Lancaster First UMC Recognized for Community Lunch Ministry

Our church is part of the Capitol Area South and Capitol Area North United Methodist Community Ministries. The video below highlights several outreach ministries of the churches of these two districts. Our church's Community Lunch ministry is included at the 3:15 mark of the video.

We won an award for our ministry of serving people in need every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday throughout the year. Thank you for your financial support of the church which allows ministries like our Community Lunches to share God's love in our community!

Sermon by Rev. Cheryl Foulk (October 13) - "You Shall Be My Witness"

I had a friend who worked at the Cracker Barrel restaurant in Pickerington. She said that her least favorite day to work was Sunday because of the “church people” who came in.  She found that they could be demanding, critical of her service and did not  leave very good tips.  She knew that they were church people because they often were carrying their Bibles and were talking about church activities.  As a believer in Christ herself, she was embarrassed! 

A common theme in the New Testament is that we are to be Jesus' witnesses in the world. For better or for worse, we are the models of what it means to live as a follower of Jesus.  How do we gracefully share  our faith in Christ?

Perhaps you have been confronted about your faith by a well-meaning believer.  Someone has witnessed in such a way that you feel that you are doomed unless you believe as they do.  I don't like those encounters. I don't want to be judged or manipulated.  We want to be   witnesses who encourage others to know God , and to explore the wonders of God's love.

How can we prepare to be a witness?   We don't have to memorize a script, or even give out leaflets. It is helpful if we are just aware of God's presence , and aware of people. Think about how God has been real to you! What you share from your experience and faith is valuable and needed by others. No canned speeches are necessary.

In the prior weeks, we have talked about the commitments of prayer, Bible reading, and worship. These practices are foundational to our witness: they teach us and encourage us to share with others.

                                  Witness through Kindness

Every day we encounter other people. How do we share our faith with them?    

A woman told that years ago she was struggling in her life. She   had just finished working  her second job when she ran into a convenience store to pick up some items.  She was physically tired and worn down by her circumstances.    As she was leaving the store an older man walked past her , opened the door  and held it for her.  She was so encouraged by this simple act  that made her feel that she had some worth!  It is still a sweet memory for her years later.   Our  witness  can indeed be a simple gesture of kindness.

It is a valid witness to smile at the cashier, to tell someone that they have done a good job, to hold the door open for someone else.

It was near Christmas, Bill had gone to get the  oil changed in his car. He overheard the attendant saying that he was hungry but he didn't have quite enough money for some food. When Bill was leaving, he   gave him a $5.00 bill and said “Merry Christmas.”  The guy  asked “Why would you do something like this?”   Bill told him that   Christmas was all about Jesus’ love and that it is always a gift.

I think of Jesus as noticing people around him .He drew them out, engaged their minds and hearts.  As disciples, we are called be attentive to the people around us, to listen to their stories, and if we can, share our own.

We all like someone to listen to us, to ask us how we are. If someone “really” wants to hear your story, how great is that!

A woman was getting a facial at a spa.  She asked the spa employee “How are you doing?” Employee answered:  “ I shouldn't be sharing about my sad life.”   She told her that sometimes it helps to talk about your problems.   Young woman shared that she was separated, job was not the best, and she felt the spiritual was missing in her life.    Woman did a lot of listening during that one hour appointment.   When she left she put the  tip in an envelope, and also wrote a note encouraging the woman to  call out to God, to seek and she would find, because God did care for her.

As God leads us, we can be generous with our resources and our time.

                           Witness through Relationships

You can be a witness  through your relationships with people you see often :  at work, at school, in the neighborhood, at the gym.

 You can  help a neighbor rake leaves and then listen as he shares about his loneliness since his wife died. 

 You can offer to pray for your co-worker who is facing an illness and cannot get the words out. 

You can invite a friend for coffee and as you catch up with each other, share how God's grace touched you through the funny antics  of your grandchild. 

                                    Witness through Invitation

You can invite someone to worship or another activity.

You can help connect them to our family of faith and here they may discover God's love

  Offer to pick them up and then sit together in worship. They may not be interested in Sunday morning, but are intrigued by the activities of Second Saturday.  Your personal  recommendation means   a great deal. You are the best publicity for our church.

A new mom named Sarah wrote about coming back to church with her husband and new baby. “We weren't drawn in by any slick brochure or fancy website.  It was community that got us to the altar... and community that has kept us coming back week after week. It was the community of young parents like us- friends we knew from preschool- that kept inviting us to church again and again. It was that community of intelligent and thoughtful people who welcomed my doubts...It was the community of loving and compassionate hearts who made room at the table...”

Along the way as you share about spiritual issues, you may be asked some hard questions such as  “With the world in such a mess, how can you have hope?”  “ Why did this have to happen to me?”  “After what I have done in my life, can I ever find forgiveness?”  ( That is when you say “I don’t know” and tell them to call Pastor Robert…)

Actually, that's when  you ask God to give you the right words for the situation, and you   share the best that you can. We are called to listen and learn from others. We don't have to have all the answers. 

Your story with all its faults can still help change someone else's story.  Know that you are just a part of all the ways that God is working in their lives.

We're going to watch a video now with Kristi Bope who is a member here at First UMC. Kristi graduated from high school this past June. Let's imagine that we ran into Kristi and asked her how things are  going. She in a very winsome way is going to tell us about herself.

Wouldn't you want to continue that conversation with Kristi?  In a very non-threatening way, she has shared her witness with us, she has told her story.  She has opened up all kinds of topics that could be pursued : why she likes worship, deciding on a career, and what really happens at choir!  

You have your own story of faith to share.   You have people to notice, and  to share about the important things in life. Jesus has invited us to let others know about the hope and salvation that he offers. You can do this!  Each morning we ask the question:  how can I be the most authentic witness to Christ today in Lancaster?

Let's look at the  Witness commitment slip .  I am going to read the various responses that you can choose from:

        

          1.    I cannot make a commitment today.

          2.    I will look for ways that God is real in my life each day.

          3.    I will be attentive and listen to other people and their stories

4.       I will pray for other people and for opportunities to share God's love.

5.       I will invite someone to come  to worship with me.

6.       I will invite someone to join me in a FUMC activity: Second Saturday,

Fellowship Dinners, small group, etc. 

7.       In conversation with others, I will share how God's love has made a difference in my life.

                           

          8.    To love others and show God's kindness will become a priority so that...

I will intentionally notice people around me ( family, friends, neighbors, strangers) and listen to what they have to share. I will look at others as God's children. I will  not be arrogant but attempt to be honest about  the ups and downs of my  life as a follower of Jesus. I will pray that we all will grow in our understanding and  in our faith and  love of God. I will take the responsibility of reaching out to others and inviting them to be a part of our church family. I will go out of my way to make a guest here feel at home,  Each day I will offer  to God my efforts of caring  for his children and then depend upon  the wonderful sufficiency of God's grace for each of us.

Take a few minutes  to make your choices;  choose as many responses as you want.  Keep this  slip as a reminder of your commitments today.

May God bless each of us as we offer our efforts to God !

Sunday Worship Preview - October 27

Sunday, October 27 - (9:00 & 10:30 Services); Wednesday, October 30  (6:30 pm Casual Service @ Crossroads, 2095 Fair Avenue)

Sermon - "Are You Ready to Get Blisters for Jesus?"

Features - 23rd Sunday After Pentecost; Concluding Sunday of Church-Wide 40 Day "Committed to Christ" Focus; & Ministry Fair Day

Scripture - I Corinthians 12:12-20 & Mark 1:14-20

Theme - If we want to be committed to Christ,there are six vital areas in which we need to give our time and focus. Each of these areas will help us to become faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. One of these areas is in our commitment to serving others through the life of the church.

Dave's Deep Thoughts - Happy Birthday, David McDowell!

Here's Pastor Dave McDowell's weekly devotional that he sends out to members of his church. Dave is my brother and serves as the Music Minister at Stewartstown UMC in PA.

They always ask you what you want to be when you grow up.

How come no one ever asks you that question anymore when you are grown?

I have always loved my birthday.

It comes at a great time of the year....

leaves changing, crsip fall weather, and baseball playoffs.

As a child, birthdays were always an extended holiday,

particularly when they fell on weekends.

While in elementary school ,

birthdays always meant inviting my two best friends,

Craig and Bobby over to the farm for the weekend.

As a young child,

48 hours of non-stop adventure on the farm with Craig and Bobby

was the best gift a kid could receive....

there was always something new to be explored on a 62 acre farm.

One unusually warm October, we became aquatic engineers

by building a dam in the stream that passed through the farm.

This took an extreme amount of time, energy, lumber, and clumps of soil.

Although, we had a great time building our own personal reservoir,

I doubt that the neighbor downstream appreciated it very much.

Nor did my mother, who by the look on her face, refused entry into the house

without us passing through a well deserved hosedown in the yard.

The cattle, however thought it was a very nice gesture to build them a personal wading pool.

One frosty October birthday weekend,

we decided that our engineering efforts

would be better applied to home construction

 so we built a straw fort in the barn,

complete with three bedrooms and two and a half baths.

While much was learned about architecture and interior design that weekend ,

I think what I learned most was that it is best to wear long sleeves 

when building with straw bale construction.

Scratches on the arms  really itch

when sitting at your school desk the following week.

Another year, my parents must have anticipated a career for me in aeronautical engineering

as I received a boomerang and a model airplane kit for my birthday.

All I will say about that is that if you are going to give gifts like that to your child,

you had better plan on boarding up all windows within a half mile radius.

Then there was third grade.

I now remember it as the "loss of innocence" birthday.

The month before, at the start of the school year,

I sat at 3rd grade lunch eating a ham sandwich,

only to be mortified to learn from Craig,

that Santa Claus was not real.

Once this was verified by Johnny, who was sitting two seats down,

I knew my world would never be the same.

Let me say, it takes a lot of courage for a 3rd grader not to cry

while eating a ham sandwich and receiving very bad news.

And so, as any self-respecting 3rd grader would do,

after having had his upcoming Christmas season destroyed,

I planned the theme of my upcoming birthday weekend.....

Payback.

No engineering feats this time. Oh no.

I was going to achieve payback for this heart wrenching revelation,

by convincing my now-demoted-to-2nd best friend, Craig,

that I was a Martian.

With the help of my new number one friend, Bobby,

a coat hanger, some tin foil, and a floodlight

the farm was transformed into an alien launch pad.

With my foil wrapped, coat hanger antennae

(seen only from a distance),

and a mysterious flashing light emmanating from the barn,

(that could only possibly be explained as my spaceship),

I fully convinced my Santa-buster friend Craig,

that I was extraerrestrial.

(Oddly enough, this is an explanation that still is being passed around to this day

to explain my strange ways)

Maybe I wasn't going to ever sit on Santa's lap again,

but I was determined to take over the earth.

As the years passed,

my birthday wishes became much more mature and practical.....

I wanted to become a grown-up junior high school student,

I wanted to win a dodge ball game in gym class.

I wanted a mini-bike.

I wanted to become a licensed driver,

I wanted to become a college student.

Most of those wishes came true,

well, except for the dodgeball.

What happens when we are grown?

What do we wish to become that we haven't already attempted or achieved?

Birthday weekends are still fun.

Time with friends and family,

Tailgating on a beautiful fall day.

Taking stock in how good life and God has been to me.

For me, birthdays are still celebrations of life,

but they are more so,  barometers of what I wish to achieve while still on this planet.

The apostle Paul's birthday wishlist

changed soon after his Damascus Road conversion.

After that,

he gave up all previous wishes and accomplishments....

to be considered elite,

to be consider a zealous champion,

to be considered obedient as to be found blameless.

All wishes quickly blown out like the candles on a birthday cake,

because he met the One who was the author of all his birthdays.

After that, the only thing that mattered was to know Christ,

and to live a life that faithfully served Him,

even to the point of suffering and death.

How's that for a birthday wish?

Once Paul's false pride had been stripped away,

all that mattered was obedience and surrender.

The mystery of such a birthday wish

is that one never fully achieves it in this life,

but the intent to achieve it is what prepares one for the life to come,

a life that isn't measured in years,

but that is lived eternally.

I will never be an engineer.

I will never be a Martian.

I doubt I will ever win at dodgeball.

But what I hope is far more than a wish in front of a candlelit cake,

it is to be conformed this year even more to the likeness of Christ.

And  when I finally grow up into the fullness of what God wants me to be,

and am in that place where there are no more birthdays,

then there will be no more need for wishes.

Brothers, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet;

but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind

and reaching forward to what lies ahead,

I press on toward the goal for the prize

of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

                                      Phillipians 3:14

Sunday Worship Scriptures Commentary (October 13)

October 13 Sermon – “You Shall Be My Witness”

Colossians 4:5-6

The Apostle Paul wrote this short letter to the Christians in Colossae. He probably wrote this from prison in Ephesus which was about a hundred miles away.

In this letter, Paul lets this new church know that he is glad to hear that the good news of Christ is taking shape in Colossae and it is bearing fruit. In this letter, Paul wants to help this church know how to continue to bear fruit and grow.

As new Christians, Paul wants them to take on new responsibilities of sharing their faith with others.

Look at v. 2 earlier in this same chapter in which Paul encourages them to pray. Prayer and sharing our faith are interwoven. Prayer is what provides opportunities for us to share our faith with others.  Prayer and evangelism go hand in hand!

Verses 5-6 – Paul wants the Colossians to do as he does which is to make the “mystery of the King (Jesus) clear.” (See back to v. 3)

Paul says to speak with grace and salt – In other words, don’t be boring! This involves being good listeners of people’s questions and responding in appropriate ways.

Matthew 28:19-20

This is commonly known as “The Great Commission.”

Notice that this scene of Jesus with his disciples takes place on a mountain which is the place where so many significant things have already taken place in Matthew’s Gospel such as the sermon on the mount and the transfiguration of Jesus. This scene where Jesus commissions the disciples is equally important.

Jesus is giving the disciples all authority in heaven and earth. This reminds us of when Jesus was tempted in the wilderness to be given all power. Since that was before his victory over sin and death through the cross, Jesus chose to not receive all this power. Now that the victory has been won, Jesus claims this power and we are called to live out the power of the gospel.

We are called to make disciples. Just as Jesus called the first disciples, he now calls them to make disciples! Jesus calls us to baptize. Baptism is what marks us as belonging to Christ. Jesus also calls us to teach. He has already taught the disciples so much in the Gospel of Matthew. Now, they are to share these teachings with others.

Jesus assures the disciples they can do these things because of the authority that has been given him and them and because he will be with them always.

The Worship After the Worship Service

As I was picking up my worship folder and hymnal following our last worship service this past Sunday, I noticed an impromptu mini-worship service taking place in the front pew section of the sanctuary.  Usually when the benediction is given, people scamper out to the parking lot, or grab a donut and some coffee in the parlor, or have polite conversation before heading home.

Not this group of youth and adults. They were forming a circle and offering prayers for one of our youth who will be moving to another state this week. As I watched this take place, I was reminded that worship isn't meant to end following the benediction. The benediction really marks the beginning of a new week where we continue to offer our support and encouragement for each other in the name of Christ. As I walked out of the sanctuary, a smile came to my face as I thought about that sacred moment for our young people.

Later that afternoon, I led a worship service at one of our local nursing homes for the residents, many of whom come in their wheelchairs. Only about half of the people were there because the Baptists had traveled to a special church event that day. I always miss the Baptists when they're not there because they know their bibles and they like to sing out!

Even though we were small in number, worship was really special that afternoon. One of my church members has been making a miraculous recovery from a massive stroke. When I visited her a few days before this service, she was able to drink coffee for the first time since her stroke several months ago. She has come a long way!

I brought communion elements with me to this Sunday afternoon service since it was World Communion Sunday. Together, we celebrated the Sacrament as part of our service.  Following the service, the church member who is recovering from a stroke said to me, Thank you for sharing Holy Communion. It meant so much to receive it with my two daughters this afternoon. It was a priceless moment as the daughters smiled back at their mom.

I left that nursing home, praising God for the gift of worship, not just for the two services I led earlier that day in my church, but also for the impromptu worship of our youth as well as the afternoon service at the nursing home.

This past week, our church focused on the importance of weekly communal worship as part of our "Committed to Christ" seven week church-wide focus. Yesterday, I was reminded why it's so vitally important.

Sunday Worship Preview - October 27

Sunday, October 27 - (9:00 & 10:30 Services); Wednesday, October 30  (6:30 pm Casual Service @ Crossroads, 2095 Fair Avenue)

Sermon - "Are You Ready to Get Blisters for Jesus?"

Features - 23rd Sunday After Pentecost & Concluding Sunday of Church-Wide 40 Day "Committed to Christ" Focus

Scripture - I Corinthians 12:12-20 & Mark 1:14-20

Theme - If we want to be committed to Christ,there are six vital areas in which we need to give our time and focus. Each of these areas will help us to become faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. One of these areas is in our commitment to serving others through the life of the church.