We don’t pray because we’re trying to get God to do what we want. Prayer teaches us to entrust ourselves to the Lord and rely upon His promises to give us all good things according to His wisdom and grace. This week we hear Jesus tell His disciples, “Whatever you ask the Father in My Name, He will give it to you.” Taken by itself, those words sound like we get to call on the Genie in the Sky to grant our wishes, whatever they are! But taken in the context of Jesus’ teaching, and His life, death, and resurrection, He also teaches us what we should want and what we should pray for. That is, the Holy Spirit, the forgiveness of sins, and God’s constant grace and mercy, along with the things we need (not want!) for this body and life. To put it another way, He’s telling us to ask for all the stuff we ask for in the Lord’s Prayer! I know we keep praying: Let this pandemic be over! Let me get back to normal life! But as we pray, the Spirit will teach us that the Lord will still take care of us even while all this is going on. This Sunday is known as “Rogate,” “Pray and ask!” Sunday. It’s the Sixth Sunday of Easter. Tune in for the Good News Jesus has for you!
Honoring Our Graduates
THIS SUNDAY, MAY 17, during our 9am service we’ll have a special recognition and blessing of our college and high school graduates. We’re proud of their accomplishments and we mourn with them that they can’t celebrate in the usual way. God bless each of them in their future endeavors!

Items from the Elders
I met with our Elders (via Zoom) last week and here are some of the things we discussed:

(1) Higher Things Conference – We had two youth who were going to attend the Higher Things Conference with Pastor in Tennessee. That conference has been cancelled. It was decided to let HT keep our registration funds (about $1500) as a donation to help support Higher Things; they will be impacted greatly if and when conferences are cancelled.

(2) Vacation Bible School – We are not planning to have VBS this summer due to the expectation that we will still not be able to gather in large groups over the next few months. Perhaps a shorter VBS in the Fall would be a possibility.

(3) Fish Lake Services – We will not hold Fish Lake Services in the foreseeable future. However, we’re planning a Communion Service at Fish Lake for Labor Day if that will be possible by then!

(4) Communion at Zion – We are still doing our best to abide by Governor and CDC recommendations. We’ll see what June should hold and will investigate the possibility of offering the Sacrament to limited numbers of people at a time. We all want the Lord’s Body and Blood!
Family in Need of a Car
Once again we have a (different) family in need of a reliable and inexpensive vehicle. If you know of such a vehicle or someone that has one, please let Pastor or Brandy know. We had a similar request a few weeks ago and a Zion member responded with a great deal that worked out for the person in need. Thank you!

Color A Stained Glass Window
Our church stained glass windows are turning into coloring sheets! Download the latest window HERE.

And the usual info I’ve been relaying each week:

Streaming and Recorded Video

We stream live on our FACEBOOK PAGE HERE.

Our videos are also live and recorded on YOUTUBE HERE.

The simplest way to watch online (not live) is probably through our church’s website HERE.

Make sure to LIKE and SUBSCRIBE to our Facebook and YouTube Pages so you get updates when we go live and or add videos.

Weekly Worship Services:
Sunday, 9am – Facebook and YouTube
Wednesday, 7pm – Facebook and YouTube

Remember that all services are recorded and will be available to watch any time after they are live on our YouTube Channel or via the church’s website.
Daily Devotions
Pastor is live on Facebook every day, Monday through Friday for Daily Devotions. Tune in to start your day with the Word of God and prayer. Beginning next Saturday, Pastor will let you practice devotions on your own on Saturdays. If you’ve been following along, you know how to pray!

Bible Studies!
We are back to our regular weekly Bible Study schedule. We’re using the Zoom service where we can meet together online.

To join the meeting on your Computer (with camera and microphone) or Phone, click the link HERE. 

If prompted use the following information:
Meeting ID: 815 385 0859
Password: ZionLions

If you’d like help getting this set up ahead of time, let Pastor know.

Bible Study Schedule:

Tuesday, 10:30 AM 

Sunday, 8:00 AM

Learning the Faith, 10:15 AM 

For Learning the Faith, children are encouraged to participate and watch along. We’ll keep the sessions shorter than in person. 
Prayers for Healthcare and other “Frontline” Workers
We’re including a list of family and friends who we know are working on the “front lines” of this pandemic. If you know of healthcare workers, first responders, grocery store cashiers, and others who are out there working during all of this, please let us know so that we can compile a list of their names to bring before the Lord in our prayers. You can EMAIL, CALL THE CHURCH OFFICE OR PASTOR, or TEXT PASTOR names you would like included. Please let us know their NAME and WHERE THEY WORK.

Offerings
We ask and encourage every family to consider their offerings that they would normally give to the church. Please MAIL YOUR CHECK or set up your bank account to make a DIRECT BILL PAY to the church. I know there is a ripple effect in our economy. Please consider God’s promise that He will indeed provide us our daily bread. Our offerings help provide for our brothers and sisters in Christ through pastoral ministry and for those in need.

Portals of Prayer
If you need Portals of Prayer (or any other resources), please let the Office know and we can mail you a copy.

Do You Need a Hymnal?
If you would like to order a hymnal so that you can follow along with our services and have a resource for your prayers and devotions at home, let Brandy in the Church Office know. The standard pew edition is $20. Every home should have a hymnal! If you would like to borrow one from church, you can do that too. Just call and you can stop by to pick one up.
Pastoral Care
I’ve been calling to check in on our members. My number is:

(618) 318-3680 

It’s an unusual area code (Southern Illinois) which means you might think I’m a scam caller. So if you see that number pop up, it’s just me. Please ADD ME to your Contacts so you’ll know who’s calling.

Ask in Jesus’ Name! The Father can’t not hear you because His Son bears your name before His throne! Ask according to Jesus’ promises and you will learn to rely and trust in Him more and more as He carries us through every difficult and troubling bit of our lives. This goodness of God that we see in His Son Jesus is the source of all our joy and blessing!

In Christ,
Pastor Buetow