MESSENGER Our Mission Is To Make Disciples For Jesus Christ!

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1 Administrative Council Jef Fuller JANUARY2018 Trustees Henry Covington, Jr. Finance Todd Turner Treasurer Chad Cronshaw Recording Secretary Sandi Fratzke Staff Pastor Parish Relations Warren Wright Methodist Women Phyllis Hoffman Memorial Fund Treasurer Lynda Palmatary Lay Members to Conference Bob and Sandy Harris Outreach Larisa Thomas Worship Pastor Chris Pettit Sunday School Superintendent Kim Parkerson the MESSENGER Our Mission Is To Make Disciples For Jesus Christ! A New Year s Resolution Worthy of Keeping Pastor Chris Pettit It is the start of a New Year, and with that comes the New Year resolutions. We can expect gyms to be busy and plenty of posts on social media regarding the latest high protein, low carb, juice-cleansing, Mediterranean, probiotic diet. Whipping our bodies into shape is a good thing with great long term benefits, but what about our spiritual well being? As the Apostle Paul instructed young Timothy, Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come. (1 Timothy 4:8) With that in mind, let me share with you Centreville UMC s 2018 New Year s Resolution: We are going to be a church that develops mature disciples of Jesus Christ. What is a mature disciple? In short, a person fully transformed and being used by God. Maturing in our faith is more than Bible knowledge, it involves being changed by God s Word. James 1:22 says "do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." This involves discipline and the help of close friends willing to walk alongside us. As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another (Proverbs 27:17). How will we go about it? You will need to come and worship with us this January as Pastor Robyn and I present the Pathway to Discipleship, bearing in mind Ephesians 4:11-13 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Are you ready to take on a New Year s Resolution worthy of keeping?

2 Page 2 Preparation For Receiving Healing Dale Becraft It is obviously very difficult to summarize the entire thought of preparation for healing into a few paragraphs, But the main thing to stress is this: your faith for healing must be based exclusively on the truth and authority of the Word of God, Since faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17),instruction must be received from Scripture on the entire subject of divine healing. We must become thoroughly grounded in the Biblical teaching of divine healing by not only hearing the word but also by studying it yourself. The following are some of the biblical reasons that God heals. 1. Healing for your body is part of the Atonement. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and WITH HIS STRIPES WE ARE HEALED. Isaiah 53:5. He took our infirmities, and bore our sicknesses. Matthew 8: You must definitely understand that sickness is Satan s oppression. How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him. Acts 10:38. We are taught to pray, let your Kingdom come. There is no sickness in the Kingdom of God. sickness entered into the world as a result of the fall of man into sin 3..Be absolutely convinced that it is God s will to heal you. No good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly. Psalms 84:11. Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. III John 2. So many Christians waiver in this understanding. Settle the issue based upon what God said and did. 4. Completely surrender your life to the service of the King, and present your body a living sacrifice unto God. Selling out to God is only your reasonable service, as a follower of the Lord,. Paul said: I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. Romans 12:1. When we think of the many mercies of God towards us salvation for our souls, healing for our bodies, and so many, many other blessings that God does bestow upon us the Lord truly deserves our all in all. But even if He never did anything, He is worthy because He is God! 6. When you are prayed for, don t doubt or waver, but come with simple, childlike faith, believing that what God has promised, He will do. When you come to the Lord for healing for your body, come humbly and reverently, with the realization that you are standing in the presence of the great God of heaven. 7. After you have been prayed for, go your way praising God for what he has done. Don t become discouraged if a miracle does not happen immediately but thank and praise God and you will find that the condition will improve every day. 8. No doubt Satan will attempt to come back with some symptom of the old affliction, Satan rarely gives back ground without resistance. Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7 In the Presence of God, Satan can not stand. "God always heals...in His own timing. Physical healing may be miraculously instantaneous, over time through the hands of gifted persons, or after our time in this body is over. This is God's prerogative." Upcoming Events: Prayer Workshop Saturday, January 6, 10:00 A.M.- 12:00 P.M. (Double Sunday School Room) Healing Service, January 12 7:00 P.M. Sanctuary

3 Sunday School The Sunday School Program is in need of a Pre-K Teacher. If you are interested please contact Kim Parkerson at Altar Update Altar flowers are needed for January 28,2018. Call Ruth Ann Walls, New Membership Class! If you are interested in becoming a member of CUMC, classes begin Thursday, January 25th. If you have any questions you can contact the office or Jennifer Gragg (jengragg@yahoo.com or ) for more information. You may also fill out a registration form, available on the church website at under the Grow tab, then under Membership. We would love to have you as part of our church family! Newsletter Pictures If you have pictures from any church service or any of the church activities and wouldn't mind sharing them, we would love to feature them in the newsletter! If you would like to share your pictures you can send them to either: Doug Witt at dwitt@centreville-umc.com or Will Covington at wcovington@centrevilleumc.com JANUARY2018 Page 3 Backpacks For Kids January 2018 Thank you to all the Sunday school classes, teachers, students and families who participated in the Backpacks contest during the month of December. We greatly appreciate everyone s participation and all the generous donations received. We will announce the winning class on January 7th.Thank you also to the food pantry and church members who also contributed towards the Backpacks for Kids outreach program. We hope to be able to provide 42 breakfast items and 42 fruit items with all the donations collected in December. Anyone interested in additional information or ways to help with Backpacks for Kids Outreach Program can contact Kimberly Starkey at starkeykimberly@yahoo.com United Methodist Women A note of thanks to the women who attended our Christmas Luncheon on December 12th. It was a lot of fun and enjoyed by all. We even initiated Pastor Chris and Krista to their first luncheon with the women. I think they had a good time. These functions we have are open to ALL women of the church. Please feel free to attend and possibly meet some new friends. A special thanks to Susie Gay for the delicious homemade hard candy. Thanks again and wishing everyone a blessed Christmas and New Year. Lynda Palmatary

4 Page 4 Outreach: Reaching Out into Our Community to Make a Difference By Larisa Thomas Coming Up: Jan midnight CUMC Volunteer duty to Haven Ministries Shelter Jan 22 9:30-5ish Homeless Outreach in Baltimore Supplies Drive for Homeless in Baltimore Last year some Spirit-led people in our congregation collected blankets, coats and assorted items and made a trip up to Baltimore. They handed out their supplies where a church was handing out food, and then gave the rest to people around the Helping Up Mission. Another trip is being organized for January 22. We are collecting gently used blankets, warm coats, scarves, hats, mittens, long johns, toothbrush kits, etc. If you could wash them, it would be appreciated. In addition, the recipients expressed a need for backpacks, plastic bags with handles, and small suitcases with wheels to help transport their belongings. All items can be dropped off at the marked table in the back of the double classroom. We would love to have a man or men accompany us on this trip. Any questions or interest, please contact Larisa Thomas at home /cell Thank you! What Comes Next? What happens when we die? Where do we go? Is there an afterlife? Does the Bible say anything specific bout heaven? Has anyone been to heaven and returned with insider information? Join Dr. David Jeremiah for an in-depth look into what awaits us after our time in this life is finished. Heaven is the most encouraging subject in the Bible and the happiest location in the universe you should know all about it! Larisa Thomas will lead this DVD-based study as we explore the mysteries of what comes next! The study will be a total of 12 weeks. There will be two sessions offered one on Wednesday mornings from 9:30-11:00 a.m., and the other on Wednesday evenings from 7:00-8:30 p.m. The dates are as follows: Jan. 17, 24, 31, February 7, 14, 21, 28, March 7, 14, 21, 28, April 4. To register contact Pastor Robyn at rbrown@centrevilleumc.com no later than Wednesday, January 10 th. Please be sure to specify whether you will be joining the morning or evening study. The church will purchase the study guides and participants can reimburse the church once they register and receive their copy.

5 JANUARY2018 Page 5 Chris Pettit, Pastor Robyn Brown, Associate Pastor Tammi Clark, Office Manager Charlene S. Brown, Membership Secretary Doug Witt, Newsletter Rudy Draper, Youth Director Jodi Bortz, Music Director Will Covington, Technology Director Meet Our Team CPettit@centreville-umc.com RBrown@centreville-umc.com TClark@centreville-umc.com CSmallwoodbrown@centreville-umc.com DWitt@centreville -umc.com RDraper@centreville-umc.com JBortz@centreville-umc.com WCovington@centreville-umc.com

6 Centreville United Methodist Church 608 Church Hill Road Centreville, MD RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED Scan for Online Giving Centreville United Methodist Church SUNDAY WORSHIP Contemporary Family Service 8:40 a.m. Traditional Service 11:00 a.m. Contemporary Service 7:00 p.m. Nursery Services Available CHILDREN S MINISTRIES Kid Zone during 8:40 a.m. Service Sunday School 9:50 a.m. (plus two adult classes) CYM (Centreville Youth Ministries) Sunday 5:30 High School Bible Study, 1st Wednesday Of The Month 7:00 p.m. Contact Information (410) Fax (410) JANUARY AT GLANCE January 1st Church Office Closed January 6th Prayer Workshop at 10:00 am January 8th Emmaus Meeting at 6:00 pm Trustees Meeting at 6:30 pm ASP Meeting at 6:30 pm January 9th Methodist Women at 1:30 pm SPRC Meeting at 5:30 pm UMM Meeting at 6:30 pm January 15th Finance Meeting at 7:00 pm January 22nd Blood Bank January 23rd Admin Council Meeting at 6:30 pm January 24th Outreach Meeting at 1:00 pm January 25th New Member Class at 6:30 pm All dates are subject to change. Please confirm with the Church Office or Ministry Chair. Making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.