"A Few Words From Don"

LIVING EASTER EVERYDAY

Easter is just the beginning. When Christ said "it is finished" from the cross, he was only speaking of the offering of his body for our sin. The work of transforming the world was just beginning, and his resurrection was the start.

In an interview for Leadership Journal (3/19/08), New Testament theologian, Tom Wright, said, "Because Jesus is raised from the dead, God's new world has begun." And we are a big part of that new world. We not only receive the transformation of new life, but we are in the business of going about creating that for others.

Wright says Christians too often make a distinction between the work of Christ before the cross and his resurrection from the cross." The two go very closely together," he says. "This understanding has made my preaching more challenging to me, and hopefully to my hearers, to actually get off our backsides and do something in the local community - things that are signs of new creation."

As Paul said (Rom. 6:4), "just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." That new life begins now as we go about the work of the kingdom. Jesus explained this way (Matt. 25:35-36): "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothes me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me." This is the new, resurrected life. A life given for others.

Easter not only means we have eternal life waiting for us in the heavens, it means we have the power of new life now to be agents of change for a world sick with sin and permeated with pain. Easter means we have that resurrection life to be about the Father's work in the here and now.

If there is no connection between our future hope of heaven and a sacrificial life right now, then we missed the point. Christian religion is not just about heaven. As James said, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world" (James 1:27).

I thank God for our beautiful Easter service last Sunday, and the wonderful children's Good Friday program. But let's not forget that Christ's death and resurrection are not merely occasions for church events and family gatherings. Our spiritually needy world needs to see a crucified and resurrected Christ living in us today. As Tom Wright said, "For me, therefore, there's no disjunction between preaching about the salvation which is ours in God's new age..and preaching about what that means for the present."

They go hand in hand.

The apostle Paul speaks in the present tense when he says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (2 Cor. 5:17). May the rest of the world see that "new creation" in us here and now!

Let's praise God for beautiful Easter celebrations, but let's also be determined to let Easter live in us as a people transformed by the resurrected Christ , reaching out to others who desperately need the same transforming power.

Yours in Christ's service,

Don

"CELEBRATING 50 YEARS"

GOSPEL MISSION.

Make your reservations for the Gospel Mission's 50th Anniversary Banquet at the Running Y on May 16th.

NO charge, but seating is limited.

Call Ginger Harrington at 891-2385.

SWCC BOOK CLUBBERS

Meet with Don in the Fireside Room on Sunday, April 13th at noon (bring a lunch) to discuss "In His Steps" and talk about future plans for the book club.

THANK YOU..

Crabtree Christian Church and Dave and Marlene Nolte want to send sincere thanks to all the great folk at SWCC for the generosity, prayer and encouragement. The TV will work great for Dave's new class and the scanner will be perfect for making graphics for the church newsletter and for Dave's power point stuff. Keep praying. Thank you again and again. We love you all so much and miss you more than we can say.

Dave & Marlene Nolte

Shasta Way Christian Church,

Thank you for a very good service.

Family of Deleen Morgan

Shasta Way Christian Church family,

Thank you for opening up the church and providing a beautiful service and reception for Noel. Thank you for the beautiful flowers. You are amazing! We appreciated everything so much.

Frances Deets, Leigh Ann Arthur, Gayle Deets & Bill Deets

2008 GRADUATES

Please let us know if any one in our church family is graduating from high school or college in June.

Call the office (884-9284)

EASTER THANKS..

Thank you to all who were involved in the beautiful Easter service.

The long hours and hard work you devoted to the program were worth it. It was certainly a blessing to me and I'm sure to all who attended.

God bless you!

Love In Christ,

Arlene Lundgren

CHURCH DIRECTORY UPDATE

We are typing an update for our directory. If we need to make a correction on your information, or if you want to be added, please let us know in the office (884-9284).

Also, if we don't have your family's birthday information, please call the office.

SWCC FINANCIAL

REPORT:

January 1 to March 31, 2008

General Fund

Income...$50,568.00

Expenses... 59,048.00

Balance. - $ 8,480.00

Faith Promise

Received....$ 8,982.00

Paid out... 6,586.00

Balance...$ 2,396.00

INTERESTING EASTER FACTS

Easter this year was March 23rd.

As you may know, Easter is always the 1st Sunday after the 1st full moon after the Spring Equinox (which is March 20).

This dating of Easter is based on the lunar calendar that Hebrew people used to identify Passover, which is why it moves around on our Roman calendar.

Here are a couple things you might be interested in:

Based on the above, Easter can actually be one day earlier (March 22) but that is pretty rare. This year is the earliest Easter any of us will ever see the rest of our lives! And only the most elderly of our population have ever seen it this early (95 years old or above!). And none of us have ever, or will ever, see it a day earlier!

Here are the facts:

The next time Easter will be this early (March 23) will be the year 2228 (220 years from now). The last time it was this early was 1913 (so if you're 95 or older, you are the only ones that were around for that!). The next time it will be a day earlier, March 22, will be the year 2285 (277 years from now). The last time it was on March 22 was 1818. So, no one alive today has or will ever see it earlier than this year!

APRIL 12th - Men's Breakfast

8:00am at the church

APRIL 13th - SWCC Book Club

12:00 noon (Bring a sack lunch)

Meet in the Fireside

Room to discuss

"In His Steps" and talk

about future

plans for the book club

COMING UP IN MAY:

May 11th - Mother's Day

LIBERTY QUARTET

In Concert

May 18th - 6:00pm

Shasta Way Christian Church

5835 Shasta Way

Klamath Falls, OR 97603

MARK THIS ON YOUR

CALENDAR!!

HEALTH NEEDS:

Larry Brown needs prayer for health problems; Helen Cleven has been having health problems. Pray for her; Please keep Robyn Cooper's cousin, Brad Ventura, in your prayers for cancer treatments; Jennifer Honeycutt's grandmother, Eileen Botens, was taken to the hospital in Roseburg on Monday and is in serious condition. Please pray for her and the family; Carole Marler needs continued prayer for her health; Ray Martin needs prayer for recovery from kidney surgery on April 2nd; Barbara Padgett has been ill for quite some time. Please pray for her health; Pray for Vickie Mast (June Seifner's daughter) for health problems; Keep Chance Rodgers and family in your prayers as Chance will have chemo again on the 9th.

TRAVELERS:

Don and Linda MacLaughlin left on 3/30 to drive to Texas. They will be gone through April. Keep them in your prayers for travel safety; Keep Chance Rodgers and family in your prayers as they travel back to Portland this week.

EASTER ATTENDANCE:

Our Easter attendance was 237! PTL!

(If you have an item of interest for

The Compass, please call the church

office at 884-9284)