NorthRidge Church & Christian Academy

April 2012 Volume 4, Issue 3

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Our News Reaching You; Reaching Out to You In This Issue

A Message From Pastor David

Page 2 (or click here)

Expressions of Worship
Page 3(or click here)

From The Desk of Pastor Harold

Page 5 (or click here)

Youth Happenings
Page 6 (or click here)

Upcoming Events and Information Page 8 (or click here)

Aprils Birthdays Page 11 (or click here)

A Message From Pastor David

Easter is the most significant day of the year among Christians, even more significant than Christmas. Easter is the celebration of the resurrection of Christ; its center is not bunnies and eggs. For the Christian, the resurrection is the most significant event in history. But why? The resurrection declares the immense power of God. To believe in the resurrection is to believe in God. If God exists, and if He created the universe and has power over it, then He has power to raise the dead. If He does not have such power, He is not a God worthy of our faith and worship. Only the One who created life can resurrect it after death; only He can reverse the hideousness that death encompasses; and only He can remove the sting that death brings and the victory that the grave promises (1 Cor. 15:54-55). In resurrecting Jesus from the grave, God demonstrates His absolute sovereignty over all things, including life and death. Second, the resurrection of Jesus makes the Christian faith unique. Unlike all other religions, Christianity alone possesses a founder who overcame death and who promises that His followers will do the same. All other religions were founded by men and prophets whose end was the grave. As Christians, we find promise in the fact that our God became man, died for our sins, and was resurrected the third day. The grave could not hold Him. He lives, and He sits today at the right hand of God the Father in heaven. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul explains in detail the importance of the resurrection of Christ. Some in Corinth did not believe in the resurrection of the dead, and Paul gives six disastrous consequences if there were no resurrection: 1. preaching Christ would be senseless (v. 14); 2. faith in Christ would be useless (v. 14); 3. all the witnesses and preachers of the resurrection would be liars (v. 15); 4. no one would be redeemed from sin (v. 17); 5. all former believers would have perished (v.18); and 6. Christians would be the most pitiable people on the earth (v. 19). But Christ indeed has risen from the dead and has become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep (v. 20), assuring that we will follow Him in resurrection. Thus the Bible guarantees the believer's resurrection at the return of Christ. This promise brings hope and assurance resulting in a statement of triumph; Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? (1 Corinthians 15:55) These concluding verses demonstrate the resurrections significance; Paul declares, ...you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain (v. 58). Because we know we will be resurrected to new life, we can live today knowing that whatever we may face even persecution and danger for Christs sake (vv. 29-31), God will never fail to reward all that we did in His name. The resurrection is the hope that motivates us to keep on keeping on. Jesus died, was buried, and rose the third day according to the Scripture. And, He is coming again! This is our blessed hope! This is the hope we must share . . . This is the hope that the lost world does not have. Lets take the opportunity of Easter to share and invite those we connect with to join us in this hope.

- Pastor David

Expressions of Worship:
If the lost word is lost, if the spent word is spent If the unheard, unspoken Word is unspoken, unheard; Still is the unspoken word, the Word unheard, The Word without a word, the Word within The world and for the world; And the light shone in darkness and Against the Word the unstilled world still whirled About the centre of the silent Word. O my people, what have I done unto thee. Where shall the word be found, where will the word Resound? Not here, there is not enough silence -T.S. Eliot, from Ash Wednesday published, 1930. It can break down barriers, revive the weary, convict the sinful, and replenish the wounded heart; it can both connect and separate simultaneously. It is abolished by the keystroke of a computer, a fan motors hum, or a laugh down the hallway...s i l e n c e is its name. Not long after T.S. Eliots conversion, he penned the above words. While most new converts would find great value in the spoken word or the sung expression, Eliot derived strength, insight, and invaluable resource in the silent moments. Silence is the personified enemy of culture; the antithesis of life perceived. We develop more playlists and add more apps, bringing about an increasing amount of noise to fill our every vacuous moment. We fall asleep to the television or even a sound machine only to awaken with an alarm that reminds us that its morning, as if it werent apparent by the sun gazing in the window. How much of our day is spent in silence? If the only silence we allow in our lives occurs while we slumber, is it truly sufficient to hear the voice of the Almighty? Is it enough to receive insight for lifes teachable moments? Is there enough stillness in our lives to bring about calm in our storms? If we think about silence as an investment in peace, are we not finding a proportionate return for our investment? Silence and the act of stillness is one of the few things that we cannot gauge until acted upon. It is not dynamic in its draw and its competition is company. It is a stranger to worshipers and anything but a friend to rebellious sinners. However, silence brings about change. It is an oft-forgotten piece of Christian culture and modern worship that has the potential to change lives. Silence is a greater teacher than the most dynamic speaker and a better song than could ever be sung by the grandest of choirs. And yet, it is often overlooked as an act of worship. One of the most dynamic illustrations of silence in worship throughout the Scriptures is the opening of the seventh seal in Revelation 8. There was silence in heaven for half an hour...then the voicing of the saints prayers, the smell of incense, the sound of trumpets and thunder, flashes of lightning, and the sensation of an earthquake. So why silence? Preparation. Meditation. Awe. Wonder. To find out more reasons for the inclusion of silence in your life, check out this 10-session devotional. Available online at: http://www.qhpress.org/quakerpages/qwhp/silenc.htm.

- Terrill

Special Reading for the Week of Easter:

How would you spend the last week of your life knowing that it was your last? The last week Jesus was on earth in human form was filled with memorable moments, fulfilled prophecies, intimate prayer, deep discussion, symbolic acts, and world-changing events. This daily reading is designed to start the Monday before Easter; each day of this reading plan walks you through the chapters from the four Gospels that tell the story of this Holy week. Click or scan the QR code to begin this weeklong reading plan:

Ts April Spotify Playlist:

This months playlist features several different genres of music, a slight window into my musical soul. While I am only listing three albums for links, there are additional songs on my Spotify playlist. I hope youll check them out and allow them to be a resource for you in your personal walk.

Hymns |Guy Penrod 3.26.12 (Genre: Southern Gospel)

Redemption: Daylight | The Beautiful Refrain 3.17.12 (Genre: Rock)

Twenty Seven Million | Matt Redman & LZ7 2.28.12 (Genre: Rap)

From the Desk of Pastor Harold

Sonshiners
April fooling, food, fun and fellowship. Get on the phone, email, text, twitter or yelled across the fence and tell someone about our monthly luncheon. Go see or call someone you have not seen in a while and bring them with you. This month Ed Smith, Polk County Commissioner will be here and give us some information about your county commission and the services available to senior adults.

MINISTRY TO MEN Saturday morning at 7:00

All men all invited and encouraged to attend breakfast each Saturday morning at 7:00 Themes for each week: April 7th, Holy Week: Our Servant-Savior April 14th, Make Your Talents Count April 21st, How to Raise Successful Children April 28th, Heaven Bound Our devotional comes from Men of Integrity. you would like a devotional booklet, please see Rick Johnson or Pastor Harold.

If

Home-bound Ministry
Thanks for all who give their time and resources to this ministry. If you are considering where you might serve, please pray about getting involved with the Home-bound Ministry. This is the current group of Homebound with addresses that are being ministered to at this time. If you know others that would benefit from this ministry, please contact Rowena Daley call the church office @ 863.422.4488 Ms. Irma Swain Spring Haven Retirement LLC 1225 Havendale NW Winter Haven, Florida 33881 (863)-293-0072 Ms. Lucille Tiner Savannah Court assisted living. 301 Peninsular Drive. Haines City, FL 33844-5046 (863) 422-5204 Ms. Vera Cook Brandywyne Health Care Center. 1801 Lake Mariam Drive. Winter Haven, FL 33884 (863) 293-1989 Not home bound, but limited in some way and could use a word or two of encouragement with a visit, call or card. Ms. Ruth Copeland Savannah Court. 301 Peninsular Drive. Haines City, FL 33844-5046 (863) 422-5204 Mr Russ Vincent @ home Ms. Dorothy Burgess @ home Mr. George Price Spring Haven Retirement LLC. 1225 Havendale NW Apt. 154. Winter Haven, Fl. 33881 Joyce Dillon Spring Haven Retirement LLC. 1225 Havendale NW Apt. 163. Winter Haven, Fl. 33881 Home phone: 875-7070 Joyce Cell 419-6794 Ms. Kathryn Kruger, is going back North on April 2. She will be moving to assisted living for some additional physical rehab. and then anticipates moving back to her home at 17570 Town Ave. Brewster, MN 56119 507-842-5208 This number may change. We will update as we receive new information. Please keep in touch!

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Youth Happenings
Greetings Family and Friends, I want to take this opportunity to thank you, my church family for the love and support you have shown our teenagers. Many of you came out and supported us during our Italian dinner, as well as our strawberry and garage sale. Even more of you have been constantly supporting us with prayer and encouraging words. These fundraisers have been very successful, and any student who has worked all the events has earned close to one hundred dollars towards their camp. We have been truly blessed. This year, we are taking 35 people (29 students, 6 chaperones) to Ridgecrest, NC for camp. We have almost doubled the number of campers going. I dont have the words to begin to tell you how excited I am to see what God has in store for these students. This years theme is The Pursuit. It is going to teach the students how to constantly seek Gods path and direction for their lives. The goal is to make sure that the mountain top experience does not fade by the time school starts again. We will be having two more fundraisers before camp. The first one will be another after church lunch opportunity. The second one is what we are starting to call Rent-a-Kid. If there is any odd job or task that you may need completed around your house, please let me know. We will have students available the week of June 18-23, but if you need something done sooner than that, call me so that we can work out the details of time and place. If you have any questions about this, please feel free to talk to me at church or contact me at the church office. As always, I appreciate the prayer and support you give these students. I would ask that you continue to pray that God reveals to each student what He wants for them and from them. Also, if anyone has a desire to sponsor one of these students, please call me at the church office. The cost for camp this year is $450 per camper.

Thank you again for all the prayer and support! Stepping Out in Faith, Derrick Whiteman Hebrews 11:1

Upcoming Events and Announcements

April Birthdays
SUNDAY 1 Rebecca Bryan MONDAY 2 Sarah Gillispie Nathaniel Solis TUESDAY 3 June Hudson WEDNESDAY 4 Mathew Del Mazo THURSDAY 5 Luis Appratto Ann Kiker FRIDAY SATURDAY

6 7 Patti Garrison- Phil Barnes Sue Smith Whiteman Marvin Schumacher 13 14

8 Caitlin Fetes Savannah Watts 15 Paige Hancock

9 Amber Hanrahan

10 Lyn Franklin William Heverly 17 Lisa Graffious Travis Pike

11 12 Sandy Haber Alexis Amble Beni Jean Price

16 Jeremiah Cameron Richard Johnson Krista Mallernee

18 Marilyn Collins Christopher Francisco

19 Christa Mattheus Jason Watts

20 William Miracle Edward Nixon Joy Sims

21 Kaiden McGuire Adriana Rodgers Jim Teske 28 Barbara Blaisdell

22 Grace Brewer 29 Irma Swain Tom White

23 Hope Fetes Marcia Shaw Corey Stewart 30

24 25 Carol Williams

26 Tom Mallernee

27 David Clement

Wednesday services

Sunday services

5:45-6:45 -Prayer in Sanctuary 6:45-7:45 -Coffee and Bible study in Fellowship Hall

Sunday Morning Caf -8:45am Sunday School -9:20 Worship Service -10:30am (also Kids' Church K5-3rd)

Church Office
Hours-Monday -Thursday 8:00am-4:00pm. If you need to contact the Pastor On Call you can at any time by calling the Church Office 863-422-4488 and leaving a message in the On Call mailbox (ext. 2104) The Pastor that is on call for the week will return your call ASAP.