This Sunday is High School Graduation Recognition Sunday.  We will be honoring our seniors this Sunday.

Special Time, Sunday, May 19:  

There will be one worship service, this Sunday at 10 am in the Sanctuary!  Sunday School will be at 9 am. Join together as we worship as one body of believers, this Sunday at 10 am!

Pentecost

Sunday, May 19  Sermon Notes

One is a significant theme in the Bible. The great Shema of the Jewish people is "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one," (Deuteronomy 6:4). Paul told the church at Ephesus, "There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all..." (Ephesians 4:4-6). In John, Jesus prays, "that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us..." (John 17:21).

American society is not really about being one. Being one-being alike-feels stifling. We believe in individualism, and we celebrate diversity. These days, America is less "melting pot" and more "buffet." During college, I lived in an apartment on Idlewild Circle. A Chinese family lived upstairs, next to an Indian family. An African-American family across the way, and Russian students resided next door. From my back porch, I could watch all the children together on the playground. None of us were alike-from appearance to background, personality to life goals. We were unique. For each of us, the "pursuit of happiness" that America promises looked different, and it was fantastic! Idlewild was probably my favorite college residence.

However, with this individualistic focus and multicultural milieu in which we live also comes religious diversity. Are all choices in religion equally valid? If the goal of religion is to make us better human beings, does it matter which one we choose? Are they not just all paths to the same God?

Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Peter declared to the Sanhedrin that which he had learned in his three years with Jesus, "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to humankind by which we must be saved," (Acts 4:12), and Paul reminded young Timothy, "There is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus," (1 Timothy 2:5).

Join us Sunday-for our ONE UNITED worship service at 10:00am-as we seek to discover what it means to say that Jesus is the ONLY ONE, how that fits in a multicultural, multi-religious society, and what it truly means to be Tolerant.

I invite you to view this video as you prepare for worship this week.

Prayer: Almighty God, living in our society is not always easy. Being a follower of Christ is often in conflict with the principles American society holds up as sacrosanct. Teach me to walk each day in a way that is consistent with the teachings of Christ. Amen.

Pastor Tammy