Friday, February 23, 2024

As we approach another weekend of ministry and worship I read these words from Matthew's Gospel account...

                    "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called
                        the children of God."     (Matthew 5:9 KJV)

Tension. Hostility. Envy. Strife. The climate is heavy and oppressive. Negative feelings expand like clouds to fill the atmosphere. You feel a sense of hopeless frustration as communication breaks down and solutions seem nowhere in sight. No, it's not a gathering of your family.... but you still want to smooth things over but don't know how. 
   
Your heart longs for peace. You pray for just the right words to bring light to this dark situation. Nothing seems worth losing God's peace over -- certainly not "every evil thing" that strife will usher in (James 3:16 NASB). You propose to make peace. You find that peace in the desire of your heart - and those desires are God-given. God will fulfill that desire by making you a minister of God's grace. Speak words of peace, and you will see the strongholds of contention come crashing down.  
 
When the kids are fighting, or you have friends that can't get along or when there are rivalries at work or arguments between players in your recreational league.... join me in praying.... Make me Your peacemaker, O Lord. Amen. 

+++ Worship on Sunday is at 8:30am and 10:00am and we celebrate the Second Sunday of Lent this week. As we are Guided to the Cross my message is "Guided to Love". I am thinking this week about how we are called to show the type of love that Jesus did... but that's a tall order for sure! Our "live stream" of the worship service will be on the church's Facebook page at 10:00am and then we will "upload" the completed worship to our YouTube channel when it is completed. If you are joining us on Facebook live you can enter your prayer requests in the comments section of the page and we will make sure to add them to our prayer list during worship. We hope to be able to "see" all of you at worship this week!   

+++ The March/April edition of the Upper Room magazine is on the back table in the Narthex for your use!

+++ Please sign up for the Second Sunday Lunch, coming up on March 10th, following the 10:00am worship service. We are blessed to enjoy a wonderful meal and great fellowship each month during this luncheon time! 

+++ Worship at Summerfield Village will be on Thursday afternoon, at 1:00pm! You are invited to join us for worship!

+++ As we engage in our Lenten mission project to support the feeding program at University United Methodist Church in Syracuse, we have received a list of items needed that the church cannot purchase through the Food Bank of CNY. We've broken the list down so this week, if you are heading out for a shopping trip, maybe you would consider purchasing some extra quantities of canned tuna or canned salmon? We will highlight a couple of more items each week and donations can be left on the table in the Narthex all during Lent. Thanks for engaging in ministry and mission in this important program that feeds hundreds of people each week at one of our sister congregations! 
 
Make this day a great day and remember always to pray... Make me your peacemaker, O Lord.   
Pastor Jack