ConsecratingSeries: A Way Out Of No Way Preacher: Pastor Jennifer StammDate: 2nd July 2023Passages: Exodus 19:3-7Exodus 20:1-17-------------------Website | Friendship Card | Give Online | Facebook | Instagram | YouTubeThe drama of deliverance in the Moses story soon gives way to the drudgery of “so now what?!” as the people wander the desert. There is only so much God can do for us without us doing our part. God can give us reason to trust God, God can bless us, protect us, prosper us, and deliver us. But if we are to truly live into our identity as God’s precious and holy ones, we are called to make a commitment of our own free will. SongsWay Maker | O Jesus I Have Promised | Goodness Of God | Word Of God Speak | On Eagle's Wings | Evidence

DeliveringSeries: A Way Out Of No Way Preacher: Pastor Jennifer StammDate: 25th June 2023Passages: Exodus 14:10-14Exodus 14:21-29-------------------Website | Friendship Card | Give Online | Facebook | Instagram | YouTubePerhaps no other story from the Hebrew texts has the drama that Moses’ story has. The people are delivered in an epic scene from their slavery. Our own deliverance, however, might feel just as dramatic when we are in the midst of it. Sometimes the way ahead appears utterly blocked and we have no power or ability ourselves to overcome it. At these moments we are faced with a critical decision: do we return to slavery and servitude, or do we allow God to make a way out of no way? SongsWay Maker | Be Not Afraid | Fear Is Not Welcome | Our God

ProtectingSeries: A Way Out Of No Way Preacher: Pastor Scott JohnsonDate: 18th June 2023Passages: John 14:10-14Genesis 39:6-23-------------------Website | Friendship Card | Give Online | Facebook | Instagram | YouTubeIt seems Joseph can’t get a break. He is left for dead by his brothers, taken into a foreign land to serve as a slave, then he is lied about by the master’s wife and jailed. But throughout he seems to bloom where he is planted, making a way out of no way. Perhaps on our journey we need to look for blessing not in the absence of struggle, but in the heart of it, where we are protected and prospered. SongsWay Maker | Protector Of My Soul | Shout To The Lord | Be Still My Soul (In You I Rest) | Blessed Be Your Name

BlessingSeries: A Way Out Of No Way Preacher: Pastor Jennifer StammDate: 11th June 2023Passage: Genesis 12:1-9-------------------Website | Friendship Card | Give Online | Facebook | Instagram | YouTubeLeaving everything we have known before to set out for the unknown can feel unsettling, to say the least. But at 75 years old?! Abram trusted this new path–this new way–and the promise of God’s presence and blessing anywhere. We take the first significant step on our journey with God when we accept a blessing that we believe is too large for us to deserve and a responsibility that we feel is too large for us to fulfill. SongsWay Maker | Build My Life | I Give You My Heart | Mighty To Save

SavingSeries: A Way Out Of No Way Preacher: Pastor Scott JohnsonDate: 4th June 2023Passages: John 3:16-17Genesis 6:11-22Genesis 9:8-17-------------------Website | Friendship Card | Give OnlineIf doppler radar had been around then, the severe weather warning would have been intense. God tells Noah how to get ready for the deluge and he sets to work, making a way out of no way. We don't really come to know God until we have some reason to trust God. God's rainbow covenant allows us the baseline of trust we need to start a journey and process of self-discovery that will lead us into a life renewed that is large enough for us to inhabit with our full selves. Mission Moment: Alex's Lemonade StandAlex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF) is a national childhood cancer foundation dedicated to raising funds for research into new treatments and cures for all children battling cancer. ALSF emerged from the front yard lemonade stand of cancer patient Alexandra “Alex” Scott. In 2000, 4-year-old Alex announced that she wanted to hold a lemonade stand to raise money to help find a cure for all children with cancer. Since Alex held that first stand, the foundation bearing her name has evolved into a national fundraising movement, complete with thousands of supporters across the country carrying on her legacy of hope.We will have our very own lemonade stand outside at church after worship. We hope you will join us in a cold, refreshing glass of lemonade as we raise money for this worthy foundation.You can give by adding "Alex’s Lemonade Stand" to your gift online. SongsWay Maker | Great Is Thy Faithfulness | Do It Again | Mighty To Save

Pentecost & Confirmation SundaySeries: Stand-alone Services 2023 Preacher: Pastor Scott JohnsonDate: 28th May 2023Passages: John 14:25-27Acts 2:1-21John 14:15-21-------------------Website | Friendship Card | Give OnlineSpirit of the Living God fall fresh on us! It is Pentecost, the day we celebrate God coming into human lives in a new way. The Spirit comes as the presence who connects and unites our souls as one in God. The Spirit comes with limitless divine power that enables us to do the work of God in the world. God has poured out God’s presence, knowledge, and power in this amazing way, and our world is forever changed. Let us open our hearts to receive the Spirit anew! SongsSweet Sweet Spirit | Spirit Of The Living God | Hungry | Thrive

Casting Your CaresSeries: A Living Hope Preacher: Pastor Scott JohnsonDate: 21st May 2023Passages: John 17:6-191 Peter 5:6-11-------------------WebsiteFriendship CardGive Online If you are one of those who believe that worship should leave you feeling lighter, unburdened, and set free, then this is the week for you. “Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). What could be better than that? In a text that is full of an admission of suffering and a call to discipline, to hear the call to cast anxiety away is a monumental ask, yet a powerful gift and promise. Peter is telling us that it is about perspective. He isn’t saying the problems will go away. But he is inviting us to not let the suffering control us. Cast your inclination to worry away. Trust in the Lord because he cares for you. What a blessing and a promise! Mission Moment: Lockport CARES"Serving people in need with shelter and compassion through the love of Jesus."The shelter is used to assist men, women, and children (including veterans) who find themselves in need by providing temporary emergency shelter, material needs, and compassionate care with dignity and respect. Those who need assistance are greeted with welcoming smiles, clean clothes, a warm shower, a comfy bed with a homemade blanket to take with them when they leave, family-style homecooked meals, and a time of daily prayer and sharing. All this is done encouraging them to seek benefits, if they don't already have, to look for housing and look for employment if able. It's amazing how God works through the staff and volunteers, showing love, compassion, encouragement, and His love!You can give by adding “Lockport CARES” to your gift online. SongsRaise A Hallelujah What A Friend We Have In Jesus Fear Is Not Welcome Living Hope The Father's House

Always Be ReadySeries: A Living Hope Preacher: Pastor Scott JohnsonDate: 14th May 2023Passages: 1 Peter 3:13-22John 14:15-21-------------------WebsiteFriendship CardGive Online What are we supposed to be ready to do? Tell our story! It’s as simple as that. And it’s as complicated as that. Peter says that we are always “ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15). But what does that mean, and who demands such an account these days? This is where we learn to interpret opportunities. We aren’t often in danger of going to jail on account of our faith; we aren’t likely to lose our jobs or get kicked out of school, at least in most parts of the world. So, we look for opportunities to tell our story when questions are asked. When we are asked about our Sunday morning habits, for example, or why giving is so important to us. Questions like these are great opportunities to share faith and to tell our story, if we are prepared. Mission Moment: Buffalo 10 ScholarshipOn May 14, 2022, a mass murderer motivated by racial hatred killed ten African Americans and injured three other individuals. A group of clergy and laity from the Niagara Frontier District gathered to discern ways to address the systemic racism that continues to impact residents of the East Side of Buffalo and elsewhere in our region. The Buffalo 10 Scholarship (UNY-Buffalo 10) was adopted at the 2022 Upper New York Annual Conference and is dedicated to helping youth in identified communities of Buffalo, New York succeed in higher education.The Mission of the Buffalo 10 Scholarship is to improve educational opportunities in the zip codes adjacent to the Jefferson Avenue Tops Market (14208, 14211, 14214). Specifically, the scholarship helps youth in these areas address persisting inequities by resourcing them to complete their college education.The Vision of the Buffalo 10 Scholarship is more educated and empowered young adults serving in the designated area to create communities characterized by love, justice, and peace.You can give by adding “Buffalo 10 Scholarship” to your gift online. SongsRaise A Hallelujah Since Jesus Came Into My Heart Go Light Your World O Come To The Altar

Like Living StonesSeries: A Living Hope Preacher: Pastor Jennifer StammDate: 7th May 2023Passages: 1 Peter 2:2-10Psalm 31:1-5-------------------WebsiteFriendship CardGive Online But we are living stones, so what does that mean? How do we carry this foundational presence out into the world? How do we commit to building a church that transforms not just those inside, but those outside as well? How will our body-building strengthen our whole neighborhood and not just ourselves? This is the challenge of the living stones: discipleship for the transformation of the world. Mission Moment: Native American Ministries SundayNative American Ministries Sunday (NAMS) is one of the United Methodist Church’s Special Sundays; it is a time to recognize the history of Native peoples; marred by colonial violence, land theft, and attempted genocide. Let us all embrace our opportunity and obligation to honor the struggles, perseverance, and achievements of our Native brothers and sisters.Donations to NAMS support vital ministries and churches in the Native American communities and allow the UMC to partner with existing Native ministries to develop new programs on behalf of Native Americans. Half of the donations collected remain within the Annual Conference to provide hope to children and youth, hope for a brighter future in impoverished communities, and a voice to those who have felt voiceless for years.When you give generously on Native American Ministries Sunday, you equip seminary students who honor and celebrate Native American culture in their ministries. You empower congregations to find fresh and culturally appropriate ways to minister to their communities with Christ’s love.You can give by adding “Native American Ministries” to your gift online. SongsRaise A Hallelujah My Hope Is Built You Are God Alone (Not A God) Fear Is Not Welcome What A Beautiful Name All The Earth Will Sing Your Praises

Guardian of the SoulSeries: A Living Hope Preacher: Pastor Scott JohnsonDate: 30th April 2023Passages: John 10:1-101 Peter 2:21-25-------------------WebsiteFriendship CardGive Online 1 Peter 2 presents the guardian of our souls as the one who brings us back together, who brings us home. We celebrate that guardian today, the one who walked through the world and showed us what a life of meaning and purpose looked like. SongsRaise A Hallelujah To God Be The Glory Your Name Written In Red Made Me Glad