"Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches." Revelation 2:7 The Message Translation.
As we saw in our previous series through Revelation, Revelation was not written to predict how the world will one day end, but to strengthen Christians to endure in faithfulness to Christ’s mission in the midst of uncertain and threatening times. Having seen this throughout the book of Revelation, we now turn our attention to the messages Jesus gives the 7 churches the letter was originally written to. These words may not have been originally written to us, but we will see they were certainly written for us as we learn from the messages Jesus gives them. In this series we will seek to listen to and learn from Jesus’ words of commendation, confrontation, and exhortation as we seek to learn what the church looks like when the wind of the Spirit blows through.
Today’s Worship
My Hope is in You
Take My Life and Let it Be
Hungry
Scripture
Revelation 2:12-17
Message
I Wanna Be Washed
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Please Welcome Todd Jones Who is Here to Give the Message Today: Todd is the Professor of Christian Ministry at Great Lakes Christian College here in Lansing, MI. Todd graduated from Great Lakes Christian College in 2011 with majors in Christian Ministries, Bible/Theology, and a minor in Interpersonal and Organizational Communication. He then graduated from Fuller Theological Seminary in 2013 with a Master of Arts in Theology. Currently, Todd is working on a Doctor of Ministry degree at Emmanuel Christian Seminary. Before transitioning to teaching, Todd served in vocational ministry for 10 years, 6 years in Michigan and 4 years in Kansas. Todd has been Married to Valerie for 5 years, and they have a 2 year old son named Oliver.
April Mission of the Month: The Gideons International, an association of Christians dedicated to telling people about Jesus through service, sharing testimonies, and providing Bibles and New Testaments. Immanuel supports this mission in loving memory of Paul Moerdyk.
Life Groups: Our Life Groups get together to grow in their faith, pray together, serve together, and support one another. If you are interested in joining a Life Group, please email Bruce at bterhaar@comcast.net.
Congregational Meeting: Sunday, June 9th, immediately after the service. On the agenda will be a proposed budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year, and the selection of one new deacon, and one new elder.
Corps of Dreaming: Last summer the Corps of Dreaming was organized to discern Immanuel's vision and values. For the past year we have listened to some of your stories of what you love about Immanuel and what makes Immanuel unique. Through these stories and our discussions, we have spent time discerning and discussing what we believe Immanuel's core identity and values to be. While the work is far from completed, the Corps of Dreaming is ready to present what we have discerned to the larger Immanuel community.
Following the service on Sunday, May 19th, we will present the core identity and values we have discerned as a team and then engage in the process of a listening session together. Following a presentation of the Corps' proposal you all will be invited to offer your input in small groups of 5-6 people. We want to stress that what we will present is not final, but a presentation of what we have discerned. We would like the community of Immanuel's input as we continue to discern how God has uniquely gifted and called us as a church. We are planning to be done by noon.
While attending the listening session is the best way to participate in this process, if you are unable to attend you will still have a chance to review and respond to the proposed values statements.
Lastly, we invite everyone to join with the Corps of Dreaming in pausing every day at noon over the next month to pray for this time of discernment.
Giving:
The offering plate is located at the front of the sanctuary. You may also submit an offering online at www.icrclansing.org.
Local Needs:
Personal Needs Closet: Provides personal hygiene items and cleaning supplies to families in need. We are currently in need of bleach, dish soap, Kleenex, and bar soap. Please place donations in the baskets under the mailboxes outside of the sanctuary. If you are in need of help, please call Christian Services at (517) 394-5411.
Mobile Food Bank: We will host another Mobile Food Bank here on Saturday, May 4, from 9-11 am. If you would like to help sort and put food into cars, please sign up on the “Bulletin Board” tab via our website.
Calling Team Assignments:
In an effort to offer more personalized care to our church members, we have divided each member into smaller groups with one Elder and one Deacon as a resource and contact person. If you need prayer or have a question or concern, please call the Elder or Deacon that you are assigned to according to your last name.
Last Name A-D
Elder Janet V
Deacon Fred H
Last Name E-H
Elder Harold S
Deacon Sally K
Last Name J-P
Elder Dave S
Deacon Kerri Mi
Last Name R-W
Elder Matt O
Deacon Jessi F
CONNECT Wednesdays (September 13 - May 8)
5:30 pm.- CONNECT Dinner. A free meal that the whole family can participate in.
6:15-7:00 pm.- CONNECT Kids (Children Ages 3 yrs.-5th Grade) join together to learn about Jesus in a fun and safe environment. They will enjoy singing, bible stories, arts and crafts, games, and more!
6:15- 7:30pm.- Jr. High Youth Group. For more information, please contact Joey South at jrsouth16@yahoo.com.
Sr. High Youth Group ( 9th-12th Grade)-
Sundays, September 17 - May 12
6:30-8:00 pm- Youth Group Meets
For more information, please contact Joey South at jrsouth16@yahoo.com.
Your Leaders are so thankful for your fervent prayers:
Thank you for praying for the ICRC staff and ministry team leaders.
Friends with Health Concerns
Mark B, June B, John B, David C, Joe C, Howard J. C, Don F, Sandy F, Nancy F, John F, Carol G
Kathy G, Roland H, Emily J, Barb K, Dianne K, Dave N, Yvonne N, Marcia N, and Wayne S.
If you are in need of meals or if you would like to help prepare meals, please contact.
Kerri M.
Prayer Requests
Prayer Chain: icrcprayer@icrclansing.org
You may also submit requests via our “Prayer Box”, located near the mailboxes outside of the sanctuary, you can call and talk to Stacia, our church secretary, or you may reach out to Marcia Jackson, the leader of our prayer team directly.
If you would like become a part of the ICRC Prayer Chain, please sign up on the “Bulletin Board” tab via our website.