From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. John 6:66

A company advertises a “huggable, washable, and talking” Jesus doll that recites “actual Scripture verses to introduce children of all ages to the wisdom of the Bible.” Its sayings include, “I have an exciting plan for your life,” and “Your life matters so much to Me.”

Who wouldn’t want to follow a Jesus like this?

Jesus does offer a wonderful plan for our lives. Jesus does not serve as a cosmic genie or cuddly doll to meet our every whim. John 6 gives us a picture of Jesus who is not so cuddly; in fact, He may often be seen as offensive. Instead of fulfilling the selfish desires of His followers, He disturbed their expectations. He offered Himself as spiritual bread from heaven and said, “Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life.” John 6:54.

This message was offensive and difficult. The image of eating flesh and drinking blood did not give His hearers “warm fuzzies.” Many earlier followers stopped following Him. John 6:66. He was not the conquering Messiah-King they hoped for and expected.

Sometimes we want a Jesus who meets our selfish needs. But the wonderful life He offers is found only in radical obedience to His commands. Let us ask Jesus to show us what His words mean, and for the courage to act on His truth. – Marvin Williams. – Daily Bread.

Lord Jesus I Love Thee
William Ralph Featherstone. 1864.
Ralph wrote this hymn when he was sixteen years old.

Lord Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine;
For Thee all the pleasures of sin I resign;
My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou,
If ever I loved Thee, Lord Jesus, ’tis now.
“We love You, Lord Jesus,” we often may say,
But are we as ready His will to obey?
Let’s heed what God’s Spirit would have us to do,
For that’s how we show Him a love that is true. —DJD

The way of Jesus is not always easy.

Star Party Gathering Community Activity Sunday night!
Star Party Gathering Community Activity One More Night This Weekend!
Saturday’s Star Party went well! We are holding over!
Sunday August 16 at Dusk! (Weather permitting).
Come for fellowship, see Saturn and other planets, stars and constellations!
Join us sharing Star Party experiences as autumn approaches!
Dusk 9:00 Sunday night! 921 S Mayne Valley, NE
FREE Light snack available
Expect viewing and fellowship to last until 10:00 or so. Stay as long as you like.
Questions? Contact Pastors Michael or Cathy:

spirit.peace@outlook.com

blog.peacelcmc.org

Star Party Gathering Community Activity tonight!

Saturday August 15 at Dusk!

Come for fellowship, see Saturn and other planets, stars and constellations!

Join us sharing Star Party experiences as autumn approaches!

Dusk 9:00 tonight! 921 S Mayne Valley, NE
FREE Light snack available

Expect viewing and fellowship to last until 10:00 or so.

Questions? Contact Pastors Michael or Cathy:

spirit.peace@outlook.com

He counts the number of the stars; He gives names to all of them. Great is our Lord and abundant in strength; His understanding is infinite. Ps.147:4-5.

Inside Out movie at the Theater
Disney – Pixar has released a popular movie titled “Inside Out.”

Young or old, growing up can be a rough road. We discuss Discernment & Wisdom in a prior discussion presentation workshop blog post.
Pastor Michael invites youth and adults to accompany him to movie theaters in the community for movie viewing, light meals, fellowship and lively discussion.
In the storyline of this movie, “Inside Out;” Riley, the main character is an adolescent female who is uprooted from her Midwestern Minnesota life experience when her father starts a new job in San Francisco. Of course Riley is influenced by the emotions of Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness. These emotions are personified in animated characters and live in “Headquarters,” the Control Center inside Riley’s mind where they help advise her through the journey of everyday life. As Riley struggles to adjust to day to day existence in urban San Francisco, turmoil ensues in Headquarters. As Joy, Riley’s most dominant emotion, tries to keep things positive, the remaining emotions conflict on planning the best method to navigate new experiences in life including the move to a new city, house and school. Naturally there are many challenges introduced in Riley’s day to day life. It is interesting to watch how these challenges are met in Riley’s perception.

Lively Fellowship and Discussion followed the movie viewing while participants enjoyed a light meal.

Abide in Jesus Celebration  for the Community

Everyone is Welcome!

Abide in Jesus. John 6:56.
Blessed Assurance
Fanny Crosby

Blessed assurance; Jesus is mine! Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!

Heir of salvation, purchase of God, born of his Spirit, washed in his blood.

This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long;

this is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long.

Prayer: Living Lord, you are the giver of wisdom and true discernment, guiding those who seek your ways to choose the good. Mercifully grant that your people, feasting on the true bread of heaven, may have eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Trust in the Lord. Give our most pressing concerns to Jesus. Be open to what the Lord is doing in our lives.

Be Thou My Vision
Ancient Irish ca 700

Translator Mary Byrne Versifier Eleanor Hull

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart; naught be all else to me, save that thou art –

thou my best thought, by day or by night; waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.

Prayer: Bread of heaven, you feed us in the depths of grief, sin, and hostility. Nourish us with your word through the long hours of tears, and in the dawning awareness of our need for forgiveness, so that we may be redeemed by your steadfast love. Amen.

The LORD is gracious and merciful. Ps. 111:3.
Holy and Awesome is His Name. Ps. 111 Song.

Prayer: Redeeming Sustainer, visit your people and pour out your strength and courage upon us, that we may hurry to make you welcome not only in our concern for others, but by serving them generously and faithfully in your name. Amen.

In Christ Alone
Keith Getty & Stuart Townend

In Christ alone my hope is found; He is my light, my strength, my song;

This cornerstone, this solid ground, Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.

What heights of love, what depths of peace, When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!

My comforter, my all in all; Here in the love of Christ I stand.

Prayer: Bread of life, you taught us to put away bitterness and anger, and with tenderhearted kindness to share the fruit of our labor with the needy. Strengthen us by your grace, that in communion with you, we may forgive one another and live in love as Christ loved us. Amen.

We are all stewards spreading the Word of Jesus’ blessings for His people.

Picnic Fellowship Activities for the Entire Family!
Of course lively discussion and activities will be available!
Perhaps you may prefer to sit and visit!

Contact Us with Special Requests!

Discernment is the path to or arrival at a waypoint or destination on a spiritual journey where a person acknowledges an answer to a personal question, often a significant decision in life.

God our Father,
You have a plan for each one of us,
You hold out to us a future full of hope.
Give us the wisdom of your Spirit
so that we can see the shape
of your plan in the gifts
you have given us,
and in the circumstances
of our daily lives.
Give us the freedom of your Spirit,
to seek you with all our hearts,
and to choose Your Will above all else.
We make this prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.
– CUA Prayer for Service and Justice.

The Summons – John Bell & Graham Maule

Performed by Robert Cochis

Lord, your summons echoes true
When you but call my name.
Let me turn and follow you
And never be the same.
In your company I’ll go
Where your love and footsteps show.
Thus I’ll move and live and grow
In you and you in me.

Sometimes, the Serenity Prayer helps us accept that which we experience and learn that we can not change.

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

– Although we may often stop here, there is more …

Living one day at a time;
enjoying one moment at a time;
accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
that I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
forever in the next. Amen.
– attributed to Reinhold Niebuhr.

This evening the clouds dissipate and the stars shine brightly. It is a wonderful evening to reflect on the bounty the Lord has blessed us with.
He counts the number of the stars; He gives names to all of them. Great is our Lord and abundant in strength; His understanding is infinite. Ps.147:4-5. 

Columba constellation is located in the southern sky. Its name means “dove” in Latin. Columba’s original name was Columba Noachi, meaning “Noah’s dove,” after the dove that informs Noah that the Biblical Great Flood is receding. The constellation was introduced by the Dutch astronomer Petrus Plancius in the late 16th century and it later appears in Johann Bayer’s star atlas Uranometria in 1603. Columba contains the famous runaway star Mu Columbae.

“Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, as the stars forever and ever. Amen. Dan. 12:3.

Eternal Life Celebration  for the Community

Everyone is Welcome!

Very truly I tell you whoever believes has eternal life. John 6:47.

Be Thou My Vision

Ancient Irish ca 700

Translator Mary Byrne Versifier Eleanor Hull

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart; naught be all else to me, save that thou art – thou my best thought, by day or by night; waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.

Prayer:

Bread of heaven, you feed us in the depths of grief, sin, and hostility. Nourish us with your word through the long hours of tears, and in the dawning awareness of our need for forgiveness, so that we may be redeemed by your steadfast love.  Amen.

O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together. Ps. 34:3.

Let us Exalt His Name Together Forever – Psalm 34.

Prayer:

Redeeming Sustainer, visit your people and pour out your strength and courage upon us, that we may hurry to make you welcome not only in our concern for others, but by serving them generously and faithfully in your name.  Amen.

In Christ Alone

Keith Getty & Stuart Townend

In Christ alone my hope is found; He is my light, my strength, my song; This cornerstone, this solid ground, Firm through the fiercest drought and storm. What heights of love, what depths of peace, When fears are stilled, when strivings cease! My comforter, my all in all – Here in the love of Christ I stand.

Prayer:

Bread of life, you taught us to put away bitterness and anger, and with tenderhearted kindness to share the fruit of our labor with the needy. Strengthen us by your grace, that in communion with you, we may forgive one another and live in love as Christ loved us.  Amen.

You Satisfy the Hungry Heart

– performed by Richard Proulx and the Cathedral Singers

You satisfy the hungry heart with gift of finest wheat; Come give to us, O saving Lord, the bread of life to eat. As when the shepherd calls his sheep, they know and heed his voice; So when you call your fam’ly, Lord, we follow and rejoice.

Prayer:

In your compassionate love, O Lord, you nourish us with the words of life and bread of blessing. Grant that Jesus may calm our fears and move our hearts to praise your goodness by sharing our bread with others.  Amen.

We are all stewards spreading the Word of Jesus’ blessings for His people.

Picnic Fellowship Activities for the Entire Family!

Of course lively discussion and activities will be available!

Perhaps you may prefer to sit and visit!

Contact Us with Special Requests!

Best Friends Forever BFF! – What an exclamation to the world!
Friendship is one of life’s greatest gifts. True friends seek a special kind of good for their friends: the highest good, which is that they might know God and love Him with all of their heart, soul, and mind. German pastor and martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “The aim of friendship is exclusively determined by what God’s will is for the other person.”

Jonathan, David’s friend, is a sterling example of true friendship. David was in exile, hiding in the Desert of Ziph, when he learned that “Saul had come out to seek his life.” 1 Sam. 23:15. Jonathan went to Horesh to find David. The significance of this scene lies in Jonathan’s intent: He helped David find strength in God or, as Scripture puts it, he “strengthened his hand [grip] in God.” 1 Sam. 23:16.

That is the essence of Christian friendship. Beyond common interests, beyond affection, beyond wit and laughter is the ultimate aim of sowing in others the words of eternal life, leaving them with reminders of God’s wisdom, refreshing their spirit with words of His love, and strengthening their grip on God. – David Roper. Daily Bread.

Pray for your friends and ask God to give you a word “in season” to help them find renewed strength in our God and His Word.

Best Friendship Song Ever – Bruno Mars

If you ever find yourself stuck in the middle of the sea, I’ll sail the world to find you.  If you ever find yourself lost in the dark and you can’t see, I’ll be the light to guide you.  Find out what we’re made of when we are called to help our friends in need.

Prayer:  Dear Lord, thank You for loving us.  May Your love compel us to show love to others.  Please give us sensitivity to Your Spirit that we might know how to encourage others in their walk with You.

A true friend is a gift from the Lord and one who points us back to Him.