Bible Study with Pastor Tom

Join us for weekly Bible Study on Wednesdays from 10 to 11 am in the Fireside Room, starting September 5!

We will explore the life of Peter as recorded in the Gospels, paying attention to the lessons he learned while hanging around with Jesus.

You do not need any prior knowledge of the Bible, just an interest in learning and in growing. Give it a try!

Annual School Supply Drive

This year’s annual school supply drive sponsored by Presbyterian Women and the Congregational Care & Mission Commission of Session ensures that grade school children in the Dysart Consolidated School District will have backpacks and school supplies that otherwise might have to do without. This year’s list of needed items is the same as last year’s; we will be collecting items all through August:

Box of 24 crayons * Hand-held erasers * Composition books Rulers (in/cm) * Packages of blue or black pens Box of 8 washable markers * Hand-held pencil sharpeners Highlighters * Index cards * Spiral notebooks * Glue sticks Box of facial tissues * No. 2 pencils * 3-pocket folders (solid color)

You can also donate money, and we will do the shopping for you! The supplies will be blessed on Labor Day at our noon luncheon, and delivered the following day.

Finding Us On Facebook Just Got Easier!

Our old Facebook "address" was long and clunky:
http://www.facebook.com/First-Presbyterian-Church-of-Sun-City-103412179850579

...not exactly easy to remember or to tell others about.

As of today, though, the link has changed to:
http://www.facebook.com/firstpressuncity

Shorter. Easier. Related to the address for our website.

The old link will still work, but if you haven't already visited our Facebook page, try the new link.

See you there!

The Sermon Arc

Here is the sermon cycle for this summer and fall:

God’s Inexhaustible Pursuit
July 1: Genesis 1 & 2: "The Purpose of our Being"
July 8: Genesis 3: "What Went Wrong?"
July 15: Genesis 15:1-18: "The God Who Walks through Blood"
July 22: Genesis 22:1-14: "God Will Provide"
July 29: Genesis 32:22-52: "The Wrestling God"
August 5: Exodus 12:1-13 & 21-23: "The Effective Blood of the Lamb"
August 12: Exodus 20:1-17: "Love’s Boundaries"
August 19: Exodus 24:1-12: "How Can We Approach the Unapproachable God?"
August 26: Exodus 30:11-16: "A Miraculous Atonement"
September 2: 2 Chronicles 7:1-3 & 11-16: "The Glory of God Among Us"
September 2 9: Isaiah 53: "The God with a Basket"
September 2 16: Ezekiel 34:7-16: "A Shepherd to Care for Us"
September 2 30: Luke 2:8-15: "The God Who Infiltrates"
October 7: Matthew 26:26-29: "A Wedding Proposal"
October 14: Luke 15:11-32: "The God Who is Willing to be Embarrassed"
October 21: John 19:28-30: "It is Finished"
October 28: Revelation 22:17: "An Invitation"

Please join us for Pastor Tom's insightful and inspirational messages!

Come meet our new pastor, Tom Tripp!

Here's what he has planned for sermons this month:

“[Starting July 1,] I want to begin with a series of sermons on God’s Inexhaustible Pursuit. I believe the Bible presents a picture of God as continually (and un-tiringly) pursuing us out of His love for us, so I want to run through 16 or 17 passages from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22 (in 16 or 17 weeks) that enable us to see this inexhaustible pursuit of God toward us. I want to begin at Genesis 1 & 2 which describe us being formed in the image of God for relationship with God. I want to present that we are made out of love for love. At the core of our being is a built-in capacity for and longing for relationship with God.” ∼Pastor Tom

July 1: Genesis 1 & 2: “The Purpose of our Being”

July 8: Genesis 3: “What Went Wrong?”

July 15: Genesis 15:1-18: “The God Who Walks through Blood”

July 22: Genesis 22:1-14: “God Will Provide”

July 29: Genesis 32:22-52: “The Wrestling God”

We hope to see you soon!

Fourth of July Cookout

OK, so it's really more of a cook-in.

Nevertheless, we hope you'll join us in Swain Hall at noon on the Fourth of July for fried chicken, homemade peach crisp, and a patriotic sing-along.  We promise you a good time - and good air conditioning!

Just call us at 623.974.3605 to let us know you're coming - we want to be sure we have enough food!

Pentecost is Sunday, May 20

On the Day of Pentecost we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit descending in a mighty rush of wind and flame to inspire the church’s proclamation of Christ’s rising and to empower its mission and ministry to the world. (See Acts 2:1-13; see also Joel 2:28-32.) Wear red to celebrate!

Growing in the Spirit, Committed to Service, Sharing the Love

Sharing the Love at Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is the perfect time to share our abundance with others.

This Sunday, November 19, the Men's Breakfast Fellowship will have a donation pot at the Courtyard entrance to the Sanctuary; funds collected will go directly to Valley View Food Bank for their program to furnish Thanksgiving food bags for those in need. Valley View can provide a complete Thanksgiving meal for a family of four for every $22 donated! Men’s Breakfast will match the first $250 donated by the congregation.

If you will not be in the Phoenix area this Sunday, you can mail your donation to the church this week; be sure to put "Thanksgiving" on your check or envelope.

All funds will be delivered to Valley View Food Bank on Tuesday, November 21.

Thank you for helping to help the needy this holiday!

Thank God It's (almost) Friday!

The winter session of our TGIF! Bible Study starts tomorrow, November 3, in the Fireside Room. Coffee and treats will be available at 8:30 am, with Bible Study from 9:00-10:00. Join the "4 Ds" (David Glenn Walker, David Hodgson, Doug Wright, and Dick Zabriskie) this and every Friday to learn more about the Word of the Lord. Bring your Bible and a friend!

Summer Services in Swain Hall

This Sunday, June 4, our worship services will return to Swain Hall for the summer. This will allow us to save money on our air conditioning while enjoying a more intimate setting for worship. Worship starts at 9:00 am, with fellowship and coffee following at 10:00 am. Since this is the first Sunday of the month, open communion will be served by intinction, and non-perishable food items will be collected for the Valley View Food Bank. See you Sunday in Swain Hall!

Quote of the Day

“Two things to remember in life. Take care of your thoughts when you are alone, and take care of your words when you are with people.” ~Anonymous

Quote of the Day

"Don't treat people the way they treat you. Treat people the way God treats you." ~Dave Willis

April Service of Reflection

Join Rev. Dr. David Hodgson and Kelsey McKee in Swain Hall on Tuesday, April 25, at 5:00 pm for the last spring Service of Reflection. Featuring "psalms and psongs," the service will recap the Lenten and Easter sermons. Dinner will follow. If you haven't yet made a reservation and would like to attend, please call the church office at 623.974.3605 by noon on the 25th.

Dinner in the Upper Room

Holy Week – the span of days between Palm Sunday and Easter – will mark the triumphal end to our Lenten journey together. I want to thank you for sharing the adventure with me and to invite you to a very special opportunity in the spiritual life of our church family. I am inviting you to sign up to be part of what I am calling A Meal in the Upper Room. It will take place on Maundy Thursday, April 13th, at 5:00 in the evening.

We will begin in the Sanctuary with a brief service of celebration and of preparation and then move by way of the inside corridor to the Upper Room (also known as Swain Hall). Before entering the hall the elders, acting as disciples, will offer the washing of hands to prepare all guests for the sacramental experience.

The meal will be shared in complete silence, and will be served family style at each table. The only words spoken will be the words of Jesus to his disciples and will be spoken by me, seated at the head table with twelve disciples. The meal will culminate in the celebration of communion at each table by the twelve disciples.

This experience is not envisioned to be the Jewish Passover, or the traditional Seder meal. It is a Christian celebration to remember and to be inspired by the Lord’s Spirit at work in the life of our church. Our Meal in the Upper Room is open to all – but reservations will be required because seating will need to be arranged beforehand.

Throughout our Lenten journey we have examined ways in which the Storyteller put himself into his stories in order to reveal the mysteries of God with us. On Maundy Thursday he will invite us to become a part of the never-ending story of his life. I look forward to sharing this sacred moment with you.

∼David

March Service of Reflection

This month's Reflection Service featuring "psalms and psongs" from David and Kelsey will be tomorrow night, Tuesday, March 28, at 5:00 pm in the Chapel. Pizza and salad will follow in Swain Hall. If you plan to stay for dinner and have not already signed up to attend, please call the church office TODAY so we can be sure we have enough food.

TGIF! Bible Study Continues

Thank God It’s Friday! Bible Study continues in Swain Hall this week with a DVD and discussion on “The End Times.” Join our pastors on Friday, March 31, at 8:30 am for coffee and 9:00 for the program. Bring your Bible and a friend!

Lenten Fish Fry on Thursday Night

Sign up today for our annual Lenten Fish Fry, this Thursday, March 16, at 5:00 in Swain Hall. We will be serving battered fried fish with tartar sauce, lemons, or ketchup; coleslaw; potato salad (new this year!); rolls and butter; ice cream; and coffee, iced tea, or water, plus entertainment from Mike Chamberlin, The Singing TV Guy. Expect some pre-St. Patrick’s Day numbers from him!

Officers Thank You Luncheon

Presbytery Pastor Brad Munroe

Wednesday, March 8, David Hodgson will host an Officers Thank You Luncheon at noon in the Fireside Room. Brad Munroe from the Presbytery of the Grand Canyon will be the motivational speaker.

All current Session members and Deacons are invited; please call the church office to let us know whether you will be able to attend.

Our Lenten Adventure

This is your personal invitation to participate in the story of the Christ Life through Lent. We will begin that story on Ash Wednesday, March 1st, in a 5:00 pm service in the Chapel. The Lord will be introduced as the greatest storyteller the world has ever known because of the way he wove together in his stories the themes of heaven and the themes of earth. The anointing of ashes will be available for any and all who want to be marked as People of the Story. Then on each Sunday in Lent I will feature one of his favorite stories - stories I have come to believe he told about you and me, stories in which he put himself into the story to show how he is relating to each of us, stories in which he shows us how we are reacting to his amazing life among us. I have prepared a series of monologues for Sunday worship through which these parables will be told. You will hear the story of the Good Samaritan as told by the Samaritan; and then on successive Sundays you will hear from our four Gospel writers: Matthew the historian, John the evangelist, Luke the poet, and Mark the mystic. Their stories will bring us to Palm Sunday when the greatest storyteller of all times becomes the leading figure in the greatest drama ever lived. I invite you now to let this storytelling journey through Lent be the story of your life with Christ. Come to worship with your curiosity and your faith, with all of the sacred memories of your life and all of the visions you cherish of evermore.

~David