So April begins with the events of the end of Jesus’ life. But the first Sunday of April is all about a new beginning. And what I want you to experience is that Jesus still loves us that much.

The events of Passion week remind us of this. The humiliating kangaroo trial, the gruesome whipping with the cat of nine tails, the painful crown of thorns, the horrible death by crucifixion – all point out just how much Jesus loves us. It’s a marvelous thing to begin to comprehend the love of God – especially when we know that His love overcame even death. Oh, that we might respond to that love with praise and obedience and a lifestyle that glorifies Him.

I was surprised to read recently that on a typical weekend, about 2% of the nations atheists and agnostics attend Christian church services (according to a Barna Research Group study), but on Easter Sunday, the figure climbs to 12% (about 1.5 million adults). What an amazing opportunity we have to bring a friend – even if he or she is atheist or agnostic – to a church service so they can hear about this amazing love!

Let’s celebrate the Resurrection with Christ and His love as the focal point. Let’s remove the worldly foolishness that blocks our vision (candy, Easter eggs and bunnies) and let’s celebrate Him with our whole hearts. Join me on Easter Sunday for the celebration – and bring a friend!

Loving you in the Lord,

Pastor Bill Linton

Click Here to visit the (unofficial) PCC Youth Group FaceBook page!

DISCLAIMER: The PCC Youth Group FaceBook page is not maintained by PCC. The (unofficial) PCC Youth Group FaceBook page is maintained by Vivian Johnson.

Have you ever been out and about and ran into someone and you wanted to share a specific passage of scripture but you didn’t have a Bible with you?

Perhaps you’re relaxing on your lunch break at work and wish you could feed on God’s Word as well, but again, you didn’t have your Bible handy?

Perhaps you were in a hurry to get to church on Sunday morning and you forgot your trusty Bible as you sped out the door, coffee and bagel in hand.

Now my friends, there’s a solution to your problem!

Through Apple’s “App Store”, you can FREELY download “Mantis Bible Study”, available for the Apple iPhone, iTouch and iPad (currently, Mantis does not offer their Bible Study products for any other manufacturer devices at this time).

Mantis Bible Study comes with the full King James text. It works offline so you don’t need to worry about being connected to the Internet. The Mantis Bible Study software also allows you to bookmark your favorite passages, take notes, and search for any text in a matter of moments. It’s like having a whole Bible and concordance set at your fingertips – ALL FOR FREE!

For a few extra dollars, you can download additional translations such as the NIV, Living Translation, ESV, etc. Mantis also provides prayer guides, study companions, A-to-Z books, and a wide variety of other Christian publications and reference guides.

Mantis Bible Study is truly a simple, elegant, and portable way for a Christian to stay armed and ready with God’s Word, wherever they may go!

To learn more about Mantis Bible Study, visit http://www.mantisbible.com/

DISCLAIMER: PCC does not “endorse” products by any particular organization, but PCC does recognize a good thing when they see it!

We are blessed to live in a country where we have the freedom do this both privately and publicly.

We will begin our participation in this special event at 7:00 am and continue it for the full day.

There will be a sign-up sheet in the Sanctuary and in the Fellowship room. You are invited to pray either here at the church, at work, at home, in the car or at school. The Sanctuary will be open all day for those who wish to pray here. There will be pamphlets, scripture, articles, lists of our leaders and other information available. Be part of the solution, offer your prayers.

You may contact Bev Proud for more information.

“If My people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” – 2 Chronicles 7:14

Do you have a need for prayer?

Maybe you should join us on the third Friday of the month!

Family Prayer Night – April 16th ~ 6:00 PM

It’s not too late to join us for prayer!

Call Dave Raffi to reserve your spot and help him make sure we have enough food for all!

For those that don’t know what we do…

We meet at 6 PM and have a little food and fellowship so you can come straight from work.

Then we pray silently and aloud for those in need and on our hearts.

Afterward, if you can stay, we watch a great movie with a God honoring message on our new comfortable chairs.

Bring a blanket or pillow to get comfy, and ENJOY!.

Weekend to Remember is designed to equip couples with practical, proven principles for strengthening their marriage. During the conference, you will learn how to:

• Receive your mate as a gift
• Clarify your role as a husband or wife
• Resolve conflict in the relationship
• Maintain a vital sexual connection
• Express forgiveness to one another
• Increase your commitment, creating an even deeper level of intimacy

Event Information
Hyatt Vineyard Creek Hotel and Spa
170 Railroad Street
Santa Rosa CA 95401
Phone: (707) 636-7100
Book Room $129.00/night
Resort Fee: $0.00
Event Dates: 04/16/2010 – 04/18/2010
Registration: $129.00/per person

Family Life has a wonderful website for more details check out www.familylife.com

Register for a Weekend to Remember here.

This year, March has another reminder for us about the wonderful creative and transforming power of our supreme Lord.  The last Sunday of the month (March 28th) is Palm Sunday, which celebrates the day Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the back of a young donkey – and the people acclaimed Him with Hosanna’s.

But the rest of the week – and going into the first part of April – is Holy Week, when we remember the last days of Jesus’ life on earth before He died.  Fully one-third of the Gospels are written about those events because Christ’s “Passion” is such a pivotal event not only in Christianity, but in all of world history.

But along with the events that happened that week, there is another creation that we look to.  It has little to do with the first creation of the earth or its re-creation (renewal) in the Spring, but with the beautiful truth that we who were dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1) are made new by Christ.  We’re even called a new creation: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!  All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them” (2 Corinthians 5:17-19a).

This is amazing!  Can you see the beauty in taking something that’s dead and making it live again?  That’s what we are as a result of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  That’s why we worship a supreme Lord.  No one else and no other religion can promise that we are being made new with the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead.  But Philippians 3:21 says the Lord Jesus Christ, “who, by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body.”

Do you want to be transformed?  There’s a saying that goes, “everybody wants to be transformed, but nobody wants to change.”  But this is a creative change that I glory in ñ my new life in Christ today and my new body in the future.

Revel in this; delight in it.  God’s transforming power is making us into a beautiful new creation in Christ!

Loving you in the Lord,

Pastor Bill Linton

“Who is It?” the shy young man asked. It turned out to be the friend’s cousin Mary. But since he never met her, this introvert immediately responded, “Oh no, I’m not going on any blind date!”

“Hey, don’t worry about this one,” his friend said. “Mary is a terrific girl, and trust me she’s really pretty. But if you don’t believe me, I’ll tell you how to get out of the date if you don’t agree. This is what I do: I go to the girl’s house to pick her up, and when she opens the door, I check her out. If I like what I see, then great, we’re all set. But if she’s ugly, I fake an asthma attack. I grab my throat like I am choking and scream ‘aahhhggg!’ So we have to call off the date. Just like that; no problem!”

The shy young man thought about it. He still wasn’t sure, but he didn’t want to appear scared, so he agreed. Besides, the whole scam seemed easy enough if he had to use it.

So the big night came. He went to pick Mary up at the house. He knocked on the door and she opened it. He looked at her and to his surprise, his friend was right. She was beautiful! He stood there not knowing what to say.

She looked at him for a moment, and then she grabbed her throat like she was choking and screamed, “Aaahhhggggg!”

Chances are you’ve been rejected by someone at some time in you life because, for whatever reason, you didn’t measure up. You didn’t drive the right car, have the right job, or mix with the right people – the list of potential “flaws” is endless.

But the great thing is: God doesn’t look at us that way. 1 Samuel 16:7 says, “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” God’s love for us isn’t dependent on anything superficial, but on His deep and abiding love for His own. He says, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness” (Jeremiah 31:3).

Because God loved us first (1 John 4:19), we love Him in return – not with a sticky sweet, romantic, twitter-pated sentimentality (“Jesus is my boyfriend”), but with a passion for His supremacy borne out of thankfulness for His sacrificial love for us.

God pours out His love for us by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5) so we can reach out and love all kinds of people, regardless of their outward appearance or the rejection they’ve felt from others.

Let’s use this season of love to savor Christ’s love for us and then practice spreading His love to others so they too might have joy.

Loving you in the LORD,

Pastor Bill Linton

There are many aspects of His coming we could celebrate. As you reflect on the meaning of Christmas this year, keep these three in mind:

1. Our sins have been taken away. If you are a Christian, you can be sure that God has forgiven your sins, but the good news of Christmas is even better than that. The Bible says He took them away so that you are now justified – that is, you’re in a position as if you’ve never sinned at all. Nothing. They’re all gone and no trace of sin is left on your (now- holy) spirit. It is just-as-if-I’d (justified) never sinned! You don’t have to shirk away from God in embarrassment about anything because God’s heart toward you is to do nothing but love you.
2. God’s anger has been taken away from us. Since there are no sins to stand between us and God, there’s nothing that would cause Him to be angry with us anymore. You may have grown up thinking that your heavenly Father is looking at you with a disapproving look on His face, but it’s not true. God looks on us with delight as He sees Jesus in us. We may still see our sins, but from the eternal realm God knows “it is finished” and that they’ve all been totally obliterated. Think outside the box – the time box – and be assured that your Father is happy with you because He has dealt with your sins already.
3. We don’t have to try to change ourselves. Religion is man’s attempt to make himself become acceptable to God by changing himself. You don’t have to do that anymore. You are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:10). If you look at yourself through the legalistic lens of performance-based acceptance, you’ll see flaws and will find yourself experiencing an urge to improve yourself on your own. When you look at yourself through the lens of God’s grace, you will know that He loves you at this very moment. He loves you enough that He will assume responsibility for bringing any changes into your life that may be needed.

It’s Christmas and our Father has given us a gift in Jesus Christ that surpasses anything we can imagine. He has taken away our sins. He adores us completely. He has let us off the hook so that we don’t have to assume full responsibility for changing our lives. Those gifts are just the tip of the iceberg.

Will you embrace the full meaning of Christmas? Jesus didn’t die just so you could go to heaven. He came to give you life – His life; an abundant life free from guilt, condemnation, and slavery to both sins and “religion.” He came to bring a grace revolution to the world and that is exactly what He accomplished. Now, that’s a reason to have a Merry Christmas!

Loving you in the Lord,

Pastor Bill Linton

Some people may wonder what we have to be thankful for when we’re in a time of recession. Here are just a few of the things I’m thankful for:

• That turkeys have some meat besides livers and gizzards.
• That there aren’t twice as many congressmen and half as many doctors.
• That teenagers will ultimately have children who will become teenagers.
• That the space available for messages on T-shirts and bumper stickers is limited.
• That God loves me whether I feel like it or not.
• That I have a family that loves me too.
• That women whose husbands take them for granted don’t all scream at once.
• That everybody DOESN’T tell me every Sunday what they think of my sermon.
• That TV’s, i-pods and car stereos can be turned off.
• That no one can turn off the sun, moon and stars.
• That I live in the land of the free and the home of the brave.
• That I’m not a turkey (O.K., I know that one’s debatable).

There are more things to be thankful for than we may think!

Habakkuk 3:17-18 says, “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce poor food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God, my Savior.”

Rejoicing with you in the mercy of our Father,

Pastor Bill Linton