Give the Gift of Life
Grace Kernersville is hosting a Blood Drive on Sunday, May 29 from 1:30-6:00pm in the church’s Fellowship Hall. You may schedule your appointment at www.redcrossblood.org.
Category Archives: Pastor’s Blog
“Goodbye to the Mortgage, Jim!”
Mark your calendars for Sunday, May 1st at 6:00pm. We are planning a BBQ celebration picnic to give thanks to God for His abundant provision and to ‘say goodbye to the mortgage!’
Please RSVP in Church Center. Grace will be providing the sides, but if you are able to help provide a pork shoulder (Boston Butt) or two and/or rubs and sauces, please sign up for those as well.
You may RSVP HERE.
Holy Week at Grace Kernersville
Holy Week begins Sunday, April 10. Here is what is going on at Grace Kernersville.
What is Holy Week?
Holy Week refers to the week which begins with Palm Sunday and concludes on Easter Sunday during which the church remembers the events and words spoken by Jesus twenty centuries ago.
Why participate in Holy Week services?
As I’ve celebrated Easter over the years, it has grown increasingly difficult to capture all that Easter means during a single worship service on Easter Sunday. Emotionally, it feels like too much to take in: the anticipation at the meal on Thursday evening, the shock of the betrayal, denial, and abandonment, the devastation on Golgotha, the finality at the tomb on Friday, the silence of Saturday, and the thunderstruck hope and joy on Sunday. This year we will remember the events of Holy Week by celebrating Palm (or Passion) Sunday, Holy (or Maundy) Thursday, Good Friday (Tenebrae), and Resurrection (or Easter) Sunday. Both Palm Sunday and Resurrection Sunday will be celebrated during our regular worship times. In addition, we will hold special services on Thursday and Friday evening from 7-8pm.
What are the services?
- Holy (Maundy) Thursday (7 pm on April 14). Sundown on Holy Thursday begins the Triduum (tree-do-‘em) or “three days.” Holy Thursday is oftentimes referred to as Maundy which is taken from the Latin “mandatum” or “commandment.” After washing his disciples’ feet and instituting the Lord’s Supper, Jesus told his disciples, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another (John 13:34).” On Holy Thursday, we will gather and recount Jesus’ last words to his disciples. Unlike previous years, we will not celebrate the Lord’s Supper, but we will wait until Easter Morning to receive the sacrament. The service concludes with recalling the betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot.
- Kernersville Cross Walk. The 31st Good Friday Crosswalk will take place on April 15. Walkers gather in the Food Lion parking lot at 617 N. Main St. at 11:30am and depart at 12:00pm on a silent walk to Mt. Gur Cemetery. This event is sponsored by the Kernersville Christian Minister’s Fellowship
- Good Friday or Tenebrae (7 pm on April 15). Tenebrae is Latin for “shadows.” During the Good Friday service we will remember Jesus’ last words, his crucifixion, and death.
- Resurrection (Easter) Sunday at the Picnic Shelter (10:30am on April 17). Resurrection Sunday celebrates the truth that the tomb was empty because the Lord Jesus had conquered sin and death by rising from dead. Jesus’ resurrection confirms for us that he is the Son of God, that he accomplished the work of saving his own, and that we too share in the hope of the resurrection and the promise of new life by our faith in him. There will be a children’s Easter Egg Hunt following the worship service on Sunday.
Crisis in Ukraine
Grace Kernersville is working with our denomination’s Mission to the World to support and pray for those who are ministering to and suffering on account of the Russian invasion of their country.
You may learn more about what MTW is doing via the link HERE. You may also see their most recent prayer update HERE.
Joel McClain Blood Drive
The Joel McClain Memorial Blood Drive will be held, Saturday, February 26 from 9:00am to 1:30pm in the church fellowship hall. You may schedule your appointment HERE. Search with keyword: gracepres. Donors are needed. There is a countrywide blood donation crisis.
Congregation Update
If you didn’t get to attend the congregation update, you may view the slideshow via the player below.
You may also view the congegational meeting as it was recorded on Zoom via the player below.
Bible Reading Plans
Need a Bible Reading Plan for 2002? Check out these plans collected by Ligonier. There’s one here to meet your needs and keep your daily Bible reading fresh. Check out there list HERE.
Pass the Piece
Pastor Randy and Jennifer Edwards will host an online artist reception for Dawn Waters Baker and their collaboration in this year’s Rabbit Room, Pass the Piece collaborative project.
Pass the Piece is a way in which artists collaborate on works. An artist creates a piece of work and sends it to a randomly selected collaborator which then adds to, responds to, or brings to completion the piece they received. Think of it as a Secret Santa for artists. At any rate, we know you’ll love seeing Dawn’s artwork, hearing her take on how art and faith come together, and learn how she and Pastor Randy ended up making what they made.
The reception will be held live on the church’s YouTube channel and Facebook page. Feel free to watch live or later.
Dawn’s painting, “Living in the Land of Uz” together with Pastor Randy’s responses will be on display in the church foyer through November.
You may view the video of the artwork and listen to Pastor Randy read the poems which were a response to the art below.
Potluck in the Pavilion BBQ Edition
Grace’s Potlucks in the Pavilion concludes this Sunday, October 24 from 6:00-7:30pm in the church Pavilion with our annual BBQ Potluck. BBQ is provided, please bring a side and/or a dessert to share. Preparers are need on Saturday at Noon, and pullers are needed on Sunday at 5pm. See Pastor Randy if you have questions.
Women’s Bible Study
Grace Kernersville will begin a Women’s Bible Study beginning:Wednesday, October 6 and continuing weekly until November 17. The study will meet from 7:00-8:30pm in the church Fellowship Hall (following Grace Pres Covid meeting guidelines)
If you would like to attend, please let Carla Collins know so she can email you the curriculum. There are also copies on the back table in the sanctuary.
The structure of this study will be based on Jen Wilkin’s 6 P’s of Sound Bible Study, using the definitions of Purpose, Perspective, Patience, Process, Prayer, and People to learn more about Ecclesiastes. The questions are included to help assist us in reflecting on the passage. We will not be going over all of them but may highlight a few. It is the hope that this study will allow us to reflect on the life we have lived and are to live, addressing what is truly of value in comparison to those pursuits we end up grasping for. Can anything really be satisfying apart from God?