Sunday, April 3, 2022

Nearly 3000 years ago the prophets were used by God to speak his word to the nation of Israel. The Minor Prophets were not called ‘Minor’ because of their importance, but due to the fact that they were shorter in length. The themes that stand out from the Minor Prophets include: God’s covenant relationship with his people, calls for repentance, warnings of judgment including the Day of the Lord, promises of future deliverance, and looking forward to the coming of the Messiah. The message of the Minor Prophets is eternally relevant and we would be wise to listen carefully to what God is saying. Behind it all we will find that God is one who desires his people to leave behind the idols that bring them pain and to return to him with all of their heart.

We have study guides available to pick up in the foyer. They include some background information about each book and some questions to think about as you read at home.

Sunday Worship Services at 9:00am & 11:00am

Nursery care for children 0-2 is available all morning. Children’s Church is offered during the 11:00 service for kids age 3-5.

Something new this week…

Instead of the online Friendship Register, we have Connection Cards available on the backs of the chairs in the sanctuary. Guests can fill them out and take them to the Info Center for a free gift. Anyone can use them to submit prayer requests, request more information about ministries, update personal contact information, ask a question, or give feedback. They can be dropped into the offering boxes at the entrances to the sanctuary.

fill out a digital connection card here

Sunday School Classes for All Ages!

We have classes for everyone age 3 - adult and nursery care for infants and toddlers. Classes will be held between the two worship services: 10:15-11:00am. Please plan to stick around if you attend the first service or come early if you attend the second service!

Gentle and Lowly (adult class) will be meeting in the Fellowship Hall. We’ll watch some video teaching and have discussion around tables. The teaching will be relevant whether or not you’ve read the book. Please join us!
Responding to Progressive Christianity (begins April 10). There is a growing movement that is working to redefine what Christianity is all about. This movement is called Progressive Christianity. The impact of this movement is that people, who used to call themselves Christians, are now deconstructing and walking away from the church and the orthodox beliefs that are found in the Word of God. In this class you will learn the main points of Progressive Christianity and how to interact in a loving and gracious way with people who have been caught up in it. Parents, the world your children are living in will be absolutely filled with Progressive Christian ideas. You need to know what the Word says. This class begins Sunday, April 10 and will last for approximately 6 weeks. We strongly encourage everyone to attend this important class!

Upcoming Events at a Glance

Apr 10 | Concert of Prayer, 6pm

Apr 14 | Day of Fasting, break the fast with soup together at 5:30pm

Apr 15 | Good Friday Service | 6:30pm

Apr 17 | Easter, No Sunday School classes - breakfast served 10-11am

Apr 29-30 | Men’s Retreat

May 1 | Tim LaFleur Preaches

May 8 | Mother’s Day

May 15 | Community Evening of Worship & Prayer at Midwest Bible Camp, 6pm

May 18 | Youth Group Senior Honors Night

(keep reading for more details)

On Thursday, April 14, we are asking people in our church to fast. You can fast from breakfast, lunch or both. Then on that night (April 14 ) we will break our fast together with soup and salad at the church at 5:30pm.

Fasting occurs many times in God’s Word (Matthew 6:16-18, Acts 13:2, Acts 14:23). The purpose of fasting is not primarily to merely stop eating for a short period of time. Use the time that you are fasting to seek after God. Confess your sins. Ask God to be at work in your life and in your family. Ask God to deepen your love for him and for others. Fasting is a time to draw closer to God. Please keep in mind, if God is working to uproot idols in your life during this time it is because he wants you to be able to more fully, more joyfully, experience his life-giving presence.

Deeper in Relationships

From June 2021 to August 2022 we will go deeper in relationships with people outside and inside the church body to intentionally share the grace and love of Jesus Christ with them and to grow together as his disciples.

The Gospels are full of stories of Jesus intentionally engaging those inside and outside the family of God. We want to know and obey the words of Jesus and we also want to emulate his lifestyle. We will be a people who are willing to get out of our comfort zone and make building relationships a higher priority in our everyday lives. We know that in our post-Christian culture it is a poor strategy to sit back and wait for people to attend our worship services. We challenge every person at New Life to meet, talk to, get to know, and go deeper with at least 1 person within our church family and 1 person outside our church family each month!

In the coming months you can anticipate sermons about reaching out to others with the love of Christ, evangelism training taking place in Life Groups, continued times of prayer, and an overall focus on building relationships with people in the six counties all around us.

You can pick up Good Friday and Easter invitations at the Info Center.

We have free printed copies of this Easter Family Devotional book available where you pick up sermon notes each week. You can also download a digital version here.

list of upcoming prayer gatherings

2022 Men’s Retreat

Fri & Sat, April 29-30

Men, don't miss this upcoming retreat! Pastor Tim LaFleur is coming all the way from Tennessee to teach us about what it means to be a gospel-centered man. Excellent teaching. Great times of worship. Plenty of fellowship and dinner from Qdoba thrown in! Cost is $20.00. Bring your sons. Invite your neighbors and colleagues. We are excited to see how God is going to use this weekend in our lives. See you there!

Learn more and register

Next fall, a group of Watertown area pastors will be leading a trip to Israel and you can go along!

We have brochures with more information at the Info Center in the foyer or you can use the button below to look at a digital version. The brochure includes a registration form.

Brochure pdf

You do not need to have the COVID vaccine.

We are going to have an info meeting for our trip to Israel on Sunday, April 3, 6 PM, at Grace Point Church. All are welcome to attend!

Would you like to sing in the Easter Choir?

We are putting together a choir to kick off our Easter services this year! There will be two evening rehearsals (April 5 & 11) and then you’ll need to be at the church at 8:00am on Easter morning and stay through the beginning of the 11:00am service. Burdell Gauger will be directing the choir. Sign up below and we’ll send you the music and a link to a recording to help you learn the song. If you have any questions, call the church office (605.886.1977) or send an email to Sherry (sherryd@newlifeefree.org).

Name

First Name

Last Name

What part do you sing?

Soprano

Alto

Tenor

Bass

Questions? Anything you'd like us to know?