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7/18/2017 0 Comments July 18th, 2017 Catching the SpiritThis past Sunday, Ralph shared with us his experience of our Virginia Annual Conference that was held last month. While there was business to be attended to, he told us that the highlight of the conference came for him in the preaching of our Bishop Sharma Lewis and Bishop James Swanson of Mississippi. To be present in those worship services was to be anointed by the Holy Spirit, to be sure. Bishop Lewis shared with us her vision of discipleship for our conference over the coming years. She said that disciples are lifelong learners who influence others to serve. In this short statement, she captured three aspects of what she hopes we will be about in our churches and in our outreach to others. First, disciples are lifelong learners. We should always be learning more about God and God's love. This means being intentional in seeking opportunities to grow. Second, disciples influence others. It is not enough for our faith to be just "Jesus and me." We are called to reach out to others we know and influence them to grow in a relationship with God. Third, disciples serve - and they serve together. As we learn more and influence others, we join together to serve the world and make it a better place for all God's children. We will be hearing more from our bishop on what this looks like in her vision in the coming months. If you need a blessing today, you can see Bishop Lewis' message from the closing worship here. Blessings on the journey, Jim Sunday's Sermon SnippetLove Is... (1 Corinthians 13:4-13) Waiting is an inevitable part of life. The prophets tell us repeatedly about the need to wait upon the Lord, and so many of the stories of our faith tell of people who had to wait years - even decades - to see the promises of God fulfilled. We not only wait upon God, but we also wait with and for each other. We wait with each other for our life circumstances to change. We wait for one another in the small daily things as well as in the larger, life-changing things. Waiting is an inevitable part of life, so how we wait truly matters. Is it with manipulative words, seething resentment, overwhelming anxiety, or patience? The apostle Paul famously talks about love in his first letter to the Corinthians, and he lists patience first among his descriptors. This is no mistake - patience is a key to love, and it is difficult, especially when we are forced to wait for one another. Patience is defined as the ability to tolerate unpleasant or difficult circumstances without growing upset. This, however, is a narrow and negative view of what patience truly is. It is true that Paul tells us that love bears all things, but he does not stop there. It trusts all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. A patient love does not merely tolerate the tough waiting in life - it thrives even in those days because it trusts in the process of growth, hopes in the days to come, and endures although today may be harsh. Patience is about embracing the gift from God that this moment is although we may be forced to wait in it. So how can we grow to be more patient in our love and in our relationships with one another, especially with our spouses? Paul talks about being a child and thinking like a child but having to put away childish ways once he grew up. The same is true for our view of love - especially in romantic relationships. A childish view of love is one that is selfish, self-serving, and focused on how it makes me feel. An adult view of love is one that is focused on the other and is willing to sacrifice for the sake of the beloved. If we are to grow more patient in our love for one another, we need to grow up and adjust our view - the view that our culture elevates - of love. Falling in love is easy, but staying in love takes patience and strength - the kind we see in Jesus upon the cross. May God bless you with a patient love that bears all things, trusts all things, hopes all things, and endures all things! This Week's Challenge How patient are you with others? How patient are you with those close to you? What causes you to grow impatient? In what ways do you need to grow up in God’s love? Start and end each day by reading 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 and offering a prayer for God to help you grow up in divine love. Try to memorize it. Whenever you find yourself growing frustrated and impatient with those you love, take a deep breath and remember these words and ask for God’s help. How does this change your interactions with others? Living in CommunityThank you, Ralph and Kelly, for representing our church at annual conference and for sharing your experience with us this past Sunday! Thank you, Susie, for getting together our quarterly giving statements! This Week at Port ChurchTuesday, July 18
9:00 - 11:45 am - Office Hours Thursday, July 20 9:00 - 11:45 am - Office Hours Sunday, July 23 9:30 am - Worship - "What Are We Fighting For?" 11:00 am - Sunday School
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7/11/2017 0 Comments July 11th, 2017 Wisdom for MarriageAs we have kicked off our worship series on marriage, I have been reflecting again on one of my favorite poems on the topic written by Kahlil Gibran: You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore. You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days. Ay, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God. But let there be spaces in your togetherness, And let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one another, but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup. Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone, Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music. Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping. For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts. And stand together yet not too near together: For the pillars of the temple stand apart, And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow. Blessings on the journey, Jim Sunday's Sermon Snippet: I DoFinding a Helper: Genesis 2:18-24, Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 In the beginning, God made all things day by day. At the end of each day, God took stock of creation and said it was good. After creating people on the sixth day, God declared creation to be very good. There was one thing in all of creation, however, that God said was not good - that the man Adam was alone. God set about finding a helper for him. Of all the animals God had made, none were a suitable helper so God made woman to be the man's companion. From this short encounter, there are a few lessons we can learn about marriage and relationships. First, it was not good for Adam to be alone, because we were made to be in relationship with others. The Triune God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - is a relationship even before anything is created - the Father and Son united by the Spirit. We were made in God's image, and so we need relationships by our very nature. Second, the word "helper" itself deserves some attention. This word in Hebrew does not mean a servant who does the menial tasks that are beneath the one they help. The word is most often applied to the help that comes from God - the kind of help that comes from one who is stronger and able to do things the other cannot. To be a helper in a relationship, then, is to bring to your strengths to bear on the burdens of the other and to lift them up. Marriage is God's gift to us to fill our human need for relationship by uniting us with a helper who lifts and builds us up. This is a mutual relationship, with each partner helping the other according to their strengths. This Week's Challenge What strengths do you bring to your relationships? What strengths do you see in others around you? What strengths do you need from them? Each day this week, find a way to bless someone else by helping them with an encouraging word, an act of kindness, a listening ear, or an act of service – something that will help them in a way they can receive. For those in committed relationships, bless your partner each day. For those who are single, you can choose a different friend each day. What do you learn from each experience? Living in CommunityThank you, Melissa, for putting together an awesome VBS slideshow to share with us in worship! Prayers of healing for Kaylin as she recovers from surgery. This Week at Port ChurchTuesday, July 11
Office Closed - Happy Independence Day! Thursday, July 13 9:00 - 11:45 am - Office Hours Sunday, July 16 9:30 am - Worship - "Love Is..." 11:00 am - Sunday School 7/5/2017 0 Comments July 05th, 2017 Maker Fun FactoryOur Vacation Bible School has come and gone for another year, and this year's proved to be an especially fun one! We learned about five Bible truths: God made you, God is for you, God is always with you, God will always love you, and God made you for a reason! Throughout the week, our kids sang songs, decorated wooden crosses, played games, ate great snacks, and - new this year - learned what these lessons mean for their lives in our KidVid Cinema rooms. We started the week with a goal of raising $1000 to supply clean drinking water for 200 children in Peru for a year; by week's end we had surpassed $2,000 - enough to help 400 children! Our youth groups had their own lessons and games and even a mission night. The Senior High Youth raised money for the mission project by washing cars, while the Middle School Youth cleaned books at the Grottoes Library, washed tables and chairs at the Grottoes Fire Department, and did landscaping at the church. Over the course of the week, we had over 220 kids that attended with an average of over 180 each night. It was a great week filled with fun and faith! Thanks to everyone who helped make it happen! Blessings on the journey, Jim Sunday's Sermon Snippet: Good News for HagarGenesis 16 tells the story of Hagar, an Egyptian slave serving as Sarah's handmaid. Sarah and Abraham, eager to see God's promise of a son fulfilled, hatch a plan to have a son and so Sarah gives Hagar to her husband. When Hagar becomes pregnant, however, things begin to fall apart and Sarah grows jealous. She demands Abraham do something, so he gives the servant back to her. Sarah mistreats her until she runs away. At a spring, Hagar encounters God's messenger who tells her to return home and gives her a promise that she will have many children - a part of the promise given to Abraham. She is to name her child Ishmael - "God hears" - because God heard of her plight, and she names God in return El Roi - "God who sees me." Three things are worth noting in this encounter: 1) the messenger calls Hagar by name, something neither Abraham nor Sarah does, 2) God hears of Hagar's plight, and 3) God sees her where she goes. This is good news for Hagar and for all those who suffer in this world. God hears our cries, sees our plight, and calls us by name. This is reinforced in Genesis 21. Hagar had returned home and Abraham loved his son Ishmael, but when Sarah has a son - Isaac - she again grows jealous and vindictive that her son's inheritance may be split with servant's son. This time, Hagar is cast out. In the wilderness, her water runs out, and she lays her child down. She walks away a short distance so she will not have to see him die. God's messenger comes again, calling Hagar by name, and expands the promise that now her son will be father of a great nation like Abraham. The messenger says God heard the cries of the boy and opens Hagar eyes to a nearby well. She takes water to her child, and they live. Again, God hears their cries, sees their plight, and calls Hagar by name. This is the God we serve - one who cares so much about those suffer that He hears them, see them, and sends a messenger to call them by name. Sometimes we are those who need to be heard or seen, but other times we are among God's messengers sent to call the poor and oppressed and remind them of God's promises and the good news for Hagar. Thanks be to God that we serve such a wonderful Creator! Coming Up in WorshipThis week, we will kick off a worship series focused on marriage and close relationships. Come ready to learn how to improve your relationship and to be of support to friends struggling in their own! In conjunction with this series, Pastor Jim is offering a book study during Sunday School for those interested in going deeper and growing their relationship. This study will kick off on July 16 and run six weeks. If you are interested, please let Pastor Jim know. Living in CommunityThank you to everyone who our VBS such a success through your time, energy, prayers, and financial support! You are too many to name here, but we give thanks for you all! Prayers of Christian sympathy for Bob, Dianna, and their family on the passing of his mother. This Week at Port ChurchTuesday, July 4
Office Closed - Happy Independence Day! Thursday, July 6 9:00 - 11:45 am - Office Hours Sunday, July 9 9:30 am - Worship with VBS Slideshow and Communion - "Finding a Helper" 11:00 am - Sunday School 3 - 6 pm - Olde Time Revival at Verona UMC - Bishop Lewis preaching |
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