The View from the Pulpit

September 8, 2008

Dear Church Family:

We gathered.  We sang.  We prayed.  We studied. We listened.  We offered.  We communed.  We were sent into the world to invite others to join us as we follow Jesus Christ.  Eight simple, short sentences that describe the essence of what the people called United Methodist do to honor God’s command to remember the sabbath day and keep it holy (Ex. 20:8). 

My experience tells me that these simple acts offered one morning each week make an enormous difference in the way I live.  Even before I became a Pastor I learned that this offering of the first fruit of my weekly calendar colors all that I do.  Sunday morning at church is not something I have to do.  It is something I want to do because God has blessed me and because I need the guidance of the community of faith and the power offered by the Holy Spirit in order to be able to function according to God’s vision of life.  Without these three hours of community I have no hope of living life putting Christ first…every day.

I thank God for this opportunity every week because it helps me be human.  I also thank God every day for all of you who join me in this community of Christians called First United Methodist Church.  You are a blessing and truth is I need you all because you represent Christ.  Most often I hear the Good News proclaimed through your voices and by your actions.

That’s what Church is to me.  Our Book of Discipline defines us as, “…the most significant arena through which disciple-making occurs. It is a community of true believers under the Lordship of Christ. It is the redemptive fellowship in which the Word of God is preached by persons divinely called and the sacraments are duly administered according to Christ's own appointment. Under the discipline of the Holy Spirit, the church exists for the maintenance of worship, the edification of believers, and the redemption of the world.” (para 201)

I know that summer extends to the week after the Delta Fair here in the Bootheel of Missouri.  But I’d like to encourage you all to begin putting weekly worship back into your weekly schedule.  It is important for your soul.  If you’ve got any questions, just ask.

In Christ’s Love…Gary

WHAT’S HAPPENING THIS WEEK

Monday           6:00pm – Trustees Meeting in the Fellowship Classroom

                        7:00pm – Church Council Meeting in the Parlor

Tuesday           6:30pm – “Led by Thread” meets in the Youth Room

                        7:00pm – “Tuesday Hour of Prayer” meets in the Sanctuary

Wednesday     9:30am – “Ladies Prayer & Share Bible Study” meets in the Parlor

                                    Soul Café

                                                5:30pm – Food for Body and Soul meets in the Hospitality Room

                                                6:30pm – “90 Days Bible Study” meets in the Fellowship Classroom

                                                7:00pm – “Youth Bible Study” meets in the Youth Room

                                                7:30pm – “Sanctuary Choir” Adult Choir Rehearsal meets in the Parlor

Thursday         12:30pm – “Led by Thread” meets in the Youth Room

                        6:00pm – “UMW Potluck” meets in the Hospitality Room

Saturday          2:00pm – You are invited to a wedding shower for Chris Hamlett and Lisa Hanfelder

READ THE BIBLE IN 90 DAYS – CLARIFICATION OF SUPPORT

There has been some confusion concerning activities we’re providing to help the church optimize their participation in the Pastor’s challenge to read the Bible from cover to cover in 90 days.  So I’ll try to clarify a little.

The Seekers Adult Sunday School Class is the only adult class I know that has decided to use the materials available to explore their experience.  This includes a study guide and a video lecture each week that covers the last week’s reading assignments and an opportunity to discuss various issues and questions that may arise.

During the Sunday School Hour a video lecture that covers the last week’s reading assignments will be available in the Sanctuary.  This is mainly for those people who are not part of a Sunday School Class but who are reading the Bible.  There will be some opportunity to ask questions and talk about your experience.

On Wednesday evenings at 6:30pm following the meal, Gary will lead a class discussion aimed to encourage those who are reading the Bible and offering a question/answer format based on the week’s current reading assignments.  Its purpose is to provide a middle of the week time to talk about how it’s going and the questions/concerns/epiphanies that you have experienced during Sun., Mon., Tues, and Wed.’s assignments.  The video lecture is not part of this study.

I hope this helps you.  As you’ve maybe already discovered, this challenge is not an easy one to complete.  But together we can and will grow from this opportunity to immerse ourselves in God’s Word.  You are all in my prayers.

BIBLE TRIVIA NIGHT

The Nurture Committee invites us all to the fun of a “Bible Trivia Night” next Wednesday, Sept. 17^th at 6:30pm in the Christian Life Center.  Tracy Ellis will serve as game host.  She promises questions for all ages (I just hope they don’t pile all the 3^rd & 4^th graders on the same team.  They’re the ones who know their books of the bible frontward and backward.)  Everyone who enters will draw a number in order to be placed on a team.  It ought to be a fun night as we see how much we really do know about the Old and New Testaments.

UNITED METHODIST WOMEN

1^st UMC’s chapter of United Methodist Women invite all women to attend their first meeting of the new year this coming Thursday evening at 6:00pm.  This will be a Potluck Dinner that will include all three UMW Circles as they prepare for the coming year.

Kennett’s UMW meets in three different “Circles”.  The

Susanna Wesley Circle

normally meets on third Monday of each month at 2:00pm.  The Sister’s Circle meets at 5:30pm on the second Wednesday.  They also meet some during Sunday’s Celebration of Worship to prepare meals for home bound members.  The

Hattie Baker Circle

meets on the first Thursday of each month at 7:00pm.

17^TH SUNDAY AFTER PENECOST

Exodus 12:1-14 / Genesis 1:1-5

“God Begins”

Exodus 12:1-14

 1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, 2 "This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. 3 Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb ^[a] for his family, one for each household. 4 If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. 5 The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. 6 Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. 7 Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. 8 That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. 9 Do not eat the meat raw or cooked in water, but roast it over the fire—head, legs and inner parts. 10 Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it. 11 This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the LORD's Passover.

 12 "On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn—both men and animals—and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD. 13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.

 14 "This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD -a lasting ordinance.

Genesis 1:1-5

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

 2 Now the earth was ^[a] formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

 3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

PRAYERS

Bill McKeel, Lori Norton’s Mother, Cyril Owen, Melody Carr, Ronnie Brogden

NEXT WEEK’S SCRIPTURE

Deuteronomy 8:1-20

“God’s Rule / Our Choice”

The View from the Pulpit

September 2, 2008

Dear Church Family:

I hope you all were able to take advantage of the last long weekend of summer.  It was “Labor Day Weekend”.  I’ve learned there are many family traditions surrounding this holiday.  Most include family gatherings in one form or another.  Wikipedia offers this definition of “Labor Day”. 

Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September. The holiday originated in 1882 as the Central Labor Union (of New York City) sought to create "a day off for the working citizens".

Congress made Labor Day a federal holiday on June 28, 1894, two months after the May Day Riots of 1894. All fifty states have made Labor Day a state holiday.  Traditionally, Labor Day is celebrated by most Americans as the symbolic end of the summer.

Labor Day has been celebrated on the first Monday in September in the United States since the 1880s. The form for the celebration of Labor Day was outlined in the first proposal of the holiday—a street parade to exhibit to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations," followed by a festival for the workers and their families. This became the pattern for Labor Day celebrations. Speeches by prominent men and women were introduced later, as more emphasis was placed upon the economic and civil significance of the holiday. Still later, by a resolution of the American Federation of Labor convention of 1909, the Sunday before Labor Day was adopted as Labor Sunday and dedicated to the spiritual and educational aspects of the labor movement.

It was the last sentence that caught my attention.  I’m wondering how many of us have spent time thinking and praying about the “spiritual and educational aspects of the labor movement”.  In my former lives as a Process Engineer and Retail Manager I have to admit that I rarely thought of the spiritual aspects of labor or even of labor as a gift from God.  It wasn’t until I began to discern God’s call upon my life that I began to think of work as a gift.  The first step in our official candidate for ordained ministry process is to read a book titled, “The Christian as Minister”.  Its purpose was to help me understand that all work is God’s work and that our call to ministry is a call to use the gifts and talents God has given for God’s purposes where ever I am and whatever I do.  It was an enlightening read and one that actually slowed my rush to ministry as an Ordained Elder in the United Methodist Church. 

It was two years after reading and discussing that book with John Kerr that I finally got to the point where I could no longer deny God’s call to develop the gifts given for use as a clergy person in the United Methodist Church.  I did begin to see labor as the gift it was intended to be.  And maybe that was because I began to move away from the curse placed upon Adam when he and Eve went against God’s plan for the utilization of creation by eating from a tree that wasn’t intended for them.

So maybe we ought to start taking more seriously the spiritual aspects of the work we do.  Perhaps we should begin thanking God each day for the job we have and the gifts God has given that allow us to do it so well.  And maybe if we began to offer all that labor for the good of God’s plan for creation, the reward would be a better more peaceful life.

Or maybe it’s just another three (four) day weekend to be used for our own purposes and then forgotten as we look for the next day off and the escape it offers.  That brings to light another of God’s good gifts…we get to choose.

WHAT’S HAPPENING THIS WEEK

Tuesday           6:30pm – “Led by Thread” meets in the Youth Room

                        7:00pm – “Hour of Prayer” meets in the Sanctuary

                        7:30pm – “A Service of Healing and Anointing” meets in the Sanctuary

Wednesday     9:30am – “Ladies Prayer and Share Bible Study” meets in the Parlor

                        5:30pm – “Soul Café” meets in the Hospitality Room (please make reservations)

                        6:30pm – “The Bible in 90 Days / the Study” meets in the Fellowship Classroom

                        7:30pm – The Sanctuary (Adult) Choir rehearses in the Parlor

THE BIBLE IN 90 DAYS

It has begun.  First United Methodist Church – Kennett has accepted the challenge to read the bible from cover to cover by the end of November.  The plan is to break the task in to manageable pieces, (12 pages a day in a special bible produced by Zondervan) and to read some every day.  The first day’s reading included the first 16 chapters of Genesis.  Daily readings for this week have been sent by E-mail and were/are available in the church office.  If you didn’t get one or have lost yours, E-mail me (gary.1stumckennett@sbcglobal.net) and I’ll send it again.  Book marks are also available in the sanctuary and office that list the daily readings from September through November.

So, how’s it going?  This morning I read some about Jacob’s travels and couldn’t help but think about the old T.V. show “Bonanza” as I read about his son’s exploits and attitudes.  I’ve learned that Abraham was the first to laugh when told he would have a son in his old, old age and that according to a part of Noah’s story there were more then two of each animal in the ark with him and his family.  I also read the verse when Abraham was first called a “Hebrew”.  (Admittedly it sent me down a rabbit hole where I learned that Hebrew means “one from beyond” which emphasized that he was a foreigner.)

Have you been surprised yet?  Of course the purpose of this exercise is to read quickly and look for the big picture but sometimes things catch your eye and questions arise.  A couple of Adult Sunday School Classes will be following along with our readings each week.  Included in the material we’ve received is a 25 minute lecture each week that covers the scriptures read the previous week.  We’ll be showing that in the sanctuary after “UpWords” each week for those of you who are not part of a Sunday School class. 

THANK YOU

SUNDAY’S ZACCHAEUS STUDY

Have you ever wondered if there was perhaps some way to live between the extremes called “Liberal and Conservative” that are so often given voice by the media?  Do you find yourself agreeing with one “side” on some issues and the other “side” on other issues?  If so, you might want to consider joining us on Sunday’s at 5:00pm as we explore Seeing Gray in a Black and White World a book by Adam Hamilton.  Rev. Hamilton is a United Methodist Pastor currently serving The Church of the Resurrection in Overland Park, KS. 

I was taught that one of the tenants of a United Methodist understanding of the world is that truth is often found in the tension between two understandings of an issue.  And so we work to hold in tension the truths defined by the extremes.  As an example we hold in tension the Social Gospel and Evangelical Christianity.  One calls us to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ while the other teaches that our relationship with Jesus Christ is dependent upon our relationship with all the people of the world.  Our salvation depends on both.  Our understanding of Baptism says that it is both sacramental and evangelical.

16^TH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

Exodus 31-15

“Promises, Promises; I Will Make You One People”

This was a Fifth Sunday Gathering of the Faithful at First UMC-Kennett.  We spent time singing favorite hymns and sharing prayers together.  We’re used to that on these special Sunday’s when all people who call themselves United Methodist who worship at 1^st UMC-Kennett gather at one time to worship and fellowship.

Past celebrations have centered on the Word sung.  This time we spent more time with the Word spoken.  Our Communion Table held three large Bibles.  Each has taken its turn as the focal point of our worship through the years.  On this Sunday we thanked God for those words and the people and events they portray.  And as The Word was read we concentrated on those Bibles and listened.  I told them to listen carefully for words or phrases that catch your imagination as I read slowly.  So now I’m asking you to read slowly and stop when some thought or idea catches your imagination.  The selection is from a new translation called simply “The Message”.

“1-2 Moses was shepherding the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the west end of the wilderness and came to the mountain of God, Horeb. The angel of God appeared to him in flames of fire blazing out of the middle of a bush. He looked. The bush was blazing away but it didn't burn up.

 3 Moses said, "What's going on here? I can't believe this! Amazing! Why doesn't the bush burn up?"

 4 God saw that he had stopped to look. God called to him from out of the bush, "Moses! Moses!"

   He said, "Yes? I'm right here!"

 5 God said, "Don't come any closer. Remove your sandals from your feet. You're standing on holy ground."

 6 Then he said, "I am the God of your father: The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob."

   Moses hid his face, afraid to look at God.

 7-8 God said, "I've taken a good, long look at the affliction of my people in Egypt. I've heard their cries for deliverance from their slave masters; I know all about their pain. And now I have come down to help them, pry them loose from the grip of Egypt, get them out of that country and bring them to a good land with wide-open spaces, a land lush with milk and honey, the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.

 9-10 "The Israelite cry for help has come to me, and I've seen for myself how cruelly they're being treated by the Egyptians. It's time for you to go back: I'm sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the People of Israel, out of Egypt."

 11 Moses answered God, "But why me? What makes you think that I could ever go to Pharaoh and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt?"

 12 "I'll be with you," God said. "And this will be the proof that I am the one who sent you: When you have brought my people out of Egypt, you will worship God right here at this very mountain."

 13 Then Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the People of Israel and I tell them, 'The God of your fathers sent me to you'; and they ask me, 'What is his name?' What do I tell them?"

 14 God said to Moses, "I-AM-WHO-I-AM. Tell the People of Israel, 'I-AM sent me to you.'"

 15 God continued with Moses: "This is what you're to say to the Israelites: 'God, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob sent me to you.' This has always been my name, and this is how I always will be known. (Exodus 3:1-15, The Message)

Were there any surprises?  How about an “Aha!” or two?  Or maybe an “Oh no”? 

The people on Sunday morning asked about the bush that didn’t burn and the angel of God that appeared in the flames.  They were amazed that God would appear.  One noticed the phrase, “God saw that he had stopped to look” and wondered how many had passed by the burning bush and not bothered to stop.  Another asked how many went by without even noticing.  On Wednesday evenings we’ve been talking about our answer to the question asked each week about where we’ve experienced God.  How many times do we pass by God’s presence without even noticing?   How many times do we notice but fail to stop and listen?

Another noticed God asked Moses to remove his sandals because he was standing on holy ground.  I asked what difference wearing sandals could possibly make.  One said that by removing his sandals, Moses removed the risk of contaminating the holy with the unholy.  Another said it was so there would be nothing between Moses and God’s holiness.

Someone else remembered the phrase, “I’ll be with you.”  They remarked how comforting that sentence is for anyone who is either responding to God’s call or experiencing difficult times.  Moses found comfort in knowing that God would be with him in this thing God was asking him to do.  He was afraid and wondered where he’d find the ability to speak with Pharaoh and lead God’s people out of the affliction caused by their Egyptian task masters.  God simply told him that he was not asking him to do it alone.  God promised to be with him and God offered proof saying that they would worship God on this very mountain where God’s presence was proven by the burning bush.

Still someone else noticed the name God gave Godself, “I-AM-WHO-I-AM.”  What does that mean?  “I’ll be what I want to be?”  “I am whatever I want to be?”   “I will do what I want to do?”  However it’s translated or understood we need to know that God won’t allow humanity to define the Holy Existence.  God will be what God wants to be and not what we want God to be.

PRAYERS

NEXT WEEK

Genesis 1:1 – Exodus 40:38

The View from the Pulpit

August 25, 2008

Dear Church Family:

Happy Monday morning!  Those who gathered as 1^st UMC Kennett yesterday morning celebrated the new week and the God of new beginnings.  We sang our praise and prayed our prayers and opened our ears to the Word of God that challenges us to live as the people we were created to be.  Thanks to all of you.  It was a good morning.

But the day didn’t end with worship.  It continued as the people of 1^st UMC Kennett continued to use this Son-Day to grow and show their understanding of the way we live as Disciples of Jesus Christ.  Youth gathered, students studied and the day ended with a wonderful outpouring of hospitality.  Dianne and I thank the Open Door Adult Class and everyone who gathered in the Hospitality Room to welcome me back, welcome Dianne to Kennett and celebrate our recent marriage.  It was an overwhelming evening and we are grateful to continue the work God has for us with the people called United Methodist here in Kennett.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

WHAT’S HAPPENING THIS WEEK

Tuesday           6:30pm – “Led by Thread” meets in the Youth Room

                        7:00pm – “Hour of Prayer” meets in the Sanctuary

Wednesday     9:30am – “Ladies Prayer & Share Bible Study” meets in the Parlor

                                    Soul Café – Food for the Spirit

                                                5:30pm – Fellowship Meal

Thursday         8:30am – “Mature Methodist Travelers” leave for trip to Halls TN

                        12:30pm – “Led by Thread” meets in the Youth Room

Next Sunday   9:30am – “A Fifth Sunday Gathering of the Faithful” celebration of God’s Vision

                        10:30am – Pot Luck Brunch in the Christian Life Center

A FIFTH SUNDAY GATHERING OF THE FAITHFUL

THE BIBLE IN 90 DAYS

Many of you have accepted the challenge of reading through the Bible in 90 Days.  The adventure will begin on Sunday August 31^st with the first 16 chapters of Genesis.  Here’s the schedule for August 31st to September 6^th.

Sunday            Genesis 1:1 – Genesis 16:16

Monday           Gen. 17:1 – Gen. 28:19

Tuesday           Gen. 28:20 – Gen. 40:11

Wednesday     Gen. 40:12 – Gen. 50:26

Thursday         Exodus 1:1 – Exodus 15:18

Friday              Ex. 15:19 – Ex. 28:43

Saturday          Ex. 29:1 – Ex. 40:38

MATURE METHODIST TRAVELERS

SOUL CAFÉ – FOOD FOR THE BODY

SANCTUARY CHOIR REHEARSALS BEGIN ON SEPTEMBER 10^TH

FIFTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

Romans 12:1-8 / Matthew 16:13-28

“Promises, Promises; Messiah”

Six thousand bales of hay.  I’m not talking about those big ones that have to be moved with a tractor.  These were the little ones that weighed somewhere between fifty and eighty pounds that had to be handled by hand; once to put them on the truck and a second time to store them in a barn.  I figured out this week that I had to move 6,000 bales of hay to buy my first car; a blue 1958 Chevy DelRay.  It was nothing special; straight six, three on the tree, vinyl interior, no carpet, four doors.  But it was something special none the less because it was my first and it cost me 6,000 bales of hay, about $90.  I remember being very excited when my Dad finally gave me the keys.  I could go anywhere and do anything because they were my wheels, my keys.

I started thinking about those keys this week as I studied Matthew’s memory of a very important event.  The story of Jesus’ question to his Disciples as they walked the road to Caesarea Philippi is the fulcrum upon which all the gospels tilt.  The question he asks is as important for us today as it was for the Twelve who followed Jesus along the dusty roads of Galilee.  “Who do YOU say I am?”  Just as the keys to my first car changed the way I related to all the world, so our answer to this question influences every part of our lives.

Here’s how Matthew tells the story, “¹³Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. ¹⁸And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. ¹⁹I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” ²⁰Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah” (Matthew 16:13-20 NRSV)

Did you notice the reference to the “keys of the kingdom of heaven”?  Peter and all who claim Jesus as the Messiah of God have been given access to and responsibility for the pronouncement of the coming kingdom of God.  And just as having keys to cars and houses adds responsibility to our lives, being given the keys to God’s kingdom also challenges us to use that gift in responsible ways.  And just as we are responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of our “things” we are also responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of Heaven’s kingdom.  And just as driving responsibly is an awesome privilege and challenge, so is accepting these keys that God places in our hands.

One of the things I hadn’t really thought much about when I first started driving was all the maintenance that needs to be done to keep a car doing what it was made to do.  I can remember talking with my Dad about new squeaks and sounds that seemed to develop as the odometer turned.  I also remember one night after he came home from what must have been a particular long and difficult day his suggestion that I spend a little more time tightening bolts, changing oils, and applying grease.  I’ve since learned that all that kind of information about how to best care for an automobile is included in an owner’s manual.  I don’t remember ever seeing one for my 1958 Chevy DelRay but I know the one for my 2006 Chevy Malibu is too big to fit in the glove box (which makes no sense to me but…)  I’ve searched its contents often during the past year, trying to do all I can to keep it running like new.

I’m still learning that the Bible is like an owner’s manual for the kingdom of heaven.  That’s one of the reason’s I’ve challenged us to read it all the way through.  It is important that we know how the Creator intended this world to be.  The bible gives us those specifications in the stories told by our ancestors.  They help us know that we still have much to learn about what this world can do when it’s running perfectly.

One of the problems is that we think we know how it is suppose to be.  Just like Peter, who was the first to say that Jesus was the Christ (Messiah) of the living God, we don’t really understand what it means for Jesus to be the Messiah of God.  Matthew remembers, “²¹From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. ²²And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.” ²³But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” (Mt. 16:21-23)

Peter knew the right answer but he didn’t know what it meant.  So the one who was called the rock upon which Jesus would build the church, quickly changed from a foundation to a stumbling stone.  Peter thought he knew but when Jesus began to teach how the world would respond to Him and how difficult it would be, saying, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. ²⁵For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. ²⁶For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?” (Mt. 16:24-26)

This being a Christian is not an easy thing.  It is a lifestyle that will challenge what the world teaches.  But the vision Christ teaches is the only true way to experience peace.  Only by becoming little Christ’s can we know true joy and happiness and freedom.  But even at the beginning Jesus knew we’d need help.  He knew that we couldn’t do this alone and so Jesus said to Peter after he first recognized Jesus status as the Son of the Living God, “and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. ¹⁹I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Mt. 16:18-19)

The help God has planned into this gift of salvation is “Church”.  This is the first time the word is used in the New Testament (not really surprising since Matthew is the first book).  Just as Peter thought he knew what “Messiah” meant I think most of us believe we know what “Church” means.  But we might be wrong so I looked it up.

The word translated as “church” is the Greek “ekklesia” means a gathering of people.  It was used anytime a group of people gathered to discuss or decide an important question.  So, for those of you who go to football games, the word the Greeks would use to describe the people gathered to discover who had the best team on a certain night was “ekklesia” – “church”.  If you’ve ever watched the movie “Bull Durham” you’ve heard Susan Sarandon wax prophetic about the church gathered to watch baseball. 

Church is not building but people.  Most of us know that, down deep in our heart.  Few of us live into the meaning of that knowledge.  A Christian Church is a gathering of people who have said that Jesus is the Messiah of God. The Church belongs to Jesus.  Jesus is the One sent by God to restore a broken relationship and provide the way for humanity to come back into perfection; the world as God created it to be.

The Bible teaches us the stories but it is the community of faith, the Church gathered as God’s people to worship and live as God intends, that has the power to unite heaven and earth.  This is God’s gift to us through the obedience and faith of Jesus who is fully human and fully God.

PRAYERS

NEXT WEEK

One service at 9:30am followed by a Pot Luck Brunch

Exodus 3:1-15 / Romans 12:9-21 / Matthew 16:21-28

“Promises, Promises; I will make you One People”

The View from the Pulpit

August 17, 2008

Dear Church Family:

How good it is when God’s people gather to worship God!  I’m writing this “between services” this Sunday morning because tomorrow (Monday) is going to be busy.  I’ll be taking care of some Southeast District responsibilities this Monday and Wednesday and then next week on Tuesday and Wednesday I’ll be traveling to Columbia to learn how to do it better.  Those of us who have been United Methodist Elders for a while are sometimes asked to mentor other United Methodist Pastors as they begin the process of becoming ordained in the United Methodist Church.  Many of you know at least a little about how this works because Kennett’s 1^st UMC Family has groomed several United Methodist Pastors through the years (Four that I can think of off hand – Joe Hardy,  David & John Kerr, Brent Robinson and now a possible fifth, Ron Beaton, who is just beginning).  This is good and important work and a I believe a sign of a congregation that’s doing what it’s suppose to do.

We’re celebrating Sunday School today as children are “promoted”.  But even more we are celebrating Sunday School Teachers because they hold such an important and sacred position.  They are the ones charged with helping us all grow in our understanding of our place in God’s world.  Janice Sparks offered a wonderful testimony to her years teaching older elementary children.  She talked about what a privilege it is to help them learn that the Bible is their friend and it is a tool to be used to discover God’s will.  We have a good and dedicated bunch.

Sunday School Teachers this year include:

Preschool & Kindergarten:  Jerry Parmenter and Linda Hunter (Jean Mowrer does music for them)
1st & 2nd:  Still Looking
3rd, 4th & 5th:  Janice Sparks
6th, 7th & 8th:  Kim Short
9th, 10th, 11th & 12th:  Tracy Ellis
Serendipity:  John Robison
Seekers:  Vicki Rhew
Open Door:  Floyd Wright
Fellowship Class:  Keith Mitchell & Towny Sparks  (The Brigances, Owens & Andrews also help at times)

Please keep each of these special people in your prayers, help them when you can, and thank God for them every day.

You’ll notice that our 1^st & 2^nd grade class is being led by “Still Looking”.  What that means is that Sunday School Superintendent Tracy Ellis has not yet found the person who will accept this responsibility for 2008/09.  Please pray, “Lord, I understand how important Sunday School is to our Children.  I’m sure 1^st UMC Kennett practices a faith in You that is worth passing on to our children.  My relationship with you makes a difference in my life and I thank you for loving me.  Please reveal to me your will.  I know I’m not good enough but I also believe that with your sure guidance and the support of the Church nothing is impossible.  Amen”

Let me or Tracy know if God is nudging you to answer this call.

WHAT’S HAPPENING THIS WEEK

Tuesday           6:30pm – “Led by Thread” in the Youth Room

                        7:00pm – “Hour of Prayer” in the Sanctuary

Wednesday     9:30pm – “Ladies Prayer & Share Bible Study” in the Parlor

                        Soul Café / Food for the Spirit

                                    5:30pm – Fellowship Meal (Please call for a reservation)

                                    6:30pm – MidWeek Worship & Bible Study – the gospel of Matthew

Thursday         12:30pm – “Led by Thread” in the Youth Room

CONGRATULATIONS AND PRAYERS

1^st UMC’s Church Conference met last Monday evening with leadership provided by Rev. David Norbury, District Superintendent of the Southeast District of the Missouri United Methodist Church.  One item was on the agenda.  A motion from the Pastor/Staff Relations Committee to recommend that Ron Beaton be allowed to begin work as a declared candidate for Ordained Ministry in the United Methodist Church.  This motion was approved by unanimous written ballot.  Ron will now begin work with the Southeast District Committee on Ordained Ministry who will help and guide his preparations for a time.  When they complete their work they will decide whether Ron continues to show the gift and graces necessary for ordination.  If so, they will pass him along to the Conference Board of Ordained Ministry who will guide his final preparations.