RADIO FRIEND PHIL – Greetings! It’s time for this week’s New Tunes at 9 Roundup. (New Tunes at 9, one-hour of new and emerging music, weeknights at 9 p.m. on WJTL.) The ‘Thrive’ tour featuring Casting Crowns, Laura Story, and For King and Country, is coming to the Giant Center, in Hershey, next week. (The show is on the first day of spring: Thursday, March 20; tickets on sale at 717-459-3701 or click http://www.thejunctioncenter.com/ at WJTL.com.)

In January, Casting Crowns released their seventh project, “Thrive,” which debuted on the Billboard 200 at No. 6.Mark Hall has stated that the songwriting for “Thrive” was influenced by his work as a youth pastor. He says, “The songs always start out with what we’re teaching, and for years I’ve been using Psalm 1 in showing students what a believer looks like.” Mark Hall recently spoke to Dave O’Connor from http://lancasteronline.com/search/?t=article&nsa=eedition&q=crossrock&s=start_time&sd=desc&x=0&y=0, and shared what we can expect at next week’s concert in Hershey. For more on Casting Crowns, go to https://www.castingcrowns.com/home

phil@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Moment Of Celebration reflects on the purpose of life and the promotion of heaven.

The Apostle Paul lived with this eternal perspective in Philippians 1:21: “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

Paul lived with the perspective that as long as he lived in his body, and as long as God gave him breath, his service for God would mean fruitful labor. He knew that the church would benefit from his ministry. Paul was committed to laboring for the Lord so that the church would make progress and experience joy in their faith.

Yet, internally, Paul was torn. His heart was where his treasure was. His treasure was Jesus. His longing was to be with Christ. He knew that death was a promotion into the presence of the Lord forever.

As we follow Jesus with a sincere heart, we also are likely to feel this type of internal struggle. That is a normal reaction for the person who loves Jesus in the midst of a world that loves sin. But with an eternal perspective, we acknowledge that God has placed us here on the earth “for such a time as this” to live for Christ and make Him known.

For the follower of Christ, our purpose in life and promotion to heaven is a reason to be glad in the Year of Celebration.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Moment of Celebration reflects on the value of a true blue friend.

H. G. Bohn has said, “Friendships multiply joys and divide griefs.” There is something deeply meaningful when we celebrate special occasions with friends and loved ones. Perhaps this is why we tend to invite our circle of friends to our birthday parties and wedding ceremonies. We are also comforted by the support of friends in our low moments, when we have lost a loved one or if we have lost our job unexpectedly. Friends may not have the solutions to take away our pain, but they do offer us love and encouragement, which we really need when we find ourselves in a tough place.

The Bible reveals the value of a true blue friend this way:

Proverbs 17:17 says,  “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”

Jesus is the ultimate expression of a true blue friend. He told His followers, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.” The next day, Jesus laid down His life for His friends.

The value of a true blue friend is a reason to be glad in the Year of Celebration.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Moment Of Celebration reflects on the joy of listening to Jesus.

Mary and Martha were sisters who both loved Jesus. When He came to their house, they went into very different modes. Mary went into listening mode. Martha went into work mode.

Mary was sitting at the Lord’s feet, listening to what He said. Her heart was open to what Jesus had said to her. Meanwhile, Martha was caught up in household chores: cleaning, sweeping, getting dinner ready, that sort of thing. The Bible says she was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She starts to resent the fact that Mary is not helping her. She says to Jesus, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

Then comes Jesus’ gentle rebuke, which expresses His love for Martha and at the same time, His stamp of approval for Mary’s responsiveness to His words. “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Mary serves as an example for us to take time to enjoy our relationship with Jesus. Spend quality time with Him. Cherish His every word, and follow what He says to us.

The joy of listening to Jesus is a reason to be glad in the Year of Celebration.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

Your March 9th playlist!  I’d love to get your feedback below.

Below, you’ll find all the song information for today’s program.  If you have any other questions, though, I’d love to hear from you!  Also, please let me know if you would like to be added to the email group so that the playlist comes to your inbox each week.

Kristi Leigh – WJTL DJ

Kristi@WJTL.com

FIVE FUN FREE FAMILY THINGS TO DO THIS WEEKEND!!! March 7, 8 & 9, 2014

5) First Friday Lancaster, tonight (Fri. Mar 7) from 5-9pm in Downtown Lancaster, celebrating the arts, music and community in Lancaster every First Friday. More Info: lancasterarts.com

4) Quilt Preview at MCC Material Resources Center tonight and tomorrow Fri & Sat March 7-8) at the MCC Material Resources Center, West Trout Run Road in Ephrata. View 100 quilts on display that will be sold at the Pennsylvania Relief Sale in Harrisburg on April 4 & 5.  Quilt fabric, patterns, books and vintage items will be available for purchase benefiting Mennonite Central Committee.  More INfo: 717-733-2847

3) Toronto based, Sweet Sorrows (Sammy Horner and wife Kylie) will be in concert Sunday (March 9th) at 7pm at East Petersburg Mennonite Church in Lancaster. Free event, a love offering will be taken.  More info: eastpetemc.org

2) Build with LEGO free-style bricks, Architecture Series Models, simple Technic models and play with an electric train tonight, (Fri. Mar 7) from 6:30-8:30PM at Hammel Associates, East Grant St. in Lancaster. More than 15,000 bricks, plates and specialty pieces. More Info: (717) 393-3713

1) Cabin Fever, tomorrow (Sat Mar 8) 11am-2pm – Moore’s Chapel UMC in Elkton, MD. Cabin Fever brings together more than two dozen non-profit, outdoors-minded organizations from three states. Zoos, Parks, Nature Centers, Therapeutic Horseback and more.  Admission and every activity, craft or demonstration offered is free.  More Info: mooreschapel.org

RADIO FRIEND PHIL – New Tunes at 9 Roundup: Citizens. (New Tunes at 9, one-hour of new and emerging music, weeknights at 9 p.m. on WJTL.) Zach Bolen of Citizens was my guest this week on New Tunes at 9. Citizens, who released their self-titled debut in 2013, create alternative worship music for the Mars Hill label in Seattle. (Zach Bolen serves as a deacon, and leads Citizens, in the University District of Seattle.)

Citizens’ first single, “Made Alive,” was propelled a funky bass line, and features a big chorus with multi-layered voices. The second single, “Jesus!” includes the line, “God of resurrection, conqueror of death, ruler over everything. The Lord of lords and the King of kings.”  Zach Bolen spoke about the new song on New Tunes at 9 https://wjtl.com/listen/wjtl-casts/.

For more on Citizens, go to http://marshill.com/music/artists/citizens. Citizens’ music is available on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify and, for a limited time, on vinyl record.

phil@wjtl.com

Bob Lenz and Holly Starr are coming to Manor Church in Lancaster this Saturday as part of the Save the Storks Tour for Life.

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Moment Of Celebration reflects on the lasting legacy of enduring faith.

The Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 1:6: “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

When we come to faith in Jesus, God gives us a mission to carry out while we live on the earth. Each of us has a race to run in the honor of our king. While we run the race of faith, God will give us opportunities to spread the aroma of His love in our acts of service, gracious words, and godly example. Other people will be transformed by the power of the Gospel as a result of our faithful witness, and their testimony will have impact on people’s lives with whom we had no personal contact. Yet, the Lord will use our witness for Christ indirectly to reach people we have never met.

Family trees often mark the line of ancestors from one generation to another. When God’s people gather in heaven, it will be interesting to study the spiritual family tree and see whose faith in the 1700’s might have led to the conversion of someone in the 21^st century, because of their enduring faith in Jesus. The impact of our work on the earth is not completed at the end of our lives. It continues until the return of Jesus Christ.

The lasting legacy of an enduring faith is a reason to be glad in the Year of Celebration.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com