Friday, June 6, 2025

Happy Friday, Friends!  

As we prepare for the weekend, here are some words from John's Gospel...
 
        "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, no more can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who abides in Me, and I in them, the same brings forth much fruit. For without Me you can do nothing."   (John 15: 4-5 SKJV)    
 
You certainly don't need to be an accredited botanist to know that a vine that has been separated from a plant's main branch cannot produce flowers or fruit. On the contrary, that branch quickly withers and dies, never to produce anything again.
   
Jesus used the beautiful word picture in today's scripture verses to illustrate just how desperately we need to cling to Him --- to abide in Him --- if we desire to grow in our faith and produce good "fruit" for Him. There is truly no other way! 
   
Jesus truly is our True Vine. Everything we need to live a life that pleases God and to perform good works for Him flows outward from Jesus -- and ONLY from Jesus. No amount of self-effort or religious practices can take the place of doing what Jesus commanded His disciples to do: "Abide in Me." 
       
Jesus, I truly cannot produce the kind of spiritual fruit You call me to produce on my own. I need You, the Vine that nourishes and waters me so that I can do the things You call me to do.  Amen. 
 
+++ This Sunday is a BIG day here at Immanuel, as we celebrate PENTECOST SUNDAY. We gather for worship at 8:30am and 10:00am and we will hear the great story of Pentecost from the Book of Acts. At our 10:00am worship we will welcome some of our young people who will be helping to lead worship, as well! Join us as we celebrate KIDS DAY this week! And make sure to wear RED if your closet allows it! Following worship, we'll enjoy our annual Church Picnic and the kids will be washing cars for a donation to their mission project with the CNY Cat Coalition and Helping Hounds of CNY. If you can't be here in person for all the fun, look for us on the church's Facebook page for our "live-streaming" at 10:00am and then on our YouTube channel after worship is completed.  

+++The deadline for camperships is June 15. If you have a child or grandchild attending summer church camp, please let the church office know so we can assist with 50% of the tuition.
 
+++ Don't forget to return your completed pledge card for our M2 campaign which we heard about last week. These funds allow us to do needed maintenance and mission work all throughout the year. Thanks for prayerfully answering the call to continue supporting our M2 Tree!  
 
+++ Maybe you'd like to throw a lawn chair into the car for the picnic as well? We are thrilled with a wonderful number of people signing up to join us and we want to make sure we have comfortable seating for all. Thanks!    
 
+++ We will be delivering our Monthly Meal ministry meals following the picnic and if you know someone who could use a meal, please let Marilyn V. know soon!  
 
+++ Our Finance Team meets on Tuesday at 6:00pm and then the Administrative Council gathers at 6:45pm in the Fireside Room. 
 
+++ I'll be leading worship at Camillus Ridge Terrace on Wednesday June 11th at 11:00am.  
 
+++ Next Sunday, June 15th is our annual Peace with Justice Sunday offering. This church-wide offering advocates for Peace with Justice work in America and around the world. Look for the special offering envelopes next Sunday.
 
+++ The deadline for articles for our July/August edition of the church newsletter is coming up on June 20th. Please make sure all articles are in the church office by that date.   
 
Make this day a great day and continue to hold onto the True Vine every day!   
​Pastor Jack