We invite you to slip on your walking shoes and join us on Mondays and Tuesdays at 9 am as we gather together and walk (at your own pace) within the comfort and safety of our church.
Walk With Your Friends
Author: Wende Gonzales
Pastor’s Notes 10/20/2023
On the sixth day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation
–Gen 2:2-3
As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
–John 15:9-11
God rested.
Possibly the most affirming words in all of scripture. Only to be outdone by the fact that God created, rested, and then looked around and declared it good. In the act of rest, God appreciated creation. And in so doing, eliminated any question as to why “remembering the sabbath and keeping it holy” is one of God’s holy commandments.
When we make time in our lives and schedules to enjoy and appreciate God’s creation, we honor the sabbath and engage with God in life giving ways. Appreciation is an act of praise. There is joy to be found in noticing God’s handiwork when we allow ourselves to be awed by mountain views, glorious sunsets, and a sky filled with stars.
We are actively in relationship with God when tears flow as our newest grandchild curls their hand around our finger, we rest in God’s promise.
When the smile from a stranger alters the course of our day, we rest in God’s promise.
When we see an animal in its habitat and all we want to do is observe it for a minute more, we rest in God’s promise.
When we step aside from the toil of labor of our daily commitments and permit ourselves to find joy in and with the blessings of creation that God has surrounded us with, we rest in God’s promise.
I look forward to worshipping with you on Sunday as the words from Genesis 2:1-3 and John 15:9-15 remind us of who we are and whose we are. We will find joy together as we abide in the presence of the holy. God created it all and took time to rest and enjoy. May we create a moment this weekend to do the same.
Brett
Pastor’s Notes 10/13/2023
“Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
–Matthew 11:28-30
Outside of Trish bringing home the unwanted souvenir of Covid from our vacation, we had an amazing trip to Alaska. It was a perfect time of rest, renewal, and experiencing the wonder of God in creation. We observed the northern lights in all their glory, got up close with reindeer, and saw both black and grizzly bears in the wild for the first time.
Our guide for our bear watching excursion encouraged us to buddy up. “On three, pick someone you think you are faster than.” The old joke being, you only need to be faster than one person when being chased by a bear! I had several offers to be hiking partners (good to feel loved).
“Take my yoke upon you,” Jesus said. “Buddy up with me.” He promised to be with us in and through anything. Connecting with Jesus will give us the tools necessary to live and love in the world. Two oxen can pull more than one, thereby making the plow easier to move. But also, when they are yoked together, they will pull together. The yoke keeps them in sync with each other so that one does not fall behind the other.
On Sunday we will explore further, the ways in which being yoked to Christ can lighten our load and help us to find rest for our souls.
Brett
Pastor’s Notes 10/6/2023
“Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy.” –Exodus 20:8
It is so easy to get caught up in the daily grind and the rhythm of our work. We busy ourselves with doing and easily forget to make time to just be. Taking rest is an imperative spelled out in the Bible, and yet we brush off any such thought as crazy talk.
Sabbath.
God commands us to rest. It is right there in the big 10 that were etched in stone so Moses wouldn’t forget to share it with the people when he came back down the mountain after being in the shining glow of God’s presence.
Of all the commandments mentioned in Exodus 20, more detail is put into honoring sabbath. It is the longest entry in this section, perhaps as some of the other laws of God are pretty obvious: don’t kill, don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, don’t covet what your neighbors have and honor the authority of your parents. But taking time to rest is a nebulous concept that we often fail to deem as a holy commandment.
Exodus 20:8-10 says this, “Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. For six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it.”
Sabbath, or shabbat in Hebrew, means to cease, to end, to rest. It is a valuable gift from God that we often fail to put into practice. So, over the next few Sundays we will remind ourselves of the commandment to rest, refuel, and to sit with God in life giving ways.
It is good to be home after a most wonderful vacation (indeed, having taken sabbath rest, I am reminded of the value and importance). I am rejuvenated and ready to creatively lead Sun City Christian Church into the next chapter of our ministry together! See you Sunday.
Rev. Brett
Monday Group Strings concert & dinner
4 pm on Sunday, November 5
Treat yourself to a night of celebration and connection at Sun City Christian Church with a live music concert followed by dinner. Enjoy a variety of favorite country and bluegrass music and take part in an old fashioned sing-along! Dinner to follow.
Reservations needed only for dinner. Call 623-972-6179, sign up in the church narthex, or make your reservation online.
Free event. Donations welcome.
Save the date: The next concert & dinner is December 10 at 4 pm with the Ambassador’s Singing Group.
Hymn Celebration on October 1
Coming up on Sunday, October 1: A Hymn Celebration! Add your voice to a beautiful, Sunday special service of song and fellowship.
Blessing of the Sleeping Mats
On September 10, Rev. Brett Winters blessed over 200 crocheted sleep mats for the homeless made from recycled plastic bags. Each mat is added to a backpack which is supplied with water, personal hygiene supplies, and snacks.
Caring Angels, a volunteer organization founded and directed by Jody Swank, collects the donated plastic bags and cuts them into strips to be made into plarn (plastic yarn) to be crocheted. It’s a community effort with friends, family, and neighbors contributing to the project.
The Disciples Women’s Ministry (DWM) of the Sun City Christian Church meets every fourth Monday at 9am to cut bags, make plarn and crochet mats. All are welcome to join this group and can call 602-972-6179 for more information.
Caring Angels is requesting plastic bags. Additional help and donations are always appreciated. Director Jody Swank can be reached at yarning8@cox.net.
(Pictured: Carol Finch, Marcia Hollingsworth, Charlene Hunt, Kendra Kaye Moore, Tish Alicki, Rev. Brett Winters, Jody Swank, Yvonne Finnegan, Mary Harper, and Jane Seidl)
Pastor’s Notes 9/1/2023
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power; put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil, for our struggle is not against blood and flesh but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
–Ephesians 6:10-12
In her commentary for this series, Mary Hinkle Shore tells us:
The last reading in our series (Ephesians 6:10-20) gives voice to our sense that many of the problems our neighborhood, our world, and we ourselves face are beyond our capacity just to roll up our sleeves and muscle our way to a solution. Throughout Paul’s letters, sin is a power rather than a type of human action, and Ephesians continues this idea: “Our battle is not against enemies of blood and flesh…” (6:12). Christian life, individually or collectively, means persevering in the still-contested arena of human life, standing when we would prefer to fold, or fight, or flee.
Old Testament prophets used the same armor metaphor to speak of how God would defend against injustice and evil (see, for example, Isaiah 59:15-17). In Ephesians, God’s own armor is available to believers; we have God’s own protection as we stand against the “powers of this present darkness” (6:12). The armor pieces are all defensive, with the exception of the side arm “sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (6:17).
In conclusion in this text from Paul in his jail cell, he asks for prayer that he, an “ambassador in chains,” may speak freely. Like what we see at the end of Acts, Paul is proclaiming boldly the kingdom of God and the teachings of Jesus. Paul was constantly adapting to the movement of the Spirit. Lest we forget, at first Paul was a chief persecutor of Christianity. Plans change, and to withstand the evils of the world we must adapt and trust God to be present with us.
Before signing off for this week, I wish to thank Karol Priester for sharing her amazing gift of office coordination with us. Working with her for the past several months has been a delight and a gift as we settled in as congregation and pastor together. She and Mike are a wonderful blessing to Sun City Christian Church, and we are most grateful for all they have done.
Karol has been most helpful in training our new Office Coordinator, Michele Lundborg! Michele is a delight with experience and a true compassionate spirit that will serve us well going forward. Be sure to welcome Michele when you contact the office next. Her office hours will be on Monday and Tuesday.
Many blessings and I look forward to worshipping with you on Sunday.
Brett
Pastor’s Notes 8/25/2023
I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace…
– Ephesians 4:1-3
Our sermon theme (Eph 4:1-16) for this Sunday is that the plan of God has implications not just for past estrangement but present and future growing up into Christ. The point being, we must choose to give of ourselves as Jesus did in servanthood to others. We must do it! Our initiative is the major implication of God’s plan: humanity will need to carry the load of loving like Christ in the world. The choice of how to live is ours to make. Are we making choices grounded in a Christ-like love and grace?
In her commentary for this series, Mary Hinkle Shore mentions that Ephesians is ostensibly written by an imprisoned apostle Paul, and here the prisoner in the Lord implores his readers to live worthily of their calling to life without dividing walls or prison bars. The center of the text, however, is not an imperative, but the story of Christ’s astonishing freedom and willingness to descend to earth with the gifts of heaven. We know this plot line from Philippians 2. He did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped. He emptied himself.
May we as a congregation continue to discover those ways in which we are willing to empty ourselves for the fulfillment of others.
See you Sunday and if you haven’t told me, texted me, called, or emailed the office to let me know you have been reading this weekly column, do so to receive a prize!
Brett
“Happy Together” concert
You’re invited to “Happy Together” — a FREE concert at Sun City Christian Church on Sunday, September 17 at 3 pm.
Enjoy iconic songs of the ’50s and ’60s by Sosco Duo with Laura Strickland on flute and Alex Mack on guitar. Stay afterward for the ice cream social!
Everyone is invited even if you’re not a member of the church! Please call to make your reservation now: 623-972-6179. It’s free and donations are welcome.
See you there.