Bill Britt Archives | Page 3 of 9 | Peachtree Road United Methodist Church

Getting the Most Out of Advent

The Advent season is upon us, and our time of preparation for the celebration of the coming of Christ is at hand. The Chrismon trees are in the sanctuary and narthex, and the Altar Guild has placed the Advent wreath in the chancel. We are ready for the season! Our theme for this year is “Light Shines in the Darkness.” You recognize those words from the prologue to the Gospel according to St. John: “Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” (John 1:5)

We Are Abundantly Blessed

Happy Thanksgiving! I am writing you on this Thursday morning to wish you a wonderful holiday and express my gratitude for your faithful support of the ministry of Peachtree Road United Methodist Church. As was clearly evident last Sunday, we are abundantly blessed!…I hope you are planning to join us for worship this Sunday. This Sunday is the last of the liturgical year and ends with a celebration of the Lordship of Jesus Christ – it is “Christ the King Sunday.”

Our Thanksgiving Leads to Joy

Thanksgiving Day is less than a week away, and I really am looking forward to worshiping with you this weekend as we celebrate Harvest Sunday here at Peachtree Road UMC. It will be a special day as we sing, pray, and count our many blessings. A complimentary Thanksgiving luncheon featuring turkey, ham, dressing, mashed potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie will be served in Grace Hall after worship, and I hope you will plan to join your friends at Peachtree Road UMC for a day of giving thanks.

Gather in a Spirit of Thanksgiving

Last Sunday was a good day at Peachtree Road UMC as we celebrated All Saints Sunday. We called the names of 29 members of our church who have preceded us into death, lighted candles in their memory, and gathered at the Lord’s Table to receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion. Hearing the Great Organ as we sang “For All the Saints” and Tom Walker playing “Amazing Grace” on the bagpipes was just what I needed last week. It was a very good day!

Celebrate Our Connection With the Saints

I really am looking forward to Sunday as we begin a new series of messages here at Peachtree Road UMC entitled “We Are Grateful.” This series is designed to instill in us a spirit of gratitude…We begin this Sunday with our Celebration of All Saints Sunday. We will begin our service by singing one of my favorite hymns: “For All the Saints.”

Faith, Hope, Love and Peace

As you read these words, I am with a large group on a “Journeys of Paul Tour” in Turkey and Greece. We are retracing the footsteps of the Apostle Paul and are visiting the cities that Paul visited on his second and third missionary journeys and to whom he wrote many of his New Testament letters. We have joined with a larger group of United Methodists from around the country from Brentwood UMC in Nashville, Trinity UMC in Birmingham, and Church of the Resurrection in Kansas City. I’ll share a little more about this journey at the close of this note. We will return on Monday.

Remember Your Faith and Pray

Like you, I have been following the events in Israel and Gaza with keen interest. The images shown on television have been heartbreaking. We have seen the face of evil in the terrorist attacks by Hamas in Israel. We have heard the cries of innocent men, women, and children who are suffering the ravages of war. And, in the ancient words of the psalmist, we have wondered, “How long, O Lord?” I encourage you to remember your faith:

Keep Your Heart in Tune

I really am looking forward to worshiping with you this Sunday. It is Commitment Sunday here at Peachtree Road UMC, and we will have an opportunity to renew our commitment to Christ through this great church. At the close of the service you will have an opportunity to bring your commitment card to the altar to offer yourself to Christ in a time of dedication.

The Heart of the Matter

At the beginning of the year, I asked you to consider if your spirit’s pool was deep enough to sustain you in a time of crisis. To help you answer that question with an emphatic “Yes!” we have sought to offer the resources you need to quieten your soul, hear the voice of God, and respond in the confidence of your faith in Christ to every challenge you experience. For example, we began the year with a focus upon developing mental health in the midst of anxious times, continued in the spring with a Lenten series of messages designed to help us learn to still our souls and practice silence in the presence of God, and came out of the summer with a fall series focusing our attention upon living the Lord’s Prayer. I hope you have found this year’s emphasis helpful as you develop a spiritual reservoir from which you can draw in troubled times.

A Spiritually Healthy Heart

On Sunday we will begin a new series entitled “Developing a Generous Heart.” You and I know folks who have a heart problem. Maybe the arteries around the heart muscle have become clogged or they have an irregular heartbeat. Either way, they are experiencing symptoms that make life difficult. We also know folks who have a spiritual heart problem. As a result, they have a difficult time worshiping God, loving others, or experiencing joy in their lives. This month we are going to spend some time talking about developing a healthy heart spiritually: