Charles Town Presbyterian Church

I will sing of steadfast love and justice;
to you, O Lord, I will make music.
Psalm 101:1

This Sunday we are going to live into the words of this psalm.

We are going to worship Sunday morning, of course, but I am speaking of the Eastern Panhandle Mission Community fall music festival, which our congregation is hosting.

Shenandoah Presbytery, of which our congregation is a part, is divided into regional mission communities in order to more easily share in certain aspects of ministry. The Eastern Panhandle Mission Community, or EPMC, is compromised of the Presbyterian congregations in Morgan, Berkeley, and Jefferson counties.

On Sunday, the EPMC will be holding its fall music festival at CTPC beginning at 4:30pm. There will be vocal choirs, bell choirs and other musicians gathering to, as the psalmist writes, make music to the Lord.

Music is an integral part of our worship for a variety of reasons. We are made in the image of God, and God is creative. We are also created, and music is one way in which we engage in creativity in worship of God.

Music is important because it also teaches us about our faith. Do you remember how you learned your ABC’s? We all know the song! The same is true for matters of faith. Music gives us a way to learn and remember what we believe. Most importantly, we are directed by scripture to engage in worship with music. The psalms are filled with songs for and about worship. The Old and New Testaments contain countless examples of music in worship.

Music has been an important part of my life for as long as I can remember, and I love when fellow Christians gifted with music gather to lead in worship.

I hope you’ll be able to join us for the music festival, and for the time of fellowship that will follow. Feel free to invite someone to come with you, for this time of celebration is not to be missed!

Blessings,

Pastor John

Occasionally, I need to use my newsletter column to give a shout out to a particular person or group who is doing something significant in the church. This week I want to let you all know what a great job the Yokefellows Sunday School class does for Charles Town Presbyterian Church. They have been a staple of this congregation for over a hundred years.

For my entire tenure at CTPC, the Yokefellows have worked very hard to support the mission of this church. When it was determined that a dishwasher would be a valuable asset to the kitchen, the Yokefellows developed a plan for raising the needed funds. Most of their fundraisers happened through pancake dinners and pork and chicken barbecues.

After the funds for the dishwasher were raised, the Yokefellows kept doing the dinners, raising funds for projects like replacing the tables and chairs, and supporting mission work when needed. They have been tireless supporters of our youth ministry, enabling the youth to be part of myriad of activities.

A few years ago, they began selling gift cards for places like grocery stores, convenience stores and places we all commonly shop in. Each gift card sold results in a percentage of the sale coming back to the church. This project is coming to a close, but they still have some inventory on hand. With the holidays coming quickly, I thought I’d let you know what cards are available so that you might consider purchasing them as gifts or stocking stuffers.

Currently, the yokefellows have the following cards on hand: Lowes (1), Staples (4), TJ Maxx (2), and Weis (1). If you can use these or wish to use them as a gift, please come by the church office during business hours, or speak to Yokefellows Bob Henshaw or Bill Whitacre.

The Yokefellows have done a great job supporting the ministries of this church. Let’s help them finish out this program in a good way!

Blessings,

Pastor John

Studying the Scriptures is critical.

This Sunday I am returning to my study of 1 John, and in this week’s passage, John is helping his readers discern between truth and error. At the heart of that discernment is knowledge of the Word of God.

Studying the scriptures seems like a thing of the past. We have become such an impatient people that anything that does not immediately produce a tangible result for us is deemed unnecessary and even a waste of time. Let me state this as clearly as possible: Studying the Bible is NEVER a waste of time.

To that end, I’d like to share with you a method for simple Bible study. You’ll need a notebook, a Bible and pen.

Begin every reading of scripture with prayer, asking God for insight.

1. Start with a book of the Bible. Read the book in one or two sittings, if possible. This will give you a context.
2. After reading the book through, start with first chapter, and read small sections. These are usually divided with subheadings by the publisher.
3. Observe things like words used repeatedly, scriptures quoted from other books in the Bible.
   • Write down any insights you may have or questions about things you don’t understand.
   • Seek out a trusted Christian friend to help you with things you are having a hard time understanding.
4. Answer these questions:
   • What difference should this passage make in my life?
   • Is there something I need to change?
   • Something I need to do or to stop doing?
   • Write down the practical application point you get from the passage.

I know some of you reading this live in a very digital world, so here are some websites that might help your study of God’s Word:

Bible Study Tools
Bible Gateway
Free Daily Bible Study
Scripture Union

Blessings,

Pastor John

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

I’m not kidding. I’ve seen commercials on TV, decorations in stores, and next week the Hallmark Channel starts running their sappy made-for-TV holiday movies (Hey, I like some of those!).

I get as annoyed as the next person about this seeming over-saturation of the holidays. One can only handle so many snowmen, so much holiday food, and the endless stream of holiday music (who wants to bet we start hearing it on the radio on November 1?).

More important than all of that stuff is the fact that our culture has vacated the real meaning of the season. Christmas is the central miracle of our faith. We celebrate that God saw our wretched state, and decided that the only way we could change was for him to come himself in the flesh. Through a miraculous birth, Jesus came into the world, and set in motion the events that would culminate with his death on the cross and his rising from the dead.

I know you’re thinking, “Pastor John, aren’t you contributing to the early onset of Christmas with this article?” Perhaps. I am writing this because waiting until Thanksgiving or the beginning of advent to consider paring down the busyness of the season will be too late.

Before the holidays engulf us all, I’d like to encourage a few things. First, plan for the busy. Get your calendar out now. Make sure things like anticipated travel, holiday events, and kids’ activities are on the calendar now. Then the urgent won’t push out the important by accident or at the last minute. Second, make a conscious decision to put Christ first. Find a devotional (search “Christmas devotional” on google or in your mobile carrier’s app store) to help keep your focus more clearly on Christ. Third, be sure to make time for yourself and your family. Don’t let a season that is supposed to be marked with joy rob you of that very thing.

I know, it’s early. But it will be here before you know it.

Happy Holidays,

Pastor John

A few weeks ago, I used my newsletter space to lament the presence of so much anger in the world, and a ruminated on some of the reasons why it is so prevalent.

The situation hasn’t changed; if anything it’s gotten worse.

Earlier this week I came across a video on social media. It showed footage of people protesting the shootings in our country that have deepened racial divides. Across the street from these people was a group protesting groups protesting police shootings. Someone had the idea to get leaders from both protests to meet in the middle of the street. What could have been a contentious, violent meeting ended in hugs and celebration. The groups came together.

This is how we heal.

This Sunday I am continuing my study of 1 John. In this week’s passage, we are encouraged to love one another, and simply with words. We are called to love with action.

I love words. Words and the writing thereof are central to my work as a minister. But words only go so far. They must be backed by action. If we are to offer an antidote to the hate and foment in the world, it begins with more than words. It happens when words are backed up by action.

In James 2:14-17, we read these words,

“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good[a] is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

If we really want to see this world change, then we must love in word and in deed.

Blessings,

Pastor John

The Fall Festival is my favorite fellowship event of the year.

We hold this event every October as a kind of alternative to Halloween. Whereas Halloween is focused on evil, gore and fright, the Fall Festival is focused on God’s provision, God’s people and God’s love for us.

There are two things I really enjoy about the Fall Festival. First, the variety. Of course, we eat. Like many churches, we rarely host an event without a meal. But the lunch aside, the fall festival features games, children’s activities, the cake walk and other interesting and fun things.

The other reason the Fall Festival is my favorite annual fellowship event is that it is longer than most of our other fellowship events. The Fall Festival has a very leisurely pace to it, and it allows all who are present a little more time to hang out and get to know each other more deeply.

Fellowship has been a part of the Christian experience since the very be-ginning of the church. The original Greek word for fellowship is koinonia, and it means a great deal more than people gathered together in the same place at the same time. In koinonia, we experience a great connection with one another through shared experience. People at football game have fellowship, but they probably don’t have koinonia. Koinonia is what makes Christian fellowship special. What connects us is our shared faith in Christ, and we celebrate that as we come together over a meal or another event.

The Fall Festival is also a great event to which you can easily invite people. I encourage you to do so. There are a number of ways to do so. If you at-tend the 8:30 service, head home, meet your guests and bring them to the Festival. If you attend 11:00am worship, invite them to join you or to meet you after the worship service.

The Fall Festival is a great day in the life of our church, and I don’t think we should keep this joyful experience to ourselves. Invite a friend as we share in some koinonia!

Blessings,

Pastor John