Matthew 14: 22-33. It's the end of the story that matters. Peter is soaking wet, on his knees in the boat after being rescued from the storm by Jesus. From his sputtering lips comes the confession, "Truly, you are the Son of God." And together in awe and gratitude, the disciples bow in worship.

As we gather in our individual homes around screens of laptops and phones, gathering up the debris left by Isaias, we are still together bowing in awe and gratitude to the Lord who comes to us in the overwhelming storms of life. For truly, this Jesus who commands the winds and the waves, is the Son of God, whom we worship and adore. 

           Many of my devotionals during this pandemic have focused on how we, as people of faith, respond to this difficult season. This week, however, I wanted us to think about who Jesus Christ is and the kind of impact that he can make throughout all the seasons of our lives. An excellent book that provides a thoughtful introduction to the Presbyterian Church (USA) is Donald McKim’s Presbyterian Questions, Presbyterian Answers. McKim asks some basic questions about our faith, practices, and beliefs as Presbyterians and then offers a one-page answer. This week, I was rereading the book and found one of his questions about Jesus particularly important and clarifying. McKim asks, “Why did Jesus come into the world?” Some of the highlights of McKim’s response are included here: 

           These themes complement each other and provide various rationales for why God’s Son chose to leave the comforts of heaven to live among us, full of grace and truth. While he was here on earth, Jesus Christ also taught us about God’s kingdom, showed us how we are supposed to live, and called us to follow his way of justice, peace, and love. We are grateful that Jesus came to illuminate us, restore us, bring us victory, unite us with God, and justify us. Let us always remember the Good News of Jesus Christ, who provides hope in the darkest days and loves us with unconditional grace. 

Prayer:

           Gracious God, we thank you for sending your Son into the world as our Lord and Savior. We offer our praise to Jesus Christ, who came to illuminate us, to restore us, to bring victory, to unite us with God, and to justify us. Fill us with Christ’s peace and joy. We continue to pray for our nation and world during this COVID-19 pandemic. We pray for all the individuals who have been impacted, including those who have died, those families who are grieving, those who are dealing with lingering health problems, and all those front line workers who are offering their best. Fill us with resolve as individuals and corporately so that we will seek what is best for our communities as a whole and will promote health, wellness, and show compassion and kindness. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.  

The Session of OBPC has approved two more outdoor evening worship services--one on Sunday, August 16th and one on Sunday, August 23. Both services will be held at 6:00 pm on the east lawn of the church, near the playground. You will have the option of staying in your parked car near the service and rolling down your window to listen or sitting on the lawn. Attendance is not limited, but we ask that you pre-register. To pre-register, click on this link: Register Now . You will see two options for each service--either lawn seating or drive-in. Click on the appropriate box for the service(s) you plan to attend and fill out the form. If you have trouble registering online, please contact the office.

We will practice social distancing and face masks will be required. If you do not have a face mask, one will be provided. If you have a lawn chair and can bring it, that will be helpful. You will be instructed as to where to place your lawn chairs in order to maintain social distancing. The church building will be open for restroom use only through the door on the east side. Please click here for complete information about these services.

Please welcome new members Jim & Cora Huitt, who joined OBPC at a Session meeting on July 22^nd. The Huitts transferred their membership from First Presbyterian Church in Richmond. They have had a summer home in the Outer Banks for quite a while, but recently decided to make it their permanent home. The Huitts will be splitting their time between the Outer Banks and New Zealand, where their two daughters live. (They also have a son who lives in the U.S.) Here is the Huitt’s contact information:

Mailing Address: 6092 Currituck Rd., Kitty Hawk, NC 27949

Jim: 804-339-3013 and jhuitt5409@aol.com

Cora: 804-339-3826 and corahuitt@aol.com

The Nominating Committee is beginning to work on selecting 3 persons to serve as Elders for the class of 2023. An elder should be a person who is committed to their faith in Jesus Christ, is a dedicated member of Outer Banks Presbyterian Church, and works well with a team as we seek to serve the Lord. The Nominating Committee would like the help of the congregation. Ordinarily, we have placed a ballot box in the gathering space for you to indicate your suggestions. This is not possible while the building is closed, so we encourage anyone with nominations to contact directly the two elder representatives on the Nominating Committee, Bobby Gentry and Bob Messinger. You may contact Bobby G. at 757-718-8353 or bobbygentryobx@gmail.com and Bob M. at 252-305-9388 or bobnance55@gmail.com. You may also contact any of the other members of the Nominating Committee, who are: Melanie Cahoon, Bev Jones, Winkey Roberts, and John Webb. Thank you for your thoughtful considerations!

Charitocracy is a community giving project in which non-profits compete to receive the monthly pot. OBX Room In The Inn is one of the nominees for August and if it wins will receive over $1300. Please consider joining this wonderful on-line charity and then vote for Room In The Inn. It only costs $12.00 a year. You can give more, but $12.00 is all they ask. Invite your friends to join too! Go to charitocracy.org.  Thanks so much. If we all do a little to support our neighbors in need, it can add up to so much! 

Office Hours--the Bible Study offered by Columbia Theological Seminary, is continuing. The next series of classes will be about the Book of James on Wednesday evenings from 7:00-8:00 pm from August 5th until September 2nd.  To learn more about this bible study, go to the Office Hours Facebook page by clicking here or to the Columbia Theological Seminary page here. The syllabus for the course, which is titled, "The Book of James: Wisdom and the Way of Jesus," is available by clicking here.

You may recall that at it's February 2020 meeting, the Session of OBPC agreed to designate its annual $1,200 of missionary support to John Etheredge, an elder from Rocky Mount who is currently in Ghana. Click here to read the latest letter from John about his work in Ghana.

Please join our first forum: Is this Conversation Really Necessary? led by Dr. Brian K. Blount. The forum will be conducted as a Zoom meeting on August 18, 2:00 p.m. –

4:00 p.m. EST. Please sign up to participate at www.nhpresbytery.org/racial-equity.

Please contact Bruce T. Grady at bgrady9039@gmail.com, or 917-841-8997 and Katie Crowe at kcrowe@trinityave.org, or 704-651-8680 for more information.

In order to support churches during this time when distribution of the devotional guide, Upper Room, can be more difficult, the publishers have made the July/August issue available online to subscribers. Please click here if you would like to read the July/August issue.

Outer Banks Presbyterian Church

907 S. Croatan Highway, Milepost 8.5

PO Box 2199

Kill Devil Hills, NC 27948

Email: office@outerbankspresbyterian.org

Website: www.outerbankspresbyterian.org

During this time of irregular office hours,

you may reach Pastor Jody or administrative staff

by calling the office at 252-441-5897 and leaving a message or by sending an email to