Families come in all shapes, sizes, and colors.

Families come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. Each one is unique. This Sunday we will talk about how God’s love can build and grow a family’s relationship.  We will especially honor moms – new moms, grandmas, those who have been like mothers to us, and more.  Please join us for worship.  Sunday’s scripture text is John 15:9-17. 

 

See you in church!

Linda

John 15:9-17: (NIV)

^“9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. ¹⁰ If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. ¹¹ I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. ¹² My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. ¹³ Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. ¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command. ¹⁵ I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. ¹⁶ You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit —fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. ¹⁷ This is my command: Love each other.”

“I am the vine … And you are the branches”

Please join us in church this Sunday to talk about what it means to be connected to this life-giving force of Jesus Christ. Read John 15:1-8 to help you consider ahead of time what Jesus might be saying to us as his disciples.

See you in church!

John 15:1-8:

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

Children are our future… AND our present.

This Sunday we will recognize our church’s ministry with the families of The Ann Street School.  Our own young children will participate as well.

If you know folks who are alums of the school, please invite them to our 10:30 service.

 

Our scriptures focus on God’s care for us, and how we pass that love on through our actions.  You may want to take a look at Psalm 23 and

I John 3:16-24.

 

                                                  See you in church!

                                                          Linda

Holy Week 2012

Imagine yourself walking into a movie theater ¾ of the way through the movie. All you get to see is the grand climax and finale.  At that point, you aren’t sure who is who.  You can’t tell the bad guys from the good guys. You don’t know how they have related to each other, or what makes them tick.  In the dialog, the characters make reference to incidents and situations that you know nothing about.  So when the music swells, the camera pulls back, and the credits roll, you’re left with an unsatisfied feeling. The whole experience could have been so much richer.

            I suggest to you that it is the same with moving toward Easter.  Come experience the conflicting forces at work on Palm Sunday.  In the very same crowd in Jerusalem, some are cheering Jesus on, while others are conspiring to murder him.  On Holy Thursday, hear the poignant goodbyes between Jesus and his disciples.  Hear his parting words to them.  On Good Friday, find out what Jesus went through for our sakes.  Then you will understand so much more clearly what those who found his grave empty were feeling. Come Easter morning to cheer his victory!  Learn what the empty grave means for your life.  Find out for yourself what went into this new beginning.

 

                                                                                      See you in church!

 

                                                                                                Linda

God’s Word in Our Hearts

 This Sunday we will read about God writing his word on our hearts.  It is God’s promise of a new covenant – one that will connect us uniquely with him and one another. 

 

Consider a world where everyone knows God this intimately, and carries His word at the very core of their being.  Check out our scripture: Jeremiah 31:31-34.

 

                                                                             See you in worship!

 

                                                                             Linda

John 3:16…

John 3:16… You’ve seen it at football games and on billboards.  Maybe you memorized it as a kid.  Maybe you’ve always wondered what in the world it meant.  In short, John 3:16 is the “Why” of the cross.  Why did God do it?

But to really understand, we need to look at the next few verses in John as well.  They answer the question, “So what?”  How do we respond to God’s awesome gift?  There are decisions to be made about the offer of John 3:16.  We’ll look at them closely on Sunday.  Please read John 3:16-21.

 

                                                                  See you Sunday.

                                                                  Linda

 

^“16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. ¹⁹ This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. ²¹ But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.”

John 3: 16-21

Pastor’s Pen

Dear Friends,
I + you = we

This is an equation for the church at work. It’s like that great hymn #558 in our United Methodist Hymnal. The refrain reminds us “I am the church, you are the church, we are the church together.” None of us can or should try to be the church on our own. Likewise, the “we” cannot exist without our participation.” The church, by definition, is the collective Body of Christ. The Apostle Paul goes to great length to explain to us how every part of the Body is important, and serves different functions.
We United Methodists are blessed to be part of a denomination that is called “connectional.” That means that we are not only part of a community here in Milford, but part of a national and international community as well. Sometimes people see that larger structure as the big, amorphous “they.” But that’s simply not the case. It is you and I, along with many others, who make up this larger community of faith. We elect persons to represent us and our views in the larger church. We are able to help people in need across the world because the network of ministry is already established. United Methodists are able to make a powerful statement for the sake of Jesus Christ in our world. It is definitely a case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts.
As we begin this new year of ministry together, I invite you to consider where you fit into the equation. Be part of the “we” that serves our God every day.

Blessings,
Linda

Who Ya’ Gonna Trust?

This Sunday our scripture is about God being the only One we can trust completely. Psalm 62:5-12 describes God as a rock, a fortress, our salvation, and our refuge. It identifies anything of this world which we might want to trust as “nothing.” Come this Sunday and join us in sorting things out. In an insecure world, find out where your security lies.

See you in church!
Linda

(photo credits clockwise from left: Mark Holthusen, Melissa Clifton, Getty Images, subrosa-blonde.blogspot.com, photobucket.com - scorpio_chika)