Pastor Bob Matthias
372-5045 Church Office
372-4408 Residence
572-2325 Cell
revbobmatthias@aol.com
Worship Opportunities
11:00 am each Sunday
Christian Education
9:30 am each Sunday
Adult Sunday School
Session Members
George White, Clerk of Session
372-2265 Business
372-6244 Residence
Walt Bennett – Bldg & Grounds
372-4745
Art Ebright – Bldg & Grounds
372-6272
Marion Leys– Bldg & Grounds
372-4755
Carolyn Sprinkle –Finance &Worship
372-8956/657-0110
Teresa Stolt – Community Outreach
372-6445
Jane Wyatt – Worship & Music
372-4059
Presbyterian Women
Carolyn Young – Moderator
372-4992
Adult Choir – 7pm Wednesdays
Jane Wyatt – Director
372-4059
Youth Choir & Bible Study-5 :30 pm Wednesdays
Debbie Brady – Director
372-4402
Henry Thorne - Pianist
Carolyn Young - Organist
Sparta Presbyterian Church
160 South Main Street P. O. Box 474
Sparta, NC 28675
336-372-5045 spartapresbyterian.org
The season of Lent is always described as a period of fasting and penitence in preparation for Easter. This year Easter falls on April 4th, rather early in the spring season. We are all aware that Easter is a moveable feast, occurring on the first Sunday after the first full moon in Spring. Spring begins on March 20th, so Easter could possibly come in the month of March, a rarity.
What is significant about all this is not the date of Easter, but what we as God’s people do in preparation for Easter. How do we make that connection with Christ who suffered and died for us? How do we walk that path of penitence so that our faith may grow and our love and service to one another may flourish?
Some of the old traditions of the church still have value, in that they help us to remember what God in Christ has done for us. If we only practice disciplines because it is Lent, we miss the point. The practice of any discipline, i.e. Bible reading, prayer, fasting and alms giving, must lead us to a closer relationship with our Lord, or they only become meaningless virtues.
This past week Laura and I traveled to Blacksburg where the Augustana College Choir was performing in concert. I was only a listener and a spectator of the faith shared by some 60 college students in concert. I was so deeply touched when the choir sang the old Swedish folk tune, TRYGGARE KAN INGEN VARA. The college was founded by Swedish pioneers. The first verse was sung in Swedish, and the music simply brought tears to my eyes. As the choir began in English, singing, “Children of the heav’nly father, Safely in his bosom gather; . . .” And I felt to the depths of my heart, the presence of the Risen Savior.
What struck me was the irony of life and death, all confronting us as a congregation at the very beginning of Lent, a congregation that had just laid to rest two of its members. Yet, we are all preparing for Easter and its message that “in
fact Christ has been raise from the dead.”
As we walk through this Lenten Season, let us do so with the final words of that wonderful Swedish hymn: “Though he giveth or he taketh, God his children ne’er forsaketh; His the loving purpose solely, To preserve them pure and holy.”
Pastor Bob Matthias
March Dates to Remember
Sunday March 7th Communion will be served during Worship Service
Wednesdays @ Noon 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24 Lent Services with lunch @ Sparta United Methodist Church. Pastor Bob will deliver the message on March 10th and the ladies from our church will host the lunch.
Friday March 5th @ Noon First Baptist Church will host the World Day of Prayer Service
Monday March 8th @ 7pm - Stated Session Meeting
Wednesday, March 10th @9:30 am PWCT meeting
Wednesday, March 10th @ 10:30am Fellowship Circle meets
Sunday March 14th Daylight Saving Time begins
Sunday March 28 Passion/Palm Sunday
Holy Week Begins
March Lectionary
Lord, guide us through these Holy words this Lenten Season. Help us see the meaning of these words and interpret them through our works in the community and the world. Amen
Sunday, March 7th
3rd Sunday in Lent
Isaiah 55:1-9, Psalm 63:1-8,
1 Corinthians 10:1-13, Luke 13:1-9
Sunday, March 14th
4th Sunday in Lent
Joshua 5:9-12, Psalm 32, 2 Corinthians 5:16-21, Luke 15:1-3, 11 1b-31
Sunday March 21st
5th Sunday in Lent
Isiah 43:16-21, Psalm 126, Philippians 3:4b-14
John 12:1-8
Sunday, March 28th
Palm Sunday
Psalm 118:1-2,19-29, Luke 19:28-40, Isiah 50:4-9a, Psalm 31-9-16, Philippians 2:5-11, Luke 23:1-49
Lent
Lent is a time to take the time to let the power of our faith story take hold of us,
a time to let the events get up and walk around in us,
a time to intensify our living unto Christ,a time to hover over the thoughts of our hearts,
a time to place our feet in the streets of Jerusalem or to walk along the sea and listen to his word,
a time to touch his robe and feel the healing surge through us,
a time to ponder and a time to wonder… Lent is a time to allow a fresh new taste of God!
Kneeling in Jerusalem by Ann Weems
April Dates to Remember
Monday, April 1st-Maunday Thursday Service @ 7pm. Communion will be served.
Friday. April 2nd-Good Friday the church sanctuary will be open from 12 noon - 2pm to provide an opportunity for personal reflection. A prayer service led by Pastor Bob will begin at 2pm.
Sunday, April 4th-Easter Sunrise services will be @ 8amfollowed by a light breakfast provided by the men of the church. Communion will be served during the 11am worship service. The congregation will have the opportunity to donate to the One Great Hour of Sharing Presbyterian Church Mission Project
Pastor Bob will be away April 11th and April 18th. Jim Rismiller will serve as supply minister on April 11th and Virginia Wood will be our supply minister on April 18th.
PRESBYTERIAN
When you rearrange the letters spells
BEST IN PRAYER
Birthdays:
3/10 Doug Bennett
3/25 Vila Gentry
3/12 Sandi Kyer
3/14 Lois Landreth
3/5 Bob Sprinkle
3/22 Virginia Stewart
3/6 Doris Styles
Wedding Anniversaries:
3/12 Roger and Sandi Kyer
Don’t forget food donations to Solid Rock Food Closet this month. Contact Jean Reeves @ 372-4934 for additional information as to specific needs. The food closet is also in need of empty egg cartons for use in disbursing bulk eggs they purchased.
Remember to bring Campbell soup labels to the church. The collection box is on the wall in the Fellowship Hall. Our PW send these labels to Barium Springs Home for Children and they in turn redeem them for educational needs for the children.
The Family of Amon Edwards
Bill Ballew and Family
Lois Landreth in the recent loss of her Brother
Jess & Vila Gentry
Jean Reeves’ Grandson - John
To activate the Sparta Presbyterian Prayer Chain contact Anne Mackey @ 657-8205 or Shirley Laws @ 372-2072
Father, we ask You to bless our friends, relatives and those that we deeply care for and any who are reading this right now. Show them a new revelation of Your love and power. Where there is pain, give peace and mercy, where there is self-doubt, give renewed confidence, where there is need, we ask You to fulfill those needs. Bless their homes, families and their goings and comings. Amen
Attached is a copy of an application for the
Bessie Lee Duncan Education Fund. These
funds are available for members of our
congregation who are seeking to further
their education. Please note this application
is due on or before April 1st.
Recognizing that the hope we have in Christ is lived out in our hope for one another, we respond with gifts that help our sisters and brothers around the world find the hope for a brighter future. Presbyterians have joined with millions of other Christians through One Great Hour of Sharing to share God’s love with people experiencing need. Our gifts support ministries of disaster response, refugee assistance and resettlement, and community development that help people find safe refuge, start new lives and work together to strengthen their families and communities. The Presbyterian Hunger Program receives 36 percent of undesignated gifts, while Self-Development of People and Presbyterian Disaster Assistance each receives 32 percent.
A police recruit was asked during the exam, “What would do if you had to arrest your own Mother?”. He answered, “Call for backup!”