Image created by Isabella Dougan
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Image created by Isabella DouganBible Verse To Inspire You With Hope
Image created by Isabella DouganCelebrating from the Bottom: Sermon, November 1
Failure can be a friend! suggested Pastor Jenny Smith Walz on November 1, 2020. As in science experiments. But sometimes it is time to let go…God loves choosing the wrong people….Forgiveness is foundational.
Tune into her sermon on this web page – look for “worship” and page through the dates for November 1.
Here are some of the resources that Pastor Jenny mentioned or was inspired by.
Philippians 3: 7-4.1 Philippians 3: 7 and 8: For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ,[a] the righteousness from God based on faith.
Holy Troublemakers and Unconventional Saints by Daneen Akerset is a book for children that Evangeline Burgers has used in her ministry.
Rumi’s poem, “The Guest House”.
A Kids Book about Failure. By Laymon Hicks.
Pastor Jenny has referred to books by Brene Brown, and Brown’s Rising Strong. ,deals with the subject in much more depth.
And then that wonderful hymn, For All the Saints…
Celebration: A Healing Practice
For the new sermon series, starting October 18, we will focus on “All Things New: Celebrating God’s Goodness,” about how we can celebrate even when we are in a wilderness — of Covid, of personal trials, or of the world’s problems.
Pastor Jenny Smith Walz recommends the book, The Healing Practice of Celebration. It costs under $10 at Cokesbury and is available in a Kindle edition for the same price. The book is part of a series on different spiritual practices. The author, Elaine Heath, is a former dean of Duke Divinity School.
As described by the publisher: We think of celebration as a response to something good that happens: a birthday, a holiday, a new birth, a graduation. But what about when life is dull or flat, or especially when we hit rock bottom? Does God expect us to celebrate then? Yes, and we can. The Healing Practice of Celebration explores celebration as a response to the reality that God is continually present, always faithful, and ever loving. Celebration as a spiritual practice involves a posture of living so well anchored in the full story of God’s involvement with people throughout history that anticipatory faith and hope, regardless of present circumstances, inform our thoughts, words, and actions.
On October 18, Pastor Jenny opened the service with this prayer from Teresa of Avila
Let nothing disturb you,
let nothing frighten you,
all things will pass away.
God never changes;
patience obtains all things,
she who possesses God lacks nothing.
God alone suffices. Amen.
Romans 13: 8-14 and Matthew 18: 15-20
The scripture reading for Sunday, September 6, 2020, is from Romans 13: 8-14 and Matthew 18: 15-20.
“If Another Sins Against You” is the title of Pastor Jenny Smith Walz’s sermon.
“. . . and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” ~Romans 13:9b
“Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.” ~Romans 13:8
“For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.’” ~Matthew 18:20
To follow our worship service on FaceBook, hear the scripture, and listen to Pastor Jenny’s sermon, click here.
To watch interesting videos on YouTube of both scripture passages, click here and here.
On this September Communion Sunday, our Communion Offering this week goes to the Mercer Street Friends Food Bank. Please give this month as you are able for those whose need is so great.
Written by Isabella Dougan
Romans 12:9-21 and Matthew 16:21-28
The scripture for Sunday, August 30, 2020, is from Romans 12:9-21 and Matthew 16:21-28.
“Take Up Your Cross” is the title of Pastor Jenny Smith Walz’s sermon.
“Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.” ~Romans 12:9-13
“Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.’” ~Matthew 16:24
To watch interesting videos on YouTube of both scripture passages, click here and here.
To follow our worship service, hear the scripture, and listen to Pastor Jenny’s sermon click here.
Written by Isabella Dougan
Sermon Response: August 23
On August 23, in her sermon “Who Do You Say That I Am?,” Pastor Jenny Smith Walz quoted this poem by Steve Garnaas-Holmes, posted on August 19, 2020 in his online collection Unfolding Light.
How does the poem resonate with you? Or — what do you NOT understand, NOT like about how the poet describes Jesus?
Jesus,
trickster, teacher, beggar,
on no church wall,
in no good book,
but on sad streets
and in my blood,
you are my unseen neighbor,
my secret self.
You are my divine possibility,
God-in-this-world,
becoming me, so close
I can almost touch myself.
Ruler of my heartbeat,
fountain of my blood,
Jesus, you are my Pacific,
my wind, my sun, my gravity.
You are my victim.
My wound, and my healing.
My death, and my undying.
You are my exceeding of myself,
my becoming of the universe.
You are the heart of all of us,
the One of us, the holy Little One.
You are so tiny in this world,
so dim, I must become you to see you,
yet can’t not see you everywhere,
everywhen, every who.
Jesus, you are the me I hope to be,
the giving of God to me,
the giving of me to all the world.
Jesus, you, whom I cannot have,
yet who are so deeply mine,
how greatly I praise, I thank, I gaze,
I follow, and I join you.
Pastor Jenny urges us to answer the question “Who do you think Jesus is” in conscious ways. “Maybe a few words. A song. A journal entry. A sermon…”
Children’s Book: Images of God for Young Children
Here are some descriptions of God from this book: breath, light, night, the word, silence, secret, our tears, joy, fortress, promise, mystery, beauty, justice, peace, mercy, and love. Or — spring, rock, stream, root, wind, and fire.
What is YOUR experience of God?
On August 23 during Children’s Time, Pastor Jenny Smith Walz read Images of God for Young Children.
Hanna Schock agrees that this book should not be completed in one sitting. Each entry should be savored. The 40 themes are so rich you could create a whole series of conversations or even lessons based on the variety of images for God given here.
Comments from the service (without names, unless you’d like to have your name included)
Jesus has been my protector while we were stranded in Covid locked down India for 5 months and bringing us back us safely to NJ
my confidant, mentor, leader an example of peace, joy & love.
my friend.
The one who saved my life. The one who WILL save my child
Jesus tears down systems and lifts up the oppressed. Jesus heals.
love, an advocate for the “other” and an example of how to live
I see Jesus when others help me learn and grow from my mistakes.
Matthew 16: 13-20 and Romans 12: 1-8
The scripture is read from the New Revised Standard Version on Sunday, August 23, 2020.
To watch interesting videos of the scripture on YouTube, click here and here
To follow our worship service and watch the scripture being read, click here
Written by Isabella Dougan