Gift Given ♥ Gift Received ♥ Gift Given The Christmas message speaks of the gift that has been given through the birth of a Savior and ask if it has received and opened? Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal lord and savior living a life reflective of his life? Has the church accepted the teachings and revelations of Jesus Christ and allowed it to lead its work and ministry? Have we received and opened the gift of Christmas?…
Isaiah 9:6-7 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the Increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever….
The end of another growing season is coming to an end and Harvest is underway. When we speak of harvest we think of Farmers who collect the mature crops that they have planted and toiled over for months. Well just like farmers we all have planted something, like a job, a relationship, or a hobby and toiled over it in hopes that it would mature and bring about good things. The same is so in our spiritual lives, that we…
The Rev. Scott Hibben wrote an article a few years back that asked the question of whether or not we expect guest in our church. He talked about when one expects guest they do things differently. They spruce up the house making sure everything is just right. They may even purchase new things to replace old things but at the very least they will vacuum and dust and shove things into closets all to make things look nice and feel…
In August I preached about unity in relation to my opinion on how we as a United Methodist Church move forward through our disagreements regarding the current polity of the church’s view and stance on homosexuality. There is a great deal of consideration for splitting the denomination so it was good to hear from the letter of Ephesians that we are called to accept each other with love and make an effort to preserve the unity of the Spirit with…
In July I celebrated two years as your pastor! (How time files!) The first year I just began settling into my new ministry setting. Getting use to a new routine and worship service. I spent hours working on power point slides for worship which was brand new and very exciting to me. The second year I focused on getting to know the people of God a little more by spending time and having conversations. Lunch with the Pastor and Table…
June 24, 2018 2018 Annual Conference Report Theme: Creating Difference Makers in New Communities of Faith I was honored to be the Stuart Mt. Vernon United Methodist delegate to annual conference this year. I am pleased to report that the proposed budget for 2019 year is down $505,925 AND “ending net assets” continue to increase. Over the past few years we have had some honest attempts to critically analyze the work of the church and to budget…
June Pastor’s Pen As we enter in this season of Pentecost, the birth and life of the church by the power of the Holy Spirit, I am ever so mindful of the words that Jesus left with us, ”lo, I will be with you always!” What wonderful comforting and assuring words from our Savior. To know that Jesus will always be with us through the good and the bad, the happy and the sad, but more importantly in this world…
Someone sent this to me in an email and it changed me: A young lady named Sally relates an experience she had in a seminary class, given by her teacher, Dr. Smith. She says that Dr. Smith was known for his elaborate object lessons. One particular day, Sally walked into the seminary and knew they were in for a fun day. On the wall was a big target and on a nearby table were many darts. Dr. Smith told…
I do not know the author of this poem but I thought it was creative. Enjoy and be blessed! THE U IN JESUS Before U were thought of or time had begun, God stuck U in the name of His Son. And each time U pray, you’ll see it’s true, you can’t spell out JesUs and not include U. You’re a pretty big part of His wonderful name, for U, He was born; that’s why He came. And His great…