The Messenger

NEWS & NOTES

Congratulations
Congratulations to our Youth Minister, Tyler Cope and his new bride, Alissa. Tyler & Alissa were married on Saturday, March 13.
 
Sympathy
Our sympathy is with the family of Judy Shelton who passed away on March 17. Services will be on Tuesday, March 23 at Fisher Funeral Home at 1 PM. Visitation is on Monday, March 22 from 6-8 PM.
 
Prayer & Fasting - March 22-April 4
As we prepare for our Grace Offering on April 4, we are committing as a church body to fasting and praying for our outreach ministry efforts. You can access the fasting guide and Bible reading schedule at www.pacoc.net/go or pick one up at the Information Centers this morning.
 
Collide Retreat
This year, Collide Retreat will be a one day, outdoor activity on Saturday, April 24, for 4th, 5th, and 6th grades in Coppell.  RSVP to Rachel McClure.

Youth Ministry

• Sunday, March 21: Park Avenue Youth will meet  from 5:30-7:30PM in the Gym. Dinner will be provided!
• Sunday, May 16: Senior Sunday! Here is our current list of Seniors. Please let us know as soon as possible if we missed someone: Avery Encalade, Skylar Levacy, Josh Hysmith, Ashlyn Karguth, and Hailey Geist.

 Save the Dates

• Men’s Hiking Trip, March 26-28.
• Family Scavenger Hunt, April 10.
• Parent Commitment Sunday, April 25 for parents who have new additions to their family from 2020 to present.
• Family Mission Trip, July 2-10
• Christian Theater Workshop, July 19-25.

Community Prayer Gathering - March 28, 4PM at Sherman Municipal Lawn
People seem to be at odds over a variety of things and our culture is often at odds with God.  It is at times like these that we desperately need prayer as we consider how to bring reconciliation to a divided world. Come join us for a time of community prayer as we seek God’s guidance to seek reconciliation in our community. Prayers will be offered, and Bible passages will be read by various Christian ministry leaders in our area.  Bring your own lawn chair.

Good Friday Service
There will be a service on Good Friday, April 2 at 12 noon at First Baptist Church in Denison. Speakers will be Pastors Stephen Suffron of First Baptist Church and James R.A. Wilson of Mt. Zion Baptist Church. Lunch will follow at 12:30PM.

PRAYER LIST
Mike Morgan, Ken Washburn, Garland Nevil, Carol McClure, Debbie Hawk
 
Ongoing Needs
Larry Long, Jim & Jane Scroggins, Kimberly Pendergrass, Corky Armstrong, Dewey Martin, Bob Corley, Sandra Aynes, Terry  Waggoner, Peggy Clark, Lisa Cobble, Bobby & Peggy Slaughter, Sandra Thomas, Gene Stogner, James Hawk, Daisy Miller, Kaile Williams (Norris)
 
Homebound
Ray & Marsha Jones, Chris Keene, JD Huffman
 
Missions
Hammer & Dela Afakule (Togo), Mario “Pepe” Torre (Monterrey, Mexico), Jimenez family (Cartagena, Colombia)
 
Friends of Park Avenue
Rebekah Taylor (great niece of the Russells), Becky Sanchez (wife of Gil Sanchez,  Director of orphanage in Mexico), Kathy Hill (friend of Chris & Candsis Slaughter)
 

TODD'S TAKE
Good morning and welcome to our worship this morning. In the sermon time we will continue discussing Confronting Christianity: Hard Questions for the World’s Largest Religion. Today I will be addressing the relevant and delicate question,  Isn’t Christianity Homophobic? As I reflect on my over quarter-century of ministry here at Park Avenue I could have never anticipated the need to address that question. The world is changing more rapidly than we could have  ever imagined and believers need to be even more committed  to seeking truth and more bold to proclaim it. We need to be confident that, as Jesus reminded us, it is truth that will set us free.
 
Next week is Daisy’s Little Red Wagon! Remember to gather up those coins as we begin our Grace Offering with the precious contributions of our children. If you are worshipping online, feel free to drop off your coin can at the church some time this week and we can add that to what comes in next Sunday.
 
Tomorrow begins our two-week period of prayer and fasting leading into Easter and our Grace Offering. I urge all of you to participate to some degree in making these two weeks a time of spiritual focus. Fasting and prayer are two disciplines that bring us closer to the Kingdom and help us discover ways to allow the Spirit to actively live within us. We have valuable resources on the church website and app. I also encourage you to remind yourself of all the outreach ministries being supported by the Grace Offering. Our giving goal is $157,600, so we ask each of you to give generously and cheerfully as this amount represents approximately 8 times our regular contribution.

Last year at this time we were lamenting the fact that we could not be together on Easter Sunday. Well, this year we can and, although we still need to be cautious, we are excited about gathering in-person to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. This is an ideal time to invite a friend. We have some Invite Cards at the information centers that you can pick up and hand out. If you are worshipping with us on-line, we are happy that we are able to deliver a quality live stream of our Easter service. Last year we were just figuring out how to connect remotely, but after a year of trial and error we are delighted to be joined in worship by our local members and by people around the country. On average, each Sunday we are being viewed in ten or more states. That means that not only can you invite your neighbor, but you can  invite friends and family all over the world to worship with us. We continue to pray for the day when we can safely and confidently all be together.
 
Grace Offering Schedule
Please note the following dates leading up to our Grace Offering on April 4.