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Tuesday 9am - 5pm Wednesday 9am - 5pm Thursday 9am - 5pm Sunday 9am - 12pm

Old St Paul's Lutheran Church, 2035 Old Conover Startown Road, Newton, NC (2026)

06/08/2026

God's Nearness
Britt Mooney

"Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted." - Psalm 25:16

In 2023, the US Surgeon General declared loneliness a public health epidemic. One in two adults reports significant seasons of loneliness. Western cultures generally have higher rates of loneliness than other regions of the world. There are many reasons for this, not least the way the devices meant to connect us actually isolate us. We were designed for community, and such isolation can cause various health problems, just as stress does. As May transitions into June, school ends and summer begins. People can feel lonely because they no longer have the weekly gatherings with others during classes and other activities. Or perhaps you sit and keep working while others go on vacations and appear to have an amazing time. Summer schedules get disrupted, thrown away. In churches, small groups take a break. For whatever reason, maybe we dread the summer and the isolation that comes with it.

Thankfully, we serve a God who longs to be with us. He even became a man and dwelt among us, revealing how much he wanted an intimate relationship. Time after time, the Father’s redemptive plan centers on restored, meaningful relationships. Being omnipresent, he is always with us and never leaves us. Jesus can also relate to feeling alone. Whether his 40 days of fasting in the wilderness or his struggle in Gethsemane, Christ our High Priest knows what it’s like to be isolated and alone. As our perfect example, what did he do in that position? He cried out to God. As Psalm 25:16 teaches us, we can admit our isolation and affliction, the pains we endure, and call out to the God who loves us. Jesus admitted his pain and loneliness and pleaded with his Father for help. And God sent angels to minister to the Son’s need.

God will do the same to us. He responds to all who call upon him, admitting their need. As messy as it feels for us, the Lord longs to turn his attention to us and rejoice over us with singing. Let us take him at his word and draw near to the One who will draw near to us.

Let's Pray
Heavenly Father,
I come to you in my loneliness. I admit my need. When the schedules end and isolation increases, draw near to me. Remind me how you are with me and will never leave me. As Jesus cried out, teach me to cry out in trust and faith. Heal my heart and send your comfort. Help me to continue to seek community and not withdraw from others. Sing over me and anchor me in your presence and hope.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.

06/07/2026

June 7, 2026

06/06/2026

Your Sorrow Doesn’t Unsettle God
Lisa Appelo

“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Psalm 139:13-14a (ESV)

“I just want a checklist,” my friend said to me over coffee. She was new to grief, and a checklist felt like a secure road map through the convoluted maze of emotions.
I wish it were that simple, I thought, reflecting on my own grief.

If only the emotions of grief were a tidy series of tasks we could schedule and check off as we completed each step. In reality, it’s a messy mix of intense and conflicting emotions: sadness, despair, love, loneliness, anger, emptiness, guilt, fear, gratitude, disbelief, longing, and more.

I wanted the quickest and straightest path through grief but found myself cycling through the same feelings. It seemed at times that I’d move forward, only to take steps back. The hard emotions felt like they were crushing me from the inside out. They exhausted me, sapping my mental, emotional, and physical capacity. I questioned whether my experience was normal. Is it OK to feel like this? Shouldn’t I be doing better by now?

The difficult emotions in grief unsettle and surprise us, but they don’t unsettle or surprise God. God designed us with emotion. Psalm 139:13-14a says, “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” The Hebrew word for “inward parts” refers to the seat of our emotions — a core place within us.

Our emotions were not only God’s idea but God’s very good idea.

Our God-given emotions, then, are a gift, not a curse. Living life without emotions would be like eating dinner but never tasting it. Emotions help us both savor the beauty in our world and process its pain.
But how do we manage emotions too heavy for us to carry? Instead of a checklist, God gives us lament. Lament is taking our hard emotions to God and receiving His comfort as we trust His faithfulness.

Our raw emotions are not only safe with God but safest with God. We don’t have to suppress, rush through, or escape from our feelings.

It’s OK not to feel OK. It’s also OK to have days in grief where we feel good. We are allowed to have big, heart-rending cries and deep, heart-mending laughs. It’s normal to long for the one you dearly miss after loss, and it's normal to go through a whole busy day, thinking about them only when your head hits the pillow.

Friend, God welcomes every brutal, honest, white-knuckled, heavy emotion. Instead of handing us a checklist to work our way through grief, God gives us Himself. He who made us fearfully and wonderfully knows best how to care for us tenderly in our pain.

Let's Pray
Dear God, my heartache and feelings are nearly crushing me, and I want to work through them to move forward. I give You my pain and every hard emotion too heavy for me to carry, and I take Your comfort as You walk me through this. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

06/05/2026

The Beauty of the Beams
Sharon Jaynes

Sometimes God reveals the majestic in the mundane. For me it was a cup of coffee. A rocking chair. A calm canal…

The sea breeze untangled the knots from my weary nerves as a choir of birds sang revelry to greet the day. Myrtle bushes bursting with fuchsia blossoms splashed vibrant color across the sandy landscape, while the occasional jumping fish performed acrobatic feats for an audience of One.

Perhaps my favorite place in the entire world is the beach. God often seems to speak to me there—through intricately carved seashells scattered along the shore, through the soaring cry of gulls overhead, and through the steady rhythm of majestic waves rolling onto the sand. Creation itself feels like a whispered conversation from the Creator.

On this particular morning, I rose before the others stirred from their slumber. The cottage was still quiet, the world not yet fully awake. With a warm cup of coffee in hand, I stepped onto the porch to spend a few moments alone with the Lord.

I settled into a weathered rocking chair and slowly rocked back and forth, surrounded by the beauty of the coast. Just beyond the porch, a lazy canal meandered by as though it too had nowhere in particular to be. The morning light danced on the water’s surface like tiny diamonds scattered across the tide.

As I talked with God and thanked Him for the splendor of His creation—the colors, the sounds, the peaceful rhythm of the morning—my eye caught a reflection in the water.

Something about the shape of it made me pause.

Curious, I followed the reflection upward to its source. There, standing quietly beside the canal, were two pieces of weathered wood forming the unmistakable shape of a cross.

For a moment I simply stared.

Upon closer inspection, I realized it was nothing more than one end of an old, forgotten clothesline. The beams were worn and faded, likely unnoticed by anyone passing by. To the owner of the cottage, they were probably just remnants of something once useful but now left standing ignored.

But to me, it was so much more.

In that moment, I felt as though God had placed that simple cross there just for me.

All around me was the breathtaking beauty of creation—the colorful blossoms, the playful fish, the birds lifting their morning songs toward heaven, and the gentle movement of water through the canal. Yet in the midst of all that beauty, my eyes were drawn to two rough pieces of wood.

And I realized something.

Of all the wonders God has placed in creation, nothing displays His heart more clearly than the cross.

The cross was not a tragic ending to a noble life. It was the centerpiece of God’s eternal plan. What looked like the darkest moment in human history became the brightest display of God’s love.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
—John 3:16

What looked like defeat to the watching world was actually the greatest victory ever won.

“And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”
—Colossians 2:15

Jesus willingly endured the suffering, the humiliation, and the nails so that we might know forgiveness and life.

“Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.”
—Philippians 2:8

The cross reveals the lengths to which God was willing to go to rescue His children.

Scripture tells us, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
—1 Corinthians 1:18

As I rocked quietly on that porch, gazing at the reflection of that wooden cross shimmering in the water, I felt overwhelmed by the magnitude of what those two beams represent.

The love of God.
The sacrifice of Jesus.
The gift of eternal life for you and for me.

Two rough beams—nothing extraordinary by the world’s standards—yet they proclaim the most extraordinary truth ever told—for God so loved the world. It was on two wooden beams that God’s Son stretched out His arms and declared His love for the world.

Of all the beauty my eyes beheld that morning nothing was more breathtaking than the cross. For in those two simple beams, heaven declared the greatest love the world has ever known.

And friend, the cross was for you.

Let's Pray
Heavenly Father, Thank You for the cross. Through the work of Jesus on two simple beams of wood, You made a way for my forgiveness and eternal life. Help me never grow numb to the wonder of that sacrifice. While the world may see the cross as foolishness, I know it is the very power of God for all who believe. May I live each day in gratitude for the love displayed there. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

06/05/2026

VBS attendees wished Pastor Miller Happy Birthday!

06/05/2026

It was a great ending to a wonderful VBS Community Group. We enjoyed weeklong fellowship with Zion Lutheran, Grace Lutheran, Sardis Lutheran and Plateau Community Church. Illumination Station is closed and Jesus is the Light of our World.

06/05/2026

Fellowship was enjoyed with Zion Lutheran, Grace Lutheran, Sardis Lutheran and Plateau Community Church. The children had the opportunity to participate in a pie in the face of the pastors by groups competing to collect the most money that will be sent to missions. The Green Team collected the most money this week and celebrated with the pie in the face challenge featuring the pastors.

06/04/2026

When Plans Change without Warning
Kristine Brown

“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” - Proverbs 16:9 ESV

The other day, I made a phone call to a family member to cancel plans to go see her. We’d both been looking forward to the visit for a long time. I dreaded making that call. It seemed like more and more lately, the ups and downs of life were getting in the way of my plans. Unexpected circumstances took over the agenda, forcing me to cancel things I wanted to do. As I apologized and assured her the canceled plans couldn’t be helped, I blurted out, “I don’t know why I bother making plans; God is just going to change them anyway!” But my wise relative understood. She and I had both experienced so much unwanted change lately. And from her heart, she reminded me that plans are important as we move forward in the work God calls us to do. We pray, make the best decisions we can, and trust God with the changes.

The bible verse teaches us about the delicate balance between making our own plans and allowing God to direct our steps. Throughout my life, I’ve often mistaken the message of this verse. I assumed Proverbs 16:9 meant my plans and God’s were in conflict with one another. I would seek God’s direction before making plans, but when blindsided by change beyond my control, I froze. I questioned my ability to hear God and follow his plans instead of mine.

Sudden changes in our lives, both big and small, can have an impact on our faith. Life’s interruptions don’t necessarily mean we’re headed in the wrong direction. Sometimes God redirects for our own good; other times, change gives us the opportunity to grow in our dependence on God’s steady hand. The Amplified version of Proverbs 16:9 gives even more insight into its practical application for us today: “A man’s mind plans his way [as he journeys through life], but the Lord directs his steps and establishes them.” So, as we journey through this life, readying ourselves for the changes that will certainly come, let’s hold tightly to our unchanging God. He directs our steps and delights in every detail of our lives. (Psalm 37:23)

Let's Pray
Dear God,
Changes are hard. The plans I make are often abruptly interrupted, and I struggle to find my footing. Help me understand the truth that you direct and establish my steps. Help me trust your guidance when I face sudden change and struggle with knowing what to do next. Your ways are sure, and I know I am secure in your mighty hands. Father, I pray for wisdom as I make plans for the days, weeks, and months ahead. I understand that not everything can be orchestrated according to my own desires, but I also know you give me the opportunity to connect my dreams, goals, and plans with your purposes. Your ways are best, and I fully submit to your perfect will for my life. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

06/03/2026

A Very Illuminating Week of VBS

Old St. Paul friends, this has been a wonderful week of Vacation Bible School for our church, our children, our adults and for our fellowship amongst 5 wonderful community church partners joined together for this VBS experience.

Our shared VBS journey began this last Sunday evening with our kickoff night for our Illumination Station theme. This theme shines a light (pun intended ☺️on who Jesus is in our lives of faith, with a focus on Jesus' own proclamation in John 8:12 that he is the light of the world.

From the stories of Jesus's questioning his disciples about who they believe he is (the Son of God!) to God's joyful proclamation of Jesus as his beloved Son at his baptism, to the feeding of the 4000 with Jesus power to Jesus' death on the cross for our sins, each night has highlighted the blessings of our savior Jesus. These stories have been shared through storytelling, crafts, Bible study and games and over 130 people a night have taken part so far this week!

Our special contribution from Old St. Paul's has been to provide spiritual recreation for the children. Each night we've blended familiar children's games with that night's Bible story to tell of Jesus' glory and presence. Friends...I want you to know that our gathered churches' children are really taking home each story and having so much fun doing it. The lessons are setting in and I continue to marvel how the children are learning by connecting the story and the games. Each night I ask them what they remember from the night before and their answers and retention leaves me quite impressed.

In addition, our adults have shared in a nightly Bible study time as well, led each night by one of the church's pastors. My colleagues and I have, each in our own way, brought to light the dynamic power of Jesus through our same daily themes and we've had a lot of fun sharing together.

I delight in the wonderful week of VBS we've shared and I'm grateful for our church's partnership with 4 other wonderful local church families. We look like one really big church together this week and I think our experience will be long lasting and empowering for everyone involved. Thank you OSP for your support for this VBS program and I look forward to sharing even more with you this coming Sunday!

In Christ,
Pastor Andrew

06/03/2026

Old St. Paul's Lutheran Church along with four other churches enjoying a week of Vacation Bible School. The theme of Vacation Bible School is John 8:12 Jesus is the light of the world.

Old St Paul's Lutheran Church

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Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Sunday	9am - 12pm