St. Paul’s News produced October 23, 2018

Sermon Series for November
What if the Incarnation, the miracle by which the immortal Son of God took on mortal human flesh to become one of us, turned out to be even more miraculous and more powerful than most Christians tend to believe? And what if we could actually experience the wonder and the power of that miracle in our lives today? Guided by pastor, church planter, and ministry leader Hugh Halter through his book ‘Flesh’ we are going to spend the month of November exploring the incredible difference that God becoming flesh in Jesus Christ is meant to make in our lives today.

Hugh Halter’s main observation is that while Jesus’ death and resurrection together form the single most important thing that God has done for us in Jesus, they are NOT the only things that God has done for us in Jesus. In the thirty or so years before Jesus’ death God also showed us, in Jesus, what it looks like to truly live a fully human life, the very same type of life that the gospel tells us Jesus died to give us.

Plenty of people have come to believe in the life-giving power of Christ’s death and resurrection, but too few have chosen to learn from Jesus how to actually live the life he died to give us. Over the month of November, however, that’s exactly what we’re going to do. We are going to take the first few steps towards a life-long journey of learning to be human like Jesus.

We strongly encourage everyone who will be tracking with us through this series to find a copy of Hugh Halter’s book ‘Flesh’ and to read it for themselves. And if you’re having a hard time getting a copy, let us know. I’m sure we can find one for you somewhere.

-Sun Nov. 4th- 
‘The Heart of Incarnation’
-Sun Nov. 11th-
‘Having an Incarnational Reputation’
-Sun Nov. 18th- 
‘Sharing Incarnational Conversations’
-Sun Nov. 25th-
‘Experiencing Incarnational Transformation’
Trunk-or-Treat
Oct 31st, 5pm
in the St. Paul’s Anglican Church Parking Lot

Trick-or-treating, Parishioners in funny costumes,
cars decorated for Halloween, and so much fun!

For more information or details on how you can help
contact Alice Kennedy at 832-2627.

Sunday, Nov. 11th 4pm-6pm
St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Hampton

This is a child-friendly event for all ages exploring remembrance, peace, and faith through crafts, songs, stories and more.

This event also includes a FREE dinner!
RSVP by Thursday, November 8th to
stpauls-hampton@outlook.com
or by calling 832-3375
Planning meeting is scheduled for November 1st at the church at 7pm. Looking for volunteers to help with project stations. Sharon will have the Project Stations ready to go.

St. Paul’s News produced September 20, 2018

I started writing this post just moments after we finished serving our very first pancake lunch of the new school year to more than 140 very grateful Hampton High School students. Every plate of food we dished out was received with an enthusiastic “thank you!” from each and every one of the students. I was struck, today, by how clearly the simple expressions of gratitude from those students in turn fed the enthusiasm and devotion shown by our volunteers. It’s such a clear example of how generosity inspires gratitude and how that gratitude inspires still more generosity, and on and on it goes.

The lunches served out of St. Paul’s every 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month to the students of Hampton High School are just one example of the many ways in which our parish continues to be blessed by this cycle of generosity and gratitude.  At the heart of it all, however, and what I believe drives it all, is God’s generosity towards each of us.

In my experience, the greatest demonstrations of generosity among Christian people are motivated by a profound sense of gratitude towards God. None of the people that I have known with this sense gratitude has lived a perfect life. In fact, many of them have experienced more than their fair share of suffering. Yet they’ve all come to possess a deep sense that every good thing that has come to them in life has come to them graciously and freely from God. I’ve noticed too that whatever stage of life these grateful and generous people may be in, they all seem to believe that they have only just begun to experience the goodness that God has instore for them, in this life and the next.

In short, the most generous people that I have come to know (those whose generosity has challenged and inspired me the most) have also been the most grateful. They are deeply rooted in the cycle of gratitude and grace. They are generous because they are thankful, and they are thankful because they believe God has given them and has promised them far more than they could have asked for or imagined.

In this season of giving thanks I pray that we would all find ourselves fully surrounded by the cycle of gratitude and grace. I pray that you would know God’s generosity and goodness towards you, and that knowing his goodness you would not only be surrounded but filled with generosity and thanksgiving.

Rev. David Turner +

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