Cross&Flame

Franklin GroveUnited Methodist Church

223 W. Middle St.

P.O. Box 348

Franklin Grove, IL 61 031

phone: 847-722-6357

www.franklingroveumc.com

Pastor Jin-Ho Hong

email : hjhj lm66@hotmail .com

Sunday School 9:00 a.m.

Church Service 1 0:1 5 a.m.

Page 1

Franklin Grove United

Methodist Church is

Gathering

Growing

Going

If your heart is where ours

is, come and join us!

Please let us

know your Bits

of News and

prayer requests

so we can keep

you in our

thoughts and

prayers.

February/March

2012

Franklin Grove UnitedMethodist Church

God’s Valentine gift oflove to usWas not a bunch offlowers;It wasn’t candy, or a bookTo while away the hours.

His gift was to become a man,So He could freely giveHis sacrificial love for us,So you and I could live.

He gave us sweet salvation, andInstruction, good and true--To love our friends and enemiesAnd love our Savior, too.

So as we give our Valentines,Let’s thank our Lord and King;The reason we have love to giveIs thatHe gave everything.

By Joanna Fuchs

God's Valentine Gift

Franklin Grove UnitedMethodist Church Traditionallywetakean

offeringforUMCOR

(UnitedMethodist

CommitteeonRelief) in

March. Thefirst2

weeks inMarchIwillbe

atSagar-Brown, which

is themaindepotfor

UMCOR. Iwillmakea

reportwhenIreturn.

Pleaseprayerfully

considermakinga

contributiontothis

globalministryofthe

UnitedMethodist

Church. †

MarySpangler

UnitedMethodistCommitteeonRelief

Christianity is religion oflove. Ifsomeone asks what the bestWord ofGod in the Bible is, we would answerJohn 3:16 without any hesitation:“For God so loved the world that hegave his one and only Son, thatwhoever believes in him shall notperish but have eternal life.” TheCreator God loves a human being, soGod sent his son to the world asMessiah. Through the love and graceofGod, we could recover the verticalrelationship with God, our Father.On the other hand, Jesus Christpracticed serving the neighbors

through hisministry andhe restored thehorizontal

February and March Pastoral Letter

relationship between human and human.Therefore, Christianity is religion ofrelationshipas well as religion oflove. At that point, when weenter into the vertical relationship with God andthe horizontal relationship with others, we can bemature Christians. There are many ways to be amature Christian. However, I think prayer is oneofthe most important ways to grow our faith. Aprayer is a spiritual bridge which connects Godwith human. Through the bridge, we can form aright connection with God and practice love to ourneighbors. I strongly believe that an intercessoryprayer is a more effective, strong instrumentamong several ways in which to love other people.Jesus Christ called us as prayer warriors. Thereason why our prayers make miracles in our lifeis because we pray relying on the name ofJesusChrist. St. Augustin said “A prayer is to mediateother’s happiness in front ofGod.” This year, ourchurch goal is to scatter seeds ofprayer. Allpeople want to bear abundant fruits in their life.However, ifwe want to bear many fruits, we mustfirst sow good seeds on our field. Therefore, wewill make an intercessory prayer chain andpractice loving God and our neighbors. Throughthe ministry ofthe intercessory prayer, we cancontinuously build the beautiful body ofChrist.There is no big prayer or small prayer to God. Allprayers are valuable. Let us pray together. OurLORD, the Redeemer, will be within you . †

February and March Pastoral Letter

Pastor Hong will be leading

a Bible study during the

Lenten season. Please check

the church bulletin for

more information as

time gets closer. †

Feb. 22 Lutheran churchAsh Wed. service

7 pm service, no meal29 Lee Center

6 pm meal - 7 pm service

March 7 Presbyterian6 pm meal - 7pm service

14 United Methodist Church6 pm meal - 7 pm service

21 Catholics at the Church of the Brethren6 pm meal - 7 pm service

28 Church of the Brethren6 pm meal - 7 pm service

April 8 LutheranSunrise service at 6:30amwith Breakfast to follow †

Community Church CouncilLenten Services

LetPattiForrestor

knowifyouare

interestedin

helpingorcan

donatecandyfor

theeggs! †

MarkyourcalendarfortheEasteregghuntonApril7th. †

Following church service on Sunday, March 18th,

there will be a Sunday School lunch for all children

as well as a movie.

It will be a great time for fellowship as well as a

lot ofFUN!

We hope you will be able to join us for this special

time together. †

Lauren Joyce Bevan

BaptizedJanuary 15th

Two little eyes tolookforGod

Two little ears tohearHisword

Two little feet towalkinHisways

Two little lips tosingHis praise

Two little hands todoHiswill

Andone heart toloveHim still

Welcometo God's family

Baptism

Baptismwillbe February 26th at 10:15Please join the family fora luncheon

following the church service. †

EliseHenriettaViall

"Life's Recipes""Feeding the Flock"

1 c. good thoughts,

1 c. consideration for others,

3 c. forgiveness,

1 c. kind deeds,

2 c. sacrifice for others,

2 c. well-beaten faults. †