Weekly News for Thursday, March 20, 2014
Sunday, March 23
Lent 3: Jesus Washes the Disciples' Feet
8:30 am Informal Worship in Epworth Lounge
9:30 am Contemporary Worship in the Sanctuary
11:00 am Traditional Worship in the Sanctuary
Sunday's Scripture:
John 13:1-20
Romans 5:1-11
John 13:1 Now before the feast of the Passover, Jesus, knowing that his time had come that he would depart from this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 During supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he came from God, and was going to God, 4 arose from supper, and laid aside his outer garments. He took a towel, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 Then he poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 6 Then he came to Simon Peter. He said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?”7 Jesus answered him, “You don’t know what I am doing now, but you will understand later.”
8 Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet!”
Jesus answered him, “If I don’t wash you, you have no part with me.”
9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!”
10 Jesus said to him, “Someone who has bathed only needs to have his feet washed, but is completely clean. You are clean, but not all of you.” 11 For he knew him who would betray him, therefore he said, “You are not all clean.” 12 So when he had washed their feet, put his outer garment back on, and sat down again, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? 13 You call me, ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord.’ You say so correctly, for so I am. 14 If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. 16 Most certainly I tell you, a servant is not greater than his lord, neither one who is sent greater than he who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. 18 I don’t speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen. But that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘He who eats bread with me has lifted up his heel against me.’[a] 19 From now on, I tell you before it happens, that when it happens, you may believe that I am he. 20 Most certainly I tell you, he who receives whomever I send, receives me; and he who receives me, receives him who sent me.”
Footnotes:
a. John 13:18 Psalm 41:9
Romans 5:1 Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; 2 through whom we also have our access by faith into this grace in which we stand. We rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only this, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope: 5 and hope doesn’t disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. 6 For while we were yet weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man. Yet perhaps for a righteous person someone would even dare to die. 8 But God commends his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we will be saved from God’s wrath through him. 10 For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we will be saved by his life.
11 Not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
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John Wesley's Notes-Commentary for:
John 13:1-20
Verse 1. Before the feast - Namely, on Wednesday, in the paschal week. Having loved his own - His apostles, he loved them to the end - Of his life.Verse 2. Having now - Probably now first.
Verse 3. Jesus knowing - Though conscious of his own greatness, thus humbled himself.
Verse 4. Layeth aside his garments - That part of them which would have hindered him.
Verse 5. Into the basin - A large vessel was usually placed for this very purpose, wherever the Jews supped.
Verse 7. What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter - We do not now know perfectly any of his works, either of creation, providence, or grace. It is enough that we can love and obey now, and that we shall know hereafter.
Verse 8. If I wash thee not - If thou dost not submit to my will, thou hast no part with me - Thou art not my disciple. In a more general sense it may mean, If I do not wash thee in my blood, and purify thee by my Spirit, thou canst have no communion with me, nor any share in the blessings of my kingdom.
Verse 9. Lord, not my feet only - How fain would man be wiser than God! Yet this was well meant, though ignorant earnestness.
Verse 10. And so ye, having been already cleansed, need only to wash your feet - That is, to walk holy and undefiled.
Verse 14. Ye ought also to wash one another's feet - And why did they not? Why do we not read of any one apostle ever washing the feet of any other? Because they understood the Lord better. They knew he never designed that this should be literally taken. He designed to teach them the great lesson of humble love, as well as to confer inward purity upon them. And hereby he teaches us,
1. In every possible way to assist each other in attaining that purity;
2. To wash each other's feet, by performing all sorts of good offices to each other, even those of the lowest kind, when opportunity serves, and the necessity of any calls for them.
Verse 16. The servant is not greater than his Lord - Nor therefore ought to think much of either doing or suffering the same things.
Verse 18. I speak not of you all - When I call you happy, I know one of you twelve whom I have chosen, will betray me; whereby that scripture will be fulfilled. Psalm xli, 9.
Verse 20. And I put my own honour upon you, my ambassadors. Matt. x, 40.
Romans 5:1-11
Verse 1. Being justified by faith - This is the sum of the preceding chapters. We have peace with God - Being enemies to God no longer, ver. 10; neither fearing his wrath, ver. 9. We have peace, hope, love, and power over sin, the sum of the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth chapters. These are the fruits of justifying faith: where these are not, that faith is not.Verse 2. Into this grace - This state of favour.
Verse 3. We glory in tribulations also - Which we are so far from esteeming a mark of God's displeasure, that we receive them as tokens of his fatherly love, whereby we are prepared for a more exalted happiness. The Jews objected to the persecuted state of the Christians as inconsistent with the people of the Messiah. It is therefore with great propriety that the apostle so often mentions the blessings arising from this very thing.
Verse 4. And patience works more experience of the sincerity of our grace, and of God's power and faithfulness.
Verse 5. Hope shameth us not - That is, gives us the highest glorying. We glory in this our hope, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts - The divine conviction of God's love to us, and that love to God which is both the earnest and the beginning of heaven. By the Holy Ghost - The efficient cause of all these present blessings, and the earnest of those to come.
Verse 6. How can we now doubt of God's love? For when we were without strength - Either to think, will, or do anything good. In due time - Neither too soon nor too late; but in that very point of time which the wisdom of God knew to be more proper than any other. Christ died for the ungodly - Not only to set them a pattern, or to procure them power to follow it. It does not appear that this expression, of dying for any one, has any other signification than that of rescuing the life of another by laying down our own.
Verse 7. A just man - One who gives to all what is strictly their due The good man - One who is eminently holy; full of love, of compassion, kindness, mildness, of every heavenly and amiable temper. Perhaps-one-would-even-dare to die - Every word increases the strangeness of the thing, and declares even this to be something great and unusual.
Verse 8. But God recommendeth - A most elegant expression. Those are wont to be recommended to us, who were before either unknown to, or alienated from, us. While we were sinners - So far from being good, that we were not even just.
Verse 9. By his blood - By his bloodshedding. We shall be saved from wrath through him - That is, from all the effects of the wrath of God. But is there then wrath in God? Is not wrath a human passion? And how can this human passion be in God? We may answer this by another question: Is not love a human passion? And how can this human passion be in God? But to answer directly: wrath in man, and so love in man, is a human passion. But wrath in God is not a human passion; nor is love, as it is in God. Therefore the inspired writers ascribe both the one and the other to God only in an analogical sense.
Verse 10. If - As sure as; so the word frequently signifies; particularly in this and the eighth chapter. We shalt be saved - Sanctified and glorified. Through his life - Who "ever liveth to make intercession for us."
Verse 11. And not only so, but we also glory - The whole sentence, from the third to the eleventh verse, may be taken together thus: We not only "rejoice in hope of the glory of God," but also in the midst of tribulations we glory in God himself through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the reconciliation.
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All-Church Potluck
Everyone is invited to our end-of-the-month potluck after 11am worship on Sunday, March 30. Just bring your dishes to the kitchen before worship and come back for some tasty treats! Don't have time to cook? No problem! There's always plenty to share.
In This Issue
eScrip 20/30 Group
Lay Looker
From the Lay Leader
Prayer Quilting
St John's Passion
Like us on Facebook
Sanctuary Alarm
This Week at Church...
www.beachfaith.org
Adult Bible Study
You are welcome to join our regular Thursday Bible Study with Pastor Molly.The Pastor's Bible Study meets each Thursday at 11:00am in May Day Parlor.
SHARED BREAD
A Church That Responds to the Needs of the CommunityEvery Wednesday, with help from neighbor congregations and many volunteers, we host Shared Bread, a free meal for the community.
(Click the logo for more information.)
Would you like to be a part of our Shared Bread Entertainment?? If you play an instrument and would like to share your talent with those who come for a meal, please
contact Susanne Paulson.
Here are some dates you can add to your calendar:
April 23
May 28 from 6:00 to 6:30ish.
Feel free to bring a friend to play.
Groceries = $$$ for Church
Looking for an easy way to support our church? Now you can do your grocery shopping and the store will give a percentage back to FUMCRB! Click the image on the left to learn how you can sign up for this easy giving program. Our Stewardship Team can answer any questions!
WANT TO STAY CURRENT ON ANNUAL CONFERENCE NEWS?
CLICK THE IMAGE ON THE RIGHT TO LINK TO THE CAL-PAC WEBSITE.
You may also visit the new website for the entire denomination of United Methodist Church here.
20/30 group: A new group is starting at FUMCRB - the 20/30 group is a casual gathering of people in their 20's and 30's looking to connect with other young adults who attend the same church. Contact Amanda Kuczun for info on upcoming events!
At last month's Mary Circle meeting, care packages for our college youth were filled with homemade cookies, special messages and lots of love. What a wonderful way to stay connected and remind our youth that they are still a part of a caring church family.
Annual Gala to honor Kareem Abdul-Jabar and to support Toberman Neighborhood Center
Saturday, April 5th at the Manhattan Beach Marriott
More information here
Toberman Neighborhood Center is a non-profit community-based organization committed to assisting Harbor Area families and individuals by delivering life-changing services that encourage, inform, educate and empower them to live healthy and purposeful lives.
Want to see photos of past church activities and events?
Check out our Flickr page and our Facebook page
detail from "Entry into Jerusalem" © 2013 John August Swanson | Eyekons
The Characters in the Crowd
I continue to be inspired by the artwork that goes with our lenten study, and by contemplating the multitude of interpretive choices the artist has to make. This week, I'm moved by the crowd that John August Swanson painted into the story. Each figure, each face, tells a little bit of a story, and gives me cause to imagine the many, particular stories of the crowd that gathered around Jesus.In Swanson's Entry into Jerusalem, I noticed a man near Jesus, carrying a crutch. Did he come hoping to be healed? Was he moved by a teacher who welcomed even those who were visibly "broken"? Did he struggle to keep up in the crowd?
I like to believe that this man is included as a visual reminder that we are all welcome, with whatever brokenness, struggles, and imperfections we bring.
I pray that I would have the same courage to follow Jesus that this man had--even when it is inconvenient and difficult.
grace and peace,
Pastor Molly
I hope you have already begun the daily prayers from our "What Wondrous Love" devotional--and that you've made plans to join one of our small Bible study groups. More information is online.
Contact Info
Pastor Molly Vetter
PastorMolly@BeachFaith.com
(310)372-8445 x 102
Church-Wide Lenten Study: What Wondrous Love
During Lent as are sharing in a special study of scripture, featuring art images of John August Swanson. Each week, a story from the gospels is illuminated by a companion artwork. A daily devotional (available Sunday or online) guides you through prayers for the season, and small group Bible studies deepen our study of the texts and images. The 6-week Bible study runs from now through Easter, April 20. More info is available on our website.Our Monday night Children's Printmaking Class has been having fun sharing the scripture stories and exploring art together!
Lay Looker by Bob Peterson
So, What's Going On? by Bob Peterson
It's truly amazing how many things are going on at our church these days. For instance our Lenten series of small groups seems to be flourishing, but one expects that with the leadership of Pastor Molly Vetter in the mix. Last Monday, though, I attended a Church Council meeting in the evening and there were sixteen of us taking it all in. I don't make a report, but practically all of those attending did so and those who had to miss it sent in written reports. Nina Dooley is the Chair and managed to conclude by 8:30 pm following a 1½ hour meeting.So, what's going on? For full details, ask any of our outstanding staff who were all there and made reports. Also, Nancy Klinger is the volunteer official secretary so she knows everything. Here are some phrases that caught my attention: Epworth Patio furniture has been provided but our Trustee Chair Don Burrows wants all of the church to use it, not just the young people. Youth are planning to sell hot dogs on Palm Sunday in the Epworth Patio. There is a place to list examples of God's Wondrous Love as seen by our people. Tissue issues have been addressed by UMW and you'll see ceramic tissue dispensers around the church as a service to you. A real art class exists and announces it is not just for youth, according to Katherine. A Mentor program is flourishing with the 18 young junior high school people being confirmed in June. A Drama Camp may be in the works. Our newest adult group (20 to 30ish) is in the process of beginning. A Change the World Sunday, May 18 involves church under the key word, "El Tordondo" which, I guess includes El Segundo, Redondo and Torrance. Our Prayer Quilt Mission is available, just contact the office. Social issues were discussed and may be included later this year.
Oh Yes, there were reports on finances, staff, church history, Shared Bread, Endowment Fund as well as planning for Vacation Bible School and other routine church activities. Isn't all this amazing to those of us who only attend Sunday mornings? The above, plus a few outside groups who use our rooms during the week keep our parking lot busy and our facility known to many in the South Bay area. The one thing I have not mentioned is that the life and leadership of Jesus is evident in all the many activities around our church. Isn't that what it's all about? One more thing, With Easter Sunday coming April 20 we will have a brass quartet, so bring ear-plugs for friends.
From our Membership Committee
Our Membership Committee encourages you to share your sign of God's wondrous love on the bulletin board beside May Day Parlor
From our Lay Leader, Johnna Kosnoff
Read Johnna's recent Lay Leader reflections online.
Holy Week Worship
This is a rich season for worship. Mark your calendars and invite your friends to share with us:Palm Sunday: festive worship, plus a Palm Processional--with talking donkey!--between services
Maundy Thursday: evening dinner and worship with Riviera UMC
Easter Sunday: Sunrise worship at the beach, celebrate in all our regular services, and an Easter Egg hunt for kids.
Lenten Visitation Volunteer Team
(an invitation from Pastor Molly)
On Wednesday, April 2 from 10-11am, I will host a training for church volunteers who will visit the homes of our homebound members and bring them Holy Communion during the season of Lent. If you would be interested in being a part of this ministry, please email me.We are pleased to share this note of appreciation from Betty Crownover, widow of Bob Crownover (who was our church Facility Manager, Lay Speaker and more):
A Special Note of Thanks...
I would like to thank all the congregation and staff for there generous gifts and for all the moral support I received during Bob's illness and passing. It was all greatly appreciated.Love all of you, Betty
PRAYERS AND SQUARES
Sponsor a Free Quilt for Someone in Need of PrayerOur prayer quilt ministry is ready to share prayers and quilts--if you would like to sponsor a free quilt for someone you know, we simply ask that you ask the recipient's permission, and then be here on a Sunday to help people tie knots and say prayers. Request forms are available in the church office or on our website.
Easter Offerings
During the Easter season, it is encouraging to see both new and familiar faces at our worship services. Throughout the year, many of you already support the congregation with your time, talent and financial contributions but greater participation is always welcome. We encourage you to look into our electronic giving program. It takes just a few minutes to setup a recurring giving plan through Realm (our new database system). Email the office for an invitation to Realm or visit the church website to download and complete a paper authorization form.
Lenten Choral Opportunity:
Bach's "St. John Passion", Sunday March 23rd, at 5:30pm (free pre-concert lecture at 4:30pm)Experience Bach's dramatic account of the Passion based on the Gospel according to St. John as it was originally composed for Good Friday services. Camerata Singers of Long Beach present the story of Jesus' Passion combined with choral reflections on our response as individuals and community to his suffering and death. Sung in German with supertitles in English, period instruments. Long Beach City College Auditorium.
Like us on Facebook!
Visit the page and "like" us so you can see and share the latest photos, news and links from the church.Our Sanctuary is now ALARMED! To protect our new sound system, the Trustees have upgraded our security system to include the sanctuary. If you have a key to the sanctuary you must contact the church office before you next use it. There are only two points of entry that should be used and there is a code that you will need to disarm the system. If you need access contact Ernie directly.
This Week at Church...
Nursery The Nursery is open all three services for ages 6 weeks to 4 yrs old. Located right off of the parking lot across Epworth Lounge. Any questions email the Nursery Coordinator: Adriana Hwang
Children's Ministry
Bring your Bible Bags this week! We will be opening the bible each week from now till Easter as we explore stories from the last week of Jesus' ministry. This week we will make a "wheel" that you can keep in your bag and refer to each week. Our children's blog has been updated. See pictures of all we've been up to!
Church R Us (4th and 5th grade):
SUNDAY SCHOOL at 9:30am. This week, we will continue looking at the last week of Jesus' life by studying The Last Supper as told in Luke.
Youth Group (6th-12th grade):
Let's get the whole gang together and go BOWLING! Cost: $20--includes everything (shoes, bowling, and pizza). Combined Youth Group this week (6-12th graders) from 3-5 PM at GABLE HOUSE BOWL. Our bowling time starts at 3 PM, so you'll want to arrive AT THE ALLEY BY 2:59! Please RSVP to Caroline (via email or text) so I know to look for you.
HEY, get those RSVPs in for SSP weekend April 25-27th and SSP summer (9-12th grade) July 18-26!
Adult Sunday School: Join us every Sunday at 9:30am for study and discussion of this week's scripture lesson. During Lent, we will participate in the "What Wondrous Love" study (May Day Parlor)
Men's Breakfast: Our next breakfast is Monday, April 7 at 7AM. All men of the church and their friends are welcome to join us for fellowship. At Billy's Deli, 5160 W 190th St, Torrance, CA 90503.
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First United Methodist Church of Redondo Beach
310-372-8445 main 310-372-5696 fax
Reverend Molly Vetter, Lead & Teaching Pastor PastorMolly@beachfaith.com
Ernie Valenzuela, Administrative Assistant x101 Ernie@beachfaith.com
First United Methodist Church
243 S. Broadway Street
Redondo Beach, CA 90277 United States
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