5.24.2011
This Week at The Porch- The Lord's Prayer
The Porch will be meeting this Thursday (5/26) at 7:00 in the GCUMC sanctuary. We are continuing our Summer of Prayer series this week as we focus on the Lord’s prayer! We hope to see you there!
5.10.2011
The Porch Returns this Thursday (5/12) at 7:00 in the GCUMC Sanctuary
Thank you to all of you who came to the Porch’s Town Hall Meeting. We made some good progress and got some great feedback as well! In case you missed it, The Porch has decided to meet on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays at GCUMC throughout the summer. During this time, we will be discerning what our next steps will be for the fall. With that in mind, we have decided to make our worship focus a “summer of prayer.” We will be taking a look at the prayers of Jesus and learning how we can incorporate these into our own lives. This will also give us some intentional time to listen and pray each Thursday as we corporately seek to discern where God is leading us. Thanks for all your hard work, and we look forward to worshipping with you throughout the summer!
We will kick things off this Thursday, May 12, at 7:00 in the GCUMC sanctuary. Hope to see you there!
We will kick things off this Thursday, May 12, at 7:00 in the GCUMC sanctuary. Hope to see you there!
4.26.2011
The Porch Town Hall Meeting (4/28)
The Porch will be meeting this week in the GCUMC sanctuary at 7:00 p.m. for worship, prayer, and discussion in a “town hall” format. Bring your best thoughts, reflections, ideas and discernment!
4.11.2011
Casting Crowds
*The Porch will be meeting for the final time on campus (this semester) this Thursday (4/14) in the Guilford College Community Center at 7:00*
A funny thing happens to Jesus on his journey to the cross: the crowds turn on him in a matter of a few short days. The "Hosannas" of Palm Sunday quickly turn into "crucify him" on Friday morning. The same crowds, only days later. How can this happen?
Crowds are fickle. Crowds tend to align themselves with whatever is popular at the time. Crowds care more about the advancement of the crowd than about any one individual.
A call to follow Jesus is a call that takes us out of the crowd and instead places us right beside him as he picks up his cross to head to Calvary. Are you content to follow Jesus from the crowd?
A funny thing happens to Jesus on his journey to the cross: the crowds turn on him in a matter of a few short days. The "Hosannas" of Palm Sunday quickly turn into "crucify him" on Friday morning. The same crowds, only days later. How can this happen?
Crowds are fickle. Crowds tend to align themselves with whatever is popular at the time. Crowds care more about the advancement of the crowd than about any one individual.
A call to follow Jesus is a call that takes us out of the crowd and instead places us right beside him as he picks up his cross to head to Calvary. Are you content to follow Jesus from the crowd?
3.30.2011
A Kingdom of Kings
*The Porch will be meeting this Thursday (3/31) in the Guilford College Community Center (MPR) at 7:00. Hope to see you there... with a friend!*
At nearly every wedding I perform, I like to use the example of Jesus washing the disciple's feet to show that in marriage, sacrificial, servant-hearted love is one of the most important characteristics of a healthy marriage. If the couple is willing to put the needs of their spouse before even their own needs, then the trivial problems will be just that... trivial problems. If a marriage becomes one-sided and self-focused, then all sorts of problems can arise. This is an easy trap to fall into because if we're being honest, it's much easier to focus on our own needs than someone else's. It's easy for us to make ourselves king... king of our marriage, king of our spiritual lives, king of our work.
But Jesus shows us that in the kingdom of God, being a king doesn't amount to much. In fact, in the kingdom of God, the king is not the greatest... the king is the greatest servant. When Jesus takes off his robe to wash the disciples feet, he is taking on the task of a slave. It was dirty, it was sacrificial, it was anything but king-like. Jesus washed Peter's feet, who would later deny him. Jesus washed Judas' feet, who would just a few short hours later betray him. Kings punish people for these sorts of things, they don't wash their feet. Yet what he did was one of his greatest expressions of love: he took on the role of a servant to show that God's grace does not pick and choose favorites, it is universally available.
The foot washing is an example that points us forward to the greatest expression of Christ's love which is found on the cross. Jesus didn't come to earth to talk about love. He came to earth to show us what Love looks like in the flesh. "Not to be served, but to serve" (Matthew 20:28). And he tells us to do the same. Kingdom building starts with the acknowledgment that we are not the king, and takes us to place where we realize that the King is in fact the greatest servant of all.
At nearly every wedding I perform, I like to use the example of Jesus washing the disciple's feet to show that in marriage, sacrificial, servant-hearted love is one of the most important characteristics of a healthy marriage. If the couple is willing to put the needs of their spouse before even their own needs, then the trivial problems will be just that... trivial problems. If a marriage becomes one-sided and self-focused, then all sorts of problems can arise. This is an easy trap to fall into because if we're being honest, it's much easier to focus on our own needs than someone else's. It's easy for us to make ourselves king... king of our marriage, king of our spiritual lives, king of our work.
But Jesus shows us that in the kingdom of God, being a king doesn't amount to much. In fact, in the kingdom of God, the king is not the greatest... the king is the greatest servant. When Jesus takes off his robe to wash the disciples feet, he is taking on the task of a slave. It was dirty, it was sacrificial, it was anything but king-like. Jesus washed Peter's feet, who would later deny him. Jesus washed Judas' feet, who would just a few short hours later betray him. Kings punish people for these sorts of things, they don't wash their feet. Yet what he did was one of his greatest expressions of love: he took on the role of a servant to show that God's grace does not pick and choose favorites, it is universally available.
The foot washing is an example that points us forward to the greatest expression of Christ's love which is found on the cross. Jesus didn't come to earth to talk about love. He came to earth to show us what Love looks like in the flesh. "Not to be served, but to serve" (Matthew 20:28). And he tells us to do the same. Kingdom building starts with the acknowledgment that we are not the king, and takes us to place where we realize that the King is in fact the greatest servant of all.
3.24.2011
The Porch will be meeting in the GCUMC sanctuary for 3/24
The Porch will be meeting in the GCUMC sanctuary this Thursday (3/24) at 7:00. We will be hearing from some of our own friends about their journey, so help us spread the word!
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