Pastor’s Musings

On May 17th, we will gather together for corporate worship at 10 AM. As mentioned before, this gathering will be undertaken with care and many modifications of our customs.

• There will be no ushers, bulletins, passing of the plates, or choir.
• There will be no designated coffee, food, and fellowship time.
• Attendees are asked to spread out in the sanctuary and move about with care.
• The CCTV will be on in the parlor for extra space.

As many will continue to worship at home, support will continue throughout the summer. So please keep looking forward to music and sermons online, as well as recorded broadcasts on WCSR 92.1.

In additon, our Zoom Bible study on the Gospel of Mark is open to anyone in our congregation. Friends and family (near and far!) can also join us for the journey. If you would like to participate and need assistance, comment on this post or shoot me an email.

New worship resources are posted at the Worship Resources page. Also, if you have been looking for additional devotional material for your time at home, I have just posted the seventh in a series of Daily Offices. You can start at any week and progress through in any order. Instructions can be found at the page linked above.

Tomorrow will be an experiment. Here are a few things you should know.

1. A personal computer with a camera and microphone, a tablet, or a smartphone will be necessary to participate. If you are not planning on sharing your AV, then you can listen even if you do not have a camera or microphone.
2. To access the meeting, click on the link in the previous post or your email.
3. If prompted by your web browser, click the button to open or run Zoom.
4. If I have not started the meeting yet, then you will see a box prompting you to wait for the host to start.
5. If you are using the Zoom app, then enter the meeting ID found in the previous email. If you do not have this ID, comment on this post or email me directly and I will make sure that you have it.
6. On your meeting screen, you will find controls to mute/unmute your sound or turn on/off your video. Don’t feel pressured to share picture or sound it if makes you uncomfortable.
7. There is also a chat box available in every meeting, if you would like to enter text questions.
8. We will be ending promptly at 7:10. I will be recording each session so that it can be viewed later on.

Hope that you can join us!

This Wednesday evening, we will be re-starting evening Bible study. For the next few weeks, the study will be conducted through Zoom. In the information that follows, you will find a link that allows you to enter a virtual meeting room. Please contact me with any questions, and I will do whatever I can to get you started. You should be able to enter the meeting with a computer with video and audio, or a tablet with a camera. You can choose to participate with your audio muted and your video turned off. We will all consider this a learning experience!

Here is the important info:

Scott Cress is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Wednesday Evening Bible Study
Time: May 6, 2020 06:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Every week on Wed, until Jun 17, 2020, 7 occurrence(s)
May 6, 2020 06:30 PM
May 13, 2020 06:30 PM
May 20, 2020 06:30 PM
May 27, 2020 06:30 PM
Jun 3, 2020 06:30 PM
Jun 10, 2020 06:30 PM
Jun 17, 2020 06:30 PM

Join Zoom Meeting (Copy and paste this link to get into the virtual meeting room)
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/76740420657?pwd=N0owanhXaENRYTJHbGVtNWZUdlUvQT09

Email me or comment on this post, and I will send you the password for the meeting.

Hope to see you there!

This weekend’s sermon and song from Frank have been posted at Worship Resources. Stay tuned for information about a Zoom study and prayer time taking place this Wednesday at 6:30. Instructions will be posted by Tuesday morning, explaining how you can join the study through computer, tablet, or phone.

After further consideration, we have decided to delay returning to corporate worship until May 17th. This is short notice, but please spread the word. I do not apologize for attempting an earlier resumption of services (more about that in a moment). I do, however, apologize for bringing confusion and discord to our congregation. Please accept my sincere apology.

That said, there is a profound reason that we want to return to worship. If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, then you are indwelt with the Holy Spirit. And God wants his people to gather together in assembly. The Holy Spirit who lives in you is pushing you to be together with other believers and to follow in the footsteps of the early church – “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42). If you are a believer in Jesus, then the Spirit wants you to come together with other believers for teaching, fellowship, sacrament, and prayer. That is simply the way that it is. So that sadness that you feel and anticipation of return is not just about custom and doing what you like to do (though that is part of the equation). It is a spiritual longing put there by the Lord who loves you and saved you in Jesus.

We will wait a little longer, but we will never let that longing die out.

New worship resources have been posted at the Worship Resources page. We are currently reviewing the timeline for returning to in-person corporate worship. While we figure these things out (trusting in God’s providence!), keep returning to this site for videos, posts, and other media content.