Normal Heights United Methodist Church with Pastor Reverend Brent Ross "This Week in Worship..." for Thursday, 3 July 2014

Normal Heights United Methodist Church with Pastor Reverend Brent Ross "This Week in Worship..." for Thursday, 3 July 2014

What you'll find in this week's email:
Community Life Update
This Week in Worship: Between Old & New Creation
Family Movie Night: How to Train Your Dragon (7/12)
Vacation Bible School (7/21-7/25)
Kids in Community (7/28-8/1)
Pancake Breakfast (Second Saturdays, 8:30-10:30am)

 

MUSIC TRANSITION

You may have heard that our worship leader, Tyler, is going to be transitioning out of his music leadership role in mid-August. Tyler has a business called Bradley Mountain, which has really taken off in the past year, and is opening a lot of doors for him. He now feels called to work with that vocation full time. I rejoice in this creative vocation that Tyler has been given, and although we will miss him greatly, I know that God will use him in great ways! Let us all be sure to give Tyler our prayers and words of encouragement over these next 2 months.
Now as we continue to think, pray, and dream about what may be next for us, musically in worship, we would ask for your help. Please pray for us in our search and work. We are excited about what may be next for our Sacred Ordinary service!

It’s not too late to join our discussions about what community ministries we will be offering in Normal Heights in the future. Our next meeting will be this Sunday at noon, and we will begin talking about our next steps for the process. If you would like to help us decide how we will bless and serve Normal Heights and San Diego, we would love to have you be a part of this process. We sincerely hope to hear from you and to see you on the 6th! Childcare available for children 3 and younger.

It was revealed earlier this week that Facebook had been manipulating people’s Facebook feeds as part of a social experiment sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences. It turns out that for a whole week in January, they had filtered the posts that people saw in their News Feed in order to highlight either negative or positive emotions. Basically, they allowed either a majority of negative or positive posts in order to determine if it would cause similar emotions in the people who read them.
It should come as no surprise that they did, indeed, find a correlation.  The people who read mostly negative reflections of the world began to send out their own negative posts; but those who saw positive reflections of the world began to send far more positive messages in their postings. As the researchers put it “These results indicate that emotions expressed by others on Facebook influence our own emotions, constituting experimental evidence for massive-scale contagion via social networks.” Or, as I would put it, “Being around grumpy people will make you grumpy.”
I’m not really sure that research was necessary to prove this to us. I mean, after all, doesn’t it seem obvious that our environment and the world around us will affect us? Doesn’t it make sense that the line we draw between ourselves and the world is far fuzzier and more permeable than we once thought? Why does this seemingly constitute a new study or discovery?
In fact, in our Scripture for this week, this same point is at the heart of a letter written to the church in Rome so long ago. At the very core of the passage we are told that we, too, are closely connected to something else. We are bound to, and in a fundamental relationship with it, and as we go, so does it. And this thing that we are so closely connected with is creation itself. For as creation is waiting in anticipation of redemption it is joined by us. We, too, the Apostle Paul reminds us, are waiting for the “redemption of our bodies.” It’s almost like Paul’s understanding of creation is that it is our sibling - we both are waiting desperately (groaning is the word he uses) for the day when God’s kingdom will be fully realized.
And yet, I wonder… how often do we think about creation and the world as something other than this? How often do we hold our personal growth of faith and the events of the world as separate things? I think part of the hope that we will find in this week’s Scripture is that God’s redemptive grace is so very full that it is working on us and the world together. The situation in Iraq and the Middle East is no less hopeful than the situation in our own hearts. We are all waiting and hoping for the coming kingdom of God.  
This week, in preparation for Sunday’s message, I invite you to do something. Take a small piece of paper (like the size of a note card or post-it) and write a prayer for yourself on one side, and a prayer for a situation in the world on the other. Practice seeing the two things together this week as connected. Then bring your prayer with you on Sunday, and be ready to hear the words of grace in our Scripture for this week. There will be words of hope. Hope for us, the world and all. See you Sunday, and if you’d like to read more of the passage before then you can find it here.(Pastor Brent)
Scripture Text:
Romans 8:18-27
Romans 8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which will be revealed toward us. 19 For the creation waits with eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to vanity, not of its own will, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of decay into the liberty of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and travails in pain together until now. 23 Not only so, but ourselves also, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for adoption, the redemption of our body. 24 For we were saved in hope, but hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for that which he sees? 25 But if we hope for that which we don’t see, we wait for it with patience. 26 In the same way, the Spirit also helps our weaknesses, for we don’t know how to pray as we ought. But the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings which can’t be uttered. 27 He who searches the hearts knows what is on the Spirit’s mind, because he makes intercession for the saints according to God.
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John Wesley's Notes-Commentary:
Romans 8:18-27
Verse 18
[18] For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
For I reckon — This verse gives the reason why he but now mentioned sufferings and glory. When that glory "shall be revealed in us," then the sons of God will be revealed also.
Verse 19
[19] For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
For the earnest expectation — The word denotes a lively hope of something drawing near, and a vehement longing after it.
Of the creation — Of all visible creatures, believers excepted, who are spoken of apart; each kind, according as it is capable. All these have been sufferers through sin; and to all these (the finally impenitent excepted) shall refreshment redound from the glory of the children of God. Upright heathens are by no means to be excluded from this earnest expectation: nay, perhaps something of it may at some times be found even in the vainest of men; who (although in the hurry of life they mistake vanity for liberty, and partly stifle. partly dissemble, their groans, yet) in their sober, quiet, sleepless, afflicted hours, pour forth many sighs in the ear of God.
Verse 20
[20] For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
The creation was made subject to vanity — Abuse, misery, and corruption.
By him who subjected it — Namely, God, Genesis 3:17; 5:29. Adam only made it liable to the sentence which God pronounced; yet not without hope.
Verse 21
[21] Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
The creation itself shall be delivered — Destruction is not deliverance: therefore whatsoever is destroyed, or ceases to be, is not delivered at all. Will, then, any part of the creation be destroyed? Into the glorious liberty - The excellent state wherein they were created.
Verse 22
[22] For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
For the whole creation groaneth together — With joint groans, as it were with one voice.
And travaileth — Literally, is in the pains of childbirth, to be delivered of the burden of the curse.
Until now — To this very hour; and so on till the time of deliverance.
Verse 23
[23] And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
And even we, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit — That is, the Spirit, who is the first-fruits of our inheritance.
The adoption — Persons who had been privately adopted among the Romans were often brought forth into the forum, and there publicly owned as their sons by those who adopted them. So at the general resurrection, when the body itself is redeemed from death, the sons of God shall be publicly owned by him in the great assembly of men and angels.
The redemption of our body — From corruption to glory and immortality.
Verse 24
[24] For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
For we are saved by hope — Our salvation is now only in hope. We do not yet possess this full salvation.
Verse 26
[26] Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Likewise the Spirit — Nay, not only the universe, not only the children of God, but the Spirit of God also himself, as it were, groaneth, while he helpeth our infirmities, or weaknesses. Our understandings are weak, particularly in the things of God our desires are weak; our prayers are weak.
We know not — Many times.
What we should pray for — Much less are we able to pray for it as we ought: but the Spirit maketh intercession for us - In our hearts, even as Christ does in heaven.
With groanings — The matter of which is from ourselves, but the Spirit forms them; and they are frequently inexpressible, even by the faithful themselves.
Verse 27
[27] And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
But he who searcheth the hearts — Wherein the Spirit dwells and intercedes.
Knoweth — Though man cannot utter it.
What is the mind of the Spirit, for he maketh intercession for the saints — Who are near to God.
According to God — According to his will, as is worthy of God. and acceptable to him.
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Mark your calendars for Saturday, July 12th, for our next family movie night, where we'll be featuring How to Train Your Dragon. And don't forget to join us the following Sunday for another exciting message in our Faith Flix series! Come help set-up or greet! Partnering with this ministry event is a fantastic way to meet people from the neighborhood, and to let them know who we are!

 

A GREEN VBS is an environmentally-focused Vacation Bible School program that inspires kids to grow in faith, have fun, and change the world as they practice stewardship of the earth! Kids ages 3 to 6th grade will explore and learn about God through crafts, games, singing, service projects, and Bible stories. Lunch will be provided! A special end of camp celebration for kids and their families will be held on Sunday, July 27th during the 10:30am worship service. Ice cream social to follow! Email office@nhunited.org for details, or if you'd like to help! Click here to visit our 2014 Summer Camps page and fill out a registration form.

 

All children going into 1st-6th grades are welcome to our 4th annual day camp on the week of July 28th to August 1st, from 9am-1pm each day. This is a non-religious enrichment program filled with games, songs, crafts, cooking, and science experiments! Free lunch is included for this fun time! Email office@nhunited.org for details! Check out the pics below to see just a few of the fun activities we offer at our camps! Email office@nhunited.org for details, or if you'd like to help! Click here to visit our 2014 Summer Camps page and fill out a registration form.

Join us for a FREE pancake breakfast on the second Saturday of every month! We will have pancakes, coffee, orange juice, and eggs. Cartoons, coloring, and a kid-friendly environment will be included. Come meet your neighbors and let us cook for you! And don't forget that you're always welcome to bring a friend! We can always use helpers to cook and set up. Contact nancy@NHUnited if you'd like to help!
 
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Our mailing address is:
Normal Heights United Methodist Church
4650 Mansfield Street
San Diego, Ca 92116