sent and delivered all around the world today and they can
be delivered by people who are humble, simple, and plain, just like the
brown wrap. You don’t need fancy words or clothes. Look at Jesus who
was born in a barn. It was not a fancy place, yet God’s message and
gift to us came so precious and beautiful, just like the fancy ribbon
and paper.
Prayer:
Dear Jesus, help me be the sender of the Christmas message to someone who needs to hear your Word. You are the best gift anyone could receive. Use me, Lord to be the packaging wrap of brown, simple paper and not to be afraid to tell others about eternal life in heaven. Amen.
Mount Calvary Lutheran Church is Pleased to Announce Rev. Farrukh Khan of POBLO Ministries for a special Sunday presentation “Challenge of Islam” on September 16th, 2018 At 11:00 am (during Bible Hour)
Everyone is invited to a presentation on: o Allah of the Koran VS God of the Bible o Unequally Yoked o Sarah’s Testimony o How to Respond to the challenge of Islam
For more information, please contact Mount Calvary Lutheran Church at (616) 754-4886 or e-mail mclc908@sbcglobal.net
35555 Garfield Road | Suite 7 | Clinton Township, MI 48035 | P: (586) 477-1530 | E: office@poblo.org | www.poblo.org
“The Case for Christ” premieres in theaters this weekend (more
info below). At Mount Calvary, we will be providing booklets
written by the same author, Lee Strobel, “The Case for Easter,”
that you’re welcome to read and pass along to others, possibly
as an invitation to join us at Mount Calvary for Worship and
Bible study. We are privileged to be on the front lines of
Jesus’ church, reaching out with the Good News, to positively
impact people’s lives now and for eternity. See you Sunday!
<><
Pastor Jeff
p.s. It’s
also New Member Sunday and “Bring-a-Dozen Sunday.”
“We love
because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19
Early on,
starting in junior high, your teenagers are beginning to hear
offhand comments like these in class discussions and even from
teachers—and this kind of missional skepticism only
intensifies in high school and college.
“Christianity
is just a bunch of fairytales.”
“God and
science don’t really mix.”
“Jesus may have
existed, but the whole Messiah thing sounds like a hoax.”
During my first
week in college, a science professor asked for those who
believed in Creation Theory to raise their hands. As everyone
stared at the two people who raised their hands, the professor
dismissed the theory as nothing more than folklore and said it
would never be discussed in class.
Faced with the
tension between what they’re taught on Sunday mornings and the
predominant worldview of their teachers during the week, many
students learn to compartmentalize their faith. Jesus is in
one compartment, science in another, history in a third. As
a result, Jesus becomes less and less real as life goes on.
I read Lee
Strobel’s The Case for
Christ in my 20s, and it opened my eyes to the
truth. Through it, I realized that God and science can
coexist…quite well, actually. Most of all,
it solidified Jesus’ place in my heart and mind as Lord and
Savior.
This
week the movie based
on Strobel’s book is premiering in theaters
across the country. The film is based on the best-selling book.
A journalist and atheist, Strobel decided to investigate the
claims of Christ and simply to go where the evidence led him. In his
investigation he came face-to-face with overwhelming
evidence that Jesus was and is everything he claimed to be.
How often do events in your life bring about a sense of fear and dread? Holiday seasons like Thanksgiving and Christmas can easily lose their joy and delight when little things relentlessly nag at us and annoy us. Maybe the busy preparations of the season have you down, or perhaps you are reeling from a major life crisis or catastrophe.
Using Advent Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries this Advent and Christmas season, we will study the events of our Savior’s birth as recorded in the first two chapters of the Gospel of Luke. There we will hear God’s answers to the fears that threaten to engulf and overwhelm us.
