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This Sunday kicks off our annual remembrance of the last week of our Lord’s mortal life.
Palm Sunday (4/1): We will take a break from Matthew and look at the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. There will be no Sunday Evening Prayer Meeting that night.
Small Groups: Our six Small Groups will gather throughout the week to discuss together the Palm Sunday sermon and help each other apply it to life.
Good Friday (4/6): We will have a contemplative service re-living the events surrounding Jesus’ crucifixion at The Meeting Place from 6:30 to 7:30 PM.
Electronic Media Fast: Every year we’ve done some kind of church-wide fast during Holy Week. This year we’re asking that everyone refrain from using any electronic media from sun down on Friday until sun up on Sunday (i.e. TV, movies, email, video games, iPhone, Facebook). Instead, use this time to rest, pray, read a spiritually nourishing book, or something else that helps you and your family meditate on the Lord and his work.
Holy Saturday: We’re having a grill out with Church of the Beloved and the Near West Vineyard behind The Meeting Place handing out hot dogs and burgers and inviting people to Easter services from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM. It would be great to have a bunch of people there. Pray for good weather.
Easter (4/8): We will have a potluck breakfast all together at 9:45 AM and then a service celebrating the resurrection of Jesus at 10:45 AM. We will have to be done with the service by noon in order for the Church of the Beloved to get in for their service at 1:00 PM. There will be no Sunday Evening Prayer Meeting that night.
The Engs are hosting an afternoon of Easter Egg decorating this Sunday (4/1) at 4:00 PM and wanted to invite you to join them. BYOHBE (bring your own hard boiled eggs!). Contact Cassie for more info.
It is with great pleasure that we unveil to you the new, totally redesigned www.immanuel-baptist.net! Go check it out and browse around it a bit. And say thank you to Woo for all her work on this. If you see any typos or errors or have any other suggestions, be sure to pass those along to her.
And we want to take this opportunity to make sure you are aware of the other ways that Immanuel is connected digitally:
- If you use Twitter you can follow @immanuel_chicago.
- If you are on Facebook, be sure to ‘Like’ the Immanuel Page. And feel free to upload pictures of our church here!
- If you follow blogs, you can subscribe to Immanuel’s Blog, Immanuel Dads, and Immanuel Moms (and if you have an idea for another blog that would be helpful, send it in!).
- And also check out www.UICArea.com and its Facebook Page. Plus be sure to follow @UIC_Area on Twitter to get announcements of events happening in the UIC Area that you can engage with missionally (and if you see things happening send them to webmaster@UICArea.com so they can be posted/tweeted).
If you’re not yet a member at Immanuel and would like to be (or at least find out more information about what it means), read through Joining the Mission and stay after the service this Sunday. Lunch will be provided. We will end by 3:00 PM. RSVP if you haven’t already.
If you’re planning on coming to the Work Day this Saturday and have some tools, contact Nathan to find out what you could bring.
Come any time between 9:00 AM and 3:00 PM.
Start training now!
On Saturday, April 14th, we will be having a UIC Area Fun Run for International Missions. See the map here. We will meet at The Meeting Place at 11:00 AM. Entry fee is $20. All proceeds go to help George & Marlys McFall (long-time Immanuel missionaries). George and Marlys will be sharing more about their ministry with us the following Sunday (4/15).
If you want to run, send an email to info and bring your check made out to Immanuel to church and give to Daniel Higashi with “Fun Run” in the memo line.
If you don’t want to run, you could (a) still contribute money to go to the McFalls, and/or (b) volunteer to help out with the race. Email info.
From the sermon yesterday:
I want to challenge us all to an experiment this week. Start every day off first with some way of remembering the gospel, or as Richard Sibbes said, “warm[ing] ourselves at this fire of his love and mercy in giving himself for us.” Meditate for a few minutes on the complete and total love God has for you in Christ. And then spend a few moments praying that he would fill you with love that day. Pray through your planner about all the appointments or to dos you will have. Pray for sensitivity to see the people he’s bringing before you to love and then pray for the strength to love them. And let’s just see what happens…
Don’t forget to spring forward one hour on Saturday night so that you come to church on time in the morning! This is the one where we “lose” an hour of sleep, but we gain more daylight in the evenings!
If you’ve been coming to Immanuel for awhile and aren’t a member yet but want to find out more about what it means to really be a part of us, pick up a copy of Joining the Mission: Membership at Immanuel or go here and then come to the next Mission Class after service on Sunday, March 25th. Lunch will be provided so RSVPs are appreciated.
Andrew and Janet are two people who have recently been diagnosed with leukemia and are in need of your help. They are both Asian American and because of that, they are having difficulty finding a match. Only 7% of the registry today is comprised of Asian Americans. And patients are more likely to find marrow matches with their own ethnicity.
Servants Ministries (a campus Christian group at UIC) is hosting a drive for Janet and Andrew on Tuesday, March 6, 2012 & Wednesday, March 7, 2012 from 9 AM to 4 PM on both days.
Location: First Floor of Student Center East outside of the bookstore (Campus of UIC; 750 S. Halsted St. Chicago, IL)
To register is a simple cheek swab and to donate, if you are ever a match, can be similar to donating blood.
If you are unable to come, please register online to be a marrow donor. Be the match will then send you a swab kit through the mail.
Register here:
http://marrow.org/Join/Join_Now/Join_Now.aspx?promo_code=saveandrewandjanet
http://www.asianmarrow.org/index.php/list-of-drives
http://www.aadp.org/drive/
IT’S EASY TO DONATE
If you are a match, there are two ways to donate:
Bone Marrow:
Stem Cells:
Facts and Figures:
http://marrow.org/News/Media/Facts_and_Figures_%28PDF%29.aspx
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