Ice cream, cookies, snacks, fellowship, and entertainment were enjoyed by all who made it to the Annual Ice Cream Social on Sunday night. This event is sponsored by the UMW. The Quilters displayed the antique quilt top recently quilted into a beautiful quilt which is being raffled off the last day in September. Entertainment was provided by Beth and Warren Smith and included a sing-a-long by the Ice Cream Social Singers.
Faith Builders is ministry of First United Methodist Church that endeavors to provide maintenance services to homeowners in our community that need assistance. This ministry,which was started in the spring of this year, is planning a workday for October 17.
A meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 9 at 6:30 pm to coordinate and plan the workday. The preparation work involves identifying projects, meeting with clients, planning for tools and equipment, collecting needed supplies and materials, and recruiting people for work team, refreshment/lunch preparation, publicity, photos, and communication activities. Everyone can participate in one way or the other.
Anyone interested in learning more or participating in some way, however limited, is encouraged to attend the September 9 meeting. This ministry is a “hands on” way of providing service to others and is a component of the practice of “Risk-taking Mission and Service” described in the Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations study that we conducted early this year.
This is a story by Ed Rowell: One day a bus driver was driving along his usual route when a bulk of a man got on. He was 6 ft. 8 built like a wrestler,, and his arms hung to the ground. He glared at the driver and told him, “Big John doesn’t pay!” Then he sat at the back of the bus.The driver was 5ft. 3, thin and very meek, so he didn’t argue with BIg John. But he wasn’t happy.
The next day, the same thing happened, and the next. The bus driver began to lose sleep over the way Big John was taking advantage of him. Finally he couldn’t take it any longer.
He signed up for bodybuilding, karate, judo, and self esteem classes. By the end of the summer, the bus driver had become stronger and more confident. So Big John entered the bus and again declared, “Big John doesn’t pay!” The driver finally took him on. He stood up, glared at Bid John and bellowed, “And why not?”
With a surprised look on his face, Big John replied, “Big John has a bus pass.”
The truth is that we all over react and assume too much at times. We make bigger problems out of little ones and we spend far too much time, money and energy preparing for eventualities that may not need that much attention.
So the next time you are faced with a Big John, start off by asking a simple question or two. It might just turn out that they may have a pass. Matthew:5:14 “You are the light of the world.”
Peace and Grace. Reed.
“Do you love Jesus? Do you remember a time when you did? Do you remember when the thought of Jesus provoked an emotional, fervent response in your heart? Do you remember how you plunged into service, thrilled to think you could do something for the Savior Who had done so much for you? But as time has passed, has your busyness become weariness? And has the fire in your heart flickered and died down, even as you have hurried to serve Him in a multitude of ways? Then its time to re-ignite the fire once again!” What you need is a trip on Friday evening and all day Saturday, September 11th and 12th to a Women’s Conference led by Anne Graham Lotz at the Ferrell Center on the campus of Baylor University in Waco, Texas! Come and join us as a group of women hops onto the church van and rides down to Waco to the Cracker Barrell for eats and on to the Ferrell Center for the Conference, back home on Friday night, then hops on the van again for the Conference on Saturday. Yes, it is true that the Conference is geared towards women, but they tell me that men are definitely invited too! So, anyone who wants to go with us please sign up on the sign-up sheet which will be available by the coffee nook right outside the sanctuary. The van will only be able to carry about thirteen adults so be sure and sign up early. Brochures are also available by the sign-up sheet and scattered in different areas of the church. Please feel free to take them! I, Nanette Wyatt, will be driving the van both days. Friday evening, September 11th, the van will be leaving from the church parking lot at 4:30 p.m. to get to the Cracker Barrell for supper and then on to the Ferrell Center. We should be returning home around 10:30 or 11:00 p.m. The van will then be leaving from the chuch parking lot on Saturday morning at 7:30 a.m. in order to arrive at the Conference before 8:30. We will be returning home around 6:00 or 6:30 p.m. Please come and join us for food, fun, fellowship and a wonderfully awesome, life-changing experience!
This week we will bring up four more books, 1st. and 2nd. Samuel and 1st. and 2nd. Kings. Now, remember if you can, read all the material but if you can’t, we will be going back through dealing with each book more in depth.
We are not sure who wrote the books of Samuel. The books deal with the birth of Samuel and his ascension to becoming a prophet. Let me describe the work and role of a prophet. A prophet was not a predictor of the future. They were not like those physic readers you see along the road. Most of the time they dealt with the conditions of things at the time. The prophet had two roles. The first was to take the word of God and explain or share it with the people. The second was to take the word of the people and share it with God.
The result was that they usually weren’t real popular. I mean imagine going to the people and saying “God is displeased and you are all going to lose everything unless you change your evil ways.” Naturally, this meant that some of the folks were ticked. However, when the people complained, the prophet went to God and said in essence, “God, the folks are pleased and I think they may have a point.” Can you imagine telling God He may have been just a unfair?
So, as we read up on the prophets, remember their very special roles.
Samuel was one of the prophets. We have several and they are usually broken down into two groups: The minor prophets and the major prophets. An example of a minor prophet would be Zephaniah and a major prophet would be Isaiah. Now, a word of caution: they are not minor or major due to what they had to say but how much material we have to go on. In other words, just how wordy were they.
Back to Samuel with another note: anytime you hear a word in the Bible that ends with el, this was a notation of God. One name given to God was Elohim. So Samuel basically means, “Sam of God.” Whether or not we place Samuel in the major prophets or minor prophets range simples depends on whether or not you want to take both books as one or two separate books. But his importance is stunning.
Up until now, the nation of Israel was to be unlike any other. They were to have no rulers except God. They devised a system of elected leaders called judges. After Samuel’s birth and as he entered his calling by God, the people basically went and said, “We want to be like every other nation. We want a king.”
Samuel goes to God and God grants the wish. So, we find that during the books, the first king of Israel is found and established. King Saul is chosen and becomes king. However, mush to everyone’s surprise, he turns out to be just a little less than perfect. So later on, Samuel anoints David. Saul, of course doesn’t take this all to well but since it was God’s decision, eventually, Saul loses and David becomes king. In other words, you may think you are in control but ultimately it is God.
Fast forward several centuries and you run across 1st. and 2nd. Kings. There is a lost of thought that the books were compiled by Jeremiah taken from a lot of sources. What the books out line is the rise and fall of several kings and their human failings along the way.
While, it is true that during the lives of the kings, several of them really did quite well. Solomon, David’s son, brought power, wealth and prestige to the nation. A great temple was constructed and no cost was spared. Jerusalem became the shining city on the hill. However, there is trouble on the horizon.
Towards the end of the first book. Solomon has a tragic end and the subsequent kings were not a capable nor wise. City after city in the south was lost until the southern half of the kingdom was conquered. After a series of weak rulers, there was finally a peace with Ahab bringing back both a stronger ruler but more importantly a return to a religious nation that they were supposed to be.
A new era came upon Israel, they were unlike any nation but then they became like every nation. The result was the seeds were planted that would make them eventually not even a nation until God decided it was time. The foundations of the struggles in the middle east were now rooted
Our weekly fellowship meal, Terrific Nights Together (TNT), will begin for the fall season on Wednesday night, September 9. We meet at 5:30 for a delicious meal prepared by Cathy Justus and her talented team. It is a time to relax, meet new friends, reconnect with old friends, and enjoy an evening without cooking! Please join us for this enjoyable event (and invite your friends)!
Crank up your ice cream freezers, purchase your favorite flavor, or bake your favorite dessert for the annual Ice Cream Social on August 30. We’ll even take sandwiches or other snacks for this fun, end-of-summer event. This year the youth plan to provide and/or sponsor some entertainment in the form of a talent show. Please join us at 6 p.m. on Sunday evening, August 30.
“Opportunity is what America is all about. Education is the key to opportunity.” President G. H. W. Bush. A truer statement may never have been made.
As a nation and a society, we offer opportunity to all who desire to make a better life and a better world for themselves and others. The key to all of that is education. I was thinking about all of our teachers beginning the new year and our kids about to start their classes.
I can remember a lot of teachers in my days of attending school. One in particular stands out as I write this. It was a high school civics class in El Cajon California on a November day. As an announcement came over the loud speaker notifying us that President Kennedy had just been assassinated, I looked up at the wall behind him at the picture of the President and my teacher embracing one another. My teacher was a member of the White House staff prior to coming to our school. Then I looked at my teacher as he stood crying for the friend he had just lost.
It was the best year I ever had learning about our country and government. You see, it is not just about readin’, ritin’, and rithmatic. It is about caring, sharing and where lessons of life are also learned. It is about a rather grizzly old teacher can talk to eager minds about our great nation about a president who was years younger than himself and yet in private could call him Jack.
To all of our teachers, God bless. May you teach more than mere facts. May you teach about opportunities. To our students, may you learn much. It will open doors that will make all the wonders of America available to you.
Peace and grace. Reed.
I sure missed last week and I hope you had time to do all the reading. I think that as you get into the reading of the Bible, you will find that while you may not get it all right away, the Scriptures will open up as you proceed. Trust me, every time I read a chapter, no matter how many times I have read it in the past, I find something new. So just read and enjoy. There may be too much material between sessions, read as you can. Don’t forget, we will come back through at least once or twice.
The second part in our Bible study will take up Joshua, Judges and Ruth.
The book of Joshua deals with the central character of Joshua. While there is disagreement as to whom wrote the book, many scholars place the book at the time that the Israelites are crossing the
The book itself is divided into two parts. The first part is chapter 1-12 and the second is 13-24. The first part deals with conquering the land in a military campaign first in the center of the country and then the north and south. It centers on the preparation for war, the
The second major section deals with dividing up the territories among the 12 tribes of
The main purpose of the book is to prove the power of God to a faithful people. It is the fulfillment of God’s promise to the Israelites to be a great people and to reside in the land of milk and honey.
Judges deals with the nation of
The problem was that while they had conquered the Canaanites, they took up many of their practices and were becoming pagans as a result. It was an issue of getting along to get along. Many of the practices sounds far too much like today’s world, “Everyone else is doing it!’
The judges were elected and served as both military leaders, administrative leaders and often served some religious capacities. Interestingly, the judges were not always men. Yes, ladies, the Israelites elected women to lead them. We will talk about that when we come back later for a more in depth study. The purpose was to have the Judges bring the people back to God and the ways of the Lord.
Ruth will be a different book than any you have read so far. It is a short love story between Ruth, her mother in law, Naomi and Boaz. It only takes up about four pages so it is a short read. Go ahead and read the whole thing.
I will mention only two interesting facts about the book. Later we will discuss it in detail. Here are the two facts: First, it never mentions God. Second, Ruth becomes a grandmother of King David who by linage is a great great great etc. grandfather of…Jesus. In other words, Ruth is a part of the family of Jesus.
Hope that sparks your interest.
Reed is on vacation this week so there won’t be a new bible study posted. That’s okay though, it just gives us all extra time to catch up with the bible study from last week!