The Connection

This is a day you are to com-

memorate; for the genera-

tions to come you shall cele-

brate it as a festival to the

Lord—a lasting ordinance.

When you enter the land that

the Lord will give you as he

promised, observe this cere-

mony. And when your chil-

dren ask you, ‘What does this

ceremony mean to you?’ then

tell them, ‘It is the Passover

sacrifice to the Lord, who

passed over the houses of the

Israelites in Egypt and spared

our homes when he struck

down the Egyptians. Then the

people bowed down and wor-

shiped. Exodus 12:14; 25-27

Easter Sunday is the

greatest celebration that

we have as Christians. I

was talking with some-

one the other day whose

family recognizes the

Passover meal as part of

their celebration of the

resurrection. Listening to

her share about the cere-

monial Seder meal, I

could sense the deeply

personal significance of

this celebration.

(Continued on page 2)

Greetings! Martin and I have been blessed with 40 years of marriage and 4

children. Our daughter, Shelley, and husband Chad have 3 children - Eli,

Gracie, and Tanner. Our son, Chad, and his wife Brittany have 4 children -

Kane, Kaleb, Gabby, and Mason. Our daughter, Mary Kay, has one son,

Johnathan, with his father, John. Our

youngest son is Heith. My children

and I started going to our church first

while waiting upon the Lord to touch

Martin’s heart. I had a wonderful

prayer team praying for him. In 1998

our prayers were answered.

I volunteered with VBS and went

to many church camps as camp

counselor. I also helped with chil-

dren’s church for many years. Our

children were in several Christmas

plays and went with us on mission trips. The first mission trip I went on was to

Mexico. Pastor Ray let me go to church with a Mexican lady I had befriended.

It was wonderful! A funny thing that happened was when the service ended,

the little children, thinking I was a poor lady who came off the streets, wanted

me to take their pesos (money). I had been working outside in overalls then

went straight to church. I was also blessed to speak one evening at a church

in Mexico. That year God touched me and I have loved missions ever since.

In 2000, God put on Martin’s and my heart to be part of the Friends Pro-

gram at UMR (now Missouri S&T). Our life would never be the same. We have

made wonderful friends from all over the world, and all we had to do was invite

our home to be theirs. Then in 2005, God lead us to open our home to high

school exchange students for a year at a time. We have been blessed with

great kids.

Even though Martin and I started out very young, God has been there

every step of the way. I always look to Him and say ‘why are you so good to

me?’ God answers ‘that’s the kind of God you serve.’

Martin and I, for a very short time tried the world, and it was ugly. Thank

God and for loved ones praying for us to come home. Martin and I love our

family here at church and throughout the world. God is good! HE’S GOT THE

WHOLE WORLD IN HIS HANDS!

Sharon and Martin Warren

One thing stood out when she shared this com-

memorative event with me. The Israelites were re-

leased from bondage, and they were told to remem-

ber their passage to freedom. They were not to for-

get, and they were to teach it to their children. As

she spoke those words to me, I thought how easy it is

to forget that Jesus has brought me out of slavery. I

need to remember that I was once a slave to sin, and

He has set me free.

If you are like me, you cook dinner on Easter,

have family get together, celebrate the resurrection

at church, hide eggs and enjoy your time with family.

On Easter Sunday, we thank God for His Son Jesus,

the work of the cross and the hope of the resurrec-

tion. Then Monday comes, and we go back to routine.

I want to offer five Easter reflections and sug-

gest that you work through these before the end of

April. Continue to reflect on the power and might of

the resurrection, and how it can apply to your lives.

As a family take time to share that as Christians we

were once in bondage and that Jesus set us free. If

you live alone, invite a friend to join you in a time of

remembrance. You could even have a five-week

study using the topics given for reflection

1. Read Exodus 5:1-2. Pharaoh asked Moses,

“Who is the Lord that I should obey Him?” As a

family, or with a friend, answer that question

and share it with each other. Write it on a 3x5

card, and place it somewhere prominent to re-

(Continued from page 1) member why you obey Him.

2. Read John 3:16. Go share

it with someone today,

keeping in mind the debt

Jesus paid for sin.

3. Read Matthew 26:17-19.

Research the topic of the

Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Make your meal tonight

with unleavened bread and

discuss the significance of

it.

4. Read 1 Corinthians 11:23-

26. Have communion with

your family. If you live alone, invite a friend in

Christ to join you. Even if it is just you, still have

communion with you and the Lord.

5. Read through Luke 22:39-46. Jesus went to

Gethsemane to pray. Attend a prayer meeting,

and pray for revival.

We don’t ever want to forget that Jesus paid a

high price to release us from the penalty of death

from our sins. This year, extend your time of remem-

brance and enter into each devotion with a thankful

heart of praise. Invite someone who needs to know

Jesus to come and see what the Lord has done for

you. Take the time to remember, and take time for

others.

Carol Hudler

Coming again this year to First Assem-

bly is our Girls of All Ages event, the

“Shine Conference”! Ladies, you are in-

vited to an evening of great music and

testimony by two great artists, Tori Har-

ris and Kerrie Roberts. The evening will

begin with tea and desserts in the Rob-

erts Family Life Center at 6pm. Then the

doors for the conference will be opened at

6:30pm, with the conference kicking off at

7pm. Our theme this year being based

on Matthew 5:16, “In the same way, let

your light shine before others, that they

may see your good deeds and glorify

your Father in heaven.” So girls of all

ages, come prepared to have a great

night at this free concert!

Brian Feller

What are you looking forward to seeing most

in heaven? Is it the mansion (a dwelling, room or

abode) being prepared for you (John 14:2)? Is it

the twelve gates, each one made from a single

pearl or the great street of pure gold like transpar-

ent glass (Revelation 21:21)? Is it the foundation

of the city walls decorated with every kind of pre-

cious stone such as sapphire, emerald, topaz and

amethyst (Revelation 21:19,20)? Or is it the thou-

sands and thousands of angels in joyful assembly

(Hebrews 12;22)?

As beautiful and awe inspiring as all those will

be, let’s look at the following Scriptures which tell

us the best part. (The emphasis in these is mine.)

Jesus said to the thief on the cross in Luke 23:43,

“Today you will be with me in paradise.” In John

14:3, right after He tells us about the mansions,

Jesus states, “And if I go and prepare a place for

you, I will come back and take you to be with me

that you also may be where I am.” Paul writes in 2

Corinthians 5:8, “We are confident, I say, and

would prefer to be away from the body and at

home with the Lord." Later, in Philippians 1:23, he

agonized, “I am torn between the two: I desire to

depart and be with Christ, which is better by far.” In

Thessalonians 4:17 in his discourse on the coming

of the Lord, Paul explains, “After that, we who are

still alive and are left will be caught up together

with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

And so we will be with the Lord forever.”

Do you see where the emphasis is? The best

part of heaven is being with Jesus. This is what Je-

sus emphasized; this is what Paul wanted more

than anything. I dare say this is our wholehearted

desire too.

If you would like to learn more about heaven,

consider joining us in Room 107 at 10:45am on

Sunday mornings for the series, “All About Heav-

en”, facilitated by Ralph and Beverly Flori. Using

DVDs and books from Dr. David Jeremiah and

Randy Alcorn, and of course, the Scriptures them-

selves, we will investigate such questions as, “What

work will we do in heaven?”, “What will our new

bodies be like?”, “What types of rewards will we re-

ceive in heaven?”, “Will heaven be boring?” and

much more. We will also investigate how to leave

a natural and spiritual legacy before we make that

ultimate journey home.

“But you have come to Mt. Zion, to the heavenly Je-

rusalem, the city of the living God, . . . to Jesus, the

mediator of a new covenant.” (Hebrews 12:22, 24)

Beverly Flori

References: Dr. David Jeremiah, Revealing

the Mysteries of Heaven, pp. 24, 25

The week of prayer for April will focus on under-

standing the connection between Passover and our

celebration of the resurrection. Understanding the sig-

nificance of the resurrection is something that can be

helpful to our prayer life. Please join us for any or all

ATTENTION ALL LADIES!!! Our Spring Brunch is

just around the corner! The theme this year is adop-

tion, foreign and domestic. If you have given a child a

forever home through any form of adoption, we would

love to have your pictures on our adoption showcase

table. We would also be honored to have you deco-

rate a table with your memories. We will need other

volunteers to decorate tables too! There will be a sign-

up sheet in the foyer before Sunday morning services.

The Spring Brunch will be on Saturday, May 2 at

10am in the Roberts Family Life Center. We will have

child care for children ages birth to 5. Please contact

Chris Skyles at 465 - 0885 or [email protected]

for more information or if you would like to have a

table to set!

Chris Skyles

of these evening times of prayer.

Monday Prayer service 6:30-7:30 Marcia New will teach on the

blood on doorpost.

Praying for the lost—that the blood will be shed upon

their hearts and they will find freedom in Christ

Tuesday

Prayer service 6:30-7:30 pm Kitty Bickford will teach

on the unleavened bread.

Praying that we will keep our eyes focused on Christ

and He will lead us into holiness. Praying for a resurg-

ing desire to be set apart for the Lord.

Wednesday Regular Wednesday evening services

Thursday

Prayer service 6:30-7:30 Dan Smith will teach on

passing it on through the generations. Praying for our

families

Friday

Prayer Watch is from 8 pm to 3 am. Early in the pray-

er meeting, from 8:30-10:00, we will have communion

and foot washing.

Last month, a team of 25 travelled to Louisi-

ana to work at Teen Challenge Family Center in

Minden. We made HUGE progress on the Direc-

tor’s home on the property. Electricity, plumbing,

masonry, and painting kept everyone busy. We

also were able to share devotion time each morn-

ing and evening with the ladies who are currently

staying at the Challenge Center. It was an incredi-

ble week!

Many projects were worked on, including

Re-plumbing the director’s future home (Frank

Ratliff and Ryan Langley)

Lowering the ceiling from 10’ to 8’ (Chuck

Lawson and Zach Cunningham)

Framing new interior walls (Wedam Nyaaba

and Sam Parker)

Running new electric (Richard Light, Bob Scott,

Taylor Asher)

Laying new subfloor in one room (Ray Turner)

Installing new ductwork and HVAC system

(Mike Arnold and William Kulinski)

Hanging drywall

(Mark Berry)

Painting three long

hallways in the Center

(Cathy Skyles, Brenda

Pharithi, Annie Neavill,

Jessica Lauer and Jen-

nifer Gbadam)

Landscaping (Sue

Lawson and Tiela Lauer)

Lee Collins planned

and supervised all of the

work in the house, while

Kathi Garner coordinat-

ed the trip and made

countless trips to hardware and specialty

stores to pick up

supplies.

Abby Swearingen

and Kathy Collins

cooked meals for

the team and the

girls at the Center.

We are so excit-

ed to be partnering

with them as they

make huge progress

at the Center! Their

goal is renovating the

grounds to be able to

house 50 or more

girls as a first step

towards a life of re-

covery. Additionally,

they are now going to

be taking in pregnant

mothers, which is a

huge step support-

ing the rehabilitation of families.

We are planning to return May 24-30 to con-

tinue renovations on the director’s residence as

well as do some other projects at the Center. We

are looking for people with experience hanging

drywall, mudding and taping, working with plumb-

ing, decorating student rooms. We will also be ac-

cepting donations for supplies for the Center.

More details about the future trip will be an-

nounced soon.

It’s almost time again for our annual

patriotic musical! Practices will start April

12 as we prepare for one of our biggest

church events. The patriotic service will

be on June 28. Practices will be held at

4:00 on Sunday afternoons. Watch

the Sunday bulletin for more infor-

mation.

Youth Camp: June 1-5

(ages 12-18) Cost: $147

Extreme Tween Week: June 22-26

(for kids entering 5th, 6th, and 7th

grades) Cost: $80

“Everest: Conquering Challenges

with God’s Mighty Power” VBS

July 6-10 8am-12pm

Cost: free

“Search and Rescue” Kids Camp:

July 20-24

(ages 8-12) Cost: $147

PA

STO

RS

& S

TAFF

Sam Parker After School Ministries &

Missions Director [email protected]

Chuck Whitmire Lead Pastor

[email protected]

Ray Cook Associate Pastor

[email protected]

Brian Feller Children’s Pastor

[email protected]

Jason Gibson Youth Pastor

[email protected]

APRIL

Karen Turner Administrative Assistant

[email protected]

Mark Berry Facility Manager

Pansy Bingham Business Administrator

[email protected]

Abby Swearingen Media Assistant

[email protected]

1608 N Oak St Rolla MO 65401-2342

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