It’s Father’s Day, and we honor everything that is awesome and amazing about dads. Often we recognize how our experience with our parents can inform our understanding of God, too, for good or bad. Father’s Day is a great time to reconnect with the best of Dad-ness, whether our own dad, our experience as a dad, or the role of dad that someone had in our life. It’s also Trinity Sunday when we celebrate the collaborative nature of God expressed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. When Jesus introduced the idea of a trinity- three in one- it not only startled his listeners; this idea angered most. Find out why during worship on Sunday!
We will take a look at our gospel text, John 16:12-15, when Jesus sent his team out with a special presence of God. This new gift of the Holy Spirit, would reveal the truth, the “real deal” about the awesome and amazing abundant life that was announced as now accessible for everyone. That includes you and me!
The Greek word for truth used in this text is “aletheia,” literally meaning to “come out of hiding.” While the disciples were “hiding” in Jerusalem since the crucifixion and resurrection, now under the Influence of the Holy Spirit, they were sent on a mission from God and to “come out of hiding” and live the truth of Jesus Christ as the Messiah to all the world.
Possibilities abound when Jesus saying, “Here I am” invites us to respond, “Here am I” in courageous hope as together we are sent on a mission from God, too!
What kinds of things in your home needs a code or keys to open? Right! The house. Car. Your iPhone. Logging into websites. Well, there’s one thing in your home a very special key is needs to open… you! You were created with amazing potential, and to unlock that potential, a very special key, custom made for you, is needed, and Jesus is that Key to unlocking your life’s potential. Pray. Listen to God as you read the Bible. Meet with others who inspire you, maybe like your dad! Or other care giver. Be open to the possibilities as you follow Jesus here at Cold Spring Church. You’re amazing and God will unlock that potential more and more every day!
The human instinct to survive is our most powerful drive. From our earliest age, we learned to respond instantly to danger. Everyone understands, “Everybody Out!” We practice fire drills at school, regularly change batteries in our smoke detectors, monitor neighbors who need mobility assistance, and do all we can to keep our homes safe and smart. Our Deacons in cooperation with the Session are also learning how to make our campus safer and welcoming. Some of our leaders have attended local security seminars led by the Department of Homeland Security. We will hear more about these initiatives in the months to come.
But there’s a different, hope-filled occasion when we hear the words, Everybody Out! As the Easter season concludes this Sunday, June 2, our Bible reading from Acts 16 tells how the Apostle Paul in Jesus name called people out of whatever held them back. Jesus doesn’t want people to barely survive, but to thrive! To the woman’s dangerous spirit, Paul said, Everybody Out! To those merchants who took unfair advantage over their customers, Paul said, Everybody Out! To those bound in prison, Everybody Out! To those who were emotionally restrained, Paul said, Everybody Out! The Good News about Jesus provides a way out into a future of hope and possibilities. Jesus called that spiritually thriving life, the abundant life! And, its available to all.
If you’re looking for a safe place, a welcoming place, then you’ll want to come by Cold Spring Church on Sunday. Because once the gathered community of faith experiences worship, is equipped by the Spirit, nourished at the Lord’s Table, and then enjoyed the Hospitality Table, all of us will hear Jesus’ encouraging and words, Everybody Out! God sends us out, Everybody, every day, to show the grace and gratitude of God through Christ in all we do. See you Sunday!
“Make your motions and cast your votes, but God has the final say”(Proverbs 16:33, MSG).
Who will you vote for on election day? Voting has become one of the most polarizing issues in the country. We are often quick to describe our opinion on an issue by criticizing or dismissing others who express alternate views. There are over 71,000 registered voters in Cape May County, and ballots cast totaled 59%. Voting is an essential opportunity for every eligible citizen to participate in civic conversation.
The Gallup Pole folks say that year in and year out, we vote when the issues matter to us. What matters to you?
When we vote for the candidates of our choice, we are making a statement about ourselves.
“My vote doesn’t matter!” is a myth because it denies the value we place on ourselves, and intrinsically possess. If we choose not to vote and not participate in the structures of government whether at City Hall or the local church, we make a statement about how much we value our own ideas. Your ideas matter!
Those who refuse to accept the responsibility to be involved implicitly cast a vote about their own self-worth by their silence in the election process. Make every effort to participate.
The implication of our form of government (United States as well as Presbyterian) is that we all have something to offer. We may not all be as loud or (better) articulate as the next person, but let’s not forget that we are all created to be communicators of ideas, and creators of possibilities. That’s what Cold Spring Presbyterian Church represents to. The greater Cape May community, possibilities that are empowered by the Spirit as we follow Jesus Christ.
According to Peter Block writing about building thriving neighborhoods, “the core question is this: What is the means through which those of us who care about the whole community can create a future for ourselves that is not just an improvement, but one of a different nature from what we now have?” (Peter Block, Community, 2008, p 33).
Our ideas and perspectives are full of value! We are created in the image of God. We can choose to be creative in expressing our own uniqueness at home, and the office, at church, in the community, when we participate with others. We make a positive statement that we are important, our community is important, and we have something to say when we vote. Over the past few years more and more of us are volunteering, offering gifts, getting involved in ways that matter to them, and the community is noticing. More and more people are finding resources they really want from our community of faith. Thank you for participating in God’s mission to Energize Spirits and Transform Lives!
What you think about yourself is the bottom line. “Will you be at the polls Tuesday?” And after Election Day, how will you get more involved to be an even greater blessing to others around you?!
Pay attention to the issues and the candidates who are vying for political leadership. Take time for living the life Jesus invites us all to enjoy by gettin involved in any way you can. Vote for yourself, then for the candidates of your choice. Let others know you take your ideas seriously. I do.
Pastor Kevin
A Service of Witness to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and A Celebration of the Life of Robert E. Rhoads, 1949 – 2019
The Rev. Dr. Kevin Yoho, Officiant, Transformation Pastor
Prelude: Ms. Jayne McDonough, organist
Welcome Rev. Dr. Kevin Yoho
Gathering Music: Offered by Damien and Nathan Cwik
The Times They Are a Changing (Bob Dylan)
That’s Just the Way It Is (Bruce Hornsby)
Scripture Readings: Ecclesiastes 3:1-4, Isaiah 40:28-31
Music: Amazing Grace Offered by the Grandchildren
Accompanied by Randy Wehry
Remembrances
The Lord’s Prayer: (debts/debtors)
* Congregational Singing: #341 (blue) Blessed Assurance, Accompanied by Randy Wehry
Scripture Readings: Psalm 23, John 14:1-6
Music: Rock of Ages Randy Wehry
Scripture Readings: Isaiah 64:8, Ephesians 2:8-10
Music: How Great Thou Art Randy Wehry
Meditation- The Singer and the Song, Pastor Kevin
Psalm 98:1, 4, 8; Luke 18:39-41
* Congregational Singing: #223 (red) It Is Well With My Soul, Accompanied by Randy Wehry
Prayer and Benediction
Postlude: Ms. Jayne McDonough, organist
At the conclusion of this service, you are invited to the committal service in Cold Spring Cemetery, and luncheon following at West Cape May Fire Hall, 732 Broadway, Cape May, NJ 08204
Thank you for being a neighbor! The fifteen minutes it takes to enjoy this message may forever change the way you look at our shore visitors! What makes a good neighbor? Are you one!? What kind of neighbor are you? Let’s consider the new neighbors we will welcome to our worship, our streets and neighborhoods, our beaches, this Summer!
Four Summer Conversations:
- Have you always lived here in Cape May? Awesome. If so, you’re a Remainer. How did you decide to stay in this neighborhood? Did you stay because of work? Maybe a family fishing business? Landscaping? Farming? Have you briefly lived in any other places? What keeps you here?
- Were you born somewhere else? Super. You’re a Relocator. Where did you move from? Did you move from an urban area? (Perhaps Philadelphia?) Or, did you move here from a Suburban, or Rural community? Why did you choose to move to this neighborhood?
- Or, maybe, you were born here, but moved away, but moved back later in life. That makes you a Returner. How old were you when you left our neighborhood the first time? Where did you first move to and why? What caused you to move back to this neighborhood? Before coming back, where did you move from? Would you characterize where you moved from as Suburban? Rural? Urban?
- Are you a seasonal visitor? Then you’re a Retreater, someone who is vacationing on a seasonal retreat for a day, weekend, week, or all Summer long. How did you choose Cape May as a place of retreat? Have you vacationed here before, or is this your first time? What are your lasting Cape May memories you take home to share?
Let’s create welcoming conversations at the shore this Summer. Engage people you meet with an open and inquisitive spirit. Have fun by discovering whether those you meet are a Remainer, Relocator, Returner, or Retreater. And this Sunday, find out something really amazing about Lydia, who most mistakenly regarded as the first European believer in Jesus. She wasn’t from Europe! With the Apostle Paul, we can become a strategic neighbor and improve our cultural humility as he did when he had Conversations At the Shore.