Love One Another - Kayla's Korner

Love One Another “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

John 13:34 NIV Jesus commands us to love each other! Jesus loved each of us before we even existed. Sometimes it can be hard to show love toward others when they aren’t being kind towards us, but, Jesus tells us to still show them love as He did toward us.

Loving our neighbor is the biggest Christian act we can do! When we love others they will know Christ through our love. “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

John 13:35 NIV When we turn our back toward others and show hate toward them, we are pushing them away from Christ. As Christians it’s important to speak kindly and show love toward others so that they can come to know God. Our mission on earth is to bring others to Christ.

This month, pray and ask God to open up your heart and to be able to start loving everyone. To start being kinder to everyone. To speak nicely to others.

That's in the Bible? - Reece's Peace's

The Bible is a big book, so it is no surprise that there are many things in that book that we often do not talk about. I was recently speaking with a friend who asked me about one particularly challenging point for her in the Bible. It was an odd scripture that is often glossed over. I told her that this story was not the only odd scripture the Bible. There are many scriptures just as particular as this story. She was surprised by this.

As I listed all the odd sections of the Bible that I could remember I recognized that there are probably many other people who have not heard some of these Scriptures either. The stories are not something you would expect to hear in Sunday school. However, in that discussion, I thought these unexpected scriptures would be great topics for a sermon series.

For the next four weeks we will discuss Bible stories you may not have heard of before. We will discuss topics you may not even know are in the Bible. We will talk about human sacrifice, racism, angel-human hybrids, and murder. You will be given the scriptures beforehand and will be encouraged to read them before Church each Sunday to help you get a full understanding of their meanings. Some of the scriptures will come from the Old Testament, but an equal number will also come from the New Testament.

Even though they might seem a bit out of place, it is good for us to talk about them. After all, they are in the Bible. They were in included in our Holy Scripture for a reason. It is good for us to read them together and understand why they are part of the Bible. What do these narratives mean for our faith?

This sermon series will be slightly different from what you have come to expect. We will talk about topics that are not normally discussed. It will be unique and informative. Because of that, it will be the perfect time to invite a friend to join us! We are a church that is not afraid to talk about difficult questions. That is just what our faith needs right now.

The Church’s One Foundation - Marc's Music Notables

If you had known Samuel Stone, chances are that you might have admired him on one hand and been distressed by his behavior on the other. A priest of the Church of England, he devoted himself to serving the poor and vulnerable, but his athletic build and intense passion sometimes led him afar. It is said that, on one occasion, he gave a thorough beating to a man whom he found mistreating a little girl.

Stone served as a passionate defender, not only of the poor and vulnerable, but also of the faith. He was inspired to write “The Church’s One Foundation” in response to a church controversy nearly half a world away.

In South Africa, Bishop John Colenso had begun to question whether Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible. Bishop Robert Gray moved to discipline Colenso, and the resulting controversy reverberated throughout the denomination.

Stone wrote “The Church’s One Foundation” as one of twelve hymns based on the Twelve Articles of the Apostles Creed. He hoped that these hymns would help people to better comprehend the creed that they oft recited but seldom understood. He also hoped that they would support the conservative side of the controversy that was rocking the church.

“The Church’s One Foundation” is the only one of those hymns that is still widely sung today— and widely sung it is!

Samuel Wesley, the grandson of Charles Wesley, wrote the music for this hymn.

End of Summer - Kayla's Korner

Proverbs 6:8 “Yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.”

I can’t believe summer is coming to an end! I have enjoyed my summer this year, but I’m excited for fall. I would have to say my favorite season of the year is fall. I enjoy the fall themed food and the weather is always perfect for carving pumpkins. I also like to spend my time learning more about God and the summer was a great time to rest before I’m ready to put in the work to build my relationship with God. I hope you are also.

As we enter the last month of summer, prepare to build your relationship with God, as it becomes too cold to go outside. Give God more time this fall and watch your life change.

Blessings, Kayla

What was Christianity like before the Bible? - Reece's Peace's

               The Bible has long been a central part of the Christian faith. We read it each week in worship, we listen to a message based on its teachings, and we hear segments of it read at weddings and funerals. It can be hard to imagine what Christianity would be like without the gospels or the letters, but for the early Christians that was a reality.

               For almost 400 years Christian worshiped, lived, celebrated, and praised God without the Bible. The books we know as the bible were not “dropped from the heavens” in one complete volume written neatly in the King’s English. More than 1,500 years separate the writing of Genesis and the writing of the Book of Revelation. Additionally, no letter or gospel in the New Testament was written until at least 45 A.D., with many not being written until after 70 A.D. It wasn’t until 397 A.D., close to 400 years after the death of Christ, that the list of books we know as the New Testament was officially canonized as part of the Bible.

               Many Christians would have lived and died without ever reading or even knowing about the New Testament. This makes you wonder how they could be Christians without the Bible.    

               The answer is fairly simple: they learned from the people that wrote the Bible or from people that learned from those early apostles.

               In the same way as we listen to sermons today, early Christians would listen to teachings too. However, their teachings may not have been based on texts as much as oral teachings. Their teachers were connected with someone who learned directly from Jesus.

               We know from various writings of the time that early Christians practiced their faith much as we do today. They had moments of teachings, shared communion, sang hymns, prayed, and practiced baptism. They would occasionally read scripture, but only from what we would call the Old Testament. Eventually they began to read the letters of Paul and the other apostles aloud, but it was many years until these letters were accepted as part of scripture.

               In fact, when Paul talks about the scripture in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work,” he wasn’t referring to the New Testament. Much of it wasn’t even written yet! The scripture he was referring to was what we would call the Old Testament.

               So, while it might be foreign to us to practice our faith without the Bible, those early Christians, who still had the authors of the letters and Gospels to teach them, were able to practice their faith even without a reading from the gospels on Sunday morning.