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Dear Friends in Christ, What a great Sunday we had this past Sunday! The narthex was full between services, the traffic flow was congested getting in and out of the sanctuary, (the worship services ran a little longer than normal), and OVER 100 YOUNG PEOPLE COMMITTED THEIR LIVES TO FOLLOW CHRIST!!! I want to say thank you to our Children's Ministry staff, especially Maggie Jarrell who is the Director of Highway 56 and the coordinator of our confirmation program Rev. Travis Garner for all of their hard work to make this happen! I also want to say thank you to the 22 adults who volunteered as mentors for our confirmands throughout this process and gave of themselves with their prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness during this confirmation process. What a blessing! This week in worship, we will continue our series called "Like Jesus," where we take a deep look at what it means to Live Like Jesus through a study of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7. The Sermon on the Mount begins with an announcement of blessing and grace: the Kingdom of God is available to all people; God's grace and love are available even to the people who've done nothing to deserve it. What an incredible statement! As people who seek to live Like Jesus, what do we do with that grace once we've received it? How does it impact the rest of our lives? What follows Jesus' announcement of grace and blessing in the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount is one of the most practical sections of teaching in all of the New Testament. Jesus lays it out clearly and directly. Choosing to live like Jesus will lead us to live in a way that's noticeably different from those around us, but there's never been a better, more fulfilling way to live.
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