God is our refuge and strength,

    an ever-present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way

    and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

though its waters roar and foam

    and the mountains quake with their surging.  

Psalm 46:1-3 (NIV)

This past Thursday, I found myself with a lot of time on my hands.  Tropical Storm Zeta blew a tree down on the main street of our subdivision, blocking anyone from exiting or entering the neighborhood.  Of course, we were also without power.  I'm sure many of you who live in the Atlanta area have similar stories.  Our prayers are certainly with all who were affected by the storm, especially those that experienced loss of property or even loved ones.

I had to laugh at myself when I realized how basically disruptive the whole situation was for me and my husband.  We were stuck on our end of the street, staring at a downed tree all tangled up in power lines, all the food in the fridge passing its CDC-recommended 4-hour-without-power limit, and we can't even call for a pizza because there's no way they can get to us.  All we can do is call the power company and wait.  And wait.  And light the gas range with a match and make ramen noodles.  (I'm really not complaining... I like ramen noodles!)

My thoughts turned to 2020 and how the unfolding of the pandemic changed our lives.  Everyone had to learn to adapt, for much longer than we ever expected, and we're adapting still, as it doesn't seem to be coming to an end anytime soon.

So we weather another storm.  We learn to adapt to temporary limitations.  Most important of all, we remember the One who never changes.  The Mighty Fortress.  The One who calms the storm.  The Holy One. 

Prayer for Today

Triune God, turn our eyes always to you, the unchanging One.  Amen.

Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

-I Corinthians 12:27

One of the best parts of corporate worship is that members are around people they sometimes never see in their daily lives. In college, many of my peers would remark how strange it was to see children and babies after going months only seeing other college students and professors. It was less strange for me because I'd sometimes see them at church. Some of my youth have never known their grandparents or live hundreds of miles from them. Their main experiences with the elderly are their Sunday school teachers and mentors. Sometimes, Church, and its activities and outreach expose people to different generations and types of people they never see outside of church, of various ages, language and cultural groups, the homeless, differently abled, or of different affiliations.

Technology challenges us to interact differently too. In some ways, it opens the door to people who can't or won't come to in-person gatherings. In some ways, it levels the playing field. Like worship, those differences can be simultaneously uncomfortable and filled with growth. My first year here at JCPC, I advocated for video recorded faith statements from our Confirmands to respond to the needs of both one student with special needs and a few with crippling anxiety about public speaking. Their statements were profound, preserved, and shared with compassion in this new way. While it did not happen without resistance, the joy and thanks from the youth and parents who needed that accommodation was worth it. And now Covid has brought a similar growing pain and opportunity.

Our new youth group schedule is to meet every other week in person and socially distanced. While some lessons work in this format, it's better for games. Likewise, the alternating weeks and mid-week bible studies on Zoom are more conducive to lessons and discussion. Some of the youth, and maybe parents too, express their dislike of one or the other. My prayer for them and for you and the small groups to which you belong is to dig deeper! As an extrovert and relationship-oriented person, I confess I do NOT prefer Zoom meetings. I crave the intimacy of my youth squeezed around a table in the Chick-fil-A or local coffee shop. But you know what? I've observed my youth with special needs and anxieties who would ordinarily never pay close attention or share their viewpoints in person or large groups... they freely speak on Zoom. And we are enriched by that sharing. We are more closely resembling the full body of Christ. And when we only come for in-person OR online, we are diminished.

The full body shows up in the fullest gatherings, and there is growth in the places we are not the most comfortable. I've learned a lot in this growing time. I hope you'll join me for ALL the opportunities, and not just the ones you prefer. Let's learn together.

Prayer for Today

Lord, help me to join in the body, even when I feel growing pains. Amen.

A while back I heard Scott Weimer, former pastor of the North Avenue Presbyterian Church, talking about a woman who was one of their international members from Kenya. She came down front after a service and she told Scott that she missed some parts of the worship from Kenya. Scott asked what she missed. The woman said that she missed how they gave the offering. In her country, they placed the offering plates down front, and then people danced down the aisle while carrying their gifts up to place them in the offering plate.

Last Sunday, we finished up our Stewardship sermon series called Faith in Action. And while we could not dance down the aisle to bring our pledge cards because of this pandemic, many of you have already pledged. You have placed your pledge card in the offering plate following Drive-In Worship, mailed it to the church office, dropped it by the Welcome Center drop box, pledged online on our church website, or used the QR code on the pledge card or worship bulletin. So far, we have received 47 pledges totaling $457,301 which is about 60% of our 2021 pledge goal of $762,600. Thank you to everyone who has pledged so far! If you have not done that yet, please do so as soon as you can so that together we can accomplish God's mission for JCPC in 2021.

Last Sunday was a great day of worship with Kirkin' of the Tartans! This coming Sunday we will remember those whom we have lost this past year during our All Saints' Day service. I hope you will make a special effort to attend the Drive-In service or watch Online.

Finally, if you have yet to respond to our survey about when to return to worship, we want your input, so please click this link and do that now. 

Prayer for Today

Thank you, God, for blessing us in so many ways - from financial resources to saints who have shown us how to live faithfully as followers of Christ. Help us to follow their generous example in our lives. In the strong name of Christ we pray. Amen.

"Then Christ will live in your hearts because you believe in him. And I pray that your love will have deep roots. I pray that it will have a strong foundation. May you have power with all God's people to understand Christ's love. May you know how wide and long and high and deep it is. And may you know his love, even though it can't be known completely. Then you will be filled with everything God has for you." (Ephesians 3:17-19)

In Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus, we hear that to know and be rooted in Christ's love, is to more fully be the people God has created and is calling us to be. We are empowered to be the best versions of ourselves. This passage reminds me of our call to pass on this message to the all children, youth and adults in our church as they are on their faith journey.

A couple of years ago, I spent a season studying Ephesians with our Senior Adult Bible Study. The time spent with that group studying Paul's letter to the Ephesians was deeply meaningful to me. This letter from Paul and his message to us is a helpful reminder to me that each one of us has the opportunity to help others experience the width, length, height and depth of God's love.

What can you do to share God's love that is deeply rooted in you? Who has been a teacher or mentor along the way for you? What did they do that made an impact on your journey?

In a world where the pressure to succeed is high and many hear that they are only loved for as much as they can perform, Paul's reminder to us is even more relevant. In a country that can be divided and polarized in an election and pandemic, Paul's reminder to us is even more imperative. We are called to share that God's love is unconditional and far exceeds the limits of this earth.

A small example of this love was evident to me yesterday. I received a message and pictures from Will's teacher. The class has been working on weekly challenges and some of the class had completed all 9 for the first quarter of the school year. Rather than have just 6 of the children enjoy their popsicle reward, these generous students decided to share with their entire class. The smiles on their faces enjoying a sweet treat brought such joy to my heart to see the love that these friends have developed over the past year and a half (Will's class had the special privilege of staying together with their teacher from kindergarten to 1^st grade).

Prayer for Today

Gracious God, Thank you for your gift of love. Help us to be open to experience your love and allow it to take root in our lives. In Christ's Name, Amen.

During a trip to celebrate our twenty-fifth anniversary, my husband and I read our Bibles on the beach. As vendors passed and called out the prices of their wares, we thanked each one but didn't buy anything. One vendor, Fernando, smiled wide at my rejection and insisted we consider buying gifts for friends. After I declined his invitation, Fernando packed up and began walking away . . . still grinning. "I pray God will bless your day," I said.

Fernando turned toward me and said, "He has! Jesus changed my life." Fernando knelt between our chairs. "I feel His presence here." He then shared how God had delivered him from drug and alcohol abuse more than fourteen years earlier.

My tears flowed as he recited entire poems from the book of Psalms and prayed for us. Together, we praised God and rejoiced in His presence . . . on la playa.

Psalm 148 is a prayer of praise. The psalmist encourages all of creation to "praise the name of the Lord, for at his command [everything was] created" (v. 5), "for his name alone is exalted; his splendor is above the earth and the heavens" (v. 13).

Though God invites us to bring our needs before Him and trust He hears and cares for us, He also delights in prayers of grateful praise wherever we are. Even on the beach.

Prayer for Today

Help me praise You with every breath You've given me, God. Amen.

"We honor those brave pilgrims who kept faith when hope seemed all but gone. They prayed and sang to You, and through Your blessings, they did carry on."

-Text from Beneath Thy Guiding Hand (the anthem for this week)

This Sunday is Kirkin' o' the Tartans, as well as Reformation Sunday, and it is a tradition that many churches have to honor our Presbyterian Scottish heritage. The text above, taken from the anthem we will sing this Sunday, paints the picture of our spiritual ancestors who crossed the Atlantic Ocean in search of religious freedom, among other things.

I think this text is also appropriate for now in this time of pandemic. Have you had any days in the last six or so months where you felt like hope seemed all but gone? Even in this pandemic, a lot of us "suffer" with conditions that are drastically better than what the first Presbyterians who came over from Scotland experienced. While we might grovel about having to wear a mask at the grocery store, they didn't even have a neighborhood Publix to go to for food. While we debate whether we should leave our homes for fear of viral infection, they didn't have the choice to just stay home and wait out their hardships.

They risked everything and gave up so much, not because a virus forced them to, but because they felt compelled to. I'm sure they complained, but I'm glad they persisted and passed on the faith tradition that we still follow today. I also think about how we as Presbyterians have changed through the years. It reminds me that we are connected to our past yet different from them, because we have grown and adapted to many things. And we are literally in the midst of adapting to new things right now, yet we are still Presbyterians and we are still the church.

As we honor our past this Sunday, let's also remember that we are making history right now. Our Drive-In Worship experience has been a model for our community and it has been a way for us to keep faith, pray, and sing to God. And through God's blessings, we can make it out of this pandemic yet, stronger and more deeply connected.

Prayer for Today

God of the past, present, and future, thank you for our spiritual ancestors who trusted in you and acted. Help us today to bless you, and use our time, talents, and treasures for your purposes so that our spiritual descendants can have a chance to continue the mission. Amen.

And Jesus answered them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.

-Luke 5:31

Among my favorite images for Christ is as "the Great Physician," as this works so well for his role as a healer in his ministry and spiritual healer to each of us. I especially like it because it works with my favorite image of the Church as a hospital. And not just any hospital. If you've seen the film Patch Adams or read about the real-life doctor it's based upon, you'll know what kind of hospital I mean. In the film, Patch Adams, a second-career medical student and genius has built a facility and diverted medical supplies to it. His professors at the school try to kick him out for his unorthodox approach to personal relationships with his patients and "excessive happiness." Professional detachment is what they advocate.

Patch Adams finds himself on trial defending his version of a hospital, one where unlicensed folks are practicing medicine and treating patients, a clear violation of the law. He explains that's not quite true. The prosecutor asks if those who come to his facility are patients. Patch says, "everyone who comes is a patient... and everyone is a physician." He explains that each patient is also given another patient to care for, whether changing their bandages or helping them walk or listening to them. Everyone a doctor, and everyone a patient... just like the church.

There are times in our life when we seek a hospital out because we are in need of care. But there are other times when we seek a hospital out to offer our own resources and skills for the care of others. Patch Adams does both in his life and story, in that order actually. For many of us, receiving care inspires us to a life of giving it. The charge above reminds us of two things... one is that most of us are blessed enough that we need a weekly challenge to be the ones offering care, to be a physician. The second is that being a patient and a physician are not exclusive; we can be both. Like Christ in his ministry and in his death on the cross, we can be wounded healers, as renowned author Henry Nouwen says. So whether you are in need of healing or offering healing to another... or both... I hope you'll join me this Sunday at our busy hospital that we call church.

Prayer for Today

Lord, make me a good physician and a well patient. Amen.

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. . . .You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh, rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: love your neighbor as yourself.

 -Galatians 5:1,13-14, NIV

This coming Sunday is not only the last in our Stewardship "Faith in Action" series, it is also Kirkin' of the Tartan Sunday when we remember our Scottish roots and our Presbyterian heritage as a church. It will take place during the Drive-In Worship service. On this Kirkin' of the Tartan Sunday with all the bagpipes and drums, how can we not also think of Mel Gibson as Sir William Wallace in the movie Braveheart. Wallace fought for Scottish independence, and as he is literally being tortured to death, his last word is "Freedom."

Certainly, freedom is one of the best ways for human beings to fully express who they are as those made in the image of God. But in our New Testament, freedom is more than just the right to do whatever we want - it is freedom to do the right thing. And it is freedom from the sin and brokenness in our lives. It is also the freedom to choose to use whatever God has given us to partner with God in loving our world and the people in it.

If you have not yet had a chance to make your pledge to God's work through Johns Creek Presbyterian Church in 2021, I hope that you will do that either this Sunday or sometime prior. Hopefully, you have received at least one pledge card in the mailings that went out. You can bring that pledge card to worship on Sunday and place it in the offering plate at the end of the service, you can mail it in or put it in the drop box outside our welcome center, you can go to our website or church app and make your pledge at any time, or you can scan the QR code on the pledge card or at the bottom of the Sunday Drive-In worship bulletin and it will direct you to where you can make your pledge. There are also QR codes which will link you to our stewardship video on our website which I hope you will watch prior to making your pledge. Thank you for your generous support of God's work through Johns Creek Presbyterian Church!

Prayer for Today

Gracious God, in Christ you have set us free -- not only from what hinders and entangles us from living our lives fully -- but you have set us free to help others find freedom in Christ. Use what we have to offer to make a life-transforming difference in others. We pray this in the strong name of Jesus the Christ. Amen.

This quote by Henri Nouwen (In the Name of Jesus, 1989) has been meaningful to me. I have been asking myself this question, do we follow "people with an ardent desire to dwell in God's presence, to listen to God's voice, to look at God's beauty, to touch God's incarnate Word, and to taste fully God's infinite goodness?"

When you think about the people or leaders that we follow? What types of characteristics do they have? When choosing who you will follow, what is important to you?

Nouwen gives some helpful priorities as we consider, how we will serve in leadership roles and live our lives as Christians.

He reminds us that it's not just about listening or speaking, there are other senses to consider as well. Think about these actions for a moment, Dwell, Listen, Look, Touch, and Taste. How do you encounter God with more than just your eyes and ears?

Go into this day knowing that you have been claimed by God. May you see the opportunities to lead and have the humility to follow the leaders who are following the Lord's path.

Prayer for Today

Lord, may we always follow and lead in ways that give you glory. Lead us into life through your ways. In Christ's Name, Amen.

Within twenty-four hours of his mother Sharonda's tragic death, Chris found himself uttering these powerful, grace-filled words: "Love is stronger than hate." His mother, along with eight others, had been killed at a Wednesday night Bible study in Charleston, South Carolina. What was it that had so shaped this teenager's life that these words could flow from his lips and his heart? Chris is a believer in Jesus whose mother had "loved everybody with all her heart."  

In Luke 23:26-49 we get a front row seat to an execution scene that included two criminals and the innocent Jesus (v. 32). All three were crucified (v. 33). Amid the gasps and sighs and the likely groans from those hanging on the crosses, the following words of Jesus could be heard: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing" (v. 34). The hate-filled initiative of the religious leaders had resulted in the crucifixion of the very One who championed love. Though in agony, Jesus' love continued to triumph.

How have you or someone you love been the target of hate, ill-will, bitterness, or ugliness? May your pain prompt your prayers, and may the example of Jesus and people like Chris encourage you by the power of the Spirit to choose love over hate.

Prayer for Today

Father, forgive me when I find it hard to forgive others. Help me to demonstrate that love is stronger than hate. Amen.