Mark 11:1-11
Scripture for April 5
We love parties, don’t we? Birthday parties, anniversary parties, welcome spring parties are so much fun. We love to celebrate important occasions like weddings, graduations and new babies. We also celebrate occasions when we say “yes” to God with baptisms and Confirmation (when a youth confirms his or her faith). Celebrations give us a time to think about the importance of the event and to feel the joy.
Over 2,000 years ago there was a time of celebration when Jesus came to Jerusalem. His ministry had affected so many people through His preaching, teaching and healing. They knew He really was God’s Son. So when He came into Jerusalem, the people lined the streets for the holy parade. They cheered, waved palm branches and shouted “Hosanna.” Can’t you just see Jesus waving and smiling at the crowd of people? Or was He thinking what might be ahead of Him later in the week?
We will come together this Sunday and our children will be part of the holy parade as they wave palm branches just like the people did 2000 years ago. We, too, will be part of the celebration as we begin Holy Week. We will celebrate Jesus’ ministry on earth and share how He continues to touch our lives today as we end our 40 Days of Community study. We will also share how we offered Christ to our corner of the world during the Mission Blitz ’09 and how Christ was offered to us…
Prayer
Let’s celebrate, God, because You do such the great things for us. May we always remember to celebrate You. Amen.
3/26/09
The Journey
Leviticus 23:3
Scripture for March 29
The countdown has begun. Are you EXCITED? There are only 5 days until Mission Blitz ’09. There will be hundreds of us in the Bootheel reaching out to others with radical hospitality. We will surprise some folks and probably confuse others as they wonder why we are doing all of this. Why? Because we serve a mighty, grace giving, radical God. When we come together on Saturday, we will be worshiping our God with our hands and hearts. Worshiping God is not only on Sundays, we are to worship God in everything we do, seven days a week. And Sunday is when we come together to praise God, to be filled with even more of God to take into our corner of the world the other six days of the week. Why? Because we were created to be in community—to laugh, to cry, to praise and to give thanks to the One who holds us tenderly and will never let us go. On Saturday, let’s show the smile of God to each person we meet, the voice of God as we say hello and really mean it and the heart of God as we share God’s love…
Prayer
O God, may the light of Christ Jesus shine through us every day of the week as we worship you in all we do. Amen.
Scripture for March 29
The countdown has begun. Are you EXCITED? There are only 5 days until Mission Blitz ’09. There will be hundreds of us in the Bootheel reaching out to others with radical hospitality. We will surprise some folks and probably confuse others as they wonder why we are doing all of this. Why? Because we serve a mighty, grace giving, radical God. When we come together on Saturday, we will be worshiping our God with our hands and hearts. Worshiping God is not only on Sundays, we are to worship God in everything we do, seven days a week. And Sunday is when we come together to praise God, to be filled with even more of God to take into our corner of the world the other six days of the week. Why? Because we were created to be in community—to laugh, to cry, to praise and to give thanks to the One who holds us tenderly and will never let us go. On Saturday, let’s show the smile of God to each person we meet, the voice of God as we say hello and really mean it and the heart of God as we share God’s love…
Prayer
O God, may the light of Christ Jesus shine through us every day of the week as we worship you in all we do. Amen.
3/17/09
A Light in the Window
A Light in the Window
Susan Hoyle, pastor Trinity UMC
Christ Jesus tells us that the greatest commandment is to love God with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength. The second is to love your neighbor as yourself. (Mark 12:29-31) These are powerful words that give us a Godly direction for our lives. But these commandments aren’t always easy to live out in our lives. How do we really love God with all of our being? Who is our neighbor? God doesn’t really mean for us to love everyone, surely? That’s just too difficult for us. Yes, it can be difficult, especially those folks who get on our last nerve or who are so different than us. But does that mean we don’t try? Does that mean we just say, “sorry, God, too hard.” I don’t think so.
God sent us Jesus to show us that love is a choice and we live out that love in action. Love is more than feelings in our hearts; love is a decision we make with our minds. We often put people in two categories; those we love or who we think are lovable and those we don’t love or who we think are unlovable. But Jesus shows us a new way to love. Jesus loved people right where he met them, right where they were in life, even if the world thought them unlovable, even if they lived far from God, even if they did things no one understood. And Jesus loved them in to the kingdom. Again, we can say, “that’s just too hard for us, we’re not God and we’re not Jesus.” It’s true, we’re not, but does that mean we don’t try? I wonder how that hurts God…so where do we begin?
We begin to live out that love a choice by going beyond our comfort zones in reaching out to others in our corner of the world. Perhaps we get together with a couple of people and brainstorm on how we can be the hands, feet and heart of Jesus in our neighborhood or town. We look around us and see what people might need. We talk to folks who know the needs in our communities and schools. We become intentional in living out the commandment, “love your neighbor.” Then we remember, “In whatever we do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus.” (Colossians 3:17)
There will be many people in Bloomfield and Dexter who are a “representative of Jesus” on March 28. We would like to invite you to reach out to others in the name of Jesus Christ with us. It’s called Mission Blitz ’09, God is in this City. We have over 40 outreach opportunities to be love in action. We will visit in care centers, the jail, take treats to emergency personnel, pay for food for those behind us in line at a fast food restaurant, pump gas and wash windshields, pay for car washes, hand out free food coupons at four way stops, drive around schools and pray for students and school personnel, and the list goes on and on.
Last year we had over 200 people reach out in the name of Jesus on our Blitz day. This year other churches in surrounding communities are joining us and our Godly goal is over 2,000 people in the Bootheel reaching out with the hands of Jesus to be love in action. Would you like to be a part of this amazing time of showing God’s love to our corner of the world? Please call me at 568-3188 to sign up to be a part of this Godly experience. We will all have red t-shirts and we begin with breakfast at 7:00 a.m. Come and join us as we live out God’s dream for us to be love in action in our corner of the world….
Susan Hoyle, pastor Trinity UMC
Christ Jesus tells us that the greatest commandment is to love God with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength. The second is to love your neighbor as yourself. (Mark 12:29-31) These are powerful words that give us a Godly direction for our lives. But these commandments aren’t always easy to live out in our lives. How do we really love God with all of our being? Who is our neighbor? God doesn’t really mean for us to love everyone, surely? That’s just too difficult for us. Yes, it can be difficult, especially those folks who get on our last nerve or who are so different than us. But does that mean we don’t try? Does that mean we just say, “sorry, God, too hard.” I don’t think so.
God sent us Jesus to show us that love is a choice and we live out that love in action. Love is more than feelings in our hearts; love is a decision we make with our minds. We often put people in two categories; those we love or who we think are lovable and those we don’t love or who we think are unlovable. But Jesus shows us a new way to love. Jesus loved people right where he met them, right where they were in life, even if the world thought them unlovable, even if they lived far from God, even if they did things no one understood. And Jesus loved them in to the kingdom. Again, we can say, “that’s just too hard for us, we’re not God and we’re not Jesus.” It’s true, we’re not, but does that mean we don’t try? I wonder how that hurts God…so where do we begin?
We begin to live out that love a choice by going beyond our comfort zones in reaching out to others in our corner of the world. Perhaps we get together with a couple of people and brainstorm on how we can be the hands, feet and heart of Jesus in our neighborhood or town. We look around us and see what people might need. We talk to folks who know the needs in our communities and schools. We become intentional in living out the commandment, “love your neighbor.” Then we remember, “In whatever we do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus.” (Colossians 3:17)
There will be many people in Bloomfield and Dexter who are a “representative of Jesus” on March 28. We would like to invite you to reach out to others in the name of Jesus Christ with us. It’s called Mission Blitz ’09, God is in this City. We have over 40 outreach opportunities to be love in action. We will visit in care centers, the jail, take treats to emergency personnel, pay for food for those behind us in line at a fast food restaurant, pump gas and wash windshields, pay for car washes, hand out free food coupons at four way stops, drive around schools and pray for students and school personnel, and the list goes on and on.
Last year we had over 200 people reach out in the name of Jesus on our Blitz day. This year other churches in surrounding communities are joining us and our Godly goal is over 2,000 people in the Bootheel reaching out with the hands of Jesus to be love in action. Would you like to be a part of this amazing time of showing God’s love to our corner of the world? Please call me at 568-3188 to sign up to be a part of this Godly experience. We will all have red t-shirts and we begin with breakfast at 7:00 a.m. Come and join us as we live out God’s dream for us to be love in action in our corner of the world….
The Journey by Pastor Susan Hoyle
1 Thessalonians 5:11
Galatians 6:2
Scripture for March 22
Who gives you encouragement in your life? An encouraging person can make all the difference in the world to us. I can remember encouraging words from years ago because the words touched my heart and I knew someone was “in my corner.” So often, we remember the negative things people tells; those words just seem to stick to us and it can hard to shake loose from them. Then sometimes it feels like we don’t receive many positive words at all. Oh, I know, sometimes we just feel kind of sorry for ourselves. Yet, I don’t think we hear encouraging words enough in our daily lives. Sometimes we’re bombarded with what we don’t do right or we tell ourselves we don’t “do right.”
So what if we became “encouragers?” You know, we became intentional in offering people encouraging words; people we know and even people we don’t know. What if you chose one or two or three people a day to offer an encouraging word? You can encourage a person you know by making a phone call, writing a note or email, even a quick word as you pass each other in the hallway. And you can encourage a stranger, too. It might be telling that telemarketer that he or she did a good job or talking with a sales person. We can have great, encouraging conversation with anyone we meet, if we are intentional and not just trying to go on to the next thing on our “list.” You might even give yourself encouraging words every day. We can always find what we do wrong, take some time to notice what you do right, too.
When we encourage one another, we are serving God in a powerful way. Life can be real tough sometimes and just one encouraging word can lighten the load and even for a moment, brings us a little sunshine in our lives. And you know what? An encouraging word doesn’t cost any money, only a little time and effort on our part. And what we give and what we receive---priceless.
Galatians 6:2
Scripture for March 22
Who gives you encouragement in your life? An encouraging person can make all the difference in the world to us. I can remember encouraging words from years ago because the words touched my heart and I knew someone was “in my corner.” So often, we remember the negative things people tells; those words just seem to stick to us and it can hard to shake loose from them. Then sometimes it feels like we don’t receive many positive words at all. Oh, I know, sometimes we just feel kind of sorry for ourselves. Yet, I don’t think we hear encouraging words enough in our daily lives. Sometimes we’re bombarded with what we don’t do right or we tell ourselves we don’t “do right.”
So what if we became “encouragers?” You know, we became intentional in offering people encouraging words; people we know and even people we don’t know. What if you chose one or two or three people a day to offer an encouraging word? You can encourage a person you know by making a phone call, writing a note or email, even a quick word as you pass each other in the hallway. And you can encourage a stranger, too. It might be telling that telemarketer that he or she did a good job or talking with a sales person. We can have great, encouraging conversation with anyone we meet, if we are intentional and not just trying to go on to the next thing on our “list.” You might even give yourself encouraging words every day. We can always find what we do wrong, take some time to notice what you do right, too.
When we encourage one another, we are serving God in a powerful way. Life can be real tough sometimes and just one encouraging word can lighten the load and even for a moment, brings us a little sunshine in our lives. And you know what? An encouraging word doesn’t cost any money, only a little time and effort on our part. And what we give and what we receive---priceless.
3/12/09
The Journey by Pastor Susan Hoyle
Mark 12:30-31
Matthew 28:19-20
Scripture for March 15
The Scripture passages for this week are known as The Great Commandment (Mark 12:30), the Great Compassion (Mark 12:31) and the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). These powerful verses are the way that Jesus lived His life and He offers them to us. Will we be the hands, feet and heart of Christ in the world? “I thought we were doing that now,” you might ask. We are! And there are ways we can be even more effective in reaching out to others. “How”, you ask?
Well, this Sunday Rev. Bob Farr, our special guest preacher, will answer that question. He is the Director of Congregational Excellence of the Missouri Conference of the United Methodist Church. Bob will share his wisdom on how we can serve God in even mightier ways. No matter how we reach out to our corner of the world, God has new ways for us to be the hands, feet and heart of Christ.
Prayer
Oh God, sometimes I just want to stop reaching out and just rest for a while. But then I remember you never stop reaching out to me…amen.
Matthew 28:19-20
Scripture for March 15
The Scripture passages for this week are known as The Great Commandment (Mark 12:30), the Great Compassion (Mark 12:31) and the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). These powerful verses are the way that Jesus lived His life and He offers them to us. Will we be the hands, feet and heart of Christ in the world? “I thought we were doing that now,” you might ask. We are! And there are ways we can be even more effective in reaching out to others. “How”, you ask?
Well, this Sunday Rev. Bob Farr, our special guest preacher, will answer that question. He is the Director of Congregational Excellence of the Missouri Conference of the United Methodist Church. Bob will share his wisdom on how we can serve God in even mightier ways. No matter how we reach out to our corner of the world, God has new ways for us to be the hands, feet and heart of Christ.
Prayer
Oh God, sometimes I just want to stop reaching out and just rest for a while. But then I remember you never stop reaching out to me…amen.
3/11/09
Prayer Concerns
Prayers of comfort for the Carolyn Staggs family.
Prayers of healing for Lina Gibbs and Charlotte Clark (Jill's mom)
Keep Colleen Phillips in your prayers as she recovers from a fall.
Prayers for Patrick Merrick, son of Junior Merrick.
Please pray for Terry Woods, Beulah Eaton's son-in-law, as he battles cancer.
Prayers for Beverly Patterson as she recovers from cancer surgery.
Prayer request for Linda Talley, Christine's Comstock's mother, as she faces cancer treatment.
Prayers of healing for Lina Gibbs and Charlotte Clark (Jill's mom)
Keep Colleen Phillips in your prayers as she recovers from a fall.
Prayers for Patrick Merrick, son of Junior Merrick.
Please pray for Terry Woods, Beulah Eaton's son-in-law, as he battles cancer.
Prayers for Beverly Patterson as she recovers from cancer surgery.
Prayer request for Linda Talley, Christine's Comstock's mother, as she faces cancer treatment.
"Nest Building"
I received this by email and would like to share it with our readers. It was written by our Bishop, Robert Schnase.
As I was driving to Warrensburg on Monday, I saw a large Red-Tailed Hawk fly overhead carrying a long heavy stick. I smiled at this indisputable sign of spring arriving. The non-migratory birds of our area are beginning to build nests. A couple of hours earlier I had seen an American Crow carrying straw for the same purpose, and the day before I had watched House Sparrows tucking threads of grass into the hole of a convenience store sign.
During the months to come, birds of all kinds will pour extraordinary effort, time, and ingenuity to the construction of nests, the protection of eggs, and the feeding of their vulnerable young ones. After the little ones hatch, I’m always amazed at the unceasing effort of care offered by the parents. From sunrise to sunset, Mom and Dad will search for food, deliver it to the hatchlings, and then search for more, often with little regard for their own nourishment. Every ounce of the adults’ energy will be devoted, not to their own comfort and feeding, but to the survival of their young.
The notion of building nests is often used as a metaphor in English to describe people successfully providing for their own comforts. Have you ever heard it used that way? If someone has arrived at a career position of some ease and security, friends might say, “You’ve built yourself quite a nest here!” When we are comfortable, secure, and feel at home in our workplace or living area, we talk about the space being “our little nest.” In these examples, the word “nest” connotes shelter, coziness, homelike, comfortable.
In actual fact, the nests which birds build are not for the birds who are building them, but for their young, for the next generation, for the future of the species. The weeks of carrying straw, sticks and mud, and the weeks of defensive watchfulness, and the weeks of endless feeding are all about the new ones, the young, the future.
Now take a leap with me to think about the nests we build in our churches. The buildings, programs, ministries, job descriptions, and services we build - are they for our own comfort and coziness? Or are they to further the faith, nurture new folks, and provide for future generations? Vibrant and fruitful congregations focus as much energy, prayer, and planning on those who are outside the congregation as they do on those who are already active in the congregation. When they initiate new Bible studies, support groups, outreach ministries, or worship services, they give less emphasize to “what do I want, desire, like, prefer, or find convenient” and place more weight on “what will feed the souls, nourish the spirits, and sustain the steps” of those outside the church or new to the faith. Those new to the faith are as vulnerable as hatchlings, and require a steady and dedicated effort of f eeding. And the budding faith of young people requires our committed attention, our extra care, our overtime in planning, teaching, encouraging, mentoring, and supporting. For the mission-focused church, the nests we build are not for ourselves; they are for the next generation, those new to the faith, the future of the body of Christ.
Jesus noticed the natural world around him, and he drew lessons from such things as fig trees, rising water, falling rain, budding leaves, and even nesting birds. As the signs of spring begin to show around us, what reminders do we find in the regenerative activities of birds building nests for the purpose of life and future.
Yours in Christ,
rs
To read more blogs by Bishop Schnase please vist www.FivePractices.org
As I was driving to Warrensburg on Monday, I saw a large Red-Tailed Hawk fly overhead carrying a long heavy stick. I smiled at this indisputable sign of spring arriving. The non-migratory birds of our area are beginning to build nests. A couple of hours earlier I had seen an American Crow carrying straw for the same purpose, and the day before I had watched House Sparrows tucking threads of grass into the hole of a convenience store sign.
During the months to come, birds of all kinds will pour extraordinary effort, time, and ingenuity to the construction of nests, the protection of eggs, and the feeding of their vulnerable young ones. After the little ones hatch, I’m always amazed at the unceasing effort of care offered by the parents. From sunrise to sunset, Mom and Dad will search for food, deliver it to the hatchlings, and then search for more, often with little regard for their own nourishment. Every ounce of the adults’ energy will be devoted, not to their own comfort and feeding, but to the survival of their young.
The notion of building nests is often used as a metaphor in English to describe people successfully providing for their own comforts. Have you ever heard it used that way? If someone has arrived at a career position of some ease and security, friends might say, “You’ve built yourself quite a nest here!” When we are comfortable, secure, and feel at home in our workplace or living area, we talk about the space being “our little nest.” In these examples, the word “nest” connotes shelter, coziness, homelike, comfortable.
In actual fact, the nests which birds build are not for the birds who are building them, but for their young, for the next generation, for the future of the species. The weeks of carrying straw, sticks and mud, and the weeks of defensive watchfulness, and the weeks of endless feeding are all about the new ones, the young, the future.
Now take a leap with me to think about the nests we build in our churches. The buildings, programs, ministries, job descriptions, and services we build - are they for our own comfort and coziness? Or are they to further the faith, nurture new folks, and provide for future generations? Vibrant and fruitful congregations focus as much energy, prayer, and planning on those who are outside the congregation as they do on those who are already active in the congregation. When they initiate new Bible studies, support groups, outreach ministries, or worship services, they give less emphasize to “what do I want, desire, like, prefer, or find convenient” and place more weight on “what will feed the souls, nourish the spirits, and sustain the steps” of those outside the church or new to the faith. Those new to the faith are as vulnerable as hatchlings, and require a steady and dedicated effort of f eeding. And the budding faith of young people requires our committed attention, our extra care, our overtime in planning, teaching, encouraging, mentoring, and supporting. For the mission-focused church, the nests we build are not for ourselves; they are for the next generation, those new to the faith, the future of the body of Christ.
Jesus noticed the natural world around him, and he drew lessons from such things as fig trees, rising water, falling rain, budding leaves, and even nesting birds. As the signs of spring begin to show around us, what reminders do we find in the regenerative activities of birds building nests for the purpose of life and future.
Yours in Christ,
rs
To read more blogs by Bishop Schnase please vist www.FivePractices.org
3/3/09
The Journey
Romans 12:5
Scripture for March 8
“We Are Family” was a great song a few years ago. Ok, many years ago, but it has a great message, we all belong to the family. To belong means we have a place and we fit into that place; we’re comfortable and safe there. We know that the people in our family, for the most part, will accept us, care for us and care about us. A sense of belonging is important to us human beings. It can make all the difference in the world. What does it mean, “to belong” to you? What “families” do you belong to? Who can you invite into your family that needs to know he or she belongs?
Prayer
God, open our eyes and hearts to those who we can invite into our “families” so they will know they belong to us and more importantly, to You. Amen
Scripture for March 8
“We Are Family” was a great song a few years ago. Ok, many years ago, but it has a great message, we all belong to the family. To belong means we have a place and we fit into that place; we’re comfortable and safe there. We know that the people in our family, for the most part, will accept us, care for us and care about us. A sense of belonging is important to us human beings. It can make all the difference in the world. What does it mean, “to belong” to you? What “families” do you belong to? Who can you invite into your family that needs to know he or she belongs?
Prayer
God, open our eyes and hearts to those who we can invite into our “families” so they will know they belong to us and more importantly, to You. Amen
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