Happy Friday church family!

Spring is the season for new growth and rebirth – a reawakening of creation from its long winter’s nap. Spring is also a time for cleaning out leaves from gutters and dead grass and weeds out of flower gardens, and firing up the lawn tractors and similar tools of the season. For me, this evening was a good time of enjoying the warm weather, the sunshine, and cleaning up some branches and weeding.

And it’s spring cleaning for our church as well. Our highway clean-up is happening Monday at 1:00, and the spring workday at Deeper Life is next Saturday. Please plan to participate as we join forces to get camp ready and serve the community by cleaning the highway. As a PS – take a look in our coat room and see if any of your belongings are there. We will clean out whatever’s left in a few weeks!

I recently learned that Spring cleaning is actually a biblical concept. During the spring holiday season on Israel’s calendar, there is the festival of unleavened bread commemorating the rapid departure of the Israelites from Egypt. They didn’t have time to let their bread rise. Leading up to the start of this holiday, the observant Jews would clean out their entire home of anything with leaven in it – down to the last grain! In the New Testament, leaven often symbolizes sin and unscriptural teaching. So, as you spend time cleaning your yard, garden or home, spend time with God in prayer asking Him to do some “Spring Cleaning” in your heart as well!

-- In faith, Pastor Eric

“This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance. For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel. On the first day hold a sacred assembly, and another one on the seventh day. Do no work at all on these days, except to prepare food for everyone to eat; that is all you may do..” Exodus 12:14-16 NIV