First Church. Welcome to. First Church. Week of October 15, Market St. Williamsport, PA SUNDAY WORSHIP

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1 Transformation in Christ Changing lives inside and out (Romans 12:1-2) First Church Williamsport, PA Check us out at Donate SUNDAY WORSHIP 8:00 am Traditional 9:30 am Blended 11:00 am Contemporary 601 Market St. 11:00 am Contemporary 1157 Market St. (live streamed message) 4:30 pm Celebrate Recovery WEDNESDAY WORSHIP 5:00 pm 601 Market St. First Night meal, fellowship, music, brief message, children s ministries, fuse* (youth ministries), First Friends (special needs group) & adult small groups. DISCIPLESHIP NETWORK CLUSTER MEETING OCTOBER 30 We will hold a Discipleship Network Cluster Meeting on Monday, Oct 30 at 6:30 pm at First United Methodist in MUNCY. First Church is part of a 3 -church cluster. Each Cluster in our District is holding a celebration of ministry this fall at the invitation of the District Superintendent. We will celebrate what God has done among us in the last year along with our brothers and sisters from First- MUNCY and Faith-Montoursville. Anyone from First Church is invited to attend. Please note that this meeting is in MUNCY, not at one of our churches. SERMON ARCHIVE UPDATE PODCASTING Our sermons are now available as a podcast! We are now utilizing a service called Podbean, which saves our sermons as audio clips and also distributes the feed to itunes. To listen and/or subscribe to our sermons, please visit firstchurchwilliamsport.podbean.com/ or visit our page on itunes under "Podcasts" by searching "First Church Williamsport." Thank you for your patience as we transition. Welcome to First Church United Methodist Week of October 15, 2017 MEET THE PASTORS New to First Church? Take a few minutes on October 15 th to meet one or more of the pastors and let us help you get connected with First Church. After 8:00 and 9:30 service, First Evangelical Center - Room 206 After 11:00 service, Christian Life Center - in the back of Stryker Hall After 11:00 service, North Campus - in the lobby DISCIPLE S JOURNEY STEP 1 We invite you to connect with God and others here at First Church through A Disciple s Journey Step 1. If you are not yet connected as a member in full discipleship at First Church, this 4 week group will guide you as you begin your next step in your journey of discipleship. A Disciple s Journey Step 1 is for you if you wonder what connecting in faith in Jesus Christ is about or if you wish to connect in full discipleship at First Church as a new disciple/member. Pastor D.G. Giordano leads Step 1. Your next opportunity to take this step will be on Sunday mornings beginning October 29 th from 9:30-10:30 a.m. in room 202 of the First Evangelical Center. Nursery and Sunday School take place at the same time for all ages, so your children can also grow in their discipleship as you grow in yours! To register for A Disciple s Journey Step 1, please sign up on the communication card that is in your newsletter, or contact the church office. We will be delighted to welcome you to Step 1! CHILDREN S CHOIR SINGS This Sunday (Oct 15) at 9:30 the Children s Choir will be singing Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone). All kids 3 years- 5 th grade will start in worship with their family and following the children s message will be dismissed to the back of the lobby where children s ministry volunteers will help walk the children across Market Street to Sunday School. Nursery for kids under 3 years will be on the regular schedule. INVITE

2 GRAND FRIENDS Grand Friends will meet on Tuesday, October 31 Hoss s Steak & Sea House. We will start at 12:15 p.m. Our speaker will be Pastor Janet, she will talk to us about First Church Mentoring. RSVP to Debbie , no later than October 29 th. GET F.I.T. (Faith Inspired Transformation) God s Word instructs us to care for our bodies: physically, emotionally, spiritually. Therefore, offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to Him. Rom 12:1 Ladies, join us as we delve deeper into what it means to honor our Creator by caring for our bodies through exercise, nutrition and faith transformation from the inside out! All ages and ability levels welcome! Wednesday evenings 6:00-7:00 in the Lobby of the First Evangelical Center. Wear comfortable exercise clothing and shoes. Bring water bottle, exercise mat (optional) and a friend! NEW ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS Join us starting Sunday, October 15 th at 9:30 a.m. in the College Area/Fellowship Hall of the First Evangelical Center as Terry Girdon leads us through a Max Lucado Study of Romans. NEW STEPHEN MINISTERS NEEDED Have you ever had a feeling, no matter how small, that God is calling you to help hurting people? If you ve felt this call, now is the time to answer! If the way seems unclear or you think you don t have enough time, whatever the roadblock, remember when God calls us to go he also calls us to trust Him, and he promises to be there before us! He ll take care of the roadblocks. For information, a Stephen Leader will be available at the information desk after the service or sign-up on the communication card. Allison Keppler: 484/ ; alkeppler@gmail.com Ellen Montis: 570/ ; Ellenwalks@yahoo.com Jill Robbins: 570/ ; Jprobbins@comcast.net Michelle Dixon: 570/ ; mkd4760@yahoo.com (Training of a new class of ministers is scheduled to begin January, 2018) N.T. ONLINE POSTPONED We apologize for any inconvenience, however, with the lack of interest & availability for the N.T. Online group we are going to currently postpone it until potentially after Christmas. Come enjoy an animated musical comedy about a fast talking Koala s attempt to save his theater through the grandest singing competition ever. With all the antics and mishaps, life will never be the same. [copyrights prohibit mention of the movie s name]. On the North Campus big screen 6:00 pm Saturday, Oct. 21 st. Loads of popcorn and snacks! Drawings for Cinema Center free passes. TEACH UPCOMING EVENTS

3 Fuse* families join Josh Tobias, Director of Student Ministries, on Sunday October 15 th for a PG gathering. Why PG, you ask? Parents and Guardians have a chance to ask questions, to hear the why behind the how of our ministry with your kids, and to interact with other parents of teens and pre-teens. This gathering will occur from 7-8 pm in the FEC Sanctuary. Please enter the building at the Ross Street door. Fuse* student ministries, in partnership with Curtin Intermediate School, is participating in #socktober as we try to knock the socks off of poverty in Lycoming County. Socks are said to be the most needed but least donated items to homeless shelters. We are a collection point for NEW socks that will be donated to local poverty fighting agencies who can distribute to those in need. You can help our students and community by donating new socks to this effort during the month of October. Our students will be sorting and packing all of the socks that were donated, from both First Church and at Curtin Intermediate School, during the first weeks of November as part of our Students in Service discipleship opportunity. CHILDREN S MINISTRY VOLUNTEER MEETING Monday, October 16 at 6:30 p.m. in the Christian Life Center (CLC) room 109 will be the Children s Ministry Volunteer Meeting. We will be looking at the winter and spring 2018, specifically Christmas. OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD (OCC) OCC is really taking off! Here are a few tips on how you can pack your box. Start with a quality WOW item such as a stuffed animal, soccer ball with pump or a clothing outfit that will capture the child s attention the instant he or she opens the box. All boxes are due back with $9.00 postage on November 5th. SECOND MILE GIVING The Second Mile Giving for October is Helping Hands at First Church. This fund is to provide emergency assistance to those experiencing economic crisis or difficulty. Please make checks payable to First Church with Helping Hand in the memo line. MISSION ITEMS NEEDED Local Food Pantry coffee, tea (regular), powdered milk, sugar canned milk. Shepherd of the Streets gel shaving cream (both men s & women s), disposable razors (both men s & women s), toilet paper. Donations for these missions may be left in the baskets at the following locations: Christian Life Center - the Market Street entrance; First Evangelical Center - the Ross Street entrance; North Campus - Lounge. CARE PACKAGES FOR FIRST CHURCH COLLEGE STUDENTS AND MILITARY PERSONNEL First Church will once again be sending care packages to current First Church college students and servicemen and women. Packages will be mailed out after Thanksgiving. Please submit any names and complete addresses of current First Church students/ servicemen and women to Barb Wallace at bgwallace6@gmail.com or by calling the church office at Names and addresses must be received by November 19th. DONATIONS NEEDED FOR COLLEGE/MILITARY PERSONNEL Donations will be collected from Oct.22-Nov.19th. Suggested items include individual packages of cookies, chips, oatmeal, hot cocoa, candy, granola bars, ramen noodles, cereal and crackers. We are also in need of shoeboxes (women's size). Collection containers will be placed in the First Evangelical Center Cloak Room, the entrance to the Christian Life Center and the lobby of North Campus. Donations to purchase items or to help with shipping are also welcome. Any questions contact Barb Wallace at bgwallace6@gmail.com. CHILDREN/YOUTH SEND

4 Sermon Outline Law and Grace Unpacking God s Law Deuteronomy 5:6-21, I. God apparently contradictory natures of law and grace II. Deuteronomy is such a book III. 3 Ways the 10 commandments are interdependant: A) They are and B) They cover the and the C) They combine the and IV. We can t commandments 1-4 if we don t live 5-10 V. God is saying: Obey me because I am God. VI. God does not need us to obey to be God s desires us to obey because we are God s.. God Life Reflection Has God s law and grace taken root in my inner life in such a way that it is reflected in my outer life? If so, how is it being exemplified? If not, what steps do I need to take to experience this inner/outer reality? Is commandment #1 a reality in my life? Which of the 10 commandments is the most challenging for me? This week pray for God s Holy Spirit fire through God s law and grace to come consume us, refine us, protect us, and comfort us. Scripture Reflection: Deuteronomy 5:7 and 5:24a Deuteronomy 5:7: You shall have no other gods before me. Deuteronomy 5:24a: And you said, The Lord our God has shown us his glory and his majesty, and we have heard his voice from the fire First Church, Pastor s Page The Difference We Can Make It has now been many weeks since hurricanes Harvey and Irma hit Houston and Florida respectively, along with Puerto Rico. As we mentioned when those hurricanes first hit, one of the first groups to respond was UMCOR the United Methodist Committee On Relief. Not only is UMCOR one of the first to arrive, it is always one of the last to leave whenever natural disasters occur. When all of the news crews and cameras have left, the folks of UMCOR remain seeking to help in whatever way is needed. UMCOR is one of my favorite parts of belonging to the United Methodist Church. Because we belong to a connectional system it allows for the existence of UMCOR so that 100% of the giving that occurs towards UMCOR can go to help the victims. I wanted to take a moment to thank you First Church for your support in this regard for the victims of the hurricanes. Thanks to you and your generosity we have been able to give over $7, 000 to UMCOR in support of the hurricane victims. In addition to the dollar amount we have been able to offer 39 hygiene kits and 139 flood kits. First Church this is TERRIFIC! Thank you for your efforts which are truly making a difference in the lives of others. When Jesus tells us to love our neighbors (Matthew 22:36-40) as ourselves we know that there are many ways to do this. Our neighbors include those who live next door those who live down the street and those who live in other parts of the country (not to mention other parts of the world). The people of Houston, Florida and Puerto Rico are certainly our neighbors. Please continue to keep them in prayer. And please continue to give as God leads you. Together we truly can make a difference. Together we truly are making a difference. This is yet one more reason that I love serving with you First Church. In Christ, Pastor Matt

5 FIRST CHURCH Williamsport, PA Phone: We re on the Web! and NC = NORTH CAMPUS (1157 Market St.) MAIN CAMPUS CLC = Christian Life Center (601 Market St.) FEC = First Evangelical Center () CYCLE OF PRAYER: October 15-21: Tom & Deb Mazurek; Sean, Marcy, Allyson, Andrew & Tyler McCann; Austin, Liesel, Calvary, Selah & Talon McCardle; Judy McCormick; Todd & Eleanor McCoy; Carol McMurray; Jerry & Cindie Merrick; Dulcey Messersmith; John & Suzette Meyer; Mat, Nicole, Kaleb & Kohen Meyer; Matt, Holley, Emma & Kate Meyer; Jordan Miller; Kathy Miller; Kevin Miller; Rocky, Suzanna, Anya, Brynn & Paiton Miller; Donald & Ellen Montis; Jeff, Susanne, James & Phillip Moore; Mike, Lindsey, Aidan, Annabella, Julie & Lily Morgan; Elmer Morrow; Eva Moser; Kevin, Erin & Evelyn Mowrey; Gary & Cherie Moyer; Tom & Tracey Mulcahy; Chris & Mariah Mumford; Mary Ann Munro; Rich & Sandy Murray; Craig & Lorrie Netzley; Douglas, Ashley, Parker, Presleigh, Ryleigh & Trey Nicholas; Kevin, Mari, Erin & Katelyn Niedzwiecki; Jami, Betsy, Hunter & Wyatt Nolan. Weekly Worship Attendance for week ending October 8, 2017 TOTAL 816