First Congregational Church of Java Village

First Congregational Church of Java Village Church Family of Faith, Freedom, and Fellowship Rev. Dr. Ken Kinton, Pastor

02/08/2025

This week our meditation looks at Luke 5:1-11. Jesus is at Lake Gennesarret preaching to a crowd. He notices some fishermen cleaning their nets after a long night on the lake. They had come up empty, catching no fish. Life seems like that more often than not, one big fishing expedition, or a wild goose chase. The things we aim for seem like bright, shiny lures, but there is always a barbed hook just behind them. We think we have the right plan for getting ahead, get an expensive education, climb the corporate ladder, or marry well. But sometimes even that leaves us feeling empty, feeling like a failure. Jesus' disciples went out at the optimal time, in the middle of the night, and had their nets washed and ready to go. But they came up empty. What made the difference when they cast their nets a second time, was they had faith in Jesus. Like people today, the disciples still were skeptical but trusted that Jesus knew better than they did. And when they trusted in Jesus, their nets were filled to overflowing. Churches today cast their nets looking for people to fill their churches. They use shiny lures; expensive renovations, new buildings, more attractions, in order to bring people in. One church spent $1 million to renovate their church, from the sanctuary, pastor's office, to installing a big elevator in order to draw people in. It didn't draw them in. it had the opposite effect. Now they are doing well, it is a vibrant church again. What I suspect happened is they got back to being fishers of people, living the truth of the gospel. No shiny lures, no expensive projects, just bringing God's Word and its promises to a world chasing its collective tail on an endless fishing expedition.

02/01/2025

Our meditation this week centers on John 8:31-36. One of the key words in this text is "slavery." That is a word that evokes very powerful emotion in people. Even though slavery was a common practice in biblical times, and in the early history of our country, it is not a pleasant word even today. While we will never experience the bo***ge of slavery, we can still find ourselves "enslaved." We can become slaves to our own ambitions. Ambitions of being more powerful, more wealthy, and more influential. People have their own podcasts, and YouTube videos, so their voices can be heard, their faces seen. People try out for reality shows on television so they can claim their fifteen minutes of fame. In his book Inner Excellence, author Jim Murphy talks about losing our self-centered, it's all-about-me obsession with life. He writes that we have lost sight of the journey, the process, and have gone all in on the end result. We want the shiny trophy, the lavish home or the sleek car in the driveway, rather than focus on the struggle it took to obtain them. The founder of Apple Computers, Steve Jobs, once said, "Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life....have the courage to follow your heart and intuition...Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Murphy asserts that we need to adopt three things in order to live a life of inner excellence; love, wisdom, and courage. We need to love others ahead of ourselves. We have to have the wisdom to make the best decisions possible. We need to have the courage to be willing to suffer, rather than choose the easiest path. Jesus embodied those three traits better than anyone in history. We can follow His example in order to free us from the slavery of self-centeredness, and live lives of power and purpose.

01/25/2025

This week's meditation is based on Luke 4:14-21. Immediately after Jesus leaves the wilderness after 40 days and nights, Luke depicts Jesus' reading Scripture in the synagogue. Jesus reads Isaiah 61:1-2, and everyone in attendance is stunned by his ability. This past week, Episcopal Bishop Marianne Budde was preaching at a service in Washington D.C. Right in the middle of her message she singled out President Trump and his family. While it was not a great decision to admonish the President of the United States in church, her follow up decision was horrible. Bishop Budde went on The View, a very liberal talk show on morning television. She defended herself that she treated the President and his family with respect, and that she was adhering to the gospel. What she did was affirm that she was a political activist, and the pulpit of her church was her personal "bully pulpit." When Bret Kavanaugh was going through confirmation hearings for appointment to the Supreme Court, Christine Blase Ford, a college professor, took the stand to discredit Kavanaugh. For over 30 years she somehow forgot that she was allegedly assaulted by several college students, including Kavanaugh. She had an epiphany just when Kavanaugh was to undergo confirmation hearings. It had the appearance, and smell, of political activism but not in a positive way. Even Blase Ford's friends denied the event in question ever took place, yet she persisted. Bishop Budde persisted as well, by going on a television show that is not fair and balanced. But more importantly, she failed to speak God's truth, as Jesus did his first visit to the synagogue, at the onset of his public ministry. Today many churches are more concerned with diversity, equity, and inclusion than they are with the truth of the gospel. We can only pray that God's Word will once again take precedence over political ambition, and that we can get on with God's business.

01/18/2025

This week's meditation is based on John 2:1-11, the wedding at Cana. We live in an inhospitable world. One case in point is the long-standing tradition of the current Vice President of the United States giving the incoming V.P. and his/her spouse a tour of the V.P. residence on the grounds of the Naval Observatory. To be fair and balanced, V.P. Pence did not host Kamala Harris and her husband either. Hospitality is the predominant theme of today's gospel. The wedding feast at Cana was about to run out of wine to serve the guests. Now, it is important to note that Jewish wedding receptions lasted seven days in those days. Another note is that wine was thinned out with water at a 2 parts water to 1 part wine ratio. This was done to stretch the wine supply to last, but also because drunk and disorderly behavior was not acceptable. But Jesus orders 6 stone jars, which held 15-20 gallons of liquid, to be filled with water. When he told the wine steward to take a taste, the water had turned to wine. But not watered-down wine, but 100% pure wine. Jesus provided better quality wine than the reception had started with. This is the extreme hospitality that Jesus calls us to provide, not just the minimum required service, but above and beyond what is required or expected. But hospitality can be more than food or drink, it can be an attitude. It can be the way we treat others, especially people who may not look like us, or have different political views, or who have a different faith tradition than we do. Hospitality is the inner graciousness to elevate those people who the world has dismissed and disenfranchised and show them honor and respect.

01/11/2025

This week's meditation focuses on Luke 3:15-17, 21-22, Jesus' baptism. I want to pose a question, "Do you feel safe?" That has been the tag-line for the Rosalind Capital tv ads featuring actor William DeVane. He pitches the need to buy gold in order to protect financial assets against the volatility in our world. Shaky stock market, political division, and hostile nations are just a few of the problems DeVane alludes to. The wildfires currently raging in California, the terrorist attack in New Orleans, and the ongoing political division in our country might make us feel less safe, less self-assured than we care to admit. The parable of the Prodigal Son shows the flip side of the coin, when we lose our way and cause our own insecurities. The youngest son in this story (Luke 15) demands his share from his father's estate , his inheritance. He takes it and travels to a foreign land where he goes through all his money. He ends up so destitute he is eating and sleeping with pigs. He finally hits bottom, and decides he will go back to his father, and become a servant so he can at least eat real food, and be clothed. Upon seeing his son returning, the father runs and embraces him, puts a new robe on him, and a ring on his finger. He also throws a lavish banquet in his son's honor. Our baptism, is a lot like the story of the prodigal son. If we lose our way in life, we are never separated from the love of our Heavenly Father. Do we feel safe? We should, knowing that God never abandons us even though we might hit rock bottom. This is not to say we should put God's faithfulness to the test, but if we do stumble He is there to pick us back up. I was talking with my cousin this week, and I said one of the frustrations of being a pastor is when you baptize an infant and you don't see the parents or the child in church after that. It's like the baptism is an excuse to throw a party, and the meaning of the rite isn't important. But the good news is that even though the importance of baptism is lost on the parents, God still protects the child's soul from the evils in our world. Do we feel safe? Yes, as far as God's promises to us we should feel secure that He is always watching over us.

01/04/2025

This week's meditation looks at Matthew 2:1-12. We know little about who the Magi were, or where they came from. We know they were astronomers, men of science and were not of Jewish faith or ethnicity. However, we do know they were not anti-semites unlike many people today. Several months ago the headlines were full of stories about college campuses across our country protesting the war in the Middle East. They objected to Israel defending itself against Hamas and other evil forces. Even senators and congressmen and congresswomen added their voices to the anti-semitic rhetoric in our country. The Magi followed a star to the home of a carpenter and young woman who had given birth to the Messiah. They didn't bat an eyelash that this child was of Jewish ethnicity, or that he was born in the lowest of places, a stable. In fact, they brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. These gifts they brought in three separate chests to present to Jesus. These gifts would be befitting of any king, but demonstrate the reverence they had for a baby who probably didn't look like king material. The Magi didn't get caught up in the identity politics of our time, and they didn't assign any false hope, that Jesus would be a powerful military leader. They worshiped Him despite His humble beginnings and surroundings. The Magi set an example our world would do well to emulate. Just worship Jesus for His simplicity, and not for the unfair expectations the world always places on Him.

12/28/2024

This week's meditation focuses on the Star of Bethlehem. The Star of Bethlehem is only mentioned one time, in the second chapter of Matthew. There are a few possible explanations for this particular phenomenon, especially since stars didn't hover over particular towns, or travel in a certain pattern. One theory is that it might have been Halley's Comet, which was documented to pass by during that era. Another theory stated that Jupiter and Saturn aligned to form a "bright star" around 7 B.C. Another theory was that Jupiter and the moon aligned in a brilliant evening display around 6 B.C. One thing is certain. Whatever it was, it caught the attention of three wise men from the East. The Wise Men, or Magi, were not mere astrologers interested in how the stars aligned. In fact, they were astronomers, men of science. They were ahead of astronomers such as Galileo or Carl Sagan from our era. But more than that, they were interested in religion and politics. They journeyed to Jerusalem in order to consult with the experts in those fields. The Magi, had in their possession the scrolls containing Jewish Scripture and were interested in the prophecies that a new king was to be born around that time. What did the Magi see, was it a truly unique astrological event? And if it wasn't truly spectacular does it invalidate the significance of the Star of Bethlehem? Not at all. In the story of Narnia, a star is described as merely a ball of fiery gases. But a star does more than that. It expands our scope from horizon to horizon, and leads us to come and worship our King, Jesus Christ.

12/21/2024

One of the focal points of the Nativity story is the inn at Bethlehem. The world was experiencing the first census, in order to ensure that everyone who could pay taxes to Caesar did so. A quiet town normally, Bethlehem was overrun with pickpockets, women of ill-repute, and people there to register for the census. Our lives can often mirror the inn; overwhelming, crowded, and noisy. We have no time for reflection or to cultivate relationships. It's all about the hustle and bustle. We also seem to never have time for Jesus either. We are too busy to stop and converse with God, we only have time when life throws us a curveball. This Sunday I want to urge you to find the time to come and worship. At First Congregational we won't turn you away because of overcrowding. In fact, we will even offer you Christmas cookies, coffee, or orange juice (if you are not a coffee drinker). Come as you are, and soak in the Christmas hymns, and a special Christmas message. We would love to worship with you, and extend to you and your families the very warmest wishes of peace, love, and joy and much health and happiness in the New Year.

12/14/2024

This week's meditation focuses on Philippians 4:4-7. Paul admonishes his followers to "rejoice" or, to be joyful. Over the summer one political party stated they were bringing the joy back to America. As the campaign wound down joy was obviously missing. Instead defensiveness, defiance, and distracting was the order of the day. Let's be honest, we live in a world that is sorely in need of real joy. Families are being torn apart because of the divisive politics in our country. Even churches have been split by political loyalties. So how can the Church be a source of joy in a joyless world? New Testament scholar N.T. Wright states, "We need to show people how gentle and gracious we are. Philippians is concerned with the public perception of the church, the impact of this strange new community, people whose lives shed light, and run straight and true, in a dark and twisted world." That sounds like a very unrealistic ask for the local church. Especially, when the church is not the safe haven it was perceived to be fifty years ago. Some clergy are responsible for the tarnished image of the church, and some of the responsibility is that people just don't feel they need a relationship with God anymore. This Christmas season let's look for opportunities to shine our individual light into the darkness surrounding us. Maybe it will be a small flicker but it is a good place to start.

12/07/2024

This week's meditation looks at Luke 21:29-36. Jesus uses the parable of the fig tree to explain to his disciples the coming end-times. The fig tree was the only species of tree in Judea that shed it's old leaves and grew new ones, just before the fall harvest, and well-before the grape vintage each year. I'm reminded of an old saying, "you can't see the forest for the trees." Biblical prophecy is a lot like that saying. It seems as though the meaning of prophecy is impossible to comprehend. In his book, "Why the Nativity" Dr. David Jeremiah uses the analogy of a mountain range. If we stand at one end of the range we can't appreciate the vastness of the mountains. Likewise, if we stand on one mountain, we can only see the surrounding scenery. But God sees the entirety of the range because he doesn't have a limited viewpoint. This Advent season, it might be interesting to expand our view of the meaning of it. Some people only see Christmas Day as a sort of finish line to cross, so that it will all be over. This Advent, I encourage us to see the wider view, to see all the possibilities the season affords us. Here's a question for us to consider for Advent, and for all the days of the year, "Does knowing that Jesus' birth fulfilled prophecies made hundreds of years beforehand affect your life? In what ways?"

11/23/2024

This week's meditation centers on John 18:33-38, Jesus' trial before Pilate. As governor Pilate had the authority to charge Jesus with treason if he claimed to be "king of the Jews" without having the title officially bestowed on him. But Pilate follows proper procedure and questions Jesus regarding this charge. Jesus doesn't give a direct answer, but turns the question on Pilate asking, "Who told you this?" Jesus tells Pilate his kingdom is not an earthly kingdom, that he has a different agenda. He also tells Pilate that people who seek the truth listen to his words. Pilate asks the million dollar question, "What is truth?" We might ask the same question when we watch news programs today. There is either the conservative right or the extreme left, and very little emphasis on the middle. Churches, sadly, are also caught up in this dilemma. The conservative churches rightly point to the inerrancy of Scripture, that the Bible says what it means. The liberal churches parse the Bible to justify their positions. That same-sex marriage is acceptable in God's sight, that the Bible shouldn't be read literally. So what is truth? Is it the mob mentality prevalent today? Pilate caved in to it didn't he? The crowd shouted him down and demanded Jesus be crucified and Barabbas be set free, even though he was a convicted criminal. Today people cross into our country who not only committed crimes in their home countries, but commit more crimes here. But the left allows them to pour in across our borders with no regard for our safety. States, cities, and even churches offer these people sanctuary, with no consideration of their prior record. That's the truth. In "A Few Good Men" Tom Cruise plays a Navy JAG officer (attorney). He questions a Marine general, played by Jack Nicholson, about the suspicious death of a Marine. He demands of Nicholson, "I want the truth." Nicholson's classic response is, "You can't handle the truth." Some people today can't handle the truth; the truth of the Bible over and against their perceived truth. The truth that we can't turn a blind eye to the wrongs of the world, and need to call them as we see them, and not equivocate in the name of political correctness. The truth is not easy, it isn't meant to be. Jesus was willing to die for his truth, even suffered excruciating physical abuse because he didn't sell out the gospel. We aren't called to lay down our lives like Jesus did, but we do have a responsibility to uphold the truth, God's truth not the truth of a misguided world.

11/16/2024

This week's meditation centers on Mark 13:1-8, and Jesus' prediction of the end times. The disciples are admiring the great stone buildings, as related by Mark, in this text. But Jesus warns them these stones will not last as these great structures. Many of us remember the warnings about midnight on Dec. 31, 1999. Computers were supposed to crash, bank accounts frozen, and people in total panic. Of course, that was a lot of wasted hand-wringing and worrying. Walter Cronkite was the evening news anchor at CBS for forty years. He covered the assassinations of JFK and Martin Luther King Jr., three major wars, the Cold War, and numerous other world events. But he never panicked, always exuding calm amidst the storms of life. He signed off the last night as he did every night of his career, saying "that's the way it is." As if to say, "don't worry everything will be alright." After the election a couple weeks ago, the predictable responses took place. Those on the far left shrieking the world was coming to an end, college kids needing to cry and deal with their disappointment. We don't have any Walter Cronkites around anymore. People seem to delight in the anguish of others, though some of the anguish is pretty nonsensical. But we have a choice, we can wring our hands in despair, or we can heed the words of Walter Cronkite and tell ourselves "that's the way it is." And that everything will work out because Jesus still sits on the throne.

Address

611 HOLLAND Road P. O. BOX 34
Java Village, NY
14083

Opening Hours

10am - 11am

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when First Congregational Church of Java Village posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Place Of Worship

Send a message to First Congregational Church of Java Village:

Shortcuts

Share

Category