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Monthly Archives

June 2020

2020-07-05 Fifth Sunday after Pentecost Worship Online Resources

By Intersections, Sermons

Last Week’s Service June 28,2020

Worship Guide (v1) for July 05, 2020

Readings July 05, 2020

Notes to Share for July 05, 2020

Children’s Worship Ages 4-7 for July 05, 2020

Children’s Worship Ages 8-12 for July 05, 2020

 

This week is the perfect time to join in our worship online. We simplified our online service and made it even easier to participate, and viewing does not require a Facebook account! Join the video stream on Facebook Live (www.facebook.com/coldspringchurch) or, if you don’t have internet access, use our New call in number: +1 (929) 205-6099. Enter Meeting ID: 875 2479 7260.

Photo-Op for Everyone!

How did you celebrate your 4th of July? Share a photo of you in Red, White and Blue or a photo of a family gathering for a BBQ while watching the fireworks. Post your photos on Facebook, and tag coldspringchurch, send via Facebook Messenger, or email.

Share Your Experience!

You have found a place to encounter God and people who care about you – just as you are, right where you are, anytime. Once you and your family are ready, share the picture with us by posting to Facebook #ColdSpringChurch or Instagram #coldspringchurchnj. You may want to subscribe to our weekly Connections email newsletter. Sign up here!

Hello.

This week, we celebrate more than Independence Day, our Interdependence Day. Christ proclaims freedom for all! And until all are free, none are free. Spiritual freedom. Emotional freedom. Physical freedom. Mental freedom. Freedom to enjoy the abundant life in Christ, sins forgiven, hope restored. Let’s stand for something that means everything. Freedom to follow Jesus, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to the glory of God. Independence Day can be a fun weekend, and a perfect time to think about its origins.

Most of us will be celebrating the Fourth of July, Independence Day. Enjoying safe-distancing and wearing masks at cookouts are musts as we enjoy gatherings with family. What do you have planned? Lower Township is limiting the in-person enjoyment of its annual fireworks display by live-streaming the event.

What did you learn in school about the first Independence Day? I recall hearing about the revolutionary drama, courageous freedom-fighters raising their fists at the oppressor. It wasn’t until many years later, and I realized that while Independence Day proclaimed freedom across the land, not every American was free. Landholders had power. Slaves weren’t free. Women couldn’t vote. Independence Day can’t just be about “my” independence at the expense of others. In the Gospel this week, we hear Jesus’ words to those who are weary and overburdened. He says All. Come. Rest. But he also says, “learn of me,” which means, “be my disciples!” What does a disciple, a student-follower, do? Well, for one thing, they follow and model the master. What did Jesus do? Jesus stood for children. Jesus stood for those considered unlovable. Jesus stood for those who could not stand, those who were sick, he healed them. Jesus heard the prayers of the faint and the faint at heart and forgave them. Jesus healed those who were different, those who were abused. Jesus stood for everyone from every nation and welcomed them to a life of abundance, and secured them a safe place to pray.

Cold Spring Presbyterian Church has stood for freedom since 1714, think about it, that’s five decades before the Declaration of Independence was written. You may have memorized it as I did, especially this excerpt: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. And we are called to fight for freedom, for others, because we are interdependent as a nation of regions, neighbors, guests, and strangers, too. We are interdependent as members of the community of faith, the Body of Christ.

What rights will you exercise this week as you hear Jesus’ invitation: All. Come. Rest. Stand?

Sincerely,

Pastor Kevin

2020-06-28 Fourth Sunday after Pentecost Worship Online Resources

By Intersections, Sermons

Last Week’s Service June 21,2020

Worship Guide (v1) for June 28, 2020

Readings June 28, 2020

Notes to Share for June 28, 2020

Children’s Worship Ages 4-7 for June 28, 2020

Children’s Worship Ages 8-12 for June 28, 2020

This week is the perfect time to join in our worship online. We simplified our online service and made it even easier to participate, and viewing does not require a Facebook account! Join the video stream on Facebook Live (www.facebook.com/coldspringchurch) or, if you don’t have internet access, use our New call in number: +1 (929) 205-6099. Enter Meeting ID: 875 2479 7260.

Photo-Op for Everyone!

Post your photos on Facebook, and tag coldspringchurch, send via Facebook Messenger, or email.

Share Your Experience!

You have found a place to encounter God and people who care about you – just as you are, right where you are, anytime. Once you and your family are ready, share the picture with us by posting to Facebook #ColdSpringChurch or Instagram #coldspringchurchnj. You may want to subscribe to our weekly Connections email newsletter. Sign up here!

Complete The Circuit of God’s Love

Hello friends,

Hospitality is a core value of the Gospel, and of our mission at Cold Spring Church. Hospitality is extending care and authentic welcome to guests, visitors, and strangers. As we continue to discern a new reality in our Covid-19 pandemic world, we have extended hospitality to others through acts of kindness, given donations of food and money, and countless other ways. Our nation needs a blessing that will come when we stand with and for those who have been abused, those who have been denied justice, been subject to violence, whose freedoms have been neglected. This week, we will learn about the “prophet’s reward” recorded in Matthew 10 when Jesus urged his listeners not only to be generous in hospitality, giving even a cup of water to a child, but to receive the ministry and gifts of others, others who may be different than us, think differently than we do, and who may invite us to reconsider our assumptions and reset our expectations. We will hear from Amos the prophet who makes God’s shares what God is looking for us to express in our hospitality. When we complete the circuit of God’s love, giving and receiving what Jesus sends us, we will receive the prophet’s reward, a blessing of peace and hope. And we all need that!

Sincerely,

Pastor Kevin

2020-06-21 Third Sunday after Pentecost Worship Online Resources

By Intersections, Sermons

Last Week’s Service June 14,2020

Worship Guide (v1) for June 21, 2020

Readings June 21, 2020

Notes to Share for June 21, 2020

Children’s Worship Ages 4-7 for June 21, 2020

Children’s Worship Ages 8-12 for June 21, 2020

This week is the perfect time to join in our worship online. We simplified our online service and made it even easier to participate, and viewing does not require a Facebook account! Join the video stream on Facebook Live (www.facebook.com/coldspringchurch) or, if you don’t have internet access, use our New call in number: +1 (929) 205-6099. Enter Meeting ID: 875 2479 7260.

Photo-Op for Everyone!

Who are you? Take a photo of something that might help describe who you are, what you’re like, or what you like! We are more than our ID card might include. Share a photo, drawing, or poem about YOU. Post your photos on Facebook, and tag coldspringchurch, send via Facebook Messenger, or email.

Share Your Experience!

You have found a place to encounter God and people who care about you – just as you are, right where you are, anytime. Once you and your family are ready, share the picture with us by posting to Facebook #ColdSpringChurch or Instagram #coldspringchurchnj. You may want to subscribe to our weekly Connections email newsletter. Sign up here!

Get Your Life Right Side Up!

Hi friend.

Does your life feel a bit upside down? Normal is gone. (I know we don’t like to hear this, but this can be a good thing. Reflect on 2 Corinthians 5:17. See what I mean?) Adapting, re-aligning, and gaining new resources are essential skills now more than ever. This week get your life right side up with a message that just might transform you in fantastic ways. Get ready for the Jesus Paradox!

Many of us identify with the gentle Jesus, the welcoming, peacemaking Jesus. We easily picture Jesus with kids on his lap. We like his expressions of compassion and acts of healing. Jesus paid attention to those no one else did. We love seeing Jesus’ laughter and humor, and we marvel at his wisdom. But there is another side of Jesus’ emotional life that we don’t often talk about, let alone reflect on, and that’s Jesus’ anger. Here are a few examples of what I mean. Jesus cursed a fig tree (lots of leaves, no fruit), overturned temple tables (unjust money exchanging and denying all people access to a place of prayer). But the most elevated expression of anger was reserved for anyone who mistreated a child (tie a stone around their neck and drown them in the sea!).

This week we will consider Matthew 10:24-39 (with a backstory about Issac and Ismael from Genesis 21) when Jesus tells us “not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul” and how he has come “not to bring peace, but a sword” which will turn family members against one another. Then comes the hardest part of the Jesus paradox: “Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.”

Where have you come from (identity) and where are you going (destiny) are best understood in Jesus’ incarnation (God becoming a human to live among us) and Jesus’ justice (humans to become like Jesus in how we treat one another). Jesus rejects patriarchy. Jesus rejects sexism. Jesus rejects ageism. Jesus rejects nationalism. Jesus rejects racism. How is this possible? Because Jesus affirms our baptism as members of his body (Rom. 6). Our identity and destiny are not limited to our DNA or family, or other identifiers, but in a relationship with Christ and with one another.

Don’t settle for upside living! Together, let’s begin to get right side up at Cold Spring Church.

Sincerely,

Pastor Kevin

2020-06-14 2nd Sunday after Pentecost Worship Online Resources

By Intersections, Sermons

Last Week’s Service June 07,2020

Worship Guide (v1) for June 14, 2020

Readings June 14, 2020

Notes to Share for June 14, 2020

Children’s Worship Ages 4-7 for June 14, 2020

Children’s Worship Ages 8-12 for June 14, 2020

 

This week is the perfect time to join in our worship online. We simplified our online service and made it even easier to participate, and viewing does not require a Facebook account! Join the video stream on Facebook Live (www.facebook.com/coldspringchurch) or, if you don’t have internet access, use our New call in number: +1 (929) 205-6099. Enter Meeting ID: 875 2479 7260.

Photo-Op for Everyone!

Time for ice cream! Take a photo enjoying an ice cream treat. How has your favorite flavor changed over time? Recall a childhood ice cream memory. God is scooping out love in Christ by the Holy Spirit! (Romans 5:5). Share a photo, drawing, or poem about ice cream. Post your photos on Facebook, and tag coldspringchurch, send via Facebook Messenger, or email.
Take our Survey!

Share Your Experience!

You have found a place to encounter God and people who care about you – just as you are, right where you are, anytime. Once you and your family are ready, share the picture with us by posting to Facebook #ColdSpringChurch or Instagram #coldspringchurchnj. You may want to subscribe to our weekly Connections email newsletter. Sign up here!

An Abundance of Hope

Hi friends,

Did you know that ice cream is the number one purchase during stressful times? Have you ever eaten ice cream and not felt better?! There is something delightful about ice cream. In the 10th century, emerging glacier’s added milk to the ice only concoction. In the summer of 1851, commercial ice cream production began in Boston but the frozen treat became an international bestseller when the United States Army packaged ice cream with wooden spoons during World War II for our GI’s to enjoy on the battlefield of all places. 90% of American households eat ice cream, the average person consumming 48 pints per year!

It may be hard to think about ice cream and joy when we are personally and nationally affected by a pandemic and persistent racial injustice. A new future is emerging and uncertain, and chaos leaves us feeling overwhelmed. We lack things we need. We lack a cure. We lack treatment. Many lack employment. Businesses lack employees. We lack solutions. We struggle just to feel safe as building restrictions are lessening but confirmed cases and unrest climb. We conclude that injustice is even more complex to solve than COVID-19. What can we do other than just sit it out. Our fainting hope can often leave us disappointed. But, there is Good News!

This week during Worship Online we will discover “An Abundance of Hope” can be your’s. Right now! Yes. Even as we experience stresses, struggles, suffering, and separation from our favorite people and activities, we can possess a “hope that does not disappoint us because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts…” (Rom. 5). Literally, scooped out like ice cream! God’s love in Christ is to be enjoyed even more than ice cream!

But wait! There’s more! Jesus wants us to see opportunities right in front of us when he says, “ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest… proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matt. 9 and 10). We don’t have to wait till things are better. Each of us can do our part, no matter how small or large it may appear to be. What Good News will you experience and share this week?

Its time for an “ice cream-like faith” at Cold Spring Church because we are to enjoy God’s love that has been lavishly scooped out for us. Christ died and rose again for US! And Jesus, lovingly sends you and me outside ourselves to experience the abundance.

Enjoy ice cream this week and remember to invite others to join you online. “Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in God! (Psalm 34:8).

Sincerely,

Pastor Kevin

2020-06-07 Trinity Sunday Worship Online Resources and Communion

By Intersections, Sermons

This week is the perfect time to join in our worship online. We simplified our online service and made it even easier to participate, and viewing does not require a Facebook account! Join the video stream on Facebook Live (www.facebook.com/coldspringchurch) or, if you don’t have internet access, use our New call in number: +1 (929) 205-6099. Enter Meeting ID: 875 2479 7260.

Today, you are invited to share in the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper during Worship Online. If you’d like to participate, please take a moment to ready yourself with the elements of bread and cup. The bread can be of your choosing. For the cup, you may use grape juice or wine, or use water as a most acceptable substitute, remembering that Christ is the Living Water for all.

Photo-Op for Everyone!

This week’s Photo Op: For a kite to soar, it must be tethered. This week, go fly a kite if you can. Or recall when you last flew a kite high in the sky! Kites can remind us that God wants our spirits to soar. Share a photo, drawing, or poem of anything that soars! (Thank you for sharing your “other country” photos which will be posted online!)

Post your photos on Facebook, and tag coldspringchurch, send via Facebook Messenger, or email.

Share Your Experience!

You have found a place to encounter God and people who care about you – just as you are, right where you are, anytime. Once you and your family are ready, share the picture with us by posting to Facebook #ColdSpringChurch or Instagram #coldspringchurchnj. You may want to subscribe to our weekly Connections email newsletter. Sign up here!

Soar in the Spirit of God’s Love!

For more than three centuries, Cape May has been the region’s preferred destination for re-creation— literally to create again. We all want to creatively soar, like a kite! But when the kite disconnects from its tether the kite crashes! You and I are like a kite. We will only soar in the spirit when we are tethered to God’s love in Christ. As we gather around the virtual communion table this week on Trinity Sunday, we will hear the words of Paul from Scripture when he urged the cosmopolitan, creative, recreation-loving, citizens of Corinth to, “agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.” Why? Because God wants us, all those who follow Jesus, to respect everyone, to promote peace, and to work for the reconciliation of the world. And when we do that, we will experience God’s love and peace!

Our nation is feeling pretty far from peace and love right now, like we are no longer tethered. Since March, our nation has been reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic that has left 106,538 people dead. Our prayer list includes many who are suffering in pain and other’s who are mourned. Restrictions are cautiously being lifted for many businesses while places of worship and other large group venues remain closed. Our nation is also reeling from racial injustice and police brutality again with the murder of George Floyd, who’s name is tragically added to a long list. How can the world, you and I, be so far from God’s love and peace?

We do not want to discount the many beautiful stories told in our pandemic and unjust world. But hopeful headlines do not offset the horrendous ones. In our Gospel reading, we realize that God wants us to breathe in the Spirit and hear Jesus say, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me!”

Who do you give authority to write your life’s story? In what ways this week can your spirit soar as you extend the love and promote peace of the Lord’s Table.

 

This Sunday, you will enjoy special music, improved audio, multi-camera video, and screen lyrics for our hymns, too. Engage your faith with two mini-messages rooted in the Great Commission. We will consider Jesus as the author and finisher of our faith, and then how the 3-braided tether will help our faith soar!

Ground your faith in love and let your faith and love soar as we experience God’s peace and love.

Pastor Kevin

Last Week’s Service May 31,2020

Worship Guide (v1) for June 07, 2020

Readings June 07, 2020

Notes to Share for June 07, 2020

Children’s Worship Ages 4-7 for June 07, 2020

Children’s Worship Ages 8-12 for June 07, 2020