Today’s Independence Day Parade is probably Waukegan’s biggest event for the year.  Though budgetary cuts caused the city to cancel other annual traditions, they left the parade on the schedule.

The theme of the parade is “Making History.”  Family Life Church has been making history in the lives of Waukegan residents for 81 years.  We are a multi-cultural, multi-generational body of people whose lives are being transformed by the saving power of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now we know that God is the Only One who can fix broken things – broken hearts, broken lives and broken cities.  We also know that God placed our church in this city for a purpose.  Today’s parade offers us the opportunity to walk the streets while lifting up Jesus Christ and praying for the city.  As we pray for Waukegan, let’s lift up that only name “under heaven, given to men, by which {all people} must be saved.” (Acts 4:12 NIV)

–Beth Jones

My dear friend,

The problem with your father is that he is a man. Now, don’t hold that against him; God (not your Dad) decided that issue a long time ago. But since fathers are men, maybe it’s time you understood a little more about “how men think.”

First of all, men are not always the best at communicating their feelings or showing their emotions. It doesn’t mean they don’t have any, but that they guard them better than women tend to. It doesn’t mean a dad doesn’t care; he just might be unsure of how to express his emotions in a particular situation. Things get more complicated as kids become teenagers. Dynamics change and dads may find it difficult to communicate love and acceptance. Both parties just need to continue to work on good communication.

Secondly, because dads think like men, they really understand how a “young man” thinks. They know the difficult battle it is to keep one’s thoughts and life pure. Godly dads also know the enemy’s attempt to “steal, kill and destroy” (John 10:10 NIV) even their own precious sons and daughters. This makes dads very concerned for their children. This often teaches dads to pray more earnestly for their children!

Thirdly, dads can be very protective; sometimes this may “feel” very restrictive to their children. Wise dads know “God is the Big Boss on Fathering” and that every dad will answer to Him. Dads are protective because they just want their children to grow into strong, responsible adults who make good decisions throughout their lives. Godly dads know that the most important decision their children will ever make is “to make Jesus Christ Lord of their own lives.” That is why the Godly dad does everything he can in this life, in order that one day he can personally say to Jesus, “Here they are, Lord, the children that You gave me.”

Remember, only Your Heavenly Daddy is the perfect father. So the next time you get frustrated with your earthly dad, remember – he’s just a man! Then thank God for putting this very imperfect but specially-planned-for-you Dad in your life! I guarantee that if you can do that, you will start viewing your dad a little differently. I did!

With fondness,
Miss Beth

The big deal is this — Christianity rests on the certainty of Jesus Christ’s Resurrection as an actual event in history; one that changed the world forever!   Paul said that without the resurrection, our faith is pointless: “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins”  (I Corinthians 15:16 NIV).

Paul even regarded the Resurrection as proof that the Gospel message about Jesus as Savior and Lord is true.   “In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent.   For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead”  (Acts 17:30-31 NIV).

Jesus said to Martha: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.  Do you believe this?”  (John 11:25-26 NIV)   It’s really that simple — believing that Jesus died on the cross to pay the price for my sins and trusting Him with my life.   It’s what the Resurrection is all about.  It’s the most important decision one can ever make!  Yes, the Resurrection IS a big deal!

(by Beth Jones with excerpts taken from “What Easter Means to Me,” by Rev. H. Neely Gaston)

Did you know that Pastor George and Pastor Herman (and their wives) are currently in the Philippines?   From April 19 – May 1, both couples are over there, ministering to the church we planted in Tres Cruses, Cavite.

On Monday, April 20, Pastor George and Beth were greeted by a special celebration at the church’s VBS program.

On Saturday, April 24, Lady Beth will be speaking at the graduation ceremony for the VBS Program.

On Sunday, April 25, Pastor George will be speaking at the 84th Anniversary of the Cavite City Foursquare Church

On Monday, April 26, Pastor George will be speaking at a large pastor’s conference in Tres Cruses.

FOR THE LATEST UPDATES — AS FAST AS WE RECEIVE THEM, BOOKMARK OUR TWITTER FEED

Are you new to Family Life Church?  Have you been here a while but have questions about how things are done?  Then you would benefit from sitting in on Pastor George’s Who Are We? Class!

Beginning Sunday, May 9, (for four weeks through May 30) from 8:45-9:45am, it’s an informal time of getting to know our church better!

On the weekend of April 2-4, we will be celebrating Jesus’ death and resurrection in a very special way!

On Friday, April 2, we will be participating in a community-wide Good Friday service at Cornerstone Community Church in Wadsworth, IL (MAP).  Then, on Easter Sunday Morning at 8:30am we will have a free breakfast in our gymnasium, followed by a worship service in our sanctuary at 10am.  You don’t want to miss these special events as we celebrate that HE IS ALIVE!

The 2010 reThink (un)conference begins on Friday, March 19 at 8pm and ends on Sunday, March 21 at noon. The reThink (un)conference will meet at Camp Hickory (Ingleside, IL). The 2 day and 2 night weekend getaway will include lodging, 3 meals on Saturday and breakfast on Sunday. If you register before March 1, 2010 you’ll receive the early bird price for only $79. Otherwise the regular ReThink (un)conference price will be $89.

For more info, see the reThink website.

Getting Involved

PRAY: Periodic updates on the Haiti disaster and relief efforts will be sent via the Foursquare Prayer Force Update. Sign up for the updates at: http://www.foursquare.org/newsletters/

GIVE: To give to Foursquare disaster relief, make your checks payable to Family Life Church and designate them for “Foursquare Relief–Haiti”.  In addition, you can give online through Foursquare or Samaritan’s Purse.

GO: To arrange to go to Haiti with Foursquare teams, contact David Wheeler at: dwheeler@foursquare.org

In addition to staying informed of the efforts in Haiti through the Prayer Force Update, you can receive information regarding Foursquare’s work in Haiti by following the Foursquare Church on Twitter.

The Foursquare Church Responds to Haiti Disaster

The Foursquare Church has established a strong physical and spiritual presence on the ground following the devastating 7.0 earthquake that struck the island nation of Haiti on Tuesday, January 12.  Foursquare Missions International (FMI) has released funds to first responders on the ground in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, for initial assessment and emergency aid.  A specialized medical team with disaster response experience from a U.S. Foursquare church will attempt to arrive in Haiti next week.  However, after the Port-au-Prince airport closure yesterday, the relief team is praying they will be allowed to enter.

Haitian Foursquare National Leader Guy Thomas and his wife, Soeurette, survived the quake although it took more than 48 hours to confirm their safety due to widespread communication outages in Haiti.  Initial reports from Pastor Guy indicate that some church members may have died in the quake; he and surviving church members are scrambling to rescue the injured and deal with the death and destruction around them.

Foursquare missionaries Charlie and Darla Finocchiaro live in the Dominican Republic, 150 miles from the epicenter of the quake.  Charlie is attempting to enter Port-au-Prince, Haiti, tomorrow, and he asked that our churches pray for the desperate needs of survivors: “Pray for shelter for those without a home, a loving touch through the church, that people would turn their hearts to the Lord for salvation, and for strong ministries of physical, emotional and spiritual healing.”

David Stone, FMI’s area missionary in the Caribbean, is due to arrive in Haiti on Sunday.  David reported that a 40-hour rain storm in Puerto Rico has greatly hampered relief efforts; he asks that The Foursquare Church join him in praying that the storm will move out of the region so that much-needed relief can be sent to Haiti.

To help mobilize teams and relief supplies, The Foursquare Church is accepting donations with the commitment that 100 percent of the funds donated will be sent directly to Haiti to help relieve the crisis.