802.725.8094
  Furnace Brook Wesleyan Church
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are >
      • What we believe
      • Our Team
      • Our Building
      • Membership
      • Our Story
    • What We Do >
      • Worship
      • Children's Ministry
  • Give
    • Give
    • Volunteer
  • Grow
    • Discipleship and Small Group
    • Prayer Requests
    • We Care
    • Sermons >
      • Archived Sermons
    • Blog
    • Resources >
      • RightNow Media
      • Facility Use
  • Contact Us
    • Contact Us
    • Stay up to date! >
      • Meeting Minutes
    • Need Help?
  • Events
    • Events
    • Calendar
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are >
      • What we believe
      • Our Team
      • Our Building
      • Membership
      • Our Story
    • What We Do >
      • Worship
      • Children's Ministry
  • Give
    • Give
    • Volunteer
  • Grow
    • Discipleship and Small Group
    • Prayer Requests
    • We Care
    • Sermons >
      • Archived Sermons
    • Blog
    • Resources >
      • RightNow Media
      • Facility Use
  • Contact Us
    • Contact Us
    • Stay up to date! >
      • Meeting Minutes
    • Need Help?
  • Events
    • Events
    • Calendar

How Furnace Brook is Blessing Pittsford

1/31/2018

0 Comments

 
Village Farm Meeting Flyer
File Size: 920 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

                                 The Town of Pittsford, Vermont, is one of our two locations, and we love Pittsford.  

​Furnace Brook Loves Pittsford, Vermont

We love living here, eating here, shopping here, and, of course, worshiping here. It's a good town and it's been a blessing to us.

So it's no surprise that we are eager to be a blessing to our town. We can not achieve our mission of making more and better disciples without loving the town in which we are located. 

           "And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased".- Hebrews 13:16 

A little over a year ago we were giving some serious consideration to purchasing the farm across the road from Kamuda's Market and building a church building there that would be our own. Admittedly, much of the appeal for Pastor Joel had to do with working in even greater proximity to Kamuda's amazing deli. But in the end God directed us to pursue a longer term lease for our current location and, as things turn out, we're awfully glad He did.

Forrest Farm 
Since then the property, known locally as the Forrest Farm, was purchased by a local couple, the Bairds, who have a desire to see the property used for the benefit of the town. A couple of weeks ago the Village Farm Working Group had a public meeting at Lothrop Elementary to help community members brainstorm about the possible uses to which the property might be put.

Furnace Brook Wesleyan was there to provide childcare for the event, and subsequent meetings of the working group have taken place at the church.

Help Us Bless the Community
And on February 8th they will be having another public meeting at Lothrop to come to some decisions about the best ideas that have been put forward. And we have been asked to, again, provide childcare as well as some light refreshments for that meeting. 

And you don't have to be a resident of Pittsford to contribute to our church's effort to bless the town in which we meet for worship. If you are open to baking some cookies or cutting some cheese or even helping to watch a few kids please let us know in the comments section or by calling the church at 483-2531.
0 Comments

Hebrews 13: Leaders and Those They Lead

1/25/2018

0 Comments

 
This Tuesday, we had the opportunity to pray and worship corporately at our Forest Dale location. The worship team, and those who attended can attest that the Holy Spirit is active and moving! With the spirit of heartfelt prayer and praise- we are excited to hear from two preachers on Sunday at the Pittsford location.
​
Sunday: Hebrews 13 with sermons on Leaders and Those They Lead. 
This week, we are going to continue our series in Hebrews 13 with sermons on Leaders and Those They Lead. 
                Hebrews 13:7 Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of                  life and imitate their faith.  13:17 Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they                        keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for                that would be of no benefit to you.
Picture
Preaching at 9:00 in Pittsford and at 11:00 in Forest Dale will be Rev. Barry Tate, Pastor Tate's father. Rev. Tate pastored churches in Massachusetts, New Mexico, and Maryland before moving to Vermont where he has provided occasional preaching at many local churches. 
He brings a wealth of biblical insight, years of pastoral experience, and (regrettably) a deep repository of embarrassing stories about your pastor. And while he is unlikely to share those stories with you on Sunday morning, you are certainly going to hear the word of God spoken with clarity and conviction.

Picture

Scott Burchfield will be preaching at the 11:00 service in Pittsford where you will notice a couple of things about him right away: he's got a wonderful Southern accent (North Carolina), he's a big man, and he loves God's word with passionate intensity. Scott has, most recently served at Mission City Church where he was the pastor in charge of visitation, a role in which he excels. Expect to hear a sermon from the heart, in which a godly man will show you not only what to think about God's word, but how to feel about it and how to respond to it.

Where is Pastor Tate?
Pastor Tate will be out of town this weekend, attending District Ministerial along with colleagues from across the Northeast District of the Wesleyan Church, along with pastors from the Penn-Jersey District, the district we are looking to merge with this year. ​It will be a good opportunity for Joel to network with other pastors and to get spiritually refreshed for the work that God has called him to do here in Vermont. In his absence, we are blessed to worship alongside ​

0 Comments

An Evening of Prayer and Worship Q & A

1/17/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture

Join us for a Prayer & Worship service on
Tuesday, January 23rd, 7pm at our campus in Forest Dale

What is a prayer and worship service?
In Romans chapter twelve, Paul outlines the marks of a Christian and amidst so many beautiful and Christ-like things, he says this: “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” (v.12)
Hope... we have hope in Christ’s redeeming work on the cross. Rejoice, people of God! Patience... tribulation will come, and we ask of the Lord for patience in the duration as He works all things for our good. Constant, and unwavering in prayer... we are living in the new covenant: the veil has been torn and we can come before our Creator in ceaseless prayer. What a gift; what a privilege.
Dear Church, simply put, a prayer and worship service is our coming together to practice what Paul has said we ought to be doing as believers. Scripture tells us many times and in many ways to be a people that pray! That is broad answer for why we would have such a service, but if you would, allow me to offer a few specifics in the hope you’ll find encouragement and inspiration to join us in this venture.

Why prayer?
​Since the first church in Acts, group prayer has been vital. As the church in Acts began to carry out the Great Commission, they needed the strength, encouragement, and unity that comes from praying together. We need these things today just as much and more!

Our heart at Furnace Brook is to see our reach extended into every zip code in Rutland County—there are so many unchurched out there; so many who don’t know the One who made them and loves them. While we labor, we invite the laborers—you, and me!—to find rest, peace, and strength in the hearing of the Word; to be encouraged and unified as we lift one another’s burdens to the Lord together; and to seek the Lord’s will for us: individually and corporately.

Why worship?
In a service devoted to the lifting of prayers and petitions to the Lord, we add songs of praise, reflection, thanksgiving, and hope. I’ve heard it said that songs of worship are simply prayers said to a beat. Just as we often find ourselves making another’s words our own when offering an “Amen” to a corporate prayer, we can offer the lyrics of a song sung in unison as a corporate prayer to the Lord.

Why me?
As His created, our purpose is to glorify God with our being. As part of the body of Christ, you are as vital as the next person. We are commanded to pray for and encourage one another. We have been given the charge to spread the name and Hope of Christ to all and to grow in our faith and love. That is a high and challenging calling; we ought to bring before the Lord our difficulties, struggles, plans, and dreams. We want to seek God’s will for ourselves, for our church, for our impact on our communities. It’s our duty and our privilege to do this together!

​The following topics will be a focus of our evening together. Please feel free to ponder them and begin praying before and after we gather together. We hope to see you there!
  • Our witness in places we live, work, and learn
  • Boldness to evangelize in our conversations
  • Fertile soil in the hearts of the unchurched
  • Increased affections in our hearts for His cause
  • Strength and courage for our spiritual leaders
  • Revival in Forest Dale, Brandon, Pittsford, and Rutland
This guest post is written by Stephanie Rue who serves along side her husband, Frank, as worship leaders here at Furnace Brook Wesleyan Church.
0 Comments

January's Grab Bag of Suggestions

1/12/2018

0 Comments

 
From time to time we want to give you some suggestions from the pastoral staff at Furnace Brook about resources and ideas that you may find helpful. There is, of course, the risk that these suggestions may end up diminishing your esteem for those making them, but that's a risk we are willing to take.
Picture
1. Music - Page CXVI
Check out Page CXVI. Despite having one of our least favorite band names, Page CXVI does a better job of breathing new life into old hymns than anyone else out there. Fronted by Latifah Phillips, Page CXVI's music is as spiritually deep as it is musically fresh. Of particular interest, as we head toward Lent and Easter, are their two albums, "Lent through Maundy Thursday," and "Good Friday through Easter."

Picture
2. Twitter - Hannah Anderson
Follow Hannah Anderson (@sometimesalight). Wife of a pastor in rural Appalachia and author of the wonderful little book, Humble Roots, Hannah Anderson is a refreshing voice on twitter. Her contributions range from charming anecdote to challenging thread and she is someone who makes you think while making you smile.

3. Breakfast - The Bakery Annex
There are a lot of great places to go for breakfast in our area, but we'd like to draw your attention to the Bakery Annex in Rutland. You can get to it through The Bakery on West Street or its own entrance around the corner. And with "Annex" in the name you know it's got to be good.
4. Podcast - Hidden Brain
NPR's Shankar Vedantam brings us this stimulating podcast that graciously explores what insights social science gives us into the mysteries of human behavior. There have been many times when Hidden Brain drove me back to Scripture to resolve a question it raised or when it confirmed for me truths that Scripture had already revealed. I have never listened to this podcast without learning something.
5. Book, Non-Fiction - Surrender, by Wayne Schmidt
This book has really been shaping Pastor Tate's thinking and ministry over the past six months.
6. Photo - this breathtaking landscape
Picture
7. Book, Fiction - Everything that Rises Must Converge, by Flannery O'Connor
No one else has ever approximated Flannery O'Connor's combination of deep faith and uncompromising commitment to narrative violence. No one writes like her and no one who reads her quickly forgets what she wrote.

8. Resource - Precept Austin
It does not replace every other online Bible study tool (biblegateway, blueletterbible) but it does some things so much better than any other sight that it will quickly become a go to tool for any serious Bible student.
What about you? Do you have any suggestions for books, movies, or breakfast spots to share? Put them in the comments!
0 Comments

Look for Jesus to Increase Your faith This Year

1/2/2018

1 Comment

 
Picture

This past Sunday, as a Christian family, we recited the Covenant Service Prayer together (see below for full prayer from Seedbed). The same service, in some form or another, was used in churches all around the world this past Sunday in the morning or at watch night services late in the evening. 

Whether you recited with deep enthusiasm or more out of a sense of obligation- God honors your prayers, and he is looking to increase the Holy Spirit in your life for 2018. 
​
Below are some easy ways to allow Jesus to increase your faith this year.

1) Spend Time with God  
God is looking for a relationship with you. Not deeds, not perfection. Just time with you, and communication with you. 

Take some time each day to speak with him- tell him your heart's desires, but also thank him for what you have. Confess any sins you may have committed, and ask his help to keep you from sinning. Here is an easy prayer model to start with:

AWCIPA Prayer Model (Note: Spend an equal amount of time for each letter.)
A- Admire and Thank God. 
Psalm 8:9 Thank God for everything you can think of.
W- Wait Quietly Before God. 
Psalm 46:10 Sit quietly and listen to God speak to you and write it down.
C- Confess Your Sin.
1 John 1:9, Psalm 103:12 Confess your sins to God.
I- Intercede for Others. 1 Chronicles 4:9 Pray for other people.
P- Petition for yourself. Psalm51:10-12, John 14:12-14 Ask for a pure heart. Ask for your house to sell.
A- Admire and Thank God. 
Psalm 8:9 Thank God for everything you can think of.

Listen- sit quietly and wait to hear what he has to say. Set a timer so you're not continually looking at your watch. Practice listening, and over time you will hear and understand more and more.

Read the Bible- pick a paragraph out of the Bible, and read it thoroughly. Think about what you've read, and what it means about God, and how it applies to your life. 

From the Covenant Prayer: 
Seek to perceive God’s special care for you and gracious acceptance of you. Carefully think through the words of this covenant and its conditions. Examine your heart, even if you have freely given your life to Christ. Name the sins in your life. Reflect on whether you are willing to choose Christ’s holy laws and strict commands. Be sure you are clear in all of these so you do not lie to God!

2) Uphold a serious spirit of holy awe and reverence. 
Notice in the AWCIPA prayer model (see above for more details)- that prayer is started and ended with adoration and thanks. That is thanking God for who he is- wonderful, worthy of praise and holy. And thanking him for what he's done. Thanking God daily will transform your life.

3) Claim God’s covenant. 
Consider God's Promises. There are over 3,000 promises in the Bible. Promises about God's love, God's provision, God's grace, God's redemption. Promises about who you are and how much God loves you. Read over some of God's promises. Think about what they mean about you, your future, and your relationship with God.

From the Covenant Prayer: 
Do not trust in your own strength and power but rely upon God’s promise of giving grace and strength. In this way, He will empower you to keep your promise.

4) Be determined to be faithful. 
Repent means to turn back, or turn around. Identify areas in your life you would like to change- and change them. Resolve to be more Christlike, and make a daily effort to do so.

From the Covenant Prayer: You have given your heart and life to God. You have opened your mouth to dedicate yourself to the Lord. With God’s power, never go back to your former way of living. And last, be prepared to renew your covenant with God. Fall on your knees. Lift your hands. Open your hearts.

Here is the full Covenant Service Prayer from Sunday. Take some time to review what we prayed.

Covenant Service Prayer
Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. You are the one true God who reigns forever.

Almighty God, You search our hearts and you see every part of us. All our desires are known to You, and from you no secrets are hidden. By the inspiration of Your Holy Spirit, cleanse our hearts so we may perfectly love you and glorify Your holy name. We pray this through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Dearly loved brothers and sisters, the Christian life is a life found in Christ, redeemed from sin, and consecrated to God. We are those who have entered into this life and have been admitted into the new covenant of Jesus Christ. He is the Mediator of this covenant. He sealed it with His own blood so it would last forever. On one side of this covenant stands God, who promises to give us new life in Jesus Christ, the author and perfecter of our faith.

Every day God proves His goodness and grace to us, showing us that His promise still stands firm. On the other side, we stand as those who promise to no longer live life for ourselves but instead to only live for Jesus Christ because He has loved us and given His life for us. There are times in our lives when it is important for us to remember and reaffirm our promises and vows. In this same way, we come today to renew our covenant with God. Many generations have done this before us. Today we make the covenant our own, renewing with both joy and sincerity the covenant that binds us all to God.

The Confession
We are those who seek to live as true disciples of Jesus Christ, but sometimes we fall short. Let us now examine ourselves before God, humbly confessing our sins and submitting our hearts so that we do not deceive ourselves and cut ourselves away from God. 

Father God, You have set forth the way of life through Your Son Jesus Christ, whom You love dearly. We shamefully confess that we have been slow to learn of Him and have been reluctant to follow Him. You have spoken and called to us but we have not listened. You have revealed Your beauty to us, but we have been blind. You have stretched out Your hands to us through our friends, but we have passed by them. We have accepted Your gifts and offered little thanks. We are unworthy of Your unchanging love.

We now confess to you our sins. Please forgive us for the poverty of our worship… for the selfishness of our prayers… for our inconsistency and unbelief… for the ways we neglect fellowship and Your grace… for our hesitation to tell others about Christ…. for the ways we deceive others… People:     Forgive us for when we waste time and when we misuse the gifts you have given us. Forgive us for when we have made excuses for the wrong things we have done and when we have purposefully avoided responsibility.

Forgive us that we have been unwilling to overcome evil with good and that we have not been ready to carry our cross. Forgive us that we have not allowed Your love to work through us to help others and that we have not made their suffering our own. Forgive us for those times when instead of working for unity we made it hard for others to live with us because of our lack of forgiveness, inconsiderate judgment, and quick criticism.

​Forgive us for when we have not tried to reconcile with others and when we have been slow to seek redemption. Forgive us also for these sins that we silently confess to you now. Words of Assurance and Pardon. God, the Father of all mercies, is faithful to cleanse us from our sins and restore us to Christ’s image. Praise and glory be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! Amen.

Let us gathered here before the Lord now in covenant commit ourselves to Christ as his servants. Let us give ourselves to Him so that we may fully belong to Him. Jesus Christ has left us with many services to be done. Some of these services are easy and honorable, but some are difficult and disgraceful. Some line up with our desires and interests, others are contrary to both. In some we please both Christ and ourselves, but then there are other works where we cannot please Christ except by denying ourselves. Jesus Christ, we offer You this prayer:

Let me be Your servant. Let me follow your commands. I will no longer follow my own desires. I give myself completely to your will. The power and strength to live as true servants is given to us in Christ. We accept the place and work that He gives us, acknowledging that He alone will be our reward.

I am not my own. I am Yours alone. Make me into what You will. Rank me with those You will. Put me to use for You. Put me to suffering for You. Let me be employed for You. Let me be laid aside for You. Let me be lifted high for You. Let me be brought low for You. Let me be full or let me be empty. Let me have all things or let me have nothing. With a willing heart, I freely give everything to Your pleasure and disposal.

Christ is Savior to those who are His true servants. He is the source of all salvation to those who obey. To be His servant is to consent fully to His will. Christ accepts nothing less. Christ will be all in all, or he will be nothing. Now confirm this truth in holy covenant. Make it a reality in your life in these three ways:

1) First, set apart time in your day, more than once, to be spent alone with the Lord. Seek to perceive God’s special care for you and gracious acceptance of you. Carefully think through the words of this covenant and its conditions. Examine your heart, even if you have freely given your life to Christ. Name the sins in your life. Reflect on whether you are willing to choose Christ’s holy laws and strict commands. Be sure you are clear in all of these so you do not lie to God!
2) Second, uphold a serious spirit of holy awe and reverence. 
3) Third, claim God’s covenant. 
Do not trust in your own strength and power but rely upon God’s promise of giving grace and strength. In this way, He will empower you to keep your promise.
4) Fourth, be determined to be faithful. 

You have given your heart and life to God. You have opened your mouth to dedicate yourself to the Lord. With God’s power, never go back to your former way of living. And last, be prepared to renew your covenant with God. Fall on your knees. Lift your hands. Open your hearts.

My righteous God, for the sake of Your Son Jesus Christ, see me now as I fall down before You. Forgive my unfaithfulness when I have not done your will. You promise mercy if I turn to You with my whole heart.

God requires that you rid yourself of every idol in your life.

From the bottom of my heart, I here and now renounce every idol in my life, covenanting with You that I will not commit any known sin. By turning against Your will I have turned my love toward the world. In Your power I will watch for any temptation that will lead me away from You.

Through Jesus Christ, God offers to be your God again, if you allow Him to be.

Before all heaven and earth, I here and now acknowledge You, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as my Lord and God. I vow to give all of myself, body and soul, to be Your servant and to serve You in holiness and righteousness all the days of my life.

Jesus Christ is the only way and means to God. God has given us Jesus as the way and means to salvation.

Jesus, I here and now accept You and the only new and living Way. I join myself in covenant with You. I come to You hungry, sinful, miserable, bilnd, and naked, unworthy even to wash the feet of Your servants. With all my power, I accept You as my Lord and Head. I renounce my own unworthiness, and vow that You are the Lord, my righteousness. I renounce my own wisdom and take You for my only guide. I renounce my own will and take Your will as my law.

Christ has told you that you must suffer with him.

Jesus, I here and now make this covenant with You and accept whatever comes in life. Through Your grace I promise that neither life nor death will separate me from You.

God has given holy laws as the rule of your life.

​I here and now willingly take on Your yoke and burden. All Your laws are holy, just, and good. I accept them as the rule for my words, thoughts, and actions, promising I will strive to order my whole life around your direction. I will not allow myself to neglect anything I know to be my duty.

The Almighty God searches and knows you, even the thoughts of your heart.

O God, You know that we have made this covenant today in sincerity, without deceit or reluctance. If You find anything false in us, guide us and help us to set it right. And now, glory be to You, God the Father. From this day forward, I shall look upon You as my God and Father. Glory be to You, God the Son. You have loved me and washed me from my sins in Your own blood. From this day forward, I shall look upon You as my Savior and Redeemer. Glory be to You, O God the Holy Spirit. By Your almighty power, You have turned my heart from sin to God. From this day forward I shall look upon You as my Comforter and Guide. O mighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, you have now become my Covenant Friend. And I, through Your infinite grace, have become Your covenant servant. You are mine and I am Yours. So be it. May this covenant that I have made here on earth be ratified in heaven. Amen.

May our God, who establishes covenant relationship with those who seek to enter the Kingdom, be with you always. May Jesus Christ, who seals the new covenant with his blood on the cross, bring you peace. May the Holy Spirit guide your life both now and for ever. Go in peace to serve the Lord!

1 Comment

    Furnace Brook Wesleyan Church Blog 

    Furnace Brook Wesleyan Church, Pittsford VT


    Author

    Pastor Joel Tom Tate 
    ​Leads Furnace Brook Wesleyan Church and thoroughly enjoys life in the most un-churched state in the Union.

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    September 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    February 2021
    December 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    April 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    September 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    September 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2013
    April 2013
    April 2012
    March 2012

    Categories

    All
    Belief
    Chittenden
    Church
    Doubt
    Evangelical
    Family
    Palm
    Pittsford
    Prayer
    Resurrection
    Rutland
    Sermon
    Sunday
    Thomas
    Wesleyan
    Worship

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly