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Sep 09
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2018-09-09 Message- The Art and Mission of Community Healing

By Sermons, Uncategorized

Our worship theme this week is healing as our Bible readings bring us back to the basics. Sort of a Real Life 101 from James 2:1-10, (You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” v8), and Mark 7:24-37 where Jesus is challenged by an “outsider” who expects a blessing, (But she answered him, “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs” v28).

Our recent Mission Study helped us to look at our communities with fresh and current eyes. Take a look at your neighborhood. When you open your front door, what do you see? If you had to rank what your neighbors want more than anything else, would it be #1 worship, or #1 preaching/teaching, or #1 healing? Our churches have always focused on worship. And yes, we need great worship. And, yes, we need great preaching and teaching. But most of all, I think our communities need great healing. Spiritual healing. Physical healing. Emotional healing. And all of us can experience the healing we require and become an essential part of that healing offered to our communities.

John 3:17 reminds us, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” The word translated save is also translated and means heal. What comes to you mind when you re-read this verse, For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to heal the world through him. This message invites us to take a deeper look at our ministry in the community and ask how we can work with Jesus who not only saves or delivers us as forgiven, redeemed, people with eternal hope, but calls us to be in the healing business with him. Our communities need healing today. How will they know Jesus as the Great Healer if we don’t show them?

Find out how to practice the Art and Mission of Community Healing this week, at Cold Spring Church.

Sep 05
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2018 Fall Picnic

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Everyone is invited to our annual Fall Picnic following worship on Sunday, September 30, at the tables in the yard behind the Manse. (In inclement weather we will gather in Price Hall.) Enjoy hotdogs and hamburgers grilled to perfection by Chef Chuck and Chef David from the West Cape May Fire Company. Other homemade foods and treats await you! If you’d like to bring your favorite food items, call the church office and ask what is most needed. Bring your friends for an enjoyable and exciting Fall kick-off! 

Sep 02
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2018-09-02 Message- Stand Out From the Crowd

By Sermons

Our Lectionary texts this week will help us to think about how to live our life “inside-out”. That is, how our inner spirit and motivations find expressions in our actions. In Mark 7, Jesus wants us to stand out from the crowd, not to draw attention to ourselves, but to reflect his character and values. The self-important religious leaders focused on what they ate, how they dressed, and where they stood in worship, and the importance they held in the eyes of others. The thing they missed was that God cared most for how they treated others, not how much money they put in the offering plate or the rituals they observed. The apostle James told his listeners, ”Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world” (James 1:27). How do we practice “undefiled religion” by caring for “orphans and widows in distress”? Given that all sin and fall short of the glory of God, we are all hypocrites to one degree or another and must grow to be more authentic and live with more integrity despite our inevitable mistakes and shortcomings. Let’s stand out from the crowd, in a good way, this week at Cold Spring Presbyterian Church!

Aug 26
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2018-08-26 Message- Leaving So Soon. The Tough Get Going.

By Sermons

(We apologize for a few audio glitches in this digital recording.)

Hello.
You’ve heard the adage, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” This expression may have been coined by Joseph P. Kennedy (1888-1969), father of the late American president John F. Kennedy. Strong people will hear this as a motivation to work harder and smarter when facing a difficult challenge. Another way of parsing the sentence is that you literally leave, you  “get going”, meaning you abandon the struggle and remove yourself from the predicament in which you find yourself. Of course, we prefer the former view, but Jesus’ disciples preferred the latter. Why?

The message this week is again found in John 6 with Jesus saying he is the Bread of Life, that we need to be nourished on him and his words. The disciples found Jesus’ words offensive. They grumbled. Complained. They thought it was too hard to follow him (and it is!). And the disciple of Jesus realizes while it is not easy, following is the “only” best way to lead your life. Hard to forgive. Hard to love. It’s hard to do the right thing sometimes. We could stop complaining and grumbling. While the “narrow way” feels tight and constricting, it is actually freeing and filled with possibilities, as Peter exclaimed, “Lord, where else would we go to find eternal life?”

On Sunday, August 26, we worshiped, welcomed new elders and deacon  and became  better equipped for the journey ahead.

Life can be tough. We may find lots of reasons to complain. But God invites us to remain for the blessings that come from faithful work and not leave too soon. Jesus makes a way where there is no way. Thank you for connecting.

Sincerely,
Pastor Kevin

Aug 19
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2018-08-19 Message- God’s Walking Words- Our Miphibosheth Mission

By Sermons

Image of footsteps in the sand. God’s walking words to us about our Miphibosheth Mission in the community.

Our “Jesus is the bread of Life” theme continues from John 6 in Pastor Kevin’s message, that connects “God’s Walking Words” from Ephesians 5:15-20 to an amazing story about a man named Mephibosheth. (Yes, its a bit hard to pronounce and even more difficult to spell!) It’s all about King David and his mission to show kindness to everyone, especially those considered to be unlovely. There are Mephibosheth’s in our lives, and what we will discover, we are all Mephibosheth’s! You will want to hear the good news about Jesus’ loving us all and inviting all of us to hear God’s walking words and join together in our Mephibosheth mission.

Cold Spring Presbyterian Church has always been and remains open to people of any faith, or no faith at all, because we believe God’s spiritual energy is accessible through Christ to everyone. Get more out of your life, and gain resources to help you put more into your life!

Ephesians 5:15-20 New International Version (NIV)

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Samuel 9 New International Version (NIV)

David asked, “Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” Now there was a servant of Saul’s household named Ziba. They summoned him to appear before David, and the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” “At your service,” he replied. The king asked, “Is there no one still alive from the house of Saul to whom I can show God’s kindness?” Ziba answered the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is lame in both feet.” “Where is he?” the king asked. Ziba answered, “He is at the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar.” So King David had him brought from Lo Debar, from the house of Makir son of Ammiel. When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor. David said, “Mephibosheth!” “At your service,” he replied. “Don’t be afraid,” David said to him, “for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.”

Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?”

Then the king summoned Ziba, Saul’s steward, and said to him, “I have given your master’s grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family. You and your sons and your servants are to farm the land for him and bring in the crops, so that your master’s grandson may be provided for. And Mephibosheth, grandson of your master, will always eat at my table.” (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.)

Then Ziba said to the king, “Your servant will do whatever my lord the king commands his servant to do.” So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table like one of the king’s sons. Mephibosheth had a young son named Mika, and all the members of Ziba’s household were servants of Mephibosheth. And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king’s table; he was lame in both feet.

Aug 05
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2018-08-05 Message- Q+A with Jesus. Ask for clearer vision

By Sermons

 The Gospel lesson (John 6:24-35) continues the image of Jesus as the bread of life. This is particularly fitting for communion Sunday when we gather at the table.

Sometimes our vision is obscured. In the Gospel story, Jesus has compassion on the people because they keep looking for physical bread (what they can see), and he says “I have so much more to give!” They just don’t see it. What do you ask Jesus for? Is your vision and faith prompting you to ask for something beyond yourself? How can God use you to bless others. Feed the hungry. Quench the thirst. And remember God wants to do way beyond our wildest imaginations!

Jul 10
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Focus Your Vision — 30-Day Challenge

By Intersections

“If you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith” (Gal. 6:8b-10, NRSV).

On June 24, about sixty people participated in our Focus Your Vision Day in Price Hall that included worship, luncheon, and conversations about the future. It was an engaging and energizing milestone on our transformation journey. A summary of our focused vision includes: 1) Hold on to the best of the past, 2) Explore the new, 3) Plant spiritual seeds, 4) Serve everyone in the community, 5) Grow the ministry. The session will be leading us in th next view months as we put this vision into action.

We are grateful to everyone who participated, offered comments, shared ideas, concerns, and hopes, and affirmed their visions for the future. We expressed thanks to the Mission Study Team, especially to Lenore Bowne for organizing the delicious luncheon and making Price Hall welcoming for everyone, including many first-time and returning visitors and guests.

Keep the best of what you have moving into the future.

Hold On To The Best, Let The Rest Fall Away

About forty-five remained after lunch to watch the Focus Your Vision video and table conversations led by Melissa and Pastor Kevin. We filled a dozen newsprint sheets with great ideas that included:

  1. Celebrated our congregation’s many strengths, staff, leadership, new members, 200 acres including our facilities, cemetery, and historic red brick church
  2. Identified the best of what we do that we want to keep doing as we move into the future including our Reformed worship, events, tours, and dinners, a history of service to veterans, families, and the community at large
  3. Proposed improvements to areas and facilities to make our ministry more welcoming, accessible, and able to serve youth, younger families, and older individuals
  4. Listed priorities to guide us as we follow Jesus Christ into the future to ensure that we do what we agree is important as we grow

Focusing our vision is not just a one day event. Every day we listen to God’s Spirit who is showing us where and how to become more engaged with our community through worship, witness, mission, and service. Our leadership team (Session), caring team (Deacons) and our many groups and committees will ensure that Cold Spring Presbyterian Church continues to learn and grow as we follow Jesus Christ.

Keeping the best of what we have was one of the seven key insights from the video. Blessings from God include tangible assets (people, location, property, buildings, and finances) and intangible assets such as our history, relationships, experiences, passions, hopes, talents, abilities, and our mental, physical, and spiritual gifts.

On June 17, the message Feed the World, Plant More Seeds considered the mustard seed. (Listen to the message by clicking here.) Though it is the smallest of seeds, it will grow into an incredibly large tree. The same is true of our faith. While we may think our faith is small compared to others, it is enough and it can grow. We are in the seed planting business. Not only in our ministry as a Farming Church, planting seeds and sharing the produce with the community at large, but we are planting spiritual seeds, as well. Whatever amount of faith you have, it is sufficient for God to bless and use us in amazing ways! But we don’t want to merely consume the spiritual fruit for ourselves. If we consume all our fruit, we not only will become overfed, but others are left hungry! We want God to produce fruit in abundance to feed us to feed others! So, how can we nurture our community of faith to have spiritual fruit to generously share with the community at large? One way is to accept the 30-Day Challenge.

The 30-Day Challenge I am passing on to you a gift given to me years ago by my mentor, the Rev. Chuck Reinhold, a Presbyterian minister and regional director for Young Life when I was on staff with that national youth ministry.

Like any gift, this gift comes free and is useless unless you use it. As Chuck said, this gift is also very expensive and actually cost Jesus Christ his life, which was his mission and his joy (Heb. 12:12). He died on the cross for our sins in order to bring us to God (John 3:16, John 1:12, 1 John 5:11–12). This gift comes alive to us when we accept the challenge every day.

We can know a lot about religion. We can recount historical facts about faith, the Bible, and might be able to tell wonderful stories about Cold Spring Presbyterian Church, but this gift is not to know more about Jesus Christ, it is to grow in our relationship with Jesus Christ. The gift is received when we accept this Challenge: decide to meet with God every day for thirty straight days by reading a portion of Scripture and asking the Lord for something specific to apply that day. That’s it!

If we miss a day, then we start the thirty-days over again until we read and apply what we read for thirty straight days. If you already set aside time to read Scripture daily, make sure that you actively try to internalize and apply it to your day. The 30-Day Challenge should be challenging! And practical. When we do this, chances are we’ll never quit, and the spiritual seeds planted in our life will continue to grow. What’s more, this gift becomes a gift to others through you!
As you read a portion of Scripture ask yourself, “What does God want me to be, feel, or do today?” Then as you pray, write out a sentence about what you discovered so you will remember to put it into practice. Repeat daily.

As we gathered around the Lord’s Table July 1, we recalled John 15:5 when Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” We are in the seed planting business at Cold Spring Presbyterian Church. Growing is what we do. Imagine the possibilities if each of us in our own way commit to the 30-Day Challenge. Remember, if you miss a day, there is no failure or judgement. Just renew your commitment the next day!

To bring our focused vision to life we need nourishment to grow. Let’s plant spiritual seeds. Let’s share God’s abundance and grace with others. It sounds pretty simple, but many things most treasured in life are just that, simple. So start the 30-Day Challenge today to spend time with God and you will enjoy renewed energy, insight, sensitivity, and love for yourself and others, too. You might want to share your experience, too. As you keep the gift going you will be amazed how your life, our congregation, and community are being transformed!

Let’s get growing!
Sincerely,