Missionary Renegade: "This Week in Worship • If God = Love, then... for Thursday, 7 May 2015 from Reverend Brent Ross at The Normal Heights United Methodist Church of San Diego, California, United States

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

"This Week in Worship • If God = Love, then... for Thursday, 7 May 2015 from Reverend Brent Ross at The Normal Heights United Methodist Church of San Diego, California, United States

What you'll find in this week's email:
• This Week in Worship:
If God = Love, then...
• Pancake Breakfast: ( This Sunday • 8:45a-9:30a )
• Faith on Tap ( 5/14 • 6:30p-8:00p )
• Gardening Weekend ( 5/16 & 5/17 )
• Bible Study Reopens! ( Starts 6/3 • 6:30p-8:00p )
• Youth Ministries Parent Meeting ( 5/31 • 11:45a-1:00p )

It’s a small statement, but one where its apparent simplicity belies a much deeper meaning. God IS Love. We see it printed on bumper stickers, greeting cards, coffee mugs, etc. and hear it spoken often. But what does it actually mean to say that God IS Love? (And not that God is loving or that God has love, but that God IS Love.)
This week we will talk about the effects of that statement as we start a short two-week sermon series entitled If God = Love, then… We will spend some time considering what it means when the letter of 1st John declares that “God is love, and that everyone who loves is born of God and knows God”. I wonder, how does this change our view of God and love? How might the power of this statement change how we view those we love who might seem adrift in their faith? See you on Sunday as we continue to explore these questions!

Note: We could use 3 more volunteers for Pancake Breakfasts to arrive at 8am!
Please email Nancy if you're able to help out!
Our next free pancake breakfast is this Sunday (Mother's Day) at 8:30am! Come to serve, talk or just eat! Don't worry about feeding your family, let us do the work. Stick around and check out our Sunday School & Worship Service afterwards if you'd like.

This Month's Topic:
Is there evidence in the Bible to support the belief that everyone might be saved?
At our next Faith on Tap, we will be talking about the belief called Universalism. Universalism is the belief that everyone will be saved, and perhaps not even everyone, but everything. But what does it mean to say or believe that? Is there proof of this? Is it in the Bible anywhere? What does that say about personal responsibility? At our next Faith on Tap, we will be discussing the question: “Can Everything Be Saved?”
“Faith on Tap” is our casual beer and faith discussion group. We meet at the home of local church members, Mike and Nancy Palmer, and if you’d like directions or want more info, please email Nancy directly at nancy@nhunited.org. Everyone is welcome at this event!

You may have noticed that our front planters of the church are long overdue for some care and attention. Well, it's finally time to fix that! The weekend of May 16th and 17th, we will have a gardening weekend where we will be replanting those areas and placing some more drought tolerant plants in place of what is there already. It is going to be a fantastic addition to the front of our church that will be another sign to the neighborhood that life is happening in this place! Join us on Saturday, May 16th from 9a-12p as we will get the soil ready for planting. Saturday morning we’ll be amending the soil and preparing the holes for planting, so come ready to get dirty! Then, on Sunday May 17th, right after church we will plant all of our new plants! That day should go much quicker as we will be ready to put them in place. These two days will make a HUGE difference around here, and of course kids can participate!
Now, here is how you can help. You can show up that weekend and help by giving some time, sweat and energy or you can help donate to offset the cost of the plants. We will begin taking donations this week at the Participate Prayer Station, or you can mail them to the church directly. This will be a great weekend to participate in, and a big thanks to Marianne Greene and Beth Antons for their leadership on this!

The current Bible Study on the Gospel of Luke is making some changes for the summer. Starting on June 3rd, the study will move to the church so that we can accommodate vacation schedules and more people for the summer. This ongoing Bible Study meets the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month, from 6:30 - 8:00pm, and is currently working through the Gospel of Luke. This study is open to all and is a question and discussion-based study! We are only about 5 chapters into the book, so this is a great time to join! If you’d like to join the group, or would need childcare for the summer, please feel free to email Pastor Brent at brent@nhunited.org.

Note: This meeting date has changed from 3/3 to May 31st!
Parents of children of all ages (or anyone interested in youth ministries) are invited to attend a meeting to discuss plans for starting up a youth program at NHUMC!!! We will be talking about your needs and wants in a program for youth, how we can better serveYOU, the parents, as well as assessing our current programs for children. YOUR input is important and we value your ideas. The meeting will be in the Social Hall after the worship service on Sunday, May 31st. It will run from around 11:45am-1:00pm. Light snacks will be served! If you plan on attending, or have any questions, please contactAlisa!