Coronavirus Response

  • Home
  • A-Z List
  • About
    • About the NCC
    • Connectional Table
    • Staff
  • Calendar
    • Events
    • Google Calendar
    • Past Events
  • Churches
  • Contact
    • Find Us
  • Districts
    • District Office
    • Beacon
    • Capital
    • Corridor
    • Fairway
    • Gateway
    • Harbor
    • Heritage
    • Sound
  • Employment
  • Search

NC Conference

Healthy Congregations and Effective Leaders in Every Place Making Disciples of Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World

  • Discipleship
    Developing Disciples
    • Christian Formation
      • Children
      • Church & Society
      • College
      • Creation Care
      • Differently Abled Persons
      • Older Adults
      • Spiritual Formation
      • Status & Role of Women
      • Young Adults
      • Youth
    • Church Revitalization
      • Coaching
      • Disciple Making Way
      • Evangelism
      • Grants
      • MissionInsite
      • Shift
    • From the Bishop
      • Church Transformation
      • Conflict Transformation
    • Multicultural
      • Anti-Racism
      • Asian
      • Hispanic-Latinx
      • Native American
      • Strengthening the Black Church
    • Stewardship
      • Apportionments
      • District Remittances
      • Financial Discipleship
      • Grants
      • Insurance
      • Mission & Service
      • Pension
      • Treasurer Training
  • Leadership
    Strengthening Leaders
    • Bishop’s Office
      • Appointment Book
      • Church Transformation
      • Conflict Transformation
    • Office of Clergy Life
      • Board of Ordained Ministry
      • Called to Ministry?
      • Extension Ministries
    • Board of Laity
      • Certified Lay Minister
      • Lay Servant Ministries
      • Local Church Lay Leaders
      • United Methodist Men
      • United Methodist Women
      • United Methodist Youth
    • New Faith Comm.
      • New Room Society
      • Our Communities
    • Conference Offices
      • Center for Leadership Excellence
      • Christian Formation
      • Communications
      • Conference Secretary
      • Connectional Ministries
      • Information Technology
      • Multicultural Ministries
      • Outreach Ministry
      • Treasurer’s Office
  • Service
    Ministering To The World
    • Local Outreach
      • Afghan Refugees
      • Church Construction
      • Church Loans
      • Congregations for Children (C4C)
      • Creation Care
      • Cross & Key Prision Ministries
      • Health Ministry
      • Restorative Justice and Mercy
      • Seed Funds
      • Mission Projects
    • Global Outreach
      • Love for Liberia
      • Missionaries
      • NCC UMVIM
      • Project AGAPE
      • Sierra Leone: Mission of Hope
      • ZOE
    • Disaster Ministries
      • Donate to Storm Response
      • MERCI
      • Response Plan
      • Response Team
      • Training
      • UMCOR Kits
    • Giving
      • 2021 District Christmas Offering
      • Advance/Rainbow Covenant
      • Apportionments
      • Give to Storm Response
      • Mission & Service
      • The Gary Wayne Locklear Mission Endowment
      • New Room Society
      • Special Sundays
    • Ministry Partners
      • Boy Scouts of America (BSA)
      • Camps & Retreats
      • NC Institute for Spiritual Direction and Formation
      • Partners In Ministry
      • Robeson Co. Church & CC
      • UMF
  • Resources
    Supporting Ministry
    • Conferences
      • Annual Conference 2021
      • Annual Conference 2022
      • Charge Conference 2021
      • General Conference
      • Pilgrimage
      • SEJ Conference 2016
    • Media Center
      • Catalog
      • Labyrinth
      • Ministry Tools
      • Online Resources
      • Weekly Newsletter
    • Online Resources
      • Anti-Racism
      • Archives & History
      • #BeUMC
      • Church Lookup
      • Disaffiliation Information
      • Green Church Initiative
      • Online Data Collection
      • Online Learning
      • Pastor Lookup
      • Ramus: Web Hosting
      • Video (Vimeo)
    • Publications
      • Appointment Book
      • Bible Study
      • Conference Directory
      • Conference Journal
      • Every Day Grace
      • Lenten Reflections
      • Mission & Service
      • Podcasts (NCCUMC.FM)
    • From UMC.org
      • Agencies
      • Communications
      • Discipleship
      • Finance & Administration
      • Global Ministries
      • Graphics Library
      • Relief
      • Status & Role of Women
  • Board of Laity
    • About Lay Ministries
    • Board Members
  • Lay Servant Ministries
    • District Directors
  • Lay Servant
  • Lay Speaker
    • District Lay Speakers
  • Certified Lay Minister
    • How to Become a Certified Lay Minister
    • Candidate Training Program
    • Clergy Mentors
    • Mutual Ministry Team
    • S/PPRC and Church Council
    • How to Renew
  • Upcoming Courses
    • Complete List of Courses
    • Substituting an Alternative Course
  • Forms
    • Background Check
      • Online Payment Portal
    • Certified Lay Servant Application
    • Certified Lay Servant Renewal / Annual Report
    • Certified Lay Speaker Application
    • Certified Lay Speaker Renewal / Annual Report
    • Certified Lay Minister Annual Report
    • Lay Servant/Speaker Record
  • Lay Leaders

Advent Thoughts from Effie McGill – Gateway District Co-Director of Lay Servant Ministry

December 13, 2016 Leave a Comment

Meditation: Acts 2: 1-4, 22-24, 37-47
In this passage we see God’s generosity given through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in baptism and through the gathering of community. Think about your baptism and the role of the Christian community in showing you God’s love. Where in the church community are you most experiencing God’s grace now?

Response: There are definitely three places in our church community that I am most experiencing God’s grace now. Those places are: our church Sunday Morning Prayer, our church Sunday Morning Worship Service, and our church Bible Study.
By the grace of God, we are given the gift of salvation, not through any action on our own part and because God shows His grace to me, I should show His grace to others. Grace is God choosing to bless us rather than curse us as our sin deserves. It is His benevolence to the undeserving.

Acts 2: 42 is the passage I have meditated on the most, “They spent their time learning the apostles’ teaching, sharing, breaking bread, and praying together.” Sunday Morning Prayer, nine of us (including our pastor) gather in our church Prayer Room (We call it the War Room and we, of course, are the Prayer Warriors.) We always begin prayer promptly at 8 am, kneeling, standing, or sitting. In our own way we each pray and sing always thanking God for His grace and mercy, His blessings, His Son, and praying for one another. We thank Him for salvation. We ask God to forgive us our sins, those we know we committed and those we unknowingly
committed. This small group I so much enjoy and look forward to attending every Sunday. If I am not in a position to attend (mostly if I am out of town) I still take the time at 8 am on Sunday morning to pray and meditate…no matter where I am.

Our church Sunday Morning Worship Service is so enlightening. Our pastor brings a ‘Holy Spirit’ led sermon every Sunday that she is in the pulpit (and other places where she preaches). I am happy I am able to hear the Word, clap my hands, sing, stand, and praise Him for His mighty grace.

Our church Bible study class is another church community that I feel God’s grace. In our class we have learned to ‘love the unlovable, forgive those who hurt us, not pass judgement on the sinner’…all about grace. We have learned about different types of
grace…justifying, prevenient, sanctifying. All of these church community areas remind me how far I have come become of God’s divine Grace. I have come a long way on my spiritual journey and though I am not perfect, I am not where I used to be.

I am also reminded of the words to the song, “Amazing Grace”.

Amazing grace! how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch; like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed!

The Lord hath promised good to me,
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures.

When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we first begun.

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn

Filed Under: General Tagged With: Advent 2016

NC Conference of The United Methodist Church · 700 Waterfield Ridge Place · Garner, NC 27529
Phone: 919.779.6115 · Toll-free: 800.849.4433 · Fax: 919.773.2308

Copyright © 2022 · Privacy Policy · Powered by WordPress · Site Admin