Bible Verse for Sunday Service April 20, 2025
Matthew 28:6
He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.
Announcements:
Pictures for Mother’s Day slideshow. We want have a slideshow to show Mother’s Day, so we are asking for pictures of mothers of our church with their children to put in slides. We want you to know that it is not a requirement that you provide a picture of yourself with a young child, just you and any child. We ask that you get them to Bree Hofer as soon as possible so we can have the time to get it put together before Mother’s Day. You can either email, text or bring the photo to Church. Her email is [email protected], and her phone number is 406-672-6175.
Deacon’s Meeting – Wednesday, April 30. We will have a regular deacon’s meeting to discuss the needs and finances of the church.
Shepherd High School Graduation, May 18 @ 11 AM. We have been invited to the graduation and open house of Sophia Hofer. Her open house will be May 17 at 5 PM at the Hofer’s home. They live at 8126 Wade St. in Shepherd.
Kitchen update progress. The work continues on the kitchen, bathrooms, and the Pastor ‘s office. New flooring has been light, and several additional electrical outlets have been installed in the kitchen area. We look forward to seeing the cabinets, counters, and appliances in the next few weeks.
Vacation Bible school, June 16 through the 20th, 9 AM to 11:45 AM. For the VBS theme this year we have chosen Wonder Junction. This will feature old West decorations, and a focus on the person in Jesus Christ. The children will learn who Jesus is and what he has done for us. We look forward to an exciting week, and ask you for your prayers as we prepare. We will also ask that you consider helping in the simple ad ministry. Please let Natasha know if you can give any time that week.
Sermon:
Today is Easter so Pastor Jim commemorated Easter with a sermon on Acts 2:22-38 titled “An Easter Sermon on Pentecost.” Pastor Jim observed that many people can point to a sermon that resulted in a change of life for them. Billy Graham is an example. So is Charles Spurgeon. The section of scripture in Acts today details the first sermon by Peter at Pentecost. We know from the biblical account that 3000 lives were changed that day. Pastor explored that message, and how it relates to us today at Easter in four points.
The first point of Peter’s message on Pentecost was about the coming of Christ. In that coming Pastor Jim saw an evident humanity, the person of Jesus of Nazareth. He also saw an evident ability as seen in the miracles, the wonders, and the signs that he did while he was on earth.
Next, Pastor Jim covered the second point in Peter’s sermon, the crucifixion of Christ. Peter and Pastor Jim point out that the crucifixion was a wicked act of people. Peter gives a list of people. But Peter and Pastor also point out that it was also a planned act of God. On the surface, at the crucifixion, it seemed like the religious leaders had won in getting rid of a person they viewed as a blasphemer. But, God provided Jesus as a sacrifice for our sin, and sent Jesus to the cross, reconciling us to Him. Perhaps this is the most important part of Peter’s message.
God’s plan is clearly seen in the next point, the resurrection of Christ. This is clearly a demonstration of God’s power. No one could keep Jesus in the grave to make that point Peter quotes from Psalms. Another way of thinking about the resurrection is that it is a fulfillment of David’s prophecy in the psalms. It is also comforting, and that it speaks of our future home in heaven with Jesus. Yes, our bodies go to the grave, but they do not remain there.
For his last point, Pastor Jim then asked us what would our response be to Peter’s sermon, it should be our response to Christ. Like those present at Pentecost, upon hearing this sermon and the good news, it should bring about conversion in us to Christ. Like the Jews at Pentecost, we would be cut to our heart and repent of our sins, turning away from them, and turning towards Christ. Once we are converted, the last part of the sermon is a commitment to Christ, the first part of that being the public commitment of baptism.
In conclusion, we have the message the message of death, burial, and resurrection. The question is what are we going to do with that message? If we are not saved, let us experience conversion. If we are saved, how is our commitment going? Let’s fully put our trust in him. Passage Jim closed with a quote from John R Stott: Before we can begin to see the cross is something done for us, we have to see it as something done by us.
Accessing the Service, Bulletin and Sermon Outline:
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If you would like to have the sermon outline, you can download it here, a pdf file.
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