“That Paul and This Paul: On Being a Minister”
1 Thess. 1:1-10, 2:3-13, 3:11-13
Rev. Paul E. Capetz
Christ Church by the Sea (United Methodist),
Newport Beach July 7, 2019

I stand before you in humility and with gratitude for the awesome responsibility entrusted to me by the bishop and his cabinet who have appointed me to be your next minister at Christ Church by the Sea. Before I commence to preach my first sermon from this pulpit, I ask you to join your hearts together with mine in prayer for my ministry and yours in this place and time:

PRAYER: Gracious God, you have established the church through Jesus Christ and called us into the ministry of the gospel. We who are assembled here seek to respond to your call to be Christians and to serve your world through the mission of this congregation. To this end, we ask that you give us faith that we may preach the gospel with integrity, intelligence that we may interpret the Bible so as to teach others, and love that we may ever appreciate the value that each one of us has in your eyes. Amen.