Today's service starts with recognizing and praying over our four high school graduates - Joslyn Blomberg, Madi Grace Edwards, Hannah Williams, and Christian Cleghorn.

We then pray over and send out our missionaries heading to Kenya to serve with Pastor Michael Masambu and his local body.

Pastor John then continues his study on what scripture means when it calls someone blessed. Today he focuses on the “secret” of being called blessed. Have you strayed? Are you struggling? Do you need to do something different? Be careful as it is possible to experience something deep in our mind, flesh, emotions, or soul and it will lead us astray. Instead we need to listen to the Spirit since it is tied to the Lord. 

After all, the “one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does (James 1:25).”

Returning to the Beatitudes, Pastor John again seeks to correct / reinforce our thinking on what Jesus means by being blessed. Having a correct understanding of this concept will help us in our work of faith. After all, Jesus not only gives us a roadmap for our walk of faith, His words tell us how to triumph over evil.

Pastor John then goes on to speak of the Holy Spirit and God's outpouring. He points out the only reason we don't experience His baptism or revival is us. We limit God from blessing us to His fullness. 

You can experience God here and everywhere in His creation. So, are you desperate enough yet? 

The Youth of Grace led every element of today's service.

The spiritual words brought to us were:

Joslyn Blomberg - Truly Living

Jason VanDerWatt - Do You Want To Be Made Whole?

Olivia Blomberg - Repentance: Door To Forgiveness

Nick Albright - Spreading The Word of God

Allie Blomberg - God Defines Our Worth

Other servant leaders today were:

Joslyn Blomberg (Worship)

Allie Blomberg (Worship)

Olivia Blomberg (Prayer)

Drea Delgado (Worship)

Ricky Delgado (Offering, Prayer)

Madi Grace Edwards (Worship)

Arrington Johnson (Prayer)

Mya McBride (Opening Scriptures)

Brianna McBride (Media)

Emily O'Dowd (Worship)

Myles Tambling (Prayer)

Zach Thrift (Sound)

Jason VanDerWatt (Prayer)

Leah Williams (Announcements, Sound)

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms! We wouldn't be anywhere without you!

Today Pastor Hannah reminds us there is no fruit without a seed; there is no harvest without a seed. Planting seeds is hard work but when it blooms or turns into fruit, we are glad we didn't give up.

Looking at Timothy, Pastor Hannah shows how spiritual seeds sown now may produce fruit years, even centuries, after it was planted and nurtured. She then goes over two steps we can take to help successfully plant good seeds.

Today we spend an extended time in worship and hear a few testimonies on the goodness and faithfulness of God.

Blessings from God can come in all forms including cars, houses, and hot tubs for a job well done. And there is no denying, all good gifts come down from the Father of heavenly lights.

But turning to Matthew 5, Pastor John G demonstrates what Jesus means when He says blessed. Doing so helps us to have direction and confidence even when we go through difficult times.

Pastor John starts by taking time to exhort the local body. We need to draw close to God and trust what He says.

He then goes to Matthew 5 starting a study of the Beatitudes and wisdom from the Word on how to be blessed. God promises, there is more to our lives than what we see, experience, and do.

Going to Mark 4 and the parable of the seeds, Pastor John challenges us to honestly ask ourselves what our spiritual root system looks like. We can't just read or memorize the Word. Instead, we need to actively hear it, accept and hold onto it, and nurture it. After all, the effort we put into growing our faith impacts how it develops.

Happy Easter and thank God for the Resurrection!

Pastor John reminds us we often complicate life and we need to remember to keep it simple. Each one of us, that is you, is worth dying for and worth keeping. And if you have given yourself to Christ, He has purpose and plans for you.