GraceLife Sarasota News!

Greetings GraceLife!

Pastor Joe’s message this past Sunday, #22 in the series “A Sinner in Love with God”, this one called “Rescued by Wisdom”, based on 1 Samuel 25:14-31, was the second in a mini-series on foolishness.  He described how Abigail, wife of foolish Nabal, boldly interceded to save her people and, as it turns out, save David from his anger-fueled intent to spill blood to avenge Nabal’s insults and rejection.  Are we being called to have the “difficult conversations” with the people in our lives to prevent their destruction rather than ignoring the situation and rationalizing it?  Then, how do we react when WE are the subject of admonishment?  This is an area ripe for prayer and introspection.  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 21st – Adult Bible Study at MB, 7pm, Room 105

Apr 22nd

• Kairos Prison Ministry Cookies and other support products due at MB office
• Sisters in Prayer at MB, 7pm, Fellowship Corner; no meeting of BLAZE Youth, but  new Student Ministry schedule coming soon!  

Apr 23rd 

• Women’s Thursday morning Bible Study at MB, 10:15 - noon, Room 105
• Deep End Dinner/Bible Study at ML, 7pm  

Apr 25th – Saturday Men’s Bible Study at MB, Gym Classroom, 201C, 8-9am

Apr 26th 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) merged class in the Gym classrooms; BLAZE Youth classes in the Gym Loft
• 10:45 – 11:30am -- GL Kids -- infant-5th grade classes
• 4-5pm – Monthly Prayer Meeting, Auditorium/Sanctuary; BLAZE Youth, Gym Loft

Apr 26th – Bowling, 2pm, Bowlero, on S. Tamiami; need another bowler or two; please contact Cindy Lanoue-Foster if interested.  

Now through May 10th (Mother’s Day) – Diaper Drive for Food Pantry; donation table in Lobby at MB 

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 21st – 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, Jeff Lawson, will cover Judges 11:12-12:7 and pages 116-122 in Keller’s book.  Questions…What blind spots do you have in light of page 120 in Keller’s book? Also, as Keller poses, in what ways would you live differently - more radically or restfully - if you really believed God was completely committed to you?

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.  Beginning this Sunday, April 26th, our Adult CE classes will be merged into one (Better Together!) and will be a continuation of the current “Biblical Love” study.  The merged class will meet in Gym classroom 201B/C.  Jeff Lawson will initially lead, then he and Mike Hamel will share in teaching the class.
• 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…!   

Now -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 donation table is 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 Wednesday, Apr 22nd.  Remember, no raisins or nut products, please.)  If you have other Kairos support products (colored placements, cards/letters of encouragement, etc.), please leave them at the MB office by Wednesday as well.   

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 at MB, 7-8:30pm, in Auditorium/Sanctuary – 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 “hopeless” girls 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, MB, right after the 10:30am worship service – 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 

Stewardship isn’t just about taking care of resources—it’s about taking responsibility for what’s entrusted to you, including relationships. We are reminded that stewardship isn’t passive. If you’re truly caring for someone, you don’t just preserve comfort; you take responsibility for addressing what’s wrong, even when it requires a hard conversation.  Avoiding the conversation might feel easier, but it often shifts the burden elsewhere — allowing problems to grow or leaving others to deal with the consequences. On the flip side, thoughtful, respectful confrontation can strengthen relationships and foster growth.

Ministry Spotlight

A ministry is a form of service—teaching, preaching, counseling, or helping others grow spiritually.  Ministry work often involves inviting people to turn away from former beliefs or behaviors. This “admonishment” offers correction, warning, or guidance when someone is going off track and is one of the functions within our ministries.   Colossians 3:16 speaks about “teaching and admonishing one another,” and we see this as a responsibility within each ministry, ideally done with wisdom, humility, and the goal of helping others grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ Jesus.   

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 4-5pm

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.

Giving Challenge Thank You

Many thanks for your generosity, GraceLife!  We exceeded our goal for the recent Giving Challenge to support our Day4Hope coming up in July (18th)!     

Reminder

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