Lent SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST. Staff & Contact Info.

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1 Benson Baptist News March 2018 SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST Attendance & Offering Upcoming Events Looking Ahead SLT Minutes Birthdays Staff & Contact Info. John Sievering Senior Pastor Scott Jones Family Pastor Tiffany Schlup Office Administrator Website Facebook BensonBaptist Twitter DirectorofComm Lent The month of March is exciting because we all know spring is just around the corner! I don t know about you, but after a cold winter I always look forward to the soon to come warm breeze and flowers everywhere. Just thinking about it brings a smile to my face. In the spring many will choose to participate in spring cleaning. The typical scrubbing, dusting and possibly even doing away with some items. Have you ever thought about spring cleaning your heart? You know looking real deep to see if there are any struggles that you need to give over to the Lord? Well March is a great time to give up some things in your life for... lent! You could do this by giving up food, desert, electronics, coffee, extra busyness (like playing a game on your phone just to pass time), etc. Although, giving up things in our life is great, the important thing is to drawl closer to the Lord. The purpose of lent is to stop focusing on ourselves and start focusing on Christ. If we give something up, but do not use that extra time to meet with Jesus through prayer, bible reading or meditation...we miss the point. In fact lent reminds us that Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness enduring temptation while he prepared to begin his ministry. Jesus gave up food for 40 days, now we can t do that. However, Jesus showed us that He sacrificed food and was tempted so that He could really focus on communicating to His Heavenly Father. Luke 4:1-13 says, Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. The devil said to him, If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread. Jesus answered, It is written: Man shall not live on bread alone. The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours. Jesus answered, It is written: Worship the Lord your God and serve him only. The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. If you are the Son of God, he said, throw yourself down from here. For it is written: He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. Jesus answered, It is said: Do not put the Lord your God to the test. When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time. Have you ever participated in lent before? If you have and you are honest did you completely follow through with staying away from the item you gave up? If you did follow through, that is amazing, but did you grow closer to the Lord? If you didn t follow through, that is okay, but did you grow closer to the Lord? You see lent is not just about giving something up it is about communicating to the Lord. I don t think Jesus really cares if we give something up. However, I know he cares that we grow with Him. If giving something up will help us to build a stronger relationship with Him of course He wants us to do that. Not because He doesn't want us to enjoy the things in life, but because He doesn't want those things to consume us. John 10:10 says, The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. Do you want to live life to the fullest? Spend more time with Jesus. -Tiffany Schlup 1

2 FOR THE RECORD - FEBRUARY February Offerings Received : 2/4 $ 6, /11 $3, /18 $4, /25 $ 6, February Attendance : 2/4 92 2/ / /25 85 UPCOMING EVENTS & INFORMATION Friday, March 2, 2018 Community Event: Toby Mac Community Event: The Toby Mac Hits Deep Tour will be at the Baxter Arena (2425 S 67th St, Omaha, NE 68182). For tickets go to Klove.com or AIR1.com Keyword Toby. Friday-Saturday, March 2-3, 2018 Women s Retreat There will be a Women s Retreat at Camp Moses Merrill. This event will have workshops, DIY wreaths, worship, Through the Door with speaker Linda Brown, and more. The cost is $80.00 per person. For more information contact Camp Moses Merrill at or Vision Sunday, March 4, 2018 Vision Sunday Join us for Lunch after the Service Sunday, March 4th to hear the vision for our church. Lunch will be served by our SLT team. Monday, March 5, 2018 SLT Meeting There will be a meeting at 7:00 pm. Sunday, March 11, 2018 Daylight Savings Don t forget that we are springing ahead! Set your clock an hour ahead before you go to bed on Saturday, March 10th. :) Wednesday, March 14, 2018 No Wednesday Activities There will be no Wednesday Night Activities due to Spring Break! Have a great week! Thursday, March 15, 2018 Community Event: Winter Jam Winter Jam will be at the Mid-America Center (1 Arena Way, Council Bluffs, IA 51501). Pre-jam will begin at 6:00 pm and the main show will begin at 7:00 pm. Cost is $15.00 per ticket. Friday-Sunday, March 16-18, 2018-Region Youth Retreat Youth join us for Retreat this spring at Camp Moses Merrill! Cost is $90.00 if registered before March 1st and our speaker will be Caleb Lind. Please use the link below to register online. In addition, please contact Pastor Scott Jones before payment. Wednesday, March 21, 2018-Wednesday Night Meal Potluck We will have a potluck every 3rd Wednesday of the month (March 21st, April 18th, May 16th) from 5:45pm- 6:30pm. Our next potluck will be Wednesday, March 21st. Please bring a dish to share by 5:45 pm. Saturday, March 24, 2018 Food Pantry Our Pantry will begin at 9:00 am! If you are interested in volunteering please contact the church office at office@omahabbc.com. Sunday, March 25, 2018 Palm Sunday We are looking forward to a great service on Palm Sunday! See you at 10:15 am! Wednesday, March 28, 2018 No Wednesday Activities There will be no Wednesday Night Activities due to Holy Week! Have a great week! Friday, March 30, 2018 Good Friday Join us for our Good Friday remembrance stations March 30th. Please drop by any time between 6:00-8:00 pm to go through the stations at your own pace. 2

3 LOOKING AHEAD April 1st Easter! We will have a Sunrise Service at Benson Park (7028 Military Ave, Omaha, NE 68104) at 7:00 am, Breakfast at 8:00 am, Egg Hunt at 9:00 am, and service at 10:15 am. April 14th Join us at the Jones Residence for our first Fire with Friends in the Spring at 7:30 pm! April 28th-Our Pantry will begin at 9:00 am! If you are interested in volunteering please contact the church office at office@omahabbc.com. SUMMER MOSES MERRILL Can you believe that SUMMER is just around the corner?!? YAY!!!! Be sure to check out the camps at Camp Moses Merrill If you register before May 15th you will receive a $25 discount on week long camps. CAMP SCHEDULE June 10-15: Mission Camp (8th-12th Grade) June 10-12: JAM I Camp (1st-3rd Grade) June 13-15: JAM II Camp (4th-6th Grade) June 17-22: Mid High Camp (7th-9th Grade) June 24-29: Music & Drama Camp (4th-12th Grade) July 8-13: Junior Camp (4th-6th Grade) July 15-20: Senior High Camp (10th-12th Grade) July 29-31: Family Camp I (All Ages) July 31-Aug 3: Family Camp II (All Ages) Aug 3-5: Family Camp III (All Ages) SLT MINUTES FEBRUARY 2018 The SLT held a brief meeting on Saturday, February 17, 2018 during the SLT Leadership Retreat. The purpose was to approve the minutes of the January 2018 SLT meeting and review the January financial reports. No other business was conducted. -Ernie Denniston PRAYER CONCERNS Prayers for those with medical issues and recovering. Prayers for SLT Team: Ernie Denniston, Jon Mayo, Lorraine Arnett, Rick Parks, Ron York, Ryan Carlson, Donna Donner. Prayers for worship leader. Prayers for Pastors and their families. Prayers for upcoming Easter Service. Wash yourselves and be clean! Get your sins out of my sight. Give up your evil ways. Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows. Come now, let s settle this, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool. Isaiah 1:16-18 Luke 22:14-20 When the time came, Jesus and the apostles sat down together at the table. Jesus said, I have been very eager to eat this Passover meal with you before my suffering begins. For I tell you now that I won t eat this meal again until its meaning is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God. Then he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. Then he said, Take this and share it among yourselves. For I will not drink wine again until the Kingdom of God has come. He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. After supper he took another cup of wine and said, This cup is the new covenant between God and his people an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you. 3

4 FEAR IS A LACK OF TRUST IN GOD I was listening to FamilyLifeToday Radio and a speaker defined Fear as a lack of Trust in God. I sat back in my seat and had to really ponder those words. When we look around at the world today it s so easy to be drawn into fear. It plays such a major role in our culture, news, media, movies, schools, community etc. How often do we allow fear to control our decisions, perspective and world view? Why do we forget that at the end of the day, after every tragedy, after every natural disaster God is still in control? When I was little and I would get stressed out, overwhelmed, or scared my dad would look at me and open his hand. Each time he would tell me look at this. I would drawl my eyes slowly usually out of frustration to look at his hand. Then he would say God has you right here in the palm of His hand. This powerful statement has stuck with me over the years. When I look out into the world and become fearful I look down at my hand knowing that God has me right where He wants me in the palm of His hand. Do you know and believe that you are in the Palm of His Hand? 2 Timothy 1:7 says, For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Fear can not overtake you or define you if you trust God more than anything going on around you. It is your trust in Him and His abilities that will allow you to overcome any fear. So the real question is do you trust Him? -Tiffany Schlup SERVING OPPORTUNITIES...IS GOD CALLING YOU? Food Pantry The month of February we served 79 boxes; representing 194 people! Would you like to be a part of this Ministry by donating? We would be so grateful for donations of the following: *Cereal *Macaroni and cheese *Canned Beans *Green Beans *Corn *Peas *Spaghetti sauce *Peanut Butter *Instant Potatoes *Rice Stuffing *Main dish (ravioli, hamburger helper, spaghetti O s, etc.) Donations can be dropped off at the church Monday-Friday from 9:00 AM-1:00 PM. Thank you for your continued support of this ministry! EASTER CARE KITS We are collecting Easter Care Kits for the Open door Mission. Please help by bringing in the following items: Men: Wash cloths, deodorant, razor, shaving cream, please put in small green/blue gift bag. Women: Wash cloths, deodorant, razor, shaving cream, panty hose/knee highs, please put in small pink/purple gift bag. Care kits are due by March 25th. For questions please see Donna Donner. EASTER CANDY COLLECTION We will have an Easter candy collection in order to fill the Easter eggs for the egg hunt. Please drop off your donated wrapped candy in the bin in the Narthex by Wednesday, March 28th. 4

5 BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS & SERVING CHRIST Strong Joshua 1:6-9 Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the Instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. This is my command be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. 5

6 March Anniversaries John & Stephanie Sievering March 5th MARCH BIRTHDAYS Barb Roose March 2nd Linda Ticknor March 7th Marisa Carlson March 9th Carol Brown March 13th Jack Sievering March 15th Justin Hedrick March 15th Joslyn Sievering March 17th Corbin Sievering March 19th Bob Thomas March 19th Lillian Richards March 22nd Benson Baptist Church 6319 Maple Street Omaha, Ne Phone: