The March retiree breakfast is Saturday, March 3, 8:30 AM at Scott’s Family Restaurant. RSVP to Mal Gould at 265-7706. The retiree breakfast meets on the first Saturday of every month at various restaurants around town. The gathering regularly draws 20-22 people and is a great place for fellowship and conversation for our retirees!
March Bunco Night
The CHICCS women’s ministry is hosting a Bunco night Thursday, March 22, 6:30 PM in rooms 134/135. Bring a cleaning product for a donation to our Open Hands Food Pantry.
Bunco nights are a great time of getting to know other women in the church. The game is easy to learn if you’re new! Gatherings are usually 16-20 people. We provide light refreshments as well.
JR says, “Thank You”
I want to express my gratitude to the family of Cedar Hills for the love and support shown me in this time of transition. The words and messages written in the cards you shared touched my heart. Thank you for ministering to me, and for allowing me to serve you. May we continue to follow our Lord’s lead in life’s journey until His glorious return!
Pastor J.R.
Journey – March 2018
In light of the most recent school shooting in Florida I am reminded about why Missional Communities are so important. Everyday we come in contact with people everywhere we go. As Christians we are called by the Great Commission to shine the light of the Gospel of Christ as we go throughout our life. As we go to work and school, how are we shining the light of
Jesus to those around us? How are we connecting with the outcast, the bullied, those all alone and those who seem angry? We so often shy away from people who are different than us or who push us away, but they are the ones that usually need us
the most. Jesus never said being a disciple who makes disciples will be easy. In fact, he said that it would cost us everything. It will cost us comfort, cost us time, cost us money, but it will gain us so much more.
My prayer for our youth and for our congregation is that we would start being disciples who make disciples even in the darkest places. Jesus spent time in dark places with people no one else would touch, BE LIKE JESUS!
Jeremy Van Genderen
Director of Youth & Young Adults
The Cross and the Valentine
This year Valentine’s Day collided with Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. It’s tempting to pit these holidays against each other as if they are opposites. What does a day for celebrating love have to do with a time that emphasizes the suffering of Christ?
A whole lot actually. Because our faith shows us that self-denial and suffering are the basis of all true love.
On the cross, Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” That prayer includes the soldiers and priests who condemned and crucified Jesus. It includes all of us for whom Jesus died. Because Jesus made the greatest sacrifice, he is able to give us sinners the greatest gift.
Jesus said that the greatest love is to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. He is telling us that nobody can really love another without it costing something. True love is not just sentimental, it’s sacrificial.
God’s Word says, “Love one another as Christ loved you.” This is how the cross and the valentine fit perfectly together. Loving someone involves a painful death to self, a giving up of my pride, rights, desires, and grudges.
Any good friendship, marriage, family, or church is really a union of forgiven forgivers. When we are sinners saved by Christ’s costly gift we will learn how to love each other in the same sacrificial way.
Alan Crandall
Pastor of Care
Marked.
Marked.
Marked.
When we first came up with the title for this Lenten series I was especially moved by the word, “Marked”. Enough that I’ve been lingering on it for over a month and reflecting on what this could mean. We are each marked with life. The good, the bad,
the ugly. But I think those places where suffering has marked us are the places where God can do the coolest work. Suffering sucks. Don’t get me wrong! But it can produce a harvest of good when God gets involved and we let Him do what He does best.
Have you ever had the moment where you meet someone and they share a part of their story that matches a part of your story—and suddenly the two of you are friends for life because of the suffering you have shared together? That doesn’t happen to me
when I share good stuff. I am bonded with others through the bad stuff. It’s like a deep brotherhood/sisterhood suddenly takes place in a communal suffering narrative.
I think we have the same communal suffering with Jesus. He took on the largest, biggest, baddest, worst imaginable suffering ever. He understands our story. He understands our struggles. We share together in suffering and a brotherhood happens. He
gets it. We are bonded in friendship for life. It is good to be marked.
It is GOOD to be marked.
We enter into the suffering of Christ this season because it is good to be marked. Come, let us draw closer to the heart of God.
Leah Carolan
Director of Worship and Media
Noah’s Ark – February 2018 Update
February was full of fun activities! Everyone learned about the mail and what happens to your letter after you put it in the mailbox. We all enjoyed giving and receiving valentines! Our testing is all done for our 4- and 5-year-olds and evaluations have been sent out. The 3-year-old classes had fun learning about snowmen, dinosaurs, and creation. Second report cards for our younger classes will be sent out before spring break.
Our 2018-2019 registration is ongoing. If you know someone who would like information, have them call us at 396-3125 or email at office@noahsarkcr.org. All classes meet from 9-11:30.
Our spring break will be March 12-16, same as Cedar Rapids schools.
Please mark you calendars for March 19th to donate blood! Mississippi Valley Blood Center will come here and set up in the Gathering Space. Your time from check-in to check-out is less than an hour. Please sign up to donate; our area is in desperate need. Call Leslie at the Preschool to sign up at 396-3125!
I can’t believe there are only 3 more months left of school! I’m ready for spring and we can’t wait to see all those flowers come up in front of our windows again! I want to remind everyone that we will be offering a 6-week (two 3-week sessions) summer school program in June and July. This program is for current Noah’s Ark students only. I will give more details next month.
Have a great March!
In Christ,
Leslie Clauson,
Director of Noah’s Ark Preschool
Dwelling With Jesus in Lent
Lent is a 40-day walk through daily and sometimes hourly reminders of the gospel. We remind ourselves of the sacrifice and suffering of Jesus by giving up, or fasting from simple pleasures. We also take-on additional spiritual practices to grow in love. Lent, together with the celebration of Easter, focuses our lives on the wonderful love of God in the gospel.
During this season we remember the sacrifice of Jesus, we examine our hearts, and we look outwardly at what it means to live in light of the gospel. This is an opportunity to re-center our lives on the gospel of Jesus through disciplines of lament, confession, and repentance.
The practices of Lent reinforce our unity as a congregation because focusing on Jesus and the Gospel creates community. As we learn and re-learn repentance, explore Jesus’ humility, embrace suffering, engage in communal lament, look to the sacrifice of Jesus for our redemption, and experience the death and resurrection of Jesus through this season, we grow closer to God
and each other.
Our time walking the road marked with suffering leads us to ask questions like: “What would it mean for us to foster humility like Jesus’?” and “What would it look like for us to lament the sin, destruction, and suffering in our city?” and “How can we actively sacrifice in response to God’s grace?”
Daily, we continue this journey toward the cross and resurrection, as we dwell with Jesus in the Gospels. Weekly, we journey together as we gather in worship. Hourly, we ask: What are we learning about Jesus and how is this changing us?
I love the season of Lent!
Dwelling in Jesus,
Pastor Kent
Easter Egg Hunt – Now April 15
Due to the storm Mar. 24, the Egg Hunt is now Sunday, April 15 at 1pm.
Join Cedar Hills for a “Spring” Egg Hunt Sunday, April 15 at 1pm. Children ages preschool to 5th grade are invited! We section off different sections for each age group so that all have a fair chance. BYOB – bring your own basket! We will start promptly at 1pm inside the Worship Center and then will move outdoors for the hunt.
If you’d like to join us for worship beforehand, services are at 8:30am (traditional) and 11am (worship band) and are usually about 60-65 minutes. It is also Noah’s Ark Preschool Sunday on April 15 and the preschool students will be joining us at the 11am service along with their friends and family. They will make a short presentation and sing us a few songs. Always a great Sunday!
Daily Readings Mar. 4-10
Post your insights using #dwellingwithJesus and @cedarhillscr. Have you seen the audio tab on these links? It’s a nice touch with a little music and a little drama.
Sunday, Mar. 4 – Luke 20
Monday, Mar. 5 – Luke 21
Tuesday, Mar. 6 – Luke 22
Wednesday, Mar. 7 – Luke 23
Thursday, Mar. 8 – Luke 24
Friday, Mar. 9 – John 1
Saturday, Mar. 10 – John 2
Next week
Sunday, Mar. 11 – John 3
Monday, Mar. 12 – John 4
Tuesday, Mar. 13 – John 5
Wednesday, Mar. 14 – John 6
Thursday, Mar. 15 – John 7
Friday, Mar. 16 – John 8
Saturday, Mar. 17 – John 9