July 2022

You have found a place to encounter God and people who care about you – just as you are, right where you are, anytime. Our welcoming, energizing, community worship begins at 10:30 AM every Sunday in the Red Brick Church. Get news and event information in your inbox every week by subscribing to our weekly Connections email newsletter. Sign up here!

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You will want to read this week’s Message and Music preview!

Message Preview

Look around you and you’ll notice that one of the fastest growing, most profitable businesses involves renting out storage units. The storage industry is bigger and more profitable than the entertainment industry in Hollywood. People spend more money on storage than on movies or entertainment.

Few people stay in one place anymore. It seems like 1 out of every 4 people you meet were born outside of Cape May. On average, people in the United States move at least eleven times during their lifetime. Sometimes the spaces are bigger; sometimes the spaces are smaller. We get new jobs, we get married, we have families, we get divorced, we become “empty nests,” we move across the country. All of these changes in lifestyle and location can involve a pressing need for storage. We just love or must store “stuff,” or fill our lives with a huge, ego-driven “Self!” When we build “bigger barns,” we are liberated and uninhibited about amassing more stuff, and more self, to fill those empty spaces. We think more “stuff” will make us feel more situated, safe, and secure. While authentic emotional attachments can be a positive influence in our lives, it’s just as likely that emotional attachments to things can diminish our lives, too. What to do?

Jesus’ parable in this week’s lesson From Luke 12:13-21 reminds us that the best “storage” we can have is not in storage lockers but in the hearts of those we love, the minds of our communities and our neighbors, and those in need. Who did God prioritize to be recipients of our accumulated “stuff” and “treasures”? Those who are treated unjustly, the strangers, visitors, women, children, the sick and injured, the cast-out and the left-out are the real “storage units” for any leftovers and surplus in our lives.

You will want to invite someone with you to worship this week as we talk about life’s storage lockers.

Music Preview

Today for our 5th Sunday in July, we will have a hymn sing-a-long from the blue hymnal in the pews. Choose a favorite hymn and have the number ready!

Our lyric video hymn is God of the Poor (Beauty for Brokenness) by Graham Kendrick. It was commissioned by Tear Fund and originally recorded in 1993 for the Spark to a Flame album and re-recorded for 2011’s Very Best of Graham Kendrick.

Our closing hymn, Take My Life and Let it Be, was written by Frances Havergal. In her own words, the hymn is a “consecration hymn” in which the singer commits all of her possessions and being to the Lord for his purposes. It expresses what each of us ought to feel and long for, even if at times we see so much disparity between the words and our actual state that we have to sing most of it in hope and faith.

“…That you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:18).

Whatever your religious affiliation, or none at all, we all hear Jesus say, “Come to me all who are overburdened, and find rest for your soul!” Everyone is welcomed at Cold Spring Church. Yes, everyone!

Enjoy sitting with others from greater Cape May as we worship together. We simplified our service and made it even easier to participate, with our Worship Guide and lyric videos displayed on a large screen.

Worship anytime on YouTube Live!
(click here)

Physical distancing and masks are recommended bu are not required!

You have found a place to encounter God and people who care about you – just as you are, right where you are, anytime. Subscribe to our weekly Connections email newsletter. Sign up here!

Energize your life and discover the amazing love of Jesus! This week is the perfect time to join us in person for worship. Enjoy live music and solo, lyric videos, and a message of hope from God’s word.

We are excited to welcome you to worship in our historic Red Brick Church that premiers on Sundays at 10:30 AM.

You have found a place to encounter God and people who care about you – just as you are, right where you are, anytime. Our welcoming, energizing, community worship begins at 10:30 AM every Sunday in the Red Brick Church. Get news and event information in your inbox every week by subscribing to our weekly Connections email newsletter. Sign up here!

Get Your Worship Guide. Click here.

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You will want to read this week’s Message and Music preview!

Message Preview

Last week we recalled the first moon landing recognizing that Jesus is the Cosmic Christ, holding all things together. We also visited with Jesus and his friends Mary and Martha at their home in Bethany. This week, we join the disciples who were just listening in on Jesus praying. What was Jesus praying about that the disciples immediately wanted it, too? So much so that they asked Jesus to teach them to pray like he did to get it.

We refer to that prayer Jesus shared with the disciples as The Lord’s Prayer. Is it the Lord’s Prayer? Maybe it should have been called the People’s Prayer? Whatever its title, it has become familiar to many of us. But our repetition of the prayer may obscure Jesus’ real point to the lesson and hide the disciples’ true request. What made the Prayer unique was how Jesus referred to God. No rabbi in Jesus’ time or since, would begin any prayer using a term of endearment like daddy! Jesus shocked his listeners who could not even imagine that a personal relationship with the Creator was possible. But wait, there’s more.

So what was Jesus praying for that the disciples urgently wanted it, too? Discover an important clue to that question in our Gospel reading and message from Luke 11:1-13. What do you really want? Do you know? Whatever it is, how can you be certain you are wanting the right thing because your persistence is not futile with Jesus. Ask. Seek. Knock. You will receive it! Now that is shocking.

Music Preview

Barbara Cain will sing Sweet Hour of Prayer. This hymn stresses prayers for the world, and the people. All possible prayers we have every day is squeezed into one hymn that exaggerating it was entitled sweet hour of prayer. The romanticized language adds a tone that stresses withdrawal from the mundane world and focusing on God alone.

Following the message, we will sing a hymn of prayer written by Scottish poet and protester against slavery, James Montgomery (d. 1854). Lord, Teach Us How to Pray Aright is based on Luke 11. It reminds us of the need for  prayer in tune with the Holy Spirit and to express our thanks for Jesus Christ, our Savior.

Our sending music is Spirit of God Descend upon My Heart. In this very personal and well-known hymn, the singer calls to mind various places in Scripture concerning Christian love and the Holy Spirit. As we sing, we ask God to move within us so that we may live a life of whole-hearted devotion to Him, bathed in His presence and motivated by His love. We recall the “first and greatest commandment” to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37, 38 NIV).

“…That you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:18).

Whatever your religious affiliation, or none at all, we all hear Jesus say, “Come to me all who are overburdened, and find rest for your soul!” Everyone is welcomed at Cold Spring Church. Yes, everyone!

Enjoy sitting with others from greater Cape May as we worship together. We simplified our service and made it even easier to participate, with our Worship Guide and lyric videos displayed on a large screen.

Worship anytime on YouTube Live!
(click here)

Physical distancing and masks are NOT required!

You have found a place to encounter God and people who care about you – just as you are, right where you are, anytime. Subscribe to our weekly Connections email newsletter. Sign up here!

Energize your life and discover the amazing love of Jesus! This week is the perfect time to join us in person for worship. Enjoy live music and solo, lyric videos, and a message of hope from God’s word.

We are excited to welcome to worship in our historic Red Brick Church on Sundays at 10:30 AM.

You have found a place to encounter God and people who care about you – just as you are, right where you are, anytime. Our welcoming, energizing, community worship begins at 10:30 AM every Sunday in the Red Brick Church. Get news and event information in your inbox every week by subscribing to our weekly Connections email newsletter. Sign up here!

Get Your Worship Guide. Click here.

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You will want to read this week’s Message and Music preview!

Message Preview

This week we remembered the first Moon landing on July 20, 1969. An estimated 650 million people watched in amazement as Neil Armstrong descended a ladder towards the surface of the Moon. The Astronaut’s words spoken that day, “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” will help us understand the Apostle’s words from Colossians 1 that the earthly Jesus has a cosmic role, too! Do you remember where you were that Sunday? What was going on in the world?

We may ask, in the ordinary and even the extraordinary life experiences, is Jesus the One? All of us need some reassurance. Jesus reminded everyone to look around at what they hear and see, “the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them” (Matthew 11:2-6). So it is not surprising that Jesus’ good friends, Mary and Martha, wondered the same thing. In our message this week, Mary’s devotion to Jesus is praised, compared to Martha, who was preoccupied with other things (Luke 10:38-42). We may mistakenly think that Jesus preferred Mary’s attention to that of Martha’s. When Jesus is the focus of our daily attention, not constrained to our needs alone, we can experience Christ in all things in the kitchen and the living room. Jesus’ role is far more expansive than we imagine! And so is ours!

Become a part of Jesus’ cosmic story this week at the Red Brick Church, which will enlarge your spiritual world and equip you to understand better God’s earthly and cosmic mission that includes you and me! You’ll want to bring a few traveling companions to worship with you.

Music Preview

The Rev. Larry Moyer will sing a Rick & Mark Wright song Holy Spirit, Rest in Me. Rick, the Father in this Father/Son duo, says he awoke one morning with the words “Holy Spirit rest in me” on his mind. Rick quickly wrote them down, and within 15 minutes, the words for the four verses came to him. He feels this was “only possible through the mighty power of the Holy Spirit.” He then composed the tune with his son, Mark.

Following the message, we will enjoy singing along with Kelly Willard, the composer of the lyric video hymn, Make Me a Servant. Willard writes, “Someone asked me to share the story behind writing the chorus Make Me a Servant. Well, it’s pretty simple, what happened. At home, the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart, saying very gently, “You know, you could stand to have a little more of a servant’s heart.” I went straight to my piano and began playing and singing this prayer…” Make me a servant, humble and meek; Lord, let me lift up those who are weak. I still pray for a servant’s heart. “And, may the prayer of my heart always be, make me a servant today.”

Our sending hymn is God You Spin the Whirling Planets. This text was written for the 1979 National Meeting of United Presbyterian Women by Jane Parker Huber, whose theme, In the Image of God, is variously considered as reflection, focus, distortion, and polishing for clarity. The words are set to an anonymous 19th-century American tune. 

“…That you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:18).

Whatever your religious affiliation, or none at all, we all hear Jesus say, “Come to me all who are overburdened, and find rest for your soul!” Everyone is welcomed at Cold Spring Church. Yes, everyone!

Enjoy sitting with others from greater Cape May as we worship together. We simplified our service and made it even easier to participate, with our Worship Guide and lyric videos displayed on a large screen.

Worship anytime on YouTube Live!
(click here)

Physical distancing and masks are NOT required!

You have found a place to encounter God and people who care about you – just as you are, right where you are, anytime. Subscribe to our weekly Connections email newsletter. Sign up here!

Energize your life and discover the amazing love of Jesus! This week is the perfect time to join us in person for worship. Enjoy live music and solo, lyric videos, and a message of hope from God’s word.

We are excited to welcome to worship in our historic Red Brick Church on Sundays at 10:30 AM.

You have found a place to encounter God and people who care about you – just as you are, right where you are, anytime. Our welcoming, energizing, community worship begins at 10:30 AM every Sunday in the Red Brick Church. Get news and event information in your inbox every week by subscribing to our weekly Connections email newsletter. Sign up here!

Get Your Worship Guide. Click here.

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Here’s this week’s worship preview!

Message Preview

The traveling disciples Jesus sent out returned after their community-blessing adventures with fantastic news. How about you? Now we will meet one of those religious-types who wanted to prove himself, looking for a loophole in the definition of “neighbor.” He was no Mr. Rogers!

Being a “neighbor” in 2022 can be challenging and complicated. But it wasn’t easy in the first century either. Jesus tells one of his most memorable stories, the “Good Samaritan.” It includes a surprise ending about mercy, neighborliness, and compassion, three qualities in short supply in the Roman-occupied territory of Israel. But that lawyer and many in the audience would have considered that Samaritan bad. Why? Because the Samaritan Jew broke the religious and social rules by showing mercy to the Jerusalem Jew who nearly died in a ditch.

One admirable takeaway from Jesus’ story is to be inspired to be a better neighbor. But can we also identify with who was left for dead along the road and received mercy? Mercy may be a bit expired to our modern ears. Mercy may just feel tired, not worth our effort. Jesus reminds us that mercy is needed now. Mercy is wired! Mercy is a needed spiritual behavior that can have incredible impact on those who receive it.

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