Summer Series  2

Come to the Water:  Danger

First Mennonite Church

Sugarcreek, Ohio July 24, 2022

Worship: 9:30-10:30

Fellowship Time: 10:30-11:00

Sunday School: 11:00-12:00

We beleive in Jesus and take his life, teachings, death and resurrection

as the model for how we live and the message we proclaim.

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We seek to be a caring and discerning community,

the gathered body of Christ, 

that welcomes all to join in worship, study, and service.

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We embody God's transforming and redeeming Spirit in the world

through our prophetic witness and action.

THE CHURCH WORSHIPS TOGETHER                                                                                                                                                     

Come to the Water:  Danger

~Gathering~

Prelude: "Lord, Here Am I"--arr. John Beck

Welcome & Announcements:

Focus Statement:

There are many dangers with water.  Water can

be contained, but it flows into every nook and cranny.  It conducts

electricity, it can suffocate, it can erode landscapes.  Just as we face

many dangers in our lives, water can be a danger.  What does our

scripture passage say about water.  Isaiah 43 says in verse 2 "You

will pass through deep waters.  But I will be with you.  You will

pass through the rivers.  But their waters will not sweep over you."

Even though we will encounter dangerous waters, God will be with

us in our time of need to see us through.

~Thirsting~

Time of Meditation: "Praise to the Lord"--arr. Catherine Winkworth

Call to Worship:

L:  All of you who feel dry and thirsty, come to the water.  Fill your hands.  Splash your face.  Drink deeply.  Let it run down your chin!  Creator God, our Living Water, we give thanks,

P:  for springs of water and deep wells for the streams of rivers of our Watershed, for rains that fall--

All:  We gives thanks for the water that sustains our life.

(pour a stream of water from the pitcher into a glass vase)

L:  We give thanks, O God,

P:  for water that washes and cleans, for water that refreshes and restores--

All:  We give thanks for the water that sustains life.

(pour a stream of water from the pitcher into a glass vase)

L:  We give thanks, O God,

All:  for your love and mercy, pouring into our lives, soaking into our parched places, filling us up to the brim, overflowing in us to be a blessing for all.

(pour the remaining water into the vase)

L: Come to the Water of Life.

Prayer:

Hymn of Gathering:

"Oh, Have You Not Hear" Voices Together #668

~Drink Deeply~

Water Story: "Danger in the Sugar-CreeK"--by Helene Torgler

Hymn of Praise:

"We Worship the Rock" Voices Together #424

Congregational Prayers:

Ending Prayer:

Scripture: Isaiah 43:1-5a

Message: "God Is With Us"--by Mike Gehman

~Satisfied~

Hymn of Response:

"Calm Me Lord" Voices Together #680

Offering Prayer:

Sending Hymn:

"Go, My Children" Voices Together #830

Benediction:

Postlude:   "Trust in Jesus"--arr. William Kirkpatrick

Words of Dismissal:

THE CHURCH GIVES THANKS AND PRAYS FOR                                                                                                                                   

For the living water that God provides for those of us that are thirsty.

Gene Miller, Julie Gerber, Linda Snyder, John Penzo

MMN: Alisha and Josh Garber, serving with Mennonite Mission Network, are currently based in Phoenix, Arizona, where they are engaged in North American ministry.  Pray for a time of spiritual and physical renewal, as the Garbers visit family, friends, and supporting congregations.  Pray for them, also, as they discern what God is calling them to next.

Prayers for Mennonite Education-Bethel College, North Newton, KS: Pray for the six Bethel College students who have summer research grants, as they conduct studies, gather data, and begin to organize their findings.

MC-USA: this week, please pray for Western District Conference congregations as they gather for their anual delegate assembly on July 29-31.

FMC LIVES IN DISCIPLESHIP TOGETHER                                                                                                                                               

Next Week's Text: Exodus 17:1-7

Harbor of Hope: This month's items are Paper Products, and are due on July 27.

Mission Projects for July: Harbor of Hope: Paper Products; MCC's My Coins Count

Comforter Knotting: The next Knotting will be on Wednesday, July 27 details to follow

Young Life: Saturday, August 20 is the annual Young Life Prayer Vigil.  The sign-up sheet in on the mailbox table.

WORSHIP                                                            9:30-10:30                                                                                                                            Greeters:                                                                                        April Shupe, Bertie Showers

Minister:                                                                                         Mike Gehman

Worship Leader:                                                                         Tally Maust

Song Leader:                                                                                 April Shupe

Organist:                                                                                         Margaret Cheslock

Pianist:                                                                                             Suzanne Stauffer

Head Usher:                                                                                  Leadership Team

THIS WEEK                                                                                                                                                                                                           

July 27               Harbor of Hope items due: Paper Products

July 27               Comforter Knotting

July 28                 Julie Gerber has a Birthday

July 28               Worship Committee Meeting 2:00 p.m.

July 29               Senior Breakfast @ Dutch Valley 9:00 a.m.

UPCOMING EVENTS                                                                                                                                                                                         

Aug.   3              Leadership Team Meeting 7:00 p.m.

Aug.   5-6          Ohio MCC Relief Sale at Wooster Fairgrounds

Aug. 20             Young Life Prayer Vigil

Aug. 24             Harbor of Hope items due: Soup & Mac-N-Cheese

Aug. 26             Senior Breakfast @ Dutch Valley 9:00 a.m.

Aug. 30            Homeless Shelter Meal 6:00 p.m.

Sept.   5            Labor Day

Sept.   7            Leadership Team Meeting 7:00 p.m.

Sept. 23           Senior Breakfast @ Dutch Valley 9:00 a.m.

Sept. 29           Harbor of Hope items due: PB & Jelly

NEXT WEEK                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Greeters:                                                                                            Janet & Tally Maust

Minister:                                                                                             Mike Gehman

Worship Leader:                                                                             Dan Hostetler

Song Leader:                                                                                    April Shupe

Head Usher:                                                                                      Leadership Team

CHURCH LEADERSHIP                                                                                                                                                                                   

CHURCH:

Pastor: Mike Gehman

Pastor's Hours: Wednesday, 9:30a.m.--2:30p.m.

Secretary: Tally Maust

Phone: 330-852-2822

Email: pastor@firstmennonitesugarcreek.com

Website: http//fmcsugarcreekoh.org

Address:

113 W. Main St.  P.O. Box 250

Sugarcreek, Ohio 44681

CONGREGATIONAL LEADERSHIP TEAM:

Chairperson: Mike Keim

Office Contact: Linda Yoder

Missions Contact: Reno Stevanus

Trustees Contact: Dan Hostetler

Secretary Contact: Amy Stauffer-McNutt

July 24, 2022: "Recycling Water in the Well"

     "The water you drank today may have rained down on the Amazon rainforest five years ago.  A hundred years ago, it may have been steam escaping a teapot in India.  Ten thousand years ago, it may have flowed in an underground river.  A hundred thousand years ago, it may have been frozen solid in a glacier.  And a hundred million years ago, it may have quenched the thirst of a dinosaur.

     "The amount of water on Earth doesn't change--there's no more water now than when the dinosaurs walked the Earth.  The same water just keeps going through a cycle over and over again.  this constant movement of water is called the water cycle.

     "During the water cycle, water evaporates from oceans, lakes rivers, pond and puddles, even from plants and animals.  It rises into the air as water vapor.

     "As water vapor rises, it cools into tiny water droplets.  This is called condensation.  These droplets form cloud.  Gradually, clouds collect more and more water droplets.  The average white cloud weighs about twice as much as a blue whale.

     "When water droplets get too heavy, they fall from the clouds in the form of hail, snow, or rain.  This precipitation returns to oceans, lakes and rivers.  It also seeps into the soil and down into the groundwater.  Year after year, water continuously circulates through the water cycle.

     "1.  In one year, an area of rainforest the size of a football field pumps over 75,000L. (19,700 U.S. gal.) of water vapor into the atmosphere--more than enough to fill a backyard swimming pool.

     "2.  It takes about one million tiny water droplets to make just one raindrop.

     "3.  Why are the oceans salty?  Rivers flow into the sea, collecting salt from rocks and soil and adding it to the ocean.  As ocean water evaporates, the salt is left behind."

--taken from One Well:  the Story of Water on Earth-Rochelle Strauss, c. 2007, Pg. 8-9