Connecting For A Purpose

Sunday, April 19, 2020

Call to Worship ~ https://youtu.be/2X31LtHL_D4

Psalm 47 (NRSV)

L: Clap your hands, all you peoples; shout to God with

loud songs of joy...For the Lord, most High, is awesome.

ALL: How majestic is Your name!

L: Sing praises to God; Sing psalms to our King... For the

Lord, most High, is awesome.

ALL: How majestic is Your name!

L: God is King over all the nations. Only God sits on His

holy throne...For the Lord, most High, is awesome.

ALL: How majestic is Your name!

L: As His people gather, may they proclaim He is highly

exalted...For the Lord, most High, is awesome.

ALL: How majestic is Your name!

Worship in Song ~ https://youtu.be/lQ8T9XvKdNg

“Praise to the Lord, the Almighty” B37

Opening Prayer ~

O Great Composer of Life…All of creation sings of Your

glory. May our life melodies be unified with Your

harmonies, so that attuned to You, we may join the

mighty chorus that sings Your praise throughout the

world, bringing honor to Your holy name. Amen!

Connecting For A Purpose

Sunday, April 19, 2020

God’s Small Blessings ~ Take a moment to reflect on the

questions below or share with another.

Why do we say “God is faithful?”

What exactly makes God faithful?

How do you know when your faith is growing?

How would you measure such a thing?

Share a time when either you were faithful or

someone demonstrated faithfulness.

Worship in Song ~ https://youtu.be/a3HH__-1Zbs

“Cornerstone” by Hillsong

CCLI License # 128280

Verse 1

My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness

I dare not trust the sweetest frame

But wholly trust in Jesus’ Name (REPEAT)

Chorus

Christ alone...Cornerstone

Weak made strong in the Savior’s love

Through the storm...He is Lord...Lord of all

Verse 2

When darkness seems to hide His face

I rest on His unchanging grace

In every high and stormy gale

My anchor holds within the veil

My anchor holds within the veil

Verse 3

When He shall come with trumpet sound

Oh may I then in Him be found

Dressed in His righteousness alone

Faultless to stand before the throne

Scripture Reading ~ 1 Cor 3:11; Eph 2:19-22; 1 Peter 2:4-5

G1: No one can lay any foundation other than the one

already laid, which is Jesus Christ.

G2: In Christ the whole building is joined together and rises

to become a holy temple in the Lord.

G1: And in Christ we too are being built together to

become a dwelling in which God lives by the Spirit.

G2: As we come to Christ, the living Stone-rejected by the

builders but chosen by God...

G1: We also, like living stones, are being built into a

spiritual house to be a holy priesthood.

G2: So then we are no longer foreigners and aliens, but

citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household.

(continued on next page)

Connecting For A Purpose

Sunday, April 19, 2020

Reading ~ continued

G1: Built on the foundation of the apostles and

prophets...

ALL: with Jesus Christ as the chief cornerstone.

AMEN!

Worship in Song~ https://youtu.be/fXB8ihepUpE

“By Faith” by Keith & Kristyn Getty

CCLI License # 128280

Verse 1

By faith we see the hand of God

In the light of creation’s grand design

In the lives of those who prove his faithfulness

Who walk by faith and not by sight

Verse 2

By faith our fathers roamed the earth

With the power of His promise in their hearts

Of a holy city built by God’s own hand

A place where peace and justice reign

Chorus

We will stand as children of the promise

We will fix our eyes on Him our soul’s reward

Till the race is finished and the work is done

We’ll walk by faith and not by sight

Verse 3

By faith the prophets saw a day

When the longed for Messiah would appear

With the power to break the chains of sin and death

And rise triumphant from the grave

Verse 4

By faith the church was called to go

In the power of the Spirit to the lost

To deliver captives and to preach good news

In every corner of the earth

Verse 5

By faith the mountain shall be moved

And the power of the gospel shall prevail

For we know in Christ all things are possible

For all who call upon His name

Connecting For A Purpose

Sunday, April 19, 2020

Children’s Time ~

There is a very interesting book called “Believe It or

Not” by Robert Ripley. Mr. Ripley enjoyed collecting

strange and amazing bits of information which, although

they seemed unbelievable, were true. Here are some

examples:

A man named James Cook once had a chicken that

laid a perfectly squared egg!

Joann Barnes, a 15 year old from California, swung

69 hula-hoops on her body all at the same time!

The longest hotdog in the world was 3,ooo feet long,

weighed 885 pounds and took 103 butchers to carry

it!

Those things may be hard to believe, but you know

what? If they are true...then they are true—whether we

believe them or not.

Last Sunday we talked about that on the day that Jesus

rose from the grave, He appeared to a group of his

disciples. One of those disciples, Thomas, was not with

them. Let’s see how Thomas reacted to the incredible

news that Jesus had risen!

Watch video: https://youtu.be/vLqX5VQTCbg

Although many people today don’t believe Jesus really

rose from the grave because they haven’t seen Him with

their own eyes, it’s still true, whether they believe it or

not! Believing in Jesus means we accept Him by

faith...we don’t have to see Him to believe who He is!

Let’s take a moment to pray.

“Dear Jesus, thank You for helping us to accept by faith that

You have risen from the grave and that You are alive. Help

us show others Your love so that they can believe as well.

In Jesus’ name...Amen!

For an activity to use during the sermon see the last page of

this packet.

Devotional Scripture ~

Luke 13:18-19 (NIV) Romans 11:5-6; 16-24 (NIV) Please take your Bible and read the scripture above. Time lapse of seed to seedling -

https://youtu.be/4BtKAkP5xOk

Time lapse of seedling to tree -

https://youtu.be/fA-l1t_Aotw

Devotional ~ By Pastor Nathan

Find this morning’s message at the following links:

Audio: https://archive.org/details/4-19-20-church-as-tree

Video: https://youtu.be/211woZ5ICgc

Reflection Time ~

- What growth have you experienced personally or as a family in the past month?

- In what ways might God be growing us as a church?

- When have you been so attached to a particular form of ministry that you missed a new direction God was growing you into or an opportunity for new fruit?

- What practices are helping you to connect with God for nourishment during this time?

Connecting For A Purpose

Sunday, April 19, 2020

A Time of Prayer ~

L: Generous God, we thank You for all You have

given us: For the big things...

C: The universe, the earth, the land and the sea.

L: For the beauty we see around us every day…

C: The goodness and love we know in family and friends.

L: For the gift of salvation...

C: Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ

L: We also give You thanks for the small things…

C: The pleasure we have when we accomplish a task;

the thoughtful word we receive at just the right time.

L: We now take a moment to pray for those things

closest to our heats…

(Feel free to pray for whatever/whomever is on your

heart or for the prayer requests that are found at the

end of this packet.)

L: Generous Lord, we offer all these things back to

You, both the big and the small, to show our great

appreciation for who You are and who You are

calling us to be.

C: May we be God’s love to all whom we meet.

ALL: For it’s in Christ’s name we pray...AMEN!

Worship in Song ~

Connecting For A Purpose

Sunday, April 19, 2020

Benediction ~

May our Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father, who has

shown us such love, and in his grace has given us such

unfailing encouragement and hope, encourage and

strengthen us in every good deed and word. May we be

embraced in God’s peace.

Doxology ~

Praise God from whom all blessings flow

Praise Him all creatures here below

Praise Him above ye heavenly host

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost

A- - - men!

Praises & Prayers ~

Birthday Greetings this week to: Quincy Longacre - Barry Gehman

Anniversary Greetings this week to:

Bob & Addie Gehman - Terry & Tina Landis

The work of Phil and Pat Rosenberger & Family in New Mexico. Mildred Schantz as she is in the hospital due to low sodium levels. Harry Wall, Sue’s husband, as he undergoes treatment in the hospital. The health care needs of Helen Asbury, Bob Gehman, Sr., Cassidy Gehman, Libby Geissinger, Jamie Haas & Marcus Rush. Please remember all those that have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, especially folks who live alone and are feeling very isolated during this time, pray for those that have become unemployed as a re-sult of this widespread illness. Stay in touch with friends and loved ones by phone, e-mail, etc. and let them know that you are thinking of them during this difficult time. This week all congregations in Eastern District & Franconia Conference are praying for local, state, and national government officials and lead-ers of government agencies who are making necessary and difficult de-cisions during this pandemic and providing support for those affected by the virus or the economic downturn. Pray for wisdom, strength, stamina, and cooperation as they work together to ensure public safety. Pray also that they will find rest as needed and safety from COVID-19.

Connecting For A Purpose

Sunday, April 19, 2020

Celebrating Our Lives Together ~ It is time to plan for the congregational review for Pastor Nathan. Pastor Nathan’s 4 year term expires later this year, and part of our process is to do a congregational review. Our review will consist of individual and group interviews with a broad group of persons from the congregation. The review will be lead by Mike Clemmer, our Conference Leadership Minister, and Church Board members Amy Snedigar and Bill Longacre. The review appointments will be held July 15 – 18, with a summary of findings to the congregation during the Sunday School hour on Sunday July 26. Carl Raub, our church secretary, will start to contact persons to schedule interviews next week. If you are contacted, please work with Carl to schedule an appointment. If you are not contacted and would like an interview, you will have a chance to schedule one at a later time. If you have any questions about this process please contact Bill Longacre. The finance committee is pleased to announce that electronic giving is now available to the congregation with 3 different options shown below. All of these options are very user friendly and easy to setup. For options #1 and #2, you can also designate between general fund, MEP, and regular missions. 1. Use this link and follow instructions for the initial setup. It

will remember you next time: https://justswamp.churchcenter.com/giving

2. Download the Church Center mobile app and find Swamp Mennonite Church within the app.

3. Text the amount you want to give to the general fund to "84321". This will provide a link for you to setup your giving account. After that, you can just text the amount you want to give and it will recognize your phone number, process the pay-ment and send a receipt immediately.

Pinewood Derby cars have been mailed to all of our clubs age children. Please complete the cars at home and then drop off at church in the glass entry outside the offices. Please do not enter the church building. We will assemble the cars so that we can hold a Pinewood Derby Race as soon as we are able to meet again. If you did not receive your car, please contact Russ Haas or Pastor Nathan. We will have another prayer vigil for Cassidy Gehman this Friday, April 24 from 7pm-7am. We will be praying from home and ask each person to call or text the person scheduled before them to let them know you are taking over for your shift. If you participated in previous prayer vigils you will get an emailed invitation to sign-up again. If you have not participated before please email Jodie Foley to be included this time. The deadline to submit articles for the May/June issue of Growth Matters is Tuesday, April 28 at noon. Please e-mail your articles to the church office. Thank you. Please be reminded that Everence offers free financial counseling and lending services. Please contact Jim Landis - 610-509-0144 or Randy Nice directly at the Everence Office – 800-348-7468.

Last Week’s Offering…………………………..$1,785.00 2020 Budget Need (Weekly)……………….$6,020.15 YTD Surplus/Deficit……………………………$-14,501.00 Last Week’s MEP Offering…………………..$810.00 19/20 MEP Budget Need (Weekly)……..$2,622.54 Endowment Applied…………………………..$0.00 YTD Surplus/Deficit……………………………$-17,461.02

Connecting For A Purpose

Sunday, April 19, 2020

Children’s Activities