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Greetings GraceLife!

Yet another colder-than-usual week in Florida, so we pray that you are safe, warm, and grateful for all that our Father provides.  We hope that you were able to join us last Sunday.  In addition to our usual activities, we also celebrated our Lord’s Table at both 9am and 10:30am worship services, then met in the Gym for a brief Congregational Meeting/Members’ Update (a recap of our 2025 close-out and a look-ahead to our plan/budget for 2026), THEN enjoyed the food and fellowship of our First Sunday Luncheon!  Our Hospitality Team would like to thank everyone who took part in our luncheon, who brought side dishes to share, who setup our Gym for the luncheon, who helped with the clean-up, and the list goes on.  It’s wonderful to serve our Lord by serving each other!   We are blessed to have another opportunity to express our gratitude – this is to thank those who donated cookies for last Saturday’s  Kairos Prison Ministry event.  With a goal of donating 30 dozen cookies for this event, our total cookie count was 50 dozen!!!  Thank you to all who contributed to serve this important ministry at Zephyrhills Correctional Institute.   

For your planning… 

Feb 3rd – Adult Bible Study at MB, 7pm, Room 105

Feb 4th – Sisters in Prayer (MB Fellowship Corner) and BLAZE Youth (MB Loft), 7pm

Feb 5th -- Deep End Dinner and Bible Study at ML, 7pm

Feb 7th – Saturday Men’s Bible Study at MB, Room 105, 8-9am

Feb 8th– at MB

  • 9am worship service 
  • 10:30am worship service 
  • 10:15 – 11:30am -- Adult Christian Education (CE)  and BLAZE Youth classes
  • 10:45 – 11:30am -- GL Kids -- infant-5th grade classes
  • 4:00 – 6:00pm – BLAZE Youth

Looking ahead…

Feb 12th – New Women’s Bible Study starting at MB, Thursdays from 10:15am - noon, Rm 105; focus is Ephesians! 

Mar 29th – Palm Sunday Baptisms

More details follow…

Through the week –

Feb 3rd – Our Adult Bible Study at MB is now held on TUESDAY nights, 7pm, in Room 105! Study leader Jeff Lawson’s focus is the book of Judges, using Tim Keller’s “Judges for You” as a secondary source. We’ll be covering Judges 4 tonight and will pose some questions that hopefully will evoke some rich discussion. For those who are utilizing Tim Keller’s book as supplemental reading, please refer to chapter 4, pages 53-60.  As a reminder, these are suggestions not requirements!  Whatever the case, we’d love to have you join us!

Feb 4th – Our Sisters in Prayer and BLAZE Youth continue to meet on Wednesday nights at MB, 7pm. SIP meets in the Fellowship Corner; Youth meets in the Gym Loft. 

Feb 5th – Deep End Dinner and Bible Study at ML, 7pm.

Feb 7th – Saturday Men’s Bible Study at MB, Room 105, 8-9am, led by Lewis Rosove. 

Feb 8th – Please come join us this Sunday for a morning of prayer and praise, worship and fellowship!  Details in paragraphs below. 

Looking ahead…

February 12th, 2026 (New Women’s Bible Starting at MB)

A new women’s Bible Study will begin on Feb 12th at MB, Thursday mornings from 10:15am - noon, Room 105.  Beth Lawson will be leading this study focused on the book of Ephesians.  There is no need to sign up or register, just plan to join us!  

February 15th, 2026 (Last Sunday of Printed Bulletins)

While bulletins will no longer be printed after February 15th, the information now provided in printed form will continue to be available through our website (gracelifesarasota.com).

March 29th, 2026 (Palm Sunday)

Baptisms are an outward sign of an inward change.  If you’d like to be baptized on Palm Sunday, please sign up in our lobby or speak with someone at the Connection Center. 

April 5th, 2026 (Resurrection Sunday – Easter!)

It’s not too early to begin to prepare our hearts for the celebration of our Lord’s victory on the cross.  Here’s a quick summary of our plans; more details to come!

We are planning a Good Friday service for April 3rd, starting at 6:30pm at MB.  Then, on Easter Sunday on MB, we will offer a sunrise service at 6:30am in addition to our 9am and 10:30am services.  While our Hospitality team will be providing pastries/coffee as we normally do, we are not planning for a separate food event.

Sunday Mornings at Mount Beneva

  • Parking – Please let us know of any parking issues you may have.  
  • Lobby
    • Greeters are available to assist you with bulletins/programs, sign-ups, books, t-shirts and more. Visit the Connection Center with questions!
    • New nametag requests continue to be processed. Nametags can be located in the drawers by the sitting area.
    • Coffee, snacks and pastries are provided for your enjoyment and refreshed throughout the morning by our hospitality team. Please enjoy your food in the lobby and bring only lidded beverages into the auditorium/ sanctuary.  Thank you!
  • Worship Services are held in the auditorium/sanctuary at 9 and 10:30 am. 
  • Christian Education classes are held from 10:15-11:30am for Adults in the Gym classrooms and our BLAZE Youth in the Loft;  and from 10:45-11:30am for Children in the children’s wing in the main building.
  • Connect Cards can be found under the seats in the auditorium/sanctuary. Use these to provide contact information, request contact from us, or ask for prayer.

Sunday Morning Adult Christian Education

We have two adult CE classes currently available. We’d love to have you join us from 10:15-11:30am in the Gym classrooms for a deeper dive into God’s Word.  We speak to God in prayer; He speaks to us through His Word.  You may participate in either of these classes; no registration or qualification needed; just “show up”! 

  • Sermon on the Mount led by Mike Hamel
  • Biblical Love led by Jeff Lawson (using Charity and its Fruits by Jonathan Edwards as a secondary source).

Stewardship and Thankfulness 

Stewardship and thankfulness are deeply intertwined, with gratitude serving as the foundation for managing life's resources—time, talents, and treasures—as gifts from God. Cultivating a thankful heart shifts perspective from ownership to stewardship, prompting responsible, generous actions that reflect God’s goodness. 

Key aspects of stewardship and thankfulness include:

  • Gratitude as the Root: True stewardship stems from recognizing that all blessings come from God. It involves moving beyond mere words to expressing appreciation through active, purposeful, and generous living.
  • A Daily Discipline: Rather than just a holiday, stewardship is a year-round commitment to recognizing and nurturing gifts that God has provided..
  • The Inseparable Cycle: Gratitude and stewardship create a reinforcing loop where thankfulness inspires stewardship, and responsible stewardship deepens gratitude.
  • Overcoming Selfishness: Stewardship acts as a remedy for covetousness, transforming how we use our resources to bless others..
  • Actionable Gratitude: Specific practices include remembering past blessings, embracing current provisions, and stewarding resources to serve others. 

Stewardship thus becomes an act of worship as we thank God for all that He has provided. Praise Him!
(edited from web post) 

Ministry Spotlight

Ministry comes in many forms.  This week our Ministry Spotlight is focused on a couple of Christ-following groups who are not of our GraceLife family, but who use our facilities, both Lockwood and Beneva, to worship.  

At Lockwood, one of these groups is the Living Hope Church of Sarasota.  Their worship service is held on Sundays at 10:30am.  Their website, www.livinghopechurchfl.org, describes a devoted congregation of believers, seeking to serve God and others, according to the scriptures and for God’s glory.  We are thankful that we can provide a meeting space and time for His Word to be shared and His gospel shared!

At Beneva, one of these groups is Eitz Chaim Messianic Congregation, a gathering of Messianic Jews. From their website (https://ecsarasota.org), they share that “We are committed to making Yeshua (Jesus) the Lord of our life, faith, and ministry.”  (Parenthetical is mine.)  They meet each Saturday (their Sabbath) at 10:30am for service, followed by a time of fellowship and activities. Again, we are thankful that our Lord has brought this group of believers to our facility to further His gospel and build His kingdom!

Blaze Youth Student Ministry

Students in grade 6-12 are invited to join us in the Loft (upstairs MB Gym) during our weekly meeting times.

  • Sunday mornings 10:30-11:30am
  • Sunday evenings 4-6pm
  • Wednesday evenings 7-8pm

Use this link to join the group so you don’t miss out on any of the fun!

Weekly Prayer Meetings

We are a praying church!  Each Sunday, from 8:15-8:45am, at MB, there is an opportunity to gather in prayer with our leadership in Room 105.  No sign-up is required, just come join us as we prepare our hearts to worship Him.  

Other Group Prayer Opportunities

We also have a prayer chain here at GraceLife, a way for many to pray for the needs of those in our GraceLife family.  How does it work?  You may submit your requests for prayer through our Connect Cards, email, note, text, or verbal request to our leadership or member of our Admin Team, or to Cindy Lanoue-Foster or to me (Dreama).  We’ll then post your request for distribution to those who have indicated their desire to be part of our prayer chain.  How do I become part of the prayer chain?  Just indicate to a member of our Admin Team that you’d like to be part of the prayer chain and we’ll make that happen.  Prayer is powerful and we are privileged to pray for one another.    

Greeting Card Ministry

Brenda Castleyoung and Betty Tucker (with others welcome) create beautiful greeting cards for various occasions. While Brenda and Betty usually meet for card-making on Tuesdays at 11am at MB, Room 105, the day/time is flexible. If you’d like to participate in some card-making and fellowship, please call Brenda (443-254-5422) for meeting times and days. 

Also, if you have cards you’d like to donate for repurposing, you may leave them at the Beneva office in a bag/container marked for Brenda. Thank you to those who continue to donate cards!!

Ride Share Ministry

We have identified a few Sunday morning transportation needs within our GraceLife family and  now seek those would consider providing a ride to those in need.  Some ride needs could be met by multiple people, while others could be met by a single provider.   

If you have a current need for or ability to provide for transportation, please email dreama@gracelifesrq.com.  Thank you.  

Hospitality Ministry

Volunteers are needed for the hospitality team! Please respond to this email if you are interested in helping prepare/serve food for our fellowship times!  

Children’s Ministry (Nursery)

Volunteers are also needed for our growing Nursery on Sunday mornings! We’re looking for volunteers with servant hearts to help care for our youngest members of the GraceLife family. If you’re interested in serving in the Nursery, stop by the Connection Center or contact Jackie. 

Reminder

Please identify your giving recipient as “GraceLife Sarasota”. If you have questions, please contact Randy Coryell or Dan Deems.