Coexist Sermon Series. Mission Morning

Transcription

1 Coexist Sermon Series The world has gotten smaller. We are deeply connected to people who live halfway around the world, and people from every corner of the globe live within a few miles of our homes. The future of our community (local and global) depends on our ability to peacefully coexist with each other particularly with others from different religious traditions. Ignorance breeds fear, hatred, and violence. Understanding fosters respect, love, and peace. In this sermon series, Pastor Andy will explore the essential elements and teachings of the major world religions and lift up their unique gifts. He also will proclaim what Christians believe in light of these different religious traditions. Join us as we seek to grow in our understanding and in our ability to be peacemakers in our world. May 3 Judaism May 10 Islam May 17 Mormonism May Sermon Series Chapter 1: Our Movement Begins a sermon series on the Book of Acts May 24 July 19, 2015 The Book of Acts is the first chapter in the biography of the Holy Spirit. It s the first chapter in the story of a renewal movement in Judaism that ultimately spreads to the ends of the earth. Reading the Book of Acts today, it is impossible to miss the extraordinary power of the Holy Spirit and the boldness and faith of that first generation of disciples. With the same wind of the Spirit at our backs and in our hearts, what chapter in the Christian story will we write in our own day? Nursery Shower We are going to have a church-wide nursery shower for our nursery on Mother s Day, Sunday, May 10th. The shower is going to be between the 8:30 and 9:45 services. There ll be cake and punch! You can bring a gift for our babies in honor of your mother. The First Lewisville Nursery is registered at Babies R Us and Target. The Flame 907 West Main Street, Lewisville, TX firstlewisville.org Mission Morning Mission Morning (formally Mission Picnic Day) is coming up on Sunday, May 31st. This is an event held from 10 a.m p.m. in the Family Life Center where we will assemble donation kits for local charities and UMCOR. Throughout the month of May we will be collecting items for this event. Donations can be dropped off at the church office. We will have various stations set up and need the following items: (Please note that UMCOR is very specific and the items need to be exactly as listed.) Health Kit Materials 1 hand towel (15 x 25 inches to 17 x 27 inches. Kitchen, cleaning, and microfiber towels not acceptable.); 1 washcloth 1 comb (Comb needs to be sturdy and longer than 6 inches. No pocket combs or picks please. Rattail combs and combs without handles are acceptable with a minimum of 6 inches of teeth.) 1 metal nail file or nail clippers (No emery boards, please.) 1 bath-size soap (3 oz. and larger sizes only. No Ivory or Jergens soap due to moisture content. Do not remove from original packaging.); 1 toothbrush (Adult size only. Do not remove from original packaging.); 6 adhesive bandages (¾ inch to 1 inch-size. Common household Band-Aids); 1 plastic bag (One-gallon size sealable bag only.); $1.00 to purchase toothpaste School Kit Materials 1 pair blunt scissors (Rounded tip only. No plastic scissors, please.); 3 pads of paper (Spiral- or top-bound pads. 150 sheets or less of loose-leaf paper can be substituted for one pad. Combination of spiral, top-bound, side-bound, or loose-leaf paper is acceptable. No composition books, please.); 1 hand-held pencil sharpener. (Must be at least 1 inch long. Remove from packaging.); 1 30-centimeter ruler (Hard or flexible. Cartoon characters are acceptable. No advertisements please.); 6 unsharpened pencils (No advertisements, religious, patriotic, military, or camouflage symbols, please. Cartoon characters are acceptable.); 1 2-inch or larger-size eraser (No advertisements, religious, patriotic, military, or camouflage symbols, please. Cartoon characters are acceptable.) 1 24-count box of crayons (Only 24-count boxes, please.) 1 14x16 inch cloth bag (Homemade or purchased bags are both acceptable. Heavy-duty fabric only, such as denim, corduroy, drapery fabric, etc. No advertisements, religious, patriotic, military, or camouflage symbols, please. Closures are optional but must be buttons, snaps, or Velcro sewn in middle of opening, if used.)

2 Men s Bible Study: My Brother s Keeper Join us Saturday, May 9th for the monthly men s breakfast and Bible study in the Family Life Center. Set your alarm and join us at 7 a.m. 50 Plus On May 14th at 6 p.m. we will meet at Spring Creek Barbeque for dinner. Contact Paul Sackett for more information on 50 Plus activities at paul@firstlewisville.org. Join the Journey Join the Journey is a program that seeks to help guests and new members find their connection points at First Lewisville. Many people visit churches and even join them only to go years without finding a place, other than worship, to connect with others and the mission of the church. While worship is integral to our faith, it is not the only point of connection. Join the Journey is designed to help you not only be a member of this church, but also to help you move forward as a disciple of Jesus Christ. While we hope you will stay for the 6-week duration of the course, we realize that schedules change and things happen. So, we have designed each class to stand alone so you have the flexibility to miss a week and pick it up another time. Join the Journey is offered several times a year. It s not too late to join! For more info, Karen Lott at klott2001@gmail.com. Photos Do you have any awesome photos of worship? What about your Sunday school class or any events at First Lewisville? Send them to photos@firstlewisville.org! CCDC Enrollment Christian Child Development Center (CCDC) is enrolling for the school year. Ages 18 months through Kindergarten. Classes are from 9 a.m. 1 p.m. with extended hours before and after school. Visit our church website at firstlewisville.org or contact Janet Page ccdc.janet_page@verizon.net for more information or to schedule a tour. First KIDS Mission Possible is a mission group for kids ages 4 yrs - 5th grade that gives them the opportunity to change the world and spread Jesus love. This month we will be loading up the vans and going out into the community doing random acts of kindness in a Be the Church type way. If you have a church shirt please wear it. Join us on Sunday, May 3rd from 3:30-5 p.m. at the welcome desk in the children s area. KIDS (Kids in Discipleship and Service) will be continuing their collection of school supplies and Band-Aids for UMCOR the month of May. PLEASE bring these items to the children s area on Sunday or to the church office during the week! These items will be used to help so many through UMCOR. You are also invited to help us assemble these items into special packages during our Mission Morning event that will take place in the Family Life Center on Sunday, May 31st from 10 a.m p.m. Come join the fun and support the children of this church when God s Project performs their spring musical. Oh, Jonah! These precious children have worked very hard to bring you this whale of a good time. Enjoy the story of the prophet Jonah brought to life with music, mime, and merry-making. The Oh, Jonah performance is Sunday, May 17th in the Family Life Center at 5 p.m. The dress rehearsal to God s Project is on May 15th from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Camp Bridgeport is a great way to spend a week having fun and growing spiritually. It is a camp for children completing grades 3-5, on July 28th August 1st. The cost for the camp is $350. To register go to brigeportcamp.org. Club 45 is a brand new program for 4th and 5th graders with the intention of creating friends and building relationships with each other. The tween years are difficult, and with confirmation and youth quickly approaching, our 4th and 5th graders need an opportunity to really make connections with each other. Club 45 meets once a month and our next meeting is Friday, May 29th from 6-9 p.m. Meet at the children s welcome desk. VBS Clear your calendars for the best week of the year!!! SAVE the DATE: VBS July 19th-24th, both evening and daytime. We will be learning that God s love is out of this world! More Information coming soon. Look for registration on our church website. WEIRD...because normal isn t working. Some of us are already weird. Some of us are learning how to be weird. Don t worry you will get your chance to be weird this Fall. Financial Peace University Fall classes begin Sept. 14th Prepare your spirit and mind for a stewardship journey that is not normal.

3 Summit Summit is our new Saturday worship service geared for young adults, adults, youth everyone at the MCL Grand Theater in Old Town Lewisville. The night is a great chance to invite friends and family to a new ministry of First Lewisville. Summit is a modern worship service with a great band, passionate atmosphere, and a relevant, grace-filled, biblical message. The worship experience offers an opportunity to bring the lights down and lift our hearts up to encounter a God who loves us more than we can imagine. On Saturday night, May 23rd, First Lewisville will host Summit. Join us at the MCL Grand at 6 p.m. and invite your friends and family. We hope this night will be a great night of worship and an opportunity to invite new people to experience Summit. Start spreading the word! After each Summit, there are fellowship times for youth and adults to help us connect with each other and grow as a worshiping community. Children s activities and trained childcare are provided on site. Visit summitgathering.com for more information. Contact jonathan@firstlewisville.org for more info on Summit and how you can help this new ministry! 2015 Spring Campout Bring your friends, family and neighbors, and join us for fun and fellowship on Saturday, May 2nd at 3 p.m. to Sunday, May 3rd at 12 p.m. Pilot Knoll Park, Highland Village. Sign-up at the welcome center or online. Groups have the option to participate in any or all of the following: Potluck Dinner Saturday evening at 6 p.m. Camping overnight in a tent. (A limited number of tents are available to borrow.) Camping overnight in an RV Church Service Sunday at 8:30 a.m. Potluck Breakfast Sunday at 9:30 a.m. Mosaic, young adults The items below are a sampling of some of the exciting plans for the upcoming month! Sunday Mornings: Coffee and Conversation Sundays after the 9:45 service, young adults meet in the Library for coffee, community, and a guided conversation and Bible study on a relevant topic for life and faith. Come join us! Small Group Connection: Supper Clubs Supper clubs are a great way to connect with other young adults. Groups meet monthly for food and friendship to share life and our faith journeys together. Contact jonathan@firstlewisville.org to get connected! evolve, college age group Mondays, 7 p.m., is Evolve College Age Group, a new Bible and discussion group for college age young adults. Join others in an engaging and relevant exploration of the big questions of life and faith. The group meets at NCTC and other locations and is led by Peter Scharff and Megan Everett. For more information, contact college@firstlewisville.org. Fellowship & Community: Monthly Socials Join the young adults of First Lewisville for our May Social a visit to the DFW Chinese Dragon Boat, Kite, and Lantern Festival. On Sunday, May 17th, we ll meet after church at 12:30 p.m. at Jason s Deli. Then at 2:30, we ll head to Lake Carolyn and the Las Colinas Urban Center in Irving to take in the festivities. It will be fun for all ages and it s free! Come along for a great day of culture and community! Contact jonathan@firstlewisville.org for questions or to let us know to expect you! Worship: Summit Saturday, May 23rd at 6 p.m. is the next Summit, our new Saturday worship service geared for young adults, adults, youth everyone at the MCL Grand Theater in Old Town Lewisville. Summit is a modern worship service with a great band, passionate atmosphere, and a relevant, grace-filled, biblical message. The modern worship experience offers an opportunity to bring the lights down and lift our hearts up to encounter a God who loves this world more than we can imagine. After each Summit, there will be a fellowship time for our young adult community. Children s activities and childcare are provided on site! Visit summitgathering.com for more information! Supper Clubs It s SUPPER CLUB sign-up time! Couples, singles and friends are invited to join new Supper Club groups to begin in June. For more information, call , or sign the Supper Club sheet in the office and we ll call you. Fun, Fellowship and Food - A Winning Combination!

4 Agape Sunday School Agape Sunday School class went to feed Our Daily Bread recently. They fed over 180 people. Check out these great photos! Mission Update CCA For May we will be collecting box dinners and canned veggies. Please put donations in the CCA basket in the Mission Outpost outside of the Soul Cafe. Lenten Project Be sure and send any photos from your project to Lakeland Basswood Apts. Projects We collected over $2,000 for mattresses for new CHIN families at Basswood Apartments. Thanks to everyone who donated. We are still needing dining tables and chairs for the new families. Contact Janet Peavler at to arrange for pick-up. Communities in Schools is sponsoring soccer teams at Basswood and can use mentors and/or coaches for the teams. Contact Kristy Dean at to find out more information. Sierra Leone Update Some fishermen landing near Freetown brought home the body of an Ebola victim which started new infections in the area. They had a three day quarantine to try to trace down and isolate any new cases. Please keep the people of Sierra Leone in your prayers! McCurdy Mission Trip Brochures are available next to the Mission bulletin board in the hall outside of the office. Contact Larry Swalley at lrsdas@verizon.net HeartPaths Spirituality HeartPaths Spirituality is an amazing weekly program to supplement your spiritual life. It can change your walk with Christ forever! Apply now for Fall Go to HeartPathsTraining.com for more information. McCurdy Mission Trip Mission Trip to McCurdy School, Espanola, New Mexico (U.S.A.) is August 1 to 8. We will do maintenance work at the school and have time for two afternoons of sightseeing. Brochures are next to the Mission Bulletin Board. Contacts are Larry and Dorothy Swalley: LRSDAS@VERIZON.NET or Chancel Choir Interested in joining the Chancel Choir? Join us for practice every Wednesday evening from 7-8:30 p.m. in the Sanctuary. First Youth On Sunday, May 31, we will celebrate our graduating high school seniors! Be sure to register for summer mission trips ASAP at firstlewisville.org! Congratulations to our 2015 Confirmation Class! Sunday School at 9:45 and 11 a.m. Text firstyouth to to receive up-to-date information and reminders!

5 Holy Conversations Team Update Monday night, April 13th, we had our 2nd Holy Conversations Team meeting, continuing the process of trying to discern God s will for our church that we began in March. We had some great discussions focused around our homework assignment: What is the biblical story that our FUMC Lewisville Church is now living? After prayerful thought, each member brought forward and explained at least one story that they feel best describes our current state. We then had conversations, digging deeper into each story and the reasons why each story describes our church right now. We invite each of you to read these stories and our explanations and prayerfully consider how you would answer the above question and perhaps share with a Holy Conversation Team member. Below are our selections, in no particular order: 1. Matthew 22: Jesus replied: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. (NIV) a. We feel we are striving to learn how to love our neighbors more and more. 2. John 4: When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, Will you give me a drink? 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink? (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water. 11 Sir, the woman said, you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 13 Jesus answered, Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life. (NIV) a. We feel that the story of Jesus stating the first and second commandments and the story of Jesus and the woman at the well embody our church in that they both illustrate we are open, warm and inviting Samuel 17 This is the story of David winning against Goliath, encompassing a full chapter of the Bible. a. We feel this story embodies our church, casting our church as David as we try and overcome the multitude and, at times, seemingly insurmountable problems within the community. 4. Luke 19:1-10 1Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. 5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today. 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. 7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, He has gone to be the guest of a sinner. 8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount. 9Jesus said to him, Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. (NIV) 5. Matthew 9: While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners? 12 On hearing this, Jesus said, It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. (NIV) a. We feel that the stories of Jesus eating with Zacchaeus and Jesus eating with the sinners embody our church in that it shows our willingness to serve and be in the company of the outcasts of our community. 6. Matthew 14: As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, This is a remote place, and it s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food. 16 Jesus replied, They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat. 17 We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish, they answered. 18 Bring them here to me, he said. 19 And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21 The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children. (NIV) a. This story was brought up twice. Our first discussion centered on how the story shows we can do much with little. Our second discussion centered on our church s faithfulness in God but more importantly, we felt it demonstrated our self-imposed limits on what we believe God can do through us. 7. John 21:1-6 1 Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3 I m going out to fish, Simon Peter told them, and they said, We ll go with you. So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. 4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. 5 He called out to them, Friends, haven t you any fish? No, they answered. 6 He said, Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some. When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. (NIV) a. We feel this story shows that we must slow down to better discern God s Will for us and perhaps, try a different approach. We may need a gentle nudge like Peter received to try something new.

6 Holy Conversations Team Update, Continued 8. Luke 9: As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, I will follow you wherever you go. 58 Jesus replied, Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head. 59 He said to another man, Follow me. But he replied, Lord, first let me go and bury my father. 60 Jesus said to him, Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God. 61 Still another said, I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family. 62 Jesus replied, No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God. (NIV) a. We feel that this story describes our sincere desire to follow Jesus but also our hesitancy to go all the way, to go and not look back. 9. Luke 10: As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, Lord, don t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me! 41 Martha, Martha, the Lord answered, you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed or indeed only one.[a] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her. (NIV) a. We feel that this story shows how we may worry too much that we are not doing the right thing, that we haven t truly discerned the Will of God for our church. It reminds us to be sure and slow down rather than always remaining busy with doing good things for God. 10. Genesis 11:8-9 8 So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why it was called Babel because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth. (NIV) a. We feel that this story illustrates all of the competing demands on our clergy, staff, laity, congregation, money and resources. How do we best prioritize our mission? 11. Genesis 1-2:1 This is the creation story, encompassing Genesis Chapter 1 through Genesis Chapter 2:1 a. We feel this story embodies our church at this point in time as we embark along a faith journey and attempt to discern what God wants us to do to make Disciples of Christ and improve our corner of the world. Once we finished sharing and discussing each story, we then looked for commonalities among the stories. What we determined was that collectively, these stories all share a common theme: They all show an outward focus; that we, as both a church and as individuals, are open and inviting and strive to do good within our community. Then, Rev. John Thornburg shared a few insights with us: 1. Every church Rev. Thornburg has worked with on this project has included the story of the feeding of the 5,000 and the story of Mary and Martha. 2. Interestingly, every church but ours also included the story of wandering in the wilderness. Perhaps this reflects that we do not feel aimless but rather are looking for greater focus and effectiveness. 3. Lastly, Rev. Thornburg explained to us that the commonality he noticed was that these were all encounter stories or stories of interactions between people in the Bible and/or Jesus. Our selection of these stories shows we are an interaction-focused church at this point in time. The second part of our meeting consisted of reviewing the results of our survey of new members (those who joined in the last year and a half). We asked a series of questions: 1. What difference is the church making in your life? 2. What were your first impressions? 3. What motivated you to come back? 4. What are our strengths? 5. What are our weaknesses? Surprisingly (or not?), the responses overwhelmingly reinforced our thoughts that were brought up in our biblical stories discussion: welcoming environment, communication, feeling of family, personally impacted, the genuine faith of our clergy, staff, laity and members. Again, the preponderance of responses was tied to encounters and interactions among the visitor and our church. Lastly, we wrapped up our 2nd meeting by passing out a book of historical data for each of us to review. We will look for trends and try to determine our congregational capacity or what is our current capacity of mission (as yet undefined) that we can support with our members and our member s gifts (both monetarily as well as personal skills) going forward as we strive to discern God s Will for us within our community. Our homework assignment for our next meeting is to answer the following questions: 1. Who is it to whom God is sending us? 2. What difference is God calling us (FUMC Lewisville and each member) to make? Please feel free to reach out to any member of the Holy Conversations Team with questions, thoughts or ideas. Thank you, John Thornburg, Andy Lewis, Chris Abel, Faye Colaluca, Karen Desmit, Randy Douglas, Gilbert Guerrero, Don Harvey, Karen Lott, Sheila Pecky and Lindsey Perry

7 Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage Paid Lewisville, TX Permit West Main Street Lewisville, TX firstlewisville.org return service requested Communion Offering The communion offering for May 3 will benefit the Perkins School of Theology Internship Program. In the fall of 2013, John Stephenson began his ministry internship at First U.M.C. and we became his teaching church. Looking back, that experience was a rich blessing both for him and for us! What you may not know is that John s compensation (meager as it was) during his internship was covered 100% by Perkins School of Theology. There was no cost to our church. The folks at Perkins believed that this would be the perfect place for John to grow and serve, so they foot the bill. Now, we have an opportunity to give back. Every dollar given to this communion offering will be used to support a future intern like John in this program and possibly make it possible for another wonderful intern to come learn with us in the near future. Blessings, Pastor Andy Finally Paid in Full - Free to Serve Finally Pledges Received: 123 Total Amount Pledged over 3 years: $485,616 Mortgage Balance: $277,507 as of 3/31/15 Permanent Endowment Gifts Received: In Memory Of: Margaret Auchly Marion Griffith