Youth Celebrate the End of the School Year

Thanks to Scott and Amanda Frame, our fearless youth leaders, to Barbara Hale who provided meals, to Brian Scheller for his assistance, and to the wonderful young people who come and bring friends!

Ello, Summer

Kickin with the homies

"Fishers of men" and girls

Brady steals the big stick

Waiting for the goodies

Official Board Actions

Chapel/Youth Building Remodeling

The Official Board approved the use of $3,400.00 in certificates of deposit designated for the youth program to remodel the current youth space. The wall between the current youth room and chapel would be removed (with proper support being supplied) and the space would be remodeled and refurnished to serve the needs of the growing youth group. A larger space, closer to square in shape was needed to serve the needs of the youth group.

Board Chair Ken Hale will appoint a task force to oversee the project.

The task force will consider the use of the current youth building and possibly the use of the current day care building to best serve this congregation’s future children’s and youth ministries.

Gordon and Allawayne Carr’s granddaughter Caitlan will carry out a portion of the work on the project to meet her service requirement to earn a Girl Scout Gold Award.

This project can be a major step forward in our congregation’s readiness for congregational growth.

Chancel Redesign

Designated funds given specifically for this purpose are being used to make improvements to the sound system and to the design of the chancel. A task force consisting of David Bell, Ken Hale, John Turner, and Allawayne Carr is overseeing this project. Their unanimous consensus is that the current side-facing choir loft is not appropriate to the current or anticipated worship style of the congregation. They agree that all permanent barriers dividing the chancel should be removed and that the chancel floor should be as much on one level as possible. Modesty/privacy rails, if any are needed, should be portable. The purpose is to allow for more creative and varied use of the chancel space for worship activities. The board has approved this plan.

Further designated funds must be received before planning can proceed for a video projection system. Task force members are agreed that there must be professional consultations and competitive bidding on this project. Consideration will be given to the historic aesthetics of our present building. The plan and bid favored by the task force will be brought to the Board for consideration before any bid is approved. The purpose of the projection system is to improve worship participation and communication. Older members with hearing impairment and younger members who are more accustomed to visual and multimedia learning will find it especially helpful. It is generally easier for members to follow teaching-style sermons when they are accompanied by visual aids.

Projection systems are being used today in all styles of sanctuaries and in all styles of worship. Even churches that rely heavily on prayer book readings find that projecting the readings is much more user-friendly to visitors. We need to plan how to make the best use of this technology for our middle of the road style and historic space.

Garage Sale This Saturday!

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FCC Holds Annual Garage Sale this Saturday

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FCC holds its annual garage sale this Saturday beginning at 7 AM (set-up) May 30th. If you have items to donate for the sale you can drop them off at the church. Contact Barbara Hale for more information.

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Robert West seeks volunteers for the annual church grounds Spring Cleaning. Persons able to help should be at the church Saturday morning at 7:00 AM.

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Growing Community from the Ground Up

Off to a Splendid Start!

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FCC Farm Manager Kari Keever has kept close tabs on her gardeners and all of the beds are in good shape, generally weed free and bustling with healthy plants. The sunshine of last week came in the nick of time and the dry weather allowed folks time to lay down mulch. The mulch will keep the weeds under control and help retain moisture.

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Marcie Brewster of Wildfire Farms has agreed to donate 20 heirloom tomato plants, including some Russian and Cherokee Purples: look to see them go in sometime midweek. These plants will, according to Kari, go into the single bed that isn't currently under production.

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The Loaves and Fishes plot looks especially productive and the beds are immaculate. Hats off to Loretta Tanner for her diligence and special kudos to Connie O'Toole who is a prodigious weeder.

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The following poem, by anonymous, sums up the tender mercies of this past week:

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Thank you for my garden Lord, and for each tiny seed

That sprouts and blooms so beautifully to feel my soul's true need

Thank you for the pleasure, Lord, I find here on bended knee

For my garden's glory surely is a blessing sent from thee

Garage Sale

The First Christian Church holds its annual garage sale on May 30th at the church. Hundreds of useful and beautiful items will be for sale. Come early!

Contact Barbara Hale for more information.

Community Garden Update

Rain Rain Go Away!

Garden MANAGER Kari Keever has decreed that a large tree branch shading several garden beds must go. Consequently, LABOR will appear as soon as the rain disappears. Anyone interested in the preservation of the tree branch in its current state should contact Kari as soon as possible. We are mindful of Longfellow's command “Woodman, spare that tree!” in his poem, Under the Spreading Chestnut Tree.

With the exception of Dan’s okra and a short row of sunflowers, most of the plants and seeds seem to have survived our weeks of rain. Jennifer’s wild flower and annuals beds are looking great, however, and the Turners have turned out to be surprisingly adept at vegetable farming—their cabbages may be credible candidates for the County Fair.

A long dose of sunshine is necessary and the weather people have predicted some for next week. Let us pray.

Photo by: Sharon Sloan

Miraculously Bad Odds

Former FCC member Steve Ross will preach 11:00 A.M., Sunday, May 17. His message, “Miraculously Bad Odds,” will address the need of Christians to live with bold faith, generosity, and commitment to missions, even in hard times.

Steve will also speak at a potluck sandwich luncheon following the worship service. Members are encouraged to bring sandwiches and other finger foods sufficient for their family and a few more. Steve will describe his recent mission trip to India and the extraordinary mission efforts he saw there. An offering to support some of those missions will be taken during the luncheon.

Everyone is welcome.

Breakfast With Jesus Sermon

Sermon by Judy Turner
JOHN 21:1-14

Everything Changes When Jesus Shows Up

This story begins as Peter and some other followers of Jesus decide to go fishing. We don’t know what’s in their minds. But I see they are in major transition in their lives, and I imagine they are feeling some confusion about what they should do next. They know by now that Jesus is risen from the dead. But he comes and goes in that resurrected body. They may be gathered for dinner, and there he is suddenly. He talks with them, eats with them, and then he just as mysteriously disappears. They know their lives are going to be different now, without his constant physical presence. They know they will still live as his followers. They just don’t know how, or what that will be like. I imagine they are at loose ends. Peter, never one for just sitting around, says, “I’m going fishing.” At least they can always go back to what they did before they met Jesus. They know how to fish. We can only imagine what went through their minds as they let down those nets over and over through the long night and the nets always came back empty. It must have been perplexing and discouraging for them.

But, about daybreak, Jesus shows up. Have you noticed that it makes all the difference when Jesus shows up? It can be as simple as puzzling over a problem in your life, not seeing the way through. Then you pray. A new possibility dawns, a solution you hadn’t been able to see. It’s like Jesus is saying, “Why don’t you try doing it this way?” Or maybe your spiritual life has just been dry. You’re not sensing God’s presence much. And you cry out to God, “I’m missing you! Please draw me closer.” Then maybe you pick up your Bible and it’s like Jesus is highlighting words just for you. Or maybe you’re talking with a Christian friend, and you hear in the friend’s words just what you needed to hear! Jesus is there speaking to you through that friend. Or maybe you feel discouraged as his follower. You know you are to be a “fisher of people”, loving and influencing people toward Christ. But it seems like you haven’t even been able to put in a word for God recently. So you ask Jesus to use you in making his love real for somebody. And before you even realize what’s happening, you’re talking with somebody at work about spiritual things. It’s as if Jesus is right there, and joy flows through you again.

Jesus is always with us. He has promised. But what we’re talking about is greater awareness of his presence. He shows up when we’re seeking Him and paying attention. He shows up when we are worshipping, studying, praying together. He shows up when we are putting in a good word for God or wanting to make God’s love real for people through acts of compassion and kindness. He shows up when we are working to make life better for the poor and oppressed. As we put into practice The 9 Ways of Spiritual Growth, we experience Jesus showing up more and more in our daily lives.

Jesus also shows up in his great mercy when we are in great need. I’ve had one of those long nights. I’ll bet you have too. One of the longest nights was in a hospital in San Antonio, Texas, as I walked the lonely corridors. We’d brought my mother into the emergency room the night before. Now the doctors said because of a flesh-eating virus, she would probably not make it through the night. It was so shocking, so unexpected, and I struggled to pray or just feel God’s presence. “I know you’ve promised to always be with me, but where are you, Lord?” About daybreak, the people from my mother’s church came in and filled the intensive care waiting room where my dad and I sat. They prayed for us, and as there was a moment of revelation when I looked into their faces, and I saw the Lord, right there, tangibly present in his body. My mother miraculously recovered from that illness, but even if she hadn’t, I received a revelation I will never forget. Jesus showed up, and when Jesus shows up, it makes all the difference.

I know there are some for whom Mother’s day brings sadness, those who have lost their mothers, or mother’s who have lost children through death or illness or alienation. If you have a great need for God this morning, know you have a great God for all your need. He comes the closest when we need Him the most, when we know we need Him. Jesus showing up makes all the difference and turns emptiness into fullness, despair into hope, futility into fruitfulness, frustration into fulfilment.

Everything Depends on Our Faith and Obedience

Everything changes when Jesus shows up. And everything depends on our responding in faith to him. Jesus stood on that shore and gave them instructions about how to fulfill their purpose. “Throw your nets on the right side of the boat,” he said. And there were results – 153 of them! But we know the point of this story was not to catch a lot of fish. The point was for the followers of Jesus to learn to act in faith and obedience when he spoke. Jesus still speaks to his followers today. When we respond in faith and obedience and do what he says, he will fulfill his purpose in our lives and there will be kingdom results. We may not see those results as immediately as the disciples did in this story. The results may look different than we thought, and we may not recognize them immediately as God at work through our faith and obedience. But our actions in faith and obedience make a difference. I read in a commentary on this passage, “Don’t seek results first and foremost- seek obedience. God’s results will follow.”

Jesus Leads Us and Feeds Us

Jesus showed up one morning on the beach. He made all the difference to those disciples. He reminded them that they were called to be fishers of people – to make God’s love so real to people that they would be caught up into a wonderful new reality of God’s forgiveness and leadership in their lives. He reminded them that they could make a difference in the lives of people. If that seemed a little intimidating, he reminded them by the miraculous catch of fish that his resources were more than adequate to get the job done. And then, he invited them to have breakfast with him. Can you imagine how satisfying that breakfast was? How great it was just to sit around that fire and talk with Jesus?

A group of young campers followed their counselor in the dark. He woke them up a couple of hours before dawn, not telling them exactly where they were going- just that he had a wonderful destination for them. He walked ahead with a flashlight. Each camper held a flashlight and put their feet where the light was shining. Thus, each step led them closer to their destination, even though they didn’t know exactly where their destination was. Their path led up a hill and to a cleared area where there were already logs laid for a fire. The counselor lit the fire, and the campers warmed themselves as the sun rose, revealing the most beautiful panorama of fields and forests and streams. Then they smelled bacon as the counselor started cooking their breakfast over the camp fire. They all talked about how it was the most wonderful breakfast they had ever had! The counselor said, “I wanted to have you experience something about what it is to follow Jesus. Often we don’t know exactly where he is leading us, but we follow him because we love him and trust him. Sometimes we can only see the next step, but as we take that step, we grow closer to him and he can work through us to really make a difference according to his plan and purpose. But not only does he lead us. He feeds us. I cooked breakfast for you, because I love you. It was something I could give you. Jesus can give you so much more. He gives you himself, and that satisfies your soul like nothing else can. "

Jesus is here in this sanctuary this morning to lead us and feed us. He satisfies our heart’s truest desires and deepest longings. Is anybody hungry?

Happy Mother's Day Mama Robin!

SUPPER WITH JESUS

Sermon by Judy Turner







Luke 24:13-35

This is a story of revelation where Jesus meets His discouraged, disheartened, despairing followers on the road. As He walks with them, He helps them see and understand what has happened. As a result, they step into a whole new Reality and start living with hope, purpose, joy, and excitement. The day began for these two disciples as a weary trudge from the city of Jerusalem to the village of Emmaus, 7 miles away. They started the day with their hearts heavy and their eyes downcast. They end the day with hearts filled to overflowing, eyes wide with wonder, getting back to Jerusalem as fast as their legs could go, so eager to share the good news of their encounter with the risen Jesus.

Understanding the Scriptures

What did Jesus do for them that made all the difference, not only in their day, but changed the course of their lives? First of all, He helped them see the scriptures in a whole new way. They had read the scriptures all their lives but somehow missed the central message. They knew the scriptures contained God’s promise to send a Messiah to redeem Israel. And everything Jesus taught and did seemed to point to the fact that he was THE ONE: “Jesus was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people.” But Jesus’ suffering just did not fit with their pre-conceived ideas of the Messiah. Their response to the crucifixion- disillusionment and confusion, “But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.”
“But we had hoped”… Isn’t that a poignant phrase? “But we had hoped this marriage would work out, but we had hoped this business would succeed, but we had hoped our church would thrive, but we had hoped this child would live, but sometimes our hopes are dashed. We expect God to work in certain ways, and that usually doesn’t include any suffering. And we just don’t see God at work through our suffering. Even this morning, we might be right there with those disciples on the road, crying out in our pain, or simply expressing our confusion at what has happened to us, “But we had hoped..”

Jesus begins helping them see those Scriptures they were so familiar with in a whole new light. He helps them see that it was God’s plan from the beginning that the Messiah would suffer before he entered his glory. He showed them he is the prophet like Moses described in Deuteronomy, the royal Son of David described in the Psalms , the Suffering Servant described in Isaiah, the triumphant Son of Man described in Daniel. As Jesus helped them see himself throughout the Old Testament, it started all making sense. They saw how God works in a whole new way. They started walking in this new understanding. They later described the experience in this way, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the scriptures to us?”

Do such encounters with Jesus through the scriptures happen today? In his book, The Case for Christ, Lee Strobel interviews Louis Lapides. Louis was born into a Jewish family and studied 7 years in the synagogue in preparation for his bar mitzvah. He studied the Old Testament scriptures, but they didn’t mean much in his daily life. As a young adult Louis went to fight in the Vietnam War. He experienced the horrors of war, and came back home into drugs and Eastern religions. Louis encountered a Christian who challenged him to read the Old Testament again, and look for all the prophecies of a Messiah. “Pretty soon, “ Louis says, “I was reading the Old Testament every day and seeing one prophecy after another. One day I was stopped cold as I read Isaiah 53: ‘But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities, the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.’ Then I started reading the New Testament, and it all fit together. I realized Jesus really is the Messiah, and my Savior.”

Strobel says that scholars have identified 48 prophecies of Jesus in the Old Testament and asks Lapides whether it’s possible that Jesus merely fulfilled the prophecies by accident. “Not a chance,” is his response. “The odds are so astronomical that they rule that out. Someone did the math and figured out that the probability of just eight prophecies being fulfilled is one chance in one hundred million billion. The odds alone say it would be impossible for anyone to fulfill the Old Testament prophecies.” Lapides continued, “Yet Jesus – and only Jesus throughout all of history – did it!

Experiencing Jesus

But our questions may not be whether Jesus is the Messiah, the promised Savior. Our questions may have more to do with our own shattered dreams, disappointments, and suffering, or the pain of those people we know and care about . If God loves us, and God is good, why do we have to suffer? I think this takes more than an intellectual answer. It takes a continual experience with the living Christ. This is what we also see in the story of the disciples as they reach the town of Emmaus and they persuade this stranger to stay and eat with them. It was as they experienced Jesus with them around the table, as they saw him take the bread, give thanks, break it, and give it to them, that they fully knew who he was.

The Shack is a novel, a work of fiction, but it is striking a chord with a lot of people. It is a best-seller. Several women in our congregation read the book and asked if I would lead a discussion on it. Their request led me to re-read the book. On the first reading I was caught up in the story of an unspeakable tragedy. A 6 -year old girl is abducted and murdered. Her father, Mack, is devastated with the loss and is drowning in his grief. He was a church-goer, but did not have close relationship with God. But after the tragedy, he is so angry with God for letting such a thing happen to a beautiful, innocent child, he didn’t want to have much to do with God. God invites Mack to meet him at the shack, the very place where his daughter was murdered. But the ugly place of death is transformed with the presence of the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They appear to Mack in some very unconventional ways to break through his stereotypes of who God is. Then they give him some new ways of seeing the tragedy and seeing his life. He is given a vision of his daughter alive with Jesus in the spiritual realm. He catches a glimpse of the new heaven and the new earth and how God will ultimately fulfill his good purpose. He is not given all the answers. He is told there are some things we simply cannot understand from our limited human standpoint. During the encounter with God at the shack, Mack is invited into the circle of the love shared between Father, Son, and Spirit, and he realizes how in judging God to be unloving and untrustworthy, he has cut himself off from the healing and peace that is available to him to help him. Mack is put on a new path for living this life, in close, loving, trusting relationship with God. Although God deals with Mack’s questions, what changes his life is a profound experience of God’s presence and God’s love. The book is fiction, I have some theological differences with the author, but it is true to the fact that God’s love can totally change our lives.

Our Part in Experiencing Jesus

What totally changed the disciples lives at Emmaus was an experience of Jesus, real and alive and with them. But the risen Jesus no longer physically walks this earth. How can we experience him? Through his Holy Spirit who lives within us, we can have a real relationship with Jesus. Just as Jesus opened the scriptures for the disciples on the Emmaus road, his Holy Spirit teaches us, opens our eyes, makes the scriptures make sense and come alive for us. But our part is to devote ourselves to reading the scriptures and asking the Holy Spirit to teach us. Just as the disciples experienced Jesus present with them as they ate supper together, so the Holy Spirit makes us aware of Jesus with us in our daily living. We can discover him as a constant companion and totally trustworthy leader. But we need to continually turn to him throughout our days, seeking his direction, his wisdom, his perspective, his strength, and his love. When our hearts are broken and we have questions, we need to take those questions to him. It’s those times when we are most disappointed with God and most tempted to turn away that we must press in and pray.

And, if we really want to experience Jesus, we need to be faithful in coming together for worship and the Lord’s Supper. Jesus was made known to the Disciples at Emmaus when he broke the bread. Every week in this congregation we share together in the Lord’s Supper. Why do we do that? We have the Lord’s Supper because Jesus instructed us do this to remember him. We do it every Sunday because the first followers of Jesus observed his supper every time they gathered for worship. But most important, we do it often because it helps us grow closer to Christ.
Neither John nor I grew up in a church that observed the Lord’s Supper every week. In the churches we were raised in, it was usually a quarterly event. But now, having been in congregations that practice weekly communion, we miss it when we are in a worship service that does not include the Lord’s Supper. Why? We concluded that no matter what the worship theme or sermon text is, the communion service always puts the focus on the death and resurrection of Jesus. Often during communion we see a new dimension of the love of God. The cumulative effect of the frequent practice of communion is that we see Jesus in more and more parts of our lives - every day.
What does it mean for you?

Garage Sale!

Need a New Cadillac?

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You probably won't find one at First Christian Church Berryville's Annual Garage Sale...but you'll find just about everything else! Come and enjoy: Saturday May 30th, at the Church.

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For more information contact: Barbara Hale

FCC Inspires First Lady

The White House Garden

When Mrs. Obama planted the White House garden early this spring she inspired thousands of Americans to plant their own gardens--much as Eleanor Roosevelt did during World War II with Victory Gardens.

Interestingly enough, First Christian Church Berryville had their garden in the works several weeks before Mrs. Obama caught the world's attention with the White House Garden. Do you suppose FCC's Community Garden was the source of inspiration for Mrs. Obama?

Read all about the White House garden here:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/09/03/20/Spring-Gardening/