WEST LIBERTY CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP
“I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death.” Philippians 3:10
Mar 30, 2025
THE GOD WE WORSHIP
The Revelation of Jesus Christ
Message and Scriptures
Conclusion in Revelation
Revelation 19:5-8; 21:1-4; 22:16, 17, 20, 21
WLCF VISION STATEMENT – To be a God centered, God loving, Holy Spirit filled, led and empowered Church, having Christ as the Head and we, as His Body, being used to make disciples of Jesus to build His Kingdom.
CHURCH COVENANT:
We covenant together with God and with one another in an ever-increasing relationship with God as follows: Lord God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit we covenant with you and with each other… that we will strive to take Your Word seriously as we seek to be doers of Your Word..
BARUCH ATA YHWH SEBAOTH – Bless You. Praise You. Thank You Beloved LORD GOD. We are thankful for the youth of our church and community and we thank you for the opportunity to help them grow up in Your Word.
Weekly Dawn Prayer – Wednesday mornings at 7:00am both in person and via Zoom
Daily Time Alone with God – for a daily devotion please follow “Time Alone With God”, found on the website. Please pray TAG every day.
Prayer Chain – Call or email Lynne Zeman 319-627-4858 or westlibertychristianfellowship@gmail.com
TODAY AT WLCF (On Site and Zoom)
Worship Service
9:00
a.m. Adult Sunday
school 10:00
a.m. Prayer
10:30 a.m.
Worship Service
THIS WEEK AT WLCF
Bible Studies/Sunday School/Worship
Tuesday 7:00 p.m. Spanish Bible Study – Practica El Caminoo
Wednesday 7:00 a.m. Dawn Prayer – Prayer for the World/Nation/Community/WLCF
6:00 p.m. Youth Bible Study – Luke / Psalms
6:30 p.m. Adult Bible Study – Practicing The Way
Saturday 7:30 a.m. Men’s Bible Study - Revelation
Sunday 9:00 a.m Adult Sunday School, Women’s Sunday School
10:00 a.m. Prayer (Sanctuary) Social (Foyer)
10:30 a.m. Worship Service
Birthday(s)
Monday March 31 – Jorge Malagon and Elsa McIntosh
Saturday April 5 – Sharon Ramos
Sunday April 6 – Geri Owen
Anniversary(ies)
MASKS: Everyone is now welcome to make their own decision regarding wearing masks. There will still be a supply by the entry door, but it is your choice whether you wear a mask.
Zoom –You will need to download the app on your phone or computer. The code for ALL videos is 228 893 6865. The password is 416991. Join us!
UPCOMING EVENTS, SERVICES, AND ACTIVITIES
Women’s Spring Retreat: Saturday, April 12, 9am. Location to be announced. Our topic this year will be Hearing God Speak.
Vacation Bible School for summer 2025 will be June 23 – 27. Our theme is True North: Trusting Jesus in a Wild World. We are thankful for Becky Feldman, our VBS director. If you are interested in helping, we have volunteer signups on the back table. There will be a VBS meeting after the service next week.
Passover Seder Meal: WLCF will be having a Passover Seder meal at 6pm on Maundy Thursday, April 17. The Seder is a ritual involving a retelling of the story of the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Ancient Egypt, and it invites us to consider our own journey of spiritual formation from the slavery of sin to our freedom in Christ. We will share more information as we get closer, but we invite everyone to attend.
Easter Sunday – Sunday, April 20: We are planning an 8am Early Morning Worship, 9am church potluck breakfast, 10am Easter Egg Hunt and regular prayer time, 10:30 Worship Service
ONGOING EVENTS, SERVICES, AND ACTIVITIES
Baptism – If you are interested in following Jesus in the Waters of Believer’s Baptism please see Pastor Mario.
West Liberty Food Pantry – Is open at FCU Saturdays 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. and Thursdays 3:00 – 4:00 pm and 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. Thanks to the men who deliver these items to FCU. Julie McKillip is our coordinator.
Church library – You are invited to check out the books from the library downstairs.
Copy of the Message or Bulletin – Visit our website: www.wlcf.org (an audio version is included) or contact Brad Jenkins.
Stephen’s Ministry – is available for anyone needing someone to walk beside them or pray with them. Please contact Kelsey Jenkins 319-936-4891 or Cindy Mays 319-330-4620 for more information.
Child Care: Child care is available in the Nursery during worship service.
Children’s Sunday school – during the sermon at the 10:30 a.m. worship service.
OUR GIVING TO THE LORD’S WORK: Offering Box – back table
Giving in March: $1720 , $2865, $1420, $2459. We are behind budget $5111.91. We need a monthly offering of $9150.52 and a weekly offering of $2111.66 to match our budget. BARUCH ATA YHWH SEBAOTH for the giving of YOUR people through the years. God loves a cheerful giver. Checks can be mailed to the church or dropped off at the church, in the mailbox at the end of the lane. You are also invited to sign up for Electronic Funds Transfer (ETF). Please see Lynne for details.
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WLCF YOUTH MINISTRY
WLCF Youth Group for young people in 6th – 12th grades
Ministries
Worship Service: Sundays at 10:30 a.m.
Youth Night: Wednesday 6 – 6:30 pm – Luke& Psalms (Please bring your Bibles).
Activities and Events
COMMUNITY YOUTH GROUP (CYG)
If you are interested in serving this ministry in any way, let Pastor Mario know. They need one board member and several cube leaders. The group meets at First Church United (FCU) on Sunday evenings.
March 30 Regular CYG 6pm
FCU
April 6 Photo Scavenger Hunt 6pm FCU
April 13 No
Talent Talent Show 6pm FCU
TIME ALONE WITH GOD (TAG)
Sunday, March 30, 2025
Who can read this book which breathes the atmosphere of victorious faith and courageous trust in God, with the unfailing assurance in the fulfilment of his purpose and the victory of the Christ of the cross and the empty tomb, without shouting with the people of the book-
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain,
And has redeemed us to God by his blood,
To receive power, and riches, and wisdom,
And might, and honor, and glory,
And blessing, and dominion,
Forever and ever.
Amen.
Ray Summers, Worthy Is The Lamb. p. 218 (1951)
Because this book of Revelation is so transcendently glorious, so divine, for God Himself is the Author, let no-one who hears or reads this book add or subtract a word. Let him not call this writing spurious. Let him not say that its meaningful passages are interpolations. Let him not deny its divinely inspired character. Let him not say that it is hardly worth studying. Let him not ridicule this book, filled with invitations and promises. If he refuses to heed this warning, the plagues written in this book shall be added to him. God shall take away his part from the tree of life and the Holy City.
Christ answers the ardent prayer of the Church for His coming by saying: "Yea, I am coming quickly.' Let us, therefore, heed His warnings. John's heart is filled with rapture. His soul is consumed with longing. His eye attempts to pierce the clouds. In an ecstasy of love, he exclaims, "Amen, come, Lord Jesus.'
William Hendriksen. More Than Conquerors, p. 210 (1940)
We have seen that John develops three metaphor of eternal life," each illustrating in a different way the perfect relationship with God which awaits us in the end. The first was in architectural model, namely the gates, walls and foundations of the new Jerusalem, which needs no temple since the whole city is the inner sanctuary of God's presence. Next came the garden, paradise restored, with continuous access to the tree of life and the water of life. Thirdly, and much more personally than the city and the garden, John refers to the eternal union of Christ with his church in terms of the wedding of the bridegroom to his bridle
According to Jewish custom, a marriage took place in two stages, the betrothal and the wedding. The betrothal included an exchange of promises and gifts, and was regarded as being almost as binding as a marriage. The betrothed couple could be called ‘husband' and 'wife', and if a separation took place, it would have to be a 'divorce' (see Matt. 1:18-19). The wedding followed some time after the betrothal and was essentially a public social occasion. It began with a festive procession, accompanied with music and dancing, in which the bridegroom and his friends went out to fetch his bride, who will have made herself ready. He would then bring her and her friends and relatives back to his home for the wedding feast, which might last as long as a week… Mixing metaphors, John has also described the new Jerusalem as 'coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband' (21:2, 9).
But where is he? He is nowhere to be seen! It is not for the bride to fetch the bridegroom, but for the bridegroom to go and fetch his bride! She has made herself ready, beautifully dressed and bejewelled. Now, however, she can do no more than wait - except that she takes the liberty of expressing her longing for him: 'The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” 253(2001)
John Stott. The Incomparable Christ, pp. 231-233 (2001)
Jesus' concluding invitation to come and take the free gift of the water of life is similarly directed to anyone. The only exception is those who are truly "outside" (v. 15)-in the lake of fire (20:15; 21:8, 27). Just as in the parables of Jesus (above all in Mt 22:1-14), there is an unmistakable tension between the universal offer of life and the rejection of those who have not prepared themselves to receive life. This tension pervades the entire book of Revelation, in fact, the entire Christian religion. Christianity preaches a universal gospel of salvation, but not a gospel of universal salvation. All are invited to come, but not all do come. God respects human freedom to the extent that evil never disappears, even though it is defeated.
Not everything in the Bible is to be "kept" or "obeyed"; much of it is purely descriptive, and the reader's or hearer's responsibility is to pay attention, follow the story and give thanks for what God has done. But every book of the Bible has imperatives as well as indicatives. What God has done demands a moral response, and in every book, including Revelation, there is something to "keep" and something to "obey." The hearers cannot pick and choose what to obey and what to ignore, or they do so at their peril. That is the thrust of Jesus' last warning. To restate the warning positively, as a benediction, we need only go back to the beginning: "Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near" (1:3).
J. Ramsey Michaels. Revelation pp-257, 259 (1997).
And the spirit awakens in one and another, in the cloister and the church, in the war zone and the throne room, in the island of exile and the house of torment, in the hearts of men and women, in the dreams of little children, even on the bishops' bench and in the scholar's study, the prayer, the cry, the song, the hope, the love: Amen! Come, Lord Jesus.
The letter - it always was a letter, as well as a prophecy and a revelation - ends as it should, with a closing greeting. "The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you all' (verse 21). But, however conventional, this greeting now carries the freight of the entire book. It is dense with a thousand images of 'grace', pregnant with the power of the word 'Lord' when spoken under the nose of Caesar, sparkling in the still-open invitation to 'you all’, and above all delicious with the name, the name that is now exalted high over all, the name of the slaughtered lamb, the name of the one we love and long to see. This book has been a revelation of Jesus, a testimony to Jesus, an act of homage to Jesus. This word. This book. This prophecy. Listen to the bells. Coming soon. This Jesus.
N.T. Wright, Revelation For Everyone p. 207 (2011).
The final of John's seven letters to the churches indicates that we may dine with Jesus now (3:20) and so receive his spiritual adornment (21:2, 19), wealth (21:18), and healing (22:2) in the present era (3:18). If it is legitimate to read Revelation's description of the new Jerusalem together with John's Gospel, the fruit (22:2) may refer to the life of Jesus in believers (John 15:2), and the water of life flowing from the throne (Rev. 22:1) to the believer's present experience of the Spirit (John 4:14; 7:37-39; the term for "flowing" appears with the Spirit who "goes out" in John 15:26). We are promised future glory, but we can experience a foretaste of that glory in our present relationship with God.
Craig S. Keener. The NIV Application Commentary, Revelation, p. 517 (2000).
What I learned today:
VOLUNTEER ASIGNMENTS
Church Cleaning Schedule
Apr 6 & 13 Sandy Green & Geri Owen
Apr 20 & 27 Enedelia Gamon & Berta Esquivel
May 4 & 11 Sandy Cornwall