Jesus had questionable friendships, and the religious authorities — sometimes even his disciples — didn’t approve.

As we look candidly at Jesus’ life journey and some of his scandalous friendships, we’ll examine how we should be able to do the same. When should we break the rules? When should we forgo decorum for honesty and rage? When does love call us to cross barriers of safety, appearance, and loyalty?

Good Friday, April 22, 7:00 pm: How Powerful Is the Cross?

Christ went to the cross for his betrayer, for the battalion of soldiers who would kill him, for the politicians who would acquiesce to their constituencies, for the dear friend who would fail him.
Did he love these people any more or any less than you or me? Did he judge them? Can we love these people as Christ did? Because these people are still in our world today! In our workplace, in our church, in our government — anywhere there is humankind.

What is God calling you to do with those who challenge your relationships, your humanness, and your fitness to be a child of God? How does love respond?

Easter Egg Hunt, April 23, 10:00 am

We’ll celebrate Easter with the kids with our annual Easter Egg Hunt! This event is for children ages two and older. We will be coloring eggs, playing Easter-themed games, having a bunny hop sack race, and of course hunting for hundreds of colorful eggs. Bring a friend to join us too! If you have questions contact Melody at mmerida@lifejourneychurch.cc

Easter Sunday, April 24, 9:30 and 11:00 am

Join us as we celebrate the power of Christ’s resurrection!

We’ll welcome musical guest Laura Carmona from Dayton, OH. Laura is passionate in the way she communicates Jesus’ love in song and word. She has been involved in music ministry since she was 14 years old.

We’ll also welcome special guest “Sister Mary Ignatius” from Any Catholic School, USA. This excerpt from Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All looks at some of the things we’ve been taught about God in the past, and how fear has been instilled by the church. How can we live a fearless life when we’re surrounded by it?

We’ll enjoy an evening of great music, and ponder how we can live a fearless life.

For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7

Nathan is a graduate of the IU School of Music, with a bachelors in Music Education, and has completed several hours at Butler University in Choral Conducting. He has taught elementary music education for eleven years, and has conducted and volunteered in various capacities with the Indianapolis Children’s Choir for over nine years.

Nathan shares, “I am so excited to be a part of this church and now a part of the Children’s Choir ministry! I hope to serve the church with beautiful music sung by our children.”

Check the calendar for the next meeting day, and join us at 6:30 pm in Room 8. We can’t wait to see you there! Questions? Please see Melody Merida or email her.

If you like praise and worship and want more music, this service is for you! We’ll sing a wide range of old and new favorites.

Our worship theme for the evening is Faith Without Borders. We’ll be blessed with a homily from Michael Drain. You may remember him from the Black History Month service as “the Preacher.” He’ll share some insights about faith and how that impacts us as a church that draws from diverse traditions.

We will have some soloists from our church, and one from our local community, Anthony Rodriguez. Our prayer is that God will speak to you through the music and strengthen you on life’s journey!

All four praise teams will be there, with your favorite singers from the Music Ministry.

We will be singing some of your favorite songs: How Great Is Our God, Praise Adonai, Use Me, Shout Your Fame and Revelation Song, plus some new songs like You Are Welcome and Expectation. This will be a time to let yourself go in worship of our wonderful Savior and Lord! The service will include a brief homily, but the focus will be on praise and worship through music!

His responsibilities will include serving as piano accompanist during our morning worship services each Sunday, rehearsals with the Choirs and Instrumental Ensemble during the week, and occasionally performing special music. He will also fill in for Mark Brown as Worship Leader when Mark is not here.

Richard brings impeccable qualifications and loads of experience with him to this position. He has a B.A. in Piano Performance. He has held staff positions as both Accompanist and Music Minister at two large local churches, including one church with weekly attendance of 6,500. He served as an accompanist for Sandi Patty for two years. He currently works for Lawrence North High School as their Choral Department’s Accompanist and Instructional Assistant. Richard has experience with a broad range of musical genres.

He has a deep calling to use the arts to help people connect to God, and looks forward to growing with the Music Ministry and Jesus MCC. Be sure to make him feel welcome!

Historically, Jesus MCC has had a part-time accompanist to supplement and support the work of our Worship Arts Minister. The position has been vacant for the past two years due to the deep economic recession and associated budget shortfalls. In recent months, however, giving has begun to return to pre-recession levels. So, at our January 31 Congregational Meeting, a budget was approved that restores funding for the accompanist position.

If you know someone who might be interested, please download the Position Posting. The deadline for application is March 14, 2010. Let’s pray that God will bring us the right person!

• The Sanctuary Choir rehearses every Wednesday at 7:00 pm. We sing every other Sunday in both morning services, and in the evening service on opposite weeks.
• The Instrumental Ensemble rehearses on Thursday evenings at 7:00 pm and/or Saturday mornings at 9:30 am. They also perform every other Sunday in the morning services, and in the evening service on opposite Sundays.
• We have one major presentation during Holy Week. This year the choir will perform a three-part musical to chronicle the Last Supper, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection of Jesus. We’ll work with the Theater Arts Ministry.
• If you’re a soloist, the Music Ministry invites you to audition for Mark Brown, our Minister of Worship Arts.

The Sanctuary Choir and Instrumental Ensemble are not “official” Oasis gatherings, but many of our members find this is a meaningful part of their spiritual development and service. It is a time that those called to serve as church musicians can be of one spirit and offer their talents to God and allow the Spirit to touch lives through the music that is presented.

For more information please email Mark C. Brown, Minister of Worship Arts, or call (317) 722-0000 × 104.

We recently sang inspirational songs as part of the annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner. The audience was also invited to share their testimony. Several youth and adults from Indiana Youth Group joined us. They and others graciously shared their stories and what they were thankful for. Upon closing, everyone sang Nobody Can Do Me Like Jesus, filling the room with the Spirit.

On Christmas Eve, the Gospel Choir will help bring Christmas cheer as we delight in song along with Deacon Robert Ferguson, who will deliver the sermon. Please join us and partake in a wondrous, God-loving event.

On January 9, we will begin rehearsing for our annual Black History Month Celebration. We invite anyone who is interested in being a part of the gospel choir to join us in this exciting new year! Please contact Mark Brown for more information, or fill out the form in Sunday’s Weekly News.