NLC Connect - April 23, 2025

PC: Amanda Dover, Anissa Rivera and Natalie Zuniga
Easter weekend was a time of faith, family and fellowship! NLC kids and their families celebrated a Taste of Passover on Good Friday.
Our Church family rejoiced with four young people who were baptized. We eagerly anticipate the next round of baptisms.
NLC Kids had their first ever Glow in the Dark Egg hunt--it was a huge success.
Thank you to all who served in any capacity for our Passover event and Easter service!

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23
6:30 p.m. - Prayer Gathering - Room 113

THURSDAY, APRIL 24
6:00 p.m. - CELEBRATE RECOVERY small groups

SATURDAY, APRIL 26
5:30 p.m. - Immanuel Schools' Open House - 1128 S. Reed Avenue in Reedley (program at 5:30, followed by 6:30 dinner, class exhibits, and open classrooms)

SUNDAY, APRIL 27
8:30 a.m. - "Salt & Light" Growth Class - Room 114/115
9:30 a.m. - CONNECTING POINT

• Come meet and encourage others over coffee and snacks - Patio 

10:00 a.m. - WORSHIP/NLC KIDS/NURSERY
11:15 a.m. - Family Meal - Dining Room (last names A-K bring desserts and L-Z bring cold salads to serve 10 people to add to our make-your-own sub sandwiches!)
Last Sunday to place orders for chocolate-covered strawberries! (camp fundraiser)
5:00 p.m. - NLC Youth meeting - Room 207
6:00 p.m. - Mennonite Men's Chorus Concert at Gateway Church in Visalia

TUESDAY, APRIL 29
6:00 a.m. - Men's Bible Study - Dining Room
6:30 p.m. - GriefShare Support Group - Room 114/115
(No Healing Room this week)

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30
6:30 p.m. - Prayer Gathering - Room 113

THURSDAY, MAY 1
National Day of Prayer
6:00 p.m. - CELEBRATE RECOVERY small groups - Education Center

FRIDAY & SATURDAY, MAY 2 & 3
Prayer Booth at Dinuba's Cinco de Mayo Festival - Entertainment Plaza downtown (sign up at the Welcome table or contact Pastor Brad)

SUNDAY, MAY 4
8:30 a.m. - "Salt & Light" Growth Class - Room 114/115
9:30 a.m. - CONNECTING POINT

• Come meet and encourage others over coffee and snacks - Patio

10:00 a.m. - WORSHIP/NLC KIDS/NURSERY

• Communion
• Deacon Care Fund offering

11:30 a.m. - Deacons meeting - Community Room
5:00 p.m. - NLC Youth meeting - Room 207

TUESDAY, MAY 6
6:00 a.m. - Men's Bible Study - Dining Room
9:00 a.m. - LIFT Women's Bible Study - Room 114/115 (end of series)
6:30 p.m. - GriefShare Support Group - Room 114/115 (final session)
6:30 p.m. - Healing Room Prayer Ministry - Library

Please bring a dessert or salad large enough to feed ten people!  Thank you!

Received Last Week (4/20): ........... $5,788
Received this year: ...................... $206,422
Budget to Date:............................ $250,872
Budget Goal: ………..……...…...…...$383,686
Needed Weekly: ………….................. $9,848

“...and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead…”
—Ephesians 1:19–20 (ESV)
Two days after my husband was deployed, one of my kids accidentally locked my bedroom door—from the inside.
No key. No backup plan. No husband to call for help.
We tried everything. Hairpins, coat hangers, screwdrivers. My kids looked up YouTube videos on how to unlock interior doors like some kind of late-night locksmith. Nothing worked.
The kids were stressed. It was frustrating. Finally—after all the "reasonable" options failed—my son grabbed something heavy, and put a hole through the door just big enough to reach the handle and unlock it.
Not exactly my proudest parenting moment. But it got the job done.
Later, as I looked at the hole in the door (and the mess left behind), I thought: This is what weakness feels like.
You do everything you can, and it still doesn’t work. You pray for strength, but all you feel is tired. You know God is good, but right now, you’re just trying to hold it together.
But here's the hope:
God's power isn't just for Easter Sunday. It's for Monday mornings when the door is locked, the kids are overwhelmed, and you're trying not to fall apart.
The same power that raised Jesus from the grave is alive and active in us—even when we feel like we have nothing left to give.
That moment with the door wasn’t dramatic or spiritual. It was messy. But God was there. He gave me patience I didn’t think I had. Gave the kids courage and problem-solving in a high-stress moment. And after it was all over, He gave us peace—and even some laughter.
Resurrection power doesn’t always look like parting seas or healing miracles.
Sometimes it looks like showing up. Not quitting. Patching a hole in the door, and trusting that God is still working in the chaos.
Where Do You Need His Strength Today?

• Maybe it’s parenting while your heart is stretched thin.
• Maybe it's trying to hold on to hope in the face of anxiety or grief.
• Maybe it's just trying to get through the week.

Wherever you are, however weak you feel—His power is enough.
You don’t have to rise on your own.
He already did.

Where are you trying to “unlock the door” in your own strength? What would it look like to ask God to meet you right there—with resurrection power?