From the Pastor

“The We of Me” 

Did you know that more songs have been written on “friendship” than on any other subject with the exception of songs about “love?” From Dionne Warwick’s, “That’s what Friends are for.” To the Randy Newman song in the “Toy Story” movie, “You’ve Got a Friend in Me.” And of course, there was the popular tv show on NBC, “Friends.” Whatever gave us the idea that friends are optional? Friendship is a gift from God. God gives us people to help us through our lives. 

The Bible tells the stories of some great friendships. There’s Ruth and Naomi, Paul and Timothy, and even Jesus had friends! Jesus needed friends! Why do you think he called the 12 disciples? In Mark’s gospel it says, “He called to himself the twelve so that they might be with him.” So important were friends to Jesus that the night before he called the twelve, -- he stayed up all night praying. And even with his perfect relationship with his Father in heaven, Jesus still needed friends.  

It says rather poetically in I Samuel 23:16, “And Jonathan strengthened David’s hand in God.” Do you have friends who strengthen your hand in God? I have a couple of friends who have been Jonathans to me over the course of my life, -- especially in ministry. Next month, I will have the opportunity to meet again with 4 of my pastor friends from Princeton Seminary for our Covenant Group meeting, as we were unable to meet at all in person last year. The other is John Minihan, who I also met at Princeton Seminary, who preached at my installation service back in October 2017, and who pastors Christ Presbyterian Church in Huntington, West Virginia. John, and his wife, Faith, will be staying with me this weekend, as John will be preaching at Chestnut Level this Sunday, September 5. John will be preaching on the story of Jesus and Nicodemus from John 3. 

I look forward to seeing you on Sunday. We will be in person outside at 8:00 am on the FLC lawn (inside the sanctuary if it rains). If you attend at 8:00 am, you will be able to sit in your car and listen via the FM transmitter on 102.1. This will be our last Sunday outside at 8:00 am. At 10:30 am, we will be in the sanctuary, while also broadcasting on Zoom, Facebook Live, and Youtube.  

Pastor John