A Journey Through Philippians

I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you… Philippians 1: 3-4

Dear SDUMC Family,

Paul shares with the Philippians that as he thinks of them, he is in constant prayer for the Philippians. This has been a passage that I have carried through ministry. Please know that as I look at my directory, your emails, texts, social media posts, letters, etc.… that I am in constant prayer for you and give thanks for each of you!

Paul, as we have shared, was going through a difficult time and continued to pray. I would invite you to take a moment and share in a prayer today, the Fourth of July, and in the days to come by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Our loving Creator, from Thy hand have come all the days of the past. To Thee we look for whatever good the future holds. We are not satisfied with the world as we have found it. It is too little the kingdom of God as yet. Grant us the privilege of apart in its renewal. We wish the joy of companionship with those children of God who are bringing in the new day. We are looking for a new earth in which dwells righteousness. It is our prayer that we may be children of light, the kind of people for whose coming and ministry the world is waiting. Amen.

As we pray, Paul also calls us to find joy even amid trying times. I pray that you will all find some moments of joy on this holiday weekend. To that point, we have a special weekend planned for you at SDUMC. While we may be missing fireworks, we have a special presentation designed by the voices and friends of SDUMC and graphics (fireworks included) that will be live at 8 p.m. on Saturday night (we’ll share it following worship on Sunday morning too).

On Sunday, my dear friend and your friend, Rev. Dr. Faith J. Conklin, who will bring us all a phenomenal message. I am honored to join her in service with some special music to bring us a bit more joy at 9:30 a.m. (Livestream) on Sunday morning (if you have any internet issues the service link will be emailed at 10 a.m.). We will share in Communion on July 12^th (and every Wednesday at 6 PM during Vespers). We are also planning for another Drive-In Service later in July (more details to come).

Again, I hope you will continue to join me in prayer and know that I give great thanks for each of you in my prayers!

Grace and Peace, John

PS Also, don’t forget that we have a unique online VBS, and this is open to all children in our church, your community, and families. The only thing you have to do is contact suzanne@encinitaschurch.com for a link.