Friday Fives

1. Preaching Series - This week we will begin our Advent series entitled, March to the Manger. Each week we will take a different character from our nativity scene and look to the Christmas story through their eyes. This week we will begin with the Angels and the Shepherds as we look to the response of the shepherds to the message of the Angels. Invite a friend and I hope to see you there.





2. Bible Study - This week we will continue our Advent Bible Study entitled, Christmas Gifts that Won't Break. Those are gifts that cannot be lost, that never go out of style, and that are independent of the chances and changes of life. They are the gifts that have been graciously given by God. That is what gives Advent a permanence that speaks to generations past, present, and future. This week we will look to the Gift of Love. It is never to late to join, so come on out and be a part of this wonderful study.





3.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 by phone, 629-5688, or email her by clicking here.





4. Giving Opportunity - This year you can help be a Santa to a Senior. This outreach is part of a national program, now in its ninth year, that has helped provide more than one million gifts to 700,000 seniors in North America. The Garden Club of Stone Creek is partnering with Home Instead Senior Care of Ocala to bring some much-needed help to those in need in our community. The gift requests are typically simple presents like sweaters, lotions and blankets. While these gifts may seem simple, they make a huge difference to "isolated" seniors, those not fortunate to be surrounded by family and friends. Some other gift suggestions are small fleece lap blankets, toothpaste and toothbrushes, stationary, stamps, and pens, socks, and puzzle books. If you'd like to help in some way, you can buy one of these types of gifts and drop them off in the church office, or you can call 622-6447.

5. Brad Fuller Memorial - On Saturday, December 8th, at 10am, we will gather in our sanctuary to celebrate the wonderful life of Brad Fuller, who passed away last week. I invite you to come and join us as we offer love and support to the Fuller Family. Have a great weekend and I will see you Sunday!





Have a great weekend and I will see you Sunday!

Bible Challenge 11/25 - 12/1

Greetings All!

This week we finish up the book of Romans, read all of I Corinthians and most of II Corinthians.

In Romans, we will read Paul' argument regarding God and Jesus. The flow is as follows: 1) God's wrath revealed against the unrighteous (1:18-3:20); 2) God credits righteousness to all (3:21-5:21); 3) The gift of God's righteousness results in righteous living (6:1-8:39); 4) God's righteousness in the case of Israel (9:1-11:36); 5) God's righteousness reflected in the righteous lives of believers (12:1-15:13); and 6) God's righteousness shared by Paul as minister to the Gentiles (15:14-33).

That will lead us into I and II Corinthians. I Corinthians was written from Ephesus (16:8), a city on the west coast of today's Turkey, about 180 miles by sea from Corinth. According to Acts, Paul founded the church in Corinth (Acts 18:17), then spent approximately three years in Ephesus. The letter was written during this time in Ephesus, which is usually dated as being in the range of 53-57 AD.

Corinth was the meeting point of many nationalities because the main current of the trade between Asia and western Europe passed through its harbors. Paul's first visit lasted nearly two years and his converts were mainly Greeks. In his first epistle, he mainly concentrates on addressing some divisions in the church, some problems with immorality and teaching about marriage, Christian liberty, worship and resurrection. In between I and II Corinthians, Paul visited Corinth another time (a painful visit) and wrote at least one other letter that is now lost. It would seem that the situation in Corinth was still complicated and Paul felt attacked. He defends himself with some of his important teachings - forgiving others, God's new agreement that comes from the Spirit of the living God, the importance of being a person of Christ and giving generously to God's people in Jerusalem and finally ends with his own experience of how God changed his life.

Here is the schedule:

25- Romans 8-11

26- Romans 12-15

27- Romans 16 - I Corinthians 3

28- I Corinthians 4-7

29- I Corinthians 8-11

30- I Corinthians 12-15

1 - I Corinthians 16 - II Corinthians 3

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

Friday Fives

1. Preaching Series - This week we will celebrate Hanging of the Greens during worship. Come and join us as we transform the sanctuary from dark and un-decorated to bright and beaming with the hope of Advent. We will completely decorate the sanctuary during our time together and you will hear the meaning behind each of our decorations. This is truly a wonderful service, so invite a friend and I hope to see you there.





2. Bible Study - Beginning this Thursday, November 29th, we will begin our Advent Bible Study entitled, Christmas Gifts that Won't Break. Those are gifts that cannot be lost, that never go out of style, and that are independent of the chances and changes of life. They are the gifts that have been graciously given by God. That is what gives Advent a permanence that speaks to generations past, present, and future. I hope you will all make plans to attend. It will be offered twice a day on Thursdays; 10:30am and 7pm. For more information and to sign up you can click here, or call the church office, 629-5688.





3.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 by phone, 629-5688, or email her by clicking here.





4. Giving Opportunity - This year you can help be a Santa to a Senior. This outreach is part of a national program, now in its ninth year, that has helped provide more than one million gifts to 700,000 seniors in North America. The Garden Club of Stone Creek is partnering with Home Instead Senior Care of Ocala to bring some much-needed help to those in need in our community. The gift requests are typically simple presents like sweaters, lotions and blankets. While these gifts may seem simple, they make a huge difference to "isolated" seniors, those not fortunate to be surrounded by family and friends. Some other gift suggestions are small fleece lap blankets, toothpaste and toothbrushes, stationary, stamps, and pens, socks, and puzzle books. If you'd like to help in some way, you can buy one of these types of gifts and drop them off in the church office, or you can call 622-6447.





5. Fellowship Opportunities

• Advent Breakfast, December 1st.

• Prayer Shawl Ministry beginning December 19th.

For more information about these events check the announcements in the bulletin this Sunday or look at our bulletin on the church website by clicking here.

Have a great weekend and I will see you Sunday!

Midweek Moment

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day. A day that has been marked in many ways over the years. For some of us, it is marked as a time to spend with family, near and far. For others, it is day marked by watching massive amounts of football. Yet for others, it is day  to eat, and eat, rest and digest, and then eat a little more.

This year at our church's Thanksgiving Dinner, we tried something a bit different. It was suggested by members of the congregation, that they would like to see a little more "thanks" involved in this event. While they all loved the food and fellowship, they felt the thanks portion needed a bit more emphasis. We obliged, and I asked you all to send in pictures of events, places, and people that showed reasons why you are thankful. Consequently, we had some really wonderful pictures submitted. We then took those pictures and turned them into a movie that we played for everyone to see. It was really well received and I believe will become a fixture of our future dinners.

It seems sometimes that this holiday has become more and more about fulfilling our desires, with food and shopping deals, than about remembering to be thankful for all that we have and all that we have been blessed with by God. I have seen this sentiment expressed in this little saying making its way around the internet: "Black Friday: Because only in America, people trample others for sales exactly one day after being thankful for what they already have."

I think about my life, and I am so humbled. God has blessed me in so many ways, that I cannot even count them all. That is one of the main reasons Debbie and I are adopting a child. God has taken care of my family and I in such overflowing ways, this is one way we are responding. But there is so much more.

I encourage you all to take time this Thanksgiving, in your prayer time or around your Thanksgiving table, or both, and thank God. Thank God for all that you have and all that God has given you, and be specific. Name your blessings. I think you will find there may some blessings you forgot, or maybe some that were so wonderful you want to thank God again. But what I know is that in that time not only will you be thanking God, but you will be drawing closer to God. You may also find yourself drawn closer to others as well.

As United Methodists, we are called to be thankful, in all things. This year, I encourage you to discover or re-discover that heritage. Give thanks tomorrow, give thanks the next day, and remember, "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18, NIV).

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Bible Challenge 11/18 - 11/24

Greetings All!

This week we finish up the book of Acts and begin the book of Romans.

In Acts, the second major segment is chapters 8-12 and shows the spread of the Gospel out from Jerusalem into the regions of Judea and Samaria. Here the central figure is Philip and his main audience is the Samaritans. The timeline here is 13 years from Stephen's stoning to Paul's missionary journeys. Finally the last segment of the book in chapters 13-28 details the spread of the Gospel past the known areas of Jesus and the disciples out to the uttermost parts of the earth as Paul travels all around the Roman world preaching to the Gentiles. This covers about 14 years from his first missionary journey through to his release from the Romans.

Then we transition to the book of Romans. Most scholars believe that this book was written in Corinth at the end of Paul's second missionary journey there, somewhere around 55-56 AD. The book of Romans is Paul's greatest theological legacy to the church. The longest by far of his letters, it's intent is to explain that salvation is offered through the Gospel (or good news) of Jesus Christ. Since Paul has not been to Rome at this point, he outlines the good news of Jesus thoroughly so that Paul's teaching will not be confused with other false teachers.

Here is the schedule:

18, Sunday: Acts 8-11

19, Monday: Acts 12-15

20, Tuesday: Acts 16-19

21, Wednesday: Acts 20-23

22, Thursday: Acts 24-27

23, Friday: Acts 28 - Romans 3

24, Saturday: Romans 4-7

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

Friday Fives

1. Preaching Series - This week we will celebrate Christ the King Sunday during our worship time together. Come and join us as we look to each of the seasons in the Christian calendar and explain their significance and meaning. We will read Scripture and sing songs as we travel through Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week, Easter, Pentecost, and conclude with Christ the King. Invite a friend and I hope to see you all there!





2. Advent Bible Study - Beginning November 29th, we will begin our Advent Bible Study entitled, Christmas Gifts that Won't Break. Those are gifts that cannot be lost, that never go out of style, and that are independent of the chances and changes of life. They are the gifts that have been graciously given by God. That is what gives Advent a permanence that speaks to generations past, present, and future. I hope you will all make plans to attend. It will be offered twice a day on Thursdays; 10:30am and 7pm. For more information and to sign up you can click here, or fill out the flier in this week's bulletin.





3. Church Wide Thanksgiving Dinner - The Church Wide Thanksgiving Dinner is tonight at 6pm. This year we are going to try a few new things. To help us get into the mindset of being thankful, we are going to watch a movie made up of pictures submitted by the congregation for what we are thankful for in our lives. As disciples of Christ, remembering to be thankful is sometimes challenging. Therefore, I pray you will be moved by the images and words you hear this evening and that you feel the love of Christ as we gather to celebrate the wondrous joy of a life lived together.





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 by phone, 629-5688, or by email.





5. Meet the Bishop - This Sunday, November 18, at 4:00 pm, the North Central District laity is invited to gather at the Gator Wesley Foundation UMC in Gainesville , 1380 W. University Ave. Gainesville, FL 32603, to meet our new bishop, Ken Carter.

Bishop Carter will be leading a Bible Study, have a time for Questions and Answers and a Communion Service. At the close of the Communion Service, refreshments will be served.

Please join us in welcoming Rev. Dr. Ken Carter to our district.




See you Sunday!

Midweek Moment

Greetings All!

This week I want to use this space to ask for you all to be in prayer for our Choir Director search. Our Staff Parish Committee worked very hard last week interviewing a series of candidates, preparing a job offer, calling references, and felt we were near the end of our search. However, two candidates withdrew their names from consideration this week. Unfortunately, the other candidates were not a good fit for our church and congregation.

The Staff Parish Committee will meet again to determine our plan going forward. I want to assure you that this committee is working hard, being diligent, and trying to find the person God has in store for us. Here is where we need your help. Please pray. Pray that God will lead us to the right person, that we can find the one to step forward and fill this position and lead us forward.

While in the midst of this I want to thank a few people. First, I am deeply grateful to Zlata Sabo and how she has stepped in and stepped up to help us out. Without her help, this situation would have been much more difficult for us. She has eased a burden and filled a void with tremendous class, ability, and flexibility. Please extend your thanks to Zlata as you have the opportunity. Let her know how much she means to us.

I am also deeply grateful to our Choir. This group of people have lived in a state of flux for some time and have done so with grace and integrity, all the while performing in an absolutely stunning manner. Their music, their quality of performance, and eagerness to lead us in song, should be and is greatly admired. Please, thank the members of our dynamite choir as you have the opportunity.

So...please pray. For so many things we need prayer. I appreciate your patience, your kindness, and your support while we continue our search for the one God has in store that will help us continue to reach out into this community.

 Have a great week and I will see you Sunday!

The Ministry of Love1 Corinthians 13 and Matthew 22:34-40

Bible Challenge 11/11 - 11/17

Greetings All!

This week we will read the entire last Gospel of John and begin our way into early church history with the book of Acts.

The Gospel of John, or John's Gospel, written by one of the disciples, is very different than the others and so is NOT included as a synoptic or similar Gospel. While it does mention some of the same stories of people and healings and miracles, the timeline of Jesus' ministry is different than the others and John also includes large chunks of teaching (chapters 6, 10, and 13-16) that explain who Jesus is that are not included in any other Gospels. John is clear though about his criteria for what is included within his Gospel, "Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But THESE are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that by believing you may have life in his name." (John 20:31)

Acts or Acts of the Apostles, is the second of Luke's major writing, showing how the disciples spread the goods news of the Gospel after Jesus' death, resurrection and ascension back to heaven. The key verse for this book is Acts 1:8 - "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." This verses sets the tone for all of the action in the book. The first major segment is chapters 1-7 where the action centers around the Jews in Jerusalem and Peter is the main figure. The timeline here is about 2 years from Pentecost through the stoning of Stephen.

Here is the schedule

11, Sunday: John 1-4

12, Monday: John 5-8

13, Tuesday: John 9-12

14, Wednesday: John 13-16

15, Thursday: John 17-20

16, Friday: John 21 - Acts 3

17, Saturday: Acts 4-7

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

Friday Fives

1. Preaching Series - This week we will honor our Veterans and use our worship time together to look at the importance of the Ministry of Love. I encourage you to invite a friend and come on out and see what God has in store for you!






2. Advent Bible Study - Beginning November 29th, we will begin our Advent Bible Study entitled, Christmas Gifts that Won't Break. Those are gifts that cannot be lost, that never go out of style, and that are independent of the chances and changes of life. They are the gifts that have been graciously given by God. That is what gives Advent a permanence that speaks to generations past, present, and future. I hope you will all make plans to attend. It will be offered twice a day on Thursdays; 10:30am and 7pm. For more information and to sign up you can click here, or fill out the flier in this week's bulletin.





3. Church Wide Thanksgiving Dinner - The Church Wide Thanksgiving Dinner is a week from today, 11/16. We are going to try something new this year 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 of 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. New Member Class - On Sunday, November 18 at 12:45 PM. I will host a new member class in my office. If you have been attending Druid Hills for at least three months and would like to take that next step in becoming a member of this church, this class is for you! To register for this class, either call the church office at 629-5688 or email me by clicking here.



Have a GREAT weekend and see you Sunday!

Midweek Moment

The window in the parsonage kitchen faces towards the back of the church. This morning as we were beginning our day and getting Parker and Wesley ready for school, Debbie and I noticed that we could see people down at the church. There was a line going all the way from the Fellowship Hall down the sidewalk back towards the Sanctuary. Election Day was here. I have to admit my first thought was, “now maybe I won't have seven messages on my answering machine every evening asking me to vote for something.” But as that thought passed I moved towards the gravity and importance of what I was seeing.

I want to share with you a quote by John Wesley, the founder of Methodism. On October 6, 1774, Wesley said, “I met those of our society who had votes in the ensuing election, and advised them, 1. To vote, without fee or reward, for the person they judged most worthy: 2. To speak no evil of the person they voted against: And 3. To take care their spirits were not sharpened against those that voted on the other side.” What powerful words that still carry tremendous weight some 230 years later.

As Christians, I believe we should vote. We should do our research, we should spend time in prayer over the issues and candidates, and we should do the best we can to vote as we are led by the Holy Spirit. We should be vital cogs in the manner in which our country is conducted, and that begins with our participation in the democratic process. I encourage you, do not shy away from this duty, do not dismiss this responsibility as insignificant. Vote as an informed citizen and vote as an informed disciple of Jesus Christ.

Looking back at John Wesley's words, he did not stop at his encouragement to vote. He followed it up with two things we all need to remember; speak no evil of the person we vote against and feel no evil towards those that voted against us. In this day and age of competitive spirits and deep alliances, that can be hard.

I ask that you consider this one idea when you are about to deal with a person or people that fall into those two categories. Each of us make decisions based upon our life circumstances and living conditions. Very few of our decisions are ever made in a vacuum, with no outside influences. As such, we are not privy to the reasons that go into the decisions others make. This is where grace comes in. Give grace. Trust that the other person did the very best they could. Believe that the other person used the tools at their disposal to make the best decision that they could. Because even after the ballot is cast, even after the victor is installed, we are still brothers and sisters in the one Kingdom of God. Therefore, we need to treat each other as such.

I know this day is full of emotion, full of anticipation, and ripe with division. Let us, as disciple of Jesus Christ, be the beacons and guides of how to navigate the days after this election. Let the grace and compassion we show others, regardless of which side of the isle you stand, be what the world sees. Let your love, be strengthened with the love of Christ. Let our interactions with others be the foundations on which bridges are built, so regardless of outcome, God's Kingdom will continue to break forth into our reality, spilling out on to all those around us.

Have a great week and I will see you Sunday!

All Saint's Day: The Eternity of MentoringIsaiah 25:6-9 and John 11:32-44

Bible Challenge 11/4 - 11/10

Greetings All!

This week we will finish the end of the Gospel of Mark and move on through the majority of the third Gospel, Luke.

The Gospel of Luke is the first part of a two-part book written by the same author. The first part is an account of Jesus' life; the second part, the book of Acts, is an account of the early life of the church. The author Luke was a physician who was a traveling companion of Paul on some of his missionary journeys. He addresses the books of Luke and Acts to Theophilus, probably a Gentile that was either a new believer or someone who wanted to know more about Jesus. Luke elaborates on a lot of the information from Matthew and Mark, including more parables and more stories about Jesus' interactions with people which show his interest in the non-Jewish world and the poor.

I pray this insight will deepen and expand your readings this week. Here is the schedule:

04, Sunday: Mark 13-16

05, Monday: Luke 1-4

06, Tuesday: Luke 5-8

07, Wednesday: Luke 9-12

08, Thursday: Luke 13-16

09, Friday: Luke 17-20

10, Saturday: Luke 21-24

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

Friday Fives

1. Preaching Series - This Sunday is a special Sunday. We will use our time together to remember and celebrate All Saints' Day and those people within our church family, those saints, that have passed on in this last year. We will also celebrate the Sacrament of Holy Communion as we remember the gift Christ gave to each of us, a gift our saints knew very well. During the sermon time, we will look to the importance of understanding that the Kingdom of God is not only a future hope but a present reality. Bring a friend and I hope to see you all there!





2. Daylight Savings Time - This Saturday before you go to bed do not forget to set your clocks back an hour. Enjoy the extra rest!





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.

• Block Party - Tomrrow, Saturday, November 3rd, 2-5pm, here at the church. This is our chance to say thank you to the community for all of their support of the Pumpkin Patch and just to love on them a bit. So be sure to come on out and help us out!

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

• Thanksgiving Dinner - On Friday, November 16th at 6pm, here at the church. Sign-up sheets are at the Connection Station.

Have a GREAT weekend and I will see you tomorrow!