This past Sunday was world communion Sunday where we recognize people all around the world that share in the fellowship that is our Global Christian Family!

We recognize that we are all indeed connected.

One of the ways we are connected is through prayer. Recently many places around our world need prayer such as:

Haiti- Last weekend Haiti had an earthquake where over 30 people were killed and more than 330 were still injured. Many homes were lost as well.

Southeast US- Hurricane Michael is passing over the Southeast US at record speed and with record winds.

Indonesia- Recently experienced an earthquake and Tsunami with over 2000 dead.

The Middle East- Afghanistan and other countries who are experiencing war.

As you take time to be silent today include these places as well as this prayer.

Creator God, I give you thanks for calling me as a steward. Open my eyes to the intricacies of creation. Help me feel the textures of the world. Unstop my ears that I may hear your Word. Breathe into me the sweet aromas of life, that I may taste the fruits of your promise even now;

Even now, O God, even in Africa.
Africa. Where your church grows rapidly. Where faith is exuberant. Where a bright mosaic of culture shows the world the vibrancy of your love.

But where there is also pain, and famine, and thirst. Where violent unrest and ethnic strife fill so many lives and resist the unity our Savior brings.
Help me to stand with those who suffer, respond when I am called, give in appropriate ways so that wells will not run dry, creeping deserts may be slowed, and the chains of despair may be removed. Help me to bring the gospel, that your realm may be realized, even now;

Even now, O God, even in Asia.
Asia. So vast, so deeply rooted in tradition. Where your church is small but where religion is great. Gentle Asia, beautiful Asia, troubled Asia.

God of wisdom, teach me respect. Help me to learn from those who express their faith in different ways. Deepen my understanding of tradition, serenity, and prayer. Help me in this ancient land to witness meaningfully to the saving power of your Son.
Awaken me to systemic issues that increase despair and prolong poverty. Guide me in responsible stewardship, that your reign may extend throughout the world, even now;

Even now, O God, even in the Middle East.
The Middle East. The cradle of the church; the birthplace of our Lord; the land we call holy. Where the pain of the cross is so vivid; where the dry earth is watered by the tears of its children.

Show me again that I cannot feed the hungry with threats. I cannot quench thirst with religious intolerance. I cannot build for the future on sands of hate.
Lift me above strife. Infuse me with mutual respect, that the captives might be freed, that the frightened might be comforted. Lift me, loving God, as you lifted the stone from your Son’s tomb. Make me a joyous witness of his victory over death. Show me your grace, even now;

Even now, O God, even in Europe.
Europe and its magnificent Christian heritage. Where art, music, and architecture inspire generation upon generation with the beauty and the majesty of your gospel message.

Where the dramatic changes have brought poverty and violence, displacing whole communities into a desperate present and an uncertain future. Where entire peoples have fallen away from faith in you.
God of grace, help me to believe and live in your eternal promise. Point me toward the pathway of peace. Answer Jesus’ prayer that all may be one in him, even now;

Even now, O God, even in Latin America.
Latin America. Where your church struggles valiantly for the weak and the poor. Where martyrs are made. In Latin America, so rich in the bounties of creation, so misused by outsiders. In Latin America, where we have made mistakes in your name and brought a gospel soiled with our greed.

Your servants in Latin America have taught us by example. Kindle within my heart my own integrity of faith. Inspire within me a new sense of your church.
Make me aware that through such commitment, your peace and justice will be revealed, not in some distant time and place, but also right now, right here;

Here, O God, in North America, even here.
North America. Where so much affluence hides so much poverty and disease. North America, the sometimes hollow land, with so much to give. Make us bold in your Spirit, but humble in our work. Help us share your grace in Word and deed. Help us assume the servant’s role as Jesus did. Help us share our blessings as the Samaritan did. Help us to put ourselves in others’ shoes, sandals, mountain boots, and to walk in the footsteps of bare and calloused feet.

Here, O God, and throughout all the earth, I trust in your abiding care. I pledge myself to a deepened commitment in your name. Amen.
Adapted from One Great Hour of Sharing, Congregational Ministries Division of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

“Sin Boldly”, these were the words of my high school Hand Bell Choir director at my church in Naples. There were times in practice where a song would totally fall apart. Sometimes this would happen not in a big glaring way like someone playing the wrong bell at the wrong time. Sometimes a song would totally fall apart because a few people would sheepishly play the right bell at the right time or the wrong bell at the wrong time. In those moments no one knew really where we were in the music or what was going on. Mrs. Parker would yell out, come on if you are going to sin, sin boldly. Play the wrong bell loud and proud, at least then the whole group could hear your mistake and still have an idea of where we are and where we are going.

The phrase sin boldly did not come from Mrs. Parker but was first written in a letter by Martin Luther while he was in hiding. He wrote to a friend these words, “Sin boldly, and let your sins be strong, but let your trust in Christ be stronger, and rejoice in Christ who is the victor over sin, death and the world.”

Luther was not encouraging sin or sinning in a way that was of more impact than other sins. Yet, in his letter, he acknowledges that every human who lives on earth is a sinner and will continue to be because we live in a world where justice does not yet reign in completeness.

This provocative statement by Luther has studied for many years by many scholars. One scholar Dietrich Bonhoeffer reflected on it with the following thought, “Admit your sin boldly; do not try to flee from it, but believe much more boldly in Christ.”

We as humans and Christians have a way of justifying our sins, behaviors, and thoughts. We all have the propensity of minimizing the ways in which we have fallen astray and separated ourselves from God and others. Although this minimizing makes us feel better about ourselves it also minimizes our trust and full dependence on God.

This week in our scripture from Luke 7 we will look at the story of a woman who was known as a sinful woman in the city. She interrupted a dinner Jesus was at with the Pharisees and began to wash Jesus’ feet with her tears.

At one point Jesus tells the Pharisee, Simon, “whoever has been forgiven little, loves little.” Jesus was teaching Simon that the degree by which we are aware of our own sin is really the degree by which we are also aware of God’s abundant grace.

WE are all sinners BUT we are also children of a God who is aware of the depths of our sin and still loves us and gives to us grace and forgiveness. Our scripture this week teaches us that we should be very aware of our sins BUT that we should be even more aware of God’s great grace and the way that empowers us to give grace and love to others!

So go out today, Sin boldly, but be aware of it, repent of it and be completely aware of God’s grace that is working in you and through you to keep loving!

(Also, if anyone wants to join our bell choir- we will start practices next month! Be in touch with Gerard! All music levels are invited!)

See you Sunday!

Pastor Audrey

Something beautiful, something good

All my confusion He understood

All I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife

But he made something beautiful of my life

Letting Go and Letting God….this is a phrase I have heard a lot. Usually, when I speak these words it seems simple. When I hear these words it seems complex and when I practice these words it is usually profound.

Letting go is hard. Letting God is equally as hard. Also, there are moments when we do need to do something. Sometimes it is not so easy or hard to “let go and let God.” Is the phrase a Christian cliche that we say when things get difficult?

I do not think it is a cliche but I also do not believe that God picks up all our problems and sorts them out without our participation.

A public speaker I heard recently said, “For God to do the impossible we must do the possible.”

A prayer that has helped me decipher my participation in God’s work is the serenity prayer.

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and the wisdom to know the difference.

There are some things God asks us to change and some things we simply can’t. The things we can’t we must give to God.

This week I pray that each of us seeks wisdom in all we do. Let us let go of the things we can’t change and in the things, we can do our “possible” that God might do the “impossible.”

See you on Sunday!
Pastor Audrey

This might be a question many of you have asked throughout the course of your life. It’s easy to look at Jesus and all that he went through asking, was this really necessary. Did God really need to send Jesus to be ridiculed, shamed, and eventually persecuted?

This week in worship we are reading from Luke 2, which is the birth narrative of Christ. In this passage, we are reminded that God CHOSE to reveal God’s self through the birth of a baby, Jesus. Whether or not God needed Jesus is not really ours to ask, but the biggest truth I gain from this text is that God CHOSE to reveal God’s self through becoming a human just like you and me.

In the book, The Jesus I Never Knew, Philip Yancey tells about his revelation of God through having a fish tank. He would feed the fish three times a day, would clean the tank often, and run chemicals in it simply to care for the fish. What Philip realized is that the fish would hide from him anytime he approached the tank. No matter how much he tried to communicate that he was simply trying to help them, they would never understand. He eventually realized that the only way they would understand him would be for him to become a fish just like them. As a human, he was simply too big to wrap their minds around.

Likewise, I see ourselves in the same situation. No matter how much we try to understand why God does what God does, the truth of the matter is we will never fully comprehend. However, that is why God CHOSE to become incarnate. In the birth of Christ, God chose to reveal God’s self to us by becoming like us, to experience life, pain, joy, and death. God knew this was the only we could possibly come to know God.

This week, I pray that we all find joy in the fact that God cares so much about us that God chooses daily to continue revealing God’s self to us in a way that we can understand. While it may not be the Christmas season yet, the promise and revelation of Christmas stands true today and every day.

I look forward to seeing you each on Sunday in worship!

Peace and blessings,

Pastor Kipp

The Serenity Prayer

The first chapter of a book really gives you a preview of what is to come. Characters are introduced, the location is often revealed and the beginning of a plot is formed.

If we think about the Bible in this way, as a literary document, which it is, greater meaning is given to all that happens in the first chapter.

In the very first chapter characters are introduced. God is the primary character and God introduces the rest by creating each one. The characters do not simply appear in a location but the location too is created in the first chapter.

As for the plot, it starts out very simple, there is a God who wants to create and so God creates land, sea, air, animals, and humans.

God looks at all that was made and says, “it is very good!” (Genesis 1:31).

We know the plot thickens starting in chapter 2 of Genesis but this first chapter is so important. It really is the first chapter of everyday. Everyday is a new creation. Every single day is a gift from God.

AND everyday God sees us as VERY GOOD! This is not only God’s perception of us. Perception is often how we see the world- not so much by truth but by a compilation of glimpses and experiences. Unfortunately, many of us take a selected amount of glimpses of someone’s life and assume them to be the person we need them to be for our own justification or fulfillment. Sometimes these perceptions are generous and many times not.

YET, God always sees everything…God sees every day, every thought, every action and every word. God sees the truth about each of us and all the facts. Even with that God still looks at us as God did the first day….as VERY GOOD! Today I pray that each of us might know deep inside God’s perception of us- “she is very good” or “he is very good.”

I also pray that we might know that the first chapter written about us is truly our most defining chapter.

We are God’s creation and we are good.

YOU are God’s creation and you are good!

See you on Sunday!
Pastor Audrey

Check out our Week 2 Video – What’s in that time capsule????