Spiritual Discipline: Presence

Dear Church and Online Community,

God's abundant blessings to you this day! I pray you are well and blessed this week as the weekend has come to a close. We experienced God's presence in worship as once again, a very large "presence" of worshippers gathered for worship!

At 9:26, we celebrated with Sing Out Loud! leading us in song! Thank you Jon and children and youth for an awesome morning song celebration! At 11:00, Sing Out Loud! joined with our Adult Choir to share their gift of music together! It was a beautiful morning of singing!

Our Youth and Director Of Youth Ministries, Cherie Loomis presented our worshipping bodies with a witness of this past weekend of the 30 Hour Famine with World Vision. The youth did a great job sharing with us stories as to what took place and how their "presence" made a difference in the world in which they live! Thank you youth! If you wish to sponsor a child through World Vision, see Cherie Loomis, a youth or go to World Vision Sponsor A Child We sponsor Grace, a 12 year old girl who shares the same birthday as our daughter, Alayna. Grace keeps in constant contact with us as we have the opportunity to write back and forth and to see how World Vision makes a difference in the life of so many of our world's children! You can do this too!

We have continued the series on The Disciple's Path as we are living into the covenantal question of "Will you faithfully support the ministries of the church by your prayers, PRESENCE, gifts, service and witness. Our text came from Psalm 100. Hear the Word of the Lord:


Psalm 100
1 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
2     Serve the Lord with gladness!
    Come into his presence with singing!
3 Know that the Lord, he is God!
    It is he who made us, and we are his;[a]
    we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
    and his courts with praise!
    Give thanks to him; bless his name!
5 For the Lord is good;
    his steadfast love endures forever,
    and his faithfulness to all generations.

As we come into His presence with singing, we also remember the importance of being "present" in corporate worship and small groups. The African word "ubuntu" directs us by the fact that we are a people through other people. Archbishop Desmond Tutu once said, "My humanity is caught up, is inextricably bound up, in yours; a person is a person, through other persons. I am who I am because you are who you are."

As we faithfully live into the covenant that is made with God and one another in our membership vows, we live as the early church did as recorded in the Book of Acts: a devoted life to the apostles' teaching, to fellowship with one another, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

Each one of you are an important presence in the church of Jesus Christ. You have gifts in ministry that we would miss if you were not present. You are loved, you are needed to strengthen the body of Christ.

I wish to thank the many people who helped make our "Birthday" Potluck lunch a great success! Many people stayed for it and we had a great time! Of course, the food was awesome! Church, have a blessed week and know what an honor it is to serve and lead as your pastor.

Spiritual Discipline: Prayer

Good Monday Church and Online Community!

We had an incredible day of worship together at Christ Community yesterday! First of all, we had the joy of our Super Sprouts singing at our worship services! This group of young preschoolers can sing out loud for Jesus and to the church! We had a blessed time of worship together! This past Sunday marked one of our largest attended worship gatherings! One older first time visitor remarked, "this church got rock n' roll! I love it!" Church, I am grateful for how you responded to greeting many of our newer faces yesterday! They felt extremely warm and welcome.

To become proficient in something, practice is required. I jokingly spoke of how I don't care for hockey. (Of course, I got many boos at our services today!) What I have witnessed from Sidney Crosby is an extreme work ethic that is baffles me. Sidney Crosby is one of the best hockey players worldwide, and we watched a video today of how Sidney Crosby works hard to do so well in games. Take a look:
 Sidney Crosby Practices For Gametime

Our worship centered upon the spiritual discipline of prayer. Praying is to be enjoyed for it is a time of oneness with God. The more we pray the deeper our relationship with God becomes. It's just like practice. The more we practice, the better we become at something.

Over the next five weeks we will focus on one of the elements of the covenantal question, "Will you faithfully support the ministries of the church by your prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness?" In today's message, I wanted to provide the church with some practical ways to pray daily.
A-C-T-S 
A- Adoration
C- Confession
T- Thanksgiving
S- Supplication
(A simple, yet profound way to experience intimacy with God in prayer).

Five-Finger Prayer
Thumb - Praying for those nearest to you.
Pointer - Praying for those who point you to God. (Sunday School teacher, Pastor, etc...)
Middle - Longest finger, praying for those who are distant (Example: Kenny Hiser, our missionary to India)
Ring - Weakest Finger, praying for those who are weak and in need.
Small - Praying for your needs

Contemplative Prayer 
Contemplative prayer can be a repetitive prayer such as "Lord, have mercy." Contemplative prayer is a meditative practice where the person praying focuses on a word and repeats that word over and over for the duration of the exercise. The purpose is to clear one’s mind of outside concerns so that God’s voice may be more easily heard.

Our text came from Matthew 6:5-15. Prayer was a pillar of Jewish piety. Jesus knew that and thus demonstrated the importance of prayer by speaking on the importance of prayer and instructed how to pray. The words of this passage ring true to us as we remember it as "The Lord's Prayer." Below are the words of Matthew 6:5-15.


5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 Pray then like this:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.[a]
10 Your kingdom come,
your will be done,[b]
    on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread,[c]
12 and forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from evil.[d]
14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

A special thank you is extended to Jon Pincek, who closed traditional worship with a sung "Lord's Prayer." It left people speechless. Thank you Jon and Marilyn Stephenson, our accompanist.

In worship, Stacey Burk, SPRC chair announced who the next Pastor will be at Christ Community. We will be welcoming Rev. Bruce Gascoine, his wife Laurie, and children Sarah and Michael. Bruce comes to Christ Community from St. Paul's UMC in Allison Park, just outside of Pittsburgh in the North Hills. Rev. Gascoine comes with great experience and leadership in large churches and shares his love of God in so many ways. I personally have been blessed by Bruce and the leadership team at St. Paul's when I was at Baldwin Community. Our leadership team at the time met with theirs to learn about Mission, Vision and Core Values. May the Lord continue to bless Bruce and his family as they begin to make the transition to Christ Community officially on July 1, 2013. We also pray for St. Paul's as they begin to make transitions. Bruce is looking forward to sharing in ministry with the people of Christ Community.

I thank you for your prayers over the last week as I was in The Florida Annual Conference for interviews. The Spirit of God is at work and my appointment is in progress. You are a blessing to me as I received many texts, calls, and emails on Monday-Wednesday while I was away. Thank you so much for covering Jennifer, Aaron, with his health, Alayna, Abby and me in prayer. We are forever grateful.

May the Lord bless each of you this upcoming week and know what an honor it is to serve and lead as your pastor.

Marks of A Disciple

Good Morning Church Family,

I pray each of you are well and blessed this day. If you were not in worship, we missed your presence. It was a blessed day of worship together as we began a new series during the Lenten season. Sunday's message centered on the marks of a disciple. The marks of a disciple are laid out in the covenantal question that is asked of us when we join a United Methodist Church. "Will you faithfully participate in the ministries of the church by your prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness?"

Each of these action words denote much of the life of a follower of Christ in the church. We will take time each week during the season of Lent to examine these words.

This Wednesday we will not have our "Normal" Wednesday night activities.

We WILL however, come together for Ash Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., a night where we will begin in community, the Lenten season. This season of Lent - Originating in the fourth century of the church, the season of Lent spans 40 weekdays beginning on Ash Wednesday and climaxing during Holy Week with Holy Thursday (Maundy Thursday), Good Friday, and concluding Saturday before Easter. Originally, Lent was the time of preparation for those who were to be baptized, a time of concentrated study and prayer before their baptism at the Easter Vigil, the celebration of the Resurrection of the Lord early on Easter Sunday. But since these new members were to be received into a living community of Faith, the entire community was called to preparation. Also, this was the time when those who had been separated from the Church would prepare to rejoin the community.

Today, Lent is marked by a time of prayer and preparation to celebrate Easter. Since Sundays celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, the six Sundays that occur during Lent are not counted as part of the 40 days of Lent, and are referred to as the Sundays in Lent. The number 40 is connected with many biblical events, but especially with the forty days Jesus spent in the wilderness preparing for His ministry by facing the temptations that could lead him to abandon his mission and calling. Christians today use this period of time for introspection, self examination, and repentance. This season of the year is equal only to the Season of Advent in importance in the Christian year, and is part of the second major grouping of Christian festivals and sacred time that includes Holy Week, Easter, and Pentecost.

Lent has traditionally been marked by penitential prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Some churches today still observe a rigid schedule of fasting on certain days during Lent, especially the giving up of meat, alcohol, sweets, and other types of food. Other traditions do not place as great an emphasis on fasting, but focus on charitable deeds, especially helping those in physical need with food and clothing, or simply the giving of money to charities. Most Christian churches that observe Lent at all focus on it as a time of prayer, especially penance, repenting for failures and sin as a way to focus on the need for God’s grace. It is really a preparation to celebrate God’s marvelous redemption at Easter, and the resurrected life that we live, and hope for, as Christians. (Description of Lent comes from http://www.cresourcei.org/cylent.html)

I am praying for you this week as we begin the Lenten season. I pray that this will be the season where you grow in Christ and join me in the joy of the resurrection of Easter on March 31.

Thank you for your prayers as I leave for Florida this week to meet with many people regarding my appointment to The Florida Annual Conference. I am blessed to have you praying me and my family through this transition time. I continue to lift you, our church, our Bishop, DS, and pastor who will come in prayer as we all are going through transitions right now.

Church, know that it is an honor to serve and lead as your pastor. Be blessed!

Rejection Hurts

Good Afternoon Church Family!

Well, tonight is the night. The Super Bowl is on. Not sure how Steeler fans are coping with this. If the 49er's win, we share 6 Super Bowl trophies with them. If our rival Ravens win, we... Well, we don't even want to go there! Go Steelers! Pitchers and Catchers report February 12!

Worship was a blessed time of togetherness as we celebrated the Sacrament of Communion together at our services. Our focus today dealt with rejection, rejection received and at times, rejection given. Rejection hurts. In today's Gospel lesson, Jesus encountered a rejecting crowd in his hometown. Here are the words from Luke 4:21-30:

21 And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph's son?” 23 And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself.’ What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.” 24 And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. 25 But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, 26 and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 And there were many lepers[a] in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” 28 When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. 29 And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. 30 But passing through their midst, he went away. 

Rejection can take on many forms: rejection at school, rejection at work, rejection at home, rejection in the church. Rejection alienates and rejection can exclude others from being together. Jesus, proclaiming the mission from the prophet Isaiah, earlier in chapter four, came to seek and save the lost. The people were astonished by what Jesus said and they began to grumble, "Isn't this Joseph's son?" Jesus knew that it was difficult to accept his new authority because they knew him as the son of Joseph, the carpenter. The crowd had an idea to rid themselves of Jesus. "Let's push him off the cliff." The ultimate form of rejection.

Jesus, knowing their hearts of anger, pressed through the crowds and moved on. We too face rejection all of the time. The key is not to retaliate or blame, but when we do face rejection, by faith, we can be sustained through the comfort of the means of God's grace-
Works of Piety 

Individual Practices--
Prayer, Fasting, Searching the Scriptures, Healthy Living

Communal Practices--
Holy Communion. Baptism. Christian Conferencing (or "community")

Works of Mercy 
Service focused toward individual needs--
Doing Good (Good works), Visiting the Sick, Visiting the Imprisoned, Feeding & Clothing those in need, Earning, Saving, & Giving all one can, Service focused toward communal/societal needs, the Seeking of Justice;

These are the means of which we can be sustained by the grace of God as revealed in Jesus Christ. May God forgive us when we reject others and may we strive to seek to find reconciliation, wholeness and new life in Christ and each other.

Here is a link to a video played in worship today. It shows Susan Boyle, at once unknown and rejected. After you see this video, you can see how easy it is for us and society to reject others. Susan Boyle Rejected Almost

This week marks the start of our Wednesday Nights at Christ Community (February 6)! I encourage you to take time to come out for an incredible time as we begin with:
Dinner at 5:30 p.m.
Choir at 6:00 p.m.
Sing Out Loud Choir at 7:00 p.m.
Classes at 7:00 p.m.
Children and Youth Classes at 7:30 p.m.
Our evening together will conclude at 8:15 p.m.

I look forward to sharing the journey on Wednesday Nights with you!


Here's a pic one of our youth took today after the Souper Bowl of Caring at Pizza Hut! Our youth are awesome!

Have a blessed week church! It is an honor to serve and lead as your pastor.