Sermon Notes for Sunday, July 26th, 2009

Our Lay Member to Annual Conference, Mr. Tim Lancaster, delivered the following message when the pastor attended a UMYF event with our Youth Groups in Greensboro:

The Blessings for Those that Keep His Commandments

Deuteronomy 7:9 (King James Version)
9Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;

Ruth 1:16 (King James Version)
16And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God

Matthew 1:5 (New King James Version)
5 Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse,

Revelation 22:14 (King James Version)
14Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

“Thanks be unto God”


The Message:

Let’s ponder on some of the God fearing people of the Bible, and consider how their relationship with God blessed them and has blessed many generations. First let’s take a look at Abraham.

Genesis 22:17-18 (King James Version)
17That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
18And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
Then, let’s think of Isaac,
Genesis 25:21

Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. The LORD answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant.

Then, let’s consider Jacob,

Genesis 28:1 (King James Version)
And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.


Genesis 31:3 (New International Version)
3 Then the LORD said to Jacob, "Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you."


Now, let’s think of Joseph,

Genesis 39:2 (New International Version)
1. 2 The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.

Let us Consider Moses,

Exodus 2:11 (King James Version)
11And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren.


Let’s move on to Joshua,

Deuteronomy 31:23 (New International Version)
23 The LORD gave this command to Joshua son of Nun: "Be strong and courageous, for you will bring the Israelites into the land I promised them on oath, and I myself will be with you."

Let’s think of Rahab, even though she was a Gentile she protected the people of God, and later married a Man of God’s people.

James 2:25 (New International Version)

25In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?

Let’s consider Ruth, a Moabite a non Jewish woman that worshiped other gods but chose Israel’s God, think about how God blessed Ruth and many generations after her choice to serve the Living God.

Ruth 2:2 (New International Version)
2 And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, "Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor."
Naomi said to her, "Go ahead, my daughter


Let’s consider Boaz of Bethlehem, and how he saw within Ruth her love for her Mother-in-Law, and how she had forsaken her gods to serve Israel’s God.

Ruth 2:11 (New International Version)
1. 11 Boaz replied, "I've been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before.

When we think of King David, the grandson of Ruth and Boaz, we begin to get the picture of how choices of choosing Israel’s God blesses many generations. David made his choice to serve the Living God of Israel, and our Jesus Christ is from the generations of David.

1 Samuel 17:26 (King James Version)
26And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?

The Blessed Virgin Mary, again one of the generations of King David, made a choice to accept the Word of God, and conceived our precious Savior in her womb. “Many generation will called me blessed.”

Luke 1:38 (King James Version)
1. 38And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.



The Son of God, the Son of David, our Lord Jesus Christ,

Jesus Christ the incarnation of God is our door to the Heavenly Father, the maker of Heaven and Earth. When God mingled Himself with flesh, He provided not only the Supreme Sacrifice for our Sins on Calvary, He also provided a way He could live within Man by the Holy Spirit. As we grow more in Him with our relationship, we will understand what St. Paul mentioned, “it’s no longer I that live, but Christ lives in me”. “I can do all things in Christ, who strengthens me” We’ll understand too,


Philippians 2:15 (King James Version)
15That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

Our relationship with God and putting Him first in our life, will bless others, let’s think about how we started our relationship with Christ. Someone had to tell us about Him, and obviously the person telling us had a relationship with Him. The light we saw in them attracted us to Him, we accepted Him as our Savior which qualified us to be an Ambassador of light to a dark world. How more could we love God than to be a light shining for Him in this dark world. Yes, there is a blessing in serving Him, and as we look back through the Scriptures we see many that put God first in their life were blessed during their journey in this life. We see too, that they still met challenges in this life, but they had a source of strength within them that sustained them. We understand more why Jesus said, “they are in this world but not of this world”.

John 16:33 (King James Version) `
33These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

Let’s make the choice today as the people of God made in the Scriptures to choose Him to be their first love, and in that choice we will be blessed and so will the ones around us. The ultimate blessing is we bless the God of Heaven and Earth when we choose Him, and by doing that He will reward us for our choice, and also our choice will influence many generations after us. Let’s choose to be a “Blessing” to God, ourselves, and others!

Sermon Notes for Sunday, July 19th, 2009

Matthew 28:16-20 The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they worshipped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and spoke unto them, saying, ‘All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go now, and teach every nation, baptizing all believers in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teach all believers to observe every single thing I have commanded you, and know that I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ Amen.

The Great Commission was issued, and the disciples were told to spread the Gospel all over the world…to “every nation.”

To enable them, and all believers, to do this, when he ascended to Heaven, he graced humanity with special tools – spiritual gifts – he fully expects the Saints of God to utilize, even to this day…

Ephesians 4:8, 11-13 When Jesus ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto humanity… he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.

These gifts were not for a select and privileged few, but for the church as a whole, for the edification of the entire body of Christ

The concept that the preaching of the gospel was only for the elite somehow crept into the church and, by the Middle Ages, only priests were allowed to preach the Word, and only priests and the very wealthy were allowed to learn to read. This stood in total opposition of Christ’s intentions

In the Sixteenth century, Martin Luther – a Catholic layman who become a clergyman after being nearly struck by lightning (“Saint Anne, help me! I will become a monk!”) – noticed the following passages in the Bible, and they made him do some serious thinking…

1 Peter 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 2:9 Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Revelation 5:9-10 And they sang a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation, and hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

Revelation 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

Martin Luther’s paraphrase: “There is neither priest nor layman, there is neither rich nor poor, for it is not a question of this or that status, degree, or order.”

In 1520, Martin Luther also stated, “Christ has made it possible for us, provided we believe in him, to be not only his brethren, co-heirs, and fellow-kings, but also his fellow-priests. Therefore, we may boldly come into the presence of God in the spirit of faith...

Hebrews 10:19-22 tells us our hearts cry out ‘Abba, Father,’ and directs us to pray for one another, and do all things which we [have] see[n] done and foreshadowed in the outer and visible works of priests.”

Luther added, “Injustice is done those words ‘priest,’ ‘cleric,’ ‘spiritual,’ ‘ecclesiastic,’ [and “’clergy’] when they are transferred from all Christians to those few who are now by a mischievous usage called ‘ecclesiastics.’ “

Clarifying the Scriptural message of the Priesthood of the Believer was a passion for Martin Luther. Even toward the end of his life, in 1544, Luther preached the following four points:

1.

Before God all Christians have the same standing, a priesthood in which we enter by baptism and through faith.

2. As a comrade and brother [or sister] of Christ, each Christian is a priest, and needs no mediator between themselves and God, other than Christ. They are entitled to free access to the Word.

3. Each Christian is a priest, and has an office of sacrifice, not the Mass, but the dedication of themselves to the praise and obedience of God, and to bearing the cross.

4. Each Christian has a duty to hand on the Gospel, which they have received.

Somehow, in the modern world, the Great Commission has become misunderstood once again – and the expectation seems to be, again, that it is entirely up to Clergy to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with the world. This line of thinking is wrong.

For many reasons there is a distrust of clergy amongst the unchurched. This is primarily due to the fact that it is not clergy that the unchurched interact with in their daily lives. Because they reject organized religion as a whole, and because they don’t circulate, socially, with what they deem the “religious crowd,” they see – for the most part – only laity. And, too often, they see the bad side of the laity and they, naturally, deem all Christians “hypocrites” and “phonies” - and that’s unfair, but that’s the way it is. It’s up to us to change their minds, and this cannot be done by trying to force the Gospel on them, but by living as Christ would have us live, abiding by the Word of God in all respects. People are watching us, to see if we practice what we preach…

In accordance with the Great Commission, Christians have a Spiritual mandate to spread the Gospel – not force the Gospel on others – to spread the Gospel with love, prayer, and holy lives. The Word tells us how we should live…

Romans 12:1 says we are to consider our lives, even our very bodies, to be “a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God.” Have we responded to the Word, or are we wriggling wildly on God’s altar, clamoring to escape the discomfort that comes with the sacrifice?

Sermon Notes for Sunday, July 12th, 2009

While the pastor and his family were away for summer vacation, our Lay Member to Annual Conference, Mr. Tim Lancaster, delivered the following message to the congregation:

The Greatest Commandment

The reading of the Word of God.

“This is the Word of God for the people of God.”

Leviticus 19:18

Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.

Matthew 22:36-40 36

"Master, which is the great commandment in the law?" 37Jesus said unto him, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38This is the first and great commandment. 39And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

“Thanks be unto God.”

(The Message)

This morning, let’s ponder what Luke told us about the “Greatest Commandment.”

Luke Chapter 10: 25And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? 26He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? 27And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. 28And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. 29But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? 30And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. 33But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, 34And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. 36Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? 37And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

Samaria was a region of central Palestine that was once the capital of Israel. In 721 B.C. it was captured by the Assysrians who deported much of the population and replaced them with foreign colonists (2 Kings 17:24-33). The colonists were pagans who eventually intermarried with the remaining Jews. They adopted the religion of Israel, but they also continued to worship their pagan idols. The Jews considered the Samaritans to be religious heretics of a foreign nationality and inferior race. The Samaritans offered to help rebuild the Jewish temple, but their offer was rudely rebuffed (Ezra 4:1-3). Finally the Samaritans built a rival temple on Mt. Gerizim and proclaimed it, rather than the Jewish temple, to be the true house of God. By the time of Jesus, the Jews and Samaritans had hated each other for hundreds of years.

With that background, it is easy to understand that there was no one the Jewish expert in the law would have considered to be less of a "neighbor" than a Samaritan. If a Samaritan man could be a "neighbor" to the Jewish man who was robbed and beaten, then the definition of "neighbor" would have to include all people, regardless of race, religion, nationality or any other artificial distinction.

The Samaritan man gave freely of both his time and his money to help a Jewish man who was not only a stranger, but also was of a different religion, a foreigner and an enemy of his people. In His Parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus challenges us to "Go and do likewise." We do not have to agree with other people's beliefs and opinions or condone their actions, but Jesus calls us to overcome our prejudices and show our kindness to all people of the world and consider them our "neighbors."

The importance of Man, we have recorded in Genesis, God the Maker of Heaven and Earth made Man both male and female in His own image, and after His likeness.

We have God working through Man with Seth, then Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph,

Moses, Naomi, Ruth, Samuel, David, the prophets, and then moving on to the New Testament through our Blessed Virgin Mary, Jesus Christ our Lord, his Disciples, St. Paul, and ultimately the Bride of Christ in Revelation.

When we look at these people’s lives in our Holy Bible, we see how to “love your neighbor as yourself.”

If we ponder in our heart some of the examples our Lord Jesus gave us, we get even more insight of these 2 Commandments.. Let’s think back how Jesus responded to Satan in the Wilderness, Satan wanted Jesus to use His Supernatural powers to turn stones into bread, then Satan took him to the pinnacle of the Temple and asked Jesus to jump off and let the angels protect Him. Satan then took Jesus to a high mountain and told him too look around and that he would give Him all these things. Jesus told Satan to get away, “for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.”

He gave us the example when Peter didn’t want our Lord to suffer death, and how he rebuked Peter.

Jesus’s family wanted to take Jesus back to Nazareth when He was on the other side of Galilee, but He responded, my real mother is the one’s that does the will of God.

Let’s consider the “Last Super,” we know the Passover Communion was about remembering God working with Abraham’s children that left Egypt(the Jew’s still honor this tradition), we now have our Lord’s Table remembrance, reminding us of our Christ’s blood for our sins, and His body for our sacrifice.

We have the reminder of our Lord in the Garden, when He asked the Father if possible take this cup from me, and we have His words to ponder,”not my will, but Thy will be done.

We have the prayer Jesus prayed to the Father that we would be one, as He and the Father are one, (totally obedient to the Father).

We have His statements on the Cross,”Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”

We read of His compassion to the thief on the cross beside Him.

We know “no greater love than a man to lay down his life down for a friend.”

We have the Blessed Virgin Mary accepting the Word of God , to receive in her womb the Son of God that would bring Salvation to all people. A woman having a child without a husband would be stoned, but she trusted in the Word of God, and God made a way.

We have the Disciples that gave their life for the Ministry of the Gospel. We have St. Paul that gave us many Holy Scriptures linking the Holy God’s relationship with Man and ultimately St. Paul giving his life for the gospel. People would we or any of America’s Ministry of the gospel be that willing? Do we or don’t we really need to come back to the greatest commandment?

We have John that gave us the final consummation of the Holy God’s relationship with Man. Is that final consummation our focus, or are we like the people Jesus dealt with during His earthly Ministry? Let’s ponder that thought in our hearts.

In conclusion, it’s when we turn our eyes upon Jesus the things of this earth will go strangely dim in the light and glory of his Grace. There are many things we don’t understand on this side, so we have to exercise our faith in the God of Heaven and Earth to carry us through. It’s when we get more like St. Paul when he mentioned “it’s no longer I that live, but Christ lives in me”. In our own strength we can’t love our neighbor as ourselves, but in Christ and we can do all things in Him that strengthen us. We must draw nigh unto Him and He will draw nigh to us, and we stand in faith on the promises of His scriptures, knowing when we delight ourselves in the Lord he will give us the desires of our heart. Lord, have mercy on us your children that we grow more and more in you so it is no longer we that live, but you live in us. We know the way Lord, you are the Way, the Truth, and the Life. We know you prayed for us Lord Jesus, when you prayed, Father sanctify them in thy Truth, thy Word is thy Truth. May we be more like David, “Thy Word have I hid in my heart to not sin against Thee”. We pray Lord that we take the principles of your word and apply them in our daily life.

Sermon Notes for Sunday, July 5th, 2009

The Loaves

1 Samuel 21 – David flees King Saul…

¹ David went to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. Ahimelech trembled when he met him, and asked, "Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?"

² David answered Ahimelech the priest, "King Saul charged me with a certain matter and said to me, 'No one is to know anything about your mission and your instructions.' As for my men, I have told them to meet me at a certain place. ³ Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever you can find."

⁴ But the priest answered David, "I don't have any ordinary bread on hand; however, there is some consecrated bread here—provided the men have kept themselves from women."

⁵ David replied, "Indeed women have been kept from us, as usual whenever I set out. The men's things are holy even on missions that are not holy. [This is true even] more so today!" ⁶ So the priest gave him the consecrated bread, since there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence that had been removed from before the LORD and replaced by hot bread on the day it was taken away.

· Food for the journey

· Food for a mission

· Food for warfare

· Food for members of the king’s army

Mark 6:30-44 - Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand…

³⁰The Twelve apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. ³¹Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest."

³²So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. ³³But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. ³⁴When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.

³⁵By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. "This is a remote place," they said, "and it's already very late. ³⁶Send the people away so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat."

³⁷But he answered, "You give them something to eat."

They said to him, "That would take eight months of a man's wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?"

³⁸"How many loaves do you have?" he asked. "Go and see."
When they found out, they said, "Five—and two fish."

³⁹Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. ⁴⁰So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. ⁴¹Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. ⁴²They all ate and were satisfied, ⁴³and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. ⁴⁴The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.

· Jesus consecrated the bread, which became five consecrated loaves…

· Food for the journey

· Food for a mission

· Food for spiritual warfare

· Food for members of the army of the King of Kings

Note that 5 + 2 = 7, which is the number of Creation; John 1 says Jesus is the creator of the universe, which was created by his spoken word. His spoken word, recorded in Scripture is now our bread of life – our food for our journey, our mission, for spiritual warfare, for we are members of the army of the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords…

Sermon Notes for Sunday, June 28th, 2009

Part 1: The Fish & The Net

Matthew 4:18-22 - The Calling of the First Disciples

18As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 20At once they left their nets and followed him. 21Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Luke 5:1-11 - The Calling of the First Disciples

1One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, 2he saw at the water's edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch." 5Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets." 6When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. 8When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" 9For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men." 11So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

Matthew 13:47-50 - The Parable of the Net

47"…the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. 48When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. 49This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous 50and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

There’s a wrong way to do things, and there’s a right way…

John 21:1-14 - The Miraculous Catch of Fish

1Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Tiberias. It happened this way: 2Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3"I'm going out to fish," Simon Peter told them, and they said, "We'll go with you." So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. 4Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. 5He called out to them, "Friends, haven't you any fish?" "No," they answered. 6He said, "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. 7Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, "It is the Lord," he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. 8The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. 9When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread. 10Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish you have just caught." 11Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. 12Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." None of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?" They knew it was the Lord. 13Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.

The “right side of the boat” is a phrase that most of us take for granted. We assume it literally means the right side, and while this is true in part, it also refers to the preferred fishing style in the Sea of Galilee. Fishermen there place a huge bell in the water when they fish, and when they cast their net and see a large grouping of fish near the net, they ring the bell as loudly as they can, and the startled fish swim into captivity…ring the bell on the wrong side, or cast your net on the wrong side of the bell, and you run the fish off – you scare them away. Jesus offered the disciples a better way of doing things. They were doing it wrong, even though they’d been fishermen for years and years, perhaps even their entire lives…

Part 2 Next Week: The Loaves

A Tribute to the late Mrs. Audrey Bell

Following are the primary notes used for Mrs. Audrey's Funeral:

For the younger generation of Pricetown, where Ms. Audrey grew up, Ms. Audrey was the precious lady who sat at the back left of the Sanctuary on Sunday mornings, and they’d say she lives in the house up the road that has pecan trees with strips of tin around them…many have wondered why those trees had tin. Was it a fashion statement? Were they lawn ornaments? Reflectors for cars, to prevent them from driving into the house? No, they are intended to keep worms from eating the pecans in the trees, and they work just fine - last year Ms. Audrey’s daughter, Blythe, picked a tremendous amount of healthy pecans.

In her prime, Ms. Audrey liked being outside...she loved flowers, and her favorite flowers were always whatever was blooming at the time... she loved the color blue…

An avid quilter, she sewed, and she crocheted, she made everything Blythe and Wanda wore when they were younger, and she did alterations at the little dress shop she tended after she’d spent 16 years working as a supervisor at Jenmark.

Clearly, she loved her loyal daughters, who have ministered to her for many years, and she loved her husband, whom the family refers to as ‘Daddy Bell.’ Audrey, they refer to as “Ma Bell.” When Ms. Audrey worked at Jenmark, she’d come home at lunch to check on her husband, and they’d have lunch together…and then he’d get back to his farming, cane in hand…

She loved her three granddaughters, Sandy, Marsha, and Christian, and each of them have fond memories of her.

Sandy remembers the time she first brought Frank over to meet Ms. Audrey, who asked him if he liked Pecan pie. He told her, yes, and after a time, he got comfortable, and he dozed off in the chair where he sat. As he was sleeping, Ms. Audrey could be heard shuffling around in the kitchen, and when Frank woke up, she handed him a fresh pecan pie! Sandy then looked over at her grandmother and said, “Well, I like cheesecake, Ma Bell…”

Christian remembers Ma Bell letting her drive to the store when she was young, and how Ma Bell was fun to take on trips to the mountains, or to Branson, Missouri. Wanda recalls that, when Christian was about 4 years old, Ma Bell told her, “You’re going to have a high phone bill this month.” - Christian had learned to use the phone, and called her grandmother every day, to keep her abreast of everything that was happening in her life.

Marsha remembers how Ma Bell loved eating in the cafeteria at Mount Olive College, when Marsha was a student there, and how Ma Bell would sometimes bring friends with her. Blythe recalls how she called her mother one afternoon, and was told that Marsha - who was supposed to be doing laundry at the time - was “taking a nap.” When Blythe asked her mother if she was doing Marsha’s laundry, Ma Bell answered her, “Maybe I am, and maybe I’m not. That’s between me and Marsha.” Marsha let Ma Bell do her laundry for four years. She seemed to enjoy doing it. She also enjoyed cooking for Marsha and her friends, and occasionally slipping Marsha lemon meringue pie without the meringue, which Marsha didn’t like, or making her famous blueberry muffins for her.

Ma Bell also loved making Sea Foam Candy, which sometimes sold for up to $100 a plate, even if there were only 12 pieces on it. And, like her older brother Mr. Dorch, she loved something sweet. Mr. Dorch recalls driving his sister to see the evening premiere of GONE WITH THE WIND on the back of his motorcycle in 1939, and how cold it was that night, but they didn’t complain, and they enjoyed the movie a great deal.

When Mr. Dorch was 17, he started driving a school bus, and one afternoon when he had Ms. Audrey with him, Atlas Price - who had just started school, and was younger than the two of them - turned around and said to them, “You two better start calling me Uncle Atlas.” - At Ms. Audrey’s recent birthday party, he gave her a card with the words, “To a special niece” on it…

She was an avid Pepsi drinker, and Blythe would buy them for her in bulk. Ms. Audrey would keep track of when she was running low, and let Blythe know in advance.

She always ate 3 meals a day, and she loved fried pork, and country ham, and she was loyal to Piggly Wiggly. She liked to go out to eat on Friday nights…years ago, she’d spend countless hours with her husband’s cousins, and they’d quilt together in a little store up the road.

When Ms. Audrey was young, she skipped a grade and, after graduation, went to Meredith College for a semester, but got sick, and never returned. She married her husband in 1943, and moved into the house her husband was born in, and helped her sister-in-law, Ruth, take care of Ruth and her husband’s mother, Mama Price. Ms. Audrey took care of others her entire life.

Wanda recalled, “Mama helped me raise Christian; she was a big help to me.” And Blythe remembered how her mother would drop everything to be there for her in a time of need.

A lifelong member of Zion United Methodist Church (she and her sibling walked to church when they were young, and lived down the road from it), Ms. Audrey was never one to complain, even when she was hospitalized. She took her faith very seriously, and respected the pastor’s role. Last Christmas she was in the hospital, and she seemed to know this day was coming; it was scheduled to be warm over the holidays, and she looked at me and said, “A hot Christmas means a fat graveyard.” I’d never heard that turn of phrase before, but she was grimly serious about it, and she was a little low when I next saw her.

Ms. Audrey loved pastoral visits; she cherished small gifts from her pastor, and would put them on display by her chair in the living room. Last year I stopped by to see her at the hospital, and she seemed to be sleeping. Blythe and Wanda were in the room, and before I left, I said, “I’d better say a prayer, because Ms. Audrey wouldn’t like it if she found out I didn’t pray when I stopped by,” and she opened her eyes, and looked at me and said, “Yes, would. Pray.” And so I did. She was always a pleasure to be around, and despite her frustration at not knowing exactly what was making her feel so physically low, she never complained about her situation, at least not to me. The last time I saw her, I told her we missed seeing her at church, and she told me she missed coming to church most of all. I told her how much we all loved her, and she said, “I’ll remember that. I’ll remember that.”

I thank the Lord the last week she had before she fell ill last week was a good one. I’m grateful to God that she was able to attend her birthday party, and felt good for several days when she returned home. I’m grateful for the blessing Wanda received when Ms. Audrey, who was never known to tell jokes despite her dry humor, told her about the ignorant man who wanted to become a chicken farmer, and bought 50 biddies from another farmer. Then he bought 50 more, and then 50 more. Finally, the man who sold the biddies asked, “Are you having any luck?” and the prospective chicken farmer answered, “Well, no, I’m not sure what’s going on. I keep planting them, but nothing seems to want to come up!”

Ms. Audrey is now a part of what the Word of God describes as the Great Cloud of Witnesses, and she’s aware of these proceedings this evening, in some form or fashion. She would want us to celebrate her home going, and to rejoice that she’s now with Daddy Bell, and all her Christian loved ones who are with the Lord above. She’d want us to remember the good times. The pleasant times. The happy things. The things that make us smile when we think of her.

Audrey Bell, for example, was ahead of the curve when it came to recycling; she saved her Pepsi pull tabs for years, and took them down to the beauty parlor so they could be donated toward good causes, and to help school children, long before it became a widely known practice. She kept a stack of mixed papers in the living room to recycle, and she threw food scraps into the garden to return them to nature.

In her later years, her schedule revolved around going to the beauty parlor to have her hair done; even her Home Health workers and doctors made notes of when Ms. Audrey was to have her hair done - Ms. Audrey never felt so bad that she couldn’t make it to the beauty parlor.

Ms. Audrey was practical, raised on a farm to be a hard worker alongside her siblings; their father hung scissors on the branches of the apple trees, so they could cut worms in two when their wasn’t work to be done. Ms. Audrey lived by the adage that “idle hands are the devil’s workshop,” and “everyone ought to try to do their best,” and this applied to her, too.

Hanging on the wall of her living room, where she could see it from where she sat, is a cross stitched print that reads as follows,

I shall pass this way but once.
Therefore, any good I can do,
Or any kindness that I can show,
Let me do it now.
For I shall not pass this way again.”

This, too, is how she lived her life. And this is the legacy she leaves with us.

When I reflect on Ms. Audrey in the future, I’ll see her rising up from the back pew, where young Jesse Grady will stand waiting to take her arm. I’ll see her interlace her arm with his, and envision him escorting her out the church. “That boy’s a politician,” she once told me, because of his lineage, and because of his eagerness to see her to her car each week when she came to church. I’m going to remember their last conversation, where he looked over at her and said, “You know, I think you’re getting a little better,” to which she replied, “You think so?” - He responded, “I do,” and I rejoice this evening, because I know she’s now more than a little better. She’s a lot better. She has a new body, and she’s in the presence of the Lord, and she’s no longer sick, or suffering; in fact, I’m sure she feels better than she ever has in this life - and she’s waiting for us. Her Christian legacy offers us the promise that if we, like her, have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, and we’re faithful to our Christian duties and responsibilities, one day we will see her again, and there will never again be a separation, and there will never again be sickness, or sorrow, or pain.

In His name, and in His presence, Amen.

From the News-Argus Obituary, with an amendment:

May 21, 1924-June 13, 2009

MOUNT OLIVE -- Audrey Price Bell, 85, 674 Bennetts Bridge Road, died Saturday at Kitty Askins Hospice Center in Goldsboro.

Funeral services will be held at 7 p.m. today at Tyndall Funeral Home, with the Rev. Bud Jenness officiating, after which the family will receive friends. Burial will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Bell Family Cemetery located at the home.

Mrs. Bell was a lifelong member of Zion United Methodist Church. A homemaker and an accomplished seamstress, she was known for her love of quilting, and had been an employee at the former Jan-Mark sewing room. She was very fond of her native community at Pricetown, as well as the White Flash/Scott's Store community, which had been her home for many, many years.

She is survived by two daughters and a son-in-law, Blythe Bell Tillett of Elizabeth City and Wanda Bell Lanier and Douglas Lanier of Chinquapin; three granddaughters, Sandy Tillett and husband, Frank Pando, of New York, Marsha Tillett and husband, Brantley Sawyer, of Raleigh and Christian Lanier of Chinquapin; a brother and sister-in-law, Dortch and Iva Lois Price of the Pricetown community; two other sisters-in-law, Ruth Bell Uzzell of Goldsboro and Mamie Price Barwick and husband, Marian, of the Pricetown community; and numerous nieces and nephews, and a younger uncle, Mr. Atlas Price.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Jasper Waters Bell; a son-in-law, Marshall Tillett; her parents, Darius and Alice Price; a brother, Rex Price; and a sister, Dorothy P. Sandford.

A Special Visitor on Father's Day

Our church was packed this morning, and we were honored with a visit by a very special member of our church community, Miss Lisa Mozingo, who was given a pass to come see us for Father's Day!

What a special service we had, starting with her entering the Sanctuary, and culminating with the Baptism of Lisa's younger brother, Tyler.