March 2010

Although we Baptists are not very intentional in the way we observe the season of Lent, we are free to find ways to make it a meaningful time of preparation to observe Holy Week and celebrate Easter. I am happy when Lent begins because it always comes in the early spring of the year. The old Saxon word "Lent" means "spring", and I am really ready for Spring! I hope that as a church family, we will all be ready to celebrate Easter, April 4.

Below is a Sunday morning preaching schedule going through Easter Sunday;

2-28-10 - A Child-like Faith Mark 10:13-16

3-7-10 - Costly Discipleship Mark 10:17-31

3-14-10 - Church and State Mark 12:13-17

3-21-10 - The End of the Age Mark 13

April 28-29, 2010 at Cross Wind Conference Center, Hesston, KS: Registration forms are available at the Welcome Center. Due to the high demand for this event, you will want to get your registration in as soon as possible as rooms are assigned on a first-come basis. Deadline for registration is April 8.

Ezekiel was a priest and a prophet. He had been taken away as a prisoner to Babylonia, where he lived among the other exiles from Judah. The Lord chose Ezekiel to be his prophet and to preach his message, not only to the exiles in Babylonia, but also to the people still living in Jerusalem. Ezekiel’s ministry probably began around 593 B.C., during the last years of the kingdom of Judah, and it ended sometime around 570 B.C., several years after the fall of Jerusalem (586 B.C.). Ezekiel preached before and after the horrible disaster, and so some of his messages threatened judgment and others offered hope.

One of the most familiar passages in the book is Ezekiel’s vision of the valley full of dried-out bones. Ezekiel watches the Lord’s Spirit blow life into the dead bodies, and he sees them come back to life. The Lord then tells Ezekiel: "The people of Israel are like dead bones. They complain that they are dried up and that they have no hope for the future. So tell them, "I, the LORD God, promise to open your graves and set them free, I will bring you back to Israel...My Spirit will give you breath, and you will live again.’" (37.11,12,14a)

Each Wednesday from 5:30 - 6:30 PM (or until the food is gone) in East Fellowship Hall, a meal is served. The cost is $2.00 per person or a maximum of $8.00 per family. Bring the family for supper and stay to participate in the Wednesday night ministries. A nursery is provided beginning at 6:15pm. Make each Wednesday night a Family night. For more information, call the office at 682-4426.

Sunday School classes are available for all ages each Sunday morning. Brochures at the Welcome Center can help you find meeting places as well as give information about each class. You can also contact the Sunday School Superintendent, Jackie Miller at 250-5032 or Assistant Superintendent Debbie Cox at 683-0572 if you have questions.

ABC/Central Region is offering two $1000 "Opportunity Scholarships" for a member of an American Baptist Church in the Region who is attending college. There is no particular school to be attending or a particular major. Application forms and criteria information can be picked up at the Welcome Center. The deadline is March 15 to the Region Office.

If you would like to donate an Easter Lily or other flower arrangement in memory or in honor of someone, they will be placed in the Sanctuary for Easter Sunday. A form will be provided for your information soon or contact the church office at 682-4426.

The Adult Choir will present the cantata "One Sacrifice at the 10:45am Worship Service on Sunday, March 28.

ABCCR has joined a coalition called Kansas Churches for Fair Taxation in an effort to inform churches and encourage appropriate action that will urge state lawmakers to retain sales tax exemption for Kansas churches and non-profits. Over 30 persons were in attendance Friday, February 12^th to give testimony against House Bill No. 2549 and many other churches and non-profits responded by sending 1-page testimonies that were hand-carried to the hearings. Our church sent a 1-page testimony.

We have received word that the Kansas Senate also has a bill to repeal the sales tax and hearings on this will come up sometime in the near future. Our letter of testimony will again be hand-carried.

If you are interested in reading what was sent, a copy is in the church office. We’ll keep you updated on this important issue as we hear results.

Easter Schedule

March 28, 10:45am Easter Cantata by Choir

April 1, 7:00pm Maundy Thursday

April 2 Good Friday (office closed)

April 4, 7:00am Easter Sunrise Service

7:30am Continental Breakfast

8:15am Early Riser Service

9:30am Sunday School

10:45am Traditional Service

6:00pm Evening Worship (cancelled)

Pivotal means crucial or absolutely necessary. Such is the cross on which Jesus died. It represents salvation from sin and death. To see sin in all its cruelty and depravity, look at the cross. The cross can jar a person to the core.

In his parent’s bedroom, a teenager noticed a picture he’d never paid attention to before. It was a vivid scene of the Crucifixion. As the boy studied it, his emotions began to stir. He saw the helpless Christ dying, the helmeted soldiers bearing spears, the crowd seething with hatred. Jesus was pinned to the cross, bleeding and helpless. Mary stood nearby, consumed by grief.

The picture revealed sin and its results: suffering and death. What if the room had a different picture, with an empty tomb and an angel announcing Christ’s resurrection? Those represent that God loves mankind so much he still wants to save us, no matter what we’ve done.

"May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world" (Galatians 6:14, NRSV).

The Messenger is published monthly. Deadline for the March newsletter is 4:00 P.M., February 19. Articles of interest are gladly accepted as space permits.

E-mail: fbcleavenworth@sbcglobal.net   mailto:lvnfbc@lvnworth.com Fax: (913) 682-4475

With all the snow around, it may seem like summer will never get here, but get here it will.