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Greetings GraceLife!

Get ready!  Holy week begins this Sunday, March 29th, Palm Sunday, and concludes the following Sunday, April 5th, Resurrection Sunday, Easter Sunday, where we celebrate Christ’s defeat of death as he arose from the grave, leaving an empty tomb, having paid for our sins through his broken body and shed blood.  Praise the Lord; He is Risen!!  

This Palm Sunday, we will be celebrating baptisms at both our 9am and 10:30am services.  Don’t miss it! 

Here is our quick look at events coming up this week and a look ahead as well.  We hope this helps you plan your week!   

Mar 24th  – Adult Bible Study at MB, 7pm, Room 105

Mar 25th – Sisters in Prayer (MB Fellowship Corner) and BLAZE Youth (MB Loft), 7pm

Mar 26th – Women’s Bible Study at MB, 10:15am - noon, Room 105

                   (Note:  No Deep End Dinner/Bible Study at ML this week; will resume next week.)

Mar 28th – Saturday Men’s Bible Study at MB, Gym Classroom, 201C, 8-9am

Mar 29th at MB 

  • 8:15 – 8:30am – prayer time with our leadership
  • 9am worship service, including baptisms!
  • 10:30am worship service, including baptisms! 
  • 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  

Apr 3rd – Good Friday service at MB, 6:30pm

Apr 5th – Resurrection Sunday at MB!

  • Easter sunrise service, 6:30am, outside
  • Easter worship services at 9am and 10:30am

Apr 14th,15th (noon to noon – Giving Challenge

Sharing a few thoughts – 

We hope you were able to be with us this past Sunday for worship service where Pastor Joe’s message, “Meaningless Confession”, based on God’s Word from 1 Samuel 24:16-22, #19 in the series of the life of David, “A Sinner In Love With God”, urged us to re-examine the “crowns” we hold onto in our lives, those that we seem unwilling or unable to surrender to God, and how, many times, we confuse regret with repentance that leads to surrender.  As we’ve come to expect, Pastor Joe explained scripture (in this case the story of Saul and David) in a context that helps us understand God’s Word as His instruction for living abundantly in Jesus Christ.  If you missed this sermon, you are encouraged to listen through our website (gracelifesarasota.com), under “Messages”.  

More event/activity details –

Mar 24th – Our Adult Bible Study at MB meets 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. Tonight we will cover Judges 7:9-25. Gideon’s army utilizes unique weaponry in overcoming an overwhelming army.  First of all, what does the Lord do to assure victory for Gideon, and secondly, how does the weaponry used by Gideon and his army depict something profoundly taught in the New Testament as well as instructive to us in the warfare against innumerable enemies that we face daily?

Mar 25th -- Our Sisters in Prayer and BLAZE Youth meet on Wednesday nights at MB, 7pm. SIP meets in the Fellowship Corner; Youth meets in the Gym Loft. 

Mar 26th – Women’s Bible Study at MB, 10:15am - noon.  This study of Ephesians is led by Beth Lawson and meets in Room 105.  No need to sign up, just join us! 

(Note:  No Deep End Dinner/Bible Study at ML this week; will resume next week.)

Mar 27th – Saturday Men’s Bible Study at MB, Gym classroom 201C, 8-9am, led by Lewis Rosove.  

Mar 29th  –  Palm Sunday is finally here this Sunday!  Palm Sunday begins our celebration of Holy Week which concludes with our Lord’s conquering the grave on Easter Sunday, Resurrection Day!  It commemorates his prophecy-fulfilling entry into Jerusalem where He was praised as the promised Messiah.   We are also excited to anticipate a total of nearly thirty baptisms at Sunday’s worship services, some at our 9am service and some at our 10:30am service.  We’d love to have you join us for this packed morning of celebration!  

More details of our Sunday mornings are provided in paragraphs below.    

Sunday Mornings at Mount Beneva

  • Parking – Please let us know of any parking issues you may have.  
  • Lobby
    • Greeters are available to welcome and assist you.  Visit the Connection Center with questions,or for sign-ups, books, t-shirts and more!  Please stop by our table in the lobby by the sitting area for more! 
    • 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 are 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!
  • Open prayer time with our leadership is available to you, Room 105, 8:15 – 8:30am.
  • 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.  Our Adult CE classes currently offered are:
    • Sermon on the Mount led by Mike Hamel (Gym classroom 201B)
    • Biblical Love led by Jeff Lawson (Gym classroom 201C)
  • Connect Cards can be found under the seats in the auditorium/sanctuary and at the Connection Center. Use these to provide contact information, request contact from us, or ask for prayer.

Looking further ahead…!  

April 3rd, 2026 (Good Friday) -- We will be having a Good Friday service on April 3rd, starting at 6:30pm at MB.  

April 5th, 2026 (Resurrection Sunday – Easter!) -- On Easter Sunday at MB, we will offer an outside sunrise service at 6:30am in addition to our 9am and 10:30am worship services.  While our Hospitality team will be providing pastries/coffee on Easter Sunday as we normally do, we are not planning for a separate food event.

We continue to observe the season of Lent (a 40-day season of introspection, repentance, and spiritual discipline leading up to Easter). Pastor Keith is providing (through our website email) reflections during this season to help us ready our hearts for Easter

More upcoming events, so mark your calendars!

April 14th-15th (noon to noon) – Giving Challenge

April 23-26 – Support to our Kairos Prison Ministry

May 3 – First Sunday Luncheon

July 18th – Day4Hope (D4H)

July 20th-24th – Vacation Bible School

Stewardship Thoughts 

Stewardship starts with a change of mindset from “What do I want to do with my life?” to “What has God entrusted to me and how does He want me to use it?” Surrender transfers that control from ourselves to Him.  Without surrender, stewardship can seem like “a good deed” or “my responsibility”.  With surrender, it becomes obedience and worship.  

Ministry Spotlight

A surrendered life is expressed as: serving others (ministry); reaching others (missions); and, glorifying God in both. With surrender, ministry and missions become acts of love and worship, not “routine” or “a project”.  To surrender to Jesus Christ means:  letting Him lead your life; trusting His purposes above your own; and, being willing to go, serve, or give wherever He directs.  Are we willing to surrender our all to Him?

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 10:15-11:30am
  • Sunday evenings 4-6pm
  • Wednesday evenings 7-8pm

Other Group Prayer Opportunities

In addition to our Weekly Prayer Meetings on Sunday mornings and Monthly Prayer Meetings, 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 do I request prayer for myself or others?  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 prayer 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 OR sign up at the lobby’s sign-up table (by the seating area) and we’ll make that happen.  Prayer is powerful and we are privileged to pray for one another.

Ride Share Ministry

We have identified a few Sunday morning transportation needs within our GraceLife family and  now seek those who 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.  A sign-up sheet is available in our lobby at MB for your information.

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.