IN PERSON WORSHIP SERVICE CANCELLED
Because of the severe winter storm this weekend, our in-person service has been cancelled. Please join us online at 10 a.m. tomorrow morning at live.midcov.org for a special pre-recorded service. Pastor Shaun invites you to cozy up by the fire or heater with a cup of hot chocolate, coffee, or tea, and join together in worship and praise! What a joy it will be to sing to our hearts content–no masks or social distancing required!
A REMINDER
Hi, this is Ona. Don’t forget to have your Bibles close by for the service tomorrow! If you want, you can do like I do and put a bookmark where we will be reading. It’s in Isaiah this week.
DIGGING DEEPER
Fill in the blanks using the words in the box below.
Last Sunday, Pastor Shaun preached on John 16:5-15. He emphasized that when God moves, it is to our benefit to be ready to move with Him and not to be _________ in His way! After all, who is bigger? He said we need to (1) Be Patient, (2) Have Perspective, and (3) Position Ourselves to be in alignment with Him. He asked us to think back to the moment we ___________ our lives to Christ. Did we know then all that our decision would entail? No, and definitely not! Just as our walk with Jesus has been a ________ process, so also is the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Yes, He guides us into all truth, but it’s a gentle, gradual process, not a one-time, all-at-once, clairvoyant knowing. God in His omniscience knows how much we can _______, because He knows us much better than we know ourselves. Sometimes we become _________ with God and wonder what’s taking Him so long to move. What we tend to forget is that God moves in big ways, and when He does so, His actions have widespread _______ which He alone comprehends, because He sees so far beyond what you and I do. Question: How’s your alignment?
| gradual impatient standing consequences handle surrendered |
ON THE LIGHTER SIDE…
A Christian named Bill saw an ad online for a Christian horse. He went to check it out. The horse’s owner said, “It’s easy to ride him. Just say ‘Praise the Lord!’ to make him go, and ‘Amen!’ to make him stop.” Bill got on and said, “Praise the Lord!” Sure enough, the horse started to walk. “Praise the Lord!” he said again, and the horse began to trot. “Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!” he yelled, and the horse broke into a gallop. Bill was enjoying his ride so much that he almost didn’t notice the cliff he and the horse were about to go over. Bill shouted “AMEN!” and the horse stopped right at the edge of the cliff. Relieved, Bill said, “Phew! Praise the Lord!”
THE HEART MATTERS
For the next 6 weeks leading up to Easter, we will have a Lent sermon series entitled “The HEART Matters.” During this series, we will be directed, through scriptures and sermons, to take inventory of our lives. Lent is a 40-day period, from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday. During this time, we as believers prepare our hearts to celebrate the resurrection. The preparation process is a solemn one as we take a close look at our sin, our need for repentance, and the price paid for us through the death of the Savior. Fasting or giving something up during this time is a common practice. The practice in some churches of using ashes to form a cross on the believer’s forehead on Ash Wednesday is a tactile reminder that our sin leads to death–spiritual and physical. It isn’t unhealthy to be reminded that we are dust, and it’s important to remember that the process of being conformed into the image of Christ is a lifelong one. The solemn reflection of Lent is a way to refocus our minds, hearts, and lives on the fact that we need a Savior before we can experience the triumph of Christ on our behalf!
LENT SERIES SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS
To complement Pastor Shaun’s Lent sermon series entitled “The Heart Matters,” we will have a “Matters of the Heart” Sunday School class that will encourage us to examine our hearts, our motivations, and our loves as we walk in repentance toward Resurrection Sunday. Please join us for this class starting next Sunday, February 21! We will meet in the Narthex beginning at 8:45 a.m.
THANK YOU TO…
- Dennis Brass – Best Office Angel Ever!
- Rick Gettis for mowing/trimming the grass areas of the church last week!
- Susan Hashemi for her amazing soup/salad lunches for the Wednesday Women’s Discipleship Group!
- Ministerio friends who have sent furnace specialists our way to assist with the furnace replacement!
- Don Paige for coordinating the Great Toilet Exchange (to be rescheduled after the winter storm}!
SERMON SCHEDULE
February 14: Rev. Shaun Higgins, Isaiah 6:1-5, 61:1-3 – “A Glimpse of Reality”
February 21: Rev. Shaun Higgins, Psalm 51:1-19; 139:23-24
February 28: Rev. Shaun Higgins, James 1:13-25
March 7: Rev. Shaun Higgins, 2 Chronicles 34:1-33
CHURCH & OFFICE INFORMATION
The Church Office is open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., weather permitting.
Office phone number: 206-878-4861 // Office email: office@midwaycovenant.org
Sunday Morning Worship Service: 10:00 a.m. online at live.midcov.org
The Clothing Bank is closed.