Reflections From Sunday Evening

The messengers of God pose the question to the women who come to the tomb seeking to care for the body of Jesus. "Why do you look for the living among the dead?" Our experience at church today would guarantee no one would mistake this place for a dead place. He is risen! No doubt the risen Lord Jesus was among us today. The Holy Spirit inspired worship. I now trust the Lord will continue bringing clarity and hope to each of us as we move forward. Easter has once again reminded us that our desire for something greater than death has arrived. Easter once again reminds us that good news prevails over bad news. Easter again reminds us that hope rises and nothing keeps us from the presence of God. We completed our series on "Hope Epidemic" and I truly believe there is a strong sense of hope rising. Now we move forward. Spend time with God until God's desires become your desires. As love increases the desires of our heart will become a mirror of God's heart. May your expectation of fulfillment be elevated. Hope is desire with expectation of fulfillment. Easter seals the hope and the sure expectation that God is at work in our lives, our church, our community and world. Go be a conveyor of hope. It's been a good day. I hope you've had a good day too. steve

Reflections From Sunday Evening

I do not remember a Palm Sunday with a winter storm warning. But now I have that experience. Could this possibly be put in the category of "once in a lifetime?" I hope so. There are some other once in a lifetime experiences that I think of... My wedding day The birth of our first child - it's a boy! The birth of our daughter notification that I had been awarded the degree of Doctor of Ministry (they call it a "terminal" degree) What about those "once in a lifetime" spiritual experiences? Baptism First communion remembered First funeral attended Today may have been a once in a lifetime as far as snowy weather on Palm Sunday but there are many more great experiences awaiting us. - Next week we will gather and celebrate Easter - Resurrection - Jesus the first fruits of resurrection - a once in a lifetime experience! The seeds sown for our own anticipated resurrection life. On another note - Great thanks for those who came to church today to make things possible for us to serve pepole coming to worship. We had music - thanks Walter, Nancy, band, praise team and choir. We had worship - thanks Ginger. We were able to live stream the service - thanks Curtis. We had the behind the scenes things in order - thanks Kenny, Chuck, Shannon, Brian, acolytes (and parents who were able to bring children). We had Palm Sunday procession of palms - thanks to all the children and their teachers and helpers. We had people gather to experience God's touch and be a light of grace for others. Frankly its been a good day. I hope you've had a good day too. steve By the way a person should never try to actuallly name people they want to express appreciation for since someone will always be overlooked. But anyway - thanks Jessica, Janice, Sunday School teachers, confirmation teachers just in case someone came - and many others. Another wow thanks - Dan Reid and his team who cleared the parking lot and sidewalks. A job very well done.

Reflections From Sunday Evening

Our dictionary definition of hope is "desire with expectation of fulfillment." Today we talked about the three components of the definition. Here is a reminder. When our desires are consistent with the heart of God (which happens when we spend time in God's presence) there is an increasing degree of expectation for fulfillment. There are a couple of things we incorporate into our equation that will raise our level of expectation. Faith and Spirit. When the Holy Spirit comes and refreshes us our faith is activated. When faith is Spirit activated hope rises. My prayer for you is that your hope rise. We may anticipate the Spirit stirring our souls and refreshing our faith. Enter your week with renewed expectation. Hope is desire with expectation of fulfillmnent. It's been a good day. I hope you've had a good day too. steve

Reflections From Sunday Evening

Today we talked about being the embodiment of hope. God embodied hope in His son Jesus. Now the tangible expression of hope is found in people - followers of Jesus Christ. Speicifically you and I have been made the embodiment of hope. It is up to us to bring hope to those around us who face the day with very little or no hope. We are seeking to be a church that is healthy, vital and growing. It is a fact that when a church is healty and vital growth ensues. Health, vitality and growth are the components of hope. Our series this month is Hope Epidemic. Together we share a hope in Christ that is contagious. Be part of the hope epidemic that will change the lives of the hopeless we will encounter this week. It's been a good day. I hope you've had a good day too. steve

Reflections From Sunday Evening

Today I finished three weeks of sharing vision 2013 with various adult Sunday School classes. We've been blessed by Pastor Ginger's message series this month. Her willingness to preach a three week series provided me the opportunity to spend time with many people in a small group setting. It has been a joy to share where we are in the life of our church and where we are heading. The big take away I hoped to communicate was "decisions made today will determine the health, vitality and growth of PWUMC 20 years from now." I appreciate being able to share with each group. Next week we begin a new message series called HOPE EPIDEMIC. I have been writting messages and am up to Easter. You will hear plenty about hope in the next few weeks. Here is the "spoiler alert." "Hope is Desire with expectation of fulfillment." It's been a good day. Still get to share in worship at NEXT in a couple of hours. I hope you've had a good day too. steve