Bible Challenge 09/01 - 09/07

Greetings All!

Our reading takes us just one chapter shy of finishing the first major prophetic book in the Old Testament this week - Isaiah. Remember the first half of the book deals primarily with judgment against Judah and a call to repentance; the chapters we are reading this week continue on with God's message of forgiveness and hope as he reveals his plan for a coming Messiah.

We get a reference to the one we know as John the Baptist in chapter 40 as the voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God". - Isaiah 40:3

We see a few references to the suffering that the Messiah would go through on our behalf:

1) "He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth." - Isaiah 53:7

2) "I gave My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting." - Isaiah 50:6

And finally we see a testimony about the kind of healer that the Messiah would be: "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;" - Isaiah 61:1

I pray this helps give depth to your reading this week.

Here is the schedule:

Sunday, 1: Isaiah 34-37

Monday, 2: Isaiah 38-41

Tuesday, 3: Isaiah 42-45

Wednesday, 4: Isaiah 46-49

Thursday, 5: Isaiah 50-53

Friday, 6: Isaiah 54-57

Saturday, 7: Isaiah 58-61

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 Sunday we will continue our series on the Methodist Way. Several years ago we spent time seeking to understand how these practices were calling us to live out our faith. This time around we are going to focus on how we have been living out these practices in our lives over the last several years. This Sunday our emphasis will be on the practice of Intentional Discipleship and how vital this practice is to our walk with Christ. I encourage you to invite a friend and come and see how God has been working in our congregation!





2. Food 4 Kids - We are once again participating in the Food 4 Kids backpack program by sponsoring Shady Hill Elementary. Food 4 Kids was created in 2004 when it came to the attention of school teachers that many children were not being fed over the weekend. The "backpack program" as it's termed, was created to provide food for each child that qualifies at the school level for assistance. By volunteering to help fill these backpacks, you help ensure that children in Marion County do not go hungry over the weekend. Beginning in mid-September, we will meet at InterFaith on Wednesday mornings at 9:00 A.M. and fill the backpacks. With four people, this averages about 20 minutes to complete. I hope you will considering volunteering this year, with whatever time you can spare. If you are interested in helping please contact Debby Baugher.

3. Installation Service - You are cordially invited to a Service of Installation for Rev. Sue Haupert-Johnson, our newly appointed District Superintendent. It will take place on Sunday, September 8th, at 3:00 P.M., in the Sanctuary of the First United Methodist Church of Ocala, 1126 E. Silver Springs Boulevard. Also, our Bishop, Ken Carter will be in attendance. There will be reception in the Family Life Center immediately following the ceremony and an open house for the new district office. Everyone is invited and I want to encourage you to attend. You will have the opportunity to hear some of the vision Rev. Haupert-Johnson has for the North Central District. I hope to see you there!





4. Nursery Help - We are looking for people to help us staff our nursery on Sunday mornings. The number of young people we have in the nursery is growing and needless to say, that is a good thing! If you are interested in helping Ms. Joy care for and teach our kids during worship, please let the church office know. You can email by clicking here, or call 629-5688. Thus far, we have had two people sign up and we are looking for at least eight. Remember the old adage, many hands make light work. I hope you will consider volunteering to help support this ministry.





5. Advent Conspiracy - This year we have set a goal to raise $5,000, by Christmas Eve, as a response to God's blessings in our lives. This gift, which is above and beyond our regular giving, will be split between Heifer International and Stop Hunger Now. These two organizations do not simply give handouts to help those in need. They teach people how use these gifts to perpetually help themselves. These organizations make a real investment in the communities they help, so these people can then start helping others. If you would like to donate to this challenge, please mark your check or envelope "Heifer Fund" and place it in the offering plate or drop it by the church office. Thank you so much for your consideration in helping us meet this goal and share the love of Christ with people the world over.





Have a great weekend and I will see you Sunday!

Midweek Moment

This past week we spent time in worship talking about the practice of Extravagant Generosity. I wanted everyone to understand how this practice teaches us that money should be a tool we use to spread God’s blessings and not a vice that controls us.

I have been on both sides of that fence and I can tell you being in control of money, rather than letting money control you, is definitely more appealing. When I moved out of my mom and dad’s home and into my first apartment, I was 20 years old. I had saved enough money to have several months’ worth of expenses in reserve and felt confident I was ready to spread my wings and seize my independence. At first, things went according to plan. Then I decided I needed a new computer, so I bought one. I also decided that cooking was too time intensive, so I ate out every night. If both of those decisions were not enough, I also determined that my music collection needed some beefing up. Now if I had had the money to support all of these decisions that would have been one thing, but alas I did not. I put all of these “necessary” expenses on my credit card and it was not long before the only payment I could make was the minimum payment. As you know, that means you are paying off mostly interest and not really touching the balance. Money had now taken control of my life and it dictated every decision I made. I do not believe that is God’s intention for the gifts and treasure entrusted to us.

Rather, I believe God wants us to use those gifts and treasure to help others, to spread God’s love and blessings to others. I buckled down, made some lifestyle changes and now Debbie and I live on the other end of that spectrum. And the great thing about that is, when God called us to adopt, financially we could immediately say yes, a response that allowed us to bring Davis home. A child so perfectly suited for our family, that I know the day he was found at the hospital, God said to him, “Hang on little guy, I’ve got the perfect family for you, just give me some time to put it together.” By not having money control our life, we were able to use money to bring a new life to another.

That is a part of the reason why we are in the midst of this financial challenge to raise $5,000 for Heifer International and Stop Hunger Now. I want this congregation to look at the way we each use the gifts God has given us, make whatever changes we might need to make, and give out of our abundance to change the life of another person. The story we looked at Sunday from II Corinthians paints this exact scenario. We have a community not rich by any stretch of the imagination and in fact they are described as living in extreme poverty, giving out what they had left over to help the people of Judea. They did not know these people; they did not have personal relationships with them. The people of Judea needed help and that was all that mattered. These Macedonians, after taking care of the needs in their community, pleaded for the opportunity to give what they had left to help their brothers and sisters in need, and that is what we are doing now. While we do not personally know the people that will benefit from the Ark we want to purchase or from the food we want to pack, that does not matter. We have the opportunity to help another member of God’s creation, a community that God dearly loves, as God loves us. To date we have raised $1,375, just a little over a quarter of our goal and I am very excited about that! So I invite you to be in prayer about ways you can help us meet our goal, so together we can dramatically change the lives of another the same way God has changed ours.

Have a great week and I will see you Sunday!

The Methodist Way: Extravagant GenerosityI Chronicles 29:1-18 and II Corinthians 8:1-7

Bible Challenge 08//25 - 08/31

Greetings All!

This week we continue our journey through most of the first major prophetic book, Isaiah. Remember this book is named after the prophet Isaiah who ministered to the southern kingdom of Judah for a period of about sixty years (740-680 BC) through four different kings.

Isaiah came from a privileged family and he was well educated. Some people have even called him the
"Shakespeare of the Bible" because of the beauty and poetry of his words. He lived in the city of Jerusalem for most of his life. He was married (his wife is called a prophetess) and they had at least two sons that are mentioned in the book of Isaiah. He lived at the same time as three other minor prophets: Amos, Micah and Hosea. Strong tradition suggests that he died a martyrs death under the reign of King Manasseh by being placed within the hallow of a tree trunk and sawed in two.

The name Isaiah means "the salvation of the Lord" and the book is often referred to as the "Book of Salvation." The first 39 chapters deal mainly with strong messages of judgment against Judah and a call to repentance and holiness. He predicted the demise and captivity of Judah, yet comforted people with the hope that God had promised a Redeemer. The last 27 chapters contain God's message of forgiveness, consolation and hope as God speaks through Isaiah, revealing his plan of blessing and salvation through the coming Messiah. The New Testament quotes the book of Isaiah 66 times, more than any other Old Testament book except for Psalms.

Here is the schedule:

25, Sunday: Isaiah 6-9

26, Monday: Isaiah 10-13

27, Tuesday: Isaiah 14-17

28, Wednesday: Isaiah 18-21

29, Thursday: Isaiah 22-25

30, Friday: Isaiah 26-29

31, Saturday: Isaiah 30-33

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 Sunday we will continue our series on the Methodist Way. Several years ago we spent time seeking to understand how these practices were calling us to live out our faith. This time around we are going to focus on how we have been living out these practices in our lives over the last several years. This Sunday our emphasis will be on the practice of Extravagant Generosity and how we as the body of Christ can model this in our faith walk. I encourage you to invite a friend and come and see how God has been working in our congregation!





2. Food 4 Kids - We are once again participating in the Food 4 Kids backpack program by sponsoring Shady Hill Elementary. Food 4 Kids was created in 2004 when it came to the attention of school teachers that many children were not being fed over the weekend. The "backpack program" as it's termed, was created to provide food for each child that qualifies at the school level for assistance. By volunteering to help fill these backpacks, you help ensure that children in Marion County do not go hungry over the weekend. Beginning in mid-September, we will meet at InterFaith on Wednesday mornings at 9:00 A.M. and fill the backpacks. With four people, this averages about 20 minutes to complete. I hope you will considering volunteering this year, with whatever time you can spare. If you are interested in helping please contact Debby Baugher.





3. Installation Service - You are cordially invited to a Service of Installation for Rev. Sue Haupert-Johnson, our newly appointed District Superintendent. It will take place on Sunday, September 8th, at 3:00 P.M., in the Sanctuary of the First United Methodist Church of Ocala, 1126 E. Silver Springs Boulevard. Also, our Bishop, Ken Carter will be in attendance. There will be reception in the Family Life Center immediately following the ceremony and an open house for the new district office. Everyone is invited and I want to encourage you to attend. You will have the opportunity to hear some of the vision Rev. Haupert-Johnson has for the North Central District. I hope to see you there!





4. Nursery Help - We are looking for people to help us staff our nursery on Sunday mornings. The number of young people we have in the nursery is growing and needless to say, that is a good thing! If you are interested in helping Ms. Joy care for and teach our kids during worship, please let the church office know. You can email by clicking here, or call 629-5688. Thus far, we have had two people sign up and we are looking for at least eight. Remember the old adage, many hands make light work. I hope you will consider volunteering to help support this ministry.
 

5. Advent Conspiracy - This year we have set a goal to raise $5,000, by Christmas Eve, as a response to God's blessings in our lives. This gift, which is above and beyond our regular giving, will be split between Heifer International and Stop Hunger Now. These two organizations do not simply give handouts to help those in need. They teach people how use these gifts to perpetually help themselves. These organizations make a real investment in the communities they help, so these people can then start helping others. If you would like to donate to this challenge, please mark your check or envelope "Heifer Fund" and place it in the offering plate or drop it by the church office. Thank you so much for your consideration in helping us meet this goal and share the love of Christ with people the world over.



 Have a great weekend and I will see you Sunday!

Midweek Moment

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40, NIV)

What a moving passage of Scripture. This was Jesus’ response to a group of Pharisees when questioned about which commandment was the greatest. But this response was more than just an answer to a trivia question or the answer to timely problem. This answer is much, much more.

How often a day, in the midst of your schedules, obligations, commitments, personal interests, and relationships, do you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind? When you look back on your interactions with family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, people that drive you crazy, how frequently did you love your neighbor as yourself?

As you ponder those answers for yourself, let me share mine with you; “not very often” and again, “not very often”. I get wrapped up in those schedules, obligations, commitments, interests and I am afraid my love of God and others is not always very evident. It seems that a brief exchange or a curt interaction in my dealings with people, people that I love, happen too often.

To love God means that we need to put God first in our lives, even before our family. It means that every decision, every action, every thought needs to be steeped in the grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness that is God. When we do that, I think we might find many of our decisions, actions, and thoughts turn out a tad different.

The love of God is life changing and transforming. When the love of God is allowed to permeate the soul, it changes everything. It shifts focus, intention, language, and desires. But the great thing about the love of God is that it is not one sided. Just as we are called to love God with all that we are, God already loves us in the same way.

This week I encourage you to take time to seriously discern where God ranks in your life. Then, if you are not happy with the answer, take time to ask God how you can change it. God is always willing to grow closer to us, we just need to ask.

Have a great week and I will see you Sunday!