Berea Update for March 28, 2025
This weekend, we'll be having our first of two workdays here at the church to prepare for Easter and the rest of the year. Many of us do what's called "Spring Cleaning," where after a long winter, we deep clean rooms in our house, clean up our yards, and prepare for the year ahead. While it may not be my favorite task in the world, things usually feel so much better after cleaning things up. The Bible has a lot to say about cleaning our hearts, and coming before the Lord with humility, honesty, and purity. This week, with the workday as our catalyst, I've developed a week of "Spring Cleaning" devotions that you can see below. This time of year is typically quite busy, but please don't neglect your time with Lord!
Upcoming Events
1. Tomorrow (Saturday) will be a busy morning at the church! Men, come hungry for our Men's Breakfast in the morning starting at 8:00 AM in the Family Life Center. We'll have pancakes, eggs, and bacon as a part of our time together. Tomorrow we also have the Resurrection Garden Workday to prepare the area for Easter. We'll get started at 9:00 AM, right after the men's breakfast. The following are a lists of tasks we hope to accomplish:
-Cleaning benches, tables, signs, kiosk
-Cleaning the tomb floor and walls
-Mulching of hillside and flower beds
-Hand weeding various areas
-Leaf/Stick/Branch Removal
-Raking gravel
-Pruning plants
-Moving boulders
-Weed whacking
-Cutting away of some brush
-And a few other various projects!
Many hands will make for lighter work! If you plan to come, please bring gloves, rakes, shovels, hand tools for weeding, a chainsaw if you have one, and five gallon buckets. If you have a wheelbarrow that you can bring, that would be very helpful also to in order to move mulch!
2. This Sunday, Pastor Miller will be continuing his series in the book of Ephesians, preaching a message from Ephesians 3:14-21. We'll also be having a baby dedication ceremony as a part of the morning worship service.
3.
A new session of small groups is underway, but it's not too late to join a group! The topic of this small group series is “Busy: Tackling the Problem of an Overloaded Christian Life.” If you are not a part of small groups, I would encourage you to sign up for this session! To register, please click here:
Spring Small Group Registration
4.
Plan to join us on Saturday, April 5 as we visit a few local nursing homes to sing some "Easter hymns" and share the hope of the Gospel with residents. We'll begin the day here at the church at 1:45 PM, and will be finished at the last nursing home around 4:00 PM. We need you to register if you plan to attend so that we can make sure we have enough participants. To register, please click here:
Easter Nursing Home Singing Registration
5. Another workday will be held on Saturday, April 12 beginning at 9:00 AM. That morning, we'll work on inside tasks, and also will do a few outdoor tasks up near the building. We have jobs for everyone, young and old, so please plan to join us!
6. Easter is now a month away. We have several different events planned for the week leading up to Easter, which we'd like for you to put on your calendar now :
Wednesday, April 16- "Day of Prayer" We will be having a prayer service in the Resurrection Garden at 6:30 PM. There is no AWANA that night due to Easter week. We are also encouraging the church family to begin a day long fast that evening at 6:30 PM. During the fast, we encourage you to pray, and spend time in God's Word.
Thursday, April 17- Communion Service 6:30 PM in the Family Life Center. We will break our fast together that evening by partaking in the Lord's Supper.
Friday, April 18- Good Friday Service 6:30 PM at the crosses near Resurrection Garden. Each of our pastors/elders will be sharing a brief message about the various characters in the crucifixion account.
Sunday, April 20- Sunrise Service 7:00 AM at Resurrection Garden; 8:00 AM Breakfast; 10:00 AM Regular Worship Service (No Sunday School)
We have cards prepared with all of these events listed for you to take with you this Sunday, if you'd like. Additionally, we have cards made up that you can use to invite family and friends to attend Good Friday or Easter Sunday. Look for those at the Welcome Center.
The church will be providing a week-long devotion for all families and individuals to use throughout the week, that connect to the different events going on at the church. This devotion will be distributed on Palm Sunday (April 13), but will be available online as well.
7. April is "soccer ball month" for our OCC collection and we would love to be able to include a soccer ball in 400 boy boxes this year! Rather than having you purchase the soccer balls, we are asking for donations to cover the cost ($6 per ball--includes pump). Throughout the month of April, you will find a soccer net in the Gathering Area with commitment tags hanging from it, where you can choose to sponsor one, three, five, or ten soccer balls. Donations can be given by check or cash in the offering (please mark it as "OCC Soccer Balls") by the end of April. Donations can also be given through Berea's online giving system.
Also, as mentioned last month, we are trying to get any small filler items you can find at great prices. We put together an Amazon Wish List to give ideas that you can view throughout April. To view that wish list, click here:
OCC Amazon Wishlist Items aren't limited to just that Wish List though! Anything small will work!
Our first OCC Workday for the year will be held in April. Mark your calendars for Tuesday, April 8 at 1:00 PM at the church. No supplies are needed, just able bodies.
Finally, to help cover the shipping for our OCC boxes we are collecting change as we've done in the past. Containers are available at the Welcome Center in the foyer, and can be returned to the church office.
It is amazing to see how God is blessing the OCC ministry here at Berea through each of you who are involved. Thank you for all your support!!
Ways You Can Pray This Week
1. Pray for safety for those who will be working at the workday tomorrow morning. There are many tasks to do that will require equipment and physical effort!
2. Pray for our missionaries that are serving the Lord in the United States and around the world. Many are making a huge impact for the Lord! Pray for their protection, and that God might grow the seeds these individuals and families are planting.
3. Pray for those who do not know Christ. Easter season provides many opportunities to share the Gospel. Be praying for opportunities to reach those in your circle who need to hear the "Good News!"
4. Pray for our worship team. We are so thankful for each person who serves each week, whether that's someone who sings, plays an instrument, or works at the Media Desk.
***Please know that there are many individuals who need prayer this week due to health concerns and other events going on in their lives. Out of sensitivity to each individual's situation, these requests may not appear in this weekly blog. We have a "Prayer Team" at the church who receives more detailed information, and commits to praying for individuals in our church family.
This Week's Devotions
Here is a week of devotions centered on the idea of "Spring Cleaning:"
Day 1: Clearing the Clutter
Psalm 51:10 – "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me."
Spring cleaning often starts with clearing out the clutter—old things that no longer serve a purpose. In our spiritual lives, clutter can look like distractions, bad attitudes, or habits that pull us away from God. As we begin this week, let’s ask God to reveal what needs to go so we can worship Him with a clean heart.
Day 2: Dusting Off Our Priorities
Matthew 6:33 – "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."
Dust settles when we neglect the surfaces of our homes, and the same happens in our souls when we let God’s priorities slip. Spring cleaning is a chance to refocus. Are we seeking Him first, or have other things taken His place? Let’s dust off our priorities and put worship at the center.
Day 3: Washing Away the Stains
1 John 1:9 – "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Stains on a carpet or a shirt need attention, and so do the stains of sin in our lives. Confession is our "spiritual soap"—it cleanses us and prepares us to approach God with confidence. Today, let’s bring our stains to Him and trust His promise to make us clean.
Day 4: Opening the Windows
John 8:12 – "Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’"
Don't you love opening the windows to let fresh air and sunlight into your home? Spring cleaning often involves letting light flood into the once dim rooms of winter. In worship, we’re called to let Christ’s light shine into every corner of our lives. Are there areas we’ve kept closed off? Today, let’s open the windows of our hearts to His illuminating presence.
Day 5: Polishing Our Praise
Hebrews 13:15 – "Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name."
Polishing furniture brings out its shine, and refining our praise enhances our worship. Sometimes our praise gets dull—routine or half-hearted. Let’s take time today to polish it, offering God fresh, intentional gratitude for who He is and what He’s done.
Day 6: Sweeping Out Selfishness
Philippians 2:3-4 – "Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others."
My family makes fun of me, but one of my favorite cleaning tasks is to run the sweeper. There's something about seeing things on the carpet and wood floor instantly disappear with a pass. A good spring sweep gets rid of dirt. Selfishness can hide in our motives, even in worship, when we focus on what we get rather than what we give. Today, let’s sweep out self-centeredness and prepare to worship with humility and love for others.
Day 7: A Fresh Start for Worship
Revelation 21:5 – "And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’"
After a week of cleaning, a home feels new. God offers us a fresh start too. As we’ve cleared, dusted, washed, and polished our hearts this week, let’s step into worship with renewed awe and commitment, ready to honor Him rightly.
Kids (and Kids At Heart) Korner
To stick with the cleaning theme this week, here's a joke you can tell to your friends!
Q: What did the broom say to the vacuum?
A: "I'm so tired of people pushing us around."
Let us know if there is something we can pray for you about! Have a good week! See you Sunday!
Keep Pressing On,
Mark