Trail Talk-March 29, 2025
- jei614
- Mar 29
- 6 min read
From the Ashes of Sacrifice
Dr. Linda Settles
3/28/25
Is your all on the altar of sacrifice laid? Your heart does the Spirit control? You can only be blest, And have peace and sweet rest, As you yield Him your body and soul.
This hymn, written in 1900 by E.A. Hoffman, gets to the heart of true sacrifice. Perhaps you are giving something up for Lent. Food, wine, television, sweets (ouch!). Those are mighty fine things to do. Lent is a time when we remember the sacrifice of Jesus by doing our own sacrifice of something dear to us. But I don’t know if sacrificing cookies is a fitting tribute to the King of kings! Now, don’t go breaking your fast because of me. All I’m saying is that we should count the cost of our sacrifices.
The hymn asks is your ALL on the altar, are you willing to turn the control of your mind, body, and soul over to the Spirit? According to Bro. Hoffman, that’s the only way that we can find peace and rest, by yielding all of ourselves to the Lord. Puts a different slant on our sacrifice doesn’t it?
The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
Psalm 51:17
The blood of bulls and goats were a temporary sacrifice. But Jesus, well, He’s the real thing!
11 And every priest stands day after day at his service, offering again and again the same sacrifices that can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, “he sat down at the right hand of God,” 13 and since then has been waiting “until his enemies would be made a footstool for his feet.” 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.
Hebrews 10:11-14
Have you ever had to wash a piece of clothing twice in order to get a stain out? Not so with Jesus. He’s like Tide, He gets the stains out that others leave behind. There’s no greater power to overcome sin, no greater grace to forgive, no greater love than to give your life as a ransom for many. And He only had to do it once for all.
Jesus, by His sacrifice, took our place on the cross. We deserved the punishment for our sins, we were the ones who deserved to die. But He traded places with us. And from the ashes of His sacrifice, He rose to sit down at the right hand of the Father. Once, for all of us! That’s Good News!
I hope you will join me on Sunday as we continue our Lenten sermon series: From the Ashes. This Sunday marks the fourth Sunday of Lent. The sermon title: From the Ashes of Sacrifice: Trading Places. I’ll see you in the Sanctuary!
Lenten Offering goes through Easter. This is above your regular giving. It is a sacrificial giving that the board usually designates for a particular cause or need. This year, the board has once again designated it for the youth and children’s ministries. This will help ensure that our young people have vibrant ministry so that they, too, become deeply rooted disciples! Please designate “Lenten Offering” when giving.
Churchwide Bible Study! Who is Jesus? Let’s talk about it on Wednesday, from 6:30-7:30pm. Whether you’re a long-time disciple or new to the faith, this course is sure to strengthen you on your faith journey! No book is required for purchase. Study guides will be made available for each of the 6 weeks. Potluck dinner (optional) will be available from 5:45-6:15pm, or come for class at 6:30p. Let’s pack the MPR, because the church that studies together stays together! Check out the trailer: https://app.rightnowmedia.org/en/player/video/860452?session=871151&position=0.
Trekkers our outreach to youth, will host a community open house on April 5! The event will go from 10am-2pm. If you signed up to volunteer already, please adjust the date to April 5. Our intent is to recruit students and get parental consent, so that we can begin to serve our young people in creative ways. If you haven’t signed up to be a volunteer, WE NEED YOU! Just see Pastor Linda for the April 5 event and I’ll get you signed up! And please help us recruit by letting your neighbors know what’s happening. This is for middle school and high school students.
Save the Date! GT will once again dine out together! We had so much fun at the Mellow Mushroom, that we decided to do it again. So, on April 8, we will dine out at Maggie O’Brien’s. More details will come later.
Membership Sunday will be Palm Sunday, April 13! If you've been thinking about being a member of GT, this is your day! You can email me at: drlinda@umcgt.org to let me know that you'd like to join and I'll have your certificate ready! We are growing the community of faith, one person at a time!
Vision for 2025:
Deeply Rooted:
Growing Through Discipleship!
Blessings,
Pastor Linda
This Week!
Sunday, March 30 9AM-Small Groups Beans and Bags-Room 204 Children's Cafe-Room 206 Youth Group-Room 210 In the Word-Room 108 10AM-Sanctuary Worship From the Ashes of Sacrifice Pastor Linda Settles 6PM-Room 210 Youth Group | Tuesday, April 1 10AM-Multipurpose Room Tai Chi 6PM-Multipurpose Room After Hours Community Band 7PM Wednesday, April 2 5:45PM-MPR Potluck 6:30PM-MPR WOW! What is a Christian? Saturday, April 5 8AM-Multipurpose Room Zumba |
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Willing Walkers Wanted!
We need help passing out flyers for Trekkers! Sign up and enjoy the outdoors!
Here's the schedule for the day:
10AM open gym
10:30-11:30 Class 1
11:30-12 lunch
12:30-1:30 Class 2
1:30-2 open gym
We need teachers and helpers that day. Please note that you must be Safe Gatherings Certified. Please click here to get certified https://safegatherings.com/app/superadmin/
Thank you!
We Need You!
Please fill out the Volunteer Survey to let us know where you'd like to help out!
Please return to Claudia or put in the offering on Sunday!
Eggstravaganza!
We host an annual party for our neighbors to celebrate God's love for us and teach them about the week between Palm Sunday through Easter! We'll have egg hunts, food, crafts and more! We're partnering with the Missouri House Rabbit Rescue who are bringing their bunnies to be petted and played with! We're making bunny treats for MOHRR and also gathering paper towels and white vinegar to help with the MOHRR mission. We will have Resurrection eggs to teach everyone about the week.
We need people to help in all areas. The egg hunt will be outside, but the other events will be inside upstairs in the children's wing.
We also need donations so please sign up for that if you can't come Those can be dropped off at the Giving Table downstairs by the main entrance.
Thank you for your help and remember to invite all your friends!!
Please Click Here to Sign Up to help out! We need all hands on deck!
Sign up for Feed the Need!
Registration opens February 24th
A Group of UMCGT is going on the afternoon of April 12th
COMING SOON
TUESDAY, APRIL 8-Maggie O'Brien's Fundraiser
SUNDAY, APRIL 13-1-3PM-Eggstravaganza
FRIDAY, APRIL 18-Good Friday Service
SUNDAY, APRIL 20- Easter Sunday!
Please note: Trivia Night is being rescheduled for October. A day and time will be announced soon.
WOW is BACK!
Churchwide Bible Study!
Lenten study: What is a Christian?
Potluck at 5:45p, class from 6:30-7:30p
This study is part of RightNow Media's Essentials of Faith series. It answers key questions of the Christian faith such as:
Who is God?
What makes humans unique?
What went wrong?
Who is Jesus?
Who is the Holy Spirit?
What is a Christian?
This study is good for all who believe in Jesus, whether you've been following Him for years or you're new to the faith.
Grow in your discipleship and get deeply rooted with us!
A new challenge for a new year!
Write a verse a day from the Bible. Here is January-click below to print out a copy or use your own notebook!
FROM YOUR BOARD
The Roof Replacement is complete!
Sign up to help out!
Camp Registration is OPEN!
Scholarships and Financial Assistance are Always Available.
Just let us know at jei@umcgt.org
MT Camp
Multiple Child discount: $250/ 1st child, $225 each additional child
Pathfinder Camp
Multiple Child discount: $200/ 1st child, $175each additional child
The newsletter is published weekly on Saturdays. If you would like to submit something to the Newsletter, please email it to jei@umcgt.org no later than the Friday before at noon. Thank you!
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