St. James United Methodist Church

The service from Hope UMC will be live streamed at 11 am and available at any time afterward. https://www.youtube.com/user/mattkofahl

Please join us live for worship from Hope UMC. https://youtu.be/yR6YtDjcgLk

As Jesus passed alongside the Galilee Sea, he saw two brothers, Simon and Andrew, throwing fishing nets into the sea, for they were fishermen. Come, follow me, he said, and I’ll show you how to fish for people. Right away, they left their nets and followed him. Mark 1:16-18 (CEB) Dear Friends, Last week in the sermon I talked about retreating back to old familiar places and comfort zones when we aren’t sure what to do with our lives. Some of those comfort zones can be har...mful to us and we know it. The question is, how do we break out of these patterns? The answer is by changing things up. If there was one part of your routine that you could change, what would it be? Why don’t you change it? When Jesus called his disciples, they were seemingly locked into place by their life situations.They had families and jobs. Many were fishermen and some, like James and John, were even part of a family business. For some reason, Jesus and his invitation were so compelling that they dropped everything and went with him. It could not have been easy, but these folks knew going with Jesus was better than whatever they were doing. This year, even with the continued limits placed on us by the pandemic, I want you to change one thing in your current routine. It could be big or small, but change it and replace it with something else that will help you to become a deeper follower of Jesus. It might help you break from that harmful thing you want to stop doing or it might empower you to bring about other positive changes in your life. If you need help, reach out to me and I’ll be glad to encourage you and pray with you. With grace and peace, Pastor Matt

Check out the entries for our Pumpkin Carving Contest! New entries will be added as they come in!

This week's lectionary readings from the Bible

Do you know the history of this hymn? https://www.umcdiscipleship.org//history-of-hymns-god-will

Worship goes live at 11AM. Join us today for the greatest commandment in Matthew 22:34-46

Hi everyone I’d like to invite you to a Zoom Bible study kicking off on Tuesday November 3rd (election day) for eight weeks entitled Emotionally Healthy Spirituality. It’s coming up quickly so you’ll need to hit the link, read the description, order the book, and join in! Read the first chapter before we get started that night. Also if you can’t join us, you can still do this on your own and zoom or talk by phone with me about what you’re learning. See you on Zoom. https:/.../www.cokesbury.com/9780310097501-Emotionally-Healthy With grace and peace, Pastor Matt

It's your last chance this year to get that amazing Chiavetta's chicken at St. James! Hope to see you this afternoon!

The Israelites grieved for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days, until the time of weeping and mourning was over. (Deuteronomy 34:8, NIV) Dear friends, Our lectionary passage from Deuteronomy details the death of Moses just prior to the Israelites entering the Promised Land. It explains how no prophet who came before or after Moses was ever as great as Moses and Israel mourned the loss of their leader. It brings up some thoughts on succession that we often worry about in t...he church. Many people step into church leadership positions and serve on them for many yearsdecades even. Who will take our place? Will they have success? We worry about the future, especially when it seems like there are not enough people to fill leadership roles. In Deuteronomy, a new leader came alonga man named Joshua who led the people to through conquest of the Promised Land. The story continued without Moses. If you are feeling a bit of a succession crisis in your own service to the church or you feel like leadership is a worrisome topic of conversation, I want you to read this passage with that in mind and commit your own leadership and succession to prayer. Don’t just pray that someone will fill your shoes, but pray for specifically for the person who will lead in your place, even if you don’t yet know who that person is. God knows who that person is and how the story of our church will continue. We need not worry, but commit ourselves to the work of the churchraising up new disciples and new leaders. If you feel God calling you to leadership in the churchwill you respond to God’s call? Will you join me in prayer this week for these specific topics? Thank you, each one of you, for your spiritual leadership in big and small ways in our church. I am grateful for your service! With grace and peace, Pastor Matt

This week's Lectionary readings from the Bible

This short prayer meditation reminds us that we are made in God's image and the world will know we are Christians by our love and our words. #Weeklyprayer #rethinkchurch #mondaymotivation #monday #inspiration #unity

Join us live for worship at 11:00AM!

The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaiayour faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it (1 Thessalonians 1:8, NIV) Dear Friends, This week's lectionary reading from 1 Thessalonians tells us a little about the character of the early church. As those first Christians lives were transformed by their encounter with God, their neighbors, friends, even the whole region around them, took notice. How did t...hey encounter God? I imagine it was in several ways. First they encountered God in conversion when they received the Holy Spirit at baptism. Second, they continued to encounter God through daily acts of devotion. And third, they encountered God through their service to others. As they encountered God in each of these ways, their lives continued to be transformed and more and more people came to faith in Jesus, so much so that Paul says he had no reason to preach about ittheir lives, their actions, and their words spoke louder than any sermon. When we encounter God daily through devotion and service, the message of Christ overflows out of us to all we meet. Do you want your life to be a transformed one? Do you want that transformation to rub off on others in positive ways? It begins with encountering God each and every day. With grace and peace, Pastor Matt