Let Catacomb Praise Recharge Your Week!
Each week, Pastor Mike posts a short musical and Biblical reflection called “Catacomb Praise” on Facebook. If you don’t “do Facebook” or if you missed an episode, you can now view them on our church website.
Read MorePastors Ponderings: Hope Until the Disaster Passes
In the midst of the pandemic, Pastor Jim points us to scripture to remind us of God’s promises of love and protection. This hope and encouragement also challenge us to become God’s ambassadors of “hope” to the world.
Read MorePastors Ponderings: A Word of Encouragement (3/17/20)
In the midst of the Coronavirus crisis in March 2020, Pastor Jim sent out some words of hope. All of our worries and fears are defeated by our hope in Jesus. Instead of “Don’t worry be happy,” we need to be thinking “Don’t worry, trust Jesus.”
Read MoreAh Ha! Moments (Camp Meeting, 8/4/19)
During the Camp Meeting service on 8/4/19, Rev. Bill Wilson asked us to consider what happens when we fall into a “pig pen”; when we’re trapped in a difficult situation. We may feel hopeless, but if we listen we’ll hear God calling us to “come home.” If we pay attention, God will wake us with an “Ah Ha!” moment.
Read MoreOur Beautiful Savior is Willing And Able (Camp Meeting, 8/5/18)
Oh the beauty of this Man Jesus! During his 8/5/18 Camp Meeting message, Jeff Crispin challenged us to go deeper than the snapshots of beautiful experiences. We need to trace it all beck to Jesus!
Read MoreRunning on Empty (4/8/18)
Easter is over. All of the plans, dinners, and holidays are finished. It’s time to get back to normal. But what was “Normal” for the disciples? They were totally drained. Worn out by worry and fear. Doesn’t that happen to us? Do we sometimes feel that we’re running on fumes?
Pastor Jim’s service on the 2nd Sunday in Easter 2018 shows us how Jesus fills up our tank.
Rev. Dave Bailey to Visit PUMC (9/17/17)
Think back to 1964… 53 years ago… Teenagers were in rebellion against their parents and against authority in general. They were we experimenting with drugs. They were getting in trouble with the law. They were slipping away from the moral foundation that their parents provided. 1964. How things have changed… Or have they??? In 1964, something else happened. Our Associate Pastor, Rev. Dave Baliey, left PUMC and started a ministry in Alloway, NJ (about 20 minutes...
Read MoreGod’s Miracle of Peace
Is life a puzzle? Problems, questions, fears? We all struggle with issues in our lives; they come and go in a constant barrage. Sometimes you look at the pieces of your life, and they don’t seem to fit together. Somewhere, there must be peace. Where is that “Piece” of the puzzle? And so, the Signboard Message said: IS LIFE A PUZZLE? WE HAVE THE MISSING PEACE! The good news is that God offers us True Peace. Eternal Peace. The Peace that we need, not...
Read MoreGod’s Gonna Trouble the Water on Palm Sunday! (4/9/17)
Both services on Palm Sunday will be led by our choirs, and their message will begin with the announcement that “God is gonna trouble the Water.” The services will feature a cantata called “A Journey to Hope.” So how can “trouble the water” be a picture of hope??? The Bible relates several accounts of where water was “troubled” to give hope and healing to those who had faith. Water can be many things. Water can represent nourishment, or...
Read MoreBeing Renewed Day by Day
Does life have you down? Do all of the details and to do lists bulge into an insurmountable burden; a burden that weighs you down so much that you can’t move on? A burden so heavy that you don’t even want to out of bed in the morning? But God promises us that He is always with us. His strength is always available. Like the manna provided to the Israelites on a day by day basis, God is there every morning to help you carry that burden for that day. And He’ll be there...
Read MoreThe Long and Winding Road (7/31/16)
Life is like a “Long and Winding Road.” We pass through a path of graduations, marriages, and births. But we also hit the valleys of job loss, divorce, and death. We long for something constant. On a winding mountain road, someone had been there before. The road is paved. Guardrails were installed. Someone keeps going through and maintains the road.
Is there someone like that in life? Are we traveling this road alone???
Read MoreDiggin’ Up Bones (5/1/16)
God led Ziek into a desert; into a valley filled with dust, despair, and… dead bones. How can places in life like these be turned into something vibrant and living? When we’re in the depths of discouragement, can God inject hope and energy and turn things around? You betcha!!! Click the below “Play” button and scroll down to follow along (the recording is from the 11:00 service)… The scripture was Ezekiel 37:1-10. Click the following Drop Down box to...
Read MoreWho Are You Looking For? (4/3/16)
Last week was Easter! A mountaintop! But today we’re called to move on from the mountaintop and continue in our walk with Jesus. Click the below “Play” button and scroll down to follow along (the recording is from the 11:00 service)… The scripture was John 20:11-18, but the sermon focused on verse 15. Here’s the entire passage. Click the following Drop Down box to follow along. Pastor Jim read from The Living Bible, and the New International Version...
Read MoreSleepless in Pitman (8/30/15)
Pastor Jim’s sermon on August 30 2015 took us to the book of Ruth. This book reminds us that God works invisibly and mysteriously all the time- even in the midst of tragedy and heartbreak. Click the “Play” button below to begin listening to the recording (from the 9:30 service), then scroll down and follow along… The scripture reading was from Ruth 1:1-18. Pastor Jim was reading from the Living Bible… Ruth 1 1 In the days when the judges ruled in...
Read MoreMen to Gather for Last time this Season- But It’s Not Over Yet! (6/13/15)
The Men will hold the last Saturday Gathering of the 14-15 season on June 13. We’ll meet from 7:30 AM until ~9:00 for some food, fellowship, and Bible Study. We gather in the Potter’s Hand Room which is on the balcony level behind the sanctuary. All men are welcome; just show up and surprise us! Our guest speaker will be Mike Chapman, associate pastor at Aldine UMC. Mike will be discussing Luke 8:40-56. The theme of the study will be: “It’s Not Over Yet – with Christ...
Read Morefwd: Email From God (4/5/15)
Ever get one of those emails that had been forwarded to a gazillion people? It might be yet another message with jokes or another advertisement. When these messages come, we usually hit the delete key without even considering to open them. If the message starts with the letters “fwd:”, the word “ignore” tends to pop into most of our minds. But have we experienced so many Easters that the amazing message of the Resurrection has simply dissolved into a familiar, worn...
Read MorePastor’s Ponderings: The List is Cancelled!!!
The following devotional was submitted by our pastor, Rev. Jim Bolton (11/13/14)…PLEASE READ: 1 John 1:7-9 “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” There is a story that one...
Read MoreCount Your Blessings: Meaningless Cliche or Powerful Truth?
The signboard message posted on October 25, 2014 said the following: WANT TO FEEL RICH? COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS! Probably most grown ups (and maybe even many kids), grown when they hear the phrase “Count Your Blessings!” The Sunday School song “Count your blessings name them one by one…” probably pops into mind. We’ve heard it all before. And probably when someone tries to cheer us up by suggesting blessings they start rattling off things like family,...
Read MoreE.T. Meets Michelangelo (9/7/14)
Pastor Jim’s sermon on September 7, 2014 had the strange title of “ET Meets Michelangelo.” It was based on Exodus 33:7-11a. Click the “Play” button below to start listening to the recording, scroll down and follow along. Click the “down” button below to open up the scripture… Scripture Exodus 33:7-11 7 Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the “tent of meeting.” Anyone...
Read MorePastor’s Ponderings: God is Faithful- Even in Hard Times
As a follow-up to yesterday’s services (August 17, 2014), I offer the following for our reflection. God Bless. Pastor Jim ********************************************************************* PLEASE READ: Lamentations 3:22-26 “Because of the LORD’S great love we are not consumed, for his compassion’s never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” The LORD is good to those...
Read MoreGod is Faithful (8/17/14)
Pastor Jim’s sermon on August 17 continued the series on the Attributes of God. In recent weeks we have looked at God’s Awesomeness and God’s Holiness. This week we look at God’s Faithfulness. Click on the “Play” button below to start listening to the sermon (from the 11:00 service). Scroll down to follow along. The scripture was from Lamentations 3:21-25. Click the arrow to open up the passage: Lamentations 3:16-27 16 He has broken...
Read MoreDon’t Give Up! (Camp Meeting, 8/3/14)
Don’t Give Up! On Sunday August 3, PUMC was the host church for the Pitman Camp Meeting service in the Pitman Grove Auditorium. Our Men’s praise Team provided the music and our pastor, Rev. Jim Bolton delivered the sermon. Click below to listen to a recording of the sermon and follow along by reading this post… Pastor Jim’s message was on Matthew 11:28-30. Matt 11:28-30 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke...
Read MoreWhat an Awesome God! (8/3/14)
Pastor Jim’s sermon on Sunday August 3 posed the question, “what is awesome?” We throw around that word so much that we allow it to describe almost anything. Could it be that our trivial regard of God’s True AWESOMENESS has led us to regard God in our own limited terms? Could it be that the God who created the universe is actually awesome enough to care about us? Here’s the audio recording (from the 11:00 service). You can listen to the sermon while following...
Read MoreA Road Trip to Heaven (7/27/14)
What’s heaven like? Pastor Jim’s sermon on July 27 took us into the book of Revelation to take a look at the New Jerusalem as described in Revelation 21:8 – 22:5. The title of his message was, “A Road Trip to Heaven.” Scroll down to the bottom of this post to access the audio recording… Here’s the scripture passage (Revelation 21:8 – 22:5)… Click here to learn more 18 The wall was made of jasper, and the city was pure gold, as clear as...
Read MoreGrace Rains Down
“Don’t Put Up Umbrellas When Grace Rains Down” What is Grace? How’s it Rain Down??? Grace is when we get something that we don’t deserve. Mercy is when we DON’T get something that we DO deserve. Genesis chapter 3 tells us that there’s something messed up within humankind that makes us want to love ourselves more than God. Somehow wired within us is this pride that makes us want to try to get along without God, or even to think that we could do a...
Read MoreChoirs to Lead Services on June 22 (6/22/14)
The choirs and praise team will lead both services on June 22. Using music, narration, and the Word, the choirs will lead us through a journey celebrating our church’s heritage and history. But more than a look into the past, we will celebrate how God has always been faithful to us. As written in the letter to the Hebrews, we are surrounded by a “great cloud of witnesses.” As we enter this transition period between pastors, we will look to the past so we can...
Read MoreIt is Well with My Soul!
It Is Belle With My Soul! During the worship services on Sunday May 18, the Alleluia Bell choir played an arrangement of the hymn “It is Well with My Soul.” The musical arrangement was was difficult to play but it was also very engaging. It incorporated many moving parts on top of the melody, and obviously took the Bell Choir many nights of rehearsal in order to play this piece. “Saved Alone… What Shall I Do?” This hymn was written by Horatio Spafford in 1873. ...
Read MoreNew Life for the South Seaville United Methodist Church
One June 10, 2011, fire destroyed the South Seaville United Methodist church’s building. But after a period of transition, their new building is nearing completion. At PUMC we can identify with this story; our building burned down in 2003, and we moved into our current building in 2007. But as our pastor said during the night of the fire, “Our building may be burning down, but my church is standing behind me.” (or words to that effect…) A church is not a building;...
Read MorePUMC Members Raise Awareness of Autism (4/27/14)
PUMC members John and Heidi Hoenge were both athletic growing up, and so when their son was born they expected that he would in some way excel in sports. But, their thinking was too small. God had plans that were bigger than football or basketball; their son was born with autism. April is National Autism Awareness month, and the Hoenges shared their story during the service on April 27. They reminded the congregation that we are all part of the big jigsaw puzzle of God’s creation. ...
Read MoreUrban Promise Shares Trek with PUMC (4/27/14)
Experiencing God’s Creation beyond the Asphalt Jungle… On Sunday April 27, Jim Cummings and Jeff VanderKuip visited PUMC to give us an update on how God is working through them to minister to the needs of the youth in inner city Camden. Jim is the director of Experiential Learning at Urban Promise, and Jeff leads the Urban BoatWorks program where kids learn how to build wooden boats (and to have the courage to put them on the river and to ride in the boats they built!). Back in...
Read MoreJesus Faced Down Death! (4/20/14)
Google can answer everything! Want to know how long a twinkie will last? Google it! Want to know whether it’s called Duct Tape or Duck Tape? Google it! But if you want to know anything about death and where someone goes when they die, you’ll get a 404 error- answer not found! But Google is actually trying to do something about that… what can we do to extend life and maybe even eliminate death itself? A 2013 article in Time Magazine reports that Google is working on a...
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