Closer Walk - A daily devotional of the New Testament

This coming Easter, the Ionia Ministerial Association will present "Passion Play 2010 The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ according to the Gospel of John". Click HERE for more details ... Our church pictorial directory is now available each Sunday during worship times ... The March ~ April 2010 Newsletter is now online Click "Newsletter" on the menu bar above this message ... On Monday 12/21/2009 members of 16 churches joined together in our sanctuary to present Handel's "The Messiah". Videos are available HERE ... Our choir sang the cantata "A Christmas Carol Gallery" on Sunday 12/13/2009. Click HERE to view the video ... DeAnn Eddy shared with us her work with the mission group Hands of Grace during Sunday 10/11/2009's Services. Click HERE to learn more about this mission ... Anika Kasper shared a presentation of her recent mission trip to Uganda, Africa with us during Sunday's (9/27/2009) services. CLICK HERE for a video of her presentation. ... Community Vacation Bible School 2009 "Crocodile Dock" A journey to the bayou and into God's word. We started August 9th and continued through the 13th from 6 PM to 8:30 PM (4 yrs to 5th grade) Watch a video of the kids singing praises to the Lord by clicking HERE ... On Tuesday August 4th we had an outdoor picnic followed by an evening of praise music. Singers from 12 local churches joined with us to praise the Lord. This event was held on our church lawn. Videos of the event can be seen by clicking HERE ... On 8/2/2009 the District Superintendent Rev Bill Dobbs presented our church with the 2009 Helen Smith Hunger Award for our service to those that are hungry. A video of this presentation can be seen by clicking HERE ... Join Pastor Larry in a Bible study program called "Closer Walk". Closer Walk is a devotional guide to the New Testament . Reading one chapter a day, the entire New Testament will be read over the course of one year. We have created a Blog here on the ioniafirst.com website for you to read Pastor Larry's reflections on the day's reading and to add your own insights and/or questions. To access the blog either click HERE or on the header above where it says: New Testament Reading Blog. ... Every Friday morning at 10 AM our Women's Bible Study Group meets at the Parsonage. Childcare is provided Click HERE for more details ... The 3rd Annual Pipe Organ Festival was held at Ionia First United Methodist Church on November 7, 2009 The Guest Organist was Richard Newman. Also featured were Organist Sari Mercer & Vocalist Mindy Talbot. Click HERE for videos ... Ionia First offers two ways to worship. A traditional Methodist service held at 9:30 AM & a contemporary service is held at 11:00 AM ... There is a coffee fellowship every Sunday at 10:30 AM for both services ... DVD videos and audio CDs of our services are available at no cost in the hall outside the sanctuary. We encourage you to share our services with your friends, particularly those who are unable to attend our services

Bible Reading Schedule for March (2010)

1-Mar Romans 1:1-17

2-Mar Romans 1:18-32

3-Mar Romans 2:1-16

4-Mar Romans 2:17-29

5-Mar Romans 3:1-20

March 6/7 Romans 3:21-31

8-Mar Romans 4:1-12

9-Mar Romans 4:13-25

10-Mar Romans 5:1-11

11-Mar Romans 5:12-21

12-Mar Romans 6:1-11

March 13/14 Romans 6:12-23

15-Mar Romans 7:1-12

16-Mar Romans 7:13-25

17-Mar Romans 8:1-11

18-Mar Romans 8:12-25

19-Mar Romans 8:26-39

March 20/21 Romans 9:1-29

22-Mar Romans 9:30-10:21

23-Mar Romans 11:1-10

24-Mar Romans 11:11-36

25-Mar Romans 12

26-Mar Romans 13

March 27/28 Romans 14

29-Mar Romans 15:1-13

March 30/31 Romans 15:14-16:27

Click HERE for entire year's schedule

BIBLE VENTURES

GENESIS GENESIS GENESIS

We are zooming along through Genesis with our preschoolers through 5th graders! They have learned so much about the people God taught lessons to in the Old Testament. We’ve learned that those people can teach US lessons too. We’ve also seen how God was with people back then and that He promises to be with us.

Now we are headed into learning about Jacob (we’ve already learned about Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah and the rest of the family). Jacob had a twin brother, Esau, and things weren’t always smooth between them, to say the least! So he had LOTS of adventures that got him into LOTS of trouble. But, you know what? God was with him through it all! When he did good things and when he did bad things. God NEVER gave up on Jacob and...He won’t give up on us! If you’d like to read his story, try reading Genesis 25:19 through Genesis 35. I know it is long, that is why it is taking almost a month and a half for us to learn about him at Bible Ventures. Then, we will study Joseph. Now, there’s a hero you’ll want to know about!

Come and join us each Sunday morning at 9:30 a.m. in the fellowship hall. We enjoy a good Bible story together, play a game, have a snack, and learn even more about our wonderful God.

*Important Note: There will be an Easter Egg Hunt at 9:30 a.m. during Bible Ventures on Easter Sunday.