The apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippians tells us, “…But (Jesus) made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. (Phil. 2:7).
A lot of people have argued about
what Jesus emptied Himself of, exactly. Most Christian scholars agree that when
Jesus came to Earth as a human, He emptied Himself, or set aside, His divine
attributes—that is, His omniscience (knowing everything), His omnipresence
(being everywhere, always present), and His omnipotence (limitless in His
power). As a human, He was limited in all these qualities simply because of He
had a human body. But let’s set that thought aside for now.
My question is this: what if He
didn’t just empty Himself, but also added something? What if that
something was human nature? If that were the case, then of course Jesus would
have had to limit the access He had to His divine nature. He couldn’t fully
operate out of His divine nature and still have the full experience of
being human. Those two natures contradict one another.
This is the really challenging
part. How human was Jesus, really? He was born of human flesh, grew physically
like any other human would, had veins of actual blood, got hungry, thirsty, and
tired. He died a physical death. He felt human emotions including anger,
despair, joy, grief, sadness, excitement, and wonder. Jesus struggled—He was
tempted, confused at times, limited by others’ lack of response, frustrated,
and often lonely. It all sounds pretty human to me.
If I were Jesus and had a “God
card” I could access anytime I wanted, I would have certainly used it to avoid
the daily struggles of being human. However, although Jesus possessed His
divine nature throughout His life on Earth, He mysteriously gave up His access
to this nature in order to fully possess humanness. Let that sink in for a
moment. God, through Jesus, became like us. I don’t know about you, but
this makes Jesus—and in turn God the Father—much more relatable and
“follow-able” than a super-human, superhero-like God.
To be open to the idea that we
are loved is to respond to a God who chose to be human and vulnerable.
In my own ministry, I enjoy
meeting and interacting with others.
When I do this on a spiritual level, I bask in the humanness of sharing
joy and sometimes grief, accomplishment and disappointments.
Jesus, in His human nature, completely identifies with us! He gets it—our joy, our sorrow, our loneliness, our longings. Jesus meets us in our humanity. He is, after all, the fullest expression and example of what it is to be human. Yours in Christ,
Ethel
Fine will be celebrating her 96th birthday on August 7. Let’s all give her a great birthday by
sending her cards showing her how much she means to our church family
Ethel Fine will be celebrating
her 96th birthday on August 7. Let’s all
give her a great birthday by sending her cards showing her how much she means
to our church family.
Some of our graduates are pictured with their class. Crestwood’s graduating class included Morgan Rinehimer. We wish her God’s guidance and encourage her as she pursues the next phases of her life.
Our annual 300 Club and Silent Auction was enjoyed by many people. Ray Stec enjoys a laugh with Dave Myers while he waits for his hamburger. Our thanks to all who came out to support this fundraiser.
I think about it all the time.
While I’m driving, praying, eating. I
guess I can call it one of my little obsessions. It is the question, “How can we get more
people involved in church life.
Well,
understand I am not the only person on this church asking that same question. We as a whole are not the only church asking
that question. As a person who needs to know the facts, I have turned
to a group of researchers who have already explored these questions. They are called The Barna Group. In its 30-year history, Barna Group has
conducted more than one million interviews over the course of hundreds of
studies, and has become a go-to source for insights about faith and culture,
leadership and vocation, and generations. Barna Group has carefully and
strategically tracked the role of faith in America, developing one of the
nation’s most comprehensive databases of spiritual indicators. Barna Group has
worked with thousands of business, nonprofit organizations and churches across
the U.S. and around the world, including many protestant denominations,
Catholic parishes, and faith leaders. Some of its notable clients have included
the Salvation Army, World Vision, Compassion, the American Bible Society, and
Habitat for Humanity. It has also served mainstream business and non-profit
leaders at organizations like Sony, Walden Media, Easter Seals, CARE, the ONE
Campaign, the Humane Society, the Gates Foundation, and NBC Universal. The
firm’s studies are frequently cited in sermons and talks, and its public
opinion research is often quoted in major media outlets such as CNN, USA Today,
The Wall Street Journal, Fox News, Chicago Tribune, Huffington Post, the New
York Times, Dallas Morning News, and the Los Angeles Times.
Their research always surprises
me. Here is a statistic I feel we can work with.
Millennial
Non-Christians Show Greater Spiritual Curiosity Than Older Adults
Despite
the growing indifference toward Christianity, especially among young people,
there appears to be a spiritual curiosity among Millennials. Barna’s recent report Reviving
Evangelism, shows that Millennials report many more faith conversations or even
evangelistic encounters than older non-Christians. For at least some young
adults, there appears to be deeper interest in spirituality in general, and in
Christianity specifically. This statistic appeared as a research release in the
magazine Faith and Christianity,
2019.
What
is a millennial? According to the US Census Bureau, they were born between 1982
and 2000. They are the largest generation in the workforce because of their
birth years. Millennials are the children of the baby boomers and are also
called the Generation Y or Gen Y. They possess several qualities and
characteristics different from the past generations. And although the
characteristics of a millennial varies on the culture and environment,
they grew up in; these are the common characteristics of millennials
today.
Millennials are Often Optimistic About the
Future
They Love Social Networking
They are Tech-Savvy
They Believe in Work-Life Balance (prioritizing
family over work).
They are Goal-Oriented
They Want Recognition (feeling valued).
Millennials Love to Multitask
They Have an Entrepreneurial Spirit
They Like Adventures
They are Educated
I feel these are some great attributes, and I am sure you do also. As you read this list of qualities, imagine them being put to work in our modern day churches. I, along with many others in our church, are serious about considering these characteristics and putting them to work for the good of our world. Our older church folks have so much to share with this generation and they will embrace your thoughts and visions. So look out! Expect some changes at Emmanuel UCC. Changes for the good of all of us.
THANKS to everyone who helped in any way to make this year’s 300 Club
and Silent Auction a fantastic success.
Almost all the 300 tickets were sold, ensuring us a good profit. We also had additional guests who each
donated $15 to enjoy the great food and bands.
We are still waiting for some of the Silent Auction payments to be
collected and will have and update of the profit as soon as it becomes
available.
Worship begins at 6:00 pm Sunday evenings beginning July 7 and continues
to the end of August. If you can help
with refreshments for July 15 when we are host, please see Cindy.
July
7……………. Emmanuel
UCC
July 14……………… New Hope UMC
July 21……….. St. James Lutheran
July 28……………… St. John’s UCC
Aug.
4………. St. Mark’s
Lutheran
Aug. 11……………… St. Peter’s UCC
Aug. 18……………….. Mt. Zion UCC
Aug. 25……. Cemetery Association
We hope everyone will find time to worship in this historic setting.
It’s summer and time for our
choirs to be on vacation. But that
doesn’t mean that we want a vacation from music. Anyone who will sing, play an instrument or
(if you’re really talented) do both, is welcome to pick a Sunday to make a
joyful noise to our God. Please see Denise
Dean so we can fill the air with music on Sunday mornings.
Dave Myers is shown at our Spring Turkey Dinner held on May 4 packing a box with a dinner for Slocum resident Carl Peters to take home and enjoy.
Members of Emmanuel UCC are shown remembering the fallen at the Memorial Day ceremonies which were conducted at several locations across the mountain, including VFW Post 7918 Memorial, St. Martin in the Fields, St. Mary’s Cemetery, Emmanuel United Church of Christ, Albert Cemetery and Mountain Post 781 Memorial, on Sunday, May 26, 2019. Organizations participating in the ceremonies were American Legion Mountain Post 781, Dorrance Post 288, Ashley Post 673, and Slocum VFW Post 7918.
Among the 222 Graduates of Crestwood High School Class of 2019, was a very familiar face. Morgan Rinehimer received their diplomas and is now on her way to her new futures. Morgan is off to Stevenson University to pursue her degree in nursing. Congratulations and all the best.
Dave Myers was on the grill making Ray Stec a hamburger at the 10th annual 300 Club picnic.
Emmanuel will
host VBS July 14th thru 18th from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm. Everyone
is welcome to join especially our youth, they are encouraged to help as leaders
and decorating/design. Any questions please
see Pastor Lou.
This summer, bring your kids to SonQuest
Rainforest VBS. Based on 5 key Bible verses that will change a child’s
life—SonQuest Rainforest VBS transports young minds into a vivid
rainforest environment of jungle sounds, sights and smells,
where they’ll dig into the Bible and meet Jesus in every day’s story.
Worship
begins at 6:00 pm Sunday evenings beginning July7 and continues to
the end of August. If you can help with
refreshments for July 7 when we are host, please see Cindy.
July 7 Emmanuel
UCC
July
14 St. Peter’s UCC
July
21 St. John’s UCC
July
28 St. James Lutheran
Aug. 4 New
Hope UMC
Aug.
11 St. Mark’s Lutheran
Aug.
18 Mt. Zion UCC
Aug. 25 Cemetery
Association
We hope everyone will find time to worship in this
historic setting.
**
THIS IS A TENTATIVE SCHEDULE, ORDER OF HOSTS MAY CHANGE. I WILL KEEP EVERYONE
UPDATED AS I RECEIVE INFO ** THANK YOU, PENNY
