Announcements
SYMPATHY: to Mike, Dana, Michael, and Matthew Sentz at the passing of their mother/grandmother, JoAnn Norris, on Wednesday, March 8. The service will be private.
CHILI FELLOWSHIP: The Generations Sunday School Class is hosting and providing all the chili for the Chili Fellowship taking place next Sunday, March 19th, following the evening service. If you are interested in helping out, donations are needed for tortilla chips, cornbread, and shredded cheese. Please sign up at the Welcome Desk.
PICTURE DIRECTORIES: can be picked up at the Welcome Desk for those who have not received their copy but had their photo taken. A sign-up sheet is also available for those wanting to purchase a directory.
LIVING CROSS NURSERY WORKERS: We are in need of nursery workers for each night of the production. If you can help in this vital ministry, please sign up at the Welcome Desk.
LIVING CROSS COSTUMES: If you need to be fitted for a costume or pick one up, please see Eli Fenton, who will be available in the Costume Room before and after Sunday evening and Wednesday evening services.
USHERS & PARKING LOT ATTENDANTS: We are in need of ushers and parking lot attendants for each night of the Living Cross. If you would be willing to serve in this area, please sign up at the Welcome Desk. Contact David Brown (410) 458-8360 for ushers or Bob Keefer (443) 789-8428 for parking lot attendants.
From My Heart
In Psalm 118:24, David said, “This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” We have so much in which to rejoice and be glad. If you know the Lord as your personal Savior, you can rejoice in the promise of an eternal home in Heaven that awaits you. We seem to constantly battle here in this life, but one day our struggles will be over, and we will be with the Lord and with all those who have gone to Heaven before us! We will finally be able to rejoice and be glad without anything battling against us.
On this day the LORD hath made, we also can rejoice and be glad in the Bible, God’s Word, which has been preserved for us by the Holy Spirit. We do not have to gather here this morning at the Church of the Open Door and simply listen to my words, but we can listen to the Word of God. We can listen to God’s Word which is eternally preserved for us. In I Peter 1:23, we read, “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.”
We are saved, born again, by the incorruptible seed of God’s Word; and Peter says God’s Word “liveth.” So, what does that mean? The word “liveth” shows us the Bible is alive! This word shows us the Bible is inspired of God. But then Peter tells us the Word of God “abideth.” This word shows us the Bible has been divinely preserved through the centuries. The Bible is inspired, and the Bible is persevered, and that is something we can rejoice and be glad about.
We can rejoice and be glad about the fellowship and the blessings of our church. We are not a perfect church by any stretch, but there is no such thing as a perfect church. As I have said to you through the years, if you ever find a perfect church, whatever you do, don’t join it, or you will mess it up. But the Lord blesses us when we gather in this place. He answers our prayers as we pray and blesses us when we gather to hold a service. If I lived in Carroll County or anywhere near Westminster, I would attend regularly, join, serve, and support the Church of the Open Door! Oh…wait a second - I do live here - which is why I am a member and serve, support, and attend regularly and faithfully. We rejoice and are glad in the fellowship and blessing of our church.
I remember the feeling I had when I went to China to preach and teach in two Bible Colleges. Dr. Matthews and I went to a couple of “underground churches,” where we had to sneak around the city so as not to be followed. We would ride the elevator up in an apartment building to the 10th floor, get off on the 10th and immediately go down two flights of stairs to the 8th floor, and the man leading us would knock on the door with a special knock, and they would open for us. Inside would be 25 to 30 people who were waiting on us to open the Word and teach them anything we could in the allotted time we had been given! We should rejoice and be glad in our privilege here this morning. Have a great day!
Pastor Norris