Grace Abounds! Sermon writing and worship preparations are a holy art. I prayerfully engage the living word with imagination, curiosity, and an openness for the Spirit to dance! My hope as your pastor through “Neeley’s Notions” is to offer stories and perspectives to ignite your own imagination, curiosity, and openness to the Spirit. - this will be a periodical email offering as the Spirit leads!

Water, water, everywhere!

Think about it for a second. What all comes to mind when you think of water?

dancing in the rain drinking water out of a watering hose bubbles in the bathtub baptismal waters washing our hands jumping in a pool rock hopping in Montreat ocean waves summer afternoon thunderstorms  cool refreshing mist

Water makes up 60% of our bodies. Water regulates the earth’s temperature. Water, Water everywhere!  Therefore, we will start at the very beginning of our faith story as we kick off our sermon series “Come to the Water”. I invite you to read Genesis 1-2:2.

"In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters."

Created by God

Where are you from? Have you thought about being from water? We are created by God from the waters of creation.

Where we come from, and who we are as a people of faith can be told through water:  God hovering over the water, Bringing chaos out of the deep Water was life-giving and then water was life-taking (Noah) It was water that carried Moses to safety Then parted to allow him to lead people to freedom And water that swarmed the pursuers who would stop them God’s people wept tears by waters God leads us beside still waters The Messiah was baptized in water Jesus turns water into wine Jesus walks on water Jesus IS Living Water Jesus met women at wells and blind men by pools Jesus called disciples who made their living from the sea The last words Jesus gives his followers is to go forth and baptize in water.  (Written by Rev. Anne Russ and Rev. Kelly Fitzgerald)

How are the baptismal waters, the waters of creation calling you this day as a disciple of Jesus Christ? What bodies of water are places of rest, renewal, and refreshment for you?

Connected by Water

This summer our family adventures led us to the Pacific coast. I have always appreciated the east coast beaches, but there was something refreshing about the California coast. The cool breeze, the ocean mist, the rocks, the sunrise and sunset. I could smell the ocean as we dipped our toes in the sand. On a cool morning while my family walked the shoreline, a crew of beach goers were sweeping the beach for trash. In the holy of the morning, as we enjoyed God’s creation of water and land, we witnessed a community caring for and being good stewards of God’s good creation. I was reminded as we walked along the sandy path, waves coming in washing over our feet about how we are all connected and play a part in caring for God’s creation from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from Covington to California. I realized what connects us is water. Water is an essential human need. We all need water to live. Water is essential for our earth and her care. She needs water. Better yet, she IS water.

This past June at Vacation Bible School our children spent time learning about our stories of faith through water.  Water is a sign of Grace! - The Baptism of Jesus Matthew 3:13- 17 Water is sometimes scarce. - Water from a Rock Exodus 17: 1-7  Jesus is Living Water! - Samaritan Woman at the Well John 4:1-42 They heard stories about children in Haiti, Cuba, and Ghana.  Eager to hear their stories? Click here to read Afua’s story as it was written by Living Waters for the World for VBS children. She is a young girl from Ghana.

In response, our children collected money to donate to Living Waters of the World. Our children raised $306.91! How might we as disciples of Jesus Christ work so that all children have clean water and furthermore experience the living water of Jesus Christ?

Click to learn more about Living Waters for the World's mission

Invitation to the Water

by Terri Jo Crego

From generation to generation, God has shaped God’s people through the waters. Come to the water! Be shaped by God’s water. The same God whose Spirit brooded over chaos and the waters of creation, broods over us. Come to the water. Wade in the water. The same God whose Son invited Peter out of the boat, invites us to have courage in the face of that which is unfamiliar. Come to the water. Walk on the water. The Same God who claimed his Son in the baptismal waters and was well pleased, claims us, calls us by name and is well-pleased. Come to the water. Be claimed in the water. The same God who met the woman at the well and quenched her thirst, meets us at the places of our greatest yearning. Come to the water. Drink Christ’s Living Water. The same God who met Jonah underwater and gave him a second chance, meets us wherever we are and embraces us in grace. Come to the water. Discover God’s mercy in the water and be changed.

I am excited to wade in the water with you!

Faithfully, Neeley Rentz Lane

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P.S.

Our fall sermon series (starting September 4th) will be a "People's Potluck of Ideas!" Erin and I invite you to consider what YOU would like to hear US discuss in a sermon. We will only be able to cover a few in the three weeks of this series, but we'd love to hear all of your ideas! What is a faith topic you'd like to learn more about? What Bible story might you want highlighted? What do you want to hear us preach on? We invite you to send us your ideas and faith questions as we prepare for this upcoming sermon series! Please email Neeley by August 1 at neeley@fpccov.org or by hitting reply on this email.