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Mar 03
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2019-03-03 Message for Kids- Mardi Gras is For Everyone

By Sermons

Where did Mardi Gras come from? Well, it means Fat Tuesday. Why is it called Fat Tuesday? Because people wanted to eat-up all the foods they decided not to eat during the 40-days of Lent so they had festive parties to empty their cupboards and refrigerators. They also decided not to wear fancy clothes and jewelry during Lent. Lent is Latin for the number “40”, and the 40-day Lenten Journey begins on Ash Wednesday and concludes at Holy Week and Easter when Jesus was raised from the dead! So let’s get ready for what’s ahead by sharing these beads to celebrate that Jesus walks with us every day. We should share that message with others, too. These beads will help. Would you help me give away these beads to the congregation today?! What do the beads say on them? Peace, Justice, Power, Hope, Love! God loves us and is powerful to protect us and give us peace, justice, and hope!

Mar 01
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Spring Fling Pork Dinner

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The community is invited to our Spring Fling Roast Pork Dinner, March 29, at 5:00 PM in Price Hall. Eat-in or Take Out! (Take-out orders may be picked up at 5:30 PM.)

Your delicious meal will include:

Menu:

  • Spring Mix Salad
  • Roast Pork
  • Apple Sauce
  • Honey Glazed Carrots
  • Baked Sweet Potato
  • Dessert
  • Coffee, Tea & BYOB.
Mar 01
Love0

Are You Ready For Greater Things

By Intersections

”Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12).

On a sunny day in March, just before Easter, a new church was starting. Energy and anticipation were running high. Over two hundred people signed the charter documents and publicly pledged their resources of mind, body, and spirit to achieve the mission of the new congregation. Neighbors got together and agreed that God has challenged them to make a positive difference in their community. They were committed to each other and their town. Denominational leaders, community leaders, supporters, and neighbors crowded the site as ceremonial shovels were placed into the soil. The founding pastor read scripture and preached the first sermon. Afterward, the celebration continued in songs and stories of faith. For years to come, the community was blessed because of the great things God did in their midst!

The beginning of Cold Spring Presbyterian Church was a bit like the church, above. For 305 years, we stillare: In the community. With the community. For the community.As we continue our transformational journey, we are re-doubling our commitment to deliver needed spiritual resources in the name of Jesus Christ, in new and effective ways, right here in greater Cape May. What an exciting journey! And, what’s more, you have an important and unique part to play adding your gifts, time, energy, attention and wonderful songs and stories of faith!

March is a great month to be moved by the winds of the Spirit! There are many ways to participate as a faith community this month. I am sure you will want to invite friends and family, too! I have included a few very special events, below:

Sunday, March 3, afterour 10:30 AM worship celebration in the red brick church, join us for Lunch and Conversations at the Back Bay Bistro. (RSVP to Lenore Bowne.)

Wednesday, March 6, we gather in Price Hall for our third annual Ash Wednesday Service. This year we have invited our friends from First Presbyterian in Cape May to join us. After a meaningful service, stay for a complimentary lunch. It’s the perfect start to your Lenten Journey!

Friday, March 29at 5:00 PM, you will enjoy our Spring Fling Roast Pork Dinner. Details are in this issue of the Brickette, or online. Visit bit.ly/CSPCSpringFlingfor details and to make your reservations.

Sunday, March 31from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM, we are invited to join with the entire West Jersey Presbytery in this year’s Congregational Life Sundayat the Hammonton Presbyterian Church. Rides are provided. Its a great afternoon to learn and grow with others who want to make a difference in their community, too! (See details and RSVP online at coldspringchurch.com.)

Palm Sunday is April 14!You will want to join in this important worship celebration as we enjoy special music and experience the Gospel recalling Jesus’ ride into Jerusalem at our 10:30 AM service in the red brick church.

Maundy Thursday is 6:00 PM, April 18  Plan to attend this meaningful communion service in the red brick church at 6:00 PM. All are invited. Invite your neighbors to gather at the Table with Jesus as we remember the Last Supper.

Easter Sunrise at Sunset Beach begins at 6:15 AMThe third annual Easter service on the beach promises to be another energizing event! Details online. Complimentary coffee, tea, and breakfast treats. Come as you are and enjoy great music and an inspiring telling of the Good News that He Is Risen! Listen with neighbors and friends to the Cape May Point beach sounds of waves and seagulls as the sun rises!

Easter Worship Celebration, 10:30 AMA beautifully decorated sanctuary, special music, interactive message for kids, and inspiring message from God’s word await you as we retell the Greatest Story Ever Told. You and your family will want to arrive ready for what could be a life-transforming experience of hope!

God with usis the core motivation for our church’s mission. The motives of nonprofit and charitable organizations are fundamentally different from their for-profit counterparts. Charities, foundations, fraternal and affinity groups, and faith communities such as churches, are all driven by their motivations to benefit the community at large. Nonprofits are established to serve a socially valuable purpose for the public good. But, in addition, our church is established to serve a spiritually  valuable purpose, too, for the the public good. Though the interests of the public change over time based on shifting contexts and community needs, the motives of a worshipping and witnessing community should be clear even during tumultuous and disruptive change, and transformational journeys. Can a congregation fall in love with its neighborhood? Oh, absolutely! We have, and that’s our continuing job to do.

Our faith community is deeply rooted in the places and the people that call it home. How will they know God’s love and the forgiveness and hope Jesus provides if they don’t experience it here? How will those who struggle with the challenges of daily life find the resources they need if they don’t find those resources here? Are you looking for hope? Find it here! Do you want to live your very best life, the abundant life? Meet the God who loves you, here!

Show God’s abundant and unconditional love to neighbors, friends, family, strangers, and visitors this month because we are:

In the community.

With the community.

For the community.

Thank you for sharing and choosing to be an important part of our future. Jesus said, “Greater things you will do!” And we are!

Mar 01
Love0

March 2019 Brickette

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Feb 24
Love0

2019-02-24 Message- Invest In the Future

By Sermons

All of us want to invest in worthwhile activities because we will earn a proportional return. Paul, the apostle, in his letter to the house church in Galatia, used an agricultural analogy of planting and harvesting. Let’s consider his guidance if he used an analogy of investing and return, as follows: Make no mistake, God is not mocked. A person earns an interest on their investment. Those who invest only for their own benefit will earn a return of devastation from their selfishness, but those who invest for the benefit of the Spirit will gain a future, eternal life from the Spirit. Let’s not get tired of investing in the future, because in time it will be worth it, if we don’t give up (based on Galatians 6:7-9). This week we will consider how investing in the future is a core principle in Scripture as we look at the story of Joseph and the powerful words of Jesus. You may remember Joseph as the favored son with the multi-colored coat, but his focus on the future gave him courage to forgive. The future was also in view when Jesus shocked his audience when he said things like, “Forgive your enemies. Pray for those who attack you.”

Across our country and around the corner, in classrooms and living rooms, there is a climate of rushing to judgment. When have you “turned the other cheek” or extended mercy? Can you recall a time you have  received mercy and forgiveness? There is a better way. We can find reconciliation and acceptance from Jesus. Find it here!

And thanks for listening to this important message, and trying with me, and all of us, to put it into practice!

Feb 24
Love0

2019-02-24 Message for Kids- #Selfie or #Selfless

By Sermons

A recent survey of people ages 18-24 revealed that “selfies” are their most popular genre of photography. The result of the survey is supported by evidence from Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and other media. What’s the difference with a Selfie? Who do you see when you take a selfie? Of course, yourself! The thing is, when you’re always focused looking at yourself you don’t see who? Others, right! When we are walking around all day, whether our phone is in front of our face or not, if we are constantly thinking about ourselves, what we want, we might be being selfish! Jesus wasn’t selfish. He freely gave himself for us so we would be forgiven and given an amazing life! And, Jesus doesn’t want us to be selfish either, but to be selfless!

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4).

So let’s remember: less selfie, more selfless. Selfie’s are O.K.. Selflessly paying attention to others is Jesus’ way!

Feb 20
Love0

Ash Wednesday Service in Price Hall

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The season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, March 6, 2019. What a perfect time to experience God’s love as we begin our Lenten journey! Invite a neighbor. All are welcomed to this 45-minute, come as you are, energizing event! Complimentary lunch, follows.

Cold Spring Presbyterian Church will offer a special worship experience from noon to 12:45 pm. Ash Wednesday was designated centuries ago to recognizes our fragility and mortality, were it not for the grace of God. In humility, but also with confidence in Christ, we ask that the Lord remember once more our entire creation and breathe new life into our burned-out, dusty lives, communities, and the world. This is a service for the imposition of ashes for those who wish to receive them. Pastor Kevin Yoho’s message, Putting On the Face of Grace, will offer assurance that though we are dust, we are baptized and commissioned dust, and our face should reflect God’s grace. Our face, and the face our church presents in the community, makes a huge difference. Invite a friend as we begin our Lenten journey toward the cross, and at last on Easter, April 21, remember that dusty Lenten Road is quenched by the Living Water gives us new life.

(A great way to conclude your Lenten journey is to attend our Community Easter Sunrise service at Sunset Beach at 6:45 am, and/or attend our 10:30 Community Easter Celebration Worship in our historic red brick church on Sunday, April 1, 2018.)

Feb 17
Love0

2019-02-17 Message- The Largest Room of Our Lives

By Sermons

Imagine your life is composed of different rooms. Rooms to relax. Rooms to eat in. Places to exercise, and another to enjoy a hobby. Some rooms are especially equipped for making things, or assisting in meeting the needs of guests and taking resources from inside to share with others outside in the neighborhood. Andy Andrew’s in his book, The Traveler’s Gift (2002), writes about a room called Never Was. He calls it “a giant warehouse of a room that holds all of the things God was ready to deliver to people, had they only persevered in prayer a moment longer” (157). For many of us, the Never Was room is practically the largest room in our house. It doesn’t have to be that way.

This week we will visit our house of rooms in our lives as we hear the words of the prophet Jeremiah when he spoke to a war-torn and weary country about God’s hope. We will hear Jesus pronounce blessings available to all. Are you looking for a blessing? Do you need resources to move your hopes and dreams from Never Was, to It Is Now? The blessings Jesus gives are for everyone, especially those who don’t feel blessed; the hungry, the poor, and those who are cast aside by others.

Feb 17
Love0

2019-02-17 Message for Kids- The Image on a Dollar, the Image on Your Life

By Sermons

Happy Presidents Day! Whose image is on this ONE DOLLAR bill? Right. George Washington. George Washington, like every president, like everyone, did lots of wonderful things for the country. And, well, some not so good things, too. But he is honored for the good. And, to honor dead presidents, we have placed their image on the currency we use. Its a way to be reminded of those great things. For example, George Washington said, “It is impossible to govern without God and the Bible”. Even in Jesus’ day, they put the image of the king on their coins. But did you know you have an image on you? Yes, that’s right. You are created in God’s image. So when you look in the mirror, I want you to remember that you are created as a unique expression, image, of Jesus. We want to look more and more like Jesus each day. When you help others; Are active in doing good things. You show that image most clearly. You may even be president one day! But until then, all of us help each other to show God’s image in how we act and through the decisions that we make as we serve others. So happy Presidents Day. And be joyful, because you are made in the image of God.

Feb 10
Love0

2019-02-10 Message- Going Overboard With God’s Love

By Sermons

Though dealing with shortfalls and underperforming, a lack of energy or assets, or shortcomings consumes a lot of our attention on scarcity. Our true challenge is dealing with abundance! We cannot embrace God’s unexpected, outrageous abundance. (Think about that.) Our 305-year “young” mission is to represent God’s abundance. But too often, we are overwhelmed with scarcity, just like Peter and James and John do in this week’s message from Luke 5:1-11. Its the problem of too much. God does so much. So much love, so much forgiveness, goes overboard on mercy, unending compassion, amazing and abundant grace and goodness. Our “problem” is being afraid to let go of the scarcity life and instead embrace the abundant life of God’s love offered to us.

Experience the amazement as the disciples’ fish nets were filled to overflowing in this energizing message of God’s overboard love.It’s time for the church to “Go Overboard.” To go overboard in love. To go overboard in trust. To go overboard in compassion. To go overboard in mercy. To go overboard in neighborliness.

How will you go overboard with God’s abundance this week?