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 This week we celebrated another great Roots Night. I was able to be with our Junior and Senior High youth on Wednesday to help them Dream BIG! Just like the little Roots, they too prayed in a triplet and then began putting to paper their dreams for Mechanic Grove. Be sure and check out the Dream Big wall in the gathering areas for their contributions. Just two weeks left in our Dream Big series, but it is exciting to read of the dreams God is laying on the hearts of His church at Mechanic Grove.

Spent some time this week preparing for the summer with the preaching plan and coordinating my schedule through the summer. I will be out one Sunday in June and August and two in July but am thankful that Pastor Rita, Pastor Mary Etta, and Pastor Brian Berkey will be filling in. We hope to finalize the summer schedule with the Church Board here in March. I am excited though for the preaching series from the life of David through much of the summer. There are so many life lessons for us to learn from this hero of faith.

Today the OAKS Ministry has a potluck luncheon followed by an Uno Tournament. I was glad to learn that many people signed up. Unfortunately, Ruth and I are in Harrisburg and will miss the event. Ruth is leaving tomorrow for Florida for a week. She has an aunt and uncle in Florida who love for her to come down. And she is starved for some sunshine and warm weather so she will be gone for a week.

Yesterday I met with the Solanco Pastors Fellowship. We meet once a month except in the summer at Solanco Neighborhood Ministries. The first 45 minutes the pastors meet and then the last 45 minutes we are joined by Solanco Neighborhood Ministries staff and other leaders of Christian nonprofits for sharing and prayer time. I have come to value these gatherings to be with my fellow pastors but also to learn more of the kingdom work that is being done in our community. 

One week from tonight is our next Grace Marriage date night. It will be at the church and there is a signup sheet in the gathering area. With Ruth in Florida until next Saturday, I guess I will have to skip this one. What a great opportunity though to invest in your marriage. I am thankful to the leaders who are running with this new ministry as we seek to have healthier Christlike marriages. 

We talked at our staff meeting this week about what we were planning to do for Lent this year. Lent starts on March 5th, so we have been quickly putting together some worship elements to enhance our Lenten season and lead us into Holy week. We will observe pew Communion on Sunday, March 2nd to end our Dream Big series and lead us into the Lenten season. The deacons and staff are already preparing for Love Feast to be observed on Maundy Thursday, April 17th at 7:00 pm. Looking forward to a very special Lenten season with you.

A couple of reminders for you. The popcorn the youth were selling will be available this Sunday in the Family Life Center. Also, we still have signups out for the Branches Brunch in March and Grace Marriage event. Coming on March 29th is the Men’s Banquet. Information is available on how to get tickets in the gathering area. Lastly, the bus trip to the Museum of the Bible in DC is scheduled for Saturday, March 15th. Be sure to get your registration and deposits in for this event. 

This week in my prayer and devotional time I continued praying for you through the directory and reading in the book of Deuteronomy. Much of the reading involved laws for proper worship and sacrifice. But in between, there was the constant disobedience of the Israelite people and Moses appealing to God’s mercy and grace on behalf of His people. Moses’ had tremendous patience as he continually called the people back to God seeking forgiveness and reconciliation for the Israelites. Deuteronomy 9:18 says that Moses lay prostrate before the Lord for forty days and nights, not eating or drinking because of the sin of the people. Verse 19 says, “How I feared for you, for the Lord was ready to destroy you, but again he listened to me.” No one can ever question Moses’ love for the Israelite people and His devotion to the Lord. He was indeed a hero of our faith.

I am looking forward to another great Lord’s Day as we celebrate our commitment to God’s mission. We will continue to challenge you to pray and Dream Big as we begin to wrap up our Dream Big series. So much is happening in the life of the church so keep praying, stay engaged, and continue to grow in your faith and devotion to God. Before long, Lent will be here, the time will change, and we will begin preparing for Holy Week and Easter. And yes, spring will come again just not soon enough.

Have a great weekend. Come with an expectant worshipful heart as we gather in celebration this Lord’s Day. Keep praying and keep dreaming because our God is amazing and promises to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine (Eph. 3:20). It is Friday…but praise God Sunday’s coming!

Pastor Kevin