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6/27/2017 0 Comments June 27th, 2017 VBS Is Here!After months of hard work, prayer, and planning, Vacation Bible School is finally here! Our week is off to an incredible start. Over 120 folks joined us for the Maker Fun Fest kickoff party on Saturday, and over 190 kids were in attendance on our first night! Last night, we learned about how God made us. Wow, God! Throughout the rest of the week, we will learn that God is with us, God is for us, God loves us, and God made us for a purpose. Wow, God! Throughout the week, the kids will be collecting money for our mission project - providing clean drinking water for kids in Peru. Each $5 donation can supply clean water for a child for an entire year. Our goal is to raise $1,000 - enough to provide 200 kids with water. In support of this mission, the senior high youth will be holding a freewill donation carwash at Shreckhise Nursery on Forest Ave tonight (Tuesday) from 5:45 to 8:00 pm. Come get your car clean, and provide clean water for a child in need! God is up to something amazing this week! Thank for being a part of it! Blessings on the journey, Jim Sunday's Sermon SnippetFearfully and Wonderfully (Psalm 139:14, Isaiah 64:8) What does it mean when we say we were made by God? The psalmist tells us that we were fearfully and wonderfully made by God's own hand, and that makes us special and precious to God. Across the Bible, the image of a potter shaping the clay is used to help us understand the relationship between God and us. Our guest potter, Barbara Chalfant, shared with us a few thoughts from her experience to help us understand what this image means. The potter digs up clay from the riverbank, but it isn't ready immediately. The potter would bury the clay in the ground - in the Potter's Field - and let it rest for a generation as molds grew in it and made it more elastic. The potter is patient and takes time to prepare the clay for becoming what it is to be. The potter takes the clay that is ready and centers it on the wheel. Until it is centered by the potter, the clay just wobbles around. It takes the potter's hands to center the clay. Then the potter applies some pressure both on the inside and outside of the clay to tell it what to become. The pressure on the inside is like the prayer time in which God pushes us out, and the pressure on the outside is like the community of faith supporting and helping us to grow. The potter never throws anything away. If the clay becomes misshapen, the potter simply reworks it and begins again. If pot breaks or is cracked, the potter puts the broken pieces on a pile in the field and waits for it to break down to dust that can be added to fresh clay to make it stronger. The broken pieces are what makes the new creation stronger. The only thing that limits what a piece of clay can become is the skill of the potter, and God is an amazing potter. When a piece of clay becomes something both useful and beautiful, the potter's heart is filled with joy! God is our potter, and we are the clay. God has patiently, intentionally, wonderfully, fearfully made us for a purpose in the world, and God redeems the brokenness of our lives so that we can make the world a more beautiful place! Living in CommunityThanks, Melissa and Lee, for putting together an incredible VBS Kickoff Party! Thank you to all the folks who helped make it happen! A special thanks to Barbara Chalfant who shared powerful messages from her experience as a potter both Saturday evening and Sunday morning! This Week at Port ChurchMonday - Friday 6:00 - 8:30 - Vacation Bible School at South River Tuesday, June 27 9:00 - 11:45 am - Office Hours Thursday, June 29 9:00 - 11:45 am - Office Hours Sunday, July 2 9:30 am - Worship with VBS Musical Celebration - "Good News for Hagar" 11:00 am - Sunday School Looking AheadJuly 9 - VBS Slideshow in Worship
July 9, 3-6 pm - Olde Time Revival hosted by Verona UMC, Bishop Lewis preaching
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6/19/2017 0 Comments June 19th, 2017 Where Do You Want to Go?With yesterday's observance of Father's Day came the online flood of tributes to fathers and words of wisdom. Among them, this gem from Christian author Bob Goff particularly struck me: A father’s job, when it’s done best, is to get down on both knees, lean over his children’s lives, and whisper, ‘Where do you want to go?’ As a father to three boys, I appreciate the wisdom in these words. My job is not to have my children live the lives I would live but rather to help them discover the lives they want to live and journey with them along the path to get there. Here at Port Church, we are blessed that God has entrusted us with so many kids as a part of our family on a weekly basis. Next week, God will give us the opportunity to serve around 200 kids as a part of our Vacation Bible School. As we encounter these children who are a part of our family, those we see each year at this time, and those we have never met before, may we get down on both knees, say a little prayer, lean over their lives, whisper, "Where do you want to go?" May God bless us to be worthy of the calling of helping these young folks on the journey of faith! Sunday's SermonThis week, we were blessed to hear from our RENEW Camp mission team about their experiences of working with people in our community. It made me think about some words that Bishop Swanson of Mississippi shared with us in a mission service at Annual Conference last week. God has the ability to change the world but God often chooses to work through us engaging in mission. The reason we sometimes do not participate in God's work is not as much because we do not want to share our money or time as because we know what it means when we surrender to God. We have to give our all to God, and we will be changed. That is what happens when we engage in mission - we feel we get so much more out of it than we give because God is at work changing us. It is scary to surrender to this change, because when we do God's work, the world is going to get mad at us. When we do good, the world gets mad. The proof of it is the man who came to earth and all he did was good - heal the sick, raise the dead. For all the good he did, they nailed him to the cross, but God had another plan. When we do good, the world will get mad at us and may even try to kill us, but God has another plan for us. Surrender to God, and make the world a little mad today! Bible Study on Marriage and RelationshipsPastor Jim is planning a worship series on marriage and relationships in the next couple of months. In conjunction with that, he would like to offer a book study during the Sunday School hour for those interested in a more in-depth discussion on the topic. Please let Pastor Jim know if you are interested so that he can plan accordingly. Living in CommunityThank you to all of our RENEW youth and leaders who represented Port Church in our community this past week and for sharing their experiences in worship on Sunday! Thanks, Ralph and Kelly, for representing us at Annual Conference in Hampton this past weekend! Please be in prayer for Pastor Rick and his family, former members here, as they move this week to serve the Blue Ridge Charge. This Week at Port ChurchTuesday, June 20 9:00 - 11:45 am - Office Hours Thursday, June 22 9:00 - 11:45 am - Office Hours Saturday, June 24 5-7:30 pm - Maker Fun Fest VBS Kickoff Party Sunday, June 25 9:30 am - Worship with Communion - "Fearfully and Wonderfully" 11:00 am - Sunday School 12:30 pm - VBS Walk-through at SRES Looking AheadJune 26-30 - Vacation Bible School
July 2 - VBS Children's Program in Worship July 9 - VBS Slideshow in Worship July 9, 3-6 pm - Olde Time Revival hosted by Verona UMC, Bishop Lewis preaching 6/5/2017 0 Comments June 05th, 2017 Watching the Wind and Water reI am so thankful for the worship service we had this past Sunday in the park for many reasons - the graduates, the confirmation class, the music, the food! But I am especially thankful for the time to worship God together outside. There is something about being in such a beautiful spot as Bradburn Park, watching the tall trees gently swaying in the breeze and hearing the waters churning and flowing by on their long journey to wide open sea. It is no wonder that the wind and water have been symbols that remind us of God's Spirit. We do not see the wind itself, but if we slow down long enough and watch we see how it moves. We do not know each movement of the waters - flowing over rocks, cutting around barriers, swirling in inlets - but we can see it moving by. We do not see the Spirit nor recognize its every movement, but given a little time we can see the Spirit at work and how it is moving in our lives. I am especially thankful for the reminder that comes from a little, laid-back time worshiping in the park: God is all around us working in ways we scarcely realize until we take the time to watch. May God reveal the work of the Spirit in your life today! Blessings on the journey, Jim Sunday's SermonEeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe! (Proverbs 16:1-9) Making decisions - big decisions - can be difficult and even paralyzing at times. When we were kids, we could simply use the old rhyme "Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe" to help us make our decisions. Even if we skipped a word to make the choice come out the way we wanted, at least our true heart was revealed. As adults, though, our decisions are often too important to trust to this simple rhyme. So what do we do? We can take comfort in Scriptures that tell us of the plans that God has for our lives, plans to prosper us and not to harm us, plans for a hope and a future. If we can just figure out God's plans, we do not have to make the decisions ourselves. God can decide the big stuff, and we work on the small details to make it happen. Yet this is not the picture we find in the wisdom of the Proverbs on how our decisions relate to what God is doing. Verses 1 and 9 tell us that plans belong to us while God is in control of the details - the words we speak and the steps we take. We choose the path, and God directs the steps. Verse 3 tells us that if we commit our decisions and work to God, then they will succeed. This is cooperation with us making big decisions and God helping us along the way. So how do we make a big decision if God gives us the freedom to choose? Verse 2 tells us that all ways look good to us - we can justify even the worst decision to make it look good in our own eyes - but that God looks at the motives. So perhaps we should too. The verses in middle of these bookends give us some clues at how we can look at our motives when we weigh certain decisions. 1) Verse 5: Our arrogance leads us to think we have to do things alone or for our own benefit. Remember it's not all about you even if it is your decision to make. It has an impact on others who support you and count on you. 2) Verse 6: We are going to make mistakes - even sinful ones - when we make decisions, but remaining faithful and loving is all that matters. Do not worry so much about making a mistake as keeping your heart pure. 3) Verse 7: Far too often, we worry about what others think about us and our decisions, and sadly we worry far more about what those who do not like us anyway think than those we care about. Worry about pleasing God and those close to you - not those who cannot be pleased. 4) Verse 8: It is better to do good than to be rich, powerful, or in control. No amount of worldly riches are worth selling your integrity or your soul. Make you decisions based on this wisdom, dedicate it to God, and let God guide your steps. Living in CommunityThanks to everyone who made Praise in the Park possible this past Sunday! Dave, Jason, Adam, Tyler, Keith, Brad, and Linda for setting up for praise music John, Chris, Chris, and Bob who transported chairs, Sue and all the ladies who organized the potluck Sue, Dinah, Jean, and Joe for making our graduate recognition special Dinah for assisting in baptisms Curt for mowing and cleaning the park (and his skills as a snake wrangler!) Meg for printing song sheets Lee for preparing our bulletin and handouts Debbie for folding and stuffing bulletins Welcome to our newly confirmed brother and newly baptized and confirmed sisters in Christ: Zach, Kaylin, Savannah, Avery, Daisy, and Aliyah! Congratulations to Isaac, Josh, April, Zach, and Hannah on graduating this week! Thanks to Dianna for helping out with our confirmation mission project - visiting Journey's Crossing! This Week at Port ChurchTuesday, June 6 9:00 - 11:45 am - Office Hours Thursday, June 8 9:00 - 11:45 am - Office Hours Sunday, June 11 9:30 am - Worship - Guest Preacher: Rev. Gene Williams 11:00 am - Sunday School Looking AheadJune 24 - Maker Fun Fest VBS Kickoff Party
June 25 - VBS Training and Walkthrough at SRES June 26-30 - Vacation Bible School |
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