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This Week at First

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9 AM Contemporary

10:30 AM Traditional

February 18th: Renewing Our Covenant



February 18th – First Sunday in Lent: This first Sunday in Lent will be a follow-up to the Ash Wednesday service. We will read about the covenant God made with Noah and every living creature, and then be offered an opportunity to make a recommitment to the covenant we too have with God using the Wesleyan Covenant service. Our scriptures will be taken from Genesis 9:8-17 and Mark 1:9-15. The message will be “Renewing Our Covenant.”


See you Sunday.


Grace and Peace,

Pastor Jim


 

This Week's Scriptures

Genesis 9:8-17

8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him,  9 “As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you,  10 and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark.[a]  11 I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”  12 God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations:  13 I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.  14 When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds,  15 I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.  16 When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”  17 God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”  


 

Mark 1:9-15


The Baptism of Jesus

9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.  10 And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him.  11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved;[a] with you I am well pleased.”

 

The Temptation of Jesus

12 And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.  13 He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

 

The Beginning of the Galilean Ministry

14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news[b] of God,[c]  15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near;[d] repent, and believe in the good news.”[e]


 









9am Service



10:30am Service




February 14th, Ash Wednesday: Return to God



February 14th, Ash Wednesday: As we begin the season of Lent, Ash Wednesday is the perfect time to reflect on who we are, how we have behaved, and our needs to change. Our Ash Wednesday service will be an invitation to enter a season of spiritual discipline as we try to move closer to God. The scriptures will be taken from Joel 2:1-2, 12-17, and Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21. Our message will be “Return to God.” The service will include both an imposition of ashes (remembering our mortality) and communion (recognizing the

forgiveness offered by Christ). The service will begin at 7:00 PM.


See you Wednesday.


Grace and Peace,

Pastor Jim


 

This Week's Scriptures

Joel 2:1-2, 12-17

2 Blow the trumpet in Zion;    sound the alarm on my holy mountain!Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,    for the day of the Lord is coming, it is near—2 a day of darkness and gloom,    a day of clouds and thick darkness!Like blackness spread upon the mountains    a great and powerful army comes;their like has never been from of old,    nor will be again after them    in ages to come.


12 Yet even now, says the Lord,    return to me with all your heart,with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;13     rend your hearts and not your clothing.Return to the Lord, your God,    for he is gracious and merciful,slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love,    and relents from punishing.14 Who knows whether he will not turn and relent,    and leave a blessing behind him,a grain offering and a drink offering    for the Lord, your God?

 

15 Blow the trumpet in Zion;    sanctify a fast;call a solemn assembly;16     gather the people.Sanctify the congregation;    assemble the aged;gather the children,    even infants at the breast.Let the bridegroom leave his room,    and the bride her canopy.

 

17 Between the vestibule and the altar    let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep.Let them say, “Spare your people, O Lord,    and do not make your heritage a mockery,    a byword among the nations.Why should it be said among the peoples,    ‘Where is their God?’”  


 

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21


Concerning Almsgiving

6 “Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.

 

2 “So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.  3 But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,  4 so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.[a]

 

Concerning Prayer

5 “And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.  6 But whenever 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.[b]


Concerning Fasting

16 “And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.  17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face,  18 so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.[a]

 

Concerning Treasures

19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust[b] consume and where thieves break in and steal;  20 but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust[c] consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal.  21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.


 





February 11th: Why Do the Innocent Suffer?



We’ve all seen people suffer who did no wrong, did no harm, but were suffering just the same. Why? “Why Do the Innocent Suffer?” is a question that raises all kinds of doubts about a supposed loving God. We will be looking at Genesis 1:27-28 as we begin to explore the question.


See you Sunday.


Grace and Peace,

Pastor Jim



9am Service


10:30am Service



 

This Week's Scriptures

Genesis 1:27-28

27 So God created humankind[a] in his image,    in the image of God he created them;[b]    male and female he created them.

 

28 God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.”  


 






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