The Lighthouse - October 19, 2015

Ever Thanks

I can no other answer make but thanks, and thanks, and ever thanks. ~ Shakespeare

What can I say? I was certainly surprised by the thoughtful gift of dinner (at my favorite restaurant Corgan's, no less) and babysitting and the kinds words that you gave me this past Sunday! Your appreciation means than you can imagine as we work together for Jesus here in our community. I suppose all I can I say is "Thanks!"

Thanks to you, Steve, for your kind and honest words! I believe that you just may be on to something in saying that God has sent a crazy shepherd to lead the crazy sheep called Port Church.  I pray that God will use us all to do crazy and amazing things in the name of Jesus Christ!

Thanks to you, Sue and all the ladies who hosted such a delicious cookie reception for us! 

Thanks to all of you kids who made such nice cards for me! You are awesome!

Thanks to all of you who love and watch over my boys while I am working at church! I know this is no easy task, and I am thankful for the ways that you have embraced them as a part of your family!

Thanks to you, Dianna, Dinah, Amie, Linda, and Linda, for being a part of an amazing staff that keeps our church working smoothly and growing week after week! There is no way we could do the ministry we do without you.

Thanks to all of our leaders who work together beside me to discern and implement the vision that God has given for our church! 

Thanks to all of you who are a part of Port Church! Thank you for being the awesome folks that you are! It is my privilege to serve and lead you.

May God bless you all in your lives and your ministry in the name of Jesus whom we serve together!

Blessings on the journey, Jim

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Free Checking

In our latest worship series on stewardship - "Free Checking: The Rewards of Learning How to Give Well!" - we are learning how to give well so that our giving to God through the church can be the joy that God intends it to be in our lives. These lessons will come to us from 2 Corinthians 8-9 in which Paul writes to the church in Corinth about how they should take up the collection to support the poor in Jerusalem.

Sermon Snippet: A Joy Deeper than Our Generosity (2 Cor. 9:1-9)
In this passage, Paul turns from the motivation for giving - a vision worth giving to and a focus on who Jesus is to us - to practical method for giving. He recognizes that, no matter how motivated someone is to give, the joy of giving still eludes them if they have nothing or little to give. So he encourages the Corinthians to prepare for the collection for the poor in Jerusalem by not waiting until he comes to pick it up. If they were to wait until he arrives to gather it, they may not have much saved up to give and may feel compelled to give grudgingly. We do this today in our churches as we wait to give until there is an emergency - a ministry that needs additional funds or a problem with the building. When the emergency arrives, we may feel motivated to give but we have little to offer if we have not prepared ourselves.  So we either resent the request for more giving or we are regretful that we cannot give more. Either way, this robs us of the joy God wants us to have in giving. To find joy in giving, we must be prepared to give so that we can give freely and cheerfully and not under compulsion or guilt. Today, there are at least two things we can do to prepare to give as we feel led: 1) Give extra along the way. As we have extra to share, we can go ahead and give. When a need arises, we have already given towards it and can rejoice that we can meet the need. 2) We can budget for extra giving and put it aside so that whenever we hear of a need we feel called to meet we can easily give towards it. Being prepared to give rather than procrastinating frees us to experience a joy deeper than our generosity. 

This Week's Challenge
How much extra do you have that you feel called to give to God's work through the church or other groups in the community? Pray for God to reveal to you where you are being called to give it and for the courage to just go ahead and give it.

Looking Ahead
Ask for something worth giving to. Keep your focus on who Jesus is. Be prepared to give by putting aside the extra you have. This the advice Paul gives the Corinthians - and us too - to help us experience freedom and joy in our giving. But what happens next? What happens after we give? Join us this Sunday as we expect "A Harvest Bigger than Our Sowing!"

October 25 - A Harvest Bigger than Our Sowing - 2 Corinthians 9:6-15

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Supporting Our Ministries

Here at Port Church, we are blessed with a huge vision of what God wants us to do in our community - VBS, Wednesday at the Port, Bradburn Park, youth and children's ministry, Sunshine Seniors, maintaining our beautiful, historic building, being a light in the village - the list goes on and on! Our ministry leaders have let our Finance Committee know what they need funding to do in the coming year, and our whole Council is excited about what is in store for us this coming year! To help us best plan for these ministries, we need you to let us know how you plan to support our church's ministries in the coming year. As we wrap up our stewardship series "Free Checking" this Sunday, please bring your completed Pledge Form (and Automated Giving Authorization Form, if you want to sign up for this service) and return it for a blessing during our worship service. Thank you for your support of this awesome vision of what God is doing in our lives and in our community! 

Living in Community

• Please pray for Mark and Dinah as they prepare for their CDL test next week!

This Week at Port Church

Wednesday, October 21
9:30 am - 2 pm - Office Hours
6 pm - Wednesday at the Port

Thursday, October 22
9:30 am - 12 pm - Office Hours
10:30 am - Prayer Time
6:30 pm - Trustees Meeting

Sunday, October 25
9:30 am - Worship 
"Free Checking: A Harvest Bigger than Our Sowing"
11 am - Sunday School

Looking Ahead

• Saturday, November 7 - Fill the Field - District Youth Hunger/Homelessness Awareness Event
• Sunday, November 8 - Church-wide Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Packing Party
• Tuesday, November 10 - Charge Conference
• Thursday, December 24 - Christmas Eve Dinner (5:30 pm) and Worship Service (7 pm)