This week, we talked about showing love for others. In our scripture, Paul explains what love should look like for the church and others in the community. He says we should hate evil and cling to what is good. We should love one another like family and show honor to one another. He also said we should serve the Lord enthusiastically. We are to find happiness in hope and stand our ground in trouble. We must celebrate with those who are happy and cry with those who are sad.

Paul calls upon us to bless people who harass us and not curse them. Jesus taught us to treat one another as equals and not to think of ourselves as better than anyone else. We are not to seek revenge on those who have wronged us; we are to show respect for those who believe something differently than us. Most importantly, we are to live in peace with everyone. We are called to love.

We were extremely happy with the wonderful group of kids we had Sunday. They are all aware of the way they should treat others. And they practice this in their daily life at school. Have a wonderful week. See you in church.

Blessings

This Sunday, we talked about the birthday of the church — Pentecost.

Pentecost originated as a Jewish festival — one of the feasts where Jews gathered in Jerusalem. Jesus told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the gift of the Holy Spirit. While the disciples and other followers were celebrating Pentecost, the Holy Spirit arrived, sounding like the wind and appearing like fire.

This was a great mystery. Everyone could understand and speak in different languages. They knew that God was working in their lives in mysterious ways. The exciting arrival of the Holy Spirit attracted a crowd. The Spirit gave them the courage to continue to spread the Good News of Jesus.

God’s spirit continues to empower us and encourages us to do God’s work. The main thing we need to remember is that God is always with us through the Holy Spirit. I hope to see you in church this Sunday! Blessings

This week, we met Paul, who was a tax collector. Paul decided he wanted to join the disciples when he arrived in Jerusalem, but they doubted Paul’s sincerity as a disciple of Jesus. Up until his experience of meeting the Lord on the road to Damascus and his experience of blindness and healing, Paul was an enemy of Christianity and a persecutor of those who practiced the faith. The disciples do not trust that Paul has changed. Barnabas brings Paul to the apostles and serves as a witness that Paul has changed. Paul makes a large impact on the new church. The church grows in strength and reverence for the Lord, as well as the number of people. This growth is attributed to the Holy Spirit.

Since it was Mother’s Day, the boys planted flowers in a pot to take home. These were even more special because each one made their handprint, cut it out and, with Miss Vickie’s help, glued it on the flower pot. This made their Mother’s Day gift even more special. Hopefully, you had a wonderful Mother’s Day. See you in church on Sunday.

Blessings

This Sunday we learned about one of my very favorite ladies in the Bible!  Maybe you have heard of her. Tabitha was her name.  She was one of the poorest ladies in the town of Joppa.  In Bible times, women were completely dependent on men for their survival. If a woman’s husband died, the woman’s life took a drastic turn for the worst.  Women were not allowed to own property, so if the husband died, they would be at the mercy of others to be able to live.  Tabitha somehow had the resources to sew for others who were less fortunate. 

Unfortunately, Tabitha became very sick and died.  When the other disciples heard about Tabitha’s death, they sent for Peter. Peter went right over and went upstairs where Tabitha’s body lay. Many community members were there, crying and showing one another tunics and other clothing Tabitha had made. The presence of the community showed how dedicated Tabitha was to loving and serving others.

Peter asked the people to leave the room, and he knelt down and prayed. Peter commanded Tabitha to get up, and she opened her eyes and sat up.  Her friends were astounded and overjoyed at the same time. Through this story, we can learn that the exchange of loving gestures is part of being in the community of believers. See you in church. Blessings

Our story begins with a conflict between two groups in the early church. The issue involves the case of some widows not receiving enough food during the daily distribution of food.

The twelve call a meeting of all the disciples. They realize they need to focus on prayer and proclaiming God’s word rather than serving food, so they ask the community to select seven disciples from among them to serve.

They specify that the “new disciples” must be wise and filled with the Holy Spirit. This proposal pleases the whole community. The community selects seven people and presents them to the twelve, who pray for them and lay hands on them. God’s word continues to spread, and the number of disciples in Jerusalem increases.

Children may wonder why the disciples needed more help or why they couldn’t do it on their own. We might have this problem too. Sometimes children say “Don’t help me, I can do it myself!” But sometimes we need the help. It is okay to ask for help and work together to spread God’s love.

This shows that the disciples were paying attention; they wanted to provide more help for the community and then moved forward to organize that work.

We are all called to find ways to unite and act in love for one another, each sharing our gifts and talents to benefit the larger goals of the faith. We use our talents at church for the benefit of everyone.