Midweek Moment

Have you ever been a part of something and wondered if the goals of that endeavor were accomplished? Have you ever planted a seed of possibility or hope within another person and found yourself curious if those seeds ever grew? I think we all have a desire, at some level, to know the fruits of our labors. Well, we got a glimpse into that very window this week through a card sent to the church, thanking us for the efforts of so many that worked our Pumpkin Patch this year. Below is what was handwritten inside the card:




“I wanted to thank you all for allowing me to take pictures last Wednesday. I enjoyed seeing the many acts of kindness you all showed. The world could use many more people like all of you. Here are the pictures I took for you all to have. A special thanks to Doris for all the info. Thanks again for making our community and world a better place.”

An impact, a seed, a beacon of hope. Call it whatever you want, but something special was done and we can celebrate that. According to N.T. Wright, as believers and disciples of Jesus Christ we are called to be advance foretastes of God’s new creation. I agree with him. We are called to be the love of Christ, we are created to exude the grace of God, and we are called to give people that hope that comes from the certain joy we find in our relationships with God. We are to be that advance foretaste!




I thank each of you for your efforts in and prayers for our Pumpkin Patch. It is more than just a fundraiser for the church. It is more than just a chance to sit outside and chat. It is our opportunity to witness to our faith in God, through our words, deeds, and interactions. Judging by this card, we seized the opportunity and made this world a better place.

Have a great week!

Laity Sunday - My Journey

This past Sunday we celebrated Laity Sunday. We were so blessed by the wonderful words brought to us by those that lead us in worship. Below is the moving message brought to us by Kelsey. I invite you to listen again to this message of hope that was delivered so well.

Enjoy!

Bible Challenge 10/28 - 11/03

Greetings All!

Now that you have made it through the entire Bible once...pause for a moment of celebration...YEAH YEAH YEAH...we will continue through the New Testament this week by finishing up Matthew and moving into Mark. Last week I gave you a bit of background info about the Gospel of Matthew. Below is some background info for you about the Gospel of Mark.

Gospel of Mark - Mark is believed to have been the first Gospel written, about 50AD, as the other three Gospels all quote it, but Mark does not quote the others. The author is believed to be John Mark, the son of a Jerusalem widow whose home was a meeting place for early believers (Acts 12:12). Mark most likely recorded the events as he heard them firsthand from the disciple Peter. The book's non-Jewish flavor suggests it may have been written to believers in Rome. At the time Rome had begun persecuting Christians. This book is clearly meant to encourage suffering believers. Mark shows Jesus as the suffering servant who came to die as the Savior for the world (including non-Jews). Over 40 percent of this Gospel focuses on the suffering and sacrifice of Jesus' final week.

Here is the schedule:

28, Sunday: Matthew 13-16

29, Monday: Matthew 17-20

30, Tuesday: Matthew 21-24

31, Wednesday: Matthew 25-28

1, Thursday: Mark 1-4

2, Friday: Mark 5-8

3, Saturday: Mark 9-12

May God add His richest blessings to the reading, the hearing, the understanding and most importantly the living out of His Holy Word. Amen.

Friday Fives

1. Laity Sunday - A congregation is more than its pastor. It is more than any one member. A congregation, the Church, is a collection of God's grace filled people, working as one, to usher in the Kingdom of God here on earth. To mark the wonderful diversity that is our church family, we are celebrating Laity Sunday this week, October 28th. The laity will lead us in worship, pray for our concerns, and bring us the message. I encourage you to come and hear what God is doing through this church and through it members.






2. Pumpkin Patch Volunteers - The Patch is in full steam and doing extremely well! We are still in need of volunteers to come out and staff the Patch. Most of what you would do is price the pumpkins people bring up to you and collect the money. It is not difficult at all and is a great amount of fun. If you have a few hours to spare we could always use you. So please consider coming on out and spending some time in the patch. For more information, please call the church office at 629-5688.






3. Church Wide Thanksgiving Dinner - We are going to try something new this year at our Thanksgiving Dinner and I need everyone's help. I would like to create a slide show to play on the projector, that is full of pictures from the lives of each you, showing something you are thankful for from this past year. It can be a picture of the new addition to the family, a picture from an incredible trip, a wonderful milestone or party you had, or any other reminder of how you have experienced the feelings of thanksgiving this year. If you would email those to me, or lend it to me to scan, along with a brief caption about the picture, I can put those together to share with everyone in attendance. If you have any questions please call the office at 629-5688 or email me by clicking here.






4. Christmas Gift Cards - If you normally buy gift cards for the holidays I want to invite you to consider buying them through the church this year. This is an excellent way for you to buy those cards for your loved ones and allow the church to raise extra funds, all at the same time. In order to guarantee delivery by the 25th, your order must be in by noon, on 12/10. For a full listing of all participating vendors you can contact Carole in the church office.






5. Upcoming Dates - There are several events coming up that I wanted to share with you.

• Cub Scout Car Wash - Saturday, October 27th, 9am-2pm, here at the church. 

• Block Party - Saturday, November 3rd, 2-5pm, here at the church. 

• Thanksgiving Dinner - On Friday, November 16th at 6pm, we will host our Annual Thanksgiving Dinner. Sign-up sheets will be the Connection Station beginning October 21. Menu sign up sheets will be available on October 28th. 

• Charge Conference - Monday, November 5th, 6:30pm, at First UMC, Ocala.

Have a GREAT weekend and I will see you Sunday!

Midweek Moment

As many of you know, there is a sea of orange at the church right now. An orange wonderland that is our annual Pumpkin Patch!

Growing up I never remember going to a Pumpkin Patch. We didn't have one at the church where we attended. My first exposure to this ministry was when we moved to Hudson to serve Faith UMC in 2004. They had been doing Pumpkin Patch for years and it was quite a successful fundraiser for them. Pumpkin Patch is actually an organization from New Mexico that works with non-profits, mostly United Methodist churches. They ship the pumpkins out on consignment with set prices depending on size. You keep track of sales and depending on the volume sold, you keep a percentage of the profits and ship the rest of the monies back to them.

The boys enjoyed the Pumpkin Patch at Faith and Parker always tried to be a helper with unloading! But now that the Pumpkin Patch is virtually in my backyard, most days you will find our children there after school. It's their special afternoon hangout. This is probably my favorite Pumpkin Patch picture of all time - taken of Wesley in Hudson when he was just eleven months old!

There was a story Debbie used to always share in Hudson at Halloween time with the kids in worship about pumpkins....not sure where it came from but it's been circulating around for a while on the Internet. I have always like it so I wanted to share it will all of you. Here it is:

A lady recently being baptized was asked by a co-worker what it was like to be a Christian. She replied, "It's like being a pumpkin: God picks you from the patch, brings you in, and washes all the dirt off you may have gotten from the other pumpkins. Then he cuts the top off and scoops out all the yucky stuff. He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, greed, and other stuff. Then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see."

Debbie would then bring out a carved pumpkin following along with this pattern prayer and give all the kids a bookmark with these instructions:

Dear God, as I carve my pumpkin help me say this prayer:

Open my mind so I can learn about You; (Cut the top of the pumpkin.)

Take away all my sin and forgive me for the wrong things I do. (Clean out the inside.)

Open my eyes so Your love I will see; (Cut the eyes out in heart or any shape.)

I'm so sorry for turning up my nose to all you've given me. (Cut a nose in the shape of a cross.)

Open my ears so your word I will hear. (Cut the ears shaped like the Bible or rectangles)

Open my mouth so I can tell others You're near (cut the mouth in the shape of a fish, or any shape)

Let Your light shine in all I say and do! (Place a candle inside and light it)

May the sea of orange this season speak to your heart about God's transforming work in you!

Blessings,

John Wesley's Simple Rules for Money: Give All You Can1 Timothy 6:6-10 and 17-19

Bible Challenge 10/21 - 10/27

Greetings All!

This week is the turning point!!! At the end of the week, we'll have made it through the entire Bible and start over again in the New Testament.

Here is more background for what you will read this week:

ZECHARIAH - The first six chapters deal mainly with the nation's past history told through a series of eight visions. Two years elapse between that and chapters 7-8 which deal with the question of whether the days of mourning for the destruction of the city should be kept any longer.

MALACHI - The last of the books of the Old Testament, Malachi is named for a prophet. And the name means "My messenger or God's messenger." There is virtually no biographical information concerning the author in this book and very little historical information for placing it as well. We can infer that Malachi was a prophet in Jerusalem at some point after the return of the exiles and probably before Nehemiah. He speaks out against the lax religious and social behavior of the Israelites, in particular the priests.

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW - Matthew is the first of the Gospels recorded in the New Testament and is also one of the three "synoptic Gospels" (meaning similar or together because they include some of the same stories in the same sequences and the same words - John is the exception). This Gospel is attributed to one of Jesus' disciples, Matthew the tax collector. And from the information and perspective he includes, we can tell that he was writing to a primarily Jewish audience: he stresses Jewish law, he doesn't explain Jewish customs, and in the beginning of the Gospel he includes a genealogy which takes Jesus' ancestry all the way back to Father Abraham. There are seven main sections in this Gospel, with a prologue about Jesus' early life, five sections covering his ministry and the last section about his death and resurrection.

Here is the schedule:

21 - Zechariah 2-5

22 - Zechariah 6-9

23 - Zechariah 10-13

24 - Zechariah 14 - Malachi 3

25 - Malachi 4 - Matthew 3

26 - Matthew 4-7

27 - Matthew 8-11

May God add His richest blessings to the reading, the hearing, the understanding and most importantly the living out of His Holy Word. Amen.

Friday Fives

1. Preaching Series - This week we are wrapping up our preaching series entitled, John Wesley's Simple Rules for Money. Did you know that Jesus talked about money and possessions more than any other subject with the one exception being the Kingdom of God? We are bombarded from so many angles about money; how to earn it, how to save it, how to invest, and especially how to spend it. Come and join us this week as we look to the last of Wesley's Simple Rules for Money to see how we might be freed to experience the the joy of this life and live faithfully when faced with the pressure of money. This week we will focus on the third rule, Give All You Can. We will also have a time of dedication at the end of the service for you to bring forward your pledge card and pray over it and leave it on the rail. Invite a friend and I hope to see you all there!





2. Bible Study - What is Heaven really like? Is our main duty as Christians simply to help non-Christians get there? What hope does the gospel hold for this present life? In what ways does God intend for us to experience that hope? Get the answers to these questions and many more as we explore the full of scope of what God's Word has to say on these issues through the inspirational teachings of premier biblical scholar N. T. Wright.

We will continue next week as we turn to Session 05, The Hope of Salvation. It is never to late to join and all are invited and encouraged to attend. So grab a friend and I hope to see you all there!






3. Pumpkin Patch Volunteers - The Patch is in full steam and doing well. We are still in need of volunteers to come out and staff the Patch. Most of what you would do is price the pumpkins people bring up to you and collect the money. It is not difficult at all and is a great amount of fun. If you have a few hours to spare we could always use you. So please consider coming on out and spending some time in the patch. For more information, please call the church office at 629-5688.






4. Church Wide Thanksgiving Dinner - We are going to try something new this year at our Thanksgiving Dinner and I need everyone's help. I would like to create a slide show to play on the projector, that is full of pictures from the lives of each you, showing something you are thankful for from this past year. It can be a picture of the new addition to the family, a picture from an incredible trip, a wonderful milestone or party you had, or any other reminder of how you have experienced the feelings of thanksgiving this year. If you would email those to me, or lend it to me to scan, along with a brief caption about the picture, I can put those together to share with everyone in attendance. If you have any questions please call the office at 629-5688 or email me by clicking here.






5. Upcoming Dates - There are several events coming up that I wanted to share with you.

• Thanksgiving Dinner - On Friday, November 16th at 6pm, we will host our Annual Thanksgiving Dinner. Sign-up sheets will be the Connection Station beginning October 21. Menu sign up sheets will be available on October 28th.
• Charge Conference - Monday, November 5th, 6:30pm, at First UMC, Ocala.

Have a great weekend and I will see you Sunday!

Midweek Moment

We are a tradition! Did you know that? Druid Hills United Methodist Church and our annual Pumpkin Patch are a tradition! Last night as I was surfing on the internet, I went to Ocala.com, the website for the Star Banner newspaper. I go there frequently to get my local news and information. If you have been there before, you can skim the next several line of this midweek moment. If not, the read on. When you do arrive on their website you are greeted by a picture box, with about five or six headlines down the left hand side. As those headlines scroll down, the picture changes to match the headline being emphasized.

Last night, third item down, was the headline, “An Ocala Tradition”, with a picture of a tiny baby surrounded by pumpkins. When you clicked on the item you were taken to an article talking about how our pumpkin patch is known far and wide and considered by many people to be a part of life in Ocala. I was so excited to see this type of coverage for our patch. (Not to mention those wonderful pictures of that adorable little baby.)

This got me thinking. What traditions are you known for in your circle of influence? If those people that interact with you the most, if they were asked what your most consistent trait was, what would be their response? Would you be happy with their response? Do people view you as a generous person, hospitable person, church type person, or a servant type of person? Is your faith in Christ evident in your actions towards others, so much so, that when asked about you, that is one of the primary traits mentioned about you? That is a deep question…an important question.

One of our popular Methodist hymns answers this question as it calls for us to sing, “They will we know we are Christians by our love, by our love. They will know we are Christians by our love.” Folks, in every, single, endeavor we have with another we are called to be Christians. We are called to be loving, hospitable, and kind people. This is not just when we feel good, or we have time; but in all circumstances, in all places, and at all times. I know we all fall short of that goal. I know we all have days where portraying those traits is difficult. However, when people are asked what kind of person we are, what kind of tradition we are setting, we need for them to answer with a high level of consistency, people of grace, mercy, and love. We want people to view us as a person that is quick to listen and slow to speak. We want to be viewed as a person that speaks love, first and foremost, and at all times. I encourage you to take time this week and ask yourself the question, “who do people say that I am?”. We are vessels for God. We are the love of Christ for others. May we all be mindful to be good ambassadors of the grace and love that Christ gave to us, as we share that grace and love with others.

Have a great week!

John Wesley's Simple Rules for Money - Save All You CanPhilippians 4:10-13 and 14-20

Bible Challenge 10/14 - 10/20

Greetings All!

We're almost through with the entire Old Testament - just one more week after this one! This week we continue our way through the minor prophets as we finish all of Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai and the first chapter of Zephaniah.

Here is some background info for you to consider as you read this week:

AMOS - This prophet was from the southern kingdom but his message was for the northern kingdom of Israel before their exile. The basic message of this book is that God puts his people on the same level as other nations - he expects purity of them all. Israel and Judah will not be exempt from judgment over their sins.

OBADIAH - Obadiah is said to have been a convert to Judaism, as originally he was from Edom (those descended from Esau). This makes him the perfect person to go back and prophesy against Edom for their arrogance and wickedness.

JONAH - Jonah and the whale right? But the best part of this story is that this prophet really understands the heart of God and wrestles with that. For he is reluctant to pronounce judgment because he knows God's heart of mercy and love and he doesn't want to see the Ninevites forgiven. 


MICAH - The name of this prophet means "Who is like Yahweh?" and he hails from the southern kingdom of Judah. This book has three major divisions (1-2, 3-5, 6-7) and each alternates announcements of doom with expressions of hope. He reproaches unjust leaders, defends the rights of the poor against the rich and the powerful, and preaches social justice while looking forward to the time of the Messiah (the world of peace under a new king from the line of David).

NAHUM - Nahum means "comforter" and yet his book is not about comfort. This prophet followed Jonah in prophesying to Ninevah around the time of the invasion of Jerusalem by the Assyrians. Ninevah was the captial city of the Assyrian empire and this book deals with prophecies regarding its complete and final destruction.

HABAKKUK - Not much is known about Habakkuk. Because the final chapter of his book is a song or psalm, many scholars believe that he was from the tribe of Levi which served as musicians in Solomon's Temple. One of the interesting features of this book is the conversation between God and Habakkuk.

ZEPHANIAH - The great-grandson of one of Judah's kings (Hezekiah), Zephaniah prophesied during the days of King Josiah in Judah and was one of Jeremiah's contemporaries. His book contains many warnings about the "day of the Lord," a judgment that will extend beyond Judah to other nations including Assyria. And Assyria did collapse in 625BC when Ninevah burned to the ground.

HAGGAI - Haggai was one of the prophets who ministered after the return of the people from exile to Jerusalem. Both chapters of this book urge the people to proceed with the rebuilding of the temple.

ZECHARIAH - Like Haggai, Zechariah ministered to the exiles after they returned to Jerusalem.
His name means "Yahweh has remembered" and he was of the priestly line.

Here is the schedule:

14, Sunday:  Amos 6-9

15, Monday: Obadiah 1 - Jonah 3

16, Tuesday: Jonah 4 - Micah 3

17, Wednesday: Micah 4-7

18, Thursday: Nahum 1 - Habakkuk 1

19, Friday: Habakkuk 2 - Zephaniah 2

20, Saturday: Zephaniah 3 - Zechariah 1

May God add His richest blessings to the reading, the hearing, the understanding and most importantly the living out of His Holy Word. Amen.

Friday Fives

1. Preaching Series - We are in the midst of our preaching series entitled, John Wesley's Simple Rules for Money. Did you know that Jesus talked about money and possessions more than any other subject with the one exception being the Kingdom of God? We are bombarded from so many angles about money; how to earn it, how to save it, how to invest, and especially how to spend it. Come and join us the next two weeks as we look to Wesley's Simple Rules for Money to see how we might be freed to experience the the joy of this life and live faithfully when faced with the pressure of money. This week we will continue with the second rule, Save All You Can. Invite a friend and I hope to see you all there! For the full schedule, you can check out our church website by clicking here. 





2. Bible Study - What is Heaven really like? Is our main duty as Christians simply to help non-Christians get there? What hope does the gospel hold for this present life? In what ways does God intend for us to experience that hope? Get the answers to these questions and many more as we explore the full of scope of what God's Word has to say on these issues through the inspirational teachings of premier biblical scholar N. T. Wright.

We will continue next week as we turn to Session 04, The Hope of Jesus' Second Coming. It is never to late to join and all are invited and encouraged to attend. So grab a friend and I hope to see you all there!






3. Pumpkin Patch Volunteers - The Patch is in full steam and doing well. We are still in need of volunteers to come out and staff the Patch. Most of what you would do is price the pumpkins people bring up to you and collect the money. It is not difficult at all and is a great amount of fun. If you have a few hours to spare we could always use you. So please consider coming on out and spending some time in the patch. For more information, please call the church office at 629-5688.






4. Church Wide Thanksgiving Dinner - We are going to try something new this year at our Thanksgiving Dinner and I need everyone's help. I would like to create a slide show to play on the projector, that is full of pictures from the lives of each you, showing something you are thankful for from this past year. It can be a picture of the new addition to the family, a picture from an incredible trip, a wonderful milestone or party you had, or any other reminder of how you have experienced the feelings of thanksgiving this year. If you would email those to me, or lend it to me to scan, along with a brief caption about the picture, I can put those together to share with everyone in attendance. If you have any questions please call the office at 629-5688 or email me by clicking here.






5. Upcoming Dates - There are several events coming up that I wanted to share with you.

• Next, Saturday, 10/13, our Kitchen Committee will host a Kitchen Clean-up day from 10 A.M. to Noon. They would appreciate any and all help.
• Thanksgiving Dinner - On Friday, November 16th at 6pm, we will host our Annual Thanksgiving Dinner. Sign-up sheets will be the Connection Station beginning October 21. Menu sign up sheets will be available on October 28th.

 Have a great week and I will see you Sunday!

Wesley's Simple Rules for Money - Gain All You Can

Bible Challenge 10/7 - 10/13

Greetings All!

This week we will make some real progress through the prophetic books of the Bible, finishing up the last of the major prophets (Daniel) and working our way through 2.5 of the minor prophets, Hosea, Joel, Amos.

Here are a few tidbits about each of these prophets and the books we will be reading:

Hosea was a prophet to the northern kingdom of Israel before its fall. His ministry as a prophet is talked about in the context of his marriage to an unfaithful wife - a way of demonstrating the nation of Israel's unfaithfulness in their commitment to God.

Joel was a prophet to the southern kingdom of Judah. This book deals with a lament over problems of plague and drought, the promise of future blessings and also a reminder of coming judgment. Part of the book of Joel is quoted by Peter in his sermon in Acts 2.

Amos was from the southern kingdom but his message was for the northern kingdom of Israel before their exile. The basic message of this book is that God puts his people on the same level as other nations - he expects purity of them all. Israel and Judah will not be exempt from judgment over their sins.

07, Sunday: Daniel 7-10

08, Monday: Daniel 11 - Hosea 2

09, Tuesday: Hosea 3-6

10, Wednesday: Hosea 7-10

11, Thursday: Hosea 11-14

12, Friday: Joel 1 - Amos 1

13, Saturday: Amos 2-5

May God add His richest blessings to the reading, the hearing, the understanding and most importantly the living out of His Holy Word. Amen.

Friday Fives

1. Preaching Series - This week we are beginning a new preaching series entitled, John Wesley's Simple Rules for Money. Did you know that Jesus talked about money and possessions more than any other subject with the one exception being the Kingdom of God? We are bombarded from so many angles about money; how to earn it, how to save it, how to invest, and especially how to spend it. Come and join us the next three weeks as we look to Wesley's Simple Rules for Money to see how we might be freed to experience the the joy of this life and live faithfully when faced with the pressure of money. This week we will begin with the first rule, Gain All You Can. Invite a friend and I hope to see you all there! For the full schedule, you can check out our church website by clicking here.





2. Bible Study - What is Heaven really like? Is our main duty as Christians simply to help non-Christians get there? What hope does the gospel hold for this present life? In what ways does God intend for us to experience that hope? Get the answers to these questions and many more as we explore the full of scope of what God's Word has to say on these issues through the inspirational teachings of premier biblical scholar N. T. Wright.

We will continue next week as we turn to Session 03, The Hope of Heaven. It is never to late to join and all are invited and encouraged to attend. So grab a friend and I hope to see you all there!






3. Pumpkin Patch Setup - This Saturday, October 6th, at 9 A.M., we will gather in the field to begin the transformation of turning a grass lot into a Orange Pumpkin Wonderland. As the old saying goes, "many hands make light work." So if you are available and willing, please meet here at 9 A.M.






4. Church Wide Thanksgiving Dinner - We are going to try something new this year at our Thanksgiving Dinner and I need everyone's help. I would like to create a slide show to play on the projector, that is full of pictures from the lives of each you, showing something you are thankful for from this past year. It can be a picture of the new addition to the family, a picture from an incredible trip, or any other reminder of how you have experienced the feelings of thanksgiving this year. If you would email those to me, or lend it to me to scan, along with a brief caption about the picture, I can put those together to share with everyone in attendance. If you have any questions please call the office at 629-5688 or email me by clicking here.






5. Upcoming Dates - There are several events coming up that I wanted to share with you.

This Sunday, 10/07, at 11:30 A.M., Joyce Baugher, our Parish Nurse, will hold a flu clinic. 

Tuesday, 10/09, our first shipment of pumpkins arrive and we can use all the help we can get. If you cannot help upload, we have plenty of others tasks we could use your help completing. 

Next, Saturday, 10/13, our Kitchen Committee will host a Kitchen Clean-up day from 10 A.M. to Noon. They would appreciate any and all help.

More information for all these events can be found in the October newsletter, which you can view online by clicking here.


 Have a great week and I will see you Sunday!

Midweek Moment

A few Saturdays ago Debbie and I seized the opportunity to travel to Lakeland and attend the installation of our new bishop, Ken Carter. Neither of us had ever been to a service of this ilk, after all, the last one the Florida conference had was 10 years ago.

This service was filled with varying degrees of liturgical ceremony and historical significance, but it was also a time for us to hear, from Bishop Carter himself, what his personal walk with God has meant to him. He talked about God and the need for intentional evangelism, he talked about courage and the need to reach beyond ourselves and our own self limits. He was delivering a very good, well thought out, and dynamic message. Then he said this, "More people are bowling than ever before, but few people join a league."

I had to do a mental double take. How do we get from God and the need to answer his call in our lives, to bowling? Then his next statement applied the pressure. He said, "It has become all about the individual." More people than ever before are enjoying the sport of bowling. More people than ever before are venturing out into the community to partake in a team sport...as an individual. Leagues are struggling to form. We have signed our boys up for three different leagues at two different bowling alleys. Often times they were the only two to ever show up. We aren't engaging our fellow brothers and sisters like we used to before. I remember going to the bowling alley with my grandmommy when she bowled. That place was packed! I remember going every Saturday night to the bowling alley with my mom and dad as they bowled on the church league. There were no empty lanes for people to bowl, if you were not already part of a league. This begs the question, as a society have we begun to turn inward.

Here is the reason that is a problem. The best way to experience God's love is through God's people. And if we as God's people allow this trend of inward devotion to continue, we could be in real trouble. Folks, we are the Kingdom of God. I heard someone once remark, you may be the only Bible some people ever read. We are important. We are needed. All of us are called. This week I encourage each of you to find a way to reach out to another person. Maybe you give the three minute rule at try at church this week or in another social gathering. Maybe you spend time volunteering at a rehab center or shelter. Maybe God has already been calling you in a certain direction and for whatever reason now it is time to go as you have been lead. Be open this week to the movement of the Holy Spirit. Be the Kingdom of God this week to another person. Allow people to experience God's love through you this week. Follow your call, be a vessel, give the love of God to another. We can make the future hope of Heaven a present reality on earth, when we all work together.

Have a great week!