Will Friesen. John Tiessen

Transcription

1 Called to be Servants of Christ in Our Community Niagara United Mennonite Church May 4, 2014 Worship Service 11:00 a.m. Gathering Worship in Song ~ A New Hallelujah Wonderful Blest Are They Congregational Life Offering Focus ~ Pork on a Bun Project Hymn HWB #505 I am thine, O Lord Proclamation We Can Share His Love Scripture Reader (1 Samuel 8:1-22, pew Bible pg ) Will Friesen John Tiessen Yvonne Vanderlee Saul: To Obey is Better than Sacrifice Pastor Rudy Dirks Sending ~ Hymn HWB #544 When we walk with the Lord ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Called to be Servants of Christ in Our Community expresses our desire to share our faith and love of Jesus Christ with all we meet. We welcome you and hope that your time with us will be enjoyable and enlightening. Families with children are invited to worship together with us in the service. For children 5 yrs old or younger who are not able to sit through the church service, there is a nursery downstairs, or a glassed-in room behind the sanctuary where you may sit with your baby and still follow the service. If you feel a sense of belonging, you are most welcome to be with us. Talk to us about how you can participate. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ German Worship Service 10:00 am Andactsleiter: Ramona Neufeld Grusswort: Psalm 25: 4-7 Orgelspiel: Giesela Doerwald Chorlied: Wer Pflanzte die Blumen Opfergaben Fokus: Pork on a Bun Project Lied: GB #221 Es kennt der Herr die Seinen Chorlied: Der Herr, mein Hirte Schriftwort: Joh.10:11-16, Botschaft: Leiten und leiten lassen Hans H. Dau Lied: GB #250 Eine Herde und ein Hirt Live Streaming Privacy Notice Our church services are live streamed over the internet and the front half of the sanctuary may be in the picture that is transmitted. Feel free to sit towards the back of the church if you do not want to be in the video transmission. Nursery volunteers during the Worship service are: Justine & Jake Driedger. JOYS & CONCERNS: We ask for your continued prayers for Mazin and his family. He has been having his chemotherapy treatments and the progress is not always as hoped. The family has seen the hand of God in their lives in so many remarkable ways, but there are times of discouragement and difficulty as all of us who have been refugees can understand. May the Lord bring complete healing and peace and the support of Christian community to help them experience the presence of Christ in their lives.

2 Pray for Louise Dyck and Elfrieda Braun in NOTL hospital. They appreciate your prayers so much! And there are several who are dealing with difficult diagnoses and life-threatening illnesses. God is gracious and loving. He knows our pain and fears. We lift each of these people to Him, entrusting their lives to Him. WITHIN NIAGARA UM CHURCH: The May newsletter is now available online. If you would like a hard copy, please pick one up at the Welcome Centre or by the mailboxes. Upper Room issues for May/June have not yet arrived. A replacement shipment is on its way to us. We expect to have them hopefully by next weekend, if not before that. Sincere apologies for this inconvenience. Raffle Tickets - NUMC is one of the constituency churches responsible for operating the United Mennonite Home in Vineland. The auxiliary of the Home has organized a raffle to be drawn at their fun fair in June and is asking for your support. Tickets are available today in the foyer from Mary Pompetzki and Martha Bartel. Missions and Service Committee Meeting is this Tues., May 6 th at 7:30 pm. Change for Life Fundraiser for Hannah House, is currently in progress and wraps up next Sunday, May 11. Please return all bottles to the Welcome Centre next week. There are still baby bottles available for those still wishing to participate. To donate online, go to 75 th Anniversary DVD We would like to thank all 274 of you who came out on Sunday evening to view the DVD. It is a powerful comment on how God has been working and continues to work in our congregation. We are continuing to take pre-orders for the DVD. We will do so until Sunday, May 18 th. The cost of the DVD is $15. We will be taking orders each Sunday in the front foyer. As well you may contact Erika Froese or through the church office to place your order. *NEW* CHURCH FAMILY PICNIC - Sunday, June 15 th, 11:00am. A new location, exciting worship, potluck, splash pad, games and fun for the whole family is being planned this year to celebrate our church, the Sunday School year-end and our fathers. Please join us at the pavilion in the Virgil Sportspark, bringing a main dish and either a salad or dessert to share. More details to follow, please mark the date and plan to come! A volunteer is needed for our live-streaming over the internet. If you are willing to help, please contact the church office for further details. YOUTH AND YOUNG ADULTS: Youth Progressive Supper This year s young people are a fantastic, energetic and well-mannered bunch... wouldn t you LOVE to have them over for food and fellowship? On Friday May 16 th, we are hoping for 9 different homes to host one of either appetizers, main courses or desserts. Appetizers are 6:30-7:30, mains 7:30-8:30, and desserts 8:30-9:30pm. If you d like to host a group of 4-6 youth for one of these courses, sign up is in the foyer after the service, or call Steve or April. Thank-you! Pleasant Manor is seeking a full-time 37.5 hours per week student position in our Maintenance Department. Qualifications: Planning to return to school in the fall, Resident of Ontario, must be available to work for the entire summer. This position will commence early to mid-may. Please submit cover letter and resume to Human Resources at briand@tabormanor.net

3 Sermon Series: God s Story: Our Story Our 2014 sermon series follows the Biblical Timeline -- a series of 22 frames which illustrate God s Story from creation to our ultimate destiny. We encourage you to follow along week-by-week. Timelines can be picked up at the Welcome Centre in the lobby. The story so far: Creation God creates everything good, and places his image-bearers (Adam and Eve) in a special place in creation in order to walk with God and care for the rest of creation. Disobedience, distrust, and a desire for control result in an irreparable rift between humanity and God. Under broken human efforts (Cain, the Tower of Babel, the Flood), apart from God, creation and humanity only get worse. The Patriarchs God begins a long-term plan of restoration. He begins a covenant of promise with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The covenant promises: 1) A land; 2) A nation devoted to God; 3) God s favour and blessings on that nation, and through it to the rest of the world. None of the patriarchs realize any of these promises in their life-times. Joseph s family moves to Egypt as favoured guests, but end up some generations later as oppressed slaves. Exodus God delivers this group of Hebrews from slavery and bondage in Egypt and leads them through the desert, to the land God promised them Canaan. Under the leadership of Moses, the nation of Israel is formed with laws from God on Mt Sinai, and with an identity as a people devoted to, and wholly dependant on, God. After 40 years of a mixture of complaining interspersed with trust in God, they finally arrive as a nation in their own land. And now Judges and Kings In this sermon series (frames 8, 9, 10 and 11) the nation of Israel moves from being a tribal confederacy to becoming a monarchy. First they are ruled by judges (including; Samson, Gideon, Deborah) who try to both unify the Israelites as a people, as well as try to keep their focus on God rather than the idols and religions of their neighbours. At the request of the people who want a king like other nations have, God finally establishes a royal house of kings to rule Israel. The kings are meant to govern OVER the people, but UNDER God exemplifying God s characteristics of; compassion, wisdom, self-denial, and justice. The actual result is a mixed bag: The first three kings (Saul, David, and Solomon) rule over the entire nation (the United Kingdom). But after Solomon the kingdom divides into the northern kingdom of Israel, and the southern kingdom of Judah. For over two hundred years the nation is divided and served by both godly, and ungodly kings. In the end, the faithlessness of the people, and most of the kings, result in God allowing the northern and then later the southern kingdoms to be conquered by other empires and the Israelites losing their land and being taken into exile. In this sermon series we look at the lives of one of the judges, and several of the kings sort of a list of the Most Influential Judge and Kings of Israel in order to understand how God s plan of restoration keeps unfolding. As with all Bible stories, we will see ourselves in the characters and experiences of these stories. April 27 Trust or Verify, Judges 6:11-16, 33-39; 7:13-25 (frame 8 on the Timeline) May 4 Saul: To Obey is Better than Sacrifice (frame 9)

4 May 11 David: A Heart for God (frame 9) May 18 Solomon: The Gift of Wisdom (frame 10) May 25 Ahab: Appetite for Disaster (frame 11 and 12) June 1 June 8 Testimonies and Baptism Pentecost testimonies, baptism, and communion June 15 Josiah: Whole-hearted Devotion (frame 11 and 12) MENNONITE CHURCH CANADA: New Hamburg Mennonite Relief Sale is May 30th & 31st. There is fun for the whole family including: donate & roll coins at the Penny Power tent; kids can have fun in the Children s Activities; or visit the Craft Tent or Ten Thousand Villages tent to find a perfect gift. Setup volunteers are needed Thursday and Friday: for details contact Levi Kuepfer at lkbk@sympatico.ca. More details at on Facebook (facebook/nhmennonitereliefsale) or johnreimer@sentex.ca. New Hamburg Relief Sale Pork-on-a-Bun Project- We are looking for volunteers & funds for the Pork Project at the MCC Relief Sale on Sat. May 31 st. Contact Peter & Erika Janzen or Joachim Dau to schedule a time slot to have fun helping this worthy project. Write Pork-on-a-Bun on your offering envelope. Mark your calendars for the Mennonite Church Canada s 2014 Annual Delegate Assembly in Winnipeg, July 3-6! Registration is open to all! More information & registration can be found online at: Children are invited to join the Children s Assembly on July 3-5 on the CMU campus in Winnipeg. To make this happen, we are looking for passionate men & women who enjoy spending time with children. To find out more about this fun and exciting opportunity, contact erempel@mennonitechurch.ca MCC Welcoming Communities Project- Outreach to migrant farm workers: MCC is specifically looking for individuals who might be able to serve as literacy tutors, or as part of a new mobile bicycle repair ministry in the Niagara area. A variety of other much needed roles need to be filled by volunteers in this ministry and can be found listed at mcco.ca/volunteer. For more details or to volunteer your time & talents, please contact either Kathy Rempel (905) or Anneliese Pankratz. Offering of April 27th: $5, Budget 3, Christian Witness Deacon s Fund th Anniversary Celebration Mennonite Centre for Ukraine Attendance April 27, 2014: German ~ 90 ; Worship ~ 211 MCC General 1, MCC Africa MCC Food MCC Haiti Earthquake Pork on a Bun Offering Focus Our weekly budget requirement is $8,120. In addition to your budget commitment, this month we encourage your support of the MCC Relief Sale Pork on a Bun Project. All proceeds from this project go directly to MCC, and the related expenses need to be covered by donations. This is also opportunity for many hands-on volunteers. See you on the 31 st!

5 THIS WEEK AT A GLANCE (May 4-10, 2014) Monday: Women s Bible Study 7:00 pm Tuesday: Church Council Meeting 7:00 pm Missions & Service Committee Meeting 7:30 pm Wednesday: Prayer Meeting 7:00 pm Thursday: Choir Practice 8:00 pm Friday: Sr. Youth 6:30 pm Next Sunday May 4th, :45am Praise & Worship Practice 9:30 am Primary & Junior Sunday School Singing 10:00 am Sunday school classes (all ages) INTERACTIVE SERMON in the gym Pastor Rudy Dirks 10:45 am Mother s Day Worship Service ~ Message by Pastor Rudy Dirks Nursery Volunteers May 11: Sue Fast & Mary Janzen IN OUR COMMUNITY & BEYOND 8 th Annual Workers Welcome Concert- Tonight at 7:30 pm at Orchard Park Church, Hunter Road, NOTL. Tickets available at the door for $20. WDCX s Focus on the Family s Movie: Irreplaceable is playing one evening only: Wed. May 7 th. Playing at 7:30 pm at both Cineplex Odeon (Niagara Square) and Landmark Cinemas (Pen Centre). Sure to be a great film for all ages. Silver Lake Mennonite Camp s 6 th Annual Paddle the Grand Fundraiser Enjoy a 2 hour, downhill paddle from West Montrose to Kiwanis Park, Kitchener on Sat. May 10, 2014 from 1:30 pm 3:30 pm followed by a BBQ dinner at Kiwanis Park. Collect pledges from family and friends and Silver Lake will provide a canoe, lifejackets, paddles and food! For more information, please visit or Rebecca Heide at paddlethegrand@slmc.ca Pleasant Manor Memorial Service will take place on Thurs. May 22, at 7:00 p.m. in the Creekview Meeting Room. Family and friends are invited to join us for a time of remembering and sharing. Refreshments will follow the service. Praisefest is being held in Niagara Falls from May 22 nd -24 th. Please see poster for more information and to see who is performing this year! Fairview MB Church 50 th Anniversary is being celebrated May 31 st - June 1 st. Please see the poster for details on the full weekend of celebrations. Former Fairview MB Church Choir Members are invited to join the present choir to commemorate their 50 th Anniversary on Sun. June 1 at 3:00 pm. Practice on Thurs. evenings May 15, 22 & 29 from 7:00-8:15 pm at Fairview MB Church, 455 Geneva Street, St. Catharines. RSVP to Helen Warkentin: Jacob.helen.warkentin@gmail.com