God Is the LIGHT! In This Issue: Pastor s Page. Sunday School. Congrats! Thank you. What is Easter? TCS. Game on VBS. Family Dinner dates.

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1 The Lamplighter Terrill Road Baptist Church is a Bible-believing Church where people connect with God, each Sunday Phone: Bible Study 9:30 a.m. Sunday Worship Terrillrd@aol.com Service 10:45 a.m. Website: Phone: TRBC4him.org Terrillrd@aol.com Church Website: trbc4him.org Find us on Facebook! Terrill Road Baptist Church, Scotch Plains, NJ TRBC Sound Booth Schedule April 1 ~ Tristan More & Lucas Page April 8 ~ Trudi Karpel & Barbara Longo April 15 ~ Sam Farrell & Lucas Page April 22 ~ Christy & Joey Caruso April 29 ~ Spring & Alexis Casterlow other, and influence our world for Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thank you for reading this months edition!! -Jessica Pratt, Editor Scan this into your smart phone for instant access to TRBC s website. In This Issue: Pastor s Page Question of the Month Sunday School Congrats! Thank you What is Easter? TCS Game on VBS Family Dinner dates Birthdays God Is the LIGHT! Calendar of Events The Lamplighter...doing the work He is doing in the world... What Would it Take? April 2018 Pastor s Page What would it take for you to stop believing that Jesus is the Savior, the second person of the Trinity, God of very God. Oh Pastor, I would never stop believing in Him. He has done so much in my life, that I could never betray Him. Well, I appreciate that kind of devotion, but that is not how the Apostle Paul thought. His faith (as well as those early disciples) was rooted in something far more physical that we might be aware the bodily resurrection of Jesus. Paul put it this way- KJV 1 Corinthians 15:14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. 17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Paul clearly makes the point that if Christ did not rise from the dead, then Gospel preaching is meaningless. Why? Because if there is no resurrection, there is NO Gospel! If Christ did not rise from the dead, then faith in Christ is meaningless. So here you go- if you can produce for me beyond reasonable doubt the grave of Jesus that contains his bones (knowing that that is a high standard), then I would conclude that this has been a giant hoax and that my belief about the reality of Christian faith is a grand delusion of gargantuan proportions. It matters not how much I believe or how sincere I am.

2 Pastor s Page (continued) The Christian faith is not a faith in faith. A well-loved Easter hymn asks the question, You ask me how I know He lives? The answer: He lives within my heart. While I love the hymn and can appreciate the sentiment, that metaphysical personal subjective response is NOT the sum total of why I believe in the resurrection. If I m banking on Jesus resurrection because I have a warm feeling in my heart, Paul would be shaking me. Those Apostles did not go to their death because of a warm feeling. They saw a dead man a brutally executed man come back to life! It changed those men forever. I like the quote from Rev. George Hill: If you come to the ultimate conclusion that the claims for the resurrection are false, then you must suppose that twelve men of humble birth and little education, living in circumstances where large dreams were non-existent, and without any aid from the state, formed the noblest scheme which might have ever entered the minds of men, and adopted the most daring means of executing that scheme by implementing it with such simplicity and skill as to conceal the real purpose. You must suppose that men guilty of blasphemy and falsehood, united in an attempt to make the world virtuous; that they formed this plan without seeking advantage for themselves, and with certain expectation of persecution; that aware of the risks and danger involved gave no thought to their own security; they never disclosed their fraud, but during their own suffering persevered in their conspiracy to trick the world into piety, honesty, and virtue. Those that can believe such absurdity should have no trouble believing in miracles. 1 There has to be some explanation for birth and growth of the Christian faith. Some have tried to explain it in terms of natural causes. I find none of them to be convincing. The biblical record actually makes the best sense. I know Jesus lives. I know by faith that He also lives in my heart. I also know that He made the first move toward me. He is reaching out to all of us. I pray that the resurrected Christ is more real to you than ever in this Easter season. Happy Easter, Pastor Bill 1 Rev. Dr. George Hill, ( ) Principal of the University of St. Andrews, Scotland

3 BIRTHDAYS Sam Brown 2 Carina Page 8 Joseph Jackson 10 Brie Manns 13 Michael DiFiore 14 Lisa Billian 22 Ingrid Manns 29 Birthdays and Anniversaries! ANNIVERSARIES Don & Betty Williams 15 Jay & Sheryl Morales 18 Brian & Connie Salisbury 24 Bill & Sue Spies 25 April Question of the Month: What s your favorite recipe? Share... me at jess_pratt@outlook.com By April20th We are blessed by you sharing with us Don t forget to sign up for Timothy Christians Spring banquet. Purchase your tickets Friday April 20, :30pm Come see their Guest Speaker, Rick Green He is an author producer and radio host for Wallbuilders Live Equipping, Empowering and Challenging People to live out their freedom. TCS will also be holding a May 2nd Open House. Please see their site for more information. Sunday School is held at 9:30 am on Sundays fel- Please try to attend. You will be blessed by sharing the word and lowship.. There are classes for all ages. If you have any questions please contact Julie Staines, juliestaines@aol.com

4 Thank you Jessica Pratt Now I am a creature of habit, so I have a hard time accepting tiny changes. As we all know Pastor was out because his grandbabies were born. Marc stepped in for 2 weeks, unfortunately I missed one. God always knows when you just need to be shaken. I was having a bad few days and wanted Pastor Bill. I know him, I know how he preaches. I know that he will bring what I need because he s the Pastor and God speaks to him, right? Well clearly, Marc was what I needed. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 Marc didn't know this is my GO-TO bible verse. Lately, I have been feeling like I am alone. Where are you God? Have you forgotten about me? Maybe the truth is, I forgot about him. I forgot to make him the first thing. I have been focusing on the negatives. My walking isn't great. My daughter isn't great. When is this going to get better? Marc stated, If all things are God s, then he deserves joy. I was reminded in this sermon that you know what Jess, you are walking. You are driving. I have to understand that things are going at his pace. Not mine. How do you keep the faith? For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. Isaiah 55:8 I need to wake up everyday and thank God for the blessings that he has given. Let us all make the conscience effort to open our eyes and thank HIM for allowing us another day in this world. Marc, thank you because I needed the reminder that things will be ok despite the hardships. And even in a hardship they will still be ok, because HE makes us stronger than we think that we are. MARK YOUR CALENDARS!! Family Dinner Dates April 11 Baked Ziti May 9 Cinco De Mayo June 13 Grads and Dads BBQ Hostess committee invites you to our monthly family dinners.. A night of fellowship to spend with one another. Starts at 5:45pm. See you there! Congratulations Pastor Bill!! You re a Grandpa of 4 babies!! Natalie and Augustus You are so loved by your TRBS family. We will pray for you everyday. We love you and Congrats to Brittany & Alexia! God doesn't need us, we need HIM, Mark declared. You are so right Mark, God will be with us when we go to him. He is putting it all into perspective for us.

5 For from HIM and through HIM and to HIM all things. To HIM be glory forever. Amen. Romans 11:36 Vacation Bible School is a ministry designed to reach people of all ages. Leading them to know and respond to Jesus Christ as led by the Holy Spirit. VBS is a fun filled, Spiritual adventure that provides concentrated Bible study and encourages real life application. The purpose of VBS is accomplished based on time tested and church proven principles. If you would like to be a part of this years VBS, let Spring, or Jessica know if interested in helping. VBS takes place June 25-29, 9am-12 noon. Important dates: 5/20,6/2,6/24 2 Peter 1:3 His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through his knowledge of him called us by his own glory and goodness. What is Easter? Easter is the most important day in the Christian calendar. It celebrates the resurrection from the death of Jesus, three days after he was executed. The Easter story is at the heart of Christianity. Easter Sunday Easter Sunday marks Jesus' resurrection. After Jesus was crucified on the Friday (now known as Good Friday), his body was taken down from the cross, and buried in a cave tomb. The tomb was guarded by Roman Soldiers and an enormous stone was put over the entrance, so that noone could steal the body. On the Sunday, Mary Magdalene, followed later by some of Jesus' disciples visited the tomb and found that the stone had been moved, and that Jesus' body had gone.

6 Letting people in Jessica Pratt On the outside, Lilly looked like she had it all together. She always wore a smile and never looked upset or exhausted. What was she hiding? A smile. It was easy to look put together wearing a fake smile. No matter how out of sorts inside she felt, she was always smiling. No matter how bad the sickness from which she suffered was, her smile always looked healthy and vibrant. Only there were a lot of problems with wearing a fake smile. For one, it kept her from getting better. Underneath the smile, Lilly was suffering from a horrible illness, and the fake smile, only trapped it all inside, making it worse and keeping her from getting help. After all, others had no idea she was even sick! One day, Lilly realized she couldn t handle the fakeness any longer. She needed help. Hesitatingly, she allowed a friend to see the real her. To her great surprise, her friend didn t freak out. Instead, she admitted she was doing the same thing, showing that she, too, was trapping an illness inside. Honest with each other at last, they were able to help one another and get the treatment they needed. Oh, how freeing it was to let the mask fall off! Trust in your sisters. We are here for one another. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 5:7 Bear one another s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2 (ESV) Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. James 5:16 Easter Sequencing Activity Cut out the descriptions below and put them in the correct order to show the events of Easter Week. A Jesus was interrogated, flogged, mocked by the Roman soldiers, and was then made to carry the cross to Golgotha, the place of his death. Finally he was stripped naked and nailed to the cross, where he hung in agony for three hours, jeered at by the crowds, before he died. B Jesus arrived in Jerusalem riding on a donkey. Crowds of people came out of the city to greet him, throwing down palm branches on the road. They were excited because they believed that Jesus was the Messiah. C Jesus ate the Passover meal with his disciples, breaking bread and drinking wine, which is now known as the Last Supper. During this meal he told the disciples that one of them would betray him. D During the Feast of Passover, it was the custom to release one prisoner who was condemned to die. Pontius Pilate gave the crowds the choice to free Jesus or Barabbas, a notorious criminal. Ironically, the same crowd who had welcomed Jesus with palm branches a few days earlier now chose Barabbas to be released. Pilate condemned Jesus to death by crucifixion. E Mary Magdalene went to the tomb, followed later by some of Jesus' disciples. They discovered Jesus' body had gone and that the tomb was empty. Jesus then appeared to Mary and many of his disciples, speaking with them on separate occasions during the following forty days. F As he left them for the last time, Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit so the disciples would know God would never leave them. He then ascended into heaven. G Later that night, Jesus was betrayed by Judas Iscariot. After his arrest, Jesus was brought before the Jewish high priests. They found him guilty of blasphemy because he called himself the Son of God. They handed him over to the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate.