First United Methodist Church

Service Times

9am Contemporary | 11am Traditional

Rise, Together Prayers (October 20-24)

We have officially begun our Rise, Together journey! Over the weeks ahead, we’ll reflect on what it means to deepen community, neighbor well, and steward the legacy God has entrusted to us.

As part of this season, we invite you to join a daily rhythm of prayer. Simple prompts to help us pause, seek God’s presence, and lift our community in faith together.

Text “RISE” to 407-634-1703 to receive a text of these prayers each morning.

Monday, October 20

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1

God, increase our faith today. Remind us that You are worthy of our trust. When doubts creep in, help us cling to Your promises. May our community rise together in bold belief that You are working in ways we cannot yet see. Root our confidence not in circumstances, but in who You are. Amen.

Tuesday, October 21

“For we live by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7

Lord, help us walk by faith and not by sight. In moments of uncertainty, remind us that Your ways are higher. Build our trust in the unseen work You are doing among us. Strengthen our resolve to follow wherever You lead. May we journey forward together, eyes fixed on You. Amen.

Wednesday, October 22

“Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.” Romans 10:17

Father, grow generosity in our hearts today. Teach us to give joyfully—not out of guilt, but from gratitude. Free us from the lie of scarcity. Let our shared resources be multiplied for eternal impact. Use every act of generosity to transform hearts, families, and communities. We give because You gave first. Amen.

Thursday, October 23

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer… And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” Acts 2:42-47

God, break every chain of materialism and self-reliance that holds us back. Teach us the joy of sacrificial giving. May our open hands reflect our open hearts. Let us release what cannot last in order to embrace what lasts forever. Use our sacrifice as a seed for revival. Amen.

Friday, October 24

“For just as each of us has one body with many members… so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” Romans 12:4-5

Lord, we give not to impress others but to honor You. Make our giving an act of worship—an expression of love, not obligation. Help us trust You with our first and best, believing You are our ultimate provider. May our church reflect the generous heart of its Savior. Amen.

Rise, Together Prayers (October 13-17)

We have officially begun our Rise, Together journey! Over the weeks ahead, we’ll reflect on what it means to deepen community, neighbor well, and steward the legacy God has entrusted to us.

As part of this season, we invite you to join a daily rhythm of prayer. Simple prompts to help us pause, seek God’s presence, and lift our community in faith together.

Text “RISE” to 407-634-1703 to receive a text of these prayers each morning.

Monday, October 13

“He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church… so that in everything he might have the supremacy.” Colossians 1:17-18

Lord Jesus, today we declare You as the foundation of all we do. Help us to build our lives, relationships, and dreams on Your Word and truth. Teach us to trust You above all else, especially when the world offers shaky alternatives. May our unity be grounded in Your unshakable Lordship. Lead us to rise together, rooted in You. Amen.

Tuesday, October 14

“Then he said to them all: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.'” Luke 9:23

God, we lay down our need for control and comfort today. Teach us to surrender—fully and daily—to Your Lordship. Help us walk in obedience even when we don’t fully understand. Use our willingness to submit as a catalyst for deeper unity and greater purpose. May Your will be done in us, through us, and around us. Amen.

Wednesday, October 15

“Therefore, I urge you… in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” Romans 12:1

Father, so often we want to follow You on our terms. But today, we choose obedience over preference. Align our hearts with Yours. Help us to put aside selfishness, pride, and fear so we may walk in step with Your Spirit. Let our obedience inspire others to follow. Make us a people united by devotion to You. Amen.

Thursday, October 16

“Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock… it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.” Matthew 7:24-25

Jesus, You are the solid rock beneath our feet. When life gets overwhelming, anchor us in Your Word and Your presence. Let every storm refine rather than ruin. Build our homes, church, and mission on the foundation of Your faithfulness. May we stand firm—individually and together—because we are grounded in You. Amen.

Friday, October 17

“For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 3:11

Christ, You are before all things, and in You all things hold together. Keep us centered on You, not distracted by preferences or personalities. Let our unity be a reflection of Your divine harmony. Remind us daily that the Church is Yours. Teach us to follow You togetheras one body, one mission, one heart. Amen.

Devotion: Rise, Together Starts Sunday!

Rooted in Ephesians 4:1–7, 11–16

This Sunday, we begin Rise Together, a new season in the life of our church. It’s more than a campaign; it’s a calling to move forward together in faith, unity, and love. Before continuing with this devotional and in preparation for Pastor Rachels’ sermon on Sunday, please read Ephesians 4 now.

We begin with these words from Ephesians 4, where Paul urges the church in Ephesus to “live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” He was writing to a diverse, often divided community. Ephesus was a bustling, multicultural city. The early church was made up of Jews and Gentiles, people from different backgrounds, cultures, and convictions. Unity wasn’t easy. It took effort. It still does.

Paul goes on to say, “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”

Every effort.

Not to create uniformity. Not to erase differences. But to remember that we belong to one another in Christ. We are called to something deeper than agreement, we are called to love one another.

As Rise Together begins, we recognize that we are not all the same. We come from different life experiences. We have different passions, perspectives, and resources. Some of us go to the contemporary service and some of us attend the traditional service. Some focus on a certain Bible Study class while others focus on a mission or ministry of the church. And yet, we are one body.

This campaign is about more than raising financial commitments. It’s about rising in our calling to be the Church: a community of grace, generosity, and growth. A people rooted in love, joined and held together, building one another up.

This Sunday, is going to be a very special Sunday and we hope you will make “every effort” to be in Worship with us. We invite you to come ready. Ready to listen. Ready to hope. Ready to rise.

Let’s pray:
God of unity and grace, prepare our hearts as we enter this new season. Teach us how to grow together in love. Let our giving be generous, our spirits be open, and our eyes fixed on Christ, who is building us into one body. Amen.

Reflection Questions: What stands out to you from Ephesians 4? Where do you see signs of “unity in diversity” in our church?

Devotion: This Is Our Legacy

In this season of life, I have watched as my hard-working parents retire after many faithful years of service. My mom retired almost 10 years ago from teaching in the Public School classroom and I am so proud of all of the lives she has influenced and shaped over her 42 years in education. In preparation for her retirement, my sisters and I got the class lists from almost 40 years of teaching and wrote each of the names of the students she had taught on a colorful slip of paper and one by one, we stapled them into a paper chain. We used that to decorate our church fellowship hall when we had her surprise retirement party years ago. Now my sisters and I are trying something similar for my dad. You may or may not know that my dad has been an architect for almost 50 years and he owns and runs his own architecture firm in Daytona Beach. My sisters and I are working on a final project that would feature over his 300 projects from his career to again celebrate his work as he nears his retirement later this year.

I started thinking about all of this over the last few days as I thought about Legacy. I spend some time talking about and encouraging a well-lived Legacy as I have assumed the Chair at Residing Hope (formerly known as the Florida United Methodist Children’s Home) and at those Director Meetings, we talk a lot about leaving a lasting legacy. For instance, we ask the Board, what kind of Legacy do we want to leave for the youth that come through our gate? How do we want to help transform the lives of the families who benefit from the care, counseling, therapy and spiritual life at Residing Hope? What kind of legacy will we leave?

As followers of Jesus, we aren’t often encouraged to think about getting recognized or having our names placed on plagues or a scholarship fund, but, bolstered by humility, we are asked by Jesus, over and over again to point people back to God. As a person who is with Jesus, becoming like Jesus and helping others to know Him, our biggest legacy will be loving God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength and loving our neighbor as we love ourselves. This is our Legacy. But what does that look like in action? What does a lived legacy of loving God and neighbor look like in today’s world?

Sometimes, leaving a legacy is offering a place of grace and safety for those that aren’t comfortable anywhere else. Maybe you have been called to hold sacred space for individuals that have been shunned or misguided by organized religion; who need a safe space to belong and to be loved. Maybe you have been called to leave a legacy of service to the world through justice and mercy, through feeding hunger bellies or empowering hungry minds. Maybe you have been called to leave a legacy with your wisdom as you shepherd new parents or marriages in conflict. It could be that you are called to love the youth, tutor students, protect refugees, feed the homeless or fight for more equal legislation. Or it could be that you have been called to leave a legacy of bettering our community and equipping it for changing times.

I share all of this because we are beginning our Capital Campaign as you know and you will be hearing about Legacy a lot over these next few weeks. I wanted to start the conversation to say that many of you have already begun to leave your legacy and it is holy and it is good. Not all legacy is connected to money, so much of it is connected to our relationships. I invite you and your family to talk through how you have already begun to leave a legacy for people in the name of Jesus here in Central Florida and then invite the Holy Spirit to show you how that Legacy can grow and expand through generosity in ways you may have not even yet acknowledged. As one of your pastors, I know what a generous church this is in spirit and in means and I look forward to seeing how we will work together to help others come to know and love Jesus Christ through the legacies we build on now as one body.