Welcome to MPC Connected! With our church family separated, we will be communicating with you throughout the week in a more intentional way, including emails from Max and Jeff, opportunities to serve others, and more. Enjoy!
Dear Church Family,
Last Sunday, as I left the church building, I glanced over at the table by the front door and noticed the sign-up sheet for our annual Easter breakfast. Two lonely families adorned the top of an otherwise blank page. A lump grew in my throat. As they say, oftentimes you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone (sorry if you’ve got that awful Poison song in your head now). Of course, with Holy Week upon us, we are working to have a Good Friday service out to you by the end of the week, and Lord willing our little band will be at the church building to lead us all through an Easter morning service, but your absence will surely sting all the more acutely.
In the meantime, what will you spend your time doing this week? Let me make a few recommendations:
Read a Christian biography/Christian classic/church history. I think one of the most important things we can do to help us through a tough time is to place our time in the context of history. Augustine’s City of God or Confessions would both be good to sink your teeth into, given the extra free time you may have in your schedule. The four volume work 2,000 Years of Christ’s Power is an excellent little series on church history. Also excellent is Bruce Shelley’s Church History in Plain Language.
Grab one of these dvds from wtsbooks.com while they are on sale. I’ve mentioned Dispatches From the Front, but I’ve heard nothing but rave reviews about Tim Challies’ latest called Epic: https://www.wtsbooks.com/collections/dvd?_ke=eyJrbF9lbWFpbCI6ICJtYXguci5iZW5mZXJAZ21haWwuY29tIiwgImtsX2NvbXBhbnlfaWQiOiAiUGNKUWppIn0%3D
Watch or read a classic. I am plowing my way through Joyce’s Ulysses and taking big sighs of relief with my third time through Orwell’s 1984. And, you can’t go wrong with another viewing of Casablanca.
Play a game. The Benfer home has acquired quite a few games over the past five years. Three that we love to play are 7 Wonders, Ticket to Ride, and Dominion.
Whatever you choose to do, I pray that you have a great week walking with our Lord.
Love you and miss you,
Max
Though we are separated during this unique season, we want you to know we are available. We will be doing our best to stay in touch in many ways, but if you need prayer or just need someone to talk to, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. You can always send a prayer request to Donna (mpcadminteam@gmail.com). You can also email or call Max or Jeff or any of our elders. Max's email is mbenfer@meadowcroftchurch.org and his phone # is 484-886-7726. Jeff's email is jeff@meadowcroftchurch.org and his phone number is 540-818-6215.