Sub-district Youth Gathering

On Sunday afternoon, October 26th, 2008, our Senior UMYF - and several adult chaperones - participated in a Sub-District Youth Meeting organized by Pastor Jenness and Reverend Reggie Ponder, the Pastor of Rose Hill United Methodist. Also in attendance were youth and representatives from Warsaw United Methodist; the evening ended with a devotional, a meal, and singing, and everyone had a very nice time in the Lord.

Scriptural Text for Sunday, October 25th, 2008

Ecclesiastes 1 -3

1:1THE WORDS of the Preacher, the son of David and king in Jerusalem.

2Vapor of vapors and futility of futilities, says the Preacher. Vapor of vapors and futility of futilities! All is vanity (emptiness, falsity, and vainglory).

3What profit does man have left from all his toil at which he toils under the sun? [Is life worth living?]

4One generation goes and another generation comes, but the earth remains forever.

5The sun also rises and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it rises.

6The wind goes to the south and circles about to the north; it circles and circles about continually, and on its circuit the wind returns again.

7All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full. To the place from which the rivers come, to there and from there they return again.

8All things are weary with toil and all words are feeble; man cannot utter it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.

9The thing that has been--it is what will be again, and that which has been done is that which will be done again; and there is nothing new under the sun.

10Is there a thing of which it may be said, See, this is new? It has already been, in the vast ages of time [recorded or unrecorded] which were before us.

11There is no remembrance of former happenings or men, neither will there be any remembrance of happenings of generations that are to come by those who are to come after them.

12I, the Preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.

13And I applied myself by heart and mind to seek and search out by [human] wisdom all human activity under heaven. It is a miserable business which God has given to the sons of man with which to busy themselves.

14I have seen all the works that are done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity, a striving after the wind and a feeding on wind.

15What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is defective and lacking cannot be counted.

16I entered into counsel with my own mind, saying, Behold, I have acquired great [human] wisdom, yes, more than all who have been over Jerusalem before me; and my mind has had great experience of [moral] wisdom and [scientific] knowledge.

17And I gave my mind to know [practical] wisdom and to discern [the character of] madness and folly [in which men seem to find satisfaction]; I perceived that this also is a searching after wind and a feeding on it.

18For in much [human] wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.

2:1I SAID in my mind, Come now, I will prove you with mirth and test you with pleasure; so have a good time [enjoy pleasure]. But this also was vanity (emptiness, falsity, and futility)!

2I said of laughter, It is mad, and of pleasure, What does it accomplish?

3I searched in my mind how to cheer my body with wine--yet at the same time having my mind hold its course and guide me with [human] wisdom--and how to lay hold of folly, till I might see what was good for the sons of men to do under heaven all the days of their lives.

4I made great works; I built myself houses, I planted vineyards.

5I made for myself gardens and orchards and I planted in them all kinds of fruit trees.

6I made for myself pools of water from which to water the forest and make the trees bud.

7I bought menservants and maidservants and had servants born in my house. Also I had great possessions of herds and flocks, more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem.

8I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and of the provinces. I got for myself men singers and women singers, and the delights of the sons of men - concubines very many.

9So I became great and increased more than all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me and stood by me.

10And whatever my eyes desired I kept not from them; I withheld not my heart from any pleasure, for my heart rejoiced in all my labor, and this was my portion and reward for all my toil.

11Then I looked on all that my hands had done and the labor I had spent in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after the wind and a feeding on it, and there was no profit under the sun.

12So I turned to consider [human] wisdom and madness and folly; for what can the man do who succeeds the king? Nothing but what has been done already.

13Then I saw that even [human] wisdom [that brings sorrow] is better than [the pleasures of] folly as far as light is better than darkness.

14The wise man's eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness; and yet I perceived that [in the end] one event happens to them both.

15Then said I in my heart, As it happens to the fool, so it will happen even to me. And of what use is it then for me to be more wise? Then I said in my heart, This also is vanity (emptiness, vainglory, and futility)!

16For of the wise man, the same as of the fool, there is no permanent remembrance, since in the days to come all will be long forgotten. And how does the wise man die? Even as the fool!

17So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me; for all is vanity and a striving after the wind and a feeding on it.

18And I hated all my labor in which I had toiled under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will succeed me.

19And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have dominion over all my labor in which I have toiled and in which I have shown myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity (emptiness, falsity, and futility)!

20So I turned around and gave my heart up to despair over all the labor of my efforts under the sun.

21For here is a man whose labor is with wisdom and knowledge and skill; yet to a man who has not toiled for it he must leave it all as his portion. This also is vanity (emptiness, falsity, and futility) and a great evil!

22For what has a man left from all his labor and from the striving and vexation of his heart in which he has toiled under the sun?

23For all his days are but pain and sorrow, and his work is a vexation and grief; his mind takes no rest even at night. This is also vanity (emptiness, falsity, and futility)!

24There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink and make himself enjoy good in his labor. Even this, I have seen, is from the hand of God.

25For who can eat or who can have enjoyment any more than I can--apart from Him ?

26For to the person who pleases Him God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and heaping up, that he may give to one who pleases God. This also is vanity and a striving after the wind and a feeding on it.

3:11TO EVERYTHING there is a season, and a time for every matter or purpose under heaven:

2A time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted,

3A time to kill and a time to heal, a time to break down and a time to build up,

4A time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5A time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

6A time to get and a time to lose, a time to keep and a time to cast away,

7A time to rend and a time to sew, a time to keep silence and a time to speak,

8A time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.

9What profit remains for the worker from his toil?

10I have seen the painful labor and exertion and miserable business which God has given to the sons of men with which to exercise and busy themselves.

11He has made everything beautiful in its time. He also has planted eternity in men's hearts and minds [a divinely implanted sense of a purpose working through the ages which nothing under the sun but God alone can satisfy], yet so that men cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.

12I know that there is nothing better for them than to be glad and to get and do good as long as they live;

13And also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor--it is the gift of God.

14I know that whatever God does, it endures forever; nothing can be added to it nor anything taken from it. And God does it so that men will [reverently] fear Him [revere and worship Him, knowing that He is].

15That which is now already has been, and that which is to be already has been; and God seeks that which has passed by [so that history repeats itself ].

16Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the place of justice there was wickedness, and that in the place of righteousness wickedness was there also.

17I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time [appointed] for every matter and purpose and for every work.

18I said in my heart regarding the subject of the sons of men, God is trying (separating and sifting) them, that they may see that by themselves [under the sun, without God] they are but like beasts.

19For that which befalls the sons of men befalls beasts; even [in the end] one thing befalls them both. As the one dies, so dies the other. Yes, they all have one breath and spirit, so that a man has no preeminence over a beast; for all is vanity (emptiness, falsity, and futility)!

20All go to one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.

21Who knows the spirit of man, whether it goes upward, and the spirit of the beast, whether it goes downward to the earth?

22So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his own works, for that is his portion. For who shall bring him back to see what will happen after he is gone?

Sermon Notes: The Eagle and the Deer - October 19th, 2008

Last month, on the side of Kelly Springs road, off Highway 54, near Mount Olive, my wife and I spotted a deer carcass. Atop this carcass was a wild bald eagle, tearing off pieces of fresh flesh. We studied the eagle for a time, but when we came back with a camera, the eagle had flown away.

Over time I began reflecting on what I'd seen, and certain Bible passages came to mind that referenced both deers and eagles.

Eventually, I formulated the idea in my mind the idea that what we'd seen was a perfect picture of the Christian Church in America, which could either be viewed as a vibrant eagle, free to fly to lofty heights, or a deer carcass - the sad vestige of a once vibrant life.

It also dawned on me that, like that deer carcass, there are so many churches on the side of the road that many of them blend into the surrounding scenery, and become like that deer carcass, that was almost impossible to spot unless your eyes were drawn to it. Below is a photo I took of the carcass in question - see if you can spot the deer carcass.

An even bigger question then arose in my mind: what are we doing to make our church stand out from a landscape where churches have become a commonplace part of the scenery?

Hosea 8:1 [ Israel to Reap the Whirlwind ] "Put the trumpet to your lips! An eagle is over the house of the LORD because the people have broken my covenant and rebelled against my law.

2 Samuel 22:34 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights. (Also Psalm 18:33)

Psalm 42:1 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.

Isaiah 40:31 ...but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Primary Scriptural Text for 10/12/2008

Haggai 1:1-15

1 In the second year of King Darius, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest:

2 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "These people say, 'The time has not yet come for the LORD's house to be built.' "

3 Then the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai:

4 "Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?"

5 Now this is what the LORD Almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways.

6 You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it."

7 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways.

8 Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored," says the LORD.

9 "You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?" declares the LORD Almighty. "Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house.

10 Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops.

11 I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine, the oil and whatever the ground produces, on men and cattle, and on the labor of your hands."

12 Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the whole remnant of the people obeyed the voice of the LORD their God and the message of the prophet Haggai, because the LORD their God had sent him. And the people feared the LORD.

13 Then Haggai, the LORD's messenger, gave this message of the LORD to the people: "I am with you," declares the LORD.

14 So the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant of the people. They came and began to work on the house of the LORD Almighty, their God,

15 on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in the second year of King Darius.

Primary Text for Sunday, October 5th, 2008

2 Chronicles 7:14

"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."

MYF Wins First Prize at the Fair!

Our Methodist Youth Fellowship won First Prize at the 2008 Wayne Regional Agricultural Fair in the Division 1 Department N Christmas Tree Decorating Contest! The purpose of the contest was "to promote the Christmas tree industry in Wayne County." It was open "to clubs and civic organizations in Wayne County." Participation was "by invitation only," and no lights were allowed. The tree was judged on September 25th, and the scorecard for the judging was as follows: Originality (25 points), Attractiveness (25 points), Simplicity (25 points), and Neatness (25 points). Congratulations!

Select Sermon Notes from Sunday, September 28th, 2008

From 2 Kings 22:1-13:

1 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. His mother's name was Jedidah daughter of Adaiah; she was from Bozkath. 2 He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in all the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left. 3 In the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent the secretary, Shaphan son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, to the temple of the LORD. He said: 4 "Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and have him get ready the money that has been brought into the temple of the LORD, which the doorkeepers have collected from the people. 5 Have them entrust it to the men appointed to supervise the work on the temple. And have these men pay the workers who repair the temple of the LORD - 6 the carpenters, the builders and the masons. Also have them purchase timber and dressed stone to repair the temple. 7 But they need not account for the money entrusted to them, because they are acting faithfully." 8 Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, "I have found the Book of the Law in the temple of the LORD." He gave it to Shaphan, who read it. 9 Then Shaphan the secretary went to the king and reported to him: "Your officials have paid out the money that was in the temple of the LORD and have entrusted it to the workers and supervisors at the temple." 10 Then Shaphan the secretary informed the king, "Hilkiah the priest has given me a book." And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king. 11 When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his robes. 12 He gave these orders to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Acbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah the king's attendant: 13 "Go and inquire of the LORD for me and for the people and for all Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the LORD's anger that burns against us because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning us."

The Book of Jeremiah contains the words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah. Jeremiah began his ministry during the reign of King Josiah.

Hilkiah was the High Priest that found the Book of the Law during the time of King Josiah. It is extremely mysterious to think that some of the Old Testament patriarchs were without the Book of the Law. Especially when considering that, according to Deuteronomy 31:24-27, there was to be a copy of this Book of the Law beside the Ark of the Covenant, beginning in the days of Moses...

When the Word of the Lord was lost, the Children of Israel strayed into Idol Worship...and we live in a culture even now where the Word of the Lord has been lost to most - buried beneath a modern form of Idol Worship...God calls us to have no other gods before Him...the message of Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, is a message of Repentence...and it's one we all need to heed and take to heart.

Scriptural Notes for Sunday, September 21, 2008

Our Congregational Lay Leader, Mike Judy, preached from the following text in the pastor's absence:

1 Corinthians 12:12-26

12The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 17If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 21The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" 22On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.