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Welcome & Announcements
Welcome here, friends! Thanks for taking some time on your May Long Weekend to navigate your way through cyberspace and find yourself here on our "digital doorstep". As we begin our service, find a "Christ candle" if you wish, and join Pastor Aaron as he kicks off our service and we move into worship.
We will continue with another kids song passed along from Pastor Natasha! Offering & Prayer
If you wish to give as part of our service this morning, the easiest way to do so online is here. Or you can drop by the church between 9-12 on Tuesday and Thursday to find a donation box set up just outside the office. Thank you!
As we enter our time of prayer this morning we do so with mixed emotions. On the one hand we see that "...neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation [even Covid 19], will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39) Yet we also have within us the cry of "How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?" (Psalm 13:1) On the one hand, we who know the salvation of Jesus place our future hope in that life that will be fulfilled on the other side of death. We believe that we will be with him there forever. On the other hand, our present sufferings intimidate and bully us, and cause us to question the loving nature of God. This morning's prayer is adapted from a prayer recorded in Acts 4:24-30. It is what early Christ followers prayed when they faced resistance to walking in the way of Jesus, when walking in that way seemed difficult. I invite you to pray it out with me and the rest of your FBC Cranbrook family. “Sovereign Lord, you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: “‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed one. Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. Now, Lord, consider [what threatens us] and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant, Jesus.” Amen. Worship & Message
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