TIMESIssue 433 WWW.CELEBRATIONCHURCHBARRIE.CA Easter 2019

Special MusicOur thanks to Pastor Paul and our worship team for the wonderful music this weekend. On Easter Day Tatiana Lambroff will sing a solo with the band. Roxy Reimer will lead the children in singing, and signing, “Jesus loves Me”. After the youngsters have song this for us they will proceed to the Inniswood church and sing it for their congregation. Our thanks to all those who bring this creativity to our worship.

Worship CDOver the years we have been blessed with the prayer songs that Jerry Muzzerall sings for us, usually during Communion. You may not realize that these are all ORIGINAL compositions. We would like to gage the interest of the congregation in producing a recording of his songs. If he recorded some of these songs and put them on a CD would you be interested in having a copy? These prayer songs could be a part of your own devotional time or to listen to in the car. Speak to Jerry if this is of interest to you.

Join the CelebrationWe welcome all visitors and

newcomers who have come to join us as we praise and

worship, pray and give thanks, and learn about the word of

God in our service today.

Feel free to meet with us in a time of fellowship and coffee

after the service.

Affiliated with:

Good Friday to Easter Day -- Victory over the Grave The death of Jesus on the cross and his mighty resurrection three

days later is the central event in the Christian calendar and is the turning point of human history. If Jesus had not died on the cross we would not have the forgiveness of our sins and triumph over the devil. If Jesus had not been raised from the dead we would not have victory over death and the hope of glory. In Jesus we see that the power of sin has been broken and that death has been conquered. Jesus died on the cross, was buried in the tomb and three days later he rose from the dead. The grave could not hold him

The accounts of this event are quite clear that the risen Jesus was not a ghost (he ate fish). It was not a near death experience (he was dead in the tomb for three days), and it was not some sort of reincarnation. Jesus’ resurrection is something that has not happened before or since.

The good news of this weekend is that we can share in all that Jesus has done. He offers to all of us new life now and eternal life after death. He offers new life now through the forgiveness of our sins and the empowering of the Holy Spirit. As we follow him we too can journey through death into eternal life. This is why the resurrection of Jesus stands at the pivot point of history.

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50th Anniversary -- Pastor Peter and BarbThis past week Pastor Peter and Barb William celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Our congratulations to them!! Last Sunday there was a special cake for them, balloons and cards. Following their marriage and ordination they have served in northern Ontario, Peru and Whitehorse Yukon. They retired to Barrie to be close to their children.

Acoustic Panels have Arrived!In December we launched the campaign to raise $5500 for the purchase of 2 acoustic panels. In March this goal was reached and the order was placed. They have now arrived. We have noticed a difference already! We will experiment with their placement for the best effect; please speak to Pastor Paul, Michael Tweedle or Terry Heale with your feedback on the sound quality. Our thanks to Pastor Paul and Terry for their research and the the installation of these panels.** Our Greeters will guide you for Communion now that we no longer have outside aisles. Prayer ministry will continue to be offered during Communion in the usual location (somewhat out of sight).

Vestry Meeting Next Sunday at 8:45 a.m.Our AGM (called a Vestry Meeting) will be held next Sunday, April 28th, at 8:45 a.m. (note the change of time). We will review our ministry from the past year and our plans for the coming year. We will also present the budget for 2019.** This morning please pick up your copy of the Vestry Report (one per household). Read it thru the week and bring it with you to the Vestry meeting next Sunday. Our thanks to Kathryn Stewart who compiled and designed the report and to Pastor Buzz who printed it for us.

Roxy Reimer -- Holland Award Congratulations to Roxy who last week was presented with the Holland Award in recognition of her work with challenged students. Roxy has been leading a special program at Innisdale assisting older teens to complete their education and gain the necessary skills for the job market. The Holland Award was presented to Roxy by Superintendent Chris Samis and the Principal of Innisdale. The Holland Award takes its inspiration from the poem “Welcome to Holland” by Emily Perl Kingsley.

Celebrate Recovery -- Launching Friday May 3rd Coming in May is the official re-launch of Celebrate Recovery in Barrie. Celebrate Recovery is a Christian version of AA. It is designed to bring healing to our: Habits, Hurts and Hang-ups. If you have been wounded in the past or struggle with an addiction we invite you to the re-launch of Celebrate Recovery in Barrie. The first meeting will be on Friday May 3rd at 7pm here at 460 Yonge Street. For more information speak to Jim Beatty or Dennis McClelland and see the special insert included in today’s Times. This is a joint initiative by Celebration Church and Inniswood Baptist.

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Gospel of Mark Today we will conclude our sermon series on the Gospel of Mark. This series began in January and continued through the season of Lent. It has been a chance to dig deeply into the first of the Gospels to be written. For several weeks we progressed methodically through the first four chapters of the Gospel. To shift our focus to Holy Week we then jumped to chapter 9 (the Transfiguration and the distraught father). Today we jump to the last chapter telling us about the resurrection of Jesus. Later this year we will return to Mark’s Gospel and preach through the sections we have missed.** Today we will focus on Mark 16 and the resurrection of Jesus. We will see that Jesus’ rising from the dead was not something that any of his followers expected. You will see from the notes in your Bible that there appear to be two endings to Mark’s Gospel. There is Mark 16: 1-8 and then verses 9-20. Most scholars think that verses 9-20 were not original to Mark. Either Mark got as far as 16:8 and didn’t finish the Gospel (illness, accident, or death?) or his original ending broke off from him manuscript and was lost. Nevertheless, verses 9 - 20 are very much in accord with Mark and the other Gospel writers.

You may remember that in the start of this series we spent a whole sermon on the first verse of this Gospel. Diane showed us that the key themes of the Gospel are all contained in that first verse. Today we will see that this last chapter of this Gospel is a fitting book end to the opening verse.

The Beatitudes -- Sermon Series In two weeks we will begin a new series on Matthew 5: 1- 10. These are often called “The Beatitudes”. There are 8 short sayings each of which begin with the words, “Blessed”.

These are eight short pithy statements about the ways that we experience God’s blessings. However they seem to be counter-intuitive. They don’t seem to be speaking about blessings at all. They speak about being: “poor”, “meek”, “mourning”, “hungry” etc. What does Jesus mean by this?? Is this a riddle? Just as the Lord’s Prayer is a boiled down summary of the Christian faith, so too, these eight Beatitudes take us to the core of Jesus’ teaching.

Our teaching on the Beatitudes also coincides with the launch of Celebrate Recovery. The eight principals of Celebrate Recovery are the eight Beatitudes. We will see how they are also the gateway to inner healing and deliverance.

Thank You Celebration Church** I wanted to say “thank you” from the bottom of my heart to all those that have been praying for me to have a speedy recovery. I especially want to thank the ladies that made the prayer shawl and sent it along with Judy to give to me. It’s beautiful and will get lots of wear. The verses on the card and the personal message are very touching. All of this is very, very thoughtful of everyone. Judy says, I didn’t join a Church… I entered into the family. -- Kathryn Stewart** I was "Love Bombed"  last Sunday. I was overwhelmed! The flowers, balloons, cards, cake, hugs and words of love. I hope you understand that it would have been very difficult for me to stand up front without my "other half."   I love you all so much. You have struggled along with me this past year and stood "in the gap" in prayer. "His ways are not our ways."  Isaiah 55:8.  We continue on.......trusting Him who has loved us before we were conceived! -- Barb Williams.

Celebration Church

10:30 a.m. Sunday Worship at: 460 Yonge Street Barrie, Ontario

Website: www.celebrationchurchbarrie.ca

Email: office@celebrationchurchbarrie.ca

Phone: 705-999-2911

Mailing Address: P.M.B. 402

5-190 Minet's Point Rd. Barrie, ON L4N 8J8

Times Editor: Rob Smith editor@celebrationchurchbarrie.ca

Pastoral Team Pastor:

Brian McVitty

Honorary Clergy: Peter Williams

Dr. Adebusola Onayemi Kathleen Greidanus

Worship: Paul Simons

Missed a Service? You can conveniently listen to and

download all our past sermons online on our website:

www.celebrationchurchbarrie.ca/sermons/

Fasting with Prayer on Good Friday: On Good Friday many in the congregation will be fasting This is a meaningful way to join with Jesus during Holy Week and to be strengthened in our own prayers. One of the benefits of fasting was emphasized by Jesus in last Sunday’s reading from Mark 9:29, “And Jesus said to them, This kind cannot be driven out by anything but fasting with prayer”. It is appropriate that as we began Lent with a fast on Ash Wednesday, so too, we would end Lent with a fast on Good Friday.

Fasting allows us to identify with Jesus in a tangible way. On Ash Wednesday we identify with Jesus in the wilderness; on Good Friday we stand with Jesus in his suffereings. In addition to this you may also have a special intention for your fasting with prayer. This intention may be for: healing, guidance, wisdom, strength, more faith, etc. Be specific and intentional.

We fast from food, or other requirements of the body, so that we can learn to feast on the presence of God more fully. Fasting with prayer is one of the ways that we can go deeper in our spiritual lives. Our spiritual senses are heightened and we become more aware of God’s presence and we become less dependent on other appetites. This does not mean that you need to stay home, but in the midst of your regular schedule fast in a way that is appropriate to your health. Built in some extra time for prayer (perhaps meal times).

“Wake Up Sunday Morning” -- Our weekly radio show Every Sunday at 8:00 a.m. on Life 100.3

Two weeks ago there was a mix up at the radio station and our show was 15 minutes late in being broadcast. The next day the station apologized to us, and added, “The good news is, I received messages, emails, and phone calls within minutes of 8:00 am. People are listening and looking forward to the show.”

The podcast of our show is available on the internet at anytime. Since the fall the number of weekly podcast listeners has more than tripled! In March we had 120 podcast listens in Canada; 40 podcast listens in the United States; and 1 listener each in England, Hungry and Mexico. To listen to our shows anytime go to: https://wusm.podbean.com/

We are also getting more feedback:Recently Cheri sent us this email: “Wow, I so enjoyed your message today about the history of how we got the Bible today! It is SO taken for granted and dusty in SO many homes and churches. This was excellent information and I would love to be able to hear it again and share it with many.”