The July 1 Newsletter is online.

Changes in Attitudes:  The Gospel and Jimmy Buffett

This Week:  Son of A Son of A Sailor

Join us this summer as we explore life’s questions through the words and music of Jimmy Buffett.  Come in your summer clothes and invite your friends to join us.

In the grand story of the Bible, you can always count on trouble when one generation fails to pass on the story of the faith to the next generation.  As we celebrate Fathers’ Day and remember the men who have shaped our lives, we will reflect on the importance on passing our faith to a new generation.

Then God spoke all these words: ²I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; ³you shall have no other gods before me. ⁴You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. ⁵You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, ⁶but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments. Exodus 20:1-6

¹Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth. ²I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old ³things that we have heard and known, that our ancestors have told us.  ⁴We will not hide them from their children; we will tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.  Psalm 78:1-4

·         Jimmy Buffett said of writing this song:  “I saw a picture of my grandfather after he had come back from a trip to Nova Scotia. He was born there but left when he was a young man and didn’t return until he was 84. He was standing on dock staring at an old sailing schooner, and the look on his face told the story of where he had come from and where he had been. I have always been very proud of my heritage as a sailor and wrote this for the men who taught me the skills.” 

o   What story will the look on our face and the shape of our lives tell about where we have come from , where we have been, and where we hope to go?

o   What skills have we taught a new generation?

·         Have you tried to pass along your faith? 

o   Have you succeeded?

o   How have you failed?

o   How has God worked through your efforts?

·         As a congregation, how well have we told the good news to the next generation?  As we approach 20 years in ministry in this community, what must we do to continue to tell the story to new generations?  What must we change?  And what role do you play in telling the story?

Changes in Attitudes:  The Gospel and Jimmy Buffett

This Week:  Come Monday

Join us this summer as we explore life’s questions through the words and music of Jimmy Buffett.  Come in your summer clothes and invite your friends to join us.

In “Come Monday,” we hear the cry of a man waiting for the return of the woman who gives his life meaning and hope.  If he can hold out until Monday, then everything will be alright because she will be with him helping him cope.

At their best, our marriages and our family relationships give us a glimpse of what it means to have a deep relationship with God.

”I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. ²He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. ³You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. ⁴Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. ⁵I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. ⁷If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. John 15:1-8

·         Jesus says the word “abide” eight times in these eight verses.  What does the word “abide” mean to you?  What does it mean to abide in Jesus and for Jesus to abide in you?

·         Jesus says that when we abide in him (the vine), we will bear much fruit.  What do you think that fruit would look like?  Does your life exhibit the fruit of an abiding relationship with Christ?

·         What needs to be pruned from your life so that you might have a more intimate relationship with Christ?

Changes in Attitudes:  The Gospel and Jimmy Buffett

Join us this summer as we explore life’s questions through the words and music of Jimmy Buffett.  Come in your summer clothes and invite your friends to join us.

Many of the songs of Jimmy Buffett tell the story of a man searching for the good life.  In Jimmy’s world, the good life consists of a beach, a woman, and a drink.  As a result, many of his songs have become theme songs for beach vacations and college spring breaks.  Margaritaville is probably his most famous “theme” song. However, the song is not really a tribute to the frozen concoction, but is actually the reflections of a man who has wasted his life on women and alcohol and now realizes that his wasted life is no one’s fault but his own. 

What do we when we find that we’ve made a mess of our lives?  What does God have to say to those who have sinned and are now experiencing the consequences of those sins? 

Nearly six centuries before the birth of Christ, the people of Israel found themselves in a similar situation.  They turned their backs on God and found themselves in exile in Babylon.   The prophet Isaiah had warned them that if they did not change their ways, they would pay. And now they were.

Hear now, the words of God through the prophet Isaiah to a people wasting away in exile:

Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. ²Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. ³Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so that you may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David. ⁴See, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. ⁵See, you shall call nations that you do not know, and nations that do not know you shall run to you, because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you.

⁶Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near; ⁷let the wicked forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thoughts; let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. ⁸For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. ⁹For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. ¹⁰For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, ¹¹so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it. ¹²For you shall go out in joy, and be led back in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall burst into song, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. ¹³Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall be to the Lord for a memorial, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.  Isaiah 55:1-13

·         In what ways, do we spend money on that which is not bread and labor for that which will not satisfy?

·         What is God’s answer to those “wasting away in Margaritaville”?

Jimmy Buffett has long been the voice of men and women struggling with questions about relationships and, most importantly, the meaning (or lack of meaning) in life.  Come join us as we explore his very human questions and the answers we can find to those questions in a relationship with Jesus Christ.

This Sunday:  Margaritaville

This week we continue our exploration of spiritual gifts.  If you have not yet taken the Serving From the Heart Workshop, I encourage you to sign up now.  (Details are in newsletter article.)

I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. ²Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. ³For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. ⁴For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, ⁵so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. ⁶We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ⁷ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; ⁸the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.  Romans 12:1-8

• Paul calls on Christians to present their bodies as a living sacrifice.  What does it mean to be a living sacrifice to God?
• Paul says that this willingness to sacrifice is “spiritual worship.”  How often do you fail to experience true spiritual worship because you are merely present for worship?  What would you need to do differently to worship in this manner?
• Can you name the spiritual gift(s) that God has granted you?  How are you using those gifts?  What do you need to learn or discern in order to use your gifts fully? 
• If you were not a part of this body of Christ, what would we be missing?

This week we continue to explore our calling and our spiritual gifts.  Our Scripture this week is the beginning of three chapters dealing  with Spiritual Gifts.   

 
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2You know that when you were pagans, you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. 3Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says “Let Jesus be cursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit. 4Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; 6and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. 7To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses. 1Cor 12:1-11

• Why do you think Paul is telling Christians that no one speaking by the Spirit of God would ever say, “Let Jesus be cursed”?
• While Paul did not know anything about our current doctrine of the Trinity, notice that he seas of varieties of gift-same Spirit, varieties of services-same Lord, and varieties of activities-same God.  Why do you think he is emphasizing these varieties and their connection to God?
• What is the connection between spiritual gifts and God’s grace?
• What are the purpose of the spiritual gifts?
• Notice the order of the gifts mentioned by Paul.  This list is not exhaustive by any means, Paul will list other gifts in other letters.  What do you think he may have been trying to say with this particular list and with this particular order?
• Chapter 13, the “love” chapter often used at weddings, is actually the second of the three chapters dealing with spiritual gifts.  What does love have to do with it?

Also, please remember to keep this question as you pray and meditate during this Easter Season:  What difference would it make to Grant and to the Kingdom Of God if New Life did not exist?  What do we bring to God’s kingdom?

Pastor Sherill

This has been quite a year for unexpected weather events!  Now there is concern about a swine flu epidemic.  As a result, I felt I should share our emergency communication plan.

Cancelation of services:  If Sunday service or Wednesday night activities must be canceled due to an unexpected weather event or some other emergency.  We will communicate the closing in the following manner:

1.        The church phone.  The answering message on the church phone will have information pertaining to the cancelation of services. 

2.       The website—www.grantnewlife.org –The home page will be updated with information.

3.       E-mail – we will send out a church-wide e-mail if possible. 

4.       Television – we will also inform WAFF-TV of our closing

5.       Each other—in case of an unexpected sudden cancelation, we ask members to help let each other know.

As always if you have any questions, you can call or text me on my cell,

Hopefully, this will reduce any confusion and help ensure the safety of all.

Last week, we were blessed by our Puppet Team as they led worship for us.  A big thanks to Sherry Newton and her puppeteers:  Savannah Rickman, Georgia Stahl, Jonathon Wright, Jared Wright, Daniel Newton, Kirsten Corbin, and Morgan Newton!

This week, we begin a series of sermons concentrating on our call to ministry and the spiritual gifts God grants all Christians.  We begin by considering our own call.  Listen to the words of the Apostle Paul:

²⁶Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. ²⁷But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; ²⁸God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, ²⁹so that no one might boast in the presence of God. ³⁰He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, ³¹in order that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”  1 Cor 1:26-31

By baptism, all Christians are called to ministry by God.  What does it mean to be called by God?

What do you find surprising in God’s call on your life?  What would others find surprising?

Have you ever taken time to consider your own call?

We used to speak of finding one’s vocation—a word which means “calling.”  Now, we speak of careers.  What difference, if any, would it make in your life, if you were to think in terms of calling instead of career?  Would it change your attitude toward your daily work?  Would you feel any need to change your work or your lifestyle?

Just some things to consider as we prepare to worship on Sunday!

According to Lovett Weems of the Lewis Center for Church Leadership, one of our essential tasks as a church is to ask the right questions and one of the most important questions we can ask is this: 

“What would be missing if our church ceased to exist? Would it leave a hole in our community?”

During Lent, we prayed for the community of Grant and how we can best be in ministry to this community.  During the season of Easter,  I would like to challenge us to meditate on Weem’s question.  What difference would it make to Grant and to the Kingdom Of God if New Life did not exist?  What do we bring to God’s kingdom?

In the coming months, we will be talking together about God’s vision for New Life and I think answering this question will help us know and understand New Life and her ministry in Grant better.

This week in worship, we’ll hear about the very first Easter according to the Gospel of Matthew as some of our youth lead us in worship.

After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. ²And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. ³His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. ⁴For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. ⁵But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. ⁶He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. ⁷Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.” ⁸So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. ¹⁰Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”  Matthew 28:1-10

See you on Sunday!