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NEWS AND EVENTS
Visit our home page to read about the terrific program entitled Smart Discipline® Program for Parents scheduled for Saturday, April 12 from 10:00 a.m. until 12:00 noon.  This program is open to the entire community. 





EASTER SEASON DATES AND ACTIVITIES

        Ash Wednesday:           February 6
        Palm Sunday:               March 16
        Maundy Thursday:       March 20
        Good Friday:               March 21
        Easter Sunday:             March 23

Ash Wednesday (February 6) begins the season of Lent, and we will observe this very significant day in the life of the Church with a special 7:00 p.m. worship service centered on the mercy of the Lord.  Two verses will guide our worship.  We will reflect on Luke 18:13b "God be merciful to me, a sinner" and Luke 6:36 "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."  The mercy of the Lord undergirds everything from our prayers of confession on Ash Wednesday to our praise of celebration on Easter morning.  We will experience God's mercy together as we take communion at the end of this service.

During the seven Sundays of Lent we will continue our series entitled 12 Essential Proclamations of Discipleship.  We will hear proclamations from Peter, the man at the pool of Bethesda, the woman at the well, Thomas, Martha, the pilgrims on Palm Sunday and Mary Magdalene. 

Wednesday nights during Lent we will continue our whirlwind study of the life of Christ as presented in Matthew, Mark and Luke.  Each week at 7:00 p.m. we will study the steps Jesus took on His way to the cross and on through the resurrection.

On Maundy Thursday (March 20) at 7:00 p.m. we will focus our attention on the death of Jesus Christ.  Some members of our congregation will share testimonies, special music will be offered and we will conclude the service, as the disciples and Jesus did on the night before He was crucified, by taking communion together.  These services and other spiritual practices we follow throughout Lent will prepare our hearts for the wondrous celebration of Easter that will arrive on Sunday, March 23.  Please make worship a priority throughout this meaningful season.





WARM NIGHTS MINISTRY
The Warm Nights Ministry for 2008 is scheduled for March 23 through March 30.  Follow the Warm Nights link to learn more about this program.  To read about all of our Outreach and Missions Programs, please visit that page.








PASTOR JOHN BURNS' BOOK: MODELING MARY IN CHRISTIAN DISCIPLESHIP
Rev. Burns' New Book
 Judson Press Describes
Pastor Burns' Book:
 

Thinking about discipleship in terms of steps, stages, phases, or levels makes many Christians uncomfortable. After all, how many of us want to take a critical look at ourselves and our journey of spiritual development, only to find we’re not at the level we think we should be—or worse yet, we’ve regressed! Maybe we can’t even identify the stage we’re in.


Author and pastor John Burns has an aversion to descriptions of discipleship that involve gradations of achievement. He’s troubled by the many best-selling books on the subject that indicate that there are steps to follow which take disciples in a straight line from baptism to sainthood like ascending rungs on a ladder of discipleship.


Burns found comfort in the Bible where, when looking at the examples of Jesus’ followers, he discovered that he couldn’t find uninterrupted linear progress in their lives either. The surprise came when he discovered the disciple he was most drawn to was Mary, the mother of Jesus. Although the biblical references to Mary are not overwhelming in number, they are profoundly reflective of the stages of discipleship that each of us must pass through on our way to spiritual maturity.
Modeling Mary addresses the questions:

  • How does spiritual maturity look when we take a dynamic, artistic approach versus a linear, measured approach?
  • How can Mary’s life provide illumination for our own growth in discipleship?
  • What does it mean for us to answer God’s call rather than stick to our own agenda?

Burns offers readers:

  • Spiritual meditations built on ten passages from the Gospels which focus on the spiritual development of Mary
  • A look at pondering, suffering, and refocusing in our journey of spiritual development
  • An understanding of the role grace plays in our becoming disciples of Christ
  • Questions for reflection and small group study
 The Pastor's New Book is Available!
 
 
 Rev. John Burns has authored a new book, Modeling Mary in Christian Discipleship, and it is now available for purchase from Judson Press or another online book company.  Carol Ramsey-Lucas has ordered copies, available for $11 through the church's Media Center.  Judson Press describes the book as follows:

"The practice of an art form is more dynamic than it is linear. So, I believe, is the journey of discipleship." —from Chapter 1

Reviews:

"John Burns is a master storyteller with a pastor's heart. In Modeling Mary he instructs, inspires, and brings to us a refreshing and intimate understanding of discipleship." —Bernard Richardson, Dean of the Chapel, Howard University


"Of course, the Bible contains little of Mary's story beyond the birth narratives and several later stories, but Burns makes a good case for these glimpses of Mary's experiences as pointers on the road of Christian living. Avoiding the fanciful, his meditations are biblically based and often include the experiences of his family and friends. He ends with the heady observation that 'we are not the ruler of our world, but rather... God is sovereign.'" —Publishers Weekly, May 28, 2007





UBC Praise and Worship Service

On Sunday, May 13, 2007 a group of lay members of UBC started a new Sunday morning praise and worship service.  The service will be held weekly from 9:00 - 9:45 a.m. in the sanctuary.  This time is an inspirational service where all people rejoice in the Lord for the great things He continues to do.  Activities include prayer, song, scripture and testimony. 

For seven weeks in the fall this group focused its weekly service on how, as individuals, we can maintain special relationships with God. As the hymn says: Trust and obey, for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus . . . It is healthy for our minds to do what God asks us to do.  Therefore we renew our spiritual strength and therefore, inner peace, every time we trust and obey Him.  We are, as a result, slated for eternal life.  Topics studied during this seven week session included Strength in Trusting Him, The Silent Call, God's Justice, and God will give you rest. 

On January 20, 2008 the Praise Team celebrated their ministry by welcoming the Northwestern High School Choir, enjoyed solos by Janine Gilbert-Carter and Vernon Carter, and a praise medly from the UBC duet of Craig and Marcia Warner. 

Everyone is welcome each and every week at 9:00 a.m. in the sanctuary!  Following this service participants are invited to continue their Sunday morning at church in Bible study, which begins at 9:45 a.m. for children and teens and 10:00 a.m. for adults.
University Baptist Church.    www.weareubc.org    ©2007