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June 2: Number 4



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    Second Sunday of Kingdomtide: Have you thought about the Ten Commandments lately? What do they really mean. How strictly must I follow them? This week, we will consider “Number 4” to discern what it means in today’s world. Our scriptures will be taken from Romans 14:1-13 and Mark 2:23-3:6.


    See you Sunday.


    Grace and Peace,

    Pastor Jim


    Romans 14:1-13


    Do Not Judge Another

    14 Welcome those who are weak in faith,[a] but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions.  2 Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables.  3 Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgment on those who eat; for God has welcomed them.  4 Who are you to pass judgment on servants of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord[b] is able to make them stand.

     

    5 Some judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike. Let all be fully convinced in their own minds.  6 Those who observe the day, observe it in honor of the Lord. Also those who eat, eat in honor of the Lord, since they give thanks to God; while those who abstain, abstain in honor of the Lord and give thanks to God.

     

    7 We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves.  8 If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.  9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

     

    10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister?[c] Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister?[d] For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.[e]  11 For it is written,

    “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,    and every tongue shall give praise to[f] God.”

     

    12 So then, each of us will be accountable to God.[g]

     

    Do Not Make Another Stumble

    13 Let us therefore no longer pass judgment on one another, but resolve instead never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of another.[h]  



    Mark 2:23-3:6


    Pronouncement about the Sabbath

    23 One sabbath he was going through the grainfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain.  24 The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?”  25 And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food?  26 He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and he gave some to his companions.”  27 Then he said to them, “The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath;  28 so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.”

     

    The Man with a Withered Hand

    3 Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand.  2 They watched him to see whether he would cure him on the sabbath, so that they might accuse him.  3 And he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Come forward.”  4 Then he said to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent.  5 He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.  6 The Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.

       










    9am Service



    10:30am Service




    May 26: Ok, I'm Confused



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      Trinity Sunday: One of the hardest concepts in Christianity is the Trinity: God in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Three persons, One God! Confused? Join the club, but we will try to make sense of the situation in a message titled, “Said What?” Our scriptures will be taken from Isaiah 6:1-8 and John 3:1-17.


      See you Sunday.


      Grace and Peace,

      Pastor Jim


      Isaiah 6:1-8


      A Vision of God in the Temple

      6 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple.  2 Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew.  3 And one called to another and said:

      “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;the whole earth is full of his glory.”

       

      4 The pivots[a] on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke.  5 And I said: “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

       

      6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs.  7 The seraph[b] touched my mouth with it and said: “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.”  8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me!”  



      John 3:1-17


      Nicodemus Visits Jesus

      3 Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews.  2 He came to Jesus[a] by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.”  3 Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.”[b]  4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?”  5 Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.  6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.[c]  7 Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You[d] must be born from above.’[e]  8 The wind[f] blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”  9 Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?”  10 Jesus answered him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?

       

      11 “Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you[g] do not receive our testimony.  12 If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?  13 No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.[h]  14 And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,  15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.[i]

       

      16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

       

      17 “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.  









      9am Service:




      10:30am Service:



      May 19: The Advocate



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        Pentecost Sunday: Pentecost is sometimes described as the birthday of the church. The disciples did as Jesus asked and were rewarded with an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. In a similar way, the founders of the churches, which became the United Methodist Church, were inspired by the Holy Spirit. Will the Spirit come again and fill us with new abilities and excitement? Our message will be titled “The Advocate,” based on both John 15:26-26, 16:4b-15, and Acts 2:1-21. Because this is the Sunday immediately preceding Annual Conference, Pastor Jim will have some historic items in the sanctuary and will celebrate Holy Communion using the chalice John Wesley sent to America in 1784.


        See you Sunday.


        Grace and Peace,

        Pastor Jim


        John 15:26, 16:4b-15


        26 “When the Advocate[a] comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf.


         4 But I have said these things to you so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you about them.


        The Work of the Spirit

        “I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you.  5 But now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’  6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts.  7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate[a] will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.  8 And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about[b] sin and righteousness and judgment:  9 about sin, because they do not believe in me;  10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer;  11 about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.

         

        12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.  13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.  14 He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you.  15 All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.



        Acts 2:1-21


        The Coming of the Holy Spirit

        2 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.  2 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.  3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them.  4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

         

        5 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem.  6 And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each.  7 Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?  8 And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language?  9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,  10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,  11 Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.”  12 All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”  13 But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”

         

        Peter Addresses the Crowd

        14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say.  15 Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning.  16 No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

         

        17 ‘In the last days it will be, God declares,that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,    and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,and your young men shall see visions,    and your old men shall dream dreams.18 Even upon my slaves, both men and women,    in those days I will pour out my Spirit;        and they shall prophesy.19 And I will show portents in the heaven above    and signs on the earth below,        blood, and fire, and smoky mist.20 The sun shall be turned to darkness    and the moon to blood,        before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.21 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’










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