enewsletter

OnLine Enews May 6-13th, 2026

Pastor, Tom Willetts

WORSHIP TIMES

Saturday Worship 4:45pm - Contemporary Worship

9:15am Sunday School

Sunday Worship 10am - Traditional Worship

Choir Rehearsal - 3pm Thursdays

UPCOMING MEETINGS/EVENTS

Thurs, May 7th at 10am - GriefShare Conf B

Sat, May 9th & 10th - Mother's Day Celebration

Mon, May 11th at 10am - Veteran's Benefits mtg - Conf B

Tues, May 12th at 1pm - Outreach/Mission mtg - Conf B

Wed, May 13th at 8:30am - Sip'n Scriptures - Perkins

Wed, May 13th at 1pm - Alzheimer's Support Group

Thur, May 14th at 9am - Laundry Love

Thur, May 14th at 10am - Griefshare - Conf B

Sat & Sun, May 16th & 17th - Membership Weekend

Sun, May 17th - THANK YOU JUDY GREENSTREET DAY

Mon, May 18th at 10am - Veterans Benefits mtg - Conf B

Mon, May 18th at 11:30am - Lunch Out - TBD

Tues, May 19th at 10am - Caring mtg - Conf B

Tues, May 19th at 1pm - Finance mtg - Conf B

Tues, May 19th at 3pm - Trustees - Conf B

Wed, May 20th at 1pm - Movie Day - Book of Ruth

Wed, May 20th at 7pm - Pastor's Bible Study on Romans - ZOOM

Thur, May 21st at 10am - GriefShare - Conf B

Sat/Sun, May 23rd & 24th - Pentecost Weekend and envelopes are out for 5th Sunday Offering/Residing Hope Children's Home

Mon, May 25th - OFFICE CLOSED FOR MEMORIAL DAY

Tues, May 26th at 9am - Laundry Love

Tues, May 26th at 1pm - Leadership mtg - Conf B

Wed. May 27th at 7pm - Pastor's Summer Bible Study on Romans - ZOOM

Thurs, May 28th at 10am - GriefShare - Conf B

Fri, May 29th at 10am - Alzheimer's Caregiver Support

Sat/Sun, May 30th & 31st - Collect 5th Sunday Offering/Residing Hope and Graduation Weekend

Helen on vacation May 11-14th.

DEVOTIONAL

OPENING PRAYER

Ever-loving God, who having loved us loves us still, help us to hear again your word, “By this shall they know you are my disciples; that you love one another.” Turn our hostility into hospitality and our callousness into care. Through Christ, we pray. AMEN.

INTRODUCTION

Jesus is in the Upper Room with the disciples sharing his last meal with them. John records a long series of teachings, questions and answers Jesus gives to this disciples. Jesus knows that it will be hard for the disciples and all of us 2000 years later to remember all that he has said. That is why he is sending another – the ADVOCATE – The Spirit of Truth to help us. Who will recognize this Advocate? What does this Advocate provide? Let’s read the scriptures.

SCRIPTURE LESSON

John 14:15-21 NIV

Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit

¹⁵“If you love me, keep my commands. ¹⁶And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— ¹⁷the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. ¹⁸I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. ¹⁹Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. ²⁰On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. ²¹Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

REFLECTION

Who will recognize the ADVOCATE? Only those who know the masters voice as Jesus said in his teaching in John 10 about the Shepherd and the sheep. The world will not accept the Advocate / the Spirit of Truth that Jesus is sending because the Advocate is from God and speaks only the words of Jesus. The Advocate provides the continual relationship between us, Jesus and God that Jesus has established in his life on earth.

Jesus was one man in one place in one time bringing an eternal reality to humanity. The Advocate – the Spirit of Truth is the enduring, unending, unrestricted, all available presence of Jesus – God to us. Remember Jesus’ teaching on his ABIDING presence with God and our Abiding presence through him to God. The Advocate is the conduit of that relationship for all of us here and now. Jesus is sending the Advocate to us to remind us and enable us to keep his commandments and to love one another as Jesus has loved each one of us. This is a powerful promise that Jesus makes. We are still in an ABIDING Relationship with Jesus and God because Jesus has sent the ADVOCATE – the Spirit of Truth to be with us daily.

CLOSING PRAYER

In this hour, loving God, you have touched me with love. Send me now to be your touch-of-love for another. May the love of Jesus flow through me, a current of healing and life. AMEN.

Blessings,

Pastor Tom

Many have gone to the VA for benefits and have been denied. They went away disappointed and never followed up. This does not mean you did not qualify, it means you did not understand the process of the VA claims system. Join us every Monday morning at 10am and gain knowledge needed to process your claim and the appeals process. Go to Ministry Center - Conf Room B. David Jackson at 239-826-0893.