November 14th, 2017

Thanksgiving Family Game Night

Thanksgiving is fast approaching and with it time to be spent with family! Here at Port Church, we are going to kick off the holiday festivities on Tuesday by spending time with our church family for Family Game Night. As the kids finish up school on Tuesday and begin their break, come out for a game of Pass the Pigs - a fun and easy game for all ages! We will start at 7 pm and play for about an hour. Prizes and refreshments will be provided! Everyone is welcome to come out for this time of fun to start the holiday. Let me know if you are interested in coming so that we can plan ahead. I look forward to seeing you then, and have a blessed time with family next week!

Blessings on the journey, Jim

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Sunday's Sermon Snippet​

Come and See: Live Your Faith (Daniel 3)
Over the last few weeks, we have talked about how we share the good news through our presence, our stories both of God and of our own lives, and our kindness. At the root of this last one is the fact that our actions often speak louder than our words when it comes to what other people learn about God from us. We can say we follow Jesus and put a fish symbol on the back of our car, but what does it tell folks if we then drive angrily and aggressively around them? What kind of God would they think we follow? How we act directly impacts our witness to who God is. In the book of Daniel, there are several stories about how God's faithful shared their witness in a far more challenging time than our own. They did so not just through words but through their actions. They lived in a foreign land where the worship of God was opposed. The king built an idol and ordered that everyone should bow down to it. Three men - Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego - refused and were sentenced to be thrown in a blazing hot furnace. Given one last chance, they refused and said they knew God could save them, but even if God did not they would not bow down to the idol. The king threw them in, and God brought them safely through, convincing the king of the truth of what these men had said. Faced with persecution, these men held to their faith and made a greater witness than mere words could have done. We do not face this kind of persecution today, but we still succumb to the temptation to water down our witness by not fully living out what we say we believe. There are times when our faith and our lives do not match. We say one thing and then do another. When we face times of trouble, we turn to our own control rather than to God.  We talk of forgiveness but hold grudges. We judge others harshly even while we see ourselves as perfect. It is this hypocrisy that undermines much of the church's witness today. Two ways we see this especially played out these days are in politics and online. People of faith of all kinds of political thought blindly defend those they support even when it contradicts the principles of faith they claim to honor first and foremost. Loyalty to a political party ranks higher than loyalty to God, all for the sake of power, and compromises our witness. In addition, social media has great potential for us to share our faith but also to destroy our witness. It is so easy to rant, vent, or simply reshare something offensive without thinking about how it reflects on the one we claim to follow. If we are to share our witness effectively, we need to hold to our faith not just when we feel like it or it is convenient. It is not enough to sing and pray our faith on Sunday. We need to live our faith all week long! 

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District Conference Training

The Harrisonburg District Conference - a time of worship and planning for ministry - will be held this Sunday at 2:30 pm at Asbury UMC. At 4 pm, training workshops will be offered on Trustees, Staff-Parish Relations Committee, small group ministry, personal planning for the future, district missions, and worship and the arts. Please see Pastor Jim or Ralph for more details.

Living in Community

Thank you, Mary, Sue, and Hannah for putting together 
our Operation Christmas Child Packing Party this past Sunday!
Thank you to everyone who came out and helped pack so many boxes! 
Individual boxes are due this Sunday.


Please pray for Dianna as she continues to recover.
We look forward to the return of her Bible study soon! 

If you are taking part in our Love Does book study in Sunday School,
read chapters 8-14 in preparation for this week's class.

This Week at Port Church

Bible Study cancelled this week
​
Tuesday, November 14
7:00 pm - Administrative Council Meeting

Wednesday, November 15
9:00 - 11:45 am - Office Hours
6:00 pm - Wednesday at the Port
Come out for our last meal this fall!

Thursday, November 16
9:00 - 11:45 am - Office Hours
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​​​Sunday, November 19
9:30 am - Worship - "Come and See!"
​Bring items to share with those who are hungry for our Harvest Table!
Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes due today!
Don't forget to bring your Kindness Cards!
​11:00 am - Sunday School
​2:30 pm - District Conference at Asbury UMC
4:00 pm - District Leadership Training
​6:30 - 8:00 pm - Financial Peace University Class

Looking Ahead

Thanksgiving Family Game Night - November 21st, 7 pm
​Charge Conference - November 29th, 7 pm
​Christmas Program with the Spotswood Choir - December 10th, 7 pm
​Christmas Eve Service - December 24th
Wednesday at the Port resumes January 24th