March 14, 2019
Ezra had committed himself to studying the Revelation of God, to living it, and to teaching Israel to live its truths and ways
Ezra 7:10 MSG
To be honest, my first introductions to Lent weren’t the most positive. The early associations I had with Lent regarded giving up things that I loved – chocolate, soda, meat on Fridays, whatever it was I held dear that year. I mean, as a kid, when I thought of my sacrifices as a Christian, I thought about the fact that I gave up my Sunday mornings, my Wednesday nights, a percentage of my allowance, and now I had to pick the thing I loved the most and give it up for 40 days. When you think about it that way, it’s not the best recruiting tool for Christianity.
The more I let Jesus into my life year after year, the more I realized that it wasn’t a sacrifice but a blessing to let Jesus into my Sundays, my Wednesdays, my finances and everything in between because the more I gave Him, the bigger the blessing I received in return. The more time and energy I focused on Him, the more I focused on the things that mattered and less on the things that don’t (like chocolate, what other people think, etc). In this too, I learned that Lent isn’t meant to be a season of drought but a season of recognizing and celebrating the significance of Christ’s death and resurrection. I realized that it was a time to honor Jesus and the fact God made the biggest sacrifice of all when He sent His son to die for us.
I can really only remember one year that I successfully gave up something for 40 straight days. Soda had always been a sentimental crutch to me, a caffeine pick-me-up, a treat I felt I deserved several times a week. When I gave it up, I didn’t feel like it was a punishment, but a constant reminder that when I craved it, I thought about Jesus. Simple as that. I thought about Jesus, His love for me, and this incredibly simplistic sacrifice I was making as a way to think of Him more often in the days leading up to Easter. Last year, we participated in the One Kind Thing initiative at church and that was another way I felt Christ with me each day that I found something small but kind to do. Another year I wrote a note to someone each of the 40 days as an example of my gratitude to the One who had given me the biggest gift of all.
As Pastor Rob mentioned in a Facebook post last week, it’s easier to do something if you think of Lent as simply an opportunity to talk about Jesus. You don’t have to do something 40 days in a row to make it meaningful. You can participate in Lent in the way that makes the most sense for you and your family, in a way that will bring you closer to Christ. If you need some inspiration to get started, check out these great ideas from Youth Leadership for families during Lent:
PRAYER: Write a different person or situation on 40 strips of paper. Assemble them into a prayer chain with or for your family, or just put them all in a jar. Have children remove one strip per day (except Sundays), and together pray one sentence prayers at dinner or bedtime for what is written.
READ/PRAY: Spend 5 minutes a day in a family devotional like “Jesus Today for Kids” by Sarah Young (daily short letters written from Jesus perspective to kids’ hearts). It’s easy to read at breakfast if your kids are a little older, or leave the devotion book open with a little note encouraging your teen to read it before heading to school.
FAST: Discuss together what you could give up as a family for Lent. It’s meaningful to teach your children about fasting by giving up something for the entire season or on Fridays during Lent. The key is it has to be something you enjoy and want to do/eat/have AND then spend that time with God or each other. For example, you could do a screen fast one day a week — phones, tablets, computers, TV, video games—all of it—and instead do something to connect with your family in a whole new way.
GIVE: Donate 40 bags in 40 days, or simply purge a bag’s worth of stuff every week during Lent. As a family, choose the size of the bag and then donate those items to a local thrift store at the end of Lent. Imagine how clean your home could be by Easter!
GIVE: Make an offering jar. As a family, place all your spare change or part of allowance in the jar for the season of Lent. Let your kids put it in the offering on Easter Sunday.
We’d love to hear what you’ve tried that worked well for your family or hear stories of what you’re doing for Lent to share in a future News & Notes article. Whatever you come up with, I pray that you find a meaningful way to come closer to Jesus in the days leading up to Easter.
Peace,
Kerry
*THIS SATURDAY*
Feed My Starving Children – March 16
Looking for an amazing opportunity to serve kids in need with your friends and family? We are only a few weeks out from our Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) event to pack meals for hungry kids worldwide on Saturday, March 16 from 2-4pm. We have 65 spots reserved and still need about 10 people to sign up! We will meet at 1:45pm at 990 Lone Oak Road, Suite 136, Eagan. There is no cost to participate, but FMSC welcomes donations. We’ll meet at the Ministry Center after packing to have pizza and socialize after the event. Please bring $5/person or $20/family to help cover pizza costs. Everyone age 5 and up is welcome, but we need to know who’s attending so we can make sure we cover all the spots we reserved. Please RSVP first name, last name, and if you are an adult to communications@restorationcov.org.
Restoring What’s Broken
Complainers, haters, self-proclaimed experts, and armchair quarterbacks fill our screens and our world. They all theorize, analyze, and criticize the problems in the world, but what is most needed are people who don’t simply just talk about a situation but who will take action on it! The Bible tells of a person who saw a problem, felt the pain, and then did something about it. This person believed God could use his talents to get the job done. Very little went smoothly, both externally and internally, but we can learn much from this story for our lives today. Do you have dreams for a better future? Join us to discover what happens when we combine our dreams with dedication and God’s leading in Restoring What’s Broken, a series about Ezra, Nehemiah, and all of us starting on February 24.
Serve in Church
Interested in serving within our church community? Great! We need you and your God-given gifts. Serving on Sundays is a great opportunity to get to know other people within the Restoration community by serving alongside them. Click HERE for a list of some of the volunteer opportunities. Please feel free to contact the person in charge of the area in which you’re most gifted or interested.
Join the Students Team
Do you have a passion for working with students? Are you interested in serving Restoration through our Wednesday Night Student Groups? We would love to hear from you! The students team is looking for adult men and women who would like to get involved in being a part of our team. We welcome anyone who loves God and loves the idea of working with students. Contact aidengosiak@restorationcov.org
Join the Setup Team
Are you a behind-the-scenes type of person ready to serve alongside other men and women at Restoration? Do you know someone who could serve in this capacity? If you’re willing to move chairs, do light lifting, and set up the stage and worship area once a month on Sunday mornings, then you’d be a valuable asset on the set up team. At Restoration, the set up team creates the environment where people can encounter God. Michael Van Dyken, the team leader, is looking for volunteers to to serve. To learn more, contact him through setup@restorationcov.org.
P3 Retreat – April 6
P3 = Pray, Play, Plan
Every spring, Restoration’s staff, ministry team leaders and members of the Leadership Team meet to pray, play and plan for the year ahead. We reflect and listen to how God has been working and leading us and then we play and plan how we can best respond as a church towards the vision God is calling us to. These plans are then shared and reviewed for approval at our annual Vision Meeting in June. This year’s P3 retreat will be held on Saturday, April 6 from 8:30am-3:30pm at the Ministry Center. First and foremost, we ask for your prayers for this important day. If you have specific prayers, input, ideas, or revelation from God for our church or for a particular ministry, we highly encourage you to share them with a Ministry Team Leader or with the Leadership Team before March 25. Contact John Schroeder with any questions: JohnSchroeder@restorationcov.org.
Small Groups
Did you know it’s not too late to join a Restoration Small Group? Many of our groups discuss Sunday’s message which makes it easy to join in at anytime. If you’ve considered joining a group but never quite got around to it, there’s still time! For questions or to join a Small Group, please contact kararasmussen@restorationcov.org.
SUNDAY
Women’s Life Group
Every other Sunday, 6:30-8:30pm in various homes
Studying the current sermon series
Led by Kara Rasmussen
Family Life Group (children welcome)
Every other Sunday, 5:30-7:30pm in various homes
Studying the current sermon series
Led by Matt & Mallory Allinder
Second Stage Life Group
Every other Sunday, 6:00-8:00pm at the Klatts’ home
Studying the current sermon series
Led by Dick & Patte Klatt
Families of Youth Life Group (potluck lunch)
2nd Sunday of the month, Noon-2:00pm in various homes
Fellowship with some discussion and prayer
Led by Janice Svaren
TUESDAY
Book Study Group
Tuesdays, March 5 through April 30, 7-9pm at the Ministry Center
Reading and discussing the book Everyone Can Do Something by Jason Johnson
Led by Jacob Sturges
WEDNESDAY
Moms with Young Kids Play Group
2nd Wednesday of the month, January through April, 9:30am in various homes
Informal time of connection and prayer with other moms while our kids play
Led by Chrystine Vilhauer
All Ages Life Group (children welcome)
Every Wednesday 6:30-8:30pm at the Zaffkes’ home
Studying the current sermon series
Led by Garrett & Amy Zaffke
SATURDAY
Men’s Bible Study Group
Saturdays at 7am at the Ministry Center
Studying the Book of Isaiah
Led by Chad White
Pray or Receive Prayer
Are you gifted at prayer or do you have a prayer request that you’d like to share with our prayer team? We believe in the power of prayer and know that God is listening. We would love to pray for you. If you’re interested in joining the prayer team or have any prayer requests, send them to our prayer team at prayer@restorationcov.org
RESTORATION KIDS
Contact: ChrystineVilhauer@restorationcov.org
VBS 2019
Get ready to Power Up! Are you ready to raise your game? Get ready to change the world because God’s power gives us everything we need to do just that. Mark your calendars and invite your friends to join us June 24-28 from 9-11:30am at Apple Valley Baptist, 964 Garden View Drive, Apple Valley.
What We’re Learning in March
Preschoolers
This month, we will begin laying the foundation for some very important future conversations around the subject of sexual integrity. Before we ever talk with kids and teens about what to do and not do with their bodies, we need to start with who made their body and why that makes them so valuable. And a great place to start is now, in the preschool years, with this simple but powerful truth—God made me. Preschoolers need to learn now that they are wonderfully made by God, in His image. This makes them very important and motivates them to respect themselves and others.
Elementary
In March, we will be talking about the connection between individuality and God’s character. God is one of a kind. He has no beginning and no end. Everything He has created is unique and one of a kind, including people created in His image. Every person is an original reflection of God in how they love, care for others, imagine, create, and solve problems. Jesus lived this out in the way He loved all people, and helped people feel like they had value no matter who they were or what they had done. We can reflect this in the way we live out how God created us.
RESTORATION STUDENTS
Contact: students@restorationcov.org
Restoration Students High School Sunday Nights
Upcoming Dates: Mar 17 | Apr 7 | May 5, 19
We’re excited to announce High School Students Sunday Nights on the first and third Sunday of March-May. This will be an opportunity for High School Students to dig into the book of Daniel together. They’ll discover what it means to live in the world but not of the world when presented with today’s teen challenges. Daniel himself faced unbelievable challenges as a believer under Babylonian authority. Each meeting will be tailored to engage students with thought-provoking questions and discussions while delving into the personal lives of believers who share their testimony and how they navigate today’s ebb and flow of modern morals. We will meet from 6:30-8pm at Pastor Rob Jacobson’s house. Snacks will be provided, but please eat supper before you come.
Move Conference – April 5-6
Are you a high school student who wants to see change in your community? Want the opportunity to see your ideas become a reality? MOVE 2019 is the place for you! This two-day immersive conference is held Friday and Saturday, April 5-6 and the theme is NO EXCUSES. MOVE will challenge the way students view their own community by helping them recognize and fulfill a need. Students will have the opportunity to serve in a local community, see how God works through envisioning change, gain their own perspective, and meet others their age with the same passion. Cost is only $30. Meals and accommodations will be provided. Info packet with itinerary is available, signups due March 22. Email aidengosiak@restorationcov.org with any questions.
Restoration Students Wednesday Nights
Upcoming Dates: Mar 20, Apr 3, 10, 17, 24, May 1, 8, 15
Students in grades 6-12 are encouraged to join us at the Ministry Center (7707 147th St W, Apple Valley) from 6:30-8pm on Wednesday nights for a time of teaching, activities, and groups that focus on encountering Jesus, building meaningful relationships, and restoring hope to the world. If you have a Bible, bring it. Invite a friend! Contact students@restorationcov.org
Middle School Group
Upcoming Dates: Mar 17, Apr 7, May 19
Students in grades 6-8 begin Sunday mornings in the worship service. On the 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month, they are sent to the café for discussion and activities that complement the Sunday morning message.
