Friday, April 12, 2024

Happy Craft Fair Friday!  
   
That's right.... as the crafters are preparing to greet you today I read these words from Psalm 34...

             "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those
                       who are crushed in spirit."       (Psalm 34:19)

So many things tear at our hearts. Regrets, disappointments, lost opportunities. It is because we love deeply that we grieve deeply with any loss. It seems the more we share of ourselves, the more we expose our vulnerabilities. We want to give love and trust, but perhaps our heart still smarts from a past wrong or two. 
   
Jesus came to heal the broken hearted. Isaiah declared that God will revive the heart bruised with sorrow. (See Isaiah 57:15 AMP) God will grant consolation and joy to those who mourn -- to give them an ornament of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and the garment of praise instead of a heavy, burdened, and failing spirit --- that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, and that He may be glorified. (See Isaiah 61:3 AMP)  
   
This is why Jesus came: To restore our joy... that our joy might bring Him glory. So when you've been hurt in a relationship, or a deal goes bad or you lose something or someone you love, join me in praying, Heal my broken heart, O Lord.  

+++ The Great Spring Craft Fair starts today and continues on Saturday right here at Immanuel. Come and check out the beautiful crafts from 4:00pm - 8:00pm today and 9:00am - 3:00pm on Saturday. You'll find something amazing from the crafters and you'll be supporting upcoming mission works here at Immanuel. Thanks to Betty, Shelley, Barb and all their helpers for all the hard work on this great fundraising project!

+++ On Sunday we celebrate the Second Sunday of Easter at 8:30am and 10:00am.  We will hear about another visit from Jesus to his disciples following the resurrection and this time Jesus opens the disciple's minds to understand the scriptures.  My message is "Open our Minds, Too!" and I am thinking about how differently things would have gone for Jesus, and the whole world, if he just would have opened the disciple's minds a little earlier! We will also celebrate the Sacrament of Holy Baptism at each of the services this week and I can't wait to "see you" in worship! We will be "live-streaming" on the church's Facebook page at 10:00am and then "uploading" the completed worship to our YouTube channel when it is completed. So you have lots of ways to join us for worship on Sunday! 

+++ Also on Sunday we will be receiving our special church-wide offering to support Native American ministries.  Look for the special offering envelopes in the Narthex and we thank you for helping to support the 3 native American congregations worshipping within our Annual Conference!  

+++ There is still time to sign up for the AED/CPR training class next Wednesday, April 17th at 6:30pm. The fee is $45 per person and we can provide some scholarship help if finances present the need. We have been able to remove the earlier limit of 10-12 people.... so we can welcome as many people as would like to attend. But we need you to SIGN UP on Sunday outside the Fireside Room!    

+++ The deadline for the May/June edition of our church newsletter is coming up next Saturday, 4/20. Please try to get all articles into the church office by that date so we can publish the newsletter prior to the 1st of May. Thanks!

+++ Next Sunday, April 21st is our Second Sunday Luncheon for April. We delayed one week this month so there is still time to sign up for this fun time of food and fellowship.

+++ Future events for your calendars.... our Annual Garage Sale is May 2,3,4 and Camping Sunday is coming up on May 5th when we will welcome friends from Casowasco to our worship service! We hope you will plan to be here as we celebrate our Camping ministry!  

Make this day a great day and always remember to pray, Heal my broken heart, O Lord.     
​Pastor Jack