Life Spirit September 22, 2010

Transcription

1 Life Spirit September 22, 2010 Sheep Know the Shepherd s Voice In John 10:27, Jesus said, My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. Has that thought ever bothered you: My sheep listen to my voice? Have you ever worried that you will not hear His voice? I have. But let me assure you stop worrying! When God wants you to hear His voice, you will hear His voice! When I say that, I mean you will sense a nudge of the Holy Spirit, or the Word of God will speak to you, or on a rare occasion, you may actually hear an audible voice. If you seek Him with all your heart, if you stay open to Him at all times, if you stay in His Word and stay confessed up, you will hear His voice. So stop worrying about it. Let me give you a couple of recent examples in my life. As you know, Sylvia and I went to the Expect Church Leadership Conference in Colorado Springs last week. Thank you so much for allowing us to attend this continuing education requirement. One of the speakers was Carter Conlon. He is the Senior Pastor of Times Square Church in New York City. He asked the question, What is a great church? His text was 1 Corinthians 13. First he told us what a great church wasn t. Then Conlon told us that a loving church was the greatest church. After that he said a church will be no more loving than its pastor. When he said those words, I felt the arrow of the Holy Spirit pierce my heart. Conviction was heavy upon me. When an invitation was given for pastors to come forward so that God could do a deeper work in their hearts so they could be more loving, I knew I had to go forward. Tears were running down my face. I knew God had spoken to me. Today, I was trying to catch up on my Bible reading. I was reading from the book of Ecclesiastes. It s kind of a negative book about what happens to humans under the sun. Ecclesiastes 1:2 says, Meaningless! Meaningless! Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless! All life is meaningless unless it is rightly related to God. An amazing thing happened when I read Ecclesiastes 10:18, If a man is lazy, the rafter s sag; if his hands are idle, the house leaks. I heard God speak clearly. I ran to tell Sylvia about it. I read the verse to her, and she started smiling. She knew what I was going to tell her. You see, for weeks I had forgotten to change the light bulb for the garage door opener. When I read that verse, God clearly spoke to me to go change it! Sylvia had a good laugh because she had been reminding me to change it, but I had forgotten. Beloved: Don t worry! His sheep hear His voice. ~Rick

2 Thank you for your generous blessings, cards, concerns, and prayers that I happily received during surgery and recovery. I m so grateful for your spiritual thoughtfulness and visitations. ~Love, Vi McMahon Threads of Love, Thank you so much for the wonderful gift you made for my daughter Shelby Foreman. It was absolutely beautiful. We so much appreciate all of the prayers to help us during this difficult time. You put a smile on a little girl s face. Thank you so much. ~Lori Truitt I would like to say THANK YOU to the people of Dewey United Methodist Church for your help in our time of need. Tim, my husband, wishes to express his deepest gratitude for your kindness and generous help because without your help we don t know what we would have done. At this time we are not sure how long Tim s hospital stay will be. His doctor is trying to decide of arterial by-pass surgery is viable on his right leg. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. Again, many thanks and God bless each and every one. ~Timothy and Constance REMINDER: All offerings left on the communion rail the first Sunday of each month go to help local families in their time of need. Your generous donations help us to help others, such as the couple listed above. Thank you. ~Sympathies and Prayers~ Our sympathies are extended to Marvin Rogers in the loss of his brother-in-law, Deryl Adamson. May God bring his family comfort. Bob Hurst Father of Kendra Sloan Dale Dishman Vi McMahon home, taking therapy Rick Jones Marilyn McAfee s brother Don Eckert, Sr. having eye surgery Jay Downing bone cancer (Duane King s nephew) Tom Smith surgery on 9/27 Chris Brower deployed to Afghanistan Susan Hobart severe infection Pie Auction (October 3rd) Love at Last Sight Challenge (Sept. 29th) Members and friends needing jobs Those who are homebound and in nursing homes Applying Bible Principles It might surprise you to learn that God described His creative acts as work and that he brought work into being shortly after He created man. Adam worked in the Garden before and after his fall due to his sin. Cain worked by raising vegetables. Abel worked by tending sheep. Throughout Scripture, people worked. Even the Lord Jesus worked while He was on earth, and He described God the Father as having worked. Work has always been part of God s nature and eternal plan for mankind. 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 says, Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands... so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody. What should be the Christian s response to work? First, thank God for work and for the ability to work. Second, view your work as a means of bringing glory to God. And finally, remember that by providing work for us, God enables us to give to Him and to His ministry at Dewey United Methodist Church. Thank you for your faithful and generous giving.

3 1 Erma Halter 12 Zayne Lorenz 3 Katey Gunter 14 Joe Sires 4 Mike Moore 17 Brenda Epperson 6 Chance Cleveland 19 Dolores Snider 6 Shaun Ray Lickliter 21 Jack Archer 9 Kelli Lorenz 22 Cindy Archer 10 Mary Lou Burdett 24 Heather Thomison 10 Iris Hefty 27 Marian Mattix 10 Jim Majors 28 Jack Inda 11 Gladys Teel 30 Trey Sloan 17 Jack & Jean Mattox 21 Joe & Tracy Sires 23 Howard & Muriel Armstrong 31 Sherril & Dolores Snider Senior Adult Retreat September at Canyon Camp Brochures are available in the office. The Love at Last Sight Challenge begins Sunday, September 26! We are excited to be part of a Nationwide Launch Event! This Challenge will help us grow and deepen our closest relationships and also reach out to our community with random acts of kindness. This 4-week series will teach us: 1) The Art of Being All There 2) The Art of Acting Intentionally 3) The Art of Risking Awkwardness 4) The Art of Letting Go. The books will be handed out on Sunday. Please have your $12.50 ready if you have not already paid for your book. If you cannot be here Sunday, call the office and come by during office hours to get your book. Who do you know that is struggling in his or her relationship? Be sure to invite them to this series and offer them a ride, or offer to sit with them in church. Plan now to be here each Sunday during this 4-week challenge! Sunday Morning Breakfast Sign-up! Do you enjoy cooking? Then please sign up to help cook breakfast on Sunday mornings between the first service and Sunday school. This is a wonderful opportunity for fellowship, but we need cooks to volunteer to fix breakfast! A signup sheet is on the bulletin board by the kitchen. Wednesday Night Bridge Begins Wednesday, September 29 What is it? A Bridge of Discipleship between Sundays. 5:30 6:30: Meal for a donation 5:30 7:30: Nursery (infant Pre-K) Nursery is only for children of adults attending Wednesday Night Bridge 5:30 7:30: Children s Program (K 5 th ) 6:00 7:00: Adult Choir 6:00 7:30: Youth Group (grades 6 12) 6:00 7:30: Young Adult Small Group (Parlor) 6:30 7:30: Men s Small Group (SS room by sanctuary) 6:30 7:30: Ladies Small Group (Theatre Rm) Come eat with us between 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. Then attend choir or a small group. All small groups will be part of the Love at Last Sight Challenge. Any special activities at the church or using the church buses need to be scheduled through the church office. The office will be responsible for marking special activities on the church calendar. (This does not include ongoing activities or meetings, such as the Circles.) Sorry for any inconveniences. Thank you. Dewey Elementary is looking for volunteers to listen to children read and/or go over math facts. Sessions are 30 minutes. No training required! Just a listening ear and kind words. Please call the Dewey Elementary Office at if you are interested. New Church Directory! Pictures for the new church directory will be taken October Sign-up sheets for time slots will be available Sunday. If you have taken any pictures during church activities and would like to submit them for the directory, please write your name on the back or bring in a digital format to Pat Cleveland.

4 SUNDAY WORSHIP 8:30 am Worship 9:30 am Breakfast 9:50 am Sunday School 10:50 am Worship SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 26 Love at Last Sight Challenge Begins! (more info inside) Praise Band Leading Worship 2:00-4:00 pm Surprise 80th Birthday Party for Erma Halter (come & go) 5:00 pm Youth Council Mtg. 6:00 pm One 10 Youth 6:30 pm Chick-Lits TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28 5:30 pm Prayer Shawl Meeting WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 Wednesday Night Bridge Starts at 5:30! (more info inside) 7:30 pm Praise Band Practice 8:00 pm Line Dancing THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 10:00 am Dorcas Circle FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1 SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2 UMW Annual Conference Meeting SUNDAY, OCTOBER 3 Christmas Outreach Pie Auction / Catered Lunch after 2nd service (more info inside) 5:00 pm Mary Circle 6:00 pm One 10 Youth 6:30 pm Chick-Lits DEWEY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 618 North Delaware PO Box 610 Dewey, Oklahoma / deweymc@cableone.net Rick Robart, Pastor David Cleveland, Youth Director Non Profit Organization Paid Permit #7 Address Service Requested

5 REMINDER: Sunday, October 3rd, immediately following second service, the Family Life Ministries Committee is hosting a FULLY catered lunch to be held in Fellowship Hall. Everything will be provided..just bring yourselves!! Immediately following lunch, the annual Christmas Outreach pie and silent auction will begin. This auction is the primary fundraiser for the Christmas Outreach Mission event. The goal of this ministry is to provide a personalized Christmas for about deserving children in the Dewey area who might not otherwise have much joy at Christmas. We ask all the wonderful bakers in the congregation to bring delicious pies or special baked items for the auction. David Cleveland will be our auctioneer! During this time, we also conduct a Silent Auction of theme baskets which have been donated by the Sunday School classes. Both auctions have always been a very competitive event and are lots of fun. Based on years past, the baked items and baskets may bring anywhere from low to medium to higher dollar amounts.so don t forget to bring your check book!! The auctions should conclude around 1:30 2:00, so this allows you to still enjoy your Sunday afternoon!! If you are not able to attend the auction and would like to donate funds, you may place your contribution in the offering plate or mail it to the church and mark it Christmas Outreach. Thanking you in advance for you continued support and commitment to the mission event. Questions contact Jane Hodges CALLING ALL VOLUNTEERS! The youth needs your help for our Minute to Win It game night on October 16 th from 6:00 pm to 9:30 pm. Volunteers are needed to run games, cook and serve food and drinks, and make sure that all of the youth stay contained in the gym area (security). We are expecting around 100 youth to attend. Please prayerfully consider serving at this event. ~Grace and Peace, David Welcome, New Member! Heidi Smith lives here in Dewey with her husband, David, and their three girls, Brooke, Bijou, and Fiona. Heidi and David have been married for 10 years. Heidi is a stay-at-home mom, and David works for the city of Bartlesville. Keep an eye out for Heidi and her family and extend a big DUMC welcome! COATS FOR KIDS Deadline Approaching! DON T FORGET!!! Sunday, October 3rd, is the deadline to bring your new or gently used donated coats for the upcoming Coats for Kids ministry. If you are unable to donate coats and just want to give money, please place your donation in the offering plate and mark it coat ministry. The distribution day of the coats will be on Saturday morning, Oct. 9, and we will be using Fellowship Hall for this event. For questions, please contact Jane