You will regret it if you don’t invite a friend to Knox, this Easter.

When you invite a friend this Easter, their experience is going to be so great that they won’t be able to resist coming back.

Every year, our worship team kicks things into high gear for the Easter worship services. P33 has been working hard for weeks on the music.  Others are preparing the sanctuary for Good Friday.  I’ve been planning the sermon themes, Videos, dramas and other surprises for this since November. Why? 

The answer is simple - we’re passionate about creating a great experience for you and your friends so that they will want to come back to Knox for more! 

Why do we put so much effort into this one weekend? Because this is the most likely weekend that your friends who don’t do church will be open to coming.

If you have had a friend to invite on your mind for a while now, Easter is going to be a fantastic time to invite them. I’m so sure that I think you’ll actually regret it if you don’t.

It’s easy to invite a friend. You can email them the little green invite image that I emailed the congregation on Wednesday.  You can point them to our Facebook page, page two of last week’s Midland Mirror, or our website.  Or you can do it the old fashioned way and just call them up and ask.  Offer to buy them lunch afterwards and I know you will have great success.  

(May I also suggest that you park as far away from the building as possible this weekend so that visitors have priority parking?)

We’re looking forward to hosting both you and your friends this year on Good Friday, March 29^th, and Easter Sunday, March 31st.

Here's the breakdown:

 Good Friday “The Tear”

• March 29th – 10 am
• No nursery or child care.
• Come prepared to contemplate the meaning of the cross.
• Dress is casual (as always!)

Easter Sunday “He is Risen!”

• March 31st – 10:30 am
• Sunday School and nursery provided
• Come ready to celebrate the risen Lord and the new life we have in Him!
• Dress is casual (as always!)

 Maundy Thursday Communion Potluck 

•  March 28^th – 5:45 pm (today!)
• Just bring a dish and come to enjoy intimate fellowship and a 1^st century communion
•  Friends are welcome but this is mainly a church family deal

 

Multiply

“Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.” Hebrews 13:7

At Knox, Midland, we have just finished a five week series called, “Multiply.”  The title of the series comes from Francis Chan’s idea that in the Great Commission (Matthew 28) Jesus calls us to make disciples.  Making disciples includes introducing people to Jesus for the very first time, and it also means walking with believers in their faith journey.  Discipleship is a bold self-giving act that we have in many ways lost. 

Overall, though, Francis Chan warns us, as do the scriptures, that making disciples must come from a place of love.  Francis writes,

“We know that we are supposed to love one another.  The two greatest commandments are to love God and love people (Mark 12:28-31).  Love is basic to what it means to be a follower of Jesus, and it should be what motivates us to reach out to the world around us.”[1]

Often this is not the place that we begin the process of discipleship.  For example, if your church talks about numeric growth as a means to pay the heat and hydro in your building, or to cover the pastor’s stipend, then you are not doing discipleship from a place of love.  You are doing discipleship from a place of fear or anxiety.  So the question then becomes; if we do discipleship out of a place of fear or anxiety, what kind of disciples are we making?

 Sadly, all too often this is the place where a congregation begins to feel the need to share Christ – When the bills are due.  Healthy, biblical discipleship cannot take place in this context.

May our churches heed this call to discipleship, and may they do it from a position of love, not fear, before it is too late.

-A

www.knoxmidland.ca 

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[1] Francis Chan, Multiply, 2012, p.67.

Bearing Rejection

“As God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” Colossians 3:12-13   

 

A little while ago I logged on to Facebook after a short absence, and to my surprise found that Facebook had totally forgotten who I was.  Well, not totally, but the basic message was, “We’ve noticed that you haven’t been around in a while and we thought you didn’t like us anymore.”

To get back into my account I had to go through the login process all over again, perform a small arcane ritual, and hold my breath for thirty seconds.  Thankfully it worked and Facebook and I were best pals once again.

It is weird to write this, but even though it was a small rejection from a social computer program, it still felt like a real rejection.  Like, “Hey, just because I went away on vacation for a few weeks doesn’t mean you have to give up on me!”

Maybe it is because I’ve had people give up on me a little too quickly in the past, and I’m a little sensitive.  Maybe it is because my life is too easy and I have 21^st century middle class problems.  Whatever the case, the point remains that there are probably people in your life that deserve a little more patience, or grace, or support.    

People let us down even a little bit and we are quick to drop them like a bad habit.

But God is not like that.  In his letter to the Colossians the Apostle Paul encourages us to, “Bear with each other” because God bears with us.   Could you imagine how King David’s story, or the Apostle Peter’s life, or your current reality would have turned out if God didn’t stick by those who have let him down?  Who among us hasn’t let Him down?  There is a limit to God’s patience, but He gives us a lot of rope before it runs out.

So as a disciple of His, I try to emulate God’s patience.  You know, try to give second chances, not be too quick to judge, and not give up on others, or even myself sometimes.  In short, I try to bear with others as others try to bear with me.  Please pray for the others!