Uno de mayo

Tacos anyone?
How about having a good evening with good amigos, tacos and fellowship.
There may even be some very special music.

We begin at 6:30. Come earlier and visit. Stay late and visit.

The youth are responsible for the meal and you can make a donation which will be used in their ministries.

Bring friends.

This Week In Paradise

We have some special events this coming week.

Friday, May 1, at 6:30 pm the youth are sponsoring our Friday Fellowship. It will be Mexican food -- ole! There is a possibility we may have some very special musical guests so you won't want to miss. Remember, we gather for fellowship and to eat good food and you are welcome to make a donation to the youth ministry projects.

Next Sunday is the third in our series of "Christian Maintenance". Pastor Larry will preach on the subject, "Maintaining Love." Read 1 John 3:16-24. Bring a friend. We've been having visitors nearly every week, so keep up the good work.

Christian Maintenance

The epistle of 1 John is the background for the present series. Pastor Arle started us off on Sunday with a sermon: "Maintaining Fellowship with God." This coming Sunday, Pastor Larry will follow with "Maintaining Righteousness. Please read 1 John 3:1-7

We had visitors yesterday and we look forward to having more visitors. Who do you know that needs a church home? Now is a good time to invite them.

The men's group will have a workday at the church this coming Saturday. Come as soon as you can and stay as long as you can.

Suprising British singer

Surely you have seen Susan Boyle by now. She is the 47 year old who appreared on Britain's Got Talent. If you haven't seen it on TV you can go to YouTube and google her name.

This very "common" looking person appeared on stage and responded to questions with her stammering voice. You just knew it was going to be dreadful. Then when her voice started, everyone was shocked. The judges were stunned. The crowd changed from laughter to a standing ovation.

I have watched this many times and I get tearful every time.

This is what God does to our lives. God takes us as very common, bumbling persons and turns us into divas. Thanks be to God.

Pastor Larry

New Series -- "Christian Maintenance."

Our pastor just completed a series on covenants which ended with Easter. Now we are going to move a series based in the epistle of 1 John. It's a short book so it would be good for you to read it through many times.

We come through the Easter experience with our spirits high and it is important for us to stay at that high moment. How can we maintain that closeness. Our pastors will attempt to guide is in how we can maintain that closeness with God.

This sunday Pastor Arlin will preach on the topic: "Maintaining Fellowship With God." His scripture is 1 John 1:1-10. This is the foundation sermon. It is important to be present as he sets the stage for all five sermons. The sermons which follow are:

April 26 - "Maintaining Righteousness." 1 John 3:1-7, Pastor Larry
May 3 - "Maintaining Love." 1 John 3:16-24, Pastor Larry
May 10 - "Maintaining the Spirit of Love." 1 John 4:7-21, Pastor Arlin
May 17 - "Maintaining Assurance." 1 John 5:1-6, Pastor Arlin.

We missed our goal of breaking the record attendance of 109 but the good news is we had 97. We WILL break that record. Let us keep inviting others to attend with us.

Happy Easter

Easter Special Schedule

Good Friday services went well. We experienced a Tenebrae service which was new to most. We had just finished a 12-hour prayer vigil.

Easter has a special schedule.

9 a.m. - Worship. Both pastors will be there. Pastor Arlin will lead the service and Pastor Larry will preach about the Resurrection. The choir has been working on a new Easter hymn. It has taken a lot of work and we'll have a large choir for the morning. Ken and Geri will talk with the kids about the meaning of Easter. (You know they'll never get it right!)

10 a.m. - Breakfast. What a great way to celebrate the great news of Easter. We gather around tables in fellowship. It's a victory celebration for the great gift of the resurrection.

Easter Egg hunt will follow breakfast. Remember how excited you were to hunt for those eggs?

Now, here's the deal. Our record attendance is 109. We need to beat that. We had 61 for Palm Sunday. Can you help us break that record? Who do you know who doesn't plan to attend an Easter service? Invite them. They'll probably say "Yes."

See you Sunday!

IT'S HOLY WEEK!

We had a GREAT day yesterday with a huge crowd. Now we are in Holy Week.
Please be a part of the events of this important week.

FRIDAY - TENEBRAE.
This special service comes from a latin word meaning "shadows". The service comes from the middle ages when they didn't have PowerPoint or even slides. It uses candles and scripture to help us experience Jesus' last hours on this earth. The service will begin at 7 pm so be sure to be aware of this difference in time. Since we end on the sad note that Jesus died, there will be no benediction and you will be asked to leave the church without speaking to anyone; we will have a little time a greeting as the service begins.

EASTER
Our service times will be different.
We will have worship at 9 am.
The service will be followed by a breakfast and then we will have an Easter Egg hunt for the children.
Our all time attendance record is 109 and we are determined to break that record so invite everyone you know who do not attend church. If everyone who was there on Palm Sunday would bring one person with them, we will easily break that record.

WHAT A WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR!
It will be good to share it with you.

Getting Ready for Holy Week

Last night we had a great evening of fellowship with the men preparing a meal of BBQ. Food was out of this world and Fred Walter's bunch of men worked like an army. Everyone had a great time and we had many visitors joing us. Although the purpose is not to make money, the men did receive over $350 for their work in the church and community. They set the date of April 25th to have a work day at the church and tend to a lot of the physical needs of the building and property. Things will begin at 8 a.m. and persons are welcome to work as much time as they have available.

Sunday is Palm Sunday. What a way to prepare yourselves to enter Holy Week! We will remember the children waving the palm branches. We said at the beginning of the week that Pastor Arlin will preach on the subject: "Jesus, the New Covenant, Enters Jerusalem." We will celebrate Holy Communion and look at how God's covenant, Jesus, moved into the last week of his life on earth.

Thanks to everyone who made last night successful and who invited persons to join us. Thanks to those of you who have been inviting persons to join us for Palm Sunday and Easter. These are exciting days at Paradise.

LET'S EAT

Tonight is the night

BARBQ at 6:30

Several kinds of good meats.

Good fellowship.

Anyone who reads this is welcome to join us

at

Paradise United Methodist Church.

Lenten Devotional reading

A Boy At the Crucifixion
By Larry Linville

I sat upon his knee when I was small.
He was so kind even though he was tall.
“You must be like a child” he said so loud
and it made an impression on the crowd.

I followed him because he was so kind
and watched him when he healed the sick and blind.
I ran beside him with palm branch in hand
and felt important in the joyful band.

It’s hard for a small boy to understand
how the people could make such a demand
to ask old Pilate to crucify him
and undertake action that was so grim.

I held the hand of his mother so dear
as I looked at her as she shed a tear
when he told John to love her as a son
and their new relationship was begun.

When I was older I told my small boy
how the haters thought that they could destroy
his wondrous love by all their rejection
but he answered with the resurrection.

© Copyright 2008 Larry Linville (UN: larrylinville at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.
Larry Linville has granted Writing.Com, its affiliates and syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work.