Emley's Hill United Methodist Church
Mission Statement of Emley's Hill
The vision of Emley's Hill United Methodist Church is to provide and sustain dynamic, passionate worship which restores, renews and regenerates; to expand our facilities and ministries to have a dramatic impact on the lives in our community by teaching the unconditional love, acceptance and forgiveness of Jesus Christ.
“No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me…….You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit- fruit that will last.” John 15: verses 4 and 16
Greetings in the precious name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
As we enter into the fall season and prepare for the coming cooler weather and „Harvest Time‟ activities and the Christmas season, we also prepare for our coming Church Conference and planning for a new „church year‟.
This year‟s theme for our Annual Church Conference is “Celebrating the Church‟s Gifts: Fruitbearing Ministries”. We come together to celebrate the many gifts that God has given us in the people that make up the many wonderful ministries of our church that reach out and change lives for Christ. As we do, we realize that this is indeed our calling as individuals and as the body of Christ. We are called together as Christ‟s body- the Church- to make a difference in our community and in our world. But we don‟t do it alone. We don‟t do it without each other, and we certainly can‟t do it without Christ- the True Vine. God has called each one of us and he has called us to this particular place and time, to make a difference for Him, using the gifts and graces that He has blessed each one with. You have been chosen to “go and bear fruit- fruit that will last.”
Just as fruit needs to be nourished from the vine and soil, we also need to be nourished from God‟s Word which strengthens us and allows us to grow. The Scripture chosen for our Church Conference tells us that we cannot bear fruit unless we “remain in (Christ)”. „Remaining in Christ‟ has been likened to a water faucet. When a faucet is closed no water can come out. When the faucet is open, water can then flow from the spout. Remaining in Christ is like having that water faucet turned on and the valve wide open. In order for Christ, who is the living water, to remain in us, we first have to turn on the water faucet. The wider we open the valve the more of Christ can flow into our lives. We in turn need to allow that water to flow out to others so that they can be fed and blessed with the Living Water.
All too often we become so focused on ourselves and our own goals, that we lose sight of the big picture and the true purpose of the church. But when our focus is all on Christ, and away from ourselves, there is a natural unity of purpose in all of what we do. We need to be like the pianos that I mentioned several weeks ago- all tuned to the same fork- thus automatically being tuned to each other. If we as Christ‟s Church all look to Christ, rather than ourselves, we would then be of one accord and accomplish so much more than we could ever imagine on our own.
If we want to see our church grow and be fruitful, we need to get excited about the gift that we have been given in Jesus Christ, working together, living and serving as if he were coming today!
Greetings in the precious name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
As we enter into the fall season and prepare for the coming cooler weather and „Harvest Time‟ activities and the Christmas season, we also prepare for our coming Church Conference and planning for a new „church year‟.
This year‟s theme for our Annual Church Conference is “Celebrating the Church‟s Gifts: Fruitbearing Ministries”. We come together to celebrate the many gifts that God has given us in the people that make up the many wonderful ministries of our church that reach out and change lives for Christ. As we do, we realize that this is indeed our calling as individuals and as the body of Christ. We are called together as Christ‟s body- the Church- to make a difference in our community and in our world. But we don‟t do it alone. We don‟t do it without each other, and we certainly can‟t do it without Christ- the True Vine. God has called each one of us and he has called us to this particular place and time, to make a difference for Him, using the gifts and graces that He has blessed each one with. You have been chosen to “go and bear fruit- fruit that will last.”
Just as fruit needs to be nourished from the vine and soil, we also need to be nourished from God‟s Word which strengthens us and allows us to grow. The Scripture chosen for our Church Conference tells us that we cannot bear fruit unless we “remain in (Christ)”. „Remaining in Christ‟ has been likened to a water faucet. When a faucet is closed no water can come out. When the faucet is open, water can then flow from the spout. Remaining in Christ is like having that water faucet turned on and the valve wide open. In order for Christ, who is the living water, to remain in us, we first have to turn on the water faucet. The wider we open the valve the more of Christ can flow into our lives. We in turn need to allow that water to flow out to others so that they can be fed and blessed with the Living Water.
All too often we become so focused on ourselves and our own goals, that we lose sight of the big picture and the true purpose of the church. But when our focus is all on Christ, and away from ourselves, there is a natural unity of purpose in all of what we do. We need to be like the pianos that I mentioned several weeks ago- all tuned to the same fork- thus automatically being tuned to each other. If we as Christ‟s Church all look to Christ, rather than ourselves, we would then be of one accord and accomplish so much more than we could ever imagine on our own.
If we want to see our church grow and be fruitful, we need to get excited about the gift that we have been given in Jesus Christ, working together, living and serving as if he were coming today!