WELCOME TO REHOBETH's WEBPAGE
Bible Study continues on Wednesday evening. Genesis 3. Join us on Zoom. 7:30 pm
Updated October 16, 2021
OCTOBER 17, 2021
Sunday at 9:00 am
Worship Services at Rehobeth are now in-person.
You are cordially invited to join us on Sunday's at 9 am.
Use the Lectionary readings as preparation for your worship.
Sermons are fashioned to help us become better equipped
to live on earth
October 17, 2021 21st Sunday after Pentecost
Job 38:1-7, (34-41)
Psalm 104:1-9, 25, 37b
Hebrews 5:1-10
Mark 10:35-45
October 24, 2021 22nd Sunday after Pentecost
Job 42:1-6, 10-17
Psalm 34:1-8, (19-22)
Hebrews 7:23-28
Mark 10:46-52
October 31, 2021 23rd Sunday after Pentecost
Ruth 1:1-18
Psalm 146
Hebrews 9:11-14
Mark 12:28-34
October 17, 2021 / Announcements
WELCOME TO WORSHIP.
- Please register & include your email on the “registration form.”
- Volunteer to read the scripture this morning. See Rv Kang.
- Please use the Prayer Book to record prayer concerns.
CALENDAR EVENTS
- SUN 17OCT 9:00AM Worship – Welcome
- Landscapers here Monday and Tues.
- WED 20OCT 6:00 PM Church Council
- and 7:30 PM Bible Study (on Zoom)
- SUN 24OCT 9:00AM Worship
- SUN 31OCT 9:00AM Worship
- Combined Worship Service on Bishop’s Sunday:
Nov. 7th (Sun) 11:00am at Rehobeth Church
12:30pm Luncheon and Celebration follows
- Check websites for updates. rehobethchurch.org
- Sharing & Fellowship after worship. Join the dialogue.
- Thank You Esther, for tending flowers and beautifying
the front of our Church.
PRAYER CONCERNS
- Support sister parishes: Bethel UMC & Ashburn Korean UMC
- Remember those grieving and in despair today.
- Pray for each other’s physical, emotional, and spiritual health.
- The mission of the UMC is to make disciples of Jesus Christ
for the transformation of the world.
Bishop: Rev. Sharma D. Lewis
District Superintendent: Rev. Victor Gomez
Pastor: Rev. Sean Kang
Website: www.rehobethchurch.org
- Send Articles, Notices, Items of Interest to our congregation to
the website manager: james@nenningers.org Thank you.
Pastor’s email: kanghyunsik@gmail.com
Join us in worship, In-person or Zoom (MTG ID: 824 2858 6574
Passcode: 018271)
Genesis Sermon Series 2 “Who Are We?”
21st Sunday after Pentecost
Genesis 2:7-9, 18-25 / October 17, 2021
Rev Sean H Kang, Pastor
Genesis 1 answers the fundamental questions of “who is God, what kind of place is the world, and what kind of beings are humans?” God is the one who blesses all things in this world. This world is a very good place in God's eyes. Human beings are noble beings created in the image of God. Although Genesis 2 looks like another creation story, it is actually dealing with one of the three themes covered in Chapter 1, and trying to delve deeper into the topic of “what kind of beings are humans?”
Who are human beings? Who are we? The definitions of human beings vary from field to field. Biologists claim that humans are eventually one of many animals. Evolutionists say that we are a group of beings that has evolved amazingly with excellent conditions for survival of the fittest. And philosophers describe them as beings who can think and as the lord of all things. If so, what does the Bible say? What does Genesis 2 define human beings as? Let’s take a look at what we essentially are through the Genesis Chapter 2.
1. A Being Who Is Finite but Eternal
Let’s look at verse 7 first. “The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” It is said that God created man from the dust of the ground. The word ‘Adam’ means ‘man.’ It means that man is a dust-like being built from ‘Adama’(dust). Adam is not a proper noun, but a pronoun representing all human existence.
On the other hand, after God created man from the dust, God breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being. Here, the breath of life is ‘the breath of God.’ We need to notice that the human body was not a living organism until the breath of God breathed in. It means that a human needs the breath of God to become a real human. Without the breath of God in us, we are just a shell, a fleeting mass of dust.
At the end, Genesis 2 explains that God made man out of ‘lower earthly matter’ called dust and ‘upper heavenly matter’ called the breath of life. What does this mean? Human beings are both finite and eternal beings. We are ephemeral and insignificant like dust, but we are also eternal and sublime beings like God. It can be summed up in the definition of being made up of a human body and soul.
In fact, I often see that in people. There are people who are too small and fragile, but have indomitable courage and wisdom. On the other hand, there are people who have great power and abilities, but get sick in an instant and die. Human beings are finite but eternal beings, and eternal but finite beings. The Bible reminds us that we are both made of dust and of the Spirit of God. Let's keep this in mind.
2. A Being Who Gives a Name
Second, Genesis 2 defines a man as a ‘being who gives name.’ Look at verse 19. “The LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.” God saw what the man names creatures God made, and when the man gave them names, they became their names.
What does this mean? Does this mean that God created man as an ‘author of name’? What does this story say about humans? If we think about the meaning of ‘naming’, we can find a clue. Giving a name to something without a name creates value to an existence that was not important to us. Wild dogs and feral cats do not have names, but domestic dogs and cats each have a name. Dogs and cats given such names by humans have a different value to us than wild dogs or wild cats.
But to give a name is more than just to give a name to an unnamed object. There are things that we consider meaningless and worthless. They are failures, hardships, and diseases. But what if we name failure a ‘learning experience,’ disease an ‘alarm for a healthy life,’ and hardship a ‘process to become into gold.’ Then, what we considered worthless turns into something valuable, and a new creation takes place. Giving a name means participating in God’s creative work.
The same goes for people. There are people we don't pay much attention to: the poor, the powerless, and the uncomfortable. We treat them like nameless people. But giving them a new name makes them valuable beings. We could call the poor ‘the victim of my greed,’ the powerless ‘people who need my care,’ and the uncomfortable ‘people who can refine my character'. Giving a name like this is to turn things that were considered worthless into valuable ones.
I will introduce a poem that I tried to introduce in the last Bible study class, but did not properly introduce it. It is a Korean poem called <The Flower> by Kim Chun-su.
Before I called her name,
she was nothing more than a gesture.
When I called her name,
she came to me
and became a flower.
Like I called her name,
will someone please call my name
that suits my light and fragrance?
I, too, long to come to her
and become her flower.
We all long to be something.
You, to me, and I, to you,
long to become a gaze that won’t be forgotten.
3. A Being Who Loves and Helps Each Other
Third, Genesis 2 defines a man as a ‘being who loves and helps each other.’ Let’s look at verse 18 and 21-22. “The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” … So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.”
This text is often regarded as a text for young men and women who are about to get married. That's why it's often read at weddings. It is natural. In this text, however, man does not simply refer to ‘male’, but means ‘person in general.’ Remember that the word Adam is a word meaning ‘human being.’ Therefore, this text needs to be viewed not only as a message that describes the relationship between a man and a woman, but also as a message that describes the essence of all human relationships.
The core message of the text is that it is not good for the man to be alone. Again, it is not a matter of living single or married, but fundamentally that human beings live in relationships. So, how do we build a relationship? The text describes it as ‘being helper.’ We shouldn't just meet people for a certain need, but we should love each other and become helpers who fill each other's shortcomings because we were originally one, not separate beings.
The description that God made a woman from a man’s rib does not express woman’s inferiority or subordination to man, but rather it expresses that man and woman belong to each other and are connected to each other because the Hebrew word for rib means ‘part of a being.’ That is, you are a part of me, and I am a part of you. It means that we are one and belong to each other. Let us confess to each other that you are ‘bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.’
Wrap Up
What kind of beings are humans? Who are we? Today, we looked at the answer to this question through Genesis 2. Let’s remember. Although we are made of dust, we are the beings that hold the breath of God, and we are finite but eternal. Also, we are the beings who continue the work of God's new creation, giving names to meaningless and worthless things. And we are not separate beings, but originally one being. You are bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. I am bone of your bones and flesh of your flesh.
Genesis Sermon Series (1) - “The Creation Story”
20th Sunday after Pentecost / October 10, 2021
Beginning
We started studying the Genesis last week. Personally, what is regrettable is that many people cannot participate in Bible study. So, I thought, if I prepare the sermon series with Genesis, everybody could follow up the core messages of Genesis, and we could walk together on the journey of words on the same page. So, I am going to preach continuously in Genesis except during major seasons.
]
Today, as the first sermon, I would like to deal with the profound words in Genesis Chapter 1. If you look at the preface of any book, you can see what the book is about and what it is trying to deal with. The Bible is a vast book that binds 66 books, and Genesis is the first book among them. And Genesis Chapter 1 corresponds to the preface to this vast book. Therefore, in Chapter 1 of Genesis, we can look into the outline of the entire Bible as to what the Bible is about and what it intends to deal with.
As we know, Genesis 1 introduces the story of God's creation of heaven and earth in the beginning. However, the story does not intend to introduce the creation event that took place at the first time in the universe from a scientific point of view. Therefore, we should not seek scientific information about the origin of the universe here. It is not intended by the Bible. Then, what does the Bible want to say through the story of creation? It intends to talk about the spiritual origin of God, man, and the world.
Who is God? What kind of beings are humans? What kind of place is the world? The answers to these questions are the very theme of Genesis Chapter 1 and the entire Bible. ‘God, man, and the world,’ these are the subjects of the Bible and Genesis 1. I'm going to deal with these three subjects in reverse order today. What kind of place is this world? What kind of beings are humans? Who is God? Let’s hear what Genesis Chapter 1 says.
What Kind of Place Is the World?
Genesis 1:2 describes the world before God created heaven and earth in this way. “The earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” However, when God said to this world full of chaos and emptiness, where darkness was over the surface, the world of chaos and emptiness turned into the world of order and life, and the dark world was filled with bright light. This process lasted six days. Genesis 1 expresses this process through a repetitive pattern.
First, God’s order was issued. It’s an expression that starts with “God said...” Then, as God said, everything was created: “it was so.”Then, the evaluation of God’s creation continued: “God saw that it was good.” Finally, the date was mentioned: “there was evening, and there was morning--the first day (the second day, the third day etc...)” This pattern, which introduced the process of creation, clearly showed what the creation story intended.
The creation story did not intend to introduce the detailed information of the creation work on how God created it through what process. Rather, it tried to emphasize that God was fundamentally the genuine master of this world, and that this world was originally such a ‘good world.’ In the text, there is something God said every day while creating the world. “It’s good!” Good! Good! Good! It’s repeated over and over again seven times. It is a message that we should not miss in the creation story.
What kind of place is the world? The creation story declares this: this world is a wonderful place for God to admire! Although we often look at this world pessimistically, the creation story reminds us that it was a good place and asks us not to just live pessimistically in a destroyed and corrupted world, but to restore the original world that was so good in God’s eyes. I hope that our lives can contribute to restoring the good and wonderful world that God created.
What Kind of Beings Are Humans?
On the sixth day of creation, God created man. However, there were two things that were different from the description of the creatures God had created so far. The first difference was an exceptionally long description. It was clearly longer than the descriptions of other creatures. As in general, when the Bible emphasized something, length was important. In books like Kings, some kings were described in a single line, but King David was introduced in dozens of chapters. This means that human beings were emphasized as being more special than other creatures.
The second difference was the method of creation. All other creatures were created by God's word, but man was made in God's image and in God's likeness. Let’s see verse 26. “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness.” The plural of ‘us’ here does not refer to angels or to the Trinity, as is commonly known. Hebrew uses the plural form to express ‘a very noble being.’ Therefore, human beings are very noble beings created in the image of God.
If verse 26 is God’s sketch for creating man, verse 27 is explaining that God created man according to the sketch. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him.” This statement has two important implications. First, it means that human beings have ‘divine DNA’ called the image of God (Imago Dei), and secondly, it means that humans are fundamentally inseparable from God.
After all, what kind of beings are humans? Genesis 1 answers: Human are beings that have God’s DNA and that can never be separated from God! Let's remember. No matter how hard we try, we cannot be separated from God. Rather, we must preserve the divine DNA within us. Let's remember one more thing. Whether we are Eastern or Western, poor or rich, Christian or Muslim, without exception, we are all noble beings with God’s DNA. So respecting each other is not something special, it is a natural thing.
Who Is God?
We can define who God is in various ways, but it is worth paying attention to the very intentional emphasis of Genesis 1. It is emphasized three times in the text, and it is ‘God who blesses’. Let's look at verse 22 first. God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” This is a scene where God, who continued his creation ministry, blessed everything he had created until the fifth day.
Also in verse 28, God created man and woman on the sixth day and blessed them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.” This is a scene where God blesses humans. On the seventh day, God had finished the work he had been doing and rested from all his work. The special point is that he blessed the seventh day and made it holy. God blessed even the day of the Sabbath. During the last three days of creation, He proclaimed blessings not only to all creatures and humans, but also to the Sabbath.
In the days of the first readers of Genesis, the gods of the Ancient Near East were mostly ‘gods of judgment and punishment.’ They were terrifying gods who mercilessly punished people when they sinned and judged them when they did wrong. Therefore, the motive of their religious life was fear, and they worshiped God to avoid judgment and punishment. Genesis 1 intentionally emphasizes that God is completely different from such gods. God blesses all creatures, humans, and even rest.
Who is God? Genesis 1 answers: He is the one who blesses and blesses and blesses. God is not judging and punishing humans. He is essentially the One who loves and blesses all that He has created. Therefore, the relationship with God should be a relationship of deep trust and close friendship, not a relationship of one-sided obedience and service. God should not be treated like the gods of the ancient Near East. Let's remember God is the one who blesses and blesses and blesses us.
Wrap Up
Genesis was written around the end of the Babylonian Exile. For the Jews at that time, the world was a hopeless place, humans were unreliable, and God was the one who punished them. The message of Genesis encouraged them to rethink the world, humans, and God. The creation story tells them that the world is a good place in God’s eyes, that humans are beings in the image of God, and that God is the one of love and blessing. This message kindled a fire in the souls of the desperate Jews.
I think that modern people’s perceptions are similar to those of Jews at the end of the Babylonian captivity. Today many people are pessimistic about the world and humans, and view God as a god who punishes and judges. We need to meditate on the creation story again. Let’s remember. The world is a good place in the sight of God. Humans are noble beings with the divine DNA of God. God is not a judge, but the one who blesses, blesses, and blesses.
Amen
A Quiet Meditation in a Special Cemetery
Take a Break
The Pandemic of 2020 leaves us with with much to think about; the deaths of so many people, worldwide and in our country. How do we incorporate this major catastrophe into our psyches and lives?
Making frequent spaces in our "busy" lives helps us to "catch our breath" and to rearrange what is important to us. We've learned life is fragile. We've learned what is precious. We've learned to pay attention to the brevity of our own existence.
What a better place than to visit a cemetery near us to meditate and contemplate our own existence.
Memorial Day is coming. Grass needs mowed. Iris are blooming. Spring is bursting forth all around us. Bees 'a humming, birds 'a chirping,and humans are breathing again without masks! We have arrived ... we are home!
We have much for which to be grateful. Each day let us commit to give thanks, to be mindful of our breath in prayer, to pray for one another, and continue our walk in the Light. It's time to discipline ourselves with acts of compassion to everyone as we remember our ancestors for whom we've come.
Rehobeth Cemetery Welcomes You!!
While you are alive! that is! Phew! You thought I made a mistake. Nope, but ... Our own spot will come soon enough. But for now take time to connect your past to the present as your live, appreciating the now.
These Old Oaks, were here before we were born. The Mountain range in the distance eons before that. The land on which we stand has seen many cultures and is sacred ground. All cultures, all ground, all humanity is sacred.
And life goes continues
September 2021
OUR CONFERENCE.
PARISH ANNOUNCEMENTS
Worship with us every Sunday Morning, 9 AM
CONTACTS:
PASTOR: Rev Sean Kang hyunsikkang@vaumc.org
WEBSITE NEWS and notices james@nenningers.ne
on Zoom Sunday WORSHIP at 9 am &
Communion
Saturday Morning Work Projects
Conference on Zoom
Conference on Zoom
Saturday Morning Work Projects
Conference on Zoom
Saturday Morning Work Projects
Saturday Morning Work Projects
Saturday Morning Work Projects
Our Pastor
Meet Our Pastor, Rev. Sean Kang
Rev. Sean Kang graduated from the Methodist Theological Seminary in Seoul and became an ordained minister from the Eastern Conference of the Korean Methodist Church. He served as an Associate Pastor in a Methodist Church in Seoul, then moved to Canada in 2000, where he studied Spiritual Theology and Spiritual Direction at the University of Toronto. While studying there, he began a new church for college students and young adults and served there for five years.
Rev. Kang accepted an invitation by the Korean United Methodist Church of Greater Washington and moved to Virginia in 2006; where he served as an Associate Pastor for seven years. In the spring of 2013, he started a new church in Ashburn, Virginia, and spent six years as it's Leading Pastor. Rev. Kang is very interested in Contemplative Spirituality and Spiritual Formation. In this context, his pastoral focus is geared toward spiritual sermons, spiritual exercises, and prayer practices.
We look forward to Rev. Kang's ministry with us ... as our journey continues.
Home Worship for Rehobeth & Bethel
Rehobeth UMC and .....
Rehobeth United Methodist, 14085 Rehobeth Church Road, Lovettsville Join us on Zoom for worship and fellowship.
..... Bethel UMC
Join us on zoom, Sunday's at 9:00 am. If you miss the service, you can find them on the website.
Your offerings may be sent to respective Churches.
OUR COOPERATIVE Parish
Ashburn Korean UMC
Ashburn Korean United Methodist Church
43454 Crossroads Drive, Ashburn, VA, 20147
Rehobeth UMC
Rehobeth United Methodist Church
14095 Rehobeth Church Road, Lovettsville, VA 20180
Bethel UMC
Meet Our Local Clergy
Lovettsville Ministers' meet monthly
FROM LEFT TO RIGHT
(Standing) Rev Andreas Armstrong, Zion & Bethel Lutheran Church; Rev Mark Jagoe, Hillsboro & Ebenezer UMC
(Sitting) Rev. James D Nenninger, Retired UMC; Rev. Tiffany Towberman, Zion Lutheran; Rev. Stephen King, Mt. Olivet & Mt. Pleasant UMC;
Rev. Krista Vingelis, New Jerusalem Lutheran; Rev. David Douthett, Catoctin Presbyterian, Waterford; Rev. Roland England, Christian Community at St. Paul's, UCC;
(Absent) Rev. Sean Kang, Rehobeth UMC
*Thanks to Sandy, Tiffany's mom for taking the picture)
About Our Facilities -- lot's to do
Current Projects on Docket
2019 CEMETERY & CHURCH PROPERTY UPKEEP
- ON GOING Mowing & Trimming
- COMPLETED Fire Inspection – Passed 4/26/18
- COMPLETED Termite Inspection: Passed 4/20/18
- COMPLETED Replace Sub-floor in vestibule 8/22/18
- IN PROCESS Repairing Lentil, complete main entrance
- IN PROCESS Refinish Sanctuary Door & add Landing
- COMPLETED A complete cemetery grounds renovation
- COMPLETED Beautify church lawn edging
- Paint Outside Trim (postponed)
- Upgrade A/V system, 2019
- Water Testing
- Furnace & Oil Tank Plans
- Storage Shed, re-shingle or replace
- Replace Carpet
- Pew cushions
- Upright Cemetery Headstones
- Repair Broken Stained Glass Window
Future Projects (To be scheduled)
D - Air Conditioning
R - Pointing of bricks
E - Belfry Lighting
A - Storm windows
M - Belfry Inspection & Greasing Bell
S
REHOBETH CEMETERY is a major MISSION of our Church, requiring much work, expense, and upkeep. Our intent is to maintain our cemetery that honors the many Methodist's and others who gave of their resources to support our Church. We do honor to ourselves to honor our history and those who have graced us with this facility. Thanks be to God.
THANK YOU TRUSTEES ...
Rehobeth is fortunate to have a very active team of Trustees. If you are interested in joining our Team, we are interested in you !!!
- Jeremy Nenninger, Chairman
- David Thompson, Financial Sec
_ Jim Nenninger, Ret'd UMC Clergy
- Scott Brock
.......................................... , (sign on the dotted line)
our story
Welcome
Welcome! For the past 225 years Rehobeth United Methodist Church has been a place where people could come to learn, be in community and grow as people of God. Even as the world has changed and we have changed, we are still committed to being a community that reaches out to our neighbors and our world so that all can know the love of God. We hope you will join us and make yourself at home here as we sincerely welcome you to Rehobeth United Methodist Church.
Location
Rehobeth UMC is located at 14085 Rehobeth Church Road, Lovettsville VA 20180. The pastor is the Rev. Sean Hyunsik Kang. The Pastor's email is hyunsikkang@vaumc.org; and cell phone: 703-336-3679. Our website is www.rehobethchurch.org Sunday worship is at 9 am and a Scripture - Prayer Class (Contemplative Dialogue) Meeting at 9:50 am. The Class is open to everyone.
Directions
On Rt. 7 go to the exit for Rt. 287; at the underpass, turn left and go north 6.2 mi on Rt. 287 (Berlin Turnpike) toward Purcellville and Lovettsville. Turn right onto Rickard Road and go 0.4 mi east. Take the 1st right onto Rehobeth Church Road; the turn is 0.2 mi on the left.