First Sunday Music

As The Deer sung by The Trio

Put Your Hand in the Hand sung by The Trio

Why Me Lord sung by Allen Brown

Unfortunately, there was a snafu with the audio of our Sunday service, and it is not available this week.



The Best is Yet to Come

Joel 2: 23-32

We were blessed to have Melva Witmer as our worship leader on Sunday. She did an exceptional job.

We were also blessed to have Becky Henry give us a thoughtful sermon from
the scripture of Joel 2: 23-32.

Updates

 Due to a technical glitch, the Sunday Service is not available at this time. I will attempt to fix the problem. 

Here is what is happening in our church community, and around the local area. 

Friday, November 1, 2013
Dinner is at 6:00 pm, not 6:30 pm.

Believers Baptism, Baby Dedication Part 2

Laying on of Hands

 

     Pastor Linda continues her series of sermons about the ordinances of the Church of the Brethren.

     The priesthood of all believers is the Church of the Brethren. Clergy and laity are not separated. The HOLY WORD is our creed. Communion is what is in your heart. Baptism is an outward sign of what is in your heart. But what about babies? Children are under special grace. They are conceived of sin, but innocent of sin. Child dedication is a time for parents to recommit their own baptismal vows. Baptism and communion guarantees you nothing. It is in what is in your heart that brings you salvation.

      The laying on of hands is about the praying that Gods gift, or will be done. It is to remind you of Gods calling of your life. Jesus Christ is the only way to receive the Holy Spirit, as long as you ask for it. You do not receive the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands, but affirming that the gift is already given.


      Through scripture Jesus calls us to live as courageous disciples in word and action.

 

Belivers Baptism, Children's Dedication

The Brethren movement began in early August 1708 when eight brave souls went to the Eder River where one of them baptized Alexander Mack, who then baptized the others. This beginning occurred at Schwarzenau because Count Henrich Albrecht was tolerant of Pietists and permitted them to gather there to read the Bible and discern for themselves how a follower of Jesus should live and what the nature of a Christian church should be. As Brethren gathered in 2008 to celebrate 300 years of Brethren experience, they also celebrated the tolerance by Count Albrecht which enabled the Brethren movement to begin in the Eder River with adult baptism, an illegal act at that time. *

The Church of the Brethren is a community of faith where the HOLY WORD is our creed. Our ordinance is the teachings and examples that Jesus Christ set. Our CHURCH is not a building, but the brothers and sisters that form the church COMMUNITY. We are members due to the faith in our hearts, and baptism is an outward sign of what is already formed and shaped in our hearts. We are a priesthood of believers who minister the Gospel of Jesus Christ, every where we go, and not just when we are in our church building. We use our gifts and character to carry out our mission to make Christ known, loved, and obeyed, as God equips and empowers us.


I am blessed to have the gifts and knowledge to be able to affirm the word of Christ from Pastor Linda's lips, to the CD that Garrett Lowe creates by recording the Sunday Service, which I download onto my computer, and then use to create this blog. It truly takes a community to spread the Word.


* taken from http://www.brethrenencyclopedia.org/pages/300th-anniversary

What's in Your Heart

We commit ourselves to follow Jesus Christ,
     through whom God has made friends with the world and in whose name we share the     work of reconciliation.
We commit ourselves to the way of the cross,
     living a life of simplicity, self-denial, and prayer.
We commit ourselves to love each other,
     serving the church, and sharing our time, talents, and possessions.
We commit ourselves to care for the world,
     bringing good news to the poor, setting free the oppressed, and proclaiming Jesus as Liberator and Lord.
In this commitment we find joy, peace, and new life.


Linda preaches about the history of World Wide Communion Day and how it affected the Church of the Brethren. What is the difference between an ordnance and a sacrament? What is sacramentalism? What is the power and meaning of the bread and the cup? It is not magic, but we give meaning to what is in our heart. We are to remember His death and sacrifice, through the symbol of the bread and the cup. The bread and cup symbolizes our commitment to our Lord. Live worthy, and by what is in your heart. 

Holes in the Heart

 

 

Pastor Joanne Gaver gave us a lesson from Jeremiah 17:5-24 and Ezekiel 36:22-27.

The church was so quiet, as she delivered the sermon, that everyone either took a nap

or was so enthralled with her message. I, for one, was enthralled.