We live here. We grow here. Let’s give here, too. One #GivingTuesday,
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Try these ideas for creating sacred space at home, adapted from Presbyterians Today. Since God is accessible everywhere, you can designate any space as your sacred space.
- Try to find a place in your home where you already go to feel at peace. Think about where you go when you want to calm down or need a moment to yourself.
- For many people, a comfortable place to sit is a key element, as it allows us to relax. Make sure you’re rested before moving into a time of reflection and prayer.
- Either minimize or creatively embrace physical distractions in the space. Even if they don’t leave the room, maybe you can rearrange the space, so they are out of your sight.
- See if there is a way to bring meaningful or peaceful items into the space. These might be pictures of family and friends, candles, plants, chimes, etc.
In addition to physical changes in the space, consider your spiritual/emotional state as you enter your sacred space.
- When entering a special time of worship or prayer, try to do so intentionally. Decide that this is a time you are going to focus on prayer, or read Scripture, or engage in extended worship. Allow yourself to set aside other concerns until your time of worship or prayer is over.
- Mark the start and end of your time with a pattern. This might be taking a few deep breaths, lighting a candle, or reciting a prayer or verse of Scripture.
- Try to set aside distractions that might pull you away from your sacred space. Turn your phone on silent or “do not disturb” — especially if you are using it as part of your prayer or worship time. If you aren’t planning to use technology, you might even leave it in another room.
Adapted from the Presbyterian Mission with permission. Click here to read the original article.
Worship Guide (v1) for November 29, 2020
Advent Devotions for November 29, 2020
Children’s Worship Ages 4-7 for November 29, 2020
Children’s Worship Ages 8-12 for November 29, 2020
This week is the perfect time to join in our worship online or in-person. 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: 882-3154-2428 Password: 1714.
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!
Welcome Back!
While we continue to worship online every week, we are excited to welcome all who are able and comfortable to worship in-person in our historic Red Brick Church on Sundays at 10:30 AM. Your safety, health, and wellness are our our top priority. West Jersey Presbytery approved our session’s re-opening plan and our pastor, staff, and teams have worked hard to prepare for your arrival. Following the guidance from the CDC and health officials, we have implemented safety protocols, and designed an approximately thirty-minute worship experience that will be spiritually energizing and safe for you, your family, and other worshippers.
Pre-registration is encouraged but not required to attend worship. If you’d like to worship in person, you may contact the office 609-884-4065 or email hello@coldspringchurch.com.
Worship Preview
Happy new year! Happy new church year, that is. This week is the first week of Advent as the lectionary and liturgical cycle moves forward! Advent is the time for watching and waiting for the promised Messiah— Jesus. Of course, Jesus has already come. The prophet in our Old Testament reading asks God, “Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down!” (Isaiah 64:1). Well, God has already done that! God has already “rent the heavens” and come down as Jesus “moved into our neighborhood” (John 1:14). But our relationship with Jesus is not historically bound to the past, but is a dynamic relationship to be enjoyed right now, and into the future, too! During Advent we watch and wait for Jesus transforming our world, our lives, continually. We watch and wait as we experience the Good News that God Is Here! How can we experience hope? By watching and waiting, actively engaging and being open to the Spirit of Christ this Advent season.
We begin our ADVENTure journey this week. Pick up your Advent resources (online, in-person, for individuals and a special card deck of family Advent activities) that will help us experience the fantastic story of God’s abundant grace and how we can choose to be a people of gratitude. In our Gospel reading from Mark 13:24-37, Pastor Kevin’s Advent series, God Is Here!, begins with how to participate in God’s restoration project that transforms us and all of creation. We watch—(What are you watching for during these unprecedented times?)… and wait— (What are you waiting for? Who are you waiting on?). This requires the vigilance of which Mark speaks on the first Sunday of Advent — active waiting and watching.
Music Preview
We begin Advent singing O Come, O Come Emmanuel, a solemn and delicate carol originally written in Latin with a title of ‘Veni, Veni, Emmanuel’ about 1710. The English translation of the Advent carol came about in 1851 when priest and scholar John Mason Neale’s version was featured in the pages of The Hymnal Noted – a key text in the history of hymns collected by hymnal documenter Thomas Helmore. Let’s join in watching and waiting for the promised Messiah, Emmanuel (meaning God is here).
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Worship Guide (v1) for November 22, 2020
Children’s Worship Ages 4-7 for November 22, 2020
Children’s Worship Ages 8-12 for November 22, 2020
This week is the perfect time to join in our worship online or in-person. 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: 882-3154-2428 Password: 1714.
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!
Welcome Back!
While we continue to worship online every week, we are excited to welcome all who are able and comfortable to worship in-person in our historic Red Brick Church on Sundays at 10:30 AM. Last week about 25 people safely worshipped together. Your safety, health, and wellness are our our top priority. West Jersey Presbytery approved our session’s re-opening plan and our pastor, staff, and teams have worked hard to prepare for your arrival. Following the guidance from the CDC and health officials, we have implemented safety protocols, and designed an approximately thirty-minute worship experience that will be spiritually energizing and safe for you, your family, and other worshippers.
Pre-registration is encouraged but not required to attend worship. If you’d like to worship in person, you may contact the office 609-884-4065 or email hello@coldspringchurch.com.
Worship Preview
This will be an unprecedented Thanksgiving holiday. Your friends at Cold Spring Church are prepared to walk with you even as COVID-19 case counts and hospitalizations across the country and county climb. In a year where our use of the word “unprecedented” is in fact, unprecedented, we realize God’s amazing love for us is not unprecedented! From the beginning we have experienced God’s love in Christ that is not bound by our constraints. This week, we can learn How To Have an Unprecedented Thanksgiving in Pastor Kevin’s message from Matthew 25:31-46 about Jesus story of the sheep and the goats. You will want to experience worship with us in-person or online this week on Christ the King Sunday.
Next week: Advent begins!
Music Preview
This week we are providing a longer worship countdown video to enjoy. We hope this provides more time to prepare for our Facebook Live or phone-in experience together. Remember to invite others to join you online by sharing the page with your friends. And during worship, use the Emoji buttons to express your feelings and engagement!
We begin worship with the Apostles Creed set to music. Words are powerful. They have the potential to bring us together and the potential to tear us apart. Since the beginning of time, words have carried an incredible amount of weight. Writers Cass Langton and Ben Fielding, “thought a song that really was reminiscent of the Apostles’ Creed, that covered its main points, would be a beautiful way of calling modern churches to reflect on the foundation of the faith that unifies us.” We hope you enjoy “This I Believe.”
2020-11-15 Worship Online
Worship Guide (v1) for November 15, 2020
Children’s Worship Ages 4-7 for November 15, 2020
Children’s Worship Ages 8-12 for November 15, 2020
This week is the perfect time to join in our worship online or in-person. 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: 882-3154-2428 Password: 1714.
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!
Welcome Back!
While we continue to worship online every week, we are excited to welcome all who are able and comfortable to worship in-person in our historic Red Brick Church on Sundays at 10:30 AM. Last week about 25 people safely worshipped together. Your safety, health, and wellness are our our top priority. West Jersey Presbytery approved our session’s re-opening plan and our pastor, staff, and teams have worked hard to prepare for your arrival. Following the guidance from the CDC and health officials, we have implemented safety protocols, and designed an approximately thirty-minute worship experience that will be spiritually energizing and safe for you, your family, and other worshippers.
Pre-registration is encouraged but not required to attend worship. If you’d like to worship in person, you may contact the office 609-884-4065 or email hello@coldspringchurch.com.
Worship Preview
No one likes uncertainty. We all understand what we mean when we take risks. A risk is taken when we have little certainty of a decision’s hoped-for outcome. The risingCOVID-19 case counts and hospitalizations pose a risk to us as we struggle to overcome pandemic fatigue with its necessary mask-wearing, hand-washing, and physical distancing. Each of us evaluates our sense of risk. As we discovered in last week’s message, we need spiritual awareness when life is unpredictable. We need to prepare for the unexpected, not as strategic planners (the five bridesmaids without extra oil), thinking they know what was going to happen, but the five who in humility were strategic preparers. We live in a world where anything can happen.
This week, we will learn about three individuals who were given talents, financial resources, to hold. Upon the giver’s return, the person who was given 5, doubled it to 10. Likewise, the individual who was given 2 doubled it to 4. And the one who was given 1, didn’t cultivate the gift but instead preserved it by burying it in the ground, returning no growth. Find out what happened next in Pastor Kevin’s message, “Our Job To Be Done: More Cultivating, Less Preserving.” Which term best describes how you handle the talents, gifts, and blessings God has given to you? Do you cultivate them to grow? Or, hold them tightly to preserve them unchanged?
Music Preview
We will enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving-themed hymn, We Plough the Fields and Scatter. God is thanked for the fruits of the earth, and in our pandemic experience, we also thank God for all our blessings – freedom, health, life, and our spiritual blessings in Christ. Just over 200 years ago, this hymn first appeared in German and was written by Matthias Claudius who was a Commissioner of Agriculture, newspaper editor, and bank auditor. After a very serious and life-threatening illness, he concluded that he was not the master of his destiny. and wrote this hymn when he was about 40 years old. Reflecting on his farming and finance background, he is grateful for God’s love as the Creator, the Redeemer, and the Sustainer of life, “And what Thou most desirest our humble thankful hearts.”
Our sending music is a beautiful and inspiring song by Stuart Townend & Keith Getty, Across the Lands, that begins with Paul’s great statements about Christ in Colossians, contrasting his humble humanity, death, resurrection, and humanity. We see the power of Jesus’ words when he lived on earth until we come to the unique moment in all of history when he offers up his life on the cross. With the ‘shout’ of the resurrection, and the continual intercession Jesus performs on our behalf before the Father. And throughout the whole of history, this ‘Word’ is being spoken out across the lands, through us as we cultivate the gifts we have all received.
2020-11-08 Worship Online
Worship Guide (v1) for November 8, 2020
Children’s Worship Ages 4-7 for November 8, 2020
Children’s Worship Ages 8-12 for November 8, 2020
This week is the perfect time to join in our worship online or in-person. 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: 882-3154-2428 Password: 1714.
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!
Welcome Back!
While we continue to worship online every week, we are excited to welcome all who are able and comfortable to worship in-person in our historic Red Brick Church on Sundays at 10:30 AM. Last week about 25 people safely worshipped together. Your safety, health, and wellness are our our top priority. West Jersey Presbytery approved our session’s re-opening plan and our pastor, staff, and teams have worked hard to prepare for your arrival. Following the guidance from the CDC and health officials, we have implemented safety protocols, and designed an approximately thirty-minute worship experience that will be spiritually energizing and safe for you, your family, and other worshippers.
Pre-registration is encouraged but not required to attend worship. If you’d like to worship in person, you may contact the office 609-884-4065 or email hello@coldspringchurch.com.
2020-11-01 Worship Online
Worship Guide (v1) for November 1, 2020
Children’s Worship Ages 4-7 for November 1, 2020
Children’s Worship Ages 8-12 for November 1, 2020
This week is the perfect time to join in our worship online or in-person. 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: 882-3154-2428 Password: 1714.
We are delighted to again welcome to our worship experience the Rev. Dr. Scott Morschauser while Pastor Kevin and Melissa are on vacation. Dr. Morschauser is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church, (USA), and has been a long-time member of West Jersey Presbytery. He was pastor of Bethany Presbyterian Church in Haddon Heights for 11 years. In addition to his preaching ministry, he is a Professor of Ancient and Medieval History at Rowan University. We extend a warm welcome to Dr. Morschauser to our worship and celebration at the Lord’s Table.
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!
Welcome Back!
While we continue to worship online every week, we are excited to welcome all who are able and comfortable to worship in-person in our historic Red Brick Church on Sundays at 10:30 AM. Last week about 25 people safely worshipped together. Your safety, health, and wellness are our our top priority. West Jersey Presbytery approved our session’s re-opening plan and our pastor, staff, and teams have worked hard to prepare for your arrival. Following the guidance from the CDC and health officials, we have implemented safety protocols, and designed an approximately thirty-minute worship experience that will be spiritually energizing and safe for you, your family, and other worshippers.
Pre-registration is encouraged but not required to attend worship. If you’d like to worship in person, you may contact the office 609-884-4065 or email hell
o@coldspringchurch.com.
o@coldspringchurch.com.Gathering at the Lord’s Table:
Our in-person worshippers will be provided pre-packaged communion cups, which on-line worshippers may request by contacting the office. Or, the bread can be of your choosing. For the cup, you may use grape juice or wine, or use water, remembering that Christ is the Living Water for all.
2020-10-25 Worship Online
Worship Guide (v1) for October 25, 2020
Children’s Worship Ages 4-7 for October 25, 2020
Children’s Worship Ages 8-12 for October 25, 2020
This week is the perfect time to join in our worship online or in-person. 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.
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!
Worship and Message theme:
Welcome to this week’s Worship Online and Worship In-person experience at Cold Spring Church. Take a look at the graphic to the right. When we say “Please, God” (with a comma), we are typically asking God for something. With a comma, it’s a prayer. But when we delete the comma and say, “Please God,” we are making a statement, describing a task to please God. Our purpose as followers of Jesus is to please God, and this week we will consider how we express our faith to turn prayer into our life’s purpose in how we live. Pleasing God is our worthy purpose!
At the entrance to many harbors, there are two leading lights. One would think that the two signals would confuse the boat pilot. But the fact is, the pilot’s priority is to keep the two lights aligned. As long as the two lights are in line, the boat is safe. Life is complicated, but God had also given us two lights that keep us aligned when Jesus said to love God and love others as ourselves. When we keep them in line, we move forward in our life. But there’s more to life than moving in the right direction. We need the right motivation, too.
In the message, “Please God: Editing Our Faith, Aligning Our Life,” we will connect Jesus’ affirmation of the two greatest commandments (Matthew 22:34-46) with Paul’s admonition to edit our faith’s motivation (1 Thessalonians 2:1-8). While we attempt to love God and neighbor because we are commanded to do so, we must be sure of what motivates our behaviors. Do we expect our neighbor to respond in kind or thank us, or be transformed by our love and efforts? Do we constantly look for ways for God or others to please us? Like the political leaders and religious crowds we will read about in worship, we also try to protect our interests, advance our success, ensure particular outcomes that make us look good, and bolster our security and power. We do this in the church, too. This week let’s edit our faith’s motivation as we align our love for God and neighbor with a newfound motivation to glorify and please God!
Music Preview:
Our countdown music this week includes a hymn we introduced last week titled the Image of God. After our prelude celebrating the Reformation with Martin Luther’s A Mighty Fortress Is Our God, we read/sing In an Age of Twisted Values, which many might say describes our life and times today though written in 1995. One of the ways followers of Jesus can show alignment with God as a good neighbor is to express care for others. We want to be thoughtfully empathetic and responsive to a broad range of human needs in our community, country, and the world. This hymn is a potent reminder of the Gospel-values that need a fresh expression by the Church. We conclude worship with a virtual choir singing A Mighty Fortress Is Our God with 176 voices from 34 countries led and arranged by David Wesley. Long before Issac Watts began to add music to the Psalms during the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther had already done so when he created the text and tune for this, his most famous hymn, based on Psalm 46. Chants influenced Luther’s metrical versions and style heard in religious communities and folk and regional music in bars and other social gatherings of his day.
Welcome Back!
While we continue to worship online every week, we are excited to welcome all who are able and comfortable to worship in-person in our historic Red Brick Church on Sundays at 10:30 AM. Last week about 25 people safely worshipped together. Your safety, health, and wellness are our our top priority. West Jersey Presbytery approved our session’s re-opening plan and our pastor, staff, and teams have worked hard to prepare for your arrival. Following the guidance from the CDC and health officials, we have implemented safety protocols, and designed an approximately thirty-minute worship experience that will be spiritually energizing and safe for you, your family, and other worshippers.
Pre-registration is encouraged but not required to attend worship. If you’d like to worship in person, you may contact the office 609-884-4065 or email hello@coldspringchurch.com.
Lord God, Help in this Trouble: The Plague Song of Ulrich Zwingli
(From the Presbyterian Historical Society. To discover more about the 16th Century Reformation period that coincided with the bubonic plague that swept through Europe, and for a copy of the Plague Song, please visit www.history.pcusa.org.)
This week commemorates the Protestant Reformation (1517-1648) that transformed Europe as the Good News was proclaimed with renewed spiritual energy: Scripture alone. Grace alone. Faith alone. While the names of reformers such as Martin Luther and John Calvin are more widely recognized, it was Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531) who left an undeniable impact on the Christian Church. In Switzerland, Zwingli was the newly appointed People’s Priest, or Leutpriestertum, at Zurich’s Groosmünster church. With the Reformation underway, while visiting the Swiss town of Bad Pfäfers in September 1519, Zwingli learned of a new wave of plague devastating Zurich and immediately returned home. The bubonic plague was ravaging Europe. Zwingli ministered to the city’s afflicted and himself fell ill. His brother, Andreas, would perish from the disease, along with an estimated quarter to half of all Zurich’s citizens. Zwingli’s song shows him falling sick, battling the disease, and convalescing. The words speak to his acceptance of divine providence (“Do what Thou wilt; me nothing lacks. Thy vessel am I; to make or break altogether”)and promise a future of faithful acts (“my lips must thy praise and teaching bespeak more than ever before, however it may go”). As a Reformation leader Zwingli went on to oppose longstanding church practices that contradicted his understanding of the Bible, including the veneration of saints and statues, priestly celibacy, and the sale of indulgences. Although he didn’t write the Plague Song to be performed during worship services, the text can be found in many sixteenth and seventeenth century Protestant hymnals. Zwingli’s words remind us 500 years later that a commitment to others and even personal tribulation can lead to a renewed state of grace.