Sunday, March 25, 2018

Faith Fellowship Alliance Church

Today we worshiped at Faith Fellowship Alliance Church, 200 Faith Way, Fared Drive, Butler, PA 16001, 724.287.2700, www.faithfellowshipalliance.com, Senior Pastor Richard Jenks.


Scripture – Matthew 21:1-11 NKJV

Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.”

All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:

“Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, Lowly, and sitting on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”

So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:

“Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ Hosanna in the highest!”

And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?”

So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.”


Bob’s thoughts:

When God directs us to a church, we always hope to find out why. Today we knew.

We were welcomed by a number of people and I got a great smile from a beautiful little girl. I felt pretty special that she stopped to show me her toy till I saw she did the same with everyone who entered.

I found a number of crosses to focus on before the projection screen was raised to reveal a beautiful white back-lit cross. I didn’t get to go forward after the service but the baptismal looked impressive. The ceiling lights were conventional square fixtures but with colored blocks down the side like stained glass.

We were told how the new assistant pastor/youth pastor had been injured on his motorcycle and found out later that he is the pastors’ son.

The music was good, but at times loud enough to drown out the singing, making it hard to find where we were with the words. I’m sure the textured ceiling helped with the acoustics.

During the greeting time we met a woman who had also lost a son as a Marine. I also met a Marine there.

The Palm Sunday message mentioned how God could use a donkey, I immediately thought of Balaam. He posed the question where are you in your Christian walk, a believer, along for the ride, or crucifier? I liked the Scripture reading, with emotion and emphasis.

I was pleased we could talk to the mother who lost her Marine son and blessed to pray over her.


Jan’s thoughts:

From the parking lot to the main entrance is a slight uphill grade, and instead of walking up the driveway hill, we opted for the steps. We were immediately impressed that the steps were wide with a small riser, easily navigable by children and older folks, and with bright yellow paint across the front and top corner of each step, including one with little more than a crack to it but still enough to trip over. It seems like a small thing, but it’s really not small. They were excellently done.

When we reached the door, a gentleman opened it from inside and shook our hands in welcome. The restroom signs could not be overlooked, which was helpful, and I had to take a photo of the wooden cross in the entryway.

I enjoyed the color coordination of the spacious sanctuary, with the matching carpet and pew padding and charming decoration of the worship space.

Several people stopped to welcome us before and after the service. And the bulletin was colorful and easy to read.

The music was contemporary, which surprised me for some reason, and quite well done. I thought the violin contributed greatly.

As usual, Bob wore a Marine t-shirt, and during the greeting opportunity a woman sitting behind us introduced herself. It turns out she lost a Marine son also, so we spoke for a while and then caught up again after worship to talk some more and pray.

The sermon was untitled from what I could tell. The pastor stated there were three categories of people present on that first Palm Sunday: the true believers, the hangers-on, and the religious who knew who Jesus was and hated Him. He said of course everyone would put themselves in the first group, that of the true believers, but he asked what if believing in Jesus meant you were never healed? Or never happy? Or it meant you had to suffer? What about the hard things Jesus said? And what if Jesus did not condemn what you condemned? He reminded us that Jesus does not fit in a box.

Then he asked a most intriguing question: Would Jesus look at you as a friend?

We believe Jesus is our Friend, but would He see us as His friend? That is a question worth pondering.


Our prayer for this church:
Lord, we pray Your church is encouraged to pray for and with those You bring to their door. Amen.

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