from the pastor’s study - fpcosms.com · series will go. the other factor is ... god moving me to...
TRANSCRIPT
Volume 7, Issue 5 To Know Christ and to Make Christ Known Together JUNE 2016
FROM THE PASTOR’S STUDYThis summer, I am going to preach through the book of Judges.
For the purpose of this article, I am going to pretend that all of you who read that first sentence wondered, “How does he decide what to preach on?” So, since you are all curious about that, let me answer.
First, there is a spiritual dynamic to it. A faith community has a corpo-rate ethos based on its unique culture and makeup. The Holy Spirit calls and gathers and grows a church for the sake of God’s sanctifying work in the lives of its members and for the work that God wants to do through those members in His world. One of my responsibilities is to discern what shape that work is taking in us together. Where is there energy and vitality? Where do people seem to be struggling? Over what are we anxious? What is this family of faith hungering and thirsting for spiritu-ally? The answers to those questions will sometimes give me insight into whether we need a word of encour-agement, challenge, growth, warning, clarity, education, or some other need addressed in God’s Word. Sometimes that awareness of what we need comes through a strong conviction in me by the Holy Spirit. My sermon series “Seven” (based on the seven letters to the seven churches in Revelation) that I preached in the spring of 2012 is one
example of that. Sometimes other fac-tors weigh more heavily on my deci-sion of what to preach.
Diversity is also an important factor. In Acts 20, Paul reminds the elders of the church in Ephesus that he “did not shrink from declaring to [them] the whole council of God.” What he means is that he preached everything in the scriptures - the law, the history, the prophets, and the poetry. Preach-ers have their preaching wheelhouse, so to speak. Some preachers love to preach from Paul’s epistles. Some love to preach Gospel narratives. Some love to preach from the Pentateuch. However, preaching the whole coun-cil of God means opening up all of the scriptures for our instruction and edification. Why do I tend to preach Minor Prophets at Advent? Because Habakkuk is part of the full council of God. Last year, we went through Paul’s letter to Rome - the theology of the gospel. This year, we have stud-ied gospel narratives - the story of the gospel. It’s time for some Old Testa-ment - the foundation of the gospel.
Considering the season is the most pragmatic of factors. There are four weeks of Advent, six weeks of Lent, Pentecost Sunday, Reformation Sun-day and many other days defined by the liturgical calendar - some of which I may consider, some of which I won’t. Outside of the liturgical rhythm, there
is also a life rhythm. There are six to seven weeks from the start of the New Year to the beginning of Lent, and ten weeks of summer where our com-munity scatters. Liturgical seasons or days lend themselves to certain bibli-cal themes of the redemption story that one can address through any number of biblical genres. Naturally, those seasons, liturgical and other-wise, will often determine how long a series will go.
The other factor is what God is doing in me. What am I learning? Where is God moving me to dig deeper? What burden has God laid on my heart? As a servant of this community of faith, what God is showing me has a con-nection to what God wants to show us. Yes, rhythm in preaching the whole council of God made me look to the Old Testament for this summer. However, God’s work in me through the book of Judges has been personal-ly shaping me. Add to that, ten weeks of summer and what God seems to be growing in the people of this church and Judges just fits.
So, that’s the answer to your question. Mostly.
Grace and Truth,
Pastor Scott
www.fpcosms.com
Page 2 first presbyterian church of ocean springs
PASTOR JON’S PERSPECTIVESummer is upon us and with it, a lot of change to our lives. Gone are the sweaters and jeans, and we are back to short sleeve shirts, sandals, and shorts. Our children are out of school, which means that our schedules change to ac-commodate them being home throughout the day. Vacation plans are being made, which means that we will be away from our homes, and offices, and routines are set aside for more special gatherings with friends and fam-ily. As with each new season, summer brings its own set of changes that force us to adjust and accommodate.
The fact of the matter is that God is still Lord over us, even in the summer. We may have some more spare time on our hands, but that does not mean that God is taking a va-cation from His role as King and Lord over us. Psalm 121:4 reminds us that the Lord will neither slumber nor sleep. Even in the sum-mer.
The Lord still cares for us when we are on va-cation. He still watches over us when we are enjoying a lazy evening on the water, or while we are fishing in the early morning. The Lord continues to keep us close to Himself and take care of us according to His grace. My chal-lenge to you this summer is to reflect on all the ways you see God moving and working in your life. Reflect on where God has brought you this year, how He has led your family. Take time to pray and thank God for those
things. Thank God for the hard moments, and the painful struggles, in how those things even revealed God’s nearness and care for you. Pray and ask God to show you how He is going to lead you over the next six months. Ask God to open your eyes to show you His majesty and the depth of His love for you.
Consider how God is calling you to serve Him this summer. Maybe it’s reading through a book of the Bible. Maybe it’s going to French Camp on a mission trip this summer. Maybe it’s being part of our Summer Vital Group that meets on Wednesday nights. Maybe it’s as simple as attending worship at a church while you’re on vacation somewhere. Making wor-ship a priority in your life, even on vacation, sends a clear message to our children that even though we are away from home, we are never away from God.
Perhaps God is calling you to a season of rest and reflection, to consider what new thing God might be calling you into. In the fall, we will be looking for new Sunday School teach-ers, new Vital Group leaders and hosts, and now Stephen Ministers. The summer brings lots of changes to our lives. Let us remem-ber to give thanks to the One who does not change: the One who is the same, yesterday, today, and forever. Let us worship Him and serve Him all of our days.
PLEASE WELCOME MORGAN TO FPCOSPlease join us in welcoming Morgan Johnson to the FPCOS family! Morgan will be joining us this summer from June 1 - July 31 as our youth ministry intern as a part of our mission partnership with Belhaven University!
Morgan is a senior Biblical Studies major at Belhaven who enjoys traveling to new places and meeting new people! She has lived in Olive Branch most of her life and recently spent four months in Hungary with Operation Mobilization, teaching in children’s summer camps and engaging in refugee ministry. She works with the youth at Olde Towne Commu-nity Church in Ridgeland and enjoys spend-ing time with friends, reading, scrapbooking and watching her favorite TV show, NCIS!
STEPHEN MINISTRYRETURNING TO FIRST PRESThis past April, Lynne Davis and Pastor Jon attended the Stephen Ministry Leadership Training Course for a week in St. Louis. The purpose of our attendance was to re-turn Stephen Ministry to FPCOS! Stephen Ministry equips congregational members to offer care and support for people experi-encing life difficulties, such as the death of a loved one, job crisis, aging, separation or divorce, long-term illness, spiritual crisis, or for many other concerns. The mission of Stephen Ministry in our church is to know the love and care of Jesus Christ and to make that love and care of Jesus Christ known together.
This is an impactful ministry that equips the congregation to provide care to oth-ers in the church in significant ways. As we begin to get this ministry up and run-ning, the first thing we need are Stephen Ministers. A Stephen Minister is a church member who is willing to enter into a one-on-one, confidential relationship with someone else in our congregation for a pe-riod of 3 months to a year. Each Stephen Minister will receive 50 hours of training in preparation for this ministry. This train-ing will begin in the fall of 2016 and finish in February 2017. These caregivers will serve under the leadership of Pastor Jon, Lynne Davis, and Janet Pattison. If this kind of ministry interests you, please con-tact Pastor Jon or Lynne Davis for more information.
You will hear more and more about Ste-phen Ministry in the days and weeks ahead. We are excited that this is returning to our church. We look forward to equipping the first Stephen Ministers in our church and to offer this ministry to our congregation. This is a ministry that will bless both those who receive a Stephen Minister and one who serves as a Stephen Minister.
www.fpcosms.com
first presbyterian church of ocean springs page 3
FPCOS GOLF TOURNAMENT RAISES OVER $5500 FOR BELIZE MISSIONSThanks to all who participated in this year’s golf tournament! For the past few years, this tournament has helped raise support for our summer mission trip to Belize. This year, we had 78 golfers, 27 sponsors, and 30 prizes. The tournament has grown each year, and we are so thankful for all who played and made contributions to support our missions in Be-lize. With your help and contributions, we raised over $5500 for this year’s trip!
This is a fun event we do each year, and we look forward to doing it again next year!
With thanks and joy,
Pastor Jon & George “Mac” Canaga
2016 TOURNAMENT RESULTSLOW NET SCORES1st Place: David McClendon, Josh Joachim, Caleb Wurm, Seth Landry
2nd Place: Grey Walker, Junior Graves, Charles Doggan, Jay Weatherford
3rd Place: Randy Doyle, Alex Miller, Kyle Palmer, Tim Sayers
LOW GROSS SCORE1st Place: Bob Hawkins, Earl Turner, Josh Turner, Sandy Van Every
NEAREST TO THE PIN WINNERSGrey Walker, Sandy Van Every, Kyle Palmer, David Wilson
www.fpcosms.com
Page 4 first presbyterian church of ocean springs
MISSION MINUTEFrench Camp Academy, a Christ-centered boarding school and home, exists to serve young people and families for the glory of God. Located in the quiet Mississippi countryside beside the Natchez Trace Parkway, French Camp Academy is an en-vironment where the students can thrive emotionally, come alive spiritually, stretch academically, grow physically and mature socially. To learn more or to get involved, visit their website at www.frenchcamp.org or e-mail FPCOS Key Contact Juliana Lewis at [email protected].
FRENCH CAMP ACADEMY
DO YOU HAVE A HEART FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH?
We have put together a short-term mission trip close to home to serve our friends at French Camp this summer!
Mark your calendars for June 27 - July 1 for this multi-generational, church-wide mission trip! The cost of the trip is $100 per person, which includes lodging, meals and spending money.
We will be building relationships with their students, as well as helping care for the land and facilities that God has provided them. Some activities/projects may include land-scaping/yard work, painting, manual labor and activities and games with students.
We are very excited about the work God is doing at French Camp Academy. Is He call-ing you to be a part of it?
We ask you to prayerfully consider this mis-sion opportunity, and if you feel moved to serve, download an application on our web-site at www.fpcosms.com/mission-trips and return it to the church office no later than Wednesday, June 15!
If you have any questions, please contact Ju-liana Lewis at [email protected] or Luke Mittwede at [email protected].
SERVE WITH US THIS SUMMER AT FRENCH CAMP
Are you in a Vital Group? Are you inter-ested in seeing our Vital Group community up close? Then join us for our Vital Group Summer Time Ice Cream Social on Thursday, June 16 from 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM at Freedom Field! We will play games, enjoy ice cream, and share some memories about the past year in Vital Groups and look forward to more to come! If you are not in a group, this would be a fun way to meet folks involved in a group and make plans to be part of one this summer or even starting in the fall. See you there!
VITAL GROUP FELLOWSHIPAT FREEDOM FIELD
www.fpcosms.com
first presbyterian church of ocean springs page 5
JUNE BIRTHDAYSe eJune 2 - Mary Mittwede, Julie Porter, Lind-sey WilsonJune 3 - Ginny Conn, Emily Reed, Katha-rine SteenJune 4 - Asa PulliamJune 6 - George ArnoldJune 7 - Tanner Beaugez, Grady Martin, Hayden Neff, Navarro Palmer, Michael Pe-terson, Meagan SmithJune 8 - Brittany RidgwayJune 9 - Theresa DemoranJune 10 - Conner Campbell, Masako John-son, Barbara Smith, Christie Thomas June 11 - Maddie KeithJune 12 - Marcia WestJune 13 - Tyler Barnett, Jeanne Luckey, Robert Pratt, Lucy ThompsonJune 15 - Cynthia NeffJune 17 - Sally WilsonJune 18 - Stewart Knight, James Lyons, Robert Newton, Lindsey Usry
June 19 - Aimie Barton, David Beaugez, Dorothy HungerfordJune 20 - Brandon McLelland, Sebastian VeraJune 21 - Gryder Allen, Jacob Brann, Liesl Jenkins, Carolyn Martin, John Schill, Chris-tian TownsendJune 22 - Sarah McAdamsJune 23 - Lindsey Freeman, Michael Huck-le, Liam WilkesJune 24 - Ben HudsonJune 25 - John WelchJune 26 - David Harrison, Melanie Hawkins, Nicole HennesseyJune 27 - Lidia Allen, Tiara WelchJune 28 - Rebecca Castleman, Liz Elmore, Tom Lilly, Clay TaberJune 30 - Gregg Bray, Harper Rea, Makayla Smith
BEREAN CORNERNo sooner is school out and VBS is on. There is no rest for the weary. Summer is a time of fun and sun. But, don’t forget to pack your Bible with you. The good Lord blesses us with these opportunities to spend time with the whole family. So, it only makes sense to take the leader of the family along with you and take those precious moments early in the morning, sipping coffee, and reading the Words of Life. This month in the Old Testa-ment, we will wrap up the Books of History, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther and begin with the Books of Wisdom in Job. In the New Testament, we close the Gospels with John and begin with a History of the ear-ly Church in the Book of Acts. If you need help with where to go in God’s Word during your quiet time, pick up a Bible Reading Cal-endar in the narthex or church office today.
This month’s “Berean Challenge” tip: We will continue taking our tips on using a Study Bible. “Do not read your study Bible with your brain turned off.” The temptation can be to read a verse, then look down at the note and conclude, “I see; that’s what that means,” and quickly move on. God calls us to medi-tate prayerfully on His Word. Do not short-circuit the process of thinking carefully about the Scriptures. By their nature, study Bibles can only offer brief answers to questions. Is-sues may be much more complex than can be explained in a short note. Therefore, do not assume that you fully understand a matter just because you have read a note in a study Bible.
“Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the mes-sage with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” Acts 17:11
A BIG THANK YOU TO OUR CHURCH FAMILYI want to thank the Women of the Church for the wonderful reception that followed Marc’s memorial service. It was so special and meaningful.
And also, I want to thank all the dear people who sent flowers and food and cards. We are so blessed to have the incredibly loving and caring church family that we do.
With thankful love and gratitude, The Shanteau and Newton Family
FROM INSIDE THE TREEHOUSE
The Treehouse students took science lessons to the outdoors to prepare soil and to plant vegetables and flowers using the “planting by the foot” gardening plan.
CONGRATS TO THE 2016 CHILDREN’S HOUSE GRADUATESThe First Pres family would like to congratu-late the Children’s House Montessori School graduating class of 2016, who graduated on May 18!
Finn Carpenter, Fisher Drymon, Amanda Gordon, Jack Lee, Thom-as McDowell, Sophia Myers, Norah Grace Nichols, Odin Orrison, Mary Owens, Drake Recio, Ashlyn Schmidt and Samuel Sempier
Blessings to all of you and your families!
www.fpcosms.com
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH921 OCEAN AVENUEOCEAN SPRINGS, MS 39564
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
NON-PROFITU.S. POSTAGE PAID
OCEAN SPRINGS, MS 39564PERMIT NO. 10
CONNECT WITH USPhone: 228.875.5326
E-mail: [email protected]
OFFICE STAFFRev. Scott Castleman
Senior [email protected]
Rev. Jonathan J. TonyAssociate Pastor of Family Ministry
Aimie BartonChildren’s Ministry Director
Luke MittwedeYouth Ministry Director
Monica LitkeOffice [email protected]
Stacy RamseyCommunications Coordinator