Announcements
SYMPATHY: to Mark and Lori Peterson and Libby Prise and family at the passing of their nephew, Mike Bollinger, on Saturday, April 9. A private service was held on Friday, April 15, in Thurmont.
SYMPATHY: to Carl Lindsay at the passing of his wife, Judy, on Tuesday, April 13. Visitation will be held on Monday, April 18, from 2 to 4 pm and 6 to 8 pm at Pritts Funeral Home in Westminster. A time of visitation will also be held here at Church on Tuesday, April 19, at 10 am, followed by a Service at 11 am.
MEMORIAL SERVICE: A celebration of life service will be held in remembrance of Harry Deegan on Saturday, April 23, at 11:00 am in the Auditorium.
MEMORIAL SERVICE: A celebration of life service in remembrance of Joyce Bornman will be held on Saturday, May 7, at 11:00 am in the Auditorium.
JOYFUL CONNECTION: invites all of our COD ladies (18 and older) to join us for a special evening tea at 6:30 pm on Friday, May 6, in Room 417/418. Dr. Janet Walsh will be our speaker. Please sign up at the Welcome Center or call/text Nadine Roberts (443)547-9582 by Monday, May 2.
From My Heart
The resurrection of the Lord Jesus from the dead is the foundation of our faith. If the Lord Jesus did not resurrect from the dead, that would mean that Jesus is still dead. If the Lord Jesus is still dead, we would certainly not have a “living” Savior. Yet, the Scriptures tell us over and over that our Savior is alive. Today, as we gather for church, we are gathering to honor a risen Savior.
In John 20:30-31, John tells us the reason he wrote his Gospel account of the life of Christ. In v. 30, he says, “And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book.” In the last verse of the book, John said, “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.” (21:25)
Can you imagine that? The Lord Jesus did so many wonderful things, and said so many wonderful things, and is simply so wonderful - there would be no end to the volumes of material that could be written about Him. So, why did John write his Gospel? He tells us in 20:31, the theme of his book! He says, “But these are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name.”
Could any normal human being do the things the Lord Jesus did? No, not in a million years! Could a human being perform the miracles Jesus performed? No! Could a human being heal the afflictions and diseases our Savior did? No, a human could not! If I could physically heal folks, I would go over to the Carroll Hospital and just go from room to room and heal every person in the facility.
But the Lord Jesus could heal anyone who came to Him. He sometimes would sit for days and allow folks to come before Him so He could physically heal their bodies (Matt. 15:32). He raised people from the dead, cured leprosy, gave sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and speech to those who could not speak! And, many of those events are described for us in John’s Gospel.
John says he wrote these things to convince men that Jesus was who He said He was! And if we believe He was who He claimed to be, we can have life. What kind of life is John speaking about? Eternal life! John tells us of the Savior’s resurrection from the grave in this 20th chapter and our faith in His resurrection, is the faith that convinces us Jesus is the Christ (Messiah), the Son of God, and is the One who gives us eternal life. Praise the Lord for His wondrous salvation!
Have a wonderful day, and may God bless you richly!
Pastor Norris