Friday, May 19, 2023

Happy Friday! On this start to another weekend, my reading takes me way back into the book of Genesis....

                      "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother
                        and be united to his wife, and they will become one
                                       flesh." (Genesis 2:24)

God invented relationships. God invented marriage. But can a project really be successful if we leave the Master Designer out of the picture?

Our heavenly Father understands better than we ever could what it takes to make a relationship work. God knows best what we need, and only when we submit to God are we truly able to love each other. We can't really make our spouses happy on our own for the long haul.

A marriage not built on God's foundation is structurally flawed -- destined to suffer cracks of selfishness and pride. It will be unable to withstand the storms and quakes of life. If you want a strong foundation for your marriage, check out the thirteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians in the New Testament. Read about true love -- the stuff from which strong marriages are made.

Remember, God used marriage to illustrate God's relationship with God's people. The Church is often called "the bride of Christ." The One who created us to be together, first created us to be with God. God wants only what is best for us, and God wants to be involved in all human relationships, especially one as significant and life-changing as marriage. Invite God into your marriage. God's wisdom will be the best wedding gift of all. 

                   Loved the wedding!  Invite me to the marriage.  --- GOD 


+++ The Cornell Master Gardeners group will be offering a plant sale here at Immanuel on Saturday from 8:30am to 12:00noon. If you are looking for some beautiful plants for your garden, stop in to the Fellowship Hall on Saturday morning. They will have a great selection of plants and those plants will look beautiful in your home gardens!

+++ This Sunday is Ascension Sunday and the 7th and last Sunday of the Easter season! Worship will be at 8:30am and 10:00am and our guest preacher is Shelly Peters. Pam will be serving as worship leader and Shelly's message is entitled, "The View from the Other Side of the Cross". We hope you make an extra effort to be here and support Shelly and Pam as they lead worship this weekend! We will be "live-streaming" worship at 10:00am on the church's Facebook page and then "uploading" the completed worship service to our YouTube channel. It will be a great Sunday of worship this weekend!

+++ Also on Sunday, Adam Parish and Chris Cockram will be joining us at 10:00am from Casowasco! Adam and Chris will offer us our Children's Moment and then spend some time with the kids in Kidz Club. Casowasco alumni.... we hope to see you in worship at 10:00am to welcome Adam and Chris and hear about the ministry at Casowasco! We are also approaching the deadline for campership requests for this summer's church campers! Please  make sure all requests are in to our office by June 9th so we can get the funds to the camp prior to your arrival. Last summer we were able to cover 50% of the cost of camp for all of our youth who attended camp!    

+++ Next Sunday is PENTECOST SUNDAY! Check your closets and try to wear RED for worship next week, as we celebrate the Holy Spirit and the birthday of the church!

+++ Next Sunday, May 28,  is also commitment Sunday for our M2 campaign. You should have received a mailing this week and we will hear about the amazing things your gifts have allowed us to do in both Missions and Maintenance this Sunday, May 21. Please bring your completed commitment card and place it in the offering plates on Sunday! Thanks for supporting the ministry work here at Immanuel.

+++ Our summer celebration picnic is coming up in just 2 weeks... on June 4th following our 10:00am worship service! So we need your family to sign up on Sunday!  We are hoping for a great crowd as we celebrate Alex, Lisa and  Dan's ministries and the completion of our Kidz Club and the choir's seasons! Wear your best picnic attire on June 4th as we celebrate! 

Make this day a great day and fully rely on God's wisdom!     
Pastor Jack