PoP Enews of April 20

Posted on April 20, 2014 | Posted in Newsletters | by Linda Ladwig

But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.
The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree.
God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Saviour, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”

Acts 5:29-32 ESV

Dear Christian Friends,

You were taught in your catechism and from the Bible, “Honour your father and mother. ” You were taught also to apply these words in respect to all those who are in authority (police, judges, pastors, foremen, etc.). But in the catechism there is included the words, “We must obey God rather than men.” The truth of the matter is that, in so many ways, the apostles did submit to the governing authorities.

So why are these rebellious words here? The simple answer is that when the God-given authority commands we act contrary to the Lord’s direct commands, then the Christian knows what he/she must do.

In this case it was the Lord’s command to share the good news that Jesus was the Messiah and that He had proved Himself by rising from the dead. “God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Saviour.” The governing authority was saying, “Shut up about this Jesus.” The Apostles said they could not comply.

But there is more than the Lord’s command. Also the hearts of these believing men were so compelled by the love and power of Jesus over sin, death and the devil, they were much too happy and excited to keep this good news locked up in a closet.

Would to God that this love of Jesus would so move us as well. It is the best news in the world – better than a Maple Leaf win, better than a lottery win, better than a pay raise at work, better than the birth of a new grandchild – even though some of these things should also be viewed as blessings from God.

Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is a BIG DEAL. Believe it! – Love it! – Share it!

Coming Up this Sunday at Prince of Peace…

9:00 Sunday School for kids, teens and adults

10:30 Divine Worship Service

Rev. Pres. Paul Zabel will be our guest Bible Class teacher and preacher

Coming Up …

Ladies Bible Study Breakfast is this Saturday, 9:00am, in the church basement.

Tuesday Bible Study: If you’re feeling lost in all the detail of our Reading-through-the-Bible journey, consider the Tuesday Morning Bible Study (held in the PoP lounge) where we will review the previous week’s readings. If you’ve never attended the Tuesday group, you will love it. We begin at 9:30 am and finish by 10:45 a.m.

An Additional Opportunity: Wednesday, April 30, is the date of our next Midweek Prayer & Communion Service. The service is informal and brief. Simply put, we receive prayer requests and I lead a prayer time over these requests. Afterwards, there is a brief Service of the Sacrament where we receive the Lord’s Supper. If you are in special need of prayer, we invite you to come. Know someone who misses many Sundays? Here’s another opportunity. We begin at 8:00pm.

Haiti Mission Festival: Due to Rev. Benoit’s inability to travel after his hospitalization, the Haiti Mission Festival scheduled for Sunday, April 27 at Christ Lutheran Church, St. Catharines has been postponed.

Church Outdoor Spring Clean Up will be Saturday May 3 at 8:00 am. We are looking at trimming shrubs, picking up trash, cleaning up the flowerbeds etc. Bring your garden tools and work gloves – many hands make light work!

Ladies are invited to attend the Spring Rally of the LWML-C Niagara Zone – Monday May 5 at Redeemer Lutheran Church (15 Wexford Ave. S, Hamilton) with guest speaker Rev. Kurt Reinhardt. Registration opens at 6:00 pm. Please bring ‘ready to serve’ fruit or a dessert.

Other News …

Some big news from Phil & Josephine. Please read the notice below, pray and rejoice with them!

So some of you might know and some of you might not know that Phil and I started looking into adoption about 3 years ago. And we are happy to announce that we have finally been matched with a little girl!

We would like to introduce our daughter, Eva.

She is 2 years old. Through complications she is blind but she doesn’t let that stop her. She is constantly on the move. She likes to imitate what you say (even to the point of imitating Phil’s cough when he coughs!), has a unique way of moving around (by spinning on her arms and bum so that her legs or arms encounter most things first) She loves music. She is always laughing and her happy spirit draws others in. She is an absolute joy to be around.

Right now we are in the transition period where we are transitioning her from her foster family to our home. She will hopefully be home with us by the beginning of May. Then we’ll take a little bit of time to get her settled, find our routines before we start introducing her to the rest of our family and friends.

It’s a very exciting yet somewhat surreal time for us. Phil will be taking parental leave as well so we can both be home and catch up on 2 years of her life.

We can’t wait for you to meet her!

Love,

Jo and Phil

We are organizing an Italian dinner for our neighbours at Halton Women’s Place. If you can help with food please have your ‘ready to heat/serve’ item in a disposable container with any reheating instructions, at the church by 11am for delivery on Saturday April 26th. You may also consider including a favourite Bible verse. The shelter is also in need of the following new items: women’s pajamas (M, L, XL), slippers, pillow cases and twin sheet sets/comforters.

Online …

Today’s Light Through-the Bible Reading Programme: As we now read through the New Testament, it would be good to remind ourselves why we are doing this and how to get the most out of it. Give a listen to Rev. Robert Bugbee, President of Lutheran Church-Canada, who gave a presentation to folks in Winnipeg when a Bible reading programme was begun there. View it by clicking here.

Our People Reading God’s Word …

Week 86 of the Bible Reading Plan: (April 28-May 3)