Sunday, January 28, 2007

Adult Forum &
Sunday School begin @ 9:30
Worship Begins @ 10:30
All are welcome!

Adult Forum
Living Love
Focus Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13
Love provides for the possibility of life lived in the close quarters of the Body of Christ. Our love for one another and the world grows out of God's gracious love for us. Prophecy that prepares us to receive God begins in the speaking and doing of love. Such love enlivens community. Such love persists. By such love we are fully known. Paul urges the community of Christ to love expressed in action. How might this text shape or transform the way we embody love today, especially in the context of community? How does love prepare us for God, and how does God prepare us for love?

Worship
4th Sunday after the Epiphany
Scriptures: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13; Jeremiah 1:4-10; Luke 4:21-20; (Psalm 71:1-6)
Prayer for the weekend as you prepare for worship: Love is who you are, O God. Love is how you have come in Jesus Christ. Love is how you call us to be the Body of Christ. Teach us to love in word and action. May we persist in love, even as you persistently grace us and all with your Love. Amen.
Preaching: Greg Ledbetter; Worship Leader: Jodie Tooley; Adult Choir: Joy in the Morning

Sunday, January 14, 2007

Coffee Time @ 9:15
Adult Forum &
Sunday School @ 9:30
Worship @ 10:30
All are welcome!

Adult Forum
Revealing Love
Focus Scripture: John 2:1-11
Additional Scriptures: Isaiah 62:1-5; Psalm 36:5-10; 1 Corinthians 12:1-11
We can depend on God's abundant love. Whether offering renewal to those without hope in Isaiah's time or changing water into wine at the wedding of Cana, God gives us extravagant gifts. The abundant gifts of God's Spirit work in the midst of the community of God's beloved people to reveal Christ, then and now. In what ways does Jesus' life and ministry reveal God's abundance to you? In what ways does God continue to bring abundance into the world today?
Discussion Leader: Lenita Shumaker




Worship
2nd Sunday after the Epiphany
Celebrating the Witness of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Scriptures: 1 Kings 19:9-18; 1 Corinthians 12:1-11; 1 Peter 2:1-10
Additional Readings: Selections from Letter from Birmingham Jail and Beyond Vietnam
Prayer for the Weekend as You Prepare for Worship: O God, it is your will to hold both heaven and earth in a single peace. Let the design of your great love shine on the waste of our wraths and sorrows, and give peace to your church, peace among nations, peace in our homes, and peace in our hearts.
Preaching: Greg Ledbetter; Head Usher:Max (Jim) Foust; The Ramblers: How Much Can One Heart Hold (Kate Campbell) and When God Made Me (Neil Young); Adult Choir: On Eagles Wings

Words for Meditation
from Martin Luther King, Jr.

Love must be our regulating ideal.
…If we fail to do this,
our protest will end up as a meaningless drama
on the stage of history,
and its memory will be shrouded
with the ugly garments of shame.
Montgomery Improvement Association, December 5, 1955,
Recounted in Stride Toward Freedom, 1957

I learned that the inseparable twin of racial injustice
was economic injustice…
Here I saw economic injustice firsthand,
and realized that the poor White
was exploited just as much as the Negro.
Stride Toward Freedom, 1957

I am absolutely convinced
that there is no basic difference
between colonialism and segregation.
They are both based on a contempt for life,
and a tragic doctrine of White supremacy.
So our struggles are not only similar;
they are in a real sense one.”
SCLC African Freedom Dinner, April 20, 1959

If today’s church does not recapture
the sacrificial spirit of the early church,
it will lose its authenticity,
forfeit the loyalty of millions,
and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club
with no meaning for the twentieth century.”
Letter from Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963

Sunday Morning, December 24, 2006

Daily Devotionals are being published on the Worship & Spiritual Growth Blog.

Important Note: There will be no Adult Forum or Sunday School Classes on December 24 or December 31. Classes will resume on January 7.


Morning Worship begins at 10:30 am
All are welcome!

Fourth Sunday of Advent
Surprising Joy!
Come sing carols and celebrate the good news!
Focus Scripture: Luke 1:39-55
Prayer for the Weekend as You Prepare for Worship: O God, we delight in your amazing and surprising ways. Open our hearts this Christmas season to sing with Elizabeth and Mary your song of justice and salvation to all the world.
Preaching: Greg Ledbetter; Worship Leader: Jennifer Davidson; Adult Choir: Hallelujah, Glory Hallelujah and A Child of Peace.


God's work of salvation is full of surprises. God chooses young Mary to be the mother of Jesus. God chooses the elderly Elizabeth to bear a son, John. God chooses little Bethlehem as the birthplace of the Messiah. The prophetic voices of Mary and Elizabeth invite us to rejoice in the surprising joy and justice of God's reign and to bear this news to the world.

Though it may seem surprising and, at times, hard to believe, God also chooses to act in our lives. We are called to sing along with Mary and Elizabeth -- to rejoice in God's Messiah and prophesy to the reign of justice and hope that Christ brings. God's Spirit fills us with power, that ordinary lives might bear God to the world. In what ways can we encourage each other as we proclaim the reign of God in word and deed?


Sunday Evening
Christmas Eve Service begins at 5:00 pm
A Time of Meditation and Music
All are welcome!

Sunday, December 17, 2006

Daily Advent Devotionals are being posted on the Worship & Spiritual Growth Blog.

Adult Forum 9:30 a.m.
What Should We Do?
Opening Ourselves to the Challenge of Deeper Intimacy with God
Focus Scripture: Luke 3:7-18
Additional Scripture: Isaiah 12:2-6; Zephaniah 3:14-20; Philippians 4:4-7
Preparing the way for God’s Messiah relies on openness to change. Intimate relationship with God moves us through questions into expectations, through repentance into actions of sharing. The good news does not consist of promises limited to a distant future. God is near. God rejoices over us. In love, God invites us all into renewed relationship.
Discussion Leader: Doug Davidson

Worship 10:30 a.m.
Third Sunday of Advent
Scriptures: Isaiah 12:2-6; Zephaniah 3:14-20; Luke 3:7-18
Prayer for the Weekend as You Prepare for Worship: What should we do, O God, to open our lives to you? What changes of mind do you have in mind? Break open to us the good news of your coming, that we may open wide the way for your grace and justice—and deeper relationship with you. In Jesus Christ, amen..
Preaching: Jennifer Davidson; Worship Leader: Doug Brown; Sacred Dance: The Ramblers with Angela Yarber; Adult Choir: Calypso Christmas; Logos Kids: Donne Moi Le Main

Words for Meditation

What good is it to me
if this eternal birth of the divine Son
takes place unceasingly
but does not take place
within myself?

And,
what good is it to me
if Mary is full of grace
and if I am not also full of grace?
What good is it to me
for the Creator to give birth to his/her Son
if I do not also give birth to him
in my time
and my culture?
This, then,
is the fullness of time:
When the Son of God
is begotten

in us.

This is the fullness of time –
when the Son of God is begotten in you.

–from Meditations with Meister Eckhart

Sunday, December 10, 2006

Daily Advent Devotionals are being posted on the Worship & Spiritual Growth Blog.

Coffee Time begins @ 9:15 a.m.
Adult Forum & Sunday School begin @ 9:30 a.m.
Worship begins @ 10:30 a.m.
All are welcome!

Adult Forum
And You, Child
Focus Scripture: Luke 1:69-79
Additional Scripture: Malachi 3:1-4; Philippians 1:3-11; Luke 3:1-6.
Zechariah blesses his newly born child. The blessings cascade into promises of hope for the people and a call to ministry for John. The role cast upon John recalls the prophecy of Malachi and anticipates God’s reign. The immanence and hope of God’s reign must be announced. The way of God’s Messiah must be prepared. What do you hear Zechariah’s song affirming about life, self, vocation, and God: as they relate to John; as they relate to you? In what ways do we strike a faithful balance between relying on God to bring the ‘not yet’ of God’s reign, and our bearing witness to God’s reign already among us?
Discussion Leader: Doug Davidson

Worship
Advent Choir Sunday—Come, Celebrate the Good News in Song!
Scriptures: Malachi 3:1-4 and Luke 1:68-79
Prayer for the Weekend as You Prepare for Worship: Blessed are you, O God, for the gifts of children and future—and for the time you entrust into our hands to be stewards of these gifts. May we speak well, in word and deed, the grace of our saving, and thus prepare others to carry that word forward.
Preaching: Greg Ledbetter; Worship Leader: Angela Yarber; Good News of God-With-Us: Mary Hogan

Words for Meditation

Now, it is the nature of a word
to reveal what is hidden.
The Word that is hidden
still sparkles in the darkness
and whispers in the silence.
It entices us to pursue it,
to yearn and sigh after it.
For it wishes to reveal to me
something about God.
–from Meditations with Meister Eckhart



The key for understanding incarnation
is to think small.
How ironic,
in a culture that prides itself
on thinking big, bold, and brash
—especially at this time of year—
we have to retrain ourselves
to look for the God
in the small and unexpected.
Craig Kocher, preacher at Duke University Chapel.

Sunday, December 6, 2006

Coffee Time begins @ 9:15 a.m.
Adult Forum & Sunday School begins @ 9:30 a.m.
Worship begins @ 10:30 a.m.
All are welcome!

Adult Forum Kairos Prison Ministry
We are privileged to welcome Darrell Wise from Kairos Prison Ministry as our special guest this Sunday. The purpose of Kairos is to establish strong Christian communities among the population of correctional institutions. Through a systematic, structured program, the residents of correctional institutions are given the opportunity to experience a religious renewal and to accept God’s call to a life of Christian witness and service to one another during their stay in the institution and beyond.This is done by small prayer and share groups of the residents through the example of their transformation, their silent witness and their Christian love. Come find out more about this amazing program. Discussion Leader: Darrell Wise



Worship
First Sunday of Advent
The Days are Coming
Scripture Readings: Jeremiah 33:14-16; Psalm 25:1-10; 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13; Luke 21:25-36
Prayer for the Weekend as You Prepare for Worship: God, help us to trust our way into your future. Let these coming days transform our practice of discipleship now. And may we find in you the hope that sustains, the vision that renews, the Spirit who empowers. Amen.
Preaching: Greg Ledbetter; Worship Leader: Jennifer Davidson; Choir: Carols for Advent

Words for Meditation

The earth is at the same time mother.
She is mother of all that is natural,
mother of all that is human.
She is mother of all,
for contained in her are the seeds of all.
The earth of humankind contains all moistness,
all verdancy, all germinating power.
It is in so many ways fruitful.
All creation comes from it,
yet it forms not only
the basic raw material for humankind
but also the substance
of the incarnation of God’s Son.
--from Meditations with Hildegard of Bingen.

God wills all persons to be saved.
Pray for the whole world,
bid this very earth to become a heaven.
Pray especially to be freed from the evil of greediness.
Pray to recognize others who are in need—
for there is no such thing as “my” bread.
All bread is ours
and is given to me,
to others through me
and to me through others.
For not only bread
but all things necessary for sustenance in this life
are given on loan to us
with others
and because of others,
and for others
and to others through us.
–from Meditations with Meister Eckhart

Sunday, November 26, 2006

Adult Forum @ 9:30 a.m.
Sacred Dance & Worship
In preparation for an afternoon workshop on this topic, we'll be led in an exploration of sacred dance in worship.
Discussion Leader: Angela Yarber

Worship @ 10:30 a.m.
Reign of Christ Sunday
Scriptures: John 18:33-37 and Revelation 1:4b-8. Also see 2 Samuel 23:1-7 and Psalm 132:1-12
Prayer for the Weekend: Holy God, Alpha and Omega, we give thanks that you encircle time with your presence and creation with your love. As you bring all things back to you, enfold our hope and our life in your grace. Amen.
Preaching: Greg Ledbetter; Worship Leader: Doug Davidson; Head Usher: Stu Harris; Choir: Thanks We Sing

Words for Meditation

The Almighty One
– who is, and who was, and who is to come –
encircles us in hope before and beyond all time.
Thanks be to God!
What enduring hope do you celebrate?
What enduring truth shapes your daily living?
How does our faith community express its hope in God’s eternal truth?

Psalm 132: 1-5; 11-12
O Lord, remember in David’s favor
all the hardships he endured;
how he swore to the Lord
and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,
“I will not enter my house or get into my bed;
I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids,
until I find a place for the Lord,
a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.
The Lord swore to David a sure oath
from which he will not turn back:
“One of my sons of your body I will set on your throne.
If you sons keep my covenant and my decrees
that I shall teach them, their sons also,
forevermore,
shall sit on your throne.”

The Feast of Christ the King was added to the calendar of the Roman Catholic Church in 1925 and, since 1970, has been observed by Christians in general on the last Sunday prior to Advent. Several churches refer to it as “Reign of Christ Sunday.” The lectionary readings provide an opportunity to explore what it means to live as members of God’s realm, and/or to explore the new images of kingship and leadership that Jesus modeled.

The church year comes to a close with this Sunday while next Sunday begins a new year and a new season. Although, in some ways, it’s just a continuation—for the Christ on whose reign we focus today is the same one whose coming we begin to anticipate again next week.