Vol 3 No 35 - Saving the World

What a joy it was to be with you all this past Sunday for Cokesbury and Covered-Dish Sunday.  The singing and worship was truly inspirational, and the time of fellowship and communion over the meal afterwards left me truly filled, both physically and spiritually.

Coming off the heels of this great Sunday is another extraordinary ministry opportunity in the life of our congregation, the festivities surrounding our Shrimp & Petroleum Festival parking lot fundraiser.  From Friday night thru Sunday, the youth and other volunteers within the congregation will be working to raise support for our youth ministries, and I cannot wait to see you out there as we help the next generation, fellowship with each other, and be a Christian witness to those partaking of the festival activities.  Don't forget that parking passes ($15 for Friday, $25 for Saturday, $25 for Sunday) are available by contacting the church office or our youth director, Angie, at champine@bellsouth.net.

It's not too often that a church will get the opportunity to live out the Christian faith among so many people gathered in one place at one time.  I want to encourage you, as you are able, to not only participate in the church's activities this weekend, but also to take time to take in the festival activities.  Just by acting in a responsible, Christian manner as you enjoy these things provides a powerful testimony to so many who need to come across more examples of Christian living.

Finally, don't forget that, due to parking and traffic logistics, our Sunday morning worship FOR THIS SUNDAY ONLY will be at 9:00AM.  Sunday school will not be meeting this week.

See You Sunday!

Lamar

Vol 3 No 34 - Community "Life"

A Sunday of by-request singing out of the old Cokesbury books, with a covered-dish luncheon to follow.  A weekend of welcoming residents and visitors alike to our town's annual festival while also interacting with and assisting our youth as they seek to do the will of God.  A mission to some of the poorest areas in our country.  Pictoral directory photos sessions.  Bi-weekly trips to UMCOR to assist those who provide hands-on disaster relief around the world.  Weekly communion services.  Sunday school for all ages.  Our music ministry gathering each week to improve themselves as they seek to lead us in worship.  A prayer gathering each Wednesday morning to lift up by name the needs of which we are aware.

I don't know about you, but to me the upcoming weeks in the life of our congregation are shaping up to be some very great opportunities to help us continue to grow as a community of faith in our quest to live out the life to which God has called us.  Each of these opportunities for fellowship, worship, and mission cut to the core of who we say we are as the body of Christ.  Futher, it is we we seize the opportunity to participate in these things that we get to see even more of God's grace and mercy.  There is nothing that the forces of evil hate more than the body of Christ strengthening itself by engaging in the life of the church.  There is nothing that the forces of evil enjoy more than the people of the body of Christ being distracted from the community of faith, for when we do not gather together, we are not reveling in and drawing strength from the Spirit that binds us to one another.

Looking over the list above, I can tell you that while it may not be possible to participate in all of them, I can tell you that if/when you can/do take part in these activities, it is a joy like none other - for there is nothing that is more joyful than being an active part of the salvific work of Christ in the world today.

See You Sunday!

Lamar

Vol 3 No 33 - Re-Discovery

How many times in life do we have that wonderful experience of rediscovering a long-lost friend or a long-lost treasured item that we had let slip from our mind?  Preparing for my Sunday School class I have experienced these emotions walking through the pages of Hebrews.  A lesser-known of the New Testament writings, Hebrews is filled with many timeless truths that, upon further consideration, have a deep impact on our walk with Christ.  Until I read and studied this material in-depth, about the only thing I could specifically recall from Hebrews was one of my favorite verses in all of scripture, "Now, faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things unseen." (11:1)

I wonder how often we allow our lives to be lessened by our failure to interact with more of the Scriptures on a regular basis.  I ask myself, and ask you now, how much of the Good News do we miss out upon because we either don't read scripture on a regular basis OR read only those parts that we enjoy and/or with which we are familiar?

There are so many things in life that once were so special to us and now we could barely, if at all, recall them right now - why is it that we so easily allow them to just drift away as we move through life?  Getting re-acquainted with the once-familiar is such a joyful experience; my hope and prayer for each of you this day is that you will take the initiative to become re-acquainted once again (or, in some cases, for the first time) with the joy of some of the lesser-known of the Scriptures.

See You Sunday!
Lamar

Vol 3 No 32 - Back to Basics

For a number of children in our community, tomorrow and Friday mark the first day of school, and it causes me to think back to the anticipation and terror that greeted a new academic year.  Catching up with people I hadn't seen all summer was great; meeting new people who had moved into town was ok; getting back into routine was, well, getting back into routine.

One thing that I will always keep in mind when I remember the start of a new year is the experience of walking into a new teacher's classroom.  Of course, I walked into the room with preconceived notions and prejudices about the teacher in question based on the word on the street (it wasn't until seventh grade that I realized that teachers passed word among themselves about incoming students and that our reputations preceded us as well).  Dealing with a new teacher, however, became a moot point after about a week most years because by then the familiarity of the expectations that the teacher had for us were established.

It's with this in mind that I am looking forward to our next three weeks in worship, for I will be preaching a series of sermons based off of John Wesley's expectations for those who joined the Methodist societies that he and his brother Charles were establishing within theChurch of England.  Wesley's three simple rules were:

    1) Do No Harm
    2) Do Good
    3) Tend to Your Relationship with God (paraphrase)

As our children and our society start getting back into the routine of a new academic year, I hope and pray that you will join us for this series of worship, being reminded once again of the expectations that are placed upon those of us who choose to follow Christ.

See You Sunday!
Lamar