Last Sunday, Pastor John spoke about our financial stewardship. As we look ahead to the ministry of this congregation in 2019, how are we being called to support God's work in Sonoma County and the world?

We look forward to what God has planned for FPC and how we can work to fulfill His plan.

We celebrated World Communion Sunday with Christians throughout the world, remembering our common faith. World Communion Sunday began in the 1930s in the United States as a way to reflect on our global communion with Christians near and far. To celebrate World Communion Sunday, our service included liturgies from around the world, prayers for the global church community, songs of unity for God's people, and shared in the Lord's Supper.

In an abbreviated sermon, Pastor John explains that even in the early days of the church, Jesus' followers faced problems about how to run things. The community is growing by leaps and bounds. Some of the bases are not being covered. The Hellenists (Greek-speaking Jews) feel that their widows were being neglected, so they speak up. New organization and new leadership are needed. It's a process that expands the horizon of the church, and draws God's people together.

We read the story about Peter and John, a healing at the Temple in Jerusalem, the apostles preaching to the crowds, and the Temple authorities who are quite annoyed by all of this. It's one of the early accounts of the church's post-Pentecost conflicts with the religious powers-that-be. It's a story about authority and power, who has it, who doesn't, and who will do whatever it takes to keep it.

Last week, in Acts 2:42-47, we examined what the gift of the Holy Spirit started to look like in the daily life of the early Christians. What spiritual practices shaped them and their witness and mission in the world?

The Book of Acts is full of the energy and excitement of the early Christians as they found God doing new things all over the place, and learned to take the good news of Jesus around the world. It's also full of the puzzles and problems that churches faced then and face today - crises over leadership, money, ethnic divisions, theology, ethics, and serious clashes with political and religious authorities.

This Labor Day weekend, one of the places we catch a glimpse of the biblical perspective about work is Psalm 90. God cares about the routine matters of life, such as home, community, work, and family. And not only does God care about our work, but God is also present with us, working in and through our lives.

Inspirational messages that are biblical, personal and relevant to everyday life.

The Sabbath is a day for feasting. The Hebrew people received and shared manna in the wilderness, and Jesus broke bread with his disciples. God is the provider, we are the receivers, and together we celebrate. In the Jewish and Christian traditions, shared special meals have always been a central Sabbath practice. Pastor John considers how this ancient Sabbath practice is part of our worship experience.

Sabbath is an invitation to catch your breath physically, mentally, and spiritually. In this we continue to imitate God, who rested and was refreshed on the seventh day of creation. In taking a sabbath break, we catch our breath, and may even catch the Holy Breath of God. After all, it was the risen Christ who appeared to his disciples, breathed on them saying, "Receive the Holy Spirit."