Welcome to Mardi Gras Sunday, a day of celebration and reflection as we gather in our fellowship hall to share food, prayer, and thoughts on God's guidance. As we prepare for Lent, a time of introspection, we celebrate the joy and energy God brings into our lives. Today, we draw inspiration from the vibrant Mardi Gras floats of New Orleans and the teamwork behind them. These floats, crafted with dedication and vision, remind us of the importance of working together towards a common goal. Similarly, the Philadelphia Eagles' success in the Super Bowl highlights the power of a clear vision and trust in preparation.

Our church, like a ship at sea, must navigate the challenges of aging membership, inflation, and cultural shifts. We must move beyond merely bobbing in the waves and instead set a course guided by God's vision. Drawing from the prophet Habakkuk, we are reminded to write God's vision clearly and trust in its timing. Our church council has been working diligently to develop a vision and purpose: to bring people together, grow in faith, and put faith into action. This involves building relationships, fostering spiritual growth, and serving as the hands and feet of Jesus in the world.

We are called to evaluate our ministries and ensure they align with God's direction. This may require difficult decisions, but it is essential for moving forward. The early church in Acts, the Exodus, and the Great Commission all serve as examples of vision and hard work leading to growth and transformation. Our church is committed to doubling the number of people building relationships with God and community, launching new worship services, and expanding outreach efforts.

Each of us has a unique role to play in this journey. By coming together, we can form a strong team that propels our church forward. As we celebrate Mardi Gras and prepare for Lent, let us reflect on how we can contribute to God's vision for our church and community. Join us for Ash Wednesday services and our Lenten study of the Gospel of John as we seek to understand Jesus' life and its meaning for us today. We look forward to a joyous Easter celebration and the continued journey of faith and service.

**Key Takeaways**

1. **Vision and Teamwork**: Just as Mardi Gras floats require a clear vision and teamwork, our church must work together towards a common goal. A shared vision unites us and guides our efforts, ensuring that we move forward with purpose and direction. [04:45]

2. **Navigating Challenges**: Like a ship at sea, our church faces challenges such as aging membership and cultural shifts. By seeking God's guidance and setting a clear course, we can navigate these challenges and continue to grow and serve our community. [13:11]

3. **Trusting God's Timing**: The prophet Habakkuk reminds us to trust in God's vision and timing. Even when it seems delayed, we must have faith that God's plan will unfold at the right time, guiding us towards our purpose. [18:43]

4. **Evaluating and Adapting**: To move forward, we must evaluate our ministries and be willing to make changes. This may involve difficult decisions, but it is necessary to align our efforts with God's vision and ensure we are effectively serving our community. [13:11]

5. **Unique Roles in God's Plan**: Each of us has a unique role to play in fulfilling God's vision for our church. By embracing our individual gifts and working together, we can form a strong team that advances God's kingdom on earth. [18:43]

**Youtube Chapters**

- [00:00] - Welcome
- [00:30] - Opening Prayer
- [01:15] - Mardi Gras and Teamwork
- [02:45] - Super Bowl and Vision
- [04:45] - Discussion on Teamwork
- [06:00] - Church as a Team
- [07:30] - Ship Metaphor for Church
- [09:00] - Challenges Facing the Church
- [10:30] - God's Vision and Timing
- [12:00] - Developing Church Vision
- [13:11] - Evaluating Ministries
- [14:30] - Biblical Examples of Vision
- [16:00] - Church Goals and Strategies
- [17:30] - Unique Roles in the Church
- [18:43] - Closing and Upcoming Events

**Bible Study Discussion Guide**

**Bible Reading:**
- Habakkuk 2:1-3
- Acts 2:41-47
- Matthew 28:18-20

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**Observation Questions:**

1. What does Habakkuk 2:1-3 suggest about the nature of God's vision and timing? How does this relate to the sermon’s emphasis on trusting God's timing? [13:11]

2. In Acts 2:41-47, what were some of the key activities and characteristics of the early church that contributed to its growth? How does this compare to the vision for our church discussed in the sermon? [13:11]

3. How does the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20 align with the church's mission to bring people together, grow in faith, and put faith into action? [16:00]

4. What examples from the sermon illustrate the importance of having a clear vision and teamwork, similar to the Mardi Gras floats and the Philadelphia Eagles? [04:45]

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**Interpretation Questions:**

1. How might the concept of "trusting God's timing" from Habakkuk 2:1-3 be challenging for individuals and the church as a whole? What are some practical ways to cultivate patience and trust in God's plan? [18:43]

2. In what ways does the early church in Acts 2 serve as a model for modern churches facing challenges like aging membership and cultural shifts? How can these examples inspire our church's vision and actions? [13:11]

3. How does the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20 challenge individuals and the church to evaluate and adapt their ministries to align with God's vision? What might this look like in practice? [16:00]

4. Reflecting on the sermon, how can the metaphor of the church as a ship at sea help us understand the importance of having a clear direction and purpose? What are the potential consequences of not having a clear vision? [09:00]

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**Application Questions:**

1. Considering the sermon’s metaphor of the church as a ship, what specific steps can you take to help ensure our church is moving forward with purpose rather than just "bobbing in the waves"? [09:00]

2. Reflect on a time when you had to trust in God's timing. How did that experience shape your faith, and how can it inform your approach to challenges within the church? [18:43]

3. Identify one area of ministry in our church that you feel passionate about. How can you contribute to aligning it more closely with God's vision for our community? [13:11]

4. The sermon emphasized the importance of teamwork and a clear vision. How can you foster better collaboration and communication within your small group or ministry team? [04:45]

5. What unique gifts or talents do you have that can contribute to fulfilling God's vision for our church? How can you begin to use these gifts more effectively in service to others? [18:43]

6. As we prepare for Lent, what specific practices or reflections can you incorporate into your daily routine to deepen your understanding of Jesus' life and its meaning for you today? [18:43]

7. How can you engage with the upcoming Lenten study of the Gospel of John to enhance your spiritual growth and understanding of Jesus' teachings? What are you hoping to learn or experience during this time? [18:43]

Day 1: Vision and Teamwork: Building a Unified Purpose
In the vibrant celebration of Mardi Gras, the intricate floats symbolize the power of vision and teamwork. Each float, crafted with dedication and creativity, is a testament to the collective effort of individuals working towards a shared goal. This mirrors the journey of a church community, where a unified vision guides the congregation's efforts and ensures purposeful progress. Just as the Philadelphia Eagles' success in the Super Bowl was rooted in a clear vision and trust in preparation, a church thrives when its members come together, each contributing their unique gifts towards a common purpose. [04:45]

"For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another." (Romans 12:4-5, ESV)

Reflection: Consider a project or goal within your church community. How can you contribute your unique skills to support this shared vision today?


Day 2: Navigating Challenges: Steering Through Uncertain Waters
The metaphor of a church as a ship at sea highlights the challenges faced by congregations today, such as aging membership and cultural shifts. These challenges require more than just staying afloat; they demand a clear course set by God's guidance. By seeking divine direction, a church can navigate these turbulent waters, ensuring growth and continued service to the community. The journey is not without its difficulties, but with a steadfast vision, the church can overcome obstacles and thrive. [13:11]

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." (Proverbs 3:5-6, ESV)

Reflection: Identify a challenge your church is currently facing. How can you actively seek God's guidance to help navigate this issue?


Day 3: Trusting God's Timing: Patience in the Process
The prophet Habakkuk's reminder to trust in God's vision and timing is a call to patience and faith. Even when God's plan seems delayed, believers are encouraged to trust that it will unfold at the right time. This trust is crucial for a church community striving to fulfill its purpose. By aligning with God's timing, the church can move forward with confidence, knowing that each step is part of a divine plan. [18:43]

"For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay." (Habakkuk 2:3, ESV)

Reflection: Reflect on a personal or church-related goal that seems delayed. How can you practice patience and trust in God's perfect timing today?


Day 4: Evaluating and Adapting: Aligning with God's Vision
To effectively serve the community, a church must evaluate its ministries and be willing to make necessary changes. This process may involve difficult decisions, but it is essential for aligning efforts with God's vision. By adapting to new circumstances and needs, the church can ensure that its ministries remain relevant and impactful. This commitment to evaluation and adaptation is a testament to the church's dedication to fulfilling its divine purpose. [13:11]

"Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!" (2 Corinthians 13:5, ESV)

Reflection: Think about a ministry or program in your church. What changes could be made to better align it with God's vision and effectively serve the community?


Day 5: Unique Roles in God's Plan: Embracing Individual Gifts
Each member of a church community has a unique role to play in fulfilling God's vision. By embracing individual gifts and working together, the congregation can form a strong team that advances God's kingdom on earth. This collective effort is essential for the church's growth and transformation, as each person's contribution is vital to the overall mission. As the church prepares for Lent and Easter, members are encouraged to reflect on their roles and how they can contribute to the community's journey of faith and service. [18:43]

"Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone." (1 Corinthians 12:4-6, ESV)

Reflection: Identify a gift or talent you possess. How can you use this gift to serve your church community and contribute to God's vision today?

"Amazing God, thank you for bringing us together to have a huge celebration. Thanks for all the joy that you bring to our lives, all the energy, all the excitement, and let us come together for one big huge celebration before we enter our traditional season of Lent, a time of quiet reflection where we consider everything you've done for us and the ways that we can give our life to you as we prepare ourselves to celebrate your death and more importantly your resurrection again at Easter. So be with us today as we celebrate and walk with us through the coming journey of Lent. In your name we pray. Amen." [00:25:00] (39 seconds) Edit Clip


"I bring this up because in order to have a beautiful float during a beautiful parade, it takes a whole group of people working. Crews take their MR together. It takes a team. Someone has to have a vision. Someone communicates the vision to the group and then the whole group comes together to make these beautiful floats that are celebrated every year during Mardi Gras." [02:09:00] (21 seconds) Edit Clip


"So there's a lot of long hard work with money and time invested and nothing is going to come together and the team falls apart if there isn't a clear vision that the team is working together in order to achieve." [02:30:00] (14 seconds) Edit Clip


"But there is another thing that Coach Sirianni had a phrase that was on the top of every game plan, it was the top of everything that he wrote down and he planned for. It was the top of his mind as he prepared through an entire year for taking his team to the Super Bowl, and what he wrote down was trust your preparation. Now the vision could have been anything, that little phrase could have been anything, but what mattered here was he had a clear vision and he had a clear mantra that he was using to guide his own decisions and to guide his team and it got them all the way to a Super Bowl championship. Trust your preparation." [03:41:00] (44 seconds) Edit Clip


"Now, as we're thinking about teams working together, we don't often think about our church as a team, but we really are. I was recently reading about a consultant that works with United Methodist churches across the United States, helping them overhaul their leadership systems and the mission and purpose and vision of their churches, so they can come together just as the Eagles did, and just as those crews in New Orleans do, around a really clear vision." [05:24:00] (30 seconds) Edit Clip


"So as a congregation, our leaders, our church council have been getting together and working over the last 18 months. And we have developed a vision, a purpose of our local church, which is to bring people together to grow in faith and action." [11:49:00] (15 seconds) Edit Clip


"These are tough questions because it makes us have to step back and say, is the ministry I am involved in, is it bringing people together? Are people growing in faith through our ministry? And are they putting their faith into action? And sometimes these are hard questions to answer. And sometimes we get disappointed." [13:11:00] (20 seconds) Edit Clip


"But in order to have a motor that's really pushing us forward in the direction God wants us to do, sometimes we have to evaluate everything we're doing and say, you know what, these things aren't working very well anymore. We're going to stop doing these for the time being. And we're going to try some other things so that we can bring more people together, so we can grow better relationships, so we can grow in our faith. Now, the Bible has a number of examples of times of vision and hard work to make the vision happen." [13:39:00] (30 seconds) Edit Clip

Hello and welcome to Mardi Gras Sunday.

Today is a brunch church, and so we are meeting in our fellowship hall to gather around tables just as Jesus gathered with his followers. We are going to share some great food together, some prayer time, and some reflections on the ways that God is leading us forward in this day and time and in this location.

So thanks for joining us today. Let us pray.

Amazing God, thank you for bringing us together to have a huge celebration. Thanks for all the joy that you bring to our lives, all the energy, all the excitement, and let us come together for one big huge celebration before we enter our traditional season of Lent, a time of quiet reflection where we consider everything you've done for us and the ways that we can give our life to you as we prepare ourselves to celebrate your death and, more importantly, your resurrection again at Easter.

So be with us today as we celebrate and walk with us through the coming journey of Lent. In your name we pray. Amen.

So today, our reflection as a group here, we're going to be thinking first about Mardi Gras floats.

New Orleans is known for their Mardi Gras celebrations. There are many places in the world that are known for great carnival and Mardi Gras celebrations, but here in the United States, New Orleans probably gets the cake for the best Mardi Gras celebrations.

And one of the things that I really think about is the floats that are used in the parades during the Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans. I was reading about some of the history of this, and the Mardi Gras New Orleans website talks about how some floats are elaborate and beautiful while others are funny and satirical. Many crews, the people who come together to make the floats, have a theme to their parade each year.

And so floats are created to reflect those themes. Thousands of dollars are poured into making these floats, and they're not made overnight. Crews work on these creations year-round, often at secret dens around the city. Crews take their floats seriously.

I bring this up because in order to have a beautiful float during a beautiful parade, it takes a whole group of people working. Crews take their work seriously. It takes a team. Someone has to have a vision. Someone communicates the vision to the group, and then the whole group comes together to make these beautiful floats that are celebrated every year during Mardi Gras.

So there's a lot of long hard work with money and time invested, and nothing is going to come together if the team falls apart and there isn't a clear vision that the team is working together to achieve.

Now, this year the Super Bowl was also held in New Orleans, and I have to say I don't usually watch the pre-game show for the Super Bowl, but I did this year, and it was absolutely a fantastic celebration of New Orleans. It was beautiful. All the people that came together to show off their city during the Super Bowl.

But one of the big questions I had as I watched the game—and I am not a major football aficionado—but it was clear that the Eagles had something special going for them this year, and the Chiefs kind of choked and fell apart in the course of the game.

Afterwards, I read some of the stuff about what was going on and how the teams prepared, and I was really struck by Philadelphia's approach to preparing. They had this effective front-four defense; they had a really clear vision on how their defense was going to work, and they executed it perfectly as a team.

But there is another thing that Coach Sirianni had—a phrase that was on the top of every game plan. It was the top of everything that he wrote down and he planned for. It was the top of his mind as he prepared through an entire year for taking his team to the Super Bowl, and what he wrote down was "trust your preparation."

Now, the vision could have been anything; that little phrase could have been anything, but what mattered here was he had a clear vision and he had a clear mantra that he was using to guide his own decisions and to guide his team, and it got them all the way to a Super Bowl championship. Trust your preparation.

Now, he drilled down on his core values of connection, competition, accountability, football IQ, and fundamentals. And by focusing on those basics, he could just remind himself, "We're ready, we've done the work, trust your preparation."

So the Eagles had a clear vision that went way beyond the Super Bowl, but it got them to the Super Bowl and got them the win. The crews in New Orleans have a clear vision on the floats and the parades that they want, and they come together and they execute it.

So our first conversation time at our tables this morning is going to be discussing when you have seen a group of people work together to meet a goal, and how did they do that? I invite you to take a moment and pause this video and consider that yourself or with the people around you, and then come back after a few minutes.

Welcome back. Welcome back. Welcome back. Welcome back.

Now, as we're thinking about teams working together, we don't often think about our church as a team, but we really are. I was recently reading about a consultant that works with United Methodist churches across the United States, helping them overhaul their leadership systems and the mission and purpose and vision of their churches, so they can come together just as the Eagles did, and just as those crews in New Orleans do, around a really clear vision.

But she starts out by talking about a metaphor. She talks about a ship at sea, and the ship or the boat is just bobbing in the waves, going up and down, and everyone's enjoying what they're doing. They all have a task to do. Some of them are in the mess hall, making food for everyone. As we are here today celebrating food on Mardi Gras Sunday, we really appreciate the people in the mess hall.

There are other people who are swabbing the decks, keeping things clean, maybe touching up the paint. There are people polishing the brass. Everyone is spread out around the ship; they're all doing their own thing. They're bobbing in the ocean; everyone's pretty happy with themselves.

She thinks this is a good description of where most churches are most of the time. We're doing our own thing; we're on a ship; we're bobbing at sea; life is good. But then sometimes the sea starts getting too rough. The waves get a little higher, the wind kicks up, and you start having problems.

There's a little more swabbing of the decks going on; the people in the kitchen are having to juggle a little bit to make sure that the soup doesn't slop all around. But we're really in trouble on our little ship when a storm hits because then the bobbing gets really serious, and then you start wondering, "Are we gonna sink?"

People start running around trying to deal with crises that are happening. The people in the mess hall, they're not worried about the casseroles anymore; they're battening everything down and putting everything away. It becomes chaos.

But the real problem here is that ships weren't designed to be bobbing at sea; they're designed to have forward motion, to be cutting through the waves, to have the stability of motion to deal with the wind and the waves.

So what was really wrong with our bobbing ship is just like a ship. A ship is not meant to just stay in place, hanging out, doing the same thing day after day. On the ship, there was no crow's nest lookout person who was looking ahead to see what dangers are coming and what do we need to do to deal with that.

There's no GPS direction telling them where to go. There's no motor running to move the ship towards its destination and keep it stable in the waves, and there's no radar giving them information on how to be able to go around storms to miss them.

So if we were to go up into our crow's nest or look at our radar to look ahead and see what are the dangers that are maybe headed our way as a church, what would our lookout or our radar operator see that would give us an indication of things that we should be worried about?

One thing is that most churches, ours included, have aging members. I mean, all of us, every single day, get older, but the overall average age of churches is rising. We are not bringing in as many young people who will be serving our ministry in 5, 10, 20 years from now.

What about inflation? This is something that a lot of us are worrying about with our home budgets, but inflation also affects the church. Our salaries have to keep going up to keep up with inflation. Insurance has huge inflation pressures on it. There are all sorts of things—the cost of the building, the cost of ministries keep going up—so this is a storm to watch out for.

What about culture change? People don't use churches and interact with churches the way they used to, so we have to change what we're doing because the people around us are changing what they are doing.

More specifically for our church, one of the things that we've really become aware of is that no matter how energetic we are with our 9 a.m. worship service, our attendance has plateaued. For all the people that we're bringing in, we don't have more people coming every week, which to us is a warning sign that we need to do something differently.

So when we look at all of this, if we think about our church as a ship at sea bobbing around, we need to be listening for God's direction and put together a plan to make it happen. Just like the crews of New Orleans and the coaches of the Eagles, we need a plan big and simple for everyone to see and understand and implement to keep our ship of church moving forward through the waves and on a strong and steady course in the direction God wants us to go.

All of this reminds me of a reading from the prophet Habakkuk in chapter two. In this case, the Chaldeans are coming to battle the Israelites, and the writer says, "I will take my post and I will position myself on the fortress. I will keep watch to see what the Lord says to me and how he will respond to my complaint."

Then the Lord answered me and said, "Write a vision; make it plain upon a tablet so a runner can read it. There is still a vision for the appointed time; it testifies to the end; it does not deceive. If it delays, wait for it, for it surely is coming; it will not be late."

I love this verse because it reminds us that God is going to give us a vision, but we have to communicate God's vision. We need to write it so clearly and so big that someone running by can still see what it is that God is asking us to do.

And God says, if you're impatient, if you don't think the vision's coming fast enough, be confident it is coming. Just wait a little longer. It will be there; it will not be late.

So if we're on our ship, where's our GPS? And where is God's positioning service? Where is God telling us we need to be and what direction we should be headed in?

So as a congregation, our leaders, our church council, have been getting together and working over the last 18 months. And we have developed a vision, a purpose of our local church, which is to bring people together to grow in faith and action.

So there's three primary parts: bringing people together. What activities are we doing to get to know people, to build relationships, bring people together, and help them get to know God?

Growing in faith: how are each one of us taking steps to become more spiritually mature in our faith and in our relationship with God and the church? And then how do we put our faith into action? How are we the hands and feet of Jesus in the world today?

All of this together is kingdom work. We are helping build God's kingdom on earth as it is in heaven, right here, right now, today.

So the big question is, what is each one of us doing in each of these areas? And are we as a church doing a bunch of church stuff?

But are we organized in such a way that we're just bobbing in the waves, kind of doing the stuff that we feel comfortable doing that we've been doing for a while?

And are we making choices for each of our ministry areas and our church as a whole to turn on the motor and to get going in the direction that God wants us to go?

These are tough questions because it makes us have to step back and say, is the ministry I am involved in, is it bringing people together? Are people growing in faith through our ministry? And are they putting their faith into action?

And sometimes these are hard questions to answer. And sometimes we get disappointed because stuff we really care about just doesn't seem to be working anymore. People aren't getting involved. People aren't responding. And that's always hard to do.

But in order to have a motor that's really pushing us forward in the direction God wants us to do, sometimes we have to evaluate everything we're doing and say, you know what, these things aren't working very well anymore. We're going to stop doing these for the time being, and we're going to try some other things so that we can bring more people together, so we can grow better relationships, so we can grow in our faith.

Now, the Bible has a number of examples of times of vision and hard work to make the vision happen.

So in Acts 2, we really see how the early church came together after Jesus returned to heaven and how it grew sometimes 3,000 people a day. Wouldn't you love to have 3,000 people joining the church in a day? That sounds like a lot of work and sounds very complicated. And we would have to do a lot of work to be ready to receive all those people.

But there are other places in the Old Testament that also speak to this. Exodus was a huge time of God casting a vision with Moses and then sharing that vision with the people and bringing all of the people out of Egypt together.

After the exile, Nehemiah was given a vision, and he managed to get back to Jerusalem. He helped rebuild the walls, and Ezra helped rebuild the temple after the destructions of the Babylonians.

In Matthew chapter 28, Jesus gives us what's often called the Great Commission—the great job where Jesus has a vision for us to go therefore making disciples of all the nations, baptizing in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

So our council has been working on coming up with some more specific strategies of where we would like to be, where we feel God is calling us to be in a few years, and the priorities of what we want to get done this year, this quarter, these 18 months in order to get us to the point of where God wants us to be.

So we're turning on our motor, we're revving it up, and we're using these goals as God's positioning service to know what direction we should be going in.

So one of our big goals is to double the people building relationships with God and community through our church in the next couple of years. Our worship team is going to be starting a new worship service to connect more people with God. Our outreach team wants to meet lots of new people through Easter fest and trunk or treat.

Our study team is looking to hire some part-time staff to help our youth and families grow in their ministries. So thinking about our mission statement, our purpose statement, our four main strategies are to build relationships, to grow faith, to have an outside-in culture where we look at what are the needs of the community, who are the people who are lost and lonely that we want to build relationships with so they get to know God in their life?

And then what is our resource strength? How do we develop the resources that we need to be able to fulfill the priorities that God has given us?

So we've got some numbers here. We've got a great sheet that we will put online, and you can pick up at church that lists some of the specific priorities and strategies to make each of these things happen.

So we'll be launching a new Sunday night worship service this fall. We're going to offer some intergenerational camp retreats. We're going to be preparing for a new group of youth in confirmation. We're going to be expanding our community events.

We are going to have some service trips that allow people to get out and serve our neighbors and learn some skills that we can bring back to our community to help more people. And we want to grow our financial strength and our staffing strength to be able to meet the call that God has for us to do great things with our neighbors in the community.

As we think about all of this, just like the New Orleans crews and the Eagles football team, each one of us has a unique role to play. We can't all be quarterbacks. We can't all be linebackers. We don't want everyone to be quarterbacks and linebackers.

Each one of us has a special gift that we can contribute to the whole. And when we all come together, then we can have a strong team that helps our ship stay strong, but also moving forward instead of bobbing at sea so that we can reach the goal that God has set before us.

So a last couple of questions for you to discuss with the people around you: In what ways do you see our church bobbing in the water? And what excites you about moving forward towards God's vision for us?

Have a wonderful time celebrating Mardi Gras and these last couple of days before Lent starts. And feel free to come on Ash Wednesday. We will be having some special services where we reflect on the messes in our lives and ask for God to forgive us and show us the way forward.

We will be studying the Gospel of John as we go through Lent this year. So please join us on Sunday mornings as we study that together and see what meaning Jesus' life has for us in our world today.

And then Holy Week, we will have a number of special worship experiences for us to draw near to God, to feel God's presence and God's affirmation of how much God loves us for each of us.

And we will end this season with a fabulous Easter celebration on April 20th.

So have a great week. Go with God to love and serve your neighbors, and we'll see you next time.