10/8/2018 October 08th, 2018Choosing JoyI recently read an article about a popular college class that is taught on the topic of happiness. The class explores some of the latest studies on what helps people to be happier. One of the major points that students discover is that, once a person's basic needs are met, happiness is largely a choice. We, however, often think of happiness as being a result of our life circumstances. If only we got a new job, if only our wayward child followed our advice, if only we had a new car, purse, boat, etc., if only our party were in control of things, then we would be happy, we tell ourselves. Researchers have found that our circumstances contribute only a small bit to our feelings of happiness. The larger factor in our happiness is our choice - our choice of whether to be happy. Our happiness increases when we choose to focus on being grateful. All of this, of course, should come as no surprise to us, because this is something that God's people have known for quite a while. The Apostle Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica: "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." He knew that our joy is not dependent on what is happening in our lives but instead on the choice to rejoice. Focusing our thoughts in prayer and giving thanks no matter what are ways to increase our joy. Furthermore, this is God's will for us - that we would find joy in all things. Choose joy today! Pray and give thanks, for this is the happiness God wants for you! Blessings on the journey, Jim Sunday's Sermon SnippetLegacy: Leaving an Inheritance (Ephesians 1:3-14) Despite what the official rankings say, we are among the richest people in the world. We are not self-made men and women - we have inherited every bit of our great wealth. For God has made us heirs to the greatest inheritance in the world: every spiritual blessing, redemption, forgiveness, unity in Christ, the indwelling of the Spirit. There is no amount of money that can buy these things. They are simply given to us as we believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are adopted into sonship - a Roman legal term meaning that we are made full heirs - by the God who has everything to give. The inheritance of God is not like what we think of inheritances to be. For one thing, it is not about money and physical possessions. In our prayer book, we have a beautiful, funeral prayer that gives thanks to God for what the departed "has given us to make us what we are, for that of him/her which lives and grows in each of us." This is our true inheritance from those who have gone before us and indeed from God. Our inheritance is the way our lives have been shaped and how we have been changed by our blessings. Another way our inheritance from God differs from our common understanding of inheritances is that it cannot be divvied up. It is not a treasured item such that heirs must decide who gets it and who doesn't. The inheritance of God is not something that is split into smaller chunks the more heirs there are. Being from God's kingdom, it grows even larger with every new heir, because part of the inheritance is the unity of all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. The danger in being an heir to such a lavish riches as God's grace is the temptation to squander. God blesses us so that we might become a blessing to others. Our of selfishness, we might use our blessings only to enrich ourselves and forget about others. Out of fear, we might hoard our blessings so that they are no longer a blessing to anyone. Out of vulnerability, we might contort our blessings to become a curse to those who are not like us. This is perhaps our greatest challenge in our divided world just as it was in the church in Ephesus to which Paul wrote this letter. He spoke of how the Gentile and Jewish Christans were made one as Christ destroyed the dividing wall between them. Yet they remained divided, thus rebuilding that wall. Today, we are tempted to draw lines between who's in and who's out, who's a true Christian and who's not, who's right and who's wrong. Yet Paul says God's purpose is to bring all in unity under Christ. God had told Abraham and Sarah that through them all families would be blessed. It is not up to us to determine who we share the inheritance of blessings with for God is calling us all. To avoid squandering our inheritance from God, we need to have the same humility as Paul in recognizing that God's blessings are not about how good we are but about how good God is. We need to praise God's glory not only in our words but in how we live our lives. We need to share the blessings given to us as freely they were given to us. What we do with the inheritance given to us by God and those who have gone before us is a part of the legacy we leave. Are we growing or squandering the inheritance that has been passed down to us? How is God calling us to grow our inheritance? What legacy does God want us to leave our children and children's children? Promises to GodOn Sunday, we witnessed the baptisms and confirmation of several of our youth. We heard as they made their vows to serve God, follow Jesus, and live in the Spirit, and we joined together in renewing the vows that we declared at our own baptisms. While we often talk about the promises of God - the promises that God has made to take care of and redeem us - we too have made promises to God in these vows. In the coming weeks, we are going to explore one of these vows that we have made and the series of life-changing promises held within its simple words. Join us this Sunday as we kick off our new worship series "Promises to God: Exploring Our Vow to Change the World!" Living in CommunityCongratulations to Madalyn, Grace, Gabe, and Chelsea on their baptisms and Amelia on her confirmation this past Sunday! We are so proud of you and know God has great things in store for each of you. Welcome to our new sisters and brother in Christ! This Week at Port ChurchWednesday, October 10 9:00 - 11:45 am - Office Hours 6:00 pm - Wednesday at the Port Youth Trip to United Basketball Game 6:45 pm - Cantata Practice Thursday, October 11 9:00 - 11:45 am - Office Hours Saturday, October 13 12 noon - 2 pm - Confirmation Mission Fundraiser at 340 Quick Stop Come out to help our confirmation class support the SPCA's work for animals in our community! Sunday, October 14 9:30 am - Worship: "Promises to God: Participate" 11:00 am - Sunday School Wednesday, October 17 9:00 - 11:45 am - Office Hours Charge Conference Paperwork Deadline 6:00 pm - Wednesday at the Port 6:45 pm - Cantata Practice Looking AheadHarvest Table to benefit Food Pantry, October 14 - November 17
Charge Conference Paperwork Deadline - October 17 No Wednesday at the Port - October 31 Christmas Shoebox Packing Party - November 11 Charge Conference - November 12, 7 pm Drive-thru Nativity - December 14 & 15 Comments are closed.
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January 2019
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8525 Water Street
PO Box 116
Port Republic, VA 24471
540-249-4111