Dear Friends, March 27th, 2009

In my personal times of devotions (prayer and Bible reading), I usually begin with a passage in Psalms. Sometimes, it is a whole chapter that illustrates a truth of God's character, or a song of praise and proclamation, or worship statements of thanksgiving. The psalmists call for constant verbal expressions of heartfelt gratitude to God for all His benefits and gifts to man. A few examples are:

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. 118:1

Oh, give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name; make known His deeds among the peoples! 105:1

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him and bless His name. 100:4

We are reminded to give thanks to God:
* firsts of all, for who He is.
* for all that He has given you.
* for His lovingkindness and mercy
* for His protection
* for His guidance
* for all His mighty acts
* that His purposes will prevail.

When we have a right attitude of gratitude and thanksgiving, His Holy Spirit encourages our faith, gives us a right perspective on life's circumstances, and we see and acknowledge God at work in our lives. We are a people of faith and a people of hope not because of what we know or do, but simply because we put our faith and trust in who He is and what He is doing in our lives and world.

When we have those moments or seasons of doubt, lack of energy, feeling the burdens of life, stress and anxiety, frustration and anger...we turn to God and give thanks. In this worshipful act of praise we soon embrace the words of the psalmist "give thanks to the Lord for He is good", and we in turn are renewed by His Spirit.

As adults and students we have started a new study into the book of Psalms in our Sunday Morning, 9:30 AM "Spiritual Discovery" and "Deeper" classes.

Family Fun Night: Its Popcorn Theology Night for the entire family with the inspirational movie "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe". Don't miss out on good food, laughter and great friends.

Easter Services: Now is the time to prayerfully invite your family and friends to our Easter services beginning with the Youth - Good Friday Worship Night, 7:00 PM, Easter Sunday: 9:30 Brunch, 10:00 Easter Egg Hunt, and 10:30 Celebration Worship Service.

Blessings,
Pastor Tim