20 September 2020 Sunday Announcements

Sunday Morning Sermon:  Sunday's sermon is titled “Play On” from John 11:25-26.  The Old Testament reading is Jonah 2:1-10, and the New Testament reading is Matthew 12:38-42.

There will be only one  MCC in-person service this Sunday at 9:00 AM.

Live streamed Virtual Church (link) is available streaming at 9:00 AM. 

Virtual Foyer  on Zoom (link) at 10:15 AM.

The recorded services are also available on MCC YouTube Channel (link).

Week 30 of 52 Hebrew Words Every Christian Should Know by Dave Adamson: “halakhah” = to walk. The Apostle Paul wrote that we should “walk by faith” (II Corinthians 5:7). This reminds me of the Shema. When were the Israelites commanded to teach their children?

“These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.  Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up”, Deuteronomy 6:6-7. I mention this passage during every baby dedication at MCC. When do our children learn about faith from their parents? Maybe when we intentionally instruct them, but definitely as they watch us live our lives, walking by faith.

MCC News: Congratulations to our newest lovebirds! Abigail Eley and Quinton Foster will be married this afternoon.

This Sunday’s message is different than what I normally do. It is not a through the chapter expository Bible message like normal, nor is it a topical message. It is more of an extended word picture based upon something I felt during worship time last month. If you have an opportunity to prepare before Sunday, try to watch a clip from the movie “Titanic.” It’s the part when the musicians continue to play on deck as the ship is sinking. At the end of the 7-minute clip I found on YouTube, the violinist/leader tells the others how much he has enjoyed playing with them tonight.

Please join us for worship this weekend, however you can. We are now able to offer the Lord’s Supper at the end of our live service. That service begins at 9:00 AM, and it is live streamed on our YouTube channel.

Our “virtual foyer” Zoom meeting has settled into a steady group of virtual attenders who connect briefly (about 30 minutes) after the worship service. Newcomers are most welcome. It is not a formal study of anything, more of a social meeting, but questions about the sermon or other MCC stuff would be welcome. Here is the link to that zoom meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/s/82721340958#success

13 September 2020 Sunday Announcements

Sunday Morning Sermon:  Sunday's sermon is titled “Grow in the Grace” from II Peter 3:1-18.  The Old Testament reading is Isaiah 25, and the New Testament reading is Matthew 24:36-44.

There will be only one  MCC in-person service this Sunday at 9:00 AM.

Live streamed Virtual Church (link) is available streaming at 9:00 AM. 

Virtual Foyer  on Zoom (link) at 10:15 AM.

The recorded services are also available on MCC YouTube Channel (link).

Week 29 of 52 Hebrew Words Every Christian Should Know by Dave Adamson: “Torah-Or” = Guide of Light. This reminds me of an old joke I heard in church years ago, but I cannot recall the speaker. The set up was a game of chicken on the high seas between two radio officers who each thought the other should yield. The punch line was something like this: “This is a U.S. battleship; you must yield.” And the reply: “No, you must yield. This is a lighthouse.” This word picture reminds me of the futility of negotiating with God about calling and such (Consider the call of Moses), but also the comfort of resting in his far superior wisdom, stability and perspective. The gap between God’s Providential will and my ability to plan well is not depicted well enough by the lighthouse and the battleship. I think it would be closer to lighthouse and a floating pool toy. I am sure that MCC regulars would notice the Torah in the root of this word. Is the Bible your “guide of light?”

MCC News: Congratulations to Noah and Olivia! I hope you enjoy reading your new Bibles. It’s not too late for us to get more Bibles if we missed your child.

Please join us for worship this weekend, however you can. We are now able to offer the Lord’s Supper at the end of our live service. That service begins at 9:00 AM, and it is live streamed on our YouTube channel.

Our “virtual foyer” Zoom meeting has settled into a steady group of virtual attenders who connect briefly (20-30 minutes) after the worship service. Newcomers are most welcome. It is not a formal study of anything, more of a social meeting, but questions about the sermon or other MCC stuff would be welcome.

06 September 2020 Sunday Announcements

Sunday Morning Sermon:  Sunday's sermon is titled “Slaves of Whatever” from II Peter 2:1-22.  The Old Testament reading is Numbers 22:21-31, and the New Testament reading is Matthew 13:24-30.

There will be only one  MCC in-person service this Sunday at 9:00 AM.

Live streamed Virtual Church (link) is available streaming at 9:00 AM. 

Virtual Foyer  on Zoom (link) at 10:15 AM.

The recorded services are also available on MCC YouTube Channel (link).

Week 28 of 52 Hebrew Words Every Christian Should Know by Dave Adamson: “Hineni” = Here I am. This is a declaration of submission to God and his calling. Abraham, Moses, Samuel and Isaiah all had memorable “Here I am” scenes. Over the years, I have voiced this posture in a variety of ways: “Put me in, Coach” or “Reporting for duty” or simply “Yes, Lord.” And if you are not sure what you are saying “Yes” to, I think that might be even better. I suggest that you buckle up for a surprising adventure.

MCC News:  This is the first summer since 2003 that Melbourne Community Church has not had a baptism beach party. We will not schedule an event this year, but we can still baptize. Please let me know if you would like to talk about baptism, and I will follow up.

Please join us for worship this weekend, however you can. We are now able to offer the Lord’s Supper at the end of our live service. That service begins at 9:00 AM, and it is live streamed on our YouTube channel.

A few weeks ago we started a “virtual foyer” Zoom meeting that has allowed our virtual attenders to connect briefly after the worship service. Here are some highlights/lowlights: I have been excited to see people from Argentina to South Dakota, and mostly MCC locals. It did not work so well when I tried to host a Zoom meeting from the passenger’s seat of our car on the way up I-95. I will stay in one place this week. Here is the link to that zoom meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/s/82721340958#success

30 August 2020 Sunday Announcements

Sunday Morning Sermon:  Sunday's sermon is titled “Eyewitnesses of His Majesty” and it is a review of II Peter 1:12-21.  The Old Testament reading is Jeremiah 1:1-10, and the New Testament reading is II Timothy 3:10-17.

There will be only one  MCC in-person service this Sunday at 9:00 AM.

Live streamed Virtual Church (link) is available streaming at 9:00 AM. 

Virtual Foyer  on Zoom (link) at 10:15 AM.

The recorded services are also available on MCC YouTube Channel (link).

Week 27 of 52 Hebrew Words Every Christian Should Know by Dave Adamson: “Tzel” = shade.  This reminds me of Psalm 91, and I am sure that I am not the only one at MCC who would say that. This week, I spent several minutes of each day teaching my students outdoors, at a picnic area under a nice big tree. Conditions there ranged from quite nice to a bit swampy, but we could not have gone out there without the shade of that tree.

MCC News: Many of our families started back to school this week. From a teacher’s lens, it was not my easiest week ever, but it was a good week, and I think it will get easier. It was good to be back with the students, and my students seemed appreciative and cooperative.

At church, The Lord’s Supper was a sweet end of last week’s service, and also this week’s service and so on. We found some individually packaged communion kits with a wee sip of juice and a tiny wafer on top, easy to grab and go while maintaining appropriate distance on Sunday.

Please join us for worship this Sunday at 9:00 AM, live or live streamed on our YouTube channel. For our home viewers, we have started a virtual foyer immediately after the service ends, around 10:15 AM. Here is the link to that zoom meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/s/82721340958#success

23 August 2020 Sunday Announcements

Sunday Morning Sermon:  Sunday's sermon is titled “Everything We Need” and it is a review of II Peter 1:11.  The Old Testament reading is Proverbs 1:1-7, and the New Testament reading is II Timothy 4:1-8.

There will be only one  MCC in-person service this Sunday at 9:00 AM.

Live streamed Virtual Church (link) is available streaming at 9:00 AM. 

Virtual Foyer  on Zoom (link) at 10:15 AM.

The recorded services are also available on MCC YouTube Channel (link).

Week 26 of 52 Hebrew Words Every Christian Should Know by Dave Adamson: “Torah” = guide. It is hard to believe that it has been half of a year since we started this book at the beginning of Lent. It is also hard to believe how different our world is now than it was back then. I’m glad that our word this week is “torah” because we have spent much of the last six months studying the first five books of the Bible. Even now that we have started our II Peter series, we find that Peter and the other New Testament writers often referred back to the Torah in their letters.  

MCC News:  This is the Sunday when we will pray for students and teachers during our worship service. Some have started already, but most are starting back to school on Monday.

This is also the Sunday when we will resume offering the Lord’s Supper at the end of the service. We found some individually packaged communion kits with a wee sip of juice and a tiny wafer on top. I spread them out on our communion tables Tuesday morning, so it should be easy to grab and go while maintaining appropriate distance on Sunday.

Please join us for worship this Sunday at 9:00, live or live streamed on our YouTube channel. For our home viewers, we have started a virtual foyer immediately after the service ends, around 10:15. Here is the link to that zoom meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/s/82721340958#success

16 August 2020 Sunday Announcements

Sunday Morning Sermon:  Sunday's sermon is titled “Submit Yourselves …” and it is a review of I Peter. The Old Testament reading is Exodus 19:1-6, and the New Testament reading is Romans 13:1-7.

There will be only one  MCC in-person service this Sunday at 9:00 AM.

Live streamed Virtual Church (link) is available streaming at 9:00 AM. 

Virtual Foyer  on Zoom (link) at 10:15 AM.

The recorded services are also available on MCC YouTube Channel (link).

Week 23 of 52: Hebrew Words Every Christian Should Know by Dave Adamson:: “nuach” = rest. In Matthew, chapter 11, Jesus said, 28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your
souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Notice that the rest is not idleness. Jesus offers us his yoke, but he says it will be easy. His rest is not based upon inactivity, but rather it is based upon being settled in the Lord’s will.

MCC News: Last week we started a “virtual foyer” zoom meeting to give our remote congregation another opportunity to connect on Sundays. It will continue each Sunday after the live streamed worship service on Sunday, so it will start about 10:15 AM. It will be a zoom meeting hosted by Gina and me. Here is the link to that meeting (link).

For the next month or six weeks, our Wednesday evening Bible study will study II Peter led by our associate pastor, Jared Smith. It will be a zoom meeting at 6:30 PM.

On Wednesday I had a long conversation with our dear friends Chris and Sharon Struna. They are stuck in Argentina now, but they hope to return to Florida this fall, and then return to missions work in Honduras this winter. Please pray for protection and provision. I look forward to seeing Chris and Sharon at MCC when they are in town.

09 August 2020 Sunday Announcements

Sunday Morning Sermon:  Sunday's sermon is titled “Upon This Rock” from Matthew 16:17-19. The readings: Psalm 16:1-11 and Acts 10:34-43. There will be only one   MCC in-person service this Sunday at 9:00 AM.

Virtual Church (link) is available streaming at 9:00 AM.  Virtual Foyer on Zoom (link) at 10:15 AM. The recorded services are available on MCC YouTube Channel (link).

Week 23 of 52: Hebrew Words Every Christian Should Know by Dave Adamson: “Kavanah” = ‘to be aware of God’s presence.` This word does not appear in the Bible, but it has been part of rabbinical teaching for thousands of years. The rabbis teach that the awareness of God is what brings passion to our prayers, worship and study.

MCC News: We will launch the “virtual foyer” zoom meeting to give our remote congregation another opportunity to connect on Sundays. It will be after the live streamed worship service on Sunday, so it will start about 10:15 AM. It will be a zoom meeting hosted by Gina and me.

Our Wednesday group finished the study on Unoffendable this week. Thank you to Dianne and Will Stephenson for leading us this summer. For the next month or six weeks, our Wednesday evening Bible study will study II Peter led by our associate pastor, Jared Smith. It will be a zoom meeting at 6:30 PM. Stay tuned for the details on how to join this study.

For those who like to read along before and during our Sunday morning sermon series, I have some recommendations for the new series. It's on the NT book of II Peter, and it will last 6 weeks. Week 1 starts with a bio of Simon Peter; Week 2 is a review of I Peter; then 4 weeks on II Peter, verse by verse. II Peter is only 3 chapters. So here's my reading plan, a bit ambitious at first, but easier later. To learn more about Simon Peter, read the Gospel of Mark (16 chapters) and Acts 1-10. For week 2, it's pretty obvious that the best way to prepare for a review of I Peter is to read it some way. I listened to I Peter (5 chapters) this morning on Bible Gateway, and it took 16 minutes at regular speed. Then starting in week 3 we will slow way down, covering 3 chapters over 4 weeks. As always, I recommend that you read II Peter all in one sitting once we get to it, but that shouldn't take long. I know that many in our congregation are struggling to keep up these day, so the optional background reading recommendations will not be much help to you. But I also know that many in our congregation treasure the study of Scripture, and some will have the time and inclination to dig deeper by doing the background reading and/or attending the new Wednesday evening study.

It's back to school time, and this year we will continue the MCC tradition of giving a new monogrammed Bible to all of our rising first graders. Please send a message to Anne Zidonis Straub or me with the correct spelling of your child's name as you would prefer for it to appear on the Bible. Remember that if you became a part of our congregation after your child completed first grade, we are always glad to offer age appropriate Bibles retroactively to kids of any age. 

Speaking of the return to school, please pray for the students, teachers and administrators in our congregation. We will not have a public back to school event this year, but we are still able and willing to help families with school supplies. Please let me know if you need help, and also let me know if you would like to help. I think I already know some of each.

One more thing for now: We are not scheduling a summer baptism beach party in August like we normally do, but please let me know if you would like to be baptized, and we can make arrangements for a smaller gathering.

02 August 2020 Sunday Announcements

We are not having a regular church service at the building this Sunday because of the approaching storm. We should be back to our new normal next Sunday.

Sunday Morning Sermon:  Sunday's sermon is titled “Churches Were Strengthened” from Acts 16:5. The readings: Genesis 12:1-7 and Matthew 16:13-20. There will be only one   MCC in-person service this Sunday at 9:00 AM.

Week 23 of 52: Hebrew Words Every Christian Should Know by Dave Adamson: “Ananei HaKavod” = cloud of glory. For forty years between the Exodus and the Promised Land, God’s cloud of glory sheltered his people in the wilderness, reminding them of his presence and sustaining power. This weekend, as we watch the reports of an approaching storm, let the power of nature remind you of God’s presence and power.

MCC News: Breaking news! Because of the approaching hurricane we will not have an in-person service at our building this Sunday. We want our congregation and our production team to have one less responsibility this weekend. Because we progressed from live services to virtual services to live streaming, we will have the ability to have a virtual service Sunday morning. So please join us if you can while the power is still on. It seems like a good time to take a break from planning and preparation and focus on prayer. Also, please help spread the word that we are not meeting in person this Sunday.

While we have been struggling to meet the challenges of doing Sunday morning church lately, our Monday – Saturday church has been busy. Thank you to our do-gooders who worked behind the scenes this week and last – delivering, cleaning, cooking, looking for leaks. There is a meal signup link for the Czagas family elsewhere on the MCC Facebook page.

26 July 2020 Sunday Service Announcements

"Sunday Morning Sermon:  Sunday's sermon is titled “Strong and Courageous” from Deuteronomy 31-34. The readings: Exodus 15:1-18 and Acts 3:17-26. There will be only one   MCC in-person service this Sunday at 9:00 AM.

Virtual Church is available streaming at 9:00 AM.  The recorded services are available on YouTube.

MCC News:  Please join us for worship this Sunday at 9:00 AM. I am not urging you to accelerate your family’s timetable for attending church in person, but I do encourage you to join us one way or another. It is easy to join the service live on MCC’s YouTube channel. This Sunday’s message is the end of the Deuteronomy series. Coming soon: I hope that we can start a “virtual foyer” zoom meeting after church by the first Sunday in August. This will give our remote congregation another opportunity to connect on Sunday.

“I am grateful to you, God of the universe, for this new day. May your love and compassion be reflected in everything I do.”

Week 22 of 52: Hebrew Words Every Christian Should Know by Dave Adamson: “brakah” = short prayer. The Pharisees took prayer so seriously that they developed a collection of short prayers, called brakah, that they could memorize and recite throughout the day. It is easy to imagine how this could have devolved into a legalistic chore, but reciting short prayers through the day could be a way for us to obey Paul’s direction to “pray without ceasing.” Here’s a nice brakah for starting the day. I’m going to try to remember to start this way for the next week and see what that does for my outlook.

19 July 2020 Sunday Service Announcements

"Sunday Morning Sermon:  Sunday's sermon is titled “Now Choose Life” from Deuteronomy 29-30. The readings: Ezekiel 36:22-28 and Romans 10:5-11. There will be only one   MCC in-person service this Sunday at 9:00 AM.

Virtual Church is available streaming at 9:00 AM.  The recorded services are available on youtube.

This week’s sermon –“Now Choose Life” – is the second to last one in our Deuteronomy series. It is the climactic message, one I will subtitle “The Gospel According to Moses.” If you have missed any of the weeks of this series, this Sunday’s message is the one that can catch you up.

Week 20 of 52: Hebrew Words Every Christian Should Know: by Dave Adamson: “dabar” = “word”. This word occurs over 1400 times in the Bible. It is sometimes translated into English as “speak,” “commandment,” “promise” or “act.” So this word describes God acting to create the heavens and the earth, and it also describes the earth proclaiming the glory of God.