Sermons

Last Week’s Service July 12,2020

Worship Guide (v1) for July 19, 2020

Readings July 19, 2020

Notes to Share for July 19, 2020

Children’s Worship Ages 4-7 for July 19, 2020

Children’s Worship Ages 8-12 for July 19, 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.

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 friends,

Last week, we re-discovered the joy of planting seeds. We were delighted that many shared photos of their outside and countertop gardens from herbs to vegetables to beautiful flowers. One person shared their garden of garlic! Remember, the joy is in the planting!

But, we can become impatient and disappointed when we don’t see growth or an immediate return on our planting effortss. We think its our God-given job to judge whether what we see is a weed or plant. Unilaterally we emotionally, spiritually, physically, or metaphorically take out, prune, sort, even burn what we’ve judged unworthy. Even though it seems counter-intuitive to let everything in the garden grow up together, there will be a harvest. Its not our garden. Its God’s garden and God does the sorting.

In a culture in which we constantly accuse, condemn, complain, sort and label, value or discard, Jesus’ message is radical (literally, down to the roots). What is that person wearing? What accent do they have? When with that person shape up? What is the color of their skin? What kind of house do they live in? What are they driving and what does their bumper sticker say? What church do they attend or not? What news network do they watch? So by our “weeding” we bluntly tell God, “I’m going to pull up the weeds. You’re welcome!” Its God’s garden and God does the sorting.

Our assessments and assumptions are often completely wrong and when we act on them, they are often utterly destructive to the entire ecosystem and will alienate us from one another and at worst kill each other.

This week, let’s agree to stop pulling weeds. Let’s take joy in planting seeds that will grow and nurture others. Its God’s garden. Enjoy!

Sincerely,

Pastor Kevin

Last Week’s Service July 05,2020

Worship Guide (v1) for July 12, 2020

Readings July 12, 2020

Notes to Share for July 12, 2020

Children’s Worship Ages 4-7 for July 12, 2020

Children’s Worship Ages 8-12 for July 12, 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.

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!

Hi friends,

Thank you for taking a few minutes to read this week’s issue of Connections. As loving, thoughtful neighbors, we continue safe physical distancing, wear our masks, and wash our hands. My message this week is about the Great Gospel Give-Away. We find Jesus in a boat telling a huge beach crowd the story of the sower of the seeds. Jesus reminds us not to worry about the harvest we see around us, and not be picky and only plant seeds of hope where we think the receiver is worthy. The rocks and thorns and birds, the weather, the natural disasters, the convergence of historical events, COVID-19, are out of our control. We must not hoard the blessings but cheerfully give to all. Everywhere. Thank you for being a Good News-sower. Let’s keep sowing, regardless of all the circumstances inhospitable to the harvest. God gives the increase. Keep sowing! Give the Good News Gospel away!

Sincerely,

Pastor Kevin

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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. Password: 278951.

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!

God Speaks Your Language

Numbers 11:24-34 (MSG)
So Moses went out and told the people what God had said. He called together seventy of the leaders and had them stand around the Tent. God came down in a cloud and spoke to Moses and took some of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy leaders. When the Spirit rested on them they prophesied. But they didn’t continue; it was a onetime event. Meanwhile two men, Eldad and Medad, had stayed in the camp. They were listed as leaders but they didn’t leave camp to go to the Tent. Still, the Spirit also rested on them and they prophesied in the camp. A young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp!” Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ right-hand man since his youth, said, “Moses, master! Stop them!” But Moses said, “Are you jealous for me? Would that all God’s people were prophets. Would that God would put his Spirit on all of them.”

Connect To the Spirit’s Network

Acts 2:1-21 (MSG)

When the Feast of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Without warning there was a sound like a strong wind, gale force—no one could tell where it came from. It filled the whole building. Then, like a wildfire, the Holy Spirit spread through their ranks, and they started speaking in a number of different languages as the Spirit prompted them.

There were many Jews staying in Jerusalem just then, devout pilgrims from all over the world. When they heard the sound, they came on the run. Then when they heard, one after another, their own mother tongues being spoken, they were thunderstruck. They couldn’t for the life of them figure out what was going on, and kept saying, “Aren’t these all Galileans? How come we’re hearing them talk in our various mother tongues?

Parthians, Medes, and Elamites; Visitors from Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene; Immigrants from Rome, both Jews and proselytes; Even Cretans and Arabs!

“They’re speaking our languages, describing God’s mighty works!” Their heads were spinning; they couldn’t make head or tail of any of it. They talked back and forth, confused: “What’s going on here?” Others joked, “They’re drunk on cheap wine.”
That’s when Peter stood up and, backed by the other eleven, spoke out with bold urgency: “Fellow Jews, all of you who are visiting Jerusalem, listen carefully and get this story straight. These people aren’t drunk as some of you suspect. They haven’t had time to get drunk—it’s only nine o’clock in the morning. This is what the prophet Joel announced would happen:

“In the Last Days,” God says,
“I will pour out my Spirit on every kind of people:
Your sons will prophesy, also your daughters;
Your young men will see visions, your old men dream dreams.
When the time comes, I’ll pour out my Spirit
On those who serve me, men and women both, and they’ll prophesy.
I’ll set wonders in the sky above and signs on the earth below,
Blood and fire and billowing smoke, the sun turning black and the moon blood-red,
Before the Day of the Lord arrives, the Day tremendous and marvelous;
And whoever calls out for help to me, God, will be saved.”

Last Week’s Service May 24,2020

Worship Guide (v1) for May 31, 2020

Readings May 31, 2020

Notes to Share for May 31, 2020

Children’s Worship Ages 4-7 for May 31, 2020

Children’s Worship Ages 8-12 for May 31, 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. Password: 278951.

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!

God is Shining On Us All!

Hello friend.

Memorial Day is a particular time to remember. We realize in this pandemic that God is present with us, offering hope, even as we experience discomfort, inconvenience, suffering, stressors, and losses. Our neighbors, nation and the world need hope, too. Join us for Worship Online and discover how God is shining on you, and shining through you to others. While we remember the sacrifices of those who have died serving our country, let’s remember that our country sacrificed not only for our nation’s freedoms, but we have always sacrificed so that others around the world could experience freed, too. God loves the world. Jesus said, “There is no greater love than this, that one lays down their life for another.” God so loved the world! 

What do you remember about this Memorial Day? Give thanks to God for freedoms here at home and around the world. For freedom in Christ! God is shining on you! That is something to remember every day!

Thinkable for this week: Sometimes, we may think God is frowning on us. But the Good News is that in Jesus Christ, God’s love, forgiveness, and hope set us free! 

1. How do you experience God’s smile on you?
2. What new blessings do you want to thank God for right now?
3. In what ways does your life shine on others? What will you do today to let your light shine even more!

Last Week’s Service May 17,2020

Worship Guide (v1) for May 24, 2020

Readings May 24, 2020

Notes to Share for May 24, 2020

Children’s Worship Ages 4-7 for May 24, 2020

Children’s Worship Ages 8-12 for May 24, 2020

UPDATED Worship Guide v2 below.

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. Password: 278951.

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!

Wake up, Everybody!

What’s new? Our pandemic news cycles are informative, but stressful. All of us have been affected by the escalating counts of the sick and the dead. Lockdown orders keep us safe while our lack of sleep, interrupted wellness routines and isolation darn our energy. Working from home, working on the front lines in healthcare or service businesses, or not working at all, we all need hope! But we have hope within us. Christ is no the foundations or our hope, Christ is our hope!

While our lockdown experiences may seem as novel as the coronavirus itself, there are many lockdown stories in the Scriptures. But lockdowns can keep us safe until the new day has downed. Remember Noah? Locked down in that ark, God kept the family dry and secure from the threats outside. Even the disciples on that first Easter morning were locked down in fear, trying to keep the threats at bay. This Sunday’s worship online will awaken your faith. My message from Acts 17 will help us wake up and engage our local context because our faith was made for times like these!

Wake up, everybody! Christ is our hope!

Sincerely,

Pastor Kevin

(Background Photo credit: Sunset Beach, ©Christine Cloer)

Worship Guide (v2) for May 17, 2020

Readings May 17, 2020

Notes to Share for May 17, 2020

Children’s Worship Ages 4-7 for May 17, 2020

Children’s Worship Ages 8-12 for May 17, 2020