Pastor's Notes fo June 27, 2010

MARK THE DATE, Sunday, July 11 at 4 p.m. for Community Worship in the Park sponsored by the Ministerial Association.

AT THE ANNUAL PICNIC, July 15, 16, & 17 FCC will have a booth from 6 – 10 p.m. each evening. At the booth we will offer information about our congregation & sign-up for a drawing on the last day of the picnic. We will give away a woman’s purse, a man’s wallet, and a children’s Bible story book.

HOW CAN YOU BE INVOLVED with the congregation at the picnic?
1) Volunteer an hour at the booth. [See Jennie Barrett to sign up for an hour.]
2) Pray for the outreach.
3) Drop by for a few minutes when you are in the park if you're not a volunteer.
4) Donate bags of Tootsie Roll Pops. [After a person registers for a gift we will give them information about our congregation and a Tootsie Roll Pop with the invitation, 'Pop in and see us sometime.']

SEVERAL HAVE ASKED, “Do we still need money for the campers?” The answer is, “Yes.” We also need an adult who will work with the kids to park cars during the picnic. 2010 Campers: Sara Culbertson (June 14-19), Lydia Anderson (July 25-31), Ben Vickers & Kayla Cochran (August 1-7).

Reflecting on the Scriptures: FREE FROM THE LAW!
Galatians 5:1, 13-25. Christian freedom from the law is NOT unrestrained permission to do whatever one pleases. Neither is it the separation from relationships. FREEDOM IS God-centered living; a gift of God empowering us to live and serve like Jesus did. Paul contrasts a self-centered life to a God-centered life, one empowered by God’s Holy Spirit, the other motivated by selfish passions and desires.

Luke 9:51-62. As his ministry on earth came to its end Jesus experienced rejection in Samaria and ignorance among his disciples! From the crowd came an eager one who had not yet counted the cost of discipleship, another one who made excuses when invited to follow Jesus, and one who wanted to postpone a commitment. Where are we?

2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14. The mantle is passed! Literally, the prophetic ministry of Elijah ends and Elisha picks up the old prophet’s mantle and continues the ministry. Elijah was intentional in this, inviting & helping Elisha develop skills for ministry before giving the responsibility to him.

Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20. The psalmist in deep despair recalls the Lord’s work in the past and begins to speak directly with God, recounting aloud God’s might and majesty. [The readings from Luke, Kings, & Psalm give examples from scripture of God-centered lives for us to imitate.]


COMMUNION MEDITATIONGalatians 1:1, 4; 5:1,13b, 24
Let the words of the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Galatians guide our thoughts as we come to this table. Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead… The Lord Jesus Christ…gave himself for our sins to set us free from the present evil age… For freedom Christ has set us free. ...do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires and are empowered by the Holy Spirit toward good.

We have the freedom in Christ to love and to serve—to live as our Lord lived dedicated to the Father and empowered by the Holy Spirit!

And so that we can remember how he lived and how he died, he gave us this meal. On the night he was betrayed, Jesus took bread—blessed it and broke it, saying: “This is my body, given for you. Take and eat. Do this in remembrance of me.” In like manner, after the meal, Jesus took the cup saying: “This is my blood of the new covenant poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Take and drink, in remembrance of me.”