College Park Presbyterian Church

"The Offering" Sunday Worship Service 5/3/20

https://youtu.be/FhwS56-ntw4

Our Zoomy Fellowship/Baby Shower link is https://us02web.zoom.us/j/501289591?pwd=UmRxS0VNSmFBV0tJSTJTUi9CSXVYdz09 Remember to check out, comment and subscrib...

April 26, 2020 Worship Service

https://youtu.be/tdX8KKYeVwU

In this service we focus on the idea of being prevented from entering the place that is designated for the worship of God. Join Zoomy Fellowship at https://u...

Kicking off a new class tonight! Here’s the link: https://youtu.be/8QIIb_0lzb8

The Passover, Sunday Service

https://youtu.be/nAbJkfWYVCU is where our worship service is happening this morning

Zoomy Fellowship is at: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/501289591?pwd=UmRxS0VNSmFBV0tJSTJTUi9CSXVYdz09 (this link should remain the same week after week)

This is our service for 4/19/2020 Join us for Zoomy Fellowship: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/501289591?pwd=UmRxS0VNSmFBV0tJSTJTUi9CSXVYdz09 The Apostle's Creed ...

Ask Me Anything: Stump The Pastor Request #0

Look at something new our pastor is working on. Shares are appreciated!

Will you do me a favor? Will you ask me anything?

Here is the last entry from our Holy Week devotional, titled “The Eighth Day: Bright Monday” You can find the entire devotional available for free athttps://www.collegeparkpres.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Holy-Week-Devotional.pdf

John 21 (excerpt):
This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true. But there are also many other things that Jesus did; if every one of them were written down, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

I have one more Holy Week celebration to share with you, and like all of the other seven, it is rooted in a holiday that has been a part of the Christian tradition for centuries before I was even born. It’s called Bright Monday, or Easter Monday, and in many countries it is still a national holiday to this day. It’s the first day of bright week, the celebratory week after Easter, which lives in the bright light of the glorious reality that Jesus is risen, and that after he rose, things didn’t just return to normal, but instead he kept on living and lives today.

What all this means is that if there were no coronavirus to worry about, and we were gathering in person at our church, and the worship committee had decided to celebrate every holy day it possibly could around Easter time this year, we would have had to plan services beginning perhaps as far back as March 29th, talking about Lazarus and acknowledging the foreshadowing there, then we would veil the sanctuary for Passion Week and have a series of somber morning gatherings around the reality that Jesus is passionate about us to the point of great personal suffering and anguish. Then we would dance around with Palm Branches and shout Hosanna, we’d acknowledge Holy Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. And then have a big event for Maundy Thursday with lots of food, Good Friday, Easter Vigil, a Sunrise service, an Easter Service at 10:30 and then we would keep the candles burning for another entire week!

If we did all that in the same year, we’d probably get sick of each other. We start to feel like once a week is enough and we don’t quite need so much church in our lives as all of that. Also, as your pastor I might collapse under the work of trying to prepare all of that. That’s why we’ve never paid attention to all of these observances at once before.

I’m glad therefore, that God gave us this opportunity, to gather in a simple way, in an easy chair or at a breakfast table, and celebrate these things in our homes. Because they are important, and they brighten one another, so that each is more special by its relationship to the others.
35

We’re like that too, each of us is more special because of who we are to the people we love and who love us. None of us is good all by ourselves, but all of us together have the ability to show the world what a perfect God looks like.
Read John 21 and exercise the same skills you have been learning all week to read, interpret, and apply this passage for yourself in your own life and context.

● What do you notice about the story? Be specific about what is printed there.
● What is the significance of the things you noticed? What does it mean to you?
● Finally, will you commit with God to doing something about it, the way Jesus made Peter commit?

After you’ve read, you may want to spend more time journaling with yourself. In fact, nothing would make me happier than if this week became the first week of a new daily habit for you in prayer and Bible reading. You might want to start John over again from the beginning and read one chapter for every day of Bright Week, you might want to keep going after that. But for today, take a moment with your envelope. Look at the things you put inside it. Maybe there is only one thing you felt bold enough to put aside, maybe there aren’t any, maybe there’s way more than I asked for. Take some time and talk with God about other things he might want you to put in the envelope, to write or to make for inclusion to be used and shared with the wider church. Hold each item in your hand and ask God if there is something he would have you add, or take away. There is no deadline. If you need to hang on to it for another week, or send another one later, that is totally fine. But whenever you are done, seal it up with our address (118 E Par St) and send it away. Let it be an act of worship to you to save and seal these things for the glory of God and the benefit of your brothers and sisters. And I’ll see you then.

He Is Risen

He is Risen! He is Risen indeed!

https://youtu.be/y7DsDt-RJA8
Join with some voices in our church and add your own “He is Risen!” in the comments.

It's true ya know!

Easter Sunday Service

Happy Easter! Join us here at this premier. 10:30am

Learn about the hexaflexigon of the Resurrection! Zoom Fellowship: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/501289591?pwd=UmRxS0VNSmFBV0tJSTJTUi9CSXVYdz09 Hexaflexigonstruc...

Easter Sunday Service

https://youtu.be/auRLScmecmw is the link for you to join us this Easter Sunday on YouTube at 10:30am!

You may also find that afterwards you want to enter our Coffee Fellowship time on Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/501289591?pwd=UmRxS0VNSmFBV0tJSTJTUi9CSXVYdz09

Learn about the hexaflexigon of the Resurrection! Zoom Fellowship: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/501289591?pwd=UmRxS0VNSmFBV0tJSTJTUi9CSXVYdz09 Hexaflexigonstruc...

Good Friday 2020

Enjoy this special Good Friday Video, made possible by the connectional nature of our church and our family of God. Special thanks to all of the wonderful contributors, and for all the incredible things different members of the body of Christ are doing for people out there in the midst of this pandemic.

This is not a premier, you can watch it any time today you would like to and you'll have the same watching experience. https://youtu.be/r2ZWigRKsSs

Seven people contribute wonderful and creative things to make our Good Friday this year special.

Here is the fourth entry from our Holy Week devotional, titled “A New Commandment: Maundy Thursday.” You can find the entire devotional available for a free download athttps://www.collegeparkpres.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Holy-Week-Devotional.pdf

John 13 (excerpt):
When he had gone out, Jesus said, ‘Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, “Where I am going, you cannot come.” I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.’

What would you do if you knew you had 24 hours to live?

That was the question that Jesus was faced with the day before he would be crucified. By tradition, a Thursday, because his crucifixion would be cut short by the Sabbath. He knew what was going to happen, and he knew he had only 24 hours left to live. It’s a common question, but it bears repeating: “What Would Jesus Do?”

It turns out that Jesus, when put in that situation, would have one last dinner with his closest friends. He would get everyone together and have a little party. He would tell them how much he loves them, and remind them to love one another when he is gone.

Would you do something similar? Who would you invite? What would you eat? Would you cook each person their favorite dishes of yours, or, on your last night, would you order out and stay out of the kitchen?

During this lockdown, I certainly miss the opportunity to gather in person with friends, and I lament that we aren’t able to have a service together to remember the Last Supper, wash each other’s feet, and otherwise live out Jesus’ mandate to “love one another,” but at the same time it, once again, presents us with a unique vantage point for reflection.

“Love one another” is such an outward-focused command. “By this everyone​ will know you are my disciples.” Do this thing that is for everyone. It’s my command, Jesus says. And yet, Jesus did not spend his last hours healing one last sick person, or feeding one last hungry crowd, or feeling one last bout of compassion for people who were like sheep without a shepherd. He spent it with his inner circle, preparing them to go out.

Take a look at John 13 and spend some time reflecting on the things Jesus did. If you still have time and emotional energy leftover, go ahead and turn the page to chapter 14 and so on. John’s depiction of Jesus’s last 24 hours actually lasts all the way to chapter 19, a full fourth of the book. Then answer these questions for yourselves, but keep in mind there’s not any one right answer.

● Why do you think that John takes so much time, space, and ink to cover such a small percentage of Jesus’s life?
● What does it mean for us to slow down at this moment in our lives?
● What, in your opinion, was the very most important thing Jesus did
that day, as recorded in John?

One beautiful way to slow down while engaging an idea is to draw something. It doesn’t have to be a great work of art, that’s not the reason we would be drawing here and now. Instead, it’s a way to give your hands and your brain something to do that’s not purely logical, in order to help your heart to open up experientially. So consider drawing a scene from one of the events described in this part of the Bible. It may be that what you draw will pale in comparison to the thoughts you have and the understanding you gain while you spend this creative time with God. It may also be that you create something unexpected, that you never knew you could. If you do, I certainly would love for you to share it with your church family, even if it’s only a copy.

Here’s a glimpse of our beautiful sanctuary for Palm Sunday! Enjoy it more in the background of our service from this morning: https://youtu.be/0OKGekrIebo

Palm Sunday Service

Grab a cup of coffee and join us, our Palm Sunday Service begins soon! https://youtu.be/0OKGekrIebo

This is an interactive virtual service presented for College Park Presbyterian Church. in celebration of Palm Sunday despite a statewide Safer-At-Home Order....

We have been working hard on a devotional series for Holy Week that is specific to our current situation. We are so excited to finally share it with you! Keep an eye on your mailbox for your family’s copy or see the digital edition here:https://www.collegeparkpres.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Holy-Week-Devotional.pdf

Please pass this resource along to anyone you feel may benefit from or enjoy it. We will continue to meet online for our Sunday services, this is just one more way that we can connect and observe the upcoming Holy Days together.

BSOF Event

Our Wednesday night class is streaming LIVE on Youtube right now! https://youtu.be/nYjsuejfF8A Join the conversation about the brief statement of faith in the chat! You can also watch it later if you are not able to attend the live broadcast.

"Food and Water" 3/27/2020 Sunday Service

Join us for worship again this Sunday at 10:30

Our service this morning deals with the theme of things to eat and drink, our daily necessities and our essential services.

Brief Statement of Faith Class on March 25th

GSOF week 3

Join us tonight at 6:30pm for our Brief Statement of Faith class. We will be on Facebook LIVE and streaming on Youtube. Visit here to participate in the conversation via chat! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPLLDCK2v-s

[03/22/20]   We have a fully functional worship service to enjoy together on YouTube! The address is https://youtu.be/0KFnkYJnxJE and the premier begins right at 10:30am.

To be very clear, we will not be having service in person, only at this web address. Our sincere hope and prayer is that you'll be able to focus your attention, feel like you are there, and make your home a sanctuary.

If you watch it live, you will be able to interact with me and fellowship with one another in the live chat feature, otherwise you can enjoy the recording later and leave static comments. If for any reason the link does not work, or you have trouble, you can call Pastor Ryan (949-689-4178) or visit our newly redesigned web page at collegeparkpres.org for more information.

God bless, and we'll see you in the service!

College Park Presbyterian Church

Because of the Virus we will be holding services through our YouTube channel bit.ly/CollegeParkPres

youtube.com

Dramatic Reading CS Lewis Corona Virus

We also have better video of the benediction and the reading that happened there

CS Lewis Reading from 3/15/20 worship

Saga Genesis 3 Jacob

If you chose not to attend services last week, our live stream may not be the best way to experience the sermon, especially now that it isn't live. Check out this taped recording of the sermon yesterday

God keeps choosing people between pairs of brothers, but why does he choose who he chooses?

[03/14/20]   Good Morning Everyone,

As your pastor, I have been studying and praying all week to ensure we make the best decisions we are able to amid rising concerns of the COVID-19 "Corona Virus" including learning about ways to do things that are more remote in keeping with CDC recommendations.

The CDC is recommending that people stay home and avoid crowds as much as possible. This includes religious gatherings, however, the CDC defines a "crowd" as being over 250 people on the low end, and they are especially concerned about diverse environments where unfamiliar people may have been traveling to an affected area unbeknownst to you. Our church still qualifies as a low-risk setting for this reason. For all of those reasons, I gathered the session for a remote discussion, and we decided as a group to move forward with the service tomorrow as planned. We will see you for Prayer at 8:55, Sunday School at 9-10, and Service at 10:30.

What was said last Sunday in the Prayers of the People holds true. This is an opportunity to choose faith over fear, and to " Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that, though they malign you as evildoers, they may see your honorable deeds and glorify God when he comes to judge" (1 Peter 2:12 and the key verse for Step 2 of our 2020 Vision) We do not want to give in to panic, nor do we want to act in a foolish or unwise manner. In this way we can palpably love our neighbors.

If you feel anxious about attending service in person, or if for any reason you suspect you may be carrying a contagious illness, as your pastor I would encourage you to stay home. We are working hard on developing opportunities to join us virtually for worship and will be giving it a trial run tomorrow so that if the situation worsens and we do need to cancel a service, we will all know what to do.

Please visit our church page for more information including live broadcasts.

Along with three useful YouTube Channels
https://www.youtube.com/user/RyanJGaffney for recordings of previous sermons on video
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIiQVHDkIyS2Ar8JyjlWOyg For MOVIEPASStor
and
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmec8mReqJvVhjV22M4NgUA/ Our church's own channel where we hope to post and archive live broadcasts of services and classes

If you are not technical and the idea of potentially using the internet to stay in touch intimidates you, please call Carol and set up a Pastoral Visit. This is not only a low tech, and low risk alternative way to participate in the life of the church, but I can help show you how to access the remote resources in your home if you would like me to.

For those of you who are neither anxious nor infected, I hope to see you Sunday. We will have more details then, along with toilet paper for those of us who are out, the Word of God will be present and interpreted for us, and you can expect another post like this next week as we continue to adapt to these changing times.

Many blessings on all of you and beyond.

-Pastor Ryan Gaffney