STANDING STONE BIBLE

WEEKLY

March 3, 2025

A Point from pastor

Jesus is coming back for you.  Just like He said He would!  

April 20th will be here soon. . .  Resurrection Sunday.   In December, we celebrate the advent of Christ.  At Easter we also celebrate His advent.   Advent comes from the Latin adventus which means "coming" or "arrival."   The Messiah was coming until His advent, His birth.  After His body was laid in the grave, He was coming again, a second time (resurrection).  Although this was quite a surprise, He had mentioned it many times:

Matthew 16:21 – "From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life."

Matthew 17:22-23 – "When they came together in Galilee, he said to them, ‘The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life.’   And the disciples were filled with grief."

Matthew 20:18-19 – "We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!"

You probably do not hear of the Resurrection as an advent of Christ but it was.  After three days in the grave, Jesus was coming!  We look forward to His return but, in a way, it will be His "Second Coming" will be His third.   Do not miss the importance of the Resurrection of Christ:  Because of the Resurrection, we are assured of His Return again!    

- The Resurrection proves Jesus' victory over death.  It is the ultimate proof that He conquered sin and death.   He did it!  And, because He came back from death, we can have confidence that He'll come again!  

- The Resurrection is a confirmation that His promises are true... Just as He repeatedly told His disciples that He would rise again, just as He fulfilled that promise, we can trust that His return is true:  "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also" (John 14:3).  

- As we look forward to the celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior, remember that this is a foreshadowing of our future.   Paul noted that Jesus was the "firstfruits" of the resurrection (see 1 Cor. 15).  Because He was raised from the dead, so will we be raised to eternal life when He comes again.  

He's coming.   Just like He said He would.  
Are you ready?  
Jesus is coming!   Hallelujah!!!  

THIS WEEK

Here are the highlights of classes and events THIS week

Spring Cleaning - Any gals willing to help - we have scheduled a "spring cleaning" on Saturday, March 8th at 10am. . . .   this will help us get some deeper cleaning done as we move out of the winter months.  

Info Class - 
We are offering an information class during the Sunday school hour on March 9, 16, and 23.  This three-part class gives general information about SSB - what she believes, history, and polity.  Good for anyone new as well as a requirement for any considering membership.  

Pinewood Derby Workshop - A second workship for all Kidz Club racers (K-5th graders that come Wednesday nights) will be this Saturday morning at 10am in the church gym.   This will be an opportunity to choose a design, cut, sand and paint the derby car.   See note below on Derby event.

upcoming events

Make note of the classes and events available in the near future

Missions Mini Events - On Sunday, March 16th, we have a few special events.   During Sunday school, Frank Figeroa with Reasons for Hope* will be sharing about Common Sense and studying the Bible exegetically so to gain a Biblical Worldview.  He'll also share during the Worship service from Luke 9.  
Sunday evening our special event continues from 6 to 8pm with several area ministries highlighting their work as well as helps for you to serve in the community or at SSB.  They'll share an update and we will have tables set up for more information.  

Pinewood Derby - The annual Pinewood Derby is on March 19th at 6:30pm.  This is an event that our Club kids participate in and is a great opportunity to sow seed... er, um...  invite family members to so they can cheer on these kids (the Gospel will be presented).    Workshops for you to join your child in helping build a car will be on Saturdays - March 1, 8, and 15 (at 10am).  

Ladies' Retreat - March 28-29th is the annual ladies' retreat with guest Deb Bohlmann speaking.  You may register online here.   If you wish, you may also pay the registration fee online as well.  

Men's Shed Event - April 4th!   Men, mark your calendars!   You will not want to miss this hang out time with other men.   Our annual chili cookoff will take place.  We will enjoy some special events too... including a guest speaker sharing about life in Christ through tragedy and beyond.   Bring your sons and a friend or two.  

Art of Marriage - Mark your calendar for this couples event on April 11-12 (Friday night, Saturday morning, and Saturday afternoon).    

Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’

- Isaiah 28:16

He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you

- 1 Peter 1:20

And all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.

- Revelation 13:8

the Lord's day

We celebrated our Lord Jesus and His great sacrifice as we worked through Communion.  We considered Melchizedek ("king of righteousness"), the kng of Salem and priest of the Most High God (Gen. 14).  He presented bread and wine to Abraham.  Melchizedek was a type of Christ... perhaps the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ!   Our Jesus "has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek" (Heb. 6:20).  Our Jesus is the one who remains priest forever ... He is the Son of God who is our King of Righteousness, our King of Peace and our Mediator!   We celebrate Communion in remembrance of our Jesus!

This Month in Christian History

March 6, 1919
Julia Harriette Johnston passed away on March 6, 1919 (at the age of 70).  She was said to be a di­rect des­cend­ant of both Ol­iv­er Crom­well and Will­iam the Con­quer­or.  Her dad was the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Peoria, Illinois where she eventually taught Sunday school for over 40 years.  Among books she wrote, one was a collection of missionary stories written for children.

Her most well-known work, though, came from her catalogue of hymns (she wrote over 500!),  Grace Greater Than Our Sin.   Here is that final plea…  Oh, that all may answer “Yes!”…
 
     Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace,
     Freely bestowed on all who believe!
     All who are longing to see His face,
     Will you this moment His grace receive?


Grace, grace, God’s grace, grace that will pardon and cleanse within.  
Grace, grace, God’s grace, grace that is greater than all our sin!

“A practical way to respond to the problem of evil is to enter into suffering like Jesus did.  The importance of this can be seen in a university study on pain endurance.  The researchers had a person come into a room by themselves and stand in a bucket filled with ice.  They timed the participants to see how long they could endure the freezing cold.  What they found was that, across the board, when the participant had a friend with them in the room it doubled the amount of pain they could endure.  The researchers concluded that the "presence of another caring person doubles the amount of pain a person can endure" ”


- Chris Price

Prayer Prods

  1. Joyce M recovering from fall/ hip surgery
  2. Amy M recovering from bleeding issue
  3. Tami N - heading to Mayo today for testing and treatment plan on cancer
  4. Becky M recovering from back surgery
  5. Steve B recovering from double knee surgery
  6. High school seniors counting the days to graduation down
  7. Cancer:  Peggy O, Ron M, Joyce N, Joe R, Kathie P
  8. Gerald B - hospice care at home
  9. Folks ministering in the area (Good News Jail, Four the Master, Good News clubs, Aspire
10.  Mary Jo M now at Parsons House

General Calendar