All posts by ScottJPHD

Everyone has things they love to share. Everyone has things they like to keep private. Which of those describes how you feel about your faith? Many followers of Jesus can be surprisingly quiet about what they believe. Today, we learn a lesson from Jesus about living your faith out loud. It can be uncomfortable, but it’s essential. Today, we’ll talk about letting our love speak louder than our fears.

We’ll be live on Facebook on Sunday at 11:00, or you can watch any time on Facebook or YouTube. 

 Here is some information to help you participate if you join us online:

• Our opening prayer is interactive. This prayer is a moment for us to affirm our faith collectively. Respond, “I will be with you.”
• The songs are “Lord I LIft Yor Name on High” and “Wash O God Our Sons and Daughters.” You can look up the words online and sing along.
• The Bible reading is Luke 3:15-22.
• We invite you to share your prayer requests in the comments. Whether it’s a moment of praise for God’s goodness in your life or a challenge where you hope to see God’s intervention, we want to hear from you. Your sharing is a testament to how God moves in our lives. Share an offering in our app in Givelify or send a check to the church.

We’re anticipating this time of worship with you. Get ready for a blessed Lord’s Day Everyone!

As we begin a new year, we often take stock of our lives and spend time in contemplation and discernment. This continuing story of the birth of Christ also involves inquiry. Three wise “seekers” visited the newborn Christ, guided by a new star they had noticed. On this last day of our series, we ask ourselves, what are we seeking? Where is our attention focused? What new stars may be calling to us? Will we go back into routines of life, or will we take this moment to understand more deeply how we can “return anew?”

We’ll be live on Facebook on Sunday at 11:00, or you can watch any time on Facebook or YouTube. 

 Here is some information to help you participate if you join us online:

• Our opening prayer is interactive. This prayer is a moment for us to affirm our faith collectively. Respond, “We have been changed on this journey.”
• The songs are “We Three Kings” and “The First Noel.” You can look up the words online and sing along.
• The Bible reading is Matthew 2:1-12.
• We invite you to share your prayer requests in the comments. Whether it’s a moment of praise for God’s goodness in your life or a challenge where you hope to see God’s intervention, we want to hear from you. Your sharing is a testament to how God moves in our lives. Share an offering in our app in Givelify or send a check to the church.

We’re anticipating this time of worship with you. Get ready for a blessed Lord’s Day Everyone!

After a pause for Christmas and New Years, the Pantry is opening again this coming Saturday, January 4, for normal hours from 10:00 to noon.

Worship is a necessary and powerful part of the life of a disciple. Too often, we assume that worship is reserved for a specific hour of the week at a particular place. For many, worship is also a box to be checked rather than about someone to be loved. Today, we may have arrived at Bethlehem, and the waiting feels over. However, many were still waiting even though Jesus had already been born. We encounter two such people in our scripture today. They show us the power of faithful worship as we wait and as God keeps His promises.

We’ll be live on Facebook on Sunday at 11:00, or you can watch any time on Facebook or YouTube. 

Here is some information to help you participate if you join us online:

• Our opening prayer is interactive. This prayer is a moment for us to affirm our faith collectively. Respond, “We come to make our home with God who makes a home among us.”
• The songs are “Angels We Have Heard on High” and “Joy to the World.” You can look up the words online and sing along.
• The Bible reading is Luke 2:22-38.
• We invite you to share your prayer requests in the comments. Whether it’s a moment of praise for God’s goodness in your life or a challenge where you hope to see God’s intervention, we want to hear from you. Your sharing is a testament to how God moves in our lives. Share an offering in our app in Givelify or send a check to the church.

We’re anticipating this time of worship with you. Get ready for a blessed Lord’s Day Everyone!

Micah 5:2 reads, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” Micah may have called Bethlehem “little,” but he understood that something of great worth would come from a humble place. As a champion of the “least of these,” Jesus’ ministry would shine light on the worth of humble people and places. How will we show this kind of humble love to others?

We’ll be live on Facebook on Sunday at 11:00, or you can watch any time on Facebook or YouTube. 

Here is some information to help you participate if you join us online:

• Our opening prayer is interactive. This prayer is a moment for us to affirm our faith collectively. Respond, “We are on our way to more love.”
• The songs are “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear“ and “Emmanuel, Emmanuel.“ You can look up the words online and sing along.
• The Bible reading is John 1:1-14.
• We invite you to share your prayer requests in the comments. Whether it’s a moment of praise for God’s goodness in your life or a challenge where you hope to see God’s intervention, we want to hear from you. Your sharing is a testament to how God moves in our lives. Share an offering in our app in Givelify or send a check to the church.

We’re anticipating this time of worship with you. Get ready for a blessed Lord’s Day Everyone!

In those days of Mary and Joseph, Nazareth was a place where “everyone knows your name. It supported a limited amount of people from one small well of water. Mary is visited by the angel Gabriel with news that she would bear a son! Unlike most of the world, including us, Mary’s joy was not limited by the thought that God wouldn’t do such a thing in a place like Nazareth. In this simple, tight-knit community – a place where survival required depending on one another – Jesus would be raised and grow into the teacher he became. This week, we wonder: what joy might we miss because we are looking in the places that are obvious to us, but God is moving in the simplest of places, the simplest of moments, and the simplest of things?

We’ll be live on Facebook on Sunday at 11:00, or you can watch any time on Facebook or YouTube. 

Here is some information to help you participate if you join us online:

• Our opening prayer is interactive. This prayer is a moment for us to affirm our faith collectively. Respond, “We are on our way to more joy.”
• The songs are “O Come O Come Emmanuel” and “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” You can look up the words online and sing along.
• The Bible reading is Luke 1:26-45.
• We invite you to share your prayer requests in the comments. Whether it’s a moment of praise for God’s goodness in your life or a challenge where you hope to see God’s intervention, we want to hear from you. Your sharing is a testament to how God moves in our lives. Share an offering in our app in Givelify or send a check to the church.

We’re anticipating this time of worship with you. Get ready for a blessed Lord’s Day Everyone!

It feels poignant that this week, we visit Jerusalem in our Advent story, and the city is known as “the city of peace.” Certainly, we’ve been focused on the difficulties of prevailing peace in this turbulent part of the world, even today. There is also the matter of our own “new Jerusalem” within. We wait for the day when we will feel more peace and have more peace within ourselves. This week, we ask, “What are we waiting for?” and we learn that what happens within us while we wait is as important as the outcome. Can we be at peace–work for peace–”live peaceably”–even while waiting?

We’ll be live on Facebook on Sunday at 11:00, or you can watch any time on Facebook or YouTube. 

Here is some information to help you participate if you join us online:

• Our opening prayer is interactive. This prayer is a moment for us to affirm our faith collectively. Respond, “We are on our way to more peace.”
• The songs are “Angels From the Realms of Glory” and “I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light.” You can look up the words online and sing along.
• The Bible reading is Luke 1:5-20.
• We invite you to share your prayer requests in the comments. Whether it’s a moment of praise for God’s goodness in your life or a challenge where you hope to see God’s intervention, we want to hear from you. Your sharing is a testament to how God moves in our lives. Share an offering in our app in Givelify or send a check to the church.

We’re anticipating this time of worship with you. Get ready for a blessed Lord’s Day Everyone!

Our lives and stories are often shaped by things that are out of our immediate control. This was true at the moment of the Roman decree, which would turn into a story of hope for the world. During this first week of Advent, we ask ourselves whether we are placing our hope in the empires of the world or the liberating through-line of God’s presence. What are we longing for this Advent, and how does it call us to act with hope?

We’ll be live on Facebook on Sunday at 11:00, or you can watch any time on Facebook or YouTube. 

 Here is some information to help you participate if you join us online:

• Our opening prayer is interactive. This prayer is a moment for us to affirm our faith collectively. Respond, “We are on our way to more hope.”
• The songs are “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus” and “O Come O Come Emmanuel.” You can look up the words online and sing along.
• The Bible readings are Romans 8:18-30 and Luke 2:1-3.
• We invite you to share your prayer requests in the comments. Whether it’s a moment of praise for God’s goodness in your life or a challenge where you hope to see God’s intervention, we want to hear from you. Your sharing is a testament to how God moves in our lives. Share an offering in our app in Givelify or send a check to the church.

We’re anticipating this time of worship with you. Get ready for a blessed Lord’s Day Everyone!

Brent Hofacker/Shutterstock.com 

FREE THANKSGIVING DINNER

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 24TH 1:00 PM

Join us for our Annual Community Thanksgiving Celebration on Sunday, November 24th at 1:00. The church will be providing a traditional Thanksgiving dinner for all of our neighbors and friends. There will be plenty of food and fun. All of which is ABSOLUTELY FREE. Spread the word and bring your friends!

Psalm 46:1 reads, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”  I hope you are trusting and resting in that truth today. It can be easy to forget when troubles are rising all around us. Yet, God is our protector and provider. God’s strength and generosity allow us to enjoy blessings and peace during difficult times. Let us celebrate the One who gives us the full table and overflowing cup!

We’ll be live on Facebook on Sunday at 11:00, or you can watch any time on Facebook or YouTube. 

Here is some information to help you participate if you join us online:

• Our opening prayer is interactive. This prayer is a moment for us to affirm our faith collectively. Respond, “Do not be alarmed. This is not the end.”
• The songs are “Holy, Holy, Holy” and “Tis So Sweet to Trust In Jesus.” You can look up the words online and sing along.
• The Bible readings are Psalm 23 and Matthew 6:25-34.
• We invite you to share your prayer requests in the comments. Whether it’s a moment of praise for God’s goodness in your life or a challenge where you hope to see God’s intervention, we want to hear from you. Your sharing is a testament to how God moves in our lives. Share an offering in our app in Givelify or send a check to the church.

We’re anticipating this time of worship with you. Get ready for a blessed Lord’s Day Everyone!