Rev. Missy Turbeville *Excerpt from November 2023 FUMC Newsletter
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength and love your neighbor as yourself. You are the body of Christ and parts of each other. When you have done this for the least of these, you have done it for me.
-based on Luke 10:27; 1 Cor.12:27; Matt 25:40
As many of you are aware, we have a new youth group! Something especially exciting during these early days of the group has been deciding and sharing the scriptural foundation on which this group will rest going forward. In my earlier life working in Christian Education, I would sometimes tweak the direction of a group that I inherited from another, but this is a brand new start. A wondrous serendipity is that in November, the church family will be using or discussing a version of all three definitive Biblical texts we are using in youth group!
The Great Commandment is central to who we are as Christ followers. In Luke 10: 25-27, we are reminded of the importance of loving God with all we are and loving our neighbors as ourselves. Our youth are learning to put God first and love God with every bit of themselves and love others and themselves with compassion. In 1 Corinthians 12:12-26, Paul is reminding us all that we are all important and have gifts to share in the body of Christ. Like the youth, we need to understand that everyone is important to God and has talents and gifts to share. It is essential for all Christ followers, not just youth, to recognize that we need each other and that we are stronger together and weaker when anyone feels they are more OR less important than others in the group. In Matthew 25: 31-46, Jesus reminds us what behaviors are expected by those who are a part of God’s caring kingdom.
The church family will remember the saints of the church and in our lives on Nov 5, All Saints Sunday. As we place butterflies on the branch, we will celebrate the ways others have used their gifts and supported us and strengthened the body of Christ over the years. We will be thankful for the love of God that binds us to each other and strengthens us for this life together. We will consider how we make sure we have the spiritual fuel necessary for what God calls us to with Mary Beth on Nov 12. On the 19th we will thank God for all the gifts we are given to use as we count our blessings and enjoy a fantastic Thanksgiving covered dish luncheon. And on Christ the King Sunday, Nov 26, we will discuss what our youth group is also learning: the kingdom of God looks like us feeding, helping, clothing, welcoming, and caring for those who need us. We do this as an outpouring of God’s love that resides in our hearts.
This November is an important month in the life of our church. As we celebrate all the ways God loves us and thank God for all the people, situations, talents, gifts, and resources in our lives, we will be considering how we are in ministry to one another, our community, and in the world (yes, that is Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria and the ends of the earth!). We will count our blessings and consider the cost of being Christ followers. What does it mean for this church going forward to share the love of Christ in all these ways? What is the Holy Spirit showing us and are we willing to pay the price to be about this glorious ministry God has called us into?
These are exciting times to be the body of Christ. As we look toward the Advent season, we will be asking some hard questions. Will we know what we need to do, say yes, and do nothing like the son in Matt 21:30 ? OR... will we take up our cross as a church to follow Christ? The choice is ours, how will we answer?
With love in Christ, -Pastor Missy
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength and love your neighbor as yourself. You are the body of Christ and parts of each other. When you have done this for the least of these, you have done it for me.
-based on Luke 10:27; 1 Cor.12:27; Matt 25:40
As many of you are aware, we have a new youth group! Something especially exciting during these early days of the group has been deciding and sharing the scriptural foundation on which this group will rest going forward. In my earlier life working in Christian Education, I would sometimes tweak the direction of a group that I inherited from another, but this is a brand new start. A wondrous serendipity is that in November, the church family will be using or discussing a version of all three definitive Biblical texts we are using in youth group!
The Great Commandment is central to who we are as Christ followers. In Luke 10: 25-27, we are reminded of the importance of loving God with all we are and loving our neighbors as ourselves. Our youth are learning to put God first and love God with every bit of themselves and love others and themselves with compassion. In 1 Corinthians 12:12-26, Paul is reminding us all that we are all important and have gifts to share in the body of Christ. Like the youth, we need to understand that everyone is important to God and has talents and gifts to share. It is essential for all Christ followers, not just youth, to recognize that we need each other and that we are stronger together and weaker when anyone feels they are more OR less important than others in the group. In Matthew 25: 31-46, Jesus reminds us what behaviors are expected by those who are a part of God’s caring kingdom.
The church family will remember the saints of the church and in our lives on Nov 5, All Saints Sunday. As we place butterflies on the branch, we will celebrate the ways others have used their gifts and supported us and strengthened the body of Christ over the years. We will be thankful for the love of God that binds us to each other and strengthens us for this life together. We will consider how we make sure we have the spiritual fuel necessary for what God calls us to with Mary Beth on Nov 12. On the 19th we will thank God for all the gifts we are given to use as we count our blessings and enjoy a fantastic Thanksgiving covered dish luncheon. And on Christ the King Sunday, Nov 26, we will discuss what our youth group is also learning: the kingdom of God looks like us feeding, helping, clothing, welcoming, and caring for those who need us. We do this as an outpouring of God’s love that resides in our hearts.
This November is an important month in the life of our church. As we celebrate all the ways God loves us and thank God for all the people, situations, talents, gifts, and resources in our lives, we will be considering how we are in ministry to one another, our community, and in the world (yes, that is Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria and the ends of the earth!). We will count our blessings and consider the cost of being Christ followers. What does it mean for this church going forward to share the love of Christ in all these ways? What is the Holy Spirit showing us and are we willing to pay the price to be about this glorious ministry God has called us into?
These are exciting times to be the body of Christ. As we look toward the Advent season, we will be asking some hard questions. Will we know what we need to do, say yes, and do nothing like the son in Matt 21:30 ? OR... will we take up our cross as a church to follow Christ? The choice is ours, how will we answer?
With love in Christ, -Pastor Missy
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Worship on Sundays at 10:30AM both at the sanctuary and streamed online on our Facebook page.
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