WITHIN THE FELLOWSHIP:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Bob Hager, Ben Weber 9th; Gerald Bower, Maikil Yagilnicky 10th; Mary Ellen Gruver, Ron Moyer, Greg Nase 11th; Brian Radcliff, Joan Radcliff, Sam Shoemaker 13th; Daniel Kraus, Justine Smith, Kaleb Smith 14th; Stan Ott 15th.
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! Lew and Linda Stretch 14th.
THE SERMON TITLE this morning is Branches and Grapes of Wrath. The sermon title seems to send a mixed message: how is it possible that Palm Branches of Joy are mixed with Grapes of Wrath? It’s not a mixed message; it’s an indication there are two different messages that are very much connected. One message is of ultimate Triumph, of a victory that is unassailable. The other message is of a final Judgment that is eternal. Luke’s record of the events of Palm Sunday includes an incident rarely read with the other events of that day. His record is a harbinger of events Revelation 14 will describe in more prophetic, agonizing detail.
OUR SINCERE Christian sympathy to family and friends of Jean Clarke who died on Thursday. May God be with them at this time.
THE APRIL CALENDAR IS KAPUT! Governor Wolf has extended the Shelter in Place mandate through the end of April. Here’s what that means for Leidy’s Church:
- Sunday School and Sunday Worship services are suspended.
- Worship services will be livestreamed. Worship begins at 10am, but livestreaming will begin at 9:30.
- All normal meetings and activities are suspended.
- The SLMT Auction is suspended.
- The church office is open M-F from 9 to 4:30. If you come to the office, please sanitize your hands upon entering and again as you make your way out.
- Some Committees and Small Groups are meeting via Zoom or Skype or some other remote means.
- Daily devotional thoughts are posted on our webpage and on our Facebook page.
- Pastor Steve’s SS Class has each week’s lesson pre-recorded and available on our Facebook page.
- Pastor Michael has SS lessons pre-corded and is also available on our Facebook page.
THIRTY PIECES OF SILVER offering is being received this week and next week. Those offerings should come to the church via mail or by personal drop-off. Our on-line service is not yet set up for designated giving. This years Thirty Pieces Offering will help provide a new roof for the Morning Star maternity home in Souderton.
RED CROSS BLOOD DRIVE is this Tuesday. The Red Cross blood collection is considered an essential activity. The Red Cross will have special sanitizing procedures in place. At the time this bulletin was printed, all available spots were already filled. You may go to the Red Cross website to see if any slots open up before Tuesday, or, to seek for other locations where you may be able to donate blood.
TODAY IS NOT PRAYER CARD SUNDAY. It was supposed to be, but due to the current situation, it will be postponed to later this year. Please continue to pray for the young person you’ve been praying for this past year.
GOOD FRIDAY SERVICE will take place at 7pm. It is not a public meeting, but will be livestreamed, with livestreaming beginning at 6:45. It will include singing of hymns, special music, and the reading of Jesus’ Passion from the Gospels.
NEXT SUNDAY IS EASTER SUNDAY and ordinarily we share the Lord’s Supper on this day. In 2020, though, we will not. We will wait until the Leidy’s Church congregation can gather as a body in public, corporate worship for sharing in communion around the table of the Lord.
THE SPIRITUAL COUNCIL MEETS this Tuesday evening via Zoom. It will begin at 7pm with Elder Prayer and then the regular meeting at 7:30. Elders should have received a Zoom meeting invitation and information on how to join the meeting.
THE CONSISTORY MEETS this Wednesday evening via Zoom. The meeting begins at 7:30. Consistorymen should join the meeting a few minutes early so all things are in place for the 7:30 start time.
THANK YOU TO ALL who have continued to make financial contributions even though we are not gathered as a congregation and have no formal Offering time! We do need ongoing support to pay our various ongoing bills. Online giving has been utilized by some. Others have “mailed it in” and really done so! A few have stopped by the church office and chatted with our office personnel while dropping off their tithes and offerings. To all, we say: Thank You very much!
PRAYER-POINTERS. Here are two prayer points for this week as we pray for the Gospel Gleanings outreach to the Erukulu people:
- Pray for God to protect the Erukulu people as the Coronavirus spreads through India, that they would take necessary actions to limit its spread, and that He would continue to prepare them to receive the Gospel.
- Pray for the Holy Spirit to protect and keep safe the India Bible Literature personnel taking the gospel to unreached people groups in India; also, for all the IBL staff and the partner churches throughout India who carry out the ministry. The IBL offices will be closed through April 15th at least.
SPECIAL THANKS to the music and A/V personnel who continue to work hard to make our service happen – and to make it available online. Your work is appreciated.