I was listening to a conversation with some faith leaders recently and they talked about re-entry and transitions with the new school year. They said that each of us is asking three important questions as we navigate through big and small decisions and seasons of our lives.

1.      Who Am I?

2.      Where Do I Fit?

3.      What Difference Can I Make?

These questions connect with some of the ongoing topics we consider throughout our life: identity, belonging and purpose.

Take a moment to consider a time when you recently asked one of these. Each of these questions can gain new meaning based on how they integrate into the fabric of your life. What would it look like if these were the three questions in your daily life? How might it impact your interactions with others?

I would invite you this week to use one of them more often. Be open to how God may be using you in these situations to share God’s love in a new way.

Join us this Sunday as we gather for fellowship in the Great Hall starting at 10:15 a.m. for our Education Ministry Fair and connect with our church family. This is a time of year when we can share stories, connect with each other and make commitments to grow in our faith through this ministry at JCPC. At 9:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. worship, we will commission all of those who have made the commitment to teach and lead this year through our small groups and classes. Take some time to not only to make new commitments and promises, but to renew our covenant with God.

As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. -John 15:9-11

Prayer for Today

God, you have called us to live in ways that at times seem difficult and even impossible to do. Remind me each day that as I live in the way you have instructed, I am moving closer and closer to you. Make my joy complete, O God. Amen.

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

-Ephesians 6:14-18

Prayer is a communication to God...Prayer is done by those who trust the power of word and thought. Jesus taught people to say the Lord's Prayer. Prayer can be spoken, silent (no talking), or in a song. It can be used to praise God or to ask for something, including help and forgiveness. Consistent prayer releases the power of God's blessing on your life and circumstances. Prayer is an opportunity to understand the Heart of God and develop a deeper relationship with Him.

“Once a man was asked, “What did you gain by regularly praying to God?” The man replied, “Nothing...but let me tell you what I lost: anger, ego, greed, depression, insecurity, and fear.” Sometimes the answer to our prayers is not gaining, but losing, which ultimately is the gain!

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. -I Thessalonians 5:16-18

Prayer for Today

Dear Lord, Thank you for fresh grace and days full of promise. Lead us in your ways and fill our hearts with Your love and joy. Guide every decision, response, effort, and conversation we have for Your glory. Amen.

Edward Mote was born in 1797 to parents who were pub owners and reportedly hostile to religion. As a boy, he was apprenticed to a cabinetmaker and later became a skilled cabinetmaker in his own right, with a successful business of his own. When he was 15, he found faith, listening to the preaching of John Hyatt at the Tottenham Court Road Chapel in London. Even though Mote's business took much of his time, he always found time to worship God. He loved to write hymns, and one day on the way to work, he wrote down a verse, followed by three more verses by the end of the day.

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus' name.
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand:
All other ground is sinking sand.
All other ground is sinking sand.

Did you know that the writer of this now familiar hymn was a master carpenter (and later, at age 55, became a Baptist preacher)? Now maybe that one line makes more sense: I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. He's saying even the most sturdy creation of man can't be trusted to support us, but we can lean on Christ, the solid rock! Look at the next two verses:

When darkness seems to hide his face,
I rest on his unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand:
All other ground is sinking sand.
All other ground is sinking sand.

His oath, his covenant, his blood
Support me in the whelming flood;
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay.
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand:
All other ground is sinking sand.
All other ground is sinking sand.

Now we're singing about high and stormy gales... and whelming floods... you've heard of ships destroyed by hurricanes... and homes destroyed by floods... these are vivid metaphors for the storms of life we will all weather. Who is our solid rock? Who can we cling to? Who will save us? Christ Jesus, the Son of God! Now, since we are hearing more about the book of Revelation this Sunday, we had to include the final verse:

When he shall come with trumpet sound,
O may I then in him be found,
Dressed in his righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand:
All other ground is sinking sand.
All other ground is sinking sand.

All this to say, he was with us at our beginning, through good and bad, through every high and stormy gale, and he will be with us at the end to present us faultless before the throne of God. ALL other ground is sinking sand.

I pray that you will think of these things in a new light as you sing this hymn in worship with us this Sunday, wherever you may be!

Prayer for Today

Holy God, draw us near to you. Help us to pray. Help us to worship. Help us to love. Help us to act. In Jesus' saving name we pray. Amen.

We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps.

-Proverbs 16:9

I grew up absolutely loving Calvin & Hobbs. There was a kindred mischievous spirit in the boxes I found in my paper each week. I enjoyed it almost as much as my mother, who clearly agreed we shared some similarities. This one panel reminded me this week how often we rush to do things and disregard how God factors in. We can type words, comments, or texts with lightning speed, never pausing or considering the impact on those we love or should love. We can spend money with a simple click. We can endanger lives with our distraction or selfishness on the interstate or our neighborhood.

We all know that living intentionally, living slower, allows us to make better decisions, but the pace of our world and technology is like a little stuffed tiger of our own making, echoing our own voices and urging us, “hurry, mom is yelling.” And there we are, perched atop a ladder, trying to be a little careful, but knowing we aren’t making our best decisions. So what slows us down? Most of us have some habits from our families of origin, refrains and mantras they passed, and scriptures and songs we have internalized. I still cross bridges in bad weather and hear my mother say, “bridges ice before roads!” These are words her own father said to her. I still slow down before bridges in cold weather.

A major part of discipleship is slowing down. Sometimes, it’s to consider the wisdom of people and God’s word which we trust. And sometimes, we have to find new ways to slow ourselves. For a time, people wore WWJD bracelets to daily remind themselves. Some folks have a rosary on the rear view or bobble head Jesus on the dash to remind them to drive more lovingly. A fish stitched on your wallet, a cross sticker on your monitor, a picture of the people you love on your phone Lock Screen so you are reminded who and whose you are as you click through this world. This week, slow down a little. Before you dive off a ladder, egged on by your own imagination, slow down, listen for the one who loves you and is calling your name. That voice will lead you to the life we are called to live together.

Prayer for Today

Lord, help me to hear you calling when I am wandering from your ways. Slow my steps, my fingers, my tongue, and my pace of life. Amen.

Recently, I was listening to a sermon online. The text he chose was from one of Paul's letters. He summarized Paul's words to that early church saying, “Keep on doing what you are doing.” The preacher went on to describe the way in which our world is created by God in such a way that many things repeat themselves, and that we are dependent on that. The sun rises each day. Gravity doesn't suddenly disappear, and we all float away into space. He went on to say that God looks at all of creation and says, “Do it again.”

Our two dogs, Gladney and C. J., like it when we scratch them behind the ears or on the back, or pretty much anywhere else. If we stop, they take their noses and put them under our hands in order to get us to “do it again.” This desire to “do it again” is something God seems to have built into the fabric of creation.

This past Sunday as I was leading worship, I was listening to the words of liturgy. They were words that are very familiar to me, having heard them again and again over my more than 36 years as a pastor. And yet I found myself hearing them and seeing them printed on the page of the worship bulletin in a new way. I noticed my hands holding the bulletin and the red stole I was wearing next to these familiar and ancient words. And at that moment it all seemed very, very good and filled with deep meaning. And I realized there was something really important about worship that we “do it again” every Sunday.

There is something about doing the same thing again which reminds me of God's faithfulness and all that God does again and again to sustain our lives. So, whatever it is God has given you to do in this life, do it again -- but pay attention to how God might be at work in all of that.

Prayer for Today

Gracious God, thank you for creating the world and allowing us to experience it new every day, again and again. We pray this in the strong name of Jesus the Christ. Amen.

Have you ever planted bulbs? I have planted them on several occasions during my adult life and waited patiently throughout the winter. Once spring began to arrive, I watered them regularly and impatiently waited to see the first hint of green sprout through the soil. When I finally did, I wanted to see growth overnight and have the beautiful daffodils to enjoy. As you probably know, it did not happen overnight or even over the course of a week.

These daffodil bulbs are a reminder to me that growth does not happen overnight in our lives either. As adults in our community of faith, we serve in roles as teachers, leaders, parents, and friends to the children and youth in our midst. God calls us to help plant the seeds and continue to nurture them. The nurturing process takes time and sometimes we are not the ones who get to see them bloom.

As we begin a new school year, I am reminded of what a privilege it is to be called to water and nurture the children and youth in our church family. We walk with them at a very important part of their journey. There are lots of ways that our church family participates in the nurture of our children and youth. If you are sensing a call to work with them at JCPC in a more specific way this year, please contact me to talk about it. All of us can take a few moments this week to lift up our children, youth, teachers and school staff in prayer.

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ. 

-Ephesians 3:16-18

Prayer for Today

Creator God,

May our vision each day of the world around us remind us that you so loved the world that you sent Jesus, your Son, to be one of us. In all that we observe, open our eyes so that we may really see and grow in wonder and appreciation. In Christ’s Name, Amen.

In Galatians 6:2, Paul extols the virtues of helping one another saying, “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” As church members, we are called to love one another and support each other. But, how do we do that? How do we know when a person is struggling and needs a helping hand? Sometimes we can anticipate help is needed: the arrival of a baby, when someone has been in an accident or been hospitalized. Typically, someone calls the church to inform the staff of these types of needs. But sometimes an individual or family struggles without sharing, leaving them alone to try to cope. With Stephen Ministry, no one need suffer in silence.

My first experience with Stephen Ministers was through a former patient at a counseling center. My patient recently moved and he had medical problems which limited his capacity to manage independently. His wife called their church and requested a Stephen Minister to visit her husband. The Stephen Minister came to to visit him in their home weekly and helped my client significantly, because he felt he had someone to listen to him and accept him without judgment. His quality of life dramatically improved and he felt able to deal with changes in his health.

Perhaps you have had an experience like this: you have a problem that is really weighing on you and then happen to run into an old friend and sharing your concern helps ease the burden. Stephen Ministers are trained, ready and willing to help. I have enjoyed the opportunity to be a caregiver through Stephen Ministry and would encourage anyone who needs a helping hand, to reach out to one of our ministers, David Lee, or Rebecca Eldridge to have a Stephen Minister contact you. These visits are confidential, and arranged at a mutually agreed time.

Prayer for Today

Heavenly Father, we pray for your protection, guidance, and love. Help us find ways to carry each other’s burdens and honor you. Amen.

You were saved by faith in God, who treats us much better than we deserve. This is God’s gift to you, and not anything you have done on your own.

-Ephesians 2:8

During my time in college, I kept a wide variety of fish as pets, but I had a particular fondness for one albino weather loach. Weather loaches are long, cylindrical fish with three sets of barbels at their mouth. They’re called weather loaches because they become more active when the barometric pressure changes. It’s not uncommon to see them suddenly swim right up to the surface and back down again, and sometimes they can do so with such force that they fly out of the tank and onto the ground below.

To make sure the loach had a varied diet, I would sometimes blanch cucumbers or carrots and drop them into the tank, and I also remember having quite a selection of other foods so as to offer all my fish a different culinary delight every day. It sounds silly, but I became quite attached to the loach. Sometimes it would uproot the plants in the tank or pester one of the other fish, but I still cared for that little loach. No matter what it did, I couldn’t help but love it. I’m sure those of you with a cat, dog, or other pet know what I mean.

If I think about the unconditional love I have had for the loach, it can help me understand God’s unconditional love for me a little better. I don’t mean to say that we are like pets to God, but there are some similarities. When I purposefully say hurtful things to others or when I hesitate to reach out and help when someone is in need, I sometimes wonder how God could still love me. After all, I know I should be kind to others and be willing to help others whenever I can. But I believe God’s love is unconditional. There is nothing I could ever do to make God stop loving me. That love is unchanging and ever-present. It reminds me of some of the words from a wonderful choral piece (https://youtu.be/Ks_DirYfDig) the women’s chorus performed when I was in college: Let nothing frighten you, all things are passing. God never changes.

Prayer for Today

God of Unchanging Love, thank you for your love for us that knows no boundaries or conditions. Free our hearts of a desire to hurt others and ready us to help all those in need. Comfort us in our fears and anxieties with your steadfast love. Amen.

And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

-Deuteronomy 6:6-9

Anyone who has spent time with or raised teenagers knows the roller coaster ride of twists and turns and gut-wrenching drops, with the occasional peaks. Preparing them to survive their teen years and then beyond is hard work. For us and them. We have been working hard to get our teen prepared for high school with a morning routine and great self-sufficiency. On the first day of his new schedule, he got ready in record time, made his breakfast, and was ready to go. His mother told him how proud and impressed she was. He replied, “You don’t need to be. I’m going to be doing this every day!”

The Lord tells us how pleasing it is when we follow God’s call, the Way, and care for ourselves, one another, and God’s creation. Nonetheless, when we take it seriously and take pride in it, it brings God joy. Just like the joy we take as parents, teachers, and mentors when we see our kids take the reigns and take pride in their own contributions to the world. When we carve out time for studying scripture, taking our families to worship or setting an online time with them every single week, seeking out ways to serve or donate needed items, we are showing God that we have that same enthusiasm for doing the work God calls us to do. We grow in our relationship with God.

It’s good for us as believers to stop and examine our routines. Are they sloppy, childish, or disappointing? Or are they the sort of maturing and developing ones that our God takes pride in seeing? What can we do to show our heavenly parent we are learning and growing and maturing, so when God peeks in and smiles, we say, “I’ll be doing this every day.”

Prayer for Today

Lord, help me to follow your call and make you proud today of the work I do and the love I show. Amen.

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. – 1 Corinthians 10:13, NIV

Awhile back I came across a saying that is used in 12-step programs to help people understand when they are most susceptible to giving into the temptation to return to their addictive behavior. It is based on the word H A L T and forms an acronym to remind us that we are all susceptible to giving in to temptation when we are Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired. One way to halt giving in to temptation is to ask if we are experiencing any of these things. Simply understanding what may be the cause of what we are feeling can help us to “halt” doing what we really do not want to do. I know from experience that when I am tempted, if I will simply take the time to ask myself if any of these are in play, I often find that they are -- usually more than one!

God provides many ways that we can endure the temptations in life. I am particularly grateful for those in our 12-step programs who have shared what they have learned which can help us all live meaningful, whole, and healthy lives -- the lives I believe we all want to live deep down inside.

This Sunday we are having our Annual Congregational Meeting at 10:30 AM in The Great Hall for the purpose of electing our Elder Nominating Committee and hearing a few brief reports on the life of the church. However, as we have said, we need a quorum, (10% of our membership), to be present to vote. So, if you can be here this Sunday at 10:30 AM in the Great Hall, we need you there.

However, we become aware of a number of other factors that may reduce our numbers attending at 10:30 AM. So, we are going to be offering an online option where you can join the meeting by zoom wherever you are. Just click here and you can register for the meeting and click here to receive the Annual Report -- but please do that as soon as possible.

We're also going to try to broadcast the meeting over FM so that those who attend drive-in worship can attend in the West parking lot nearest the ballfield. Just drive there after the service and we will be taking attendance and giving you a chance to vote.

If anything, the pandemic has taught us to be resourceful and resilient. See you Sunday!

Prayer for Today

Thank you, God, for our church family, especially for those women and men who agree to serve as elders. Thank you that even in the midst of this pandemic, we have learned to adapt as needed so we can do the work of your church and serve others in the name of Christ, in whose name we pray, Amen.