January 28, 2018 "THE RESISTANCE"

AFFIRMATION FOR THE SEASON OF EPIPHANY
We believe in God, the creator of all things, the giver of life and breath.
We believe in Jesus Christ, born Emmanuel, God with us.
He was baptized by John and anointed the most beloved Son of God.
Jesus sought to heal humanity by taking our brokenness upon himself.
Suffering for us, he was crucified, died and was buried.
We believe God raised Jesus from the dead for the sake of all people,
and the promise of eternal life.
We believe the risen Lord will come again, one day.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the inspiring counselor of truth breathed into us and poured out upon us; sent to guide our lives.
We believe in the church, Christ’s body at work in the world.
We believe God is leading us into a new day, ever onward toward the Kingdom of God.
Thanks be to God! Amen.
CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER
Loving and merciful God, help us to comprehend how well you know each one of us, our gifts and graces, as well as, our idiosyncrasies and our flaws. You know, too, our hopes and dreams, our fears and anxieties, our moments of triumph and our frustrations. We confess our desire to be in control of nearly everything that effects our lives. That said, we believe that you are always at our side working with us and in us as we strive to follow Jesus on the path of righteousness. Help us resist evil in all its forms, but alert us to those moments when we resist that which can better our lives. All this we pray in the name of our savior and Lord Jesus Christ who trusted you to be with him always through thick and thin. Amen.

January 21, 2018 "BUT CAN THEY COOK?"

AFFIRMATION FOR THE SEASON OF EPIPHANY
We believe in God, the creator of all things, the giver of life and breath.
We believe in Jesus Christ, born Emmanuel, God with us.
He was baptized by John and anointed the most beloved Son of God.
Jesus sought to heal humanity by taking our brokenness upon himself.
Suffering for us, he was crucified, died and was buried.
We believe God raised Jesus from the dead for the sake of all people,
and the promise of eternal life.
We believe the risen Lord will come again, one day.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the inspiring counselor of truth breathed into us and poured out upon us; sent to guide our lives.
We believe in the church, Christ’s body at work in the world.
We believe God is leading us into a new day, ever onward toward the Kingdom of God.
Thanks be to God! Amen.
CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER
O, Most Loving and Eternal God, we greet you this morning with hope and thanksgiving, believing that you are ever at work in each of us, guiding us toward the kingdom goal. When they looked into the face of Jesus, those first fishermen, Peter, Andrew, James and John, must have been filled with that same sense of hope, and something wonderfully new about to happen in their lives. They had no thought for what might or could go wrong, only that Jesus was offering them a new way to look at themselves and their place in the world. Help us to be alert to the leading of the Holy Spirit, who speaks to us, often in moments when we least expect it. Temper our resistance with trust, in the name of the Christ we pray. Amen.

January 14, 2018 "SEEING GREATER THINGS" John 1:43-51

AFFIRMATION FOR THE SEASON OF EPIPHANY
We believe in God, the creator of all things, the giver of life and breath.
We believe in Jesus Christ, born Emmanuel, God with us.
He was baptized by John and anointed the most beloved Son of God.
Jesus sought to heal humanity by taking our brokenness upon himself.
Suffering for us, he was crucified, died and was buried.
We believe God raised Jesus from the dead for the sake of all people,
and the promise of eternal life.
We believe the risen Lord will come again, one day.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the inspiring counselor of truth breathed into us and poured out upon us; sent to guide our lives.
We believe in the church, Christ’s body at work in the world.
We believe God is leading us into a new day, ever onward toward the Kingdom of God.
Thanks be to God! Amen.
CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER
Gracious and Loving God, as we gather this morning in worship, help us ponder our purpose. As disciples of Jesus we are called to minister in his name, declaring our faith not only by our words, but also in our work for the gospel. During our fifty-five years we have experienced many new beginnings and endings. As we have become more socially aware, we have become more spiritually sturdy. Save us from the malaise that accompanies prideful, self-satisfaction; prod us to embrace transformation. United as the body of Christ we are ever-ready for the next step toward the kingdom. Confident in the presence of your most guiding Holy Spirit, we shall not fear change. O, hear our prayer, most gracious Lord, in the name of the Christ. Amen.
INVITATION TO COMMITMENT
People employed for the long term like to know when they will be vested— referring to the time when they will be fully and unconditionally guaranteed pension and benefit privileges. It wasn’t until my mid-30s that I had any inkling of what such promises and guarantees meant. Some employees are vested after 5 years working full-time with the company, while others may be vested after 7 years. I believe that long time church members are vested in the promises of God’s grace having made their commitment to the church, and investing themselves in the church’s life and ministry for the long-term. They are vested in the hope that the church will live on, for many years to come, and that it will continue to exemplify a spirit of welcome and openness to all. That hopeful future for the church is built on a commitment of financial support, and you are being given an opportunity over the next four weeks to ponder your commitment of support to your church for the coming year.

January 7, 2018 "AN EPIPHANY FROM THE EPIPHANY" Jeremy Wells preaching

AFFIRMATION FOR THE SEASON OF EPIPHANY
We believe in God, the creator of all things, the giver of life and breath.
We believe in Jesus Christ, born Emmanuel, God with us.
He was baptized by John and anointed the most beloved Son of God.
Jesus sought to heal humanity by taking our brokenness upon himself.
Suffering for us, he was crucified, died and was buried.
We believe God raised Jesus from the dead for the sake of all people,
and the promise of eternal life.
We believe the risen Lord will come again, one day.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the inspiring counselor of truth breathed into us and poured out upon us; sent to guide our lives.
We believe in the church, Christ’s body at work in the world.
We believe God is leading us into a new day, ever onward toward the Kingdom of God.
Thanks be to God! Amen.
CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER
O most Gracious and Merciful God, today we focus our attention on a day 30 years after Jesus’ birth. It was the day of his calling when he took a very intentional step toward self-discovery, by partaking in John’s baptism to wash away sins. Often we have tended to think of Jesus as one who knew what direction his life would take from the moment of he took his first human breath. But then, we realize that like us, he had to learn how to crawl, walk, and run just as he had to learn how to get up again after falling down. His divinity was not some kind of special immunity protecting him from sorrow, or disappointment, anxiety or distress. Recognizing that his human experience was fraught with the same stresses and strains, along with moments of doubt and uncertainty, strengthens our resolve, and shores us up along our own spiritual journey. Help us dearest Lord to walk in his footsteps for they are the footsteps of promises fulfilled. We give you thanks and praise in the name of the Christ. Amen.
INVITATION TO THE OFFERING
Are you superstitious, believing that if you miss a step in a certain ritual whether it is a pre-game ritual, a pre-getting out of bed ritual, a getting dressed ritual, or a pre-coffee ritual, your entire day may well be thrown off kilter. I learned a great deal last Saturday about football game rituals, and was very glad I had the necessary cap to participate in the cap waving ritual. Someone else must have fouled up a ritual, because our team ended up losing the game. Our traditional worship service contains rituals that, if changed or even tweaked a bit can, and have upset people’s sense of spiritual balance. The tradition of giving financial support to the church has not changed, but because we live in an era when few people carry cash or checks anymore, the ways for giving must be updated and adapted to the times. So soon PSUMC will have an app for that. Until then the ushers will come forward to collect the offering.

December 31, 2017 "NOW THAT'S A HAPPY NEW YEAR" Dr. Eddy McLachlan Preaching

A CHRISTMASTIDE AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
We believe in GOD, the divine beginner and imaginative creator of all things
good and precious.
The earth and all the creatures who dwell upon it are GOD’S labor of love,
and we are the appointed stewards.
We believe GOD so loved us that in time GOD came to us in human form; born as we are,
an infant boy, tiny and helpless, our Emmanuel.
We believe in the healing and redeeming power of JESUS’ name, and claim him as our SAVIOR.
We believe he claimed us when he gave his life for us on a cross.
We believe that GOD would not forsake or abandon the Son and Beloved One.
In fact, we believe GOD raised JESUS from the dead, inviting us all to embrace
the promise of eternal life in Christ.
We believe in the gift of the HOLY SPIRIT, who is always with us, helping us to walk the path of righteousness and genuineness.
As Christ’s body in the world, we believe, no matter what happens in the world, we are to love one another as GOD has loved us, in Christ JESUS our LORD. Amen.
CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER
O, most gracious and eternal God, today we look back on the year 2017, and how we lived each day of life granted us. Some days we recall with a smile, and others not so much. We have said good-bye to loved ones and dear friends; we have embraced new friends who have desired to serve you as a part of this body of Christ. As the new year unfolds, dear Lord, may the Holy Spirit be at work in us, stirring us to be models of discipleship, empowered by the hope that will build our future, the peace that reigns in our hearts, the joy we have in our work, and the love we bear for each other. Looking back, we have accomplished much in the last decade, but we are not finished by any stretch of the imagination. There are so many people who long for assurances that all will be well. Help us lead them in the path of faith, the assurance of things hoped for, and the conviction of things not seen. All this we pray in the name of the Christ. Amen.
INVITATION TO THE OFFERING
Tomorrow begins the new year. Some of us are still amazed that we are now 18 years into the new millennium, ever closer to those Stardates logged by Captain Kirk some 50 years ago aboard the Starship Enterprise. “Another year come and gone” said my 30-something exterminator, somewhat matter-of-factly. Because we cannot pause time, or cause it to move more slowly, our time together, years, months, hours, minutes, even seconds must be counted as precious, and worthy of our full attention. If your time spent worshipping or serving God in this church nourishes your soul, then we are on the right course. To quote Mr. Spock, surely we will “live long and prosper” with your continued commitment of financial support.