CCOG Newsletter
Weekly Updates
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Reflections from Pastor Jennifer
Happy Holy Week! We were able to celebrate Palm Sunday together with a very special time of communion. I hope that the service was just as moving to you as it was to me. As we consider this week, I encourage everyone to consider what Jesus would have been thinking and feeling as He moved closer to His death. Remember that when He had only one day left to live He chose, not to "live it up", but to wash feet. Take some time to read one or all of the Gospel accounts of the last week of Jesus. Journey Church in Huntersville is hosting a Maundy Thursday service to celebrate the Last Supper. We are hosting an outdoor movie on Good Friday. And Easter Sunday is always a time of celebration - get up for a sunrise service, then head to church for breakfast! Find ways this week to celebrate and remember the sacrifice of our Lord.
OCC
For this month, we ask that you donate toys or hobby items for Operation Christmas Child. If you would like to be proactive for April, bring shower items (bars of soap, wash cloths, and loofahs). As always, shoeboxes and shipping costs are appreciated.
Good Friday
You do not want to miss the events this Friday. Beginning at 6:30 pm, we will have our community prayer walk. This will be followed by free concessions and the movie at 7:30pm. Bring a chair and some friends to enjoy this event.
Easter Breakfast
Celebrate the resurrection of Jesus with a delicious breakfast. This will begin at 10am on March 31. If you have signed up to bring a food item, please remember to bring it. Invite anyone you know who will not be attending church on Sunday.
Monthly Focus
We finish the month of March with the weekly prayer focus on Church and the underserved. That leads perfectly into the April focus of Rain Down Blessings. This is a focus on our underserved homeless neighbors. Your financial offerings are much appreciated for this ministry. Also, donations of coats, blankets, tents, and tarps are helpful.
FSM
First Sunday Meal will soon be here! On Sunday, April 7th we will enjoy a time of nourishment and fellowship. Bring lots of food and lots of guests as we enjoy service, followed by our meal.
Help for the Homeless
On Tuesday, April 16, we will be ministering with Watchmen of the Streets. We always have a great time when we go. If you would like to join us in hands on ministry, meet at the church in time to leave at 5pm.
Palm Sunday
There is no greater story in the history of humanity than that of Holy Week. The drama that unfolded over those eight days changed everything instantly and forever. Whether you are a believer in Jesus Christ or someone who discovered this devotional by chance, the journey you are about to embark on has no rival. The events of Palm Sunday, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, and all the days in between are, at the least, foundational for understanding the world you exist in now and, at their most significant, pillars upon which the entirety of eternity rests.
Perhaps it is fitting then that as we open our time together, we begin with a scene of triumph. Let the words of scripture wash over you like any propelling text. Can you smell the dust, feel the heat of the sun, hear the shouts of the crowd? Watch as Jesus enters Jerusalem on the back of a young donkey (fulfilling the prophesies recorded in Zechariah.) Listen as men and women hailed him with cries of “Hosanna!” which means “Save!” and choruses of what was written in Psalm 118, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
Take it all in, the throughline of Scripture playing out before your eyes. (Don’t fret if you didn’t see the connections at first, neither did Jesus’ closest followers, although they would come to in time.) Today is a day for celebration. The King has arrived. He wasn’t what the church leaders had in mind, a warrior come to destroy their enemies in conquest, but He was what all of humanity needed and still needs, the one with the authority to crush our true enemy under his heel and to bring peace between heaven and mankind.
To the believing, join the chorus of the crowd today, sing praise for the king has come.
To the wondering, find your place in the crowd and follow along. Perhaps you will find what you’ve been looking for.
One thing is certain: none of us will ever be the same.
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Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God
Born of his Spirit, washed in His blood
This is my story, this is my song
Praising my Savior all the day long
This is my story, this is my song
Praising my Savior all the day long