Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you--unless you have come to believe in vain. For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received.

1 Corinthians 15:1-3a NRSV

With this simple reminder in chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians, Paul launches into one of the most beautiful expositions of the Gospel and our future hope of bodily resurrection and glorification in full communion with God recorded in Scripture. I commend the entirety of 1 Corinthians 15 for your study and devotion. However, I share the passage above for a different purpose.

We are now in the fourth week of our churchwide series on the Apostles' Creed, and I want to thank you for your patience. Some of the topics we are covering can, from a certain perspective, seem a bit tedious. Along with you, I want to emphasize our personal relationship with Christ. How can we know him? How can we be engaged with him personally? What good is it to know about the hypostatic union, or the two natures of Christ, when I'm struggling to know him in my daily devotional life? These are pressing and important questions, and I hear you loud and clear.

However, I think it is important for the church, from time to time, to brush up on the Christ we know, and examine what we believe about him, so that we can be sure we are in love with Jesus as he is and not as we have made him. I know that we live in a day of quick messaging, but some things are worth looking at critically, and even savoring. I can think of no one who ought to demand this attention to detail more than Jesus.

So back to Paul. This series, I hope, will do for us what Paul was doing for the church in Corinth. We are being reminded of the good news the church has received over the ages, for it is in that good news that we must stand. Paul goes to great lengths to make sure the Corinthians understand not just the basics but the many implications of that story. For you see, it is only by understanding the story and thinking (adoring God with our minds!) that we can come to wonderful conclusions, as Paul does in verse 49: "just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven."

In this example alone, we see how topics like the two natures of Christ, or hypostatic union, point us in the direction of our future hope: full communion with God as we bear the image of the man of heaven. Or as Bishop Athanasius put it, when we know the story of who Jesus was, what he did for us, and all its implications for our lives, we can be confident in the fact that all of it serves God's purpose that we "might become as He is."

So we will continue to study the Word together and to think along with our brothers and sisters in Christ who came before us. When we do that, we step onto the holy ground the church has always dared to tread, the ground of encounter with God, our attempts to understand what that encounter means, and how that encounter shapes how we live our lives. All of it must and will be done in Jesus' name.

In Christ,

Pastor Sam

We are trying a new way of connecting with one other and visitors: introducing the Connect Card, the easier alternative to the red fellowship register, which it replaces. If you are a regular attendee or member, please use the white Connect Card to update your personal information as needed (changes in email, street address, phone number) or for prayer requests. The full blue-and-white sheet is for visitors only and designed for sharing information--both ways! Visitors fill in their info then tear off and keep the information about First Presbyterian Church. Visitors and congregants alike should drop completed or updated Connect Cards into an offering plate or designated box in either worship space. If you have any questions, please contact Dave Welch ( [email protected]).

Annually, the Evangelism and Outreach Committee offers an opportunity for our congregation to support our friends in need at Bristol Faith in Action. Throughout October, we will collect personal care kits and basic cleaning supply kits for them.

Ziploc bags will be on the seats at early worship and on the bulletin table in the narthex each Sunday in October. Each bag will contain a list of items to collect. Please pick up a bag, fill it, and return it to the church by Monday, October 28. You will find collection receptacles in the Fellowship Hall and the narthex. Thank you! / Karen Vann

This Sunday at Student Fellowship, students will conclude their worship series with a night of worship. The series focused on how we worship with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. Students will be invited to worship through music and interactive stations. Dinner at 6:00 will be followed by worship, and the evening will conclude with recreation and fellowship. Join us! / Katie Arnold

Katie Arnold, Director of Student Ministries, has provided a video recap of this summer's Great Escape. She has described it as "an incredible week of wildness, mess, laughter, and spiritual growth for our middle schoolers." She added, "Amid the water balloons and shaving cream, students grew in their faith through worship and message." See the highlights of the week here.

It is fall, and rollercoaster season is officially open. The air is cool and crisp, when it isn't hot and muggy, and an occasional shower dashes by, loosely punctuating the dry spell. 'Tis the season of mists and mellow fruitlessness, as Bridget Jones puts it. Hewing closely to Keats, JB Madison will mow September 25 -28, if there is anything in the way of fruitfulness in the lawn, and Fred Harkleroad (October 2 -5) may have reason to miss the small gnats' wailful choir. The world transitions, and anything can happen.

Get into the swing of things with the Sanctuary Handbell Choir! We are looking for new members, both regulars and substitutes. We practice from 6:15 to 7:15 on Wednesday evenings in room 212 upstairs, and play for the late worship service about once a month. Join now and get in plenty of practice before our next appearance! Please contact Bob Greene at [email protected] or 276-696-9091 to talk about joining this fun-loving group.

Sunday's music: This week the choir is singing an upbeat and tender work filled with levity, "Sing Unto the Lord." It is a simple setting of a familiar text and is composed of two distinct melodies. One melody is bouncy and fast, the other smooth, or legato. The first melody is stepwise, or scalar, and at times there is a telescopic effect created by one voice going up and the other going down. The overall effect of this piece is light and clear, uplifting and refreshing.

The composer, Charles Yannerella, graduated from the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music and is now the president of Graves Piano and Organ Company in Columbus, Ohio. His works are performed frequently by church choirs throughout America.

Organist's footnotes: Today's organ music is derived from the portion of the Apostles' Creed which reads, "Conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary." I have chosen three pieces based upon familiar hymns, the texts of which relate to this portion of the creed.

	Mary Beth Bennett

Our prelude, "Es ist ein' Ros' entsprungen" ("Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming'), relates to Isaiah 11:1 "A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots." Mary Beth Bennett (b. 1954) has set this beautiful German carol in ethereal, ever-shifting harmonies, over which plaintive solo flutes play stylized imitations of the melody. Bennett, who lives in Richmond, Virginia, has dedicated her composition "for my husband, Mark Bowersox, with love."

"Gabriel's Message" (offertory) is the tune associated with the hymn, "The Angel Gabriel from Heaven Came," which tells of the angel's visit to Mary. Just as important is the angel's visit to Joseph in a dream, informing him "the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 1:20).

	Michael Bedford

(b. 1949) has set this Basque traditional carol in a sprightly, dancelike setting.

"Personent Hodie" (postlude) originates from Piae Cantiones (1582) and was arranged by Gustav Holst in 1924. I love the first line, "On this day earth shall ring with the song children sing," because our own FPC children are singing today! This carol is pure celebration, and Rebecca Groom Te Velde (b. 1956) has created a suitably boisterous arrangement to send us on our way.

Sunday, September 29

9:00 a.m.       Worship, Fellowship Hall

10:10 a.m.     Sunday School

10:30 a.m.     Sanctuary Choir, Room 202

11:00 a.m.     Worship, Sanctuary

6:00 p.m.       Student Fellowship

Tuesday, October 1

10:00 a.m.     Morning Prayer Group, Conf. Room

10:00 a.m.     Staff Meeting, Room 117

7:00 p.m.       Boy Scout Troop 3, Scout Wing

Wednesday, October 2

9:30 a.m.       Women's Bible Study, Room 117

5:15 p.m.       Baby & Toddler Care, Rooms 34 - 37

5:30 p.m.       Fellowship Dinner, Fellowship Hall

6:00 p.m.       Wednesday Night Kids

6:00 p.m.       Middle School Gathering

6:00 p.m.       High School Small Groups

6:15 p.m.       Adult Enrichment

6:15 p.m.       Handbell Choir, Room 212

7:15 p.m.       Sanctuary Choir, Room 202

Thursday, October 3

7:00 a.m.       Men's Bible Study, Parlor

12:00 p.m.     Noon Bible Study, Room 117

Church Officers
Class of 2019	Class of 2020	Class of 2021
ELDERS
Anna Booher	Nancy Allerton	Ann Abel
Lee Galliher	Rebecca Beck	Randy Cook
Pete Holler	David Hyde	John Graham
Han Ong	Jordan Pennington	Katie McInnis
Pete Stigers	Jerry Poteat	John Vann
DEACONS
Sujean Bradley	Blake Bassett	Fred Harkleroad
George Linke	Rhonda Comer	Matt Kingsley
Greg Roberts	Ron Fox	Lisa McClain
Nate Sproles	Brenda Lawson	Drew Rice
Bill Whisnant	Barbara Thompson	Joyce Samuel
TRUSTEES
Nancy Cook	Peggy Hill	Jack Butterworth