GraceLife Sarasota News!

Greetings GraceLife!

Pastor Joe’s message this past Sunday, #21 in the series “A Sinner in Love with God”, this one called “Nabal is a Fool”, based on 1 Samuel 25:1-13, was the first of three in a mini-series on foolishness.  He explained that “foolishness” is a heart problem, not a head problem.  Nabal, was “successful” by all worldly measures, but foolish in his dismissal of anointed king David.  We can also “dismiss” our King Jesus by our unwillingness to completely surrender all aspects of our lives to Him.  Pastor Joe called us to examine our lives and relinquish those protected, rationalized, uncomfortable areas that we hold fast to as “our own”.  But, Jesus calls us to surrender ALL to Him.  It’s time to do just that!  As usual, you are encouraged to listen to this message again (and again! perhaps) through our website (select “Messages”).          

Here is our quick look at events coming up this week and a look ahead as well.  

 Apr 14th  – Adult Bible Study at MB, 7pm, Room 105

Apr 15th (noon) - Apr 16th (noon) – Giving Challenge (email exchange) to benefit Day4Hope

Apr 15th – Sisters in Prayer at MB, 7pm, Fellowship Corner; no meeting of BLAZE Youth this Wednesday, but stay tuned for new Student Ministry schedule coming soon!  

Apr 16th  

• Deep End Dinner/Bible Study at ML this week, 7pm  
• Note:  Women’s Thursday morning Bible Study at MB will NOT meet this week

Apr 18th – Saturday Men’s Bible Study at MB, Gym Classroom, 201C, 8-9am

Apr 19th at MB

• 8:15 – 8:30am – prayer time with our leadership in Room 105
• 9am worship service in Auditorium/Sanctuary
• 10:30am worship service in Auditorium/Sanctuary
• 10:15 – 11:30am -- Adult Christian Education (CE) classes in the Gym classrooms; BLAZE Youth classes in the Gym Loft
• 10:45 – 11:30am -- GL Kids -- infant-5th grade classes
• 4-6pm -- BLAZE Youth, Gym Loft

Exciting news!  Trevan Powell, our new Director of Student Ministries, and his wife, Natalia, will be joining us this Sunday, Apr 19th.  Please give them both a warm GraceLife greeting when you see them!    

Apr 19th through May 10th (Mother’s Day) – Diaper Drive for Food Pantry 

Apr 23rd through 26th – Local support to Kairos Prison Ministry (baked cookies due Apr 21st)

Apr 26th – Monthly Prayer Meeting at MB, 4-5pm, in our Auditorium/Sanctuary

Apr 28th – New Hope Girls Ministry Visit – 7pm - 8:30pm, at MB, Auditorium/Sanctuary

May 3rd – First Sunday Luncheon at MB, Gym!    

More event/activity details where available –

April 14th – Our Adult Bible Study at MB meets on Tuesday nights, 7pm, in Room 105!  Our study focus is the book of Judges, using Tim Keller’s “Judges for You” as a secondary source. Tonight, our study lead, Mike Hamel, will continue this look at Judges.  Come join us!   

More about 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.  (As you’ll see later in this post, we need more Greeters and Connection Center volunteers!!  If you would like to serve in this way, please speak with someone at our Connection Center.)  Also,  visit the Connection Center with questions, or for sign-ups, books, t-shirts and 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.  (An online version of the Connect Card is also available through our website.)

Looking a little further ahead…!   

April 19th-May 10th (Mother’s Day) –  Diaper Drive for Food Pantry  – In response to regular requests for diapers at our Food Pantry (at ML), we, in honor of Mother’s Day, are asking for donations of disposable diapers that we can supply to our Food Pantry for distribution over the four Sundays (Apr 19th, 26th, and May 3rd, 10th).  A bin will be placed in our MB Lobby for collection.

April 23rd-26th – Support to our Kairos Prison Ministry – We’ll be seeking support for this 4-day event to be held at the Zephyrhills Correctional Institute.  Your support may include: participating in a prayer chain; writing notes/cards of encouragement for those in attendance at the event; coloring placemats that will be given to the attendees; praying for all (attendees and volunteers) involved; and, of course, baking cookies for the attendees.  (We ask that you donate your baked cookies by Tuesday, Apr 21st.  Remember, no raisins or nut products, please.)  We have a sign-up sheet in the MB Lobby.  Supporting guidance and placemats for coloring are located in the office reception area.  Please note that this Sunday will be the last Sunday before the cookies and other forms of support are due in on the 21st.  

April 26th – Monthly Prayer Meeting at MB, 4-5pm in Auditorium/Sanctuary – Please take this opportunity to join us in group prayer as we offer both praise and petitions to our mighty God.  Your prayers may be either spoken or unspoken – God hears you regardless.  

April 28th – New Hope Girls – The leadership and team from New Hope Girls will be visiting us, from 7-8:30pm, Tuesday evening at MB, in our Auditorium/Sanctuary to share their ministry of hope to girls and their mothers in the Dominican Republic!!  Please feel free to visit their website at  newhopegirls.com.  Created and led by Joy Reyes, hers is a remarkable story of God’s calling and His work through Joy and her team as they rescue girls from exploitation and abuse.  You won’t want to miss this opportunity to hear what great things our God is accomplishing through our missionaries in the Dominican Republic!

May 3rd – First Sunday Luncheon – We’ll be having spaghetti and meatballs, with garlic bread and whatever side dishes you bring to share!  A sign-up sheet is available in our MB Lobby. 

May 13th – New Women’s Bible Study coming up, Wednesday evenings – watch for details!

July 18th – Day4Hope (D4H)

July 20th-24th – Vacation Bible School

Stewardship Thoughts 

At the core of our faith, we recognize that everything belongs to God, and we are only caretakers (stewards) of what He has provided to us.  In Genesis, we learn that humanity was given dominion, but not ownership.   The ultimate example for us to follow is Jesus Christ – He carried out perfect stewardship of His mission, yet lived in total surrender to the Father, “Not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42).  Remember, a “fool” is not unintelligent, but someone who lives as if God is not truly in control.  

Ministry Spotlight

Ministry without surrender uses God’s name while relying on human control.  It can look spiritual, but it is really saying, “This depends on me.”  That mindset quietly removes God from His rightful place, that is, in perfect control.  Surrender in ministry looks like:  obedience over outcomes; faithfulness over visible success; and, dependence over self-reliance.  

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

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.

Volunteers Needed – 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!  

Volunteers Needed – Children’s Ministry 

We are so blessed that our Children’s Ministry continues to welcome more and more children to GraceLife!  That means that more and more volunteers are also needed for 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 our Children’s Ministry, please stop by the Connection Center or contact Jackie. 

Volunteers Needed – Greeters and Connection Center 

We are seeking more volunteers to serve as Greeters and at the Connection Center for both the 9am and 10:30am Sunday morning worship services.  Whether it’s a first-time visitor to GraceLife or a member of our GraceLife family, we want each person who enters our Lord’s house on Sunday morning to be warmly welcomed, to be assisted as needed, and to be, frankly, surprised at the evidence of abundant love at GraceLife.  If you are interested in serving in this way, please stop by the Connection Center and let us know.

Reminder

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