Sunday Reflection (August 4, 2024)
/in From the Pastor/by Diane PalumboSunday Reflection on Ephesians 4:1-16
The book of Ephesians encourages us to “lead a life worthy of the calling God has called us.” This calling is not an attitude of spiritual superiority but an attitude of humility, gentleness, patience, and, above all, love. This love, expressed through humility and gentleness, leads to unity. This unity is not uniformity. Instead, the diverse gifts and talents each one of us brings, all rooted in love and humility, strengthen the unity of Christ’s Church, making each of us valued and integral.
We are all in ministry together to build up the body of Christ until we come to maturity. With Christ as our head, we grow in love, a transformative force that shapes us into a new humanity that bears witness to the love of God revealed in Christ. With its transformative power, this love unites us as “One” and serves as our inspiration and hope, filling us with a sense of purpose and optimism.
Prayer for the Week (August 4, 2024-August 10, 2024)
/in From the Pastor/by Diane PalumboGod, you have given us your Son Jesus Christ as the bread and drink of life. Give him to us today as our daily bread, so that with him we pass from death to life. May his life flow within us and among us, so that we may become Christ’s body in the world. We ask this through Christ our Lord eternally dwells with you and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever more. Amen.
(Claretian Publications, alt.)
Sunday Reflection (July 28, 2024)
/in From the Pastor/by Diane PalumboSunday Reflection upon Serving Others as Christ instructed us
The desire to ‘Lord it over others’ and dominate others has no place in following Christ, especially when it comes to the most vulnerable. Among the most vulnerable people in the ancient world were children, who were often seen as disposable and insignificant. Earlier in Luke’s Gospel, King Herod, a ruler who sought to maintain his power, slaughtered over 2,000 innocent children, hoping to kill a potential rival (the Christ). If we overlook the bombing or mistreatment of innocent children, we have lost our way in following Christ. How we treat the most vulnerable determines who is the greatest!
Jesus points out that the greatest person receives the most vulnerable with kindness and friendship, not condescension, but kindness and friendship, underscoring the weight of our responsibility in treating the most vulnerable. God came to us in Jesus and gave himself to humankind as an example. May that example not just influence but inspire and motivate our rhetorical use of words and our deeds performed in humility and service to others.
Prayer for the Week (July 28, 2024-August 3, 2024)
/in From the Pastor/by Diane PalumboLet us pray: God, throughout the hours of our days, remain at the center of our thoughts and actions: Father, through the Holy Spirit draw us to you, and hold us together as individuals and as a community of faith. Enable us to focus our hopes as we aim to do your will. Be our source of loving support through Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Glen E. Rainsley, alt.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
- Worship Service on December 29, 2024 10:30 am
- Worship Service on January 5, 2025 10:30 am
- Worship Service on January 12, 2025 10:30 am
- UMW Monthly Meeting on January 14, 2025 10:30 am
- Worship Service on January 19, 2025 10:30 am
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PLEASE VISIT!
Galax First United
Methodist Church
306 West Center Street
Galax, VA 24333
(Get Directions)
Phone: 276-236-9937
Email: fumcgalax1@gmail.com
Sunday Services:
10:30 am