It was a good day; one of those filled with the sounds of music being offered to help us praise and worship.  It was amazing.  We are certainly blessed by the offerings of all the musicians who use their talents to help us worship. 

The Sanctuary Choir sang, “Remember me when you come together, celebrate the new life you’ve been given, ever my children, with you I’ll be, just remember me.”  As we prepared to gather at the Lord’s Table it was good to be reminded of Christ’s love and promise to be with us always.

The Praise Band sang, “People get ready, there’s a train a comin. You don’t need no baggage, you just get on board.  All you need is faith to hear the diesels hummin, You don’t need no ticket you just thank the Lord.”  They reminded us that faith is the key to our relationship with God and that there is hope for all.

These were good words as we gathered to worship and encourage each other in our walk with Christ.  Our task is to put Christ first every day.  Some reported on the plans they made last week to show Christ to others during the week; Cookies were delivered to neighbors; Meals were prepared for people recovering from surgery.  The experience may have also opened our eyes a little wider to the way people’s faith is revealed by what they do every day.

I encourage you to continue the experiment.  If you didn’t have an opportunity to do what you said you wanted to do on the Sunday before, remember that you are in good company.  Paul kicked himself for not doing what he wanted to do.  That failure to follow through is directly related to the Good News of Jesus Christ.  Those failures are forgotten and new possibilities always wait.  Do something to show Christ to someone else this week.  Then prepare to tell us so we can be encouraged by your faithfulness and report of the blessing you received.

  The invitation Jesus offers us is the same he offered those who first followed.  “Come and see” he said.  Come and see and I’ll make you do what you have always done only in ways that reveal God’s vision in places where we live.  At least I think that’s what he meant when he told some fishermen that following him would make them “fishers of men”.  Truth, peace, justice, hope, love are the bait, just come and see.

                                                                                          In Christ’s Love….Gary

What’s happening this week?

Monday          6:00pm – “Whispers of Hope” / meets in Nursery II; a weekly gathering of women to provide support and encouragement through times of anxiety, grief, depression or the daily stresses of life.

Tuesday          6:30 – “Led by Thread” / meets in CLC Meeting Room; a ministry of creativity that supplies shawls, blankets, scarves, etc, to those who need a tangible “hug” at some moment of need, crises, or celebration in their lives.

                        6:45pm – “How to Pray” / meets in Nursery II; a short term study for those wanting to pray but wondering how.  Gary will lead this four week exploration of the “how to” of this most common spiritual discipline that helps us put ourselves in God’s way.

                        7:00pm – “Hour of Prayer”/ the doors are open and the Sanctuary is made available for anyone to get away from the hustle and bustle of life and commune with God.  Servants are available to pray with and for anyone.  Come and See.

                        7:30pm – “A Service of Anointing and Healing” / The Sanctuary; a monthly gathering (1^st Tuesday of each month) for community prayer and anointing for healing.

Wednesday    9:30am – “Ladies Prayer & Share Bible Study” / CLC Meeting Room

                        5:30pm – “Methodist Meal” / CLC

                        6:30pm – “MidWeek Bible Study / CLC Meeting Room; currently studying John’s gospel.  Beginning March 29 we’ll us the book “Not a Fan: Becoming a Completely Committed Follower of Jesus” by Kyle Idleman

                                    6:30pm – Children’s Choir Rehearsals / Pre-school to 2^nd grade meets in the Ed. Bldg.

            3^rd – 5^th grade meets in the Parlor.

                                    7:00pm – “Youth Choir Rehearsal” in the Sanctuary

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

                                    8:30pm – “Praise Band Rehearsal” in the Sanctuary

            Sunday           8:30am – “UpWords” in the Sanctuary / a “praise style” worship service

                                    9:30am – “Sunday School” for all ages

                                    10:30am – “The Celebration of Worship” / a “book of order” style worship service

                                    5:00pm – Middle School Youth Uniting in Christ (YUIC)

                                    6:00pm – YUIC Meal

                                    6:30pm – Youth Worship in the Chapel / led by Youth for Youth

                                    7:00pm – Sr. High YUIC

Youth Serving Seniors Valentine Dinner

Senior Citizens are invited to a Valentine Dinner

Sunday, February 12th at 5:30 pm

First United Methodist Church Christian Life Center

Hosted by the combined Youth Group of First Christian, First Methodist, and First Presbyterian (YUIC)

Let’s celebrate God’s love in Christian fellowship with a meal prepared with love,

an old fashioned sing-a-long, Youth entertainment, and a dessert auction.

(no money required)

To make your reservations, please call

First United Methodist Church Office

888-5391 by 2/8/2012

Dear Members and Friends of First United Methodist Church,

I want to congratulate you and to express my personal appreciation for not only fulfilling 100% of your connectional giving during 2011, but by going beyond 100%.   Your faithfulness to the connectional covenant demonstrates a commitment to ministry beyond the walls of the local church. By your giving you support our work overseas, ministerial education, our seminaries and United Methodist colleges, our conference camping, missions work, youth and college-age ministries, our starting of new churches and strengthening of existing congregations, the administration of our connection, and so many other significant ministries which no single congregation could possibly accomplish without our connectional covenant.   Thank you.

Commitment to connectional ministries begins with the pastor and the lay leadership of the congregation, and I appreciate your helpfulness. I give God thanks for the vision, generosity, and faithfulness of your members. Thank you for thinking ahead and including connectional ministries in your budgeting and ministry plan.

You have my continuing pledge to see that our connectional ministries supported by your giving are fruitful, held to a high standard of accountability and excellence, and aligned with our core mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

You and your church join with more than 600 congregations that gave full 100% support to connectional ministries in 2011.   You are also part of 40 congregations who surpassed 100% in giving. The magnitude of ministry supported by our giving makes a substantial positive difference in the lives of people, congregations, and ministries within our conference and throughout the world.

Paul writes, “We want you to know, brothers and sisters, about the grace of God that has been granted to the churches of Macedonia; for during a severe ordeal of affliction, their abundant joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part….” (II Corinthians 8:1-2)

Missouri faced numerous challenges during 2011, including massive tornado damage, severe flooding, and a difficult economy. I’m deeply gratified that our churches have nevertheless practiced inspiring levels of generosity. Thank you for all you do for the purposes of Christ.

Yours in Christ, Robert Schnase

United Methodist Bishop serving the Missouri Conference

5^th Sunday after the Epiphany

Isaiah 40:18-31 / 1 Corinthians 9:16-23

“Freed and Forgiven”

I’d like to sit down and have a talk with Abraham Lincoln some day.  I just finished a book titled Killing Lincoln which really wasn’t about him as such but about the impact he had on his world.  I can’t imagine any of my ideas or dreams or actions making anyone so mad that they’d want to kill me. 

I’d ask him if he really thought his actions would so upset folks.  From what I read he had enemies in the north and the south; the south because he was willing to prosecute a war in order to preserve a union and the north because his intent after the war was to treat those who had seceded as the brothers and sisters they were; deserving of respect, desiring to return the whole country to a prosperity only available to a united country.  It would have been interesting to see if he could have pulled that off.

I’d ask him what it was like to have cattle grazing on the White House lawn and what it was like being one of the first presidents able to use technology.  The telegraph made communication almost instantaneous.

I’d ask him what he thought of the U.S. today.  I wonder what his “state of the union” address would include?  I even wonder what Jefferson Davis would have to say about the state of a confederacy if the war had gone the other way?

Their comments on our times would be difficult to discern from past writings.  Only a well read historian could perhaps fill in the blanks.  But because so called “Protestants” rebelled against Roman Catholic practice (usually dated from 1517 when Martin Luther nailed “The Ninety-five Thesis” on the front door of the local church), any of us can read scripture, we can maybe imagine what some biblical heroes would want to say to us today.

Let’s take Isaiah for instance.  He’s writing to people who have been taken from their homes and moved to a place they don’t really want to be.  We can take that literally and dismiss the Spirit’s chance to work in us or we can try to imagine how we too are not living in a place we necessarily want to be. 

That actually shouldn’t be too difficult for us, since we live at a time when so many voices are telling us not to be content with what we have or with where we are.  Both political parties spend millions telling us their leadership can take us somewhere better.  The fat little dog on the Super Bowl commercial who outran a pack of grey hounds did so because of the shoes he (or was it a she?) was allowed to wear.  Shouldn’t we buy those shoes so we can lead the pack?  House Hunters International wants us to believe that everybody ought to have a summer home with five bedrooms (even though we’re only thinking about having two children) in Nicaragua or Italy or Belarus. 

Our days are filled with people telling us that we need to be somewhere else, have something else, be someone else.  It’s not difficult to imagine that we’ve lost control of our lives.  It’s easy to believe that someone else is leading us toward a foreign land where we’ll have no roots, no memories, no family, no freedom. 

Who can we trust?  Who knows what is really true?  Who can free us from this slave’s life being sold as freedom?  What would Isaiah say?

^18-20So who even comes close to being like God? To whom or what can you compare him? Some no-god idol? Ridiculous! It’s made in a workshop, cast in bronze, Given a thin veneer of gold, and draped with silver filigree.  Or, perhaps someone will select a fine wood—olive wood, say—that won’t rot.  Then hire a woodcarver to make a no-god, giving special care to its base so it won’t tip over!

^21-24Have you not been paying attention?  Have you not been listening? Haven’t you heard these stories all your life?  Don’t you understand the foundation of all things? God sits high above the round ball of earth.  The people look like mere ants. He stretches out the skies like a canvas— yes, like a tent canvas to live under. He ignores what all the princes say and do.  The rulers of the earth count for nothing. Princes and rulers don’t amount to much.  Like seeds barely rooted, just sprouted, They shrivel when God blows on them.  Like flecks of chaff, they’re gone with the wind.

 ^25-26“So—who is like me?  Who holds a candle to me?” says The Holy. Look at the night skies:
   Who do you think made all this? Who marches this army of stars out each night, counts them off, calls each by name—so magnificent! so powerful!— and never overlooks a single one?

 ^27-31Why would you ever complain, O Jacob, or, whine, Israel, saying,  “God has lost track of me.  He doesn’t care what happens to me”? Don’t you know anything? Haven’t you been listening? God doesn’t come and go. God lasts.  He’s Creator of all you can see or imagine. He doesn’t get tired out, doesn’t pause to catch his breath. And he knows everything, inside and out. He energizes those who get tired, gives fresh strength to dropouts. For even young people tire and drop out, young folk in their prime stumble and fall. But those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles, They run and don’t get tired, they walk and don’t lag behind. (Isaiah 40:18-31 MSG)

Did Isaiah just tell us to sit down and shut up?  Is he trying to get us to listen to what God has to teach us about life.  Did he tell us that our ability to create gods is a foolish folly?  Did we just get chastised for thinking too much of ourselves?  Did he really ask us if we’ve been paying attention to the world around us, a world that we did not create but have been created for?

Was he trying to say that we should put our trust in the one who makes the stars.  Does he really want us to put our faith in the one who always is, who never gets tired, who doesn’t pause to catch a breath, who knows everything and who actually gives strength and energy to dropouts?  Can we see the LORD God in those shoes that little dog wore? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovPYFXqesBg  Please use a little religious imagination here and think, “They spread their wings and soar like eagles, they run and don’t get tired, they walk and don’t lag behind)  Those would have been timely images to people walking from Jerusalem to Babylon.

And what about Paul.  Wouldn’t you like to hear his evaluation of Kennett, Missouri in 2012? 

 ^19-23Even though I am free of the demands and expectations of everyone, I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious, meticulous moralists, loose-living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized—whoever. I didn’t take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ—but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I’ve become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life. I did all this because of the Message. I didn’t just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it! (1 Corinthians 9:19-23 MSG)

He’s calling us to follow Jesus who taught his disciples that all the commandments given us by God could be summed up by two; love God and love neighbor as you love yourself.  Please notice that Jesus did not break that down in to three commandments (love God, love neighbor, love self).  It is our own narcissistic tendencies that separate self from neighbor.  The truth is that we are in this together and what happens to one of us happens to all of us.  John remembers Jesus showing that way of life by washing their feet as they gathered for a last meal together. 

Today we have gathered around The Servant’s Table.  I know we usually call it The Lord’s Table but I think today I want to remember that the Lord Jesus willingly became my servant, providing the way for me and you to enter into God’s presence forever.  I want to remember the stars (I still get overcome with the awesomeness of God whenever I look up and realize I’m seeing forever) and all creation and that God gave me (us) dominion, making us stewards of all creation; even as I remember all the times Jesus told a parable involving stewards (servants, slaves).  Jesus gave us his human body and offers us a new covenant.  That covenant sets us free from our sins and sets us on the path that leads to God’s House.

Does LORD want us to know that we are freed and forgiven?  I think so.  Now let’s stop whining and just do it.  

(A note for all you who attended worship yesterday… its okay, you didn’t zone out yesterday.  This was the sermon I had prepared to offer but the Spirit led us in other directions.  It was good to hear where you’d shown and seen God and there were many prayers that needed to be said.  And you do need to know that God always travels with us, even in difficult times.)

Next Week

2 Kings 5:1-14
Psalm 30
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
Mark 1:40-45

Click on these links and they’ll take you to a website called “textweek.com”  There you’ll find all kinds of study materials to help you do some work before next week’s worship.  Prepare yourself to worship God.

I want to congratulate you and to express my personal appreciation for not only fulfilling 100% of your connectional giving during 2011, but by going beyond 100%.   Your faithfulness to the connectional covenant demonstrates a commitment to ministry beyond the walls of the local church. By your giving you support our work overseas, ministerial education, our seminaries and United Methodist colleges, our conference camping, missions work, youth and college-age ministries, our starting of new churches and strengthening of existing congregations, the administration of our connection, and so many other significant ministries which no single congregation could possibly accomplish without our connectional covenant.   Thank you.

Commitment to connectional ministries begins with the pastor and the lay leadership of the congregation, and I appreciate your helpfulness. I give God thanks for the vision, generosity, and faithfulness of your members. Thank you for thinking ahead and including connectional ministries in your budgeting and ministry plan.

You have my continuing pledge to see that our connectional ministries supported by your giving are fruitful, held to a high standard of accountability and excellence, and aligned with our core mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

You and your church join with more than 600 congregations that gave full 100% support to connectional ministries in 2011.   You are also part of 40 congregations who surpassed 100% in giving. The magnitude of ministry supported by our giving makes a substantial positive difference in the lives of people, congregations, and ministries within our conference and throughout the world.

Paul writes, “We want you to know, brothers and sisters, about the grace of God that has been granted to the churches of Macedonia; for during a severe ordeal of affliction, their abundant joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part….” (II Corinthians 8:1-2)

Missouri faced numerous challenges during 2011, including massive tornado damage, severe flooding, and a difficult economy. I’m deeply gratified that our churches have nevertheless practiced inspiring levels of generosity. Thank you for all you do for the purposes of Christ.

Yours in Christ,

Robert Schnase

Jan. 31, 2012

Dear Church Family:

I should have known all ya all would have responded the way you did.  The desire of the Outreach Committee was to provide some way for us to recognize “Super Bowl Week” in a way that shows Kennett what we think is super.

They told us we could be “a Patriot or Giant for Christ” and reminded us of what James wrote, “What good is it my brothers (and sisters), if a person claims to have faith but has no deeds.  Can such faith save him?  Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.  If one of you says to them ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs what good is it?  In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”

They told us to be original and then offered some suggestions:

• Visit a nursing home, hospital or home bound person
• Volunteer at Helping Hand or school or somewhere else
• Cook a meal for a family or do something else special for someone
• Visit with someone you’ve not seen in a while
• Bake cookies, goodies, etc and just give them away
• Sent notes to people who are home bound or “thank you cards” to ???
• Deliver flowers
• Invite and bring someone to church with you!

They said these activities would give us something to talk about this coming Sunday when the Preacher asks, “Where have you shown or seen God this week?”  The big Souper Bowl was half filled with folded half sheets of paper putting words to your plans.  Thank you.

I remind you today to pray over what you offered for the glory of God’s House.  I remind you also to remember why we do such things.  First; we do these strange things because God loves us and has asked us to pass that love on to others.  Second; we want people wondering why we’d go to all the trouble just for them.  Third; this gives us the opportunity to tell them that we do this because God wants them to know that they are important and blessed.  Finally; it gives us a chance to live (at least for a few moments at a time) in the power and beauty of God’s vision of creation.

Come and see what it looks like to live “Putting Christ First … Every Day.”

In Christ’s Love…Gary

How to Pray …

One of the questions that just keeps coming up is, “How do I pray?”  1^st UMC has set aside Tuesday evening as a time for prayer in the Sanctuary.  You’re invited to join me in Nursery II each Tuesday at 6:45pm.  Two books will guide our time.

We’re going to spend the four weeks of February with that question and two books.  The first was written by a UM Pastor, Terry Tekyl (remember…he was here a couple years ago when we learned about “The Presence Based Church”.  He wrote a book titled, “How to Pray after You’ve Kicked the Dog”.  The second book is the classic, “Dimensions of Prayer” written by Douglas V. Steere.

Come and see how prayer can help us live “Putting Christ First … Every Day.”  Every Tuesday in February at 6:45pm.  We’ll have time in the Sanctuary following each session to practice what we’ve learned.

Souper Bowl Sunday

Members of the Outreach Committee will be at the doors this Sunday with really big soup pots.  You are invited to bring a dollar (or two or three or ??) to add to this special offering that will purchase food for Helping Hand.  Five hundred twenty some families received food baskets during the month of January at this Kennett Ministerial Alliance sponsored mission.

4^th Sunday after the Epiphany

Psalm 111 / Mark 1:21-28

“What Have You To do With Us?”

Today we’re going to learn one of the most important words in Mark’s vocabulary.  It’s the word that makes Mark’s gospel one of the easiest and most important for anyone who wants to know about Jesus to read.  We’re pretty sure that both Matthew and Luke used Mark’s gospel as a source for their own understanding of the Good News of Jesus Christ.  That one important word is, “immediately”.

Mark writes in a rush.  He seems excited about the story he’s telling and he doesn’t want to add any words where they are not needed.  We’ve already read his story of Jesus’ nativity by quoting Isaiah.  John the Baptizer has been introduced as the one preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins and the whole Judean countryside and all Jerusalem were going out to him.  John tells them that one more powerful than he is coming with a Holy Spirit baptism.  That took eight verses.  Next Jesus is baptized by John in the Jordan, the heavens part the Spirit descends on him like a dove.  The Voice says, “You are my dear Son; in you I take delight and immediately it the Spirit drove him into the wilderness where Jesus endured temptations from Satan.  He lived with the wild animals and angels took care of him.  That took thirteen verses.  The word “immediately” was only used once but that’s just because he didn’t want to stop long enough to say the word but one time.

Mark uses eight verses to say that John was imprisoned, Jesus started proclaiming the gospel of God, one set of brothers immediately left their nets and another set immediately left their father.  Then they all went to Capernaum and that’s where we join the story today.

“…when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. 22They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. 23Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, 24and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” 25But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. 27They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” 28At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.” (Mark 1:21-28 NRSV)

What is the first thing you remember after reading this story?  I think most of us zero in on the man who interrupted Jesus’ teaching.  There’s just something about a story about a man with an unclean spirit; so much so that, until this week, I’d often thought of this as an exorcism story.  And I guess it is, but not like most exorcisms because most of us, at one time or another in our lives have been the carrier of this particular kind of demon.  That’s because most of us have spoken that man’s words at some time or other, “What have you to do with us?”

We normally use that sentence when someone we don’t consider to be “one of us” is suggesting that we do something we don’t really want to do.  It happened to me during my first appointment as a United Methodist Pastor.  All I really wanted was for them to consider using Methodist curriculum for Sunday School.  We’d gotten some trial copies and all the teachers liked the way it worked.  But there were some of the older adults who were dead set against it.  That’s when I learned that it’s a bad idea to list every member of the church as a member of the Administrative Council.  The night of the vote our regular meeting of 10  grew to be 40.  They used different words but the idea was the same, “what do you know about us?” “What do you have to do with us?” “What business of that is ours?”  Leave us alone, we were happy with what we had before you came and we’ll be happy when you’re gone.  The D.S. was not happy with me and later asked what “I” intended to do to solve “my” problem.

I’ve come to believe that those kinds of unclean words are spoken just about every time good people gather to talk about how the church is going to be the church.  It all goes back to what Jesus had been teaching.  That, rather than the fact of the man with an unclean spirit, seems to be what most amazed the people who were actually present that day in Capernaum.  What astounded them was Jesus’ teaching.  He taught out of his own relationship with God, not someone else’s.  He didn’t quote scribes or experts but spoke with authority.  It was something new and different and we have to go back to verse fifteen to find out what Jesus preached.  (Check this out…all the gospel writers agree that this was Jesus’ sermon.)

“The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is near.”  That’s it.  A sermon to rival the one Jonah preached last week.  Remember it?  “Forty days more and Nineveh will be destroyed.”  A sermon Larry would have loved and he’s on vacation.  Eight words and the whole town rushed to buy sackcloth and ashes.  Even the animals joined prayed for forgiveness.  Jesus uses eleven words.  (Larry’s still on vacation.)  And the man with unclean words has the nerve to ask what does that have to do with us.

God’s kingdom is not “out there” somewhere.  It is not some place or some time else.  It is near.  It is now.  Psalm 111 reminds us who God is by telling us what God has done not what God will do.  We’re told to sing our Halleluiah’s because of who God is.  God‘s house is near. This is a new way of understanding life as God’s chosen people.  And that’s why the man asked, “What does this have to do with me?”

Truth is we better be looking for an answer to that question.  I don’t believe it’s a problem to ask what any of this has to do with me.  I’m also convinced that, if asked honestly and with the right spirit, there will always be a positive answer because, because of Christ, the Kingdom of God has come near.

You see there were two men in the synagogue that day who were filled with a spirit.  One we’d describe as “clean” and the other “unclean”.  The thing we need to see is that the “clean” spirit had more power than the “unclean” and that Spirit of God does make a difference in our lives.  It is not just something we pull on most every Sunday and then pack away after we’ve made our appearance with the “right kind of folk.”  It is a reality we carry with us twenty four hours a day / seven days a week.

Maybe that’s  what really astounded the people that day.  Maybe they were amazed to be told that the God they worshiped cared about them right where they lived.  They were amazed that this one, who had reacted so many years ago to the evil of Noah’s neighbors and the cruelty of Egyptian taskmasters and the cry of barren women and the injustice of chosen kings and the loss of homeland and national identity, could still hear and act with power in this new world conquered by Roman power, nuclear threat, economic disparity.

“What do you have to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?”  We still shout, “Everything!”

Next Week

5th Sunday after the Epiphany

Scripture

Isaiah 40:21-31

1 Corinthians 9:16-23

Sermon

“Freed and Forgiven”

Eddie feels very postitive about this plan and appreciates all your thoughts and prayers.

Please remember Christie Gurley in your prayers.  After numerous trips to heart doctors in Memphis it has been determined that she needs work on one or two of her heart valves.

The date for this procedure has not been set.  Your prayers are very much appreciated.

Visitation is Wednesday, 1/18 at McDaniel Funeral Home 6-8pm

Funeral is Thursday, 1/19 at McDaniel Chapel at 10am.

They are going back to St. Louis Childrens today to see if they can find out why he keeps getting sick.  A time will probably be set for them to put tubes in his ears.  They are also asking about allergy testing, the sleep study that was done last March, and tonsils and adenoids.

The Adkissons appreciate all the prayers they can get for a successful appointment and discernment from their doctor (Dr. Judith Lieu).

“Putting Christ First…Every Day”

Dear Church Family

Good morning all.  It was really nice to gather with you and the Holy Spirit who kept making its presence known.  We saw it with reports of answered prayers revealed, insights into the depth of our relationship with God, an answered call to God’s table, and the ebb and flow of sunlight streaming through the southern windows.

The books for 2011 are all but officially closed.  I thought you all might like to know that, with addition of a time of worship for Youth United in Christ, an average of 212 people gathered to worship each week at the corner of Washington and College in Kennett.  We are blest that 457 Christians called United Methodist currently associate with 1^st UMC.  Nine of our people joined the church triumphant in 2011 while eight became members of 1^st UMC by profession of faith and two transferred their membership from other Christian denominations.  Four received the sacrament of Christian Baptism.  Offerings received totaled almost $341,000 while gifts for designated projects and memorials totaled a little more than $33,000.

One of my favorite hymns was written by Natalie Sleeth.  The third verse of “Hymn of Promise” sings; “In our end is our beginning; in our time, infinity; in our doubt there is believing; in our life, eternity.   In our death, a resurrection; at the last, a victory, unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.”

As years change I start to wonder in God’s wisdom and call upon all life.  I begin again to dream of the possibilities of each new day.  I thank God for supporting us as we lean into a future where the final ending has already been written.

I’ve recently learned the difference between “hope for” and “hope in” (Thank you Weavings).  My hope for the future of 1^st UMC Kennett rests in God through Jesus Christ.  I’m convinced that if I learn to live putting Christ first every day then the blessings God has planned will flow through me into a world that desperately needs to hear some good news.  Come and See.

In Christ’s Love….Gary

Ministries; Helping us learn to live putting Christ first…every day.

Sunday Morning Worship & Sunday School

1. “UpWords” at 8:30am
   1. A Praise Service style
2. Sunday School for all ages at 9:30am
3. “Celebration of Worship” at 10:30am
   1. A more traditional Book of Worship style

Sunday Evening Studies

1. “Youth United in Christ” (YUiC)
   1. Middle School YUiC meets at 5:00pm in the Youth Room
   2. YUiC Meal at 6:00pm in the CLC
   3. Youth Worship at 6:30pm in the Chapel
   4. High School YUiC meets at 7:00pm in the Youth Room
2. Lay Leadership Development – led by Mike Bell (already in session)
3. Bible Serendipity for Women – led by Jennifer Bell at her home. Come and see.

Monday Evening

1. “Whispers of Hope” meets at 6:00pm in the CLC meeting Room
   1. An opportunity for women to privately share and discuss the stresses in their lives; be it anxiety, grief, depression, or the daily stresses that come to all of us in this fast paced world.  It is guided by understanding, encouragement, support and scripture.

Tuesday prayer

1. “How do I Pray?” 6:45pm to include “practice time” at the end of each session.
   1. Beginning the first Tuesday of February. (Text = “Dimensions of Prayer” by Douglas V. Steere) Come and see.
2. Tuesday Hour of Prayer begins at 7:00pm
   1. A simple quiet time to be with God and pray

Wednesday Bible Study

1. Ladies Prayer & Share Bible Study meets at 9:00am in the CLC Meeting Room
2. MidWeek Bible Study meets at 6:30pm in the CLC Meeting Room
   1. Now – John’s Gospel; One Sign at a time.
   2. Beginning the first Wednesday in March; Not a Fan, by Kyle Ideleman.  It’s a book that talks about the difference between being a “fan” or a “follower” of Jesus.  His “ah-ha” moment comes after reading John 6 while preparing an Easter sermon. Plan to come and see.

Needed: People Willing to Share What They’ve Learned

Life is filled with moments when we move from one life style to another.  Most of those changes are filled with the possibilities of positive and negatives. Some we sail through with few problems.  Others seem to grab our ears and hold on.

If you’re one of those to whom God has revealed a way through those transitions I’d like to invite you to use what you’ve learned to help others.  Or if you’re in the midst of one  or those moments right now and want to search out God’s way to deal with marriage, children, old age, empty-nest, divorce, death or any of the many situations that tug at our soul; then talk to me or any of the members of the Church Council.

We want to be more intentional with our call to live putting Christ first every day.  And we want to be a church that teaches ourselves and others the peace that comes to every life that is lived putting Christ first every day.  Come and see.

Sunday Prayers

Ruth Wilkerson, Brienne Meeks, Glen Kitchens, Haroldine Garrett (Emily Garrett’s mother), Keith Duncan (Ruby Walpole’s son-in-law), Bob Cole (Joan Bazzel’s brother)

2^nd Sunday of Epiphany

Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18 / John 1:35-51

“Search Me”

It is confession time.  Last night (Saturday) I stayed up til 11:30 playing “Hand & Foot” with some of you.  The good news is that I came in 2^nd place (kind of interesting that the hostess came in first).  The bad news is that I was up so late and it so disrupted my schedule that….I got nothing this morning.  I did all due diligence with the scriptures and all but….nothing.

So I thought I might just ask you all to preach the sermon this morning.  (a few groans and some really odd looks)  I’d like you to turn to someone you love and tell them what difference Jesus makes in your life.  I’m trust that some of you will look around for any singles you might know in the group.  Take a few minutes.

You started kind of slow but some of you seemed to have something to say after a while.  Now tell that same person about your favorite grandchild or child or parent (grand or otherwise).  Take a few minutes.

Now…what about them Broncos?

How was the first weekend of little league basketball?

Where are you going to eat lunch when this sermon finally ends?

I just noticed something.  The noise level in the room rose with each question.  I can’t say for sure but I’m thinking the reason is that you became more comfortable with each successive question, more excited about the information shared.  That’s a problem considering Jesus’ plan to tell the world about God’s Kingdom depends on our ability to tell (and show) others the difference Jesus makes in our lives.

I know…we’ve all been taught that the two subjects to avoid in polite company are politics and religion.  The problem is that for some reason we have trouble acting like Christians when we talk about Christ.  We have got to get over that stumbling block if we ever hope for our prayers for God’s Kingdom on earth as in heaven to become true.

Surprise….I do have something.  And it begins with Psalm 139 and the good news that God knows us completely.

^1-6 God, investigate my life; get all the facts firsthand.
I’m an open book to you;
even from a distance, you know what I’m thinking.
You know when I leave and when I get back;
I’m never out of your sight.
You know everything I’m going to say
before I start the first sentence.
I look behind me and you’re there,
then up ahead and you’re there, too—
your reassuring presence, coming and going.
This is too much, too wonderful—
I can’t take it all in!

^13-18 Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
you formed me in my mother’s womb.
I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking!
Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
I worship in adoration—what a creation!
You know me inside and out,
you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
before I’d even lived one day.
Your thoughts—how rare, how beautiful!
God, I’ll never comprehend them!
I couldn’t even begin to count them—
any more than I could count the sand of the sea.
Oh, let me rise in the morning and live always with you! (Psalm 139 MSG)

That is one happy dude or dudette who knows what difference God makes in life.  That’s a singer with a song titled, “God’s Love; No Place to Hide”.  Psalm 139 is one of those songs we need to rewrite, exchanging our name with all the “I’s”, “my’s”, and “me’s”.  The LORD knows us completely and there is no place to hide.  The LORD came to walk with us, revealing the Holy Vision and making The Way straight and level; an easy walk if only we’d love the LORD the same way the LORD loves us.

But John reveals that we often hold on to our love with almost as much passion as God offers his.  So small steps are revealed as John talks.

Today’s gospel begins the first act of John’s gospel.  It follows an overture that is his Nativity.  “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”  “God’s light came into the world and the darkness could not overcome it.”  Then he starts talking about The Baptizer whose testimony began by saying that he was not the One but had come as a voice of one crying in the wilderness, “make straight the way of the Lord” baptizing with water for repentance to prepare for One who would baptize with Holy Spirit and fire.

^35-36The next day John was back at his post with two disciples, who were watching. He looked up, saw Jesus walking nearby, and said, “Here he is, God’s Passover Lamb.”

^37-38The two disciples heard him and went after Jesus. Jesus looked over his shoulder and said to them, “What are you after?”

They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”

³⁹He replied, “Come along and see for yourself.”

They came, saw where he was living, and ended up staying with him for the day. It was late afternoon when this happened.

^40-42Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard John’s witness and followed Jesus. The first thing he did after finding where Jesus lived was find his own brother, Simon, telling him, “We’ve found the Messiah” (that is, “Christ”). He immediately led him to Jesus.

Jesus took one look up and said, “You’re John’s son, Simon? From now on your name is Cephas” (or Peter, which means “Rock”).

^43-44The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. When he got there, he ran across Philip and said, “Come, follow me.” (Philip’s hometown was Bethsaida, the same as Andrew and Peter.)

^45-46Philip went and found Nathanael and told him, “We’ve found the One Moses wrote of in the Law, the One preached by the prophets. It’s Jesus, Joseph’s son, the one from Nazareth!” Nathanael said, “Nazareth? You’ve got to be kidding.”

But Philip said, “Come, see for yourself.”

⁴⁷When Jesus saw him coming he said, “There’s a real Israelite, not a false bone in his body.”

⁴⁸Nathanael said, “Where did you get that idea? You don’t know me.”

Jesus answered, “One day, long before Philip called you here, I saw you under the fig tree.”

⁴⁹Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi! You are the Son of God, the King of Israel!”

^50-51Jesus said, “You’ve become a believer simply because I say I saw you one day sitting under the fig tree? You haven’t seen anything yet! Before this is over you’re going to see heaven open and God’s angels descending to the Son of Man and ascending again.” (John 1 MSG)

John said, “Look, there he is; the Lamb of God” and two of his disciples left to follow Jesus.  Jesus asked what they were looking for and they asked where he was staying.  I believe there was more behind that question than a simple address.  They wanted to know about Jesus, they wanted to not only see where but also how he lived.  Jesus simply said, “come and see.”

They did and the first thing chance they got then went to get Andrew’s brother.  You’d have thought the Judean Giants had won the World Series.  Their discovery excited them that much.  And immediately they took Simon to see Jesus and with one look Jesus knew he had the wrong name.  He wasn’t Simon.  He was Peter, the Rock.

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee.  He ran across Philip, starting the habit of calling disciples with a simple, “come and see” or “come, follow me.”  It’s obvious that Jesus there was a direct connection between what Jesus said and what he did.

Philip went and found Nathanael who was one of those kind of friends.  You know..one of those that always manages to say an embarrassing or negative word.  Soon has he found out Jesus was from Nazareth he responded with a sigh and sentence, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”  I’m guessing the Nazareth Eagles had a habit of beating up on the Galilee Bulldogs every time they met on the field or court.

Jesus recognized the type, declaring him an Israelite who said what he thought.  Nathan found out Jesus had seen him at “the Fig Tree” which was maybe a place where local Rabbis gathered to discuss God’s Law.  All it took was for Nathan to realize that Jesus knew who really was for him to proclaim, “You are the Son of God, the King of Israel!”

Sounds like a lot of excitement from a simple request to come and see.  But that’s all it took for Jesus to gather the twelve who would become his friends and the pillars of Christ’s Church.

Jesus lived his understanding of the difference God made in his human life.  His words and actions revealed God every day.  It didn’t matter if he was sitting at the well or teaching on the hillside or walking next to a pool or strolling through the temple.  All anyone had to do was follow him and they saw who God is and they experienced the difference God makes.

It is the same for us.  I asked you to tell someone you loved about the difference Jesus makes in your life.  Another way of making that request would be to ask you to tell the person you love what you love about God.  We’ve said we want to be a church filled with people who live putting Christ first every day.  We’re trying to become a people who show God revealed by Jesus Christ every day.  We’re moving toward that time when we are as comfortable talking about Jesus and all he has taught us as we are about the accomplishments of our children/grandchildren in the classroom or on the sports field.

It is a simple as remembering that Jesus called people to him by asking them to come and see.  Allow Jesus to live through the things you do and in God’s time everyone will be wanting to part of a community that lives putting Christ first every day.

Next Week

God’s call is clear: “Follow me!” When we are awake to God’s call, we can be led into surprising, unconventional places; we can even turn away from what our culture labels truth. With the realm of God close at hand, the Holy One invites us to be part of the solution. The call is clear and urgent: We are to be ready to turn to this new, unexpected Way.

Scriptures Psalm 62:5-12

Jonah 3:1-5, 10

Sermon           “Appropriate Attire”