WEEKLY NEWS
March 26
Doubts and Pessimism Need Not Stop You!
I talked about Thomas on Sunday. Though I didn’t mention it, he is one of my favorite Bible characters. Maybe it’s because he wasn’t perfect. He was curious and honest but he also had doubts and could be pessimistic.
He helps us understand an important truth. We don’t have to be perfect to be a disciple of Jesus!
Join us Sunday as we hear from Mary, the sister of Lazarus!
Pastor Jack
"I'm Thomas . . ."
Our current worship series, “On The Way to the Cross” features dramatic monologues. They will all be done by ABC members and will tell the story of people Jesus encountered on the way to the Cross. The entire series is based on John 11-21.
Here’s a video of ABC member Rob Ruppart portraying the dicsiple Thomas.
This coming Sunday, we will meet Mary, the sister of Lazarus as she tells her story about why she anointed Jesus’ feet with perfume!
Join Us For Family Night at Church!
We enjoy a great meal at 5:30 pm, followed by prayer, and then Bible classes for all ages. Our adult choir meets at that time as well. . Everyone is welcome!
Inflation has hit us just like it has you, so we’ve been forced to raise our meal prices to $7 per person with a $25 family maximum. But we never want money to keep you away. If you can’t afford it, pay what you can and the rest of your meal is on us!
We celebrated the “graduation” of another guest last Wednesday night from our IHELP–Interfaith Homeless Emergency Lodging Program. We helped Alfred “get off the street” and move into his own place after a few months in IHELP. Alfred has also joined us for worship recently.
Nevertheless, our homeless ministry is experiencing challenges. Lutheran Social Services has had to stop supporting the ministry due to budget issues, and two of our original churches have (at least temporarily) stopped hosting. ABC and the remaining churches are stepping up and taking on additional nights. WE CAN USE ADDITIONAL SERVANTS to help with the ministry, provide food, or spend a few hours setting up and welcoming guests. Text, call, or email Donna Williams (623.208.1915 or [email protected]) for more information!
The Gospel of John in Chalk!
70 Christian students at Western Kentucky University shared their faith in an unusual way recently.
Under the leadership of the Baptist Campus Ministry, about 70 students wrote out the entire Gospel of John in chalk on their campus sidewalks on the night of March 10 — all 879 verses! It took some time to get permission, but the administration approved the project and other Christian Ministries like Campus Crusade for Christ (CRU) and Hilltoppers for Christ (HTC) helped them. They received both praise and criticism from other students. That’s usually what happens when you stand up for Jesus in today’s world!
You can read more about this effort at Fox News Online!
Two "Big" Sunday Nights!
I Love Science . . . But The Bible Has Answers Science Doesn't
NASA's SPHEREx Telescope Seeks To Answer the "Big Questions"
NASA’s newest space telescope—the SPHEREx—was rocketed into space last week, with a goal to map the entire sky like never before. It is an attempt to answer the big questions about the universe. As an NPR report said, “Sometimes, space missions aim to answer the simple questions we ask ourselves as we go about our lives: How did the universe begin? How did galaxies start to develop? How did I get here?”
Science should indeed seek answers to these questions, and I commend them for doing so. But even scientists understand that something happened at the beginning of the universe that can’t be explained by any known physical phenomena.
Read my thoughts at abcaz.net/blog.
Kidz Ministry Update
Parents I wanted to make sure you got this update! On Wednesday Night we have been practicing and putting together a play that we will be performing on Sunday Night. We really need to make sure that all the kiddos are at the church on Wednesday night for practice. A second update is we are getting a text number for Kidz Min. Please click here to sign up for the number.
Holy Week Events
“Holy Week” refers to the week in Jesus’ life from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday. We celebrate it with a variety of special events that help us remember and understand the week in which Jesus died and rose again.
All of these events are family friendly and are excellent introductions to our church for your friends and neighbors. Invite a family to attend with you! And put these events on your own calendar!
Church Picnic, Sunday, April 13: The church will provide hamburgers and we ask you to bring a side dish to share. (It can be as fancy as you like or as simple as a bag of chips!) We have reserved grills and ramadas at Festival Fields Park beginning at 4:00, with our meal at 5:00 pm. We often have baptisms on that day as well!
Lord’s Supper Around the Tables, Wednesday, April 16: When Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper, He wasn’t in rows in a worship center. He was around a table with His disciples. We recreate that with a meal at 5:30 (excellent catered tacos!) and the Lord’s Supper Service at 6:30 pm.
Good Friday Prayer Walk, Friday, April 18: “Good Friday” is the day in which Jesus was crucified. We remember it with a prayer walk, stopping at various stations around the church to pray for our church, our families, our friends, and our nation. The church will be open from 5:00 to 8:00 pm and families and individuals can come and walk through at their own pace and time.
Easter Services, Sunday, April 20, at 8:30 and 11:00 am. We focus on the resurrection and celebrate together! In between the two services, we will have a ministry fair (with free coffee and donuts) showing off all of our various ministries and teams. For us, Easter is the highight of the Christian year. As you may have heard us say, Easter is to Christians what the Super Bowl is to the NFL.
A Special Note: Why is Easter on a different date each year? Most holidays are either like Christmas (always on December 25) or Thanksgiving (always on the 4th Thursday of November). The formula for Easter is based on the Jewish calendar since Jesus rose on the Sunday after the Jewish Passover. When you translate the Jewish calendar to modern times, it works out that Easter is on the first Sunday after the first full moon that falls on or after the spring equinox. The Spring Equinox is usually considered to be on March 21. The next full moon after that is April 13. So Easter falls on April 20 this year!
Basic Christian Beliefs Lesson 10
Miss a Service?
If you miss a service or want to review one again, both full worship videos and sermon podcasts are available on our website! Watch videos at www.abcaz.net/worship-videos and listen to podcasts at www.abcaz.net/sermons or wherever you listen to podcasts by searching for Pastor Jack Marslender.
Dont Stop! There is still more!
Prayer Meeting Online and In Person!
We meet for prayer every Wednesdays at 5:30 pm in conjunction with our Wednesday meal. We also have an online prayer group meeting on Wednesdays at 7:00 pm. You can join prayer meeting via zoom by following this link.
Parents of Kidz it is time to sign up for kamp!! Please click here and register. There will be information that you need like insurance and shot records. Please do not use your phone to try and register it doesn’t work! If you need help please ask. If you have sent your child to Kamp before you likly already have an account so try to sign up using that.
Parents there is a registration form that needs to be filled out for Zona. Please click here and register for camp. You will need to fill out all the forms. When asked for a church code put: Avondale2025 again if you have any questions please reach out.
BBQ Mission, March 16, 11:00 am
Family Night at Church, March 26, 5:30 pm
Dinner Theater, March 30, 5:00 pm
Food Distribution, April 2, 8:00 am
Deacon Ordination, April 6, 6:00 pm
Church Picnic, April 13
Lord’s Supper, April 16
Good Friday Prayer Walk, April 18
Easter Sunday, April 20