Worship Preview 6.21.26 "My Father's World"

FIRST UNITED METHODIST

WORSHIP THIS SUNDAY: 10:30am. “Our Father’s World”  Rev. Christopher Eshelman preaching. Scriptures: Psalm 103, Genesis 17:1-7, John 17:13-26

It will be another Sunday of special celebration at First United Methodist as we hold our Father’s Day brunch. Worship will be in Fellowship Hall, beginning at our normal 10:30am and we’ll share at tables with a brunch to honor dads and all who lead, encourage, and provide. As we talked about at the beginning of our recent “Heart of the Matter” series on Prayer, Jesus taught his disciples to a model of prayer that begins with “Our Father.” We are connected. We are family. And God is in relationship with us. he Psalmist – this like about half the Psalms attributed to King David, proclaims this same relationship. The Father is compassionate and desires to be in relationship with us, even as his “throne is established in the heavens.” Our human father’s are often flawed, but the metaphor of a good father, a compassionate father, helps us to encounter the mystery of God. Our texts from Genesis remind us that God calls Abram into covenant and promises he will be “the father of many nations.” God choses to work in and through humanity and God’s love goes beyond our tribalism. And we’ll hear a part of the longest prayer of Jesus we have in Scripture. Often we are told that Jesus prays but we don’t hear the words. In John 17 we have an extended prayer for his disciples. For us – to face the hardships of the world faithfully. The Psalm and Jesus prayer here echo the words of the Lord’s prayer. As we praise God and honor earthly fathers, let us be inspired to embrace the fullness of God’s will and recognize the fullness of God’s image in one another. Wherever you are on your faith journey and whatever your relationship with your father, you are invited to join us for brunch, conversation, and worship.

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

FEEDING FAMILIES IN HIS NAME: Wednesday, June 24 - A free, no obligation meal is served “to-go” style from underneath our portico from 5:15pm to 6:15pm each Wednesday, prepared each week by our members as well as several area churches and community groups. We aim to provide 400 meals per week. Last week we celebrated serving our 200,000 meal in 15 years and we aren’t slowing down. We asked folks to write or draw about what FFiHN means to them on paper plates as part of that celebration and in connection with an advocacy campaign from the UMCs Healthy Congregations program. If you’d like to add a plate to our collection come by and ask for one! They’ll be used to help tell our story to benefactors, legislators, and the community to help ensure we can keep doing what we do – and more importantly help solve food insecurity to make what we do less necessary.

GOSPEL CONCERT – ERNIE COUCH & REVIVAL – Saturday, July 11^th at 6pm. EC&R is returning to Fort Scott to share their faith and music. You won’t want to miss this dynamic trio. Freewill offering will be collected for the band. Bring a friend or neighbor and enjoy a wonderful evening of Gospel music and Good News in our beautiful, historic Sanctuary.