Annual Rummage and Bake Sale

The annual Cascades Wesleyan Ladies of Faith Rummage and Bake Sale is this weekend! Our sale starts at 10 am in the church Activity Center and lasts until 3 pm. We have clothing of all sizes—from newborn to plus size!—household goods, toys, books, and more. And don’t forget the awesome baked goods! Cakes, cookies, brownies, and cinnamon rolls!!! You won’t want to miss this!


Proceeds from this sale will be divided among the missionaries we support—Greg and Shannon Rast in Germany and Selinda Ingalls in Africa—and a local crisis pregnancy center, Birthline of Jackson.

Saturday, May 1
10 am to 3 pm
Cascades Wesleyan Church
1404 Rowan Street
Jackson, MI

Hope to see you there!!

Spring Cleaning

What comes to mind when someone says "Spring Cleaning"? Perhaps you think of washing windows or beating rugs or waxing floors. Maybe you think of the outside chores—raking or weeding or planting new flowers or mowing the grass. No matter which of these tasks pop into your head, spring cleaning always brings with it an intense, deep cleaning of your home.

But what about your heart? Do you ever think of the intense, deep cleaning that your heart needs?

Looking at your heart every now and again is a very smart thing to do. Even Christians can find things tucked away in a secret corner of the heart that shouldn't be there. Psalm 51:10 reminds us of this—"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me".

I love that verse! I love the idea of allowing God to create a new a heart in me. He doesn't want my heart to just be clean—He wants it to be new every day. Even more special than the thought is the knowledge that asking Him for a new heart will result in the creation of a new heart.

Missions At Home

For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building 1 Corinthians 3:9

Often when we think about missions and missionaries, we think of those serving over-seas. We seldom think of ourselves. Greg and Shannon Rast, sharing the gospel in Germany, are real missionaries. Selinda Ingalls, teaching the people of Zambia the love of Jesus, is a real missionary. Ned and Marlene McGrady, serving in Ecuador as pastors to missionaries, are real missionaries. But we—the people sitting in the pews at Cascades Wesleyan every Sunday, are not real missionaries. We are just regular people, learning all we can about God's love and how to share that love.

Right?

Well, just what do you think missionaries are?

Greg, Shannon, Selinda, Ned, and Marlene are not superheroes. They are just regular people who are learning all they can about God's love and going out to share that love to people who have never met Him. The only difference between them and us is where God is using them. He called them to minister to people in other countries. And He called us to minister to people in Jackson, MI.

Our mission fields are different. Some of us may minister in a hospital, some in a classroom, some in a factory, and some in a grocery store. Every day we meet new people, we have a new opportunity to opportunity to teach them about God.

And we don't necessarily need to use words to do it. We can spread God's love with a smile or a wave or by holding a door open for someone else. It doesn't take a degree to share God's love. All it takes is a kind heart.

We all have that, don't we?