On this day in 1970, Apollo 13, which was originally scheduled to land on the moon, landed back safely on earth after an accident. Or did it?

Our Wednesday services continue through May 22. Join us 6:30-8:00 p.m. each week for youth/children/nursery, prayer and worship in the sanctuary and for healing and prophetic rooms.

April has been declared Reentry month by the federal and state government. At MORE, we will participate by having a large can in the foyer for people to donate. Texas Department of Criminal Justice Reentry in Amarillo, who we will be working with, is asking for donations of new socks and new or gently used dress and work shoes. Men’s and women’s are needed. These donations will be used to help inmates getting out of prison to get back on their feet, so to speak.

The April First Fruits Offering, which we collect all month long, will benefit Hope Choice Pregnancy Center and Mentoring in Amarillo. They began in 1999 to help women facing unplanned pregnancy. Later, they began helping women in crisis with encouragement and practical support. Mentoring programs were added, too. They now minister to a thousand clients each month, providing sonograms, educational classes, post-abortion support and material goods. The mentoring programs now reach more than 24,000 students on 90-plus campuses each month.

For those who are interested in how to recognize human trafficking, MORE will host a free anti-trafficking educational seminar, 2-3 p.m., May 4. The leadership and employees of MORE will be taking the training but we want to open it up to our members and attendees as well. It’s free. There is no childcare. For more information, contact Joy Conner at joy@actscommunity.org.

Thanks to each of you who support the church financially every month. We could not operate without you. For those who would like to give, there are several ways. In addition to checks, cash and money order, you can give by text (84321), use your credit card at the church or by going online to our website, www.ilovemore.org. The most efficient way for the church is for people to give by bank draft. If that interests you, please contact Pastor Wendy.

Community Groups:

• Pastor Kathryn Roach leads a young women’s group called Grow Together! The group will take a break for a few months for the birth of her new child. The group is open to women 18-35 and focuses on growth in relationship with the Lord and others. In a chill atmosphere, there is a short worship time, small devotional and discussion. For more information, contact Pastor Kathryn at 690-5144.
• Creator’s Space, hosted by Joy Conner at Acts Community-Downtown, 816 S. Van Buren, 3 p.m., the first Saturday of each month.  This group is for adults only. Bring projects, ideas and artistic/creative friends to make things you love. This is a place for you to make things and for creators to create. For more information, contact Joy Conner at joy.conner@yahoo.com or 806-683-5054.
• Women’s prayer and worship, led by Jennifer Martin, 9 a.m. each Tuesday at MORE. No childcare.
• Jennifer Martin and Debi Jeter lead a group that meets 8:45-9:45 a.m. each Sunday at the church. This is a time of praise, reflection and prayer before the main service. This is a time, open to all, who want to spend some intimate time with the Lord before the Sunday service. Childcare will be available.
• Going Up, a community group for people who have attained age 50 and above, meets once a month. The next fellowship will one Saturday in May (to be determined). Contact Keith and Sherry Moore for more information. Keith can be reached at 382-3780 and Sherry at 382-6654.
• James and Paula Butler lead a service every Sunday afternoon at Acts Community Resource Center on 2^nd and Louisiana for the people in San Jacinto. Contact the Butlers if you would like to be a part of this.
• Mark Wolfe leads a men’s group. He is in the middle of reconfiguring when and where the group will meet. We will advertise the group again once it is settled. For more information, contact Mark at 806-674-1050.
• Ben and Caitlin Standish lead “Sabre in the Spirit,” a prayer meeting with live music and rooted in the Bible. They meet at 6 p.m. the second and fourth Saturday of every month at the Standish home, 5721 Andover Dr. For more information, contact Ben at 418-0692 or Caitlin at 670-5344.
• The MORE Recovery group meets at 5:30-6:30 p.m. each Monday at the church. This meeting is open to the public. Childcare is available for birth-3^rd grade.
• Pastor Lyndal leads the Crump Church service at 6:45-8:00 p.m. each Monday at the church. This is a smaller, more intimate gathering of worship and ministry for those who may not feel comfortable in a regular church setting. This is open to the public. Childcare is available for birth-3^rd grade.

Our Sunday morning sermon is available live each Sunday around 10:45-10:50 a.m. on our Facebook page or later it will be posted to our website and YouTube. For additional information on MORE, please check the calendar below or look us up at our website, www.ilovemore.org, our Facebook page or YouTube (MORE Church Amarillo).

May Schedule:

• May 4 – Human Trafficking awareness training at MORE, 10-11 a.m.
• May 22 – Final Wednesday services until August
• May 19 – Water baptism (Pastor Lyndal)
• May 27 – Memorial Day

Weekly Schedule:

• Sunday: 8:45-9:45 a.m., Alpha Class
• Sunday: 8:45-9:45 a.m., Prayer/Praise/Reflection
• Sunday: 10:00 a.m., Sunday service
• Sunday: 10:00 a.m., Children’s church
• Sunday: After worship, service for 7^th-12th graders
• Monday: 5:30-6:30 p.m. – MORE Recovery group
• Monday: 6:45-8:00 p.m., Crump Church at MORE
• Tuesday: 9:00-10:30 a.m., Women’s prayer and worship
• Wednesday: 6:30-8:00 p.m. – Wednesday services

Prayer Requests:

• Pray for Jackie Haddox who will have hernia surgery at 2 p.m. on Thursday.
• Pray for Tina Hadley who has been unsuccessful in her attempt to pass a kidney stone. She will be going to the hospital today.
• Pray for Barbara DeWitt, mother of Wendy Roach and grandmother of Trey Roach, who had her last round of chemo on Tuesday but is very weak and having breathing issues. She will have a PET scan in two weeks for restaging.
• Pray for Lori Johnson who is suffering from back problems and other complications.
• Pray for Dennis Flynn, Wade Johnson’s brother-in-law, who has serious heart-related issues.
• Pray for Jaime Stoll who is recovering from major wrist surgery.
• Pray for Arya, daughter of Sarah Luedecke’s partner Adrianna, who has gone to the doctor for high fever and low oxygen. She’s been sick off and on for months.
• Pray for Kerri Clemens. Doctors found lesions on her liver and L3 spine. She had a biopsy March 27 at M.D. Anderson in Houston and is awaiting results. She also had a PET Scan last week.
• Pray for those with long-term health ailments: Madeline Lane, wife of Scott Hensley, (stage 3 cirrhosis of the liver); Barbara DeWitt, mother of Wendy Roach, (chemo treatments); Elaine Standish (convalescent care); Shelly Wood (bowel surgery/chemotherapy); Eddie Gonzalez (internal issues); and Mike Miller (kidney dialysis, cancerous cyst in his mouth).
• Pray for family and friends in our congregation who are struggling with meth, alcohol and other addictions.
• In addition, please pray for all of our military personnel, leaders, president and cabinet members.

MORE Money:

Sunday offering for 04/14/24 was $14,832.07. Total giving so far this year is $184,779.50. Attendance was 237.

Thought for the week:

“If you worship money and things, if they are where you tap real meaning in life, then you will never have enough, never feel you have enough. It’s the truth. Worship your body and beauty and sexual allure and you will always feel ugly. And when time and age start showing, you will die a million deaths before they finally grieve you. Worship power, you will end up feeling weak and afraid and you will need ever more power over others to numb you to your own fear. Worship your intellect, being seen as smart, you will end up feeling stupid, a fraud, always on the verge of being found out. But the insidious thing about these forms of worship is not that they’re evil or sinful; it’s that they’re unconscious. They are default settings.” (David Foster Wallace)

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About a century ago, the Pope challenged the Jewish community of Rome to a debate. The Jews looked around for a champion who could defend their faith but no one wanted to volunteer. It was too risky. So, they finally picked an old man named Moishe who spent his life sweeping up after people to represent them. Not being used to saying very much, he asked that neither side be allowed to talk. The Pope agreed.

The day of the great debate came. Moishe and the Pope sat opposite each other for a full minute before the Pope raised his hand and showed three fingers. Moishe looked back at him and raised one finger. The Pope waved his fingers in a circle around his head. Moishe pointed to the ground where he sat. The Pope pulled out a wafer and a glass of wine. Moishe pulled out an apple. The Pope stood up and said, “I give up. This man is too good. The Jews win.”

An hour later, the cardinals were all around the Pope asking him what happened. The Pope said, “First, I held up three fingers to represent the Trinity. He responded by holding up one finger to remind me that there was still one God common to both our religions. Then I waved my finger around me to show him that God was all around us. He responded by pointing to the ground, showing that God was also right here with us. I pulled out the wine and the wafer to show that God absolves us from our sins. He pulled out an apple to remind me of original sin. He had an answer for everything. What could I do?”

Meanwhile, the Jewish community had crowded around Moishe, amazed that this old, almost feeble-minded man had done what all their scholars had insisted was impossible. “What happened?” they asked.

“Well,” said Moishe, “First, he said to me that the Jews had three days to get out of here. I told him that not one of us was leaving. Then he told me that this whole city would be cleared of Jews. I let him know that we were staying right here.”

“And then?” asked a woman.

“I don’t know,” said Moishe. “He took out his lunch and I took out mine.”

A young man hired by a supermarket reported for his first day of work. The manager greeted him with a handshake and a smile, gave him a broom and said, “Your first job will be to sweep out the store.”

“But I’m a college graduate,” the young man replied indignantly.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know that,” said the manager. “Here, give me the broom. I’ll show you how.”

A minister decided that a visual demonstration would add emphasis to his Sunday sermon. Four worms were placed into four separate jars.

The first worm was put into a container of alcohol. The second worm was put into a container of cigarette smoke. The third worm was put into a container of chocolate syrup. The fourth worm was put into a container of good, clean soil.

At the conclusion of the sermon, the minister reported the following results: the first worm in alcohol, dead; the second worm in cigarette smoke, dead; the third worm in chocolate syrup, dead; the fourth worm in good, clean soil, alive. So, the minister asked the congregation, “What can you learn from this demonstration?”

Maxine was sitting in the back, quicky raised her hand and said, “As long as you drink, smoke and eat chocolate, you won’t have worms.”

That’s all, folks. Enjoy the rest of your week.

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