Pastor's E-Letter

Pastor's E-Letter

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Fishing, Boating, and Telling People About Jesus

There's a little joke amongst youth pastors in Florida (remember, there is "truth in jest!") that we who are called to do youth ministry are very thankful that God "called us to Florida!" I mean sure, if God had called me to Colline Musumba in Rwanda, I would have gone! But he called me to Florida. Near the east coast. By beaches. And warm weather.

And I don't know if I love it here because God called me, or God called me because I love it here. But I do know that I love it here! And one of the things I love about this area is that we can go swimming, boating, fishing, snorkeling, skiing, picnicking, and more almost year-round!

There is a great story in Luke's Gospel that includes some of these things! In chapter 5, Luke tells the story of Jesus getting into a boat to get away from shore just a little so that he can preach to the crowds. Luke writes, "He (Jesus) got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore." Luke 5:3 Jesus then tells Luke to fish. Luke does this and catches a ton of fish! So many fish that their nets were beginning to break! And then, to wrap up the story, Luke quotes Jesus by saying, "from now on, you will be catching people." Luke 5:10b.

Imagine. Fishing, boating, and telling people about Jesus. What a great story and an extraordinary calling. And this Sunday, we will be talking about what this means for us today. Maybe you're not an avid fishing person, but we can all be witnessing for Jesus in this beautiful part of the country (and maybe even use a boat!).

One of the real joys of youth ministry is watching young people come to know Jesus and begin their journey of growing closer to Him and deeper in their faith. And this year, we have a new resource to do that with our students! This resource is a spiritual journal written just for them! It's called the "12—Month Student Discipleship Journal." Our hope and desire is for every kid in our youth ministry to have one of these books and journey with us through it this year! And some of us have already begun this process and it's been outstanding! So, if you, your child, grandchild, family, or whoever would like to do this with us, that would be awesome! We have some books here if you'd like, or you can purchase your own at "The Youth Cartel." Join the fun and grow deeper with us as followers of Christ! And oh, if you've read this far, you may be interested to know that I, your Youth Pastor, am the author of this journal! Ok, let's enjoy this calling together!! And maybe even some fishing along the way!

Yours in Christ,
Joel Lusz

Posted by Joel Lusz with

Becoming a Follower

Growing up, one of my favorite TV shows was Gilmore Girls. Set in a fictional small town, the story about a single mom and her daughter appealed to me in many ways, as a daughter of a single mom who lived in a slightly-larger small town. In some respects, the show is good and doesn’t age well in others, but is one of my favorite “comfort watches” when I can’t find anything else on TV.

The chorus of the introductory song of the show is a famous song by Carol King,

“Where you lead, I will follow
Anywhere that you tell me to
If you need, you need me to be with you
I will follow where you lead.”

This affectionate statement is meant to remind us that the center of the story is a relationship between a mother and daughter that would go to the ends of the Earth to care for one another. It reminds me that love, in its best forms, is about leading and following, give and take, and faithfulness. This, of course, is something many of you know from your many years of marriage! (Can’t help but have that on the brain this week!)

This weekend, we’ll begin a new, longer-range sermon series called “Follow Me.” We’ve set a theme for the first part of the year 2022 as we as a church seek to follow Jesus in every aspect of our lives. To begin the year, we’ll be journeying through the Gospel of Luke and the stories of Jesus’s ministry to see and learn where God leads us in the example of Jesus.

Through our connection with the church, we have all in some way agreed to pay attention to the actions of Jesus. Something is compelling about the Savior we meet in the Gospels, and for many of us, we have gone beyond just curiosity. We have agreed to follow Jesus with our lives, love him, and let him lead us to the ends of the Earth for his Kingdom. Some days are beautiful, but lots of days are hard. Through our sanctification (a big word in the United Methodist movement that means the ongoing transformation process as we follow Jesus), we are invited to decide to follow Jesus every day, every moment, and sometimes every second!

We kick off our Follow Me series this week with Jesus’s declared purpose in Luke 4:14-21. It is beautiful, real, raw, and… challenging. Jesus states that his purpose is to relieve the pain presently and the real-life conditions people were living in. As Christians, we’ll hear how we, too, are called to the work of natural relief for our community– work that made folks want to send Jesus over a cliff. As we think about Martin Luther King Jr. on the anniversary of his birthday, we’ll remember others who heard Jesus’s mission, agreed to it and made great sacrifices for that mission.

What does it mean to follow Jesus as we love him? What does it mean to deepen our discipleship and our commitment to God, our church, and our community, in the name of extraordinary love?

Let’s find out together- see you Sunday!
Pastor Allee

Posted by Allee Willcox with

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