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1/27/2019 January 27th, 2019 Scripture ChallengeBut the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against things like this. - Galatians 5:22-23 (Common English Bible) These are the verses we are focusing on in worship for the next few weeks, so I want to challenge everyone to learn this Scripture by heart. As an added incentive, if you can memorize and recite the verses above by Sunday, February 17, I will put your name into a drawing for a jar of homemade sugared pecans - a favorite family recipe in the Joyner household. So get to learning the fruit of the Spirit! Blessings on the journey, Jim Sunday's Sermon SnippetFruit: Seeds (John 14:25-15:17) There are few things that make fruit distinctive. They have seeds - typically hidden deep inside, they have some sort of sweet-tasting flesh that is good to eat, and all of that is wrapped up in a protective skin or peel. As we explore the fruit of the Spirit that Paul wrote to the church in Galatia about, we are going to compare some of the parts of the fruit of the Spirit to these parts of physical fruit. Love, joy, and peace can be seen as the seeds of the fruit of the Spirit. Seeds are typically found in the core at the heart of the fruit. When they are spread out into the world, they have the ability to grow, thrive, and create even more fruit. Likewise, love, joy, and peace are the essential things that are planted deep within us by the Spirit when we choose to follow God. When we sow these seeds out in the world, they have the ability to grow and spread without bounds. It is no accident that Paul connected these three virtues in his list of the fruit as Jesus also linked them together in his final teaching to his disciples on the last night of his earthly, human life. Jesus promised his disciples that despite the coming heartache they should not worry or be afraid. He would leave them the Spirit that would give them his peace. Finding peace, they could remain rooted in Jesus just as branches are grafted into a grape vine. Rooted in Jesus, they could love one another as he had loved them. This, he said, would make his joy complete in them. His peace leads to love leads to joy. Although the order may be different from Paul's, perhaps this points to how these three work as a cycle : peace, love, joy, peace, love, joy, peace.... What would it be like if we spread the seeds of love, joy, and peace widely in the world like a dandelion does with its unstoppable seeds sailing on the wind? If you have ever tried to control dandelions in your yard, you know it is an ongoing, endless battle. They are never fully overcome. All it takes is a lawnmower hitting one of those gray puffballs or a gust of wind or even a child's breath to spread those seeds all over the place again. What if we let our love, joy, and peace out into the world like that? The whole world would be covered in them. Yet there is a reason we don't - fear. Fear is what keeps us from spreading love, peace, and joy. When we fear someone, we cannot truly love them. When we are fearful, we have little peace. It is hard to focus on our joy when fear strikes our hearts. That is why Jesus reminded us not to be fearful but to embrace his peace. Like the seeds of a fruit buried deep within the fruit, our love, joy, and peace need to be protected until they are ready to be planted to grow on their own. We need to protect our love, joy, and peace from the fear that this world now seems to run on. If we succumb to fear, we cannot plant new seeds to grow in the world. May the peace, love, and joy of Jesus fill you to overflowing that your fruit may grow everywhere you go and fear may have no hold on you! Sunday School: Everybody AlwaysIn Sunday School this week, we will continue our study of Everybody Always by Bob Goff by looking at chapters 4-8. Hope to see you there! What Do United Methodists Believe?This Sunday at 4 pm, we will continue our study on what it means to be United Methodist with a lesson on some of our distinctive beliefs. Even if you have not made it for our earlier sessions, feel free to join us as we explore what United Methodist believe. FYI: We plan to be done in time for folks interested in watching the Super Bowl to make it home. Living in CommunityIf you have thoughts about where your star word is guiding you, please take a moment to share those with Pastor Jim. Our Little Fishermen class on Wednesday nights are holding a canned fruit drive to support the ERMA food pantry as a part of their learning about the fruit of the Spirit. Help them by bringing in canned fruit any time up until February 27! The South River Elementary School Clothes Closet is in need of sweatpants (any children's size in gray, black, blue, green) and underwear (size 6, boys or girls). If you have a student that will be graduating this spring, a college student, or military member in your family, please let Sue know. This Week at Port ChurchWednesday, January 30 9:00 - 11:45 am - Office Hours 5:00 - Youth Dinner and Spotswood Basketball Game 6:00 pm - Wednesday at the Port Thursday, January 31 9:00 - 11:45 am - Office Hours 7:00 pm - Finance Committee Meeting Sunday, February 3 9:30 am - Worship with Communion: Bearing Fruit - Flesh 11:00 am - Sunday School Everybody Always Study - Prologue & Chapters 1-3 4:00 pm - Being United Methodist Wednesday, February 7 9:00 - 11:45 am - Office Hours 6:00 pm - Wednesday at the Port Thursday, February 8 9:00 - 11:45 am - Office Hours Looking AheadSmall Group Interest Meeting - February 24
Church Potluck - March 24 1/22/2019 January 22nd, 2019 Everybody AlwaysDuring Sunday School this week, we are kicking off our study of the book Everybody Always by Bob Goff. This book is a collection of real-life stories that help us explore how to become love and to love everybody always - even the people that are the most difficult. This week, we will learning about what it means to love our neighbors - the neighbors who actually reside, work, and live their lives just next door to us! You can order a copy of the book at an online bookstore or Amazon. You do not have to have read the book in order to participate in the study, but reading along will add to the experience. This week's lesson will cover the Prologue and Chapters 1-3 (note the change from what I announced in worship). I hope you will join us this week! Blessings on the journey, Jim Sunday's Sermon SnippetBearing Fruit (Galatians 5:22-26) Fruit of some kind is something we almost all enjoy. What makes fruit what it is? It likely has seeds that can grow into another plant, some sweet flesh that is good to eat, and a skin or peel to protect it all. In addition to its physical attributes, it also has a purpose - to nourish others and to create new life as its seeds are carried out into the world. Fruit is not only what a plant produces but also its purpose in the world. It is no wonder then that fruit is often used as metaphor for what we make in and of our lives. In writing to the churches in Galatia, the Apostle Paul encouraged them to follow the Spirit so that good fruit would come from their lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is a lot packed into just a few short verses here. First of all, Paul refers to these nine things collectively as the fruit of the Spirit. This means that they are all a part of one fruit. They are not many different fruits such that we can choose which ones we want - the fruit of the Spirit is not a buffet. So, if we are living fruitfully, our lives will show evidence of them all rather than just one or a few. Secondly, these are fruit of the Spirit. They come from the Spirit and are produced by the Spirit dwelling in us. This means that we cannot force ourselves to be more kind or joyful in a fake kind of way. This is not to say that we have no control over how kind or joyful we are in the Spirit. We have choices to make, and the choice that helps us to be more fruitful is to follow the Spirit's guidance. We decide whether the fruit of our lives belong to the Spirit or to our selfish desires by which we choose to follow. Paul makes one more point here worth some attention. After listing the fruit, he declares that there is no law against things like this. This tells us at least two things. For one, this list of nine parts of the fruit is not an exhaustive list but a list of examples. Secondly, he felt the need to remind us that there is nothing wrong with choosing things like joy, kindness, and gentleness - things that are self-evidently good! Why would anyone ever think there were laws against such things? Why would Paul take the time to tell us this? Perhaps it is because we often act as if these fruit - as self-evidently good as they are - can be the wrong thing to choose. We say things like, "Well, it's good to be kind, but that doesn't always work in the real world." Kindness is good, we think, unless we are talking about people we disagree with - prove them wrong! Gentleness is good unless we are talking about people we don't like - destroy them! Patience is good unless we are having to wait for something that should be happening now - demand action! Love is good, unless we are talking about enemies (despite that whole pesky thing Jesus said about loving enemies) - hate them! We act like choosing the Spirit's way is the wrong thing to do and that should be rules against it, all because we are choosing the path of our selfish desires without knowing it. There is no law against the things like the fruit of the Spirit. Which will you choose to follow today - the Spirit or your selfish desires? The Way ForwardDuring Sunday School this past week, we dove into the history behind and proposals being considered by our denomination's General Conference on February 23-26. At the conference, delegates will consider a way forward on the issue of human sexuality given the diversity of opinion that exists in our denomination today. If you missed our session or are interested in learning more, you can check out the resources at the Virginia conference website. Living in CommunityThank you, Susie, for offering our prayer in worship on Sunday! As a part of learning about the fruit of the Spirit, our Wednesday children's class will be starting a canned fruit drive this week. Everyone is invited to bring in canned fruit to be donated to the Food Pantry. Collection boxes will be located in the vestibule and the fellowship hall until February 27. This Week at Port ChurchWednesday, January 23 9:00 - 11:45 am - Office Hours 6:00 pm - Wednesday at the Port Thursday, January 24 9:00 - 11:45 am - Office Hours Sunday, January 27 9:30 am - Worship: Bearing Fruit - Seeds 11:00 am - Sunday School Everybody Always Study - Prologue & Chapters 1-3 4:00 pm - Being United Methodist Wednesday, January 30 9:00 - 11:45 am - Office Hours 6:00 pm - Wednesday at the Port Thursday, January 31 9:00 - 11:45 am - Office Hours 7:00 pm - Finance Committee Meeting Looking AheadSmall Group Interest Meeting - February 24
1/15/2019 January 15th, 2019 Conversation about a Small GroupIn the last few months, I have heard from a few folks who are interested in having an opportunity to gather in a small group to get to know each other better and encourage one another on life's journey. The small group would be a meeting outside of church in a home or another location where people could simply share what is going on in their live, where they see God at work in it, and ask for prayers. As we have had conversations about what this might look like, we would like to give a small group a try during the season of Lent beginning in March. We want to see how much interest there would be from all of you in the congregation to participate in such a group and to see what you would like to get out of such an experience. I have been part of a small group with other pastors in our area, and I can attest to how helpful it is to have a group of spiritual friends supporting, challenging, and praying for me. If you are curious about what a small group is about, I'd be glad to answer any questions. We will have a time to talk about the possibilities for a small group on the afternoon of Sunday, February 24th. If you are interested in a small group, please let me or Becky Chandler know. Blessings on the journey, Jim Start of Classes DelayedDue to this past Sunday's snow closure, the start of our Sunday School and study will be delayed by a week. This Sunday, we will hold our presentation on the upcoming General Conference and the Way Forward during Sunday School. We will also kick off our study on Being United Methodist at 4 pm. We will begin our book study of Everybody Always by Bob Goff (make sure to get your own book) during Sunday School on January 27. Inclement Weather PolicyWith winter fully upon us, there is the chance of snow that may force us to close as it did this past Sunday, so here is a reminder of policy. For Wednesday at the Port, if Rockingham County Public Schools are closed or release early due to weather (this does not include a delayed start to the school day), we will cancel our meal and programs. For snowy Sunday mornings, we will make an effort to hold worship service if the pastor can make it safely to church. We leave it to everyone to make the best decision for themselves. Please do what you need to remain safe. If you have a volunteer role and cannot make it due to icy conditions, please let us know and we will handle things. If we decide that it is in the church's best interest to cancel worship service, announcements will be made on WHSV and through Facebook and email. Living in CommunityDon't forget about your Star Word! If you have thoughts about how your word is guiding you, please let Pastor Jim know so he can pray specifically for your journey. If you still need a word, make sure to pick one up this Wednesday or Sunday! Wednesdays at the Port are back beginning this week! Join us for a home-cooked meal and classes for children and adults! This Week at Port ChurchWednesday, January 16 9:00 - 11:45 am - Office Hours 6:00 pm - Wednesday at the Port Thursday, January 17 9:00 - 11:45 am - Office Hours Sunday, January 20 9:30 am - Worship: Bearing Fruit 11:00 am - Sunday School Presentation on the Way Forward 4:00 pm - Being United Methodist Wednesday, January 23 9:00 - 11:45 am - Office Hours 6:00 pm - Wednesday at the Port Looking AheadEverybody Always Book Study begins January 27
1/9/2019 January 09th, 2019 Star WordsOver the last few years, a new New Year's tradition has grown more popular - that of choosing a word to guide us in the new year. People choose a word to focus on - joy, peace, happiness, etc. - and work to grow in that throughout the year. Unlike a resolution that can be made like a rule to be quickly broken, a chosen word becomes more of a guide to lead us to a better life that we desire. In worship on Sunday, we talked about God's gift of signs and words to guide us - just as the star and words of Scripture were gifts to guide the magi to the newborn king, Jesus. We also offered "star words." Like words people choose for the new year, star words are meant to be a guide to help us on our journeys. Star words are different, though, in that we do not choose them. Rather, they are a gift from God. We chose a star from a basket and on that star was a single word. This word is not of our choosing and may be one we would never think to choose for ourselves, but it can be a gift from God if we choose to reflect on what it means for our life and our journey. Along with the star words, we handed out some instructions on how to reflect on this word. I would love to hear from you about your word, what you discover it means for you, and how you might follow it. If you were not with us or did not pick one up, the basket will be available along with the instruction sheets over the next few weeks. Make sure to pick one up one Sunday, or let me know if you would like me to send you one. Blessings on the journey, Jim Sunday's Sermon SnippetThe Best Christmas: Following the Star (Matthew 2:1-11) As we come to the close of the Christmas season and pack away the all the decorations, we have one last lesson to learn about what made the first Christmas the best Christmas. After all, we haven't talked about gifts yet, and what is Christmas without a special gift or two? That first Christmas, there were a lot of gifts - although perhaps not traditional ones. There was Mary's deep faith and Joseph's faithful heart. There was the manger itself - a gift when no other room could be found. There was the angel's words to the shepherds and their gift of worship after finding the baby. No gifts from that first Christmas, however, come to mind like those three gifts of the magi: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. They traveled many miles to worship the newborn king and bring him these three gifts fit for a king. Yet before the magi ever set out on their journey, there was a gift greater than any of these three - the star to guide them. The magi were Gentiles and did not follow the way of the God of Israel. They had little to no knowledge of the Hebrew scriptures to tell them of the coming Messiah. The star was a gift to tell them that a great king - one worth going to see - had been born. And so they did. They followed it to Jerusalem, where the trail turned cold. So they asked where the new king was. It took King Herod, out of his fear of a rival king being born, asking of the priests and scribes where the king would be born. With their answer "Bethlehem," the star again began to guide the magi to their destination. The star was a great gift, to be sure, but it was not the only gift the magi needed to find the new king. God gave also the gift of words - the words of Scripture - to guide them along the way. These words were not the only gift of words that first Christmas. The shepherds had told Mary of the angel's message, and she pondered and treasured these words. When Simeon prophesied about the newborn Jesus who came to be dedicated at the Temple, Mary was amazed by those words. Years later, when the teenage Jesus lingered in Jerusalem at the Temple, and Mary and Joseph rushed back to find him, she treasured his words to her. Mary surely treasured the words of the magi's tale of their journey following the star that was a gift to guide them. God gives us great gifts to guide us on our journeys - signs and words alike. May we ponder them, treasure them, and let them be our guide along the way! Bearing FruitWhat kind of person does God want me to be? How can I be a better person to those around me? How can I make a greater impact on the world around me? Join us this Sunday as we explore what it means to bear fruit and to grow in fruitfulness in our new worship series on the fruit of the Spirit: "Bearing Fruit!" Being United MethodistThis Sunday at 4 pm, we kick off our study "Being United Methodist." Over the next four or five weeks, we will explore our history and heritage, what we believe and how those beliefs are distinctive, and how we engage in ministry. Childcare will be provided. Please let Pastor Jim know if you are interested in joining us for this class! Living in CommunityThank you, Dinah, for leading worship and bringing a great message last week! Thank you, Davida, Linda, and Donnie for serving communion this past Sunday! This Week at Port ChurchWednesday, January 9 9:00 - 11:45 am - Office Hours Thursday, January 10 9:00 - 11:45 am - Office Hours Sunday, January 13 9:30 am - Worship: Bearing Fruit 11:00 am - Sunday School Presentation on the Way Forward 4:00 pm - Being United Methodist Looking AheadWednesday at the Port resumes January 16
Everybody Always Book Study begins January 20 |
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