This is the chapel service for Wednesday, August 5, 2020 at Community  Missions.  Faith is hard and doubt is easy. It is always a struggle to live  faithfully as Christians. Some days are easier, some harder and God is  with us through it all. Peter's chance to walk on water meets with both  success and failure-- with strong faith and distracted doubt. Jesus  remained faithful to Peter when there was doubt. Since that is true for  us as well, we should take heart.   

July 22, 2020 Chapel Worship Service.

This is another in our occasional series of services about Choices.  Making choices is part of our daily life. In our current times even  small choices can affect our life and the life of others in out-sized  ways. From wearing masks to taking a stand on racial justice, acting  with wisdom is what is required of us. In today’s message we will look  at a series of short parables of Jesus and at King Solomon, the wisest  of all the kings of Israel.

This service is part of an ongoing, occasional series about Choices and  Building The Kingdom of God.   Message Title- "Choices and Wisdom"  Texts: Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52, 1 Kings 3:5-12  

  Thank you to Joanne Lorenzo of the Magdalene Project in Niagara Falls  for performing the hymns for the service.   

Daily Reflections and links to other resources can be found at  https://www.HopeForNiagara.org and at  https://www.facebook.com/HopeForNiagara.  

A Podcast version of the weekly Chapel Services is available at:

Pentecost is the celebration of the arrival of the Holy Spirit. It is a pivotal moment for the Disciples and the Christian movement. For the Disciples, it is the moment when something happens that gives them the courage to go out and carry on the work of Jesus and proclaim the Good News. That was no small decision! Jesus had been executed as a criminal, and chances were super high that if they went public, the same would happen to them! Something happened to give them both courage and enough hope that God would be with them no matter what happened. For Christians today, especially in these strange and worrisome times, living and trusting in the reality of God’s Holy Spirit dwelling within each person, can bring the hope that we all need.

Message Title- "Spirit and Hope"

Thank you to Joanne Lorenzo for performing the hymns for the service. You can learn about Joanne's ministry at https://magdaleneproject.org

Daily Reflections and links to other resources can be found at https://www.HopeForNiagara.org and at https://www.facebook.com/HopeForNiagara.

You can find a video version of this Podcast on the Hope For Niagara YouTube Channel at

Information about Community Missions in Niagara Falls can be found at https://CommunityMissions.org

(You can find the video for the service as well as daily reflections and links to other spiritual support resources at the HopeForNiagara.org.)

Message Title: "All Kinds of Stuff"

In the midst of all the struggles this global pandemic is bringing, it  has been heartening to see how so many people are looking towards  spiritual things to help them through this time. There is a huge trove  of diverse approaches that are being utilized to find a bit of comfort  and stability. I honestly think that is wonderful and that there are so  many options. We, each one of us, are one whole being- body, mind and  spirit! My experience has shown me that when people grasp onto that  notion of the self, it brings nothing but benefits!  

Of course, this has also raised in my mind a thought I have considered  many times over the years. So, in a pretty rare occurrence for me, this  service (sort of) offers you a bit of Christian Apologetics based on the  Apostle Paul’s address at the Areopagus in Athens.

Thank you to Joanne Lorenzo of the Magdalene Project for providing our music.  

And if you want to know what is meant by 'Christian Apologetics',  Wikipedia is a good start. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apologetics.   

 Daily Reflections and links to other resources can be found at  

https://www.HopeForNiagara.org  

Message Title- "Need vs Want"

We are hearing the phrase "essential workers" a lot right now, and the reality of what that means is coming into focus in a new way for society at large. But for Christians, it should not be a surprise. At the very start of the Christian movement, the writer of the book of Acts describes a community of mutual material support that, today, raises the question "What is essential?". It comes down to understanding and unpacking what we Need vs what we Want, and taking on the challenge of what that ought to mean for us now and as we move into the future.

Thank you to Joanne Lorenzo for providing our music this week -- and last week too! You can learn about Joanne's ministry at https://magdaleneproject.org

About this worship service: Weekly worship normally takes place at Community Missions each Wednesday morning in our Chapel at 1570 Buffalo Ave. During the COVID-19 Pandemic, we have moved the service online. A new weekly chapel worship service will be posted mid-week on the Hope For Niagara YouTube Channel. Links this and other resources can be found at https://www.HopeForNiagara.org and at https://www.facebook.com/HopeForNiagara. Information about Community Missions in Niagara Falls can be found at https://CommunityMissions.org .

Texts for the service are - Psalm 23 & John 10:1-30

The image of the shepherd is an indelible image in the human  imagination. The metaphor and image of Jesus as The Good Shepherd is  also strongly rooted the Christian imagination. In the Gospel of John chapter 10, the main place this image comes from, the text IS NOT, as most people  think, only about believers being the sheep that Jesus cares for.  Mostly, it is about religious leaders being asked to examine themselves:  Are they Good Shepherds . . . or are they thieves and wolves! And this  leads to an even more important question for us today. With so many  versions of Christianity out there, who is right?

The video for this service can be found at HopeForNiagara.org along with the daily reflections that are offered there all week long.

Texts for the service are - Psalm 15 & Luke 24:13-35

Focusing on the text in Luke 24:13-35 known as “On the Road to Emmaus”, the message encourages us to not miss  the markers of God’s presence with us while all find ourselves on this  strange kind of journey.

The video for this service can be found at HopeForNiagara.org along with the daily reflections that are offered there all week long.

Texts for the service are - Psalm 70 & John 12:20-36

The walk through Holy Week is also a walk through another week of a  global pandemic. But there are some hopeful signs, New Light breaking  through both the Eeyore gloom of current events and the perennial  struggle of contradictions that is Holy Week.

The video for this service can be found at HopeForNiagara.org along with the daily reflections that are offered there all week long.

Texts for the service are - Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29; Matthew 21:1-11

Today's service looks at the contradictions inherent in the Palm Sunday story (Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem), the events it sets in motion, and the way hope still exists in that contradiction and is especially relevant today.

The video for this service can be found at HopeForNiagara.org along with the daily reflections that are offered there all week long. 

Welcome to the weekly chapel worship service at Community Missions in Niagara Falls, NY.

This is our first service offered online as the COVID-19 pandemic caused us to end gathering for our midweek chapel service. The services will be posted to this podcast mid-week. You can also see the video of the service at www.HopeForNiagara.org. There you will also have access to all the daily reflections we have been offering. 

The texts for the service are Psalm 16 and Philippians 4:6-8.

We hope you are safe and that you feel God's presence with you each day... because God is indeed with us in the midst of this time of struggle.