Messenger Church Parsonage

Transcription

1 FIRST UNITED METHODIS T C H U R C H 202 S. NIPP ST., JOH N S O N, K S OUR MISSION IS TO BR I N G G O D T O P E O P L E, A N D P E O P L E T O G O D the JANUARY, 2012 Messenger Church Parsonage Christian Symbols: Wheat From the Pastor; Courageous Movie 2 Celebrations; Church Family Prayer List; Bible Reading Guides; Vital Congregations ; Giving Statements UMAW News; EPIC Youth; Sonshine Kids Wheat is used to represent the bread (the body of Christ) in Holy Communion. I am the bread of life (John 6:48). In the parable of the wheat and the weeds (Matthew 13:24-30), Jesus uses wheat to represent believers, while weeds, or tares, represent unbelievers. Inside this issue: January calendar 5 Recipes Church Website: Have You Heard The Bells? I believe it was December 15 when our new church bells began to chime. These are purchased and put into service in memory of Sally Peterson. The system is built by BRG Precision Products in Derby, KS and consists of a computer, amplifier, four 600 watt speakers (these are new speakers, not the ones from the prior system), and a remote sensor to access satellite data to keep the atomic clock on time. This system is fully programmable, meaning with the computer we can set the times when the bells play and what music plays. The system comes with a library of 2000 hymns (all recordings of bells playing the hymn tunes). The system comes with a default program which includes seasonal settings. In other words, carols for Christmas, hymns for Easter, and patriotic tunes for Memorial Day and Independence Day are already programmed to play. We have modified the default program by setting the bells to chime the hours from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. with the exceptions of noon each day and 11:00 a.m. on Sunday. Additionally we have programmed a hymn to be played at the following times each day: 8:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., 2:00 p.m., 5:00 p.m., and 8:00 p.m. We hope and trust these bells will be an enriching experience for everyone in our community. Already in the 20+ days they have been ringing, we have heard numerous complements about the bells. May these bells bring glory and honor to God.

2 Page 2 FIRST UNITED METHODIS T C H U R C H This past Sunday I offered seven steps to help us each grow spiritually as Christians in One of the steps was to read Good Christian Books. Here I would like to suggest some categories, titles and authors. Each of us have different personalities, and thus different reading tastes, so please adapt this list to your needs. What growth might come if you were to read one or more of these books this year, maybe even one from each category? Also, know I have not read everything I discuss here, but generally I am familiar with most of these titles and authors. Devotional Books These are books with daily readings for each day of the year. Right now I m reading one by C. H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening, which was written almost 150 years ago. Two other popular ones have been Streams in the Desert, by L. B. Cowman and My Utmost For His Highest, by Oswald Chambers. There are many, many more of these, some written for men, for women, for youth, and for use with children. There are devotional books written by Billy Graham, Max Lucado, Adam Hamilton, Beth Moore, David Jeremiah, and Henry and Richard Blackaby. The intent of such books are to supplement your own Daily Bible Reading. Biographies Christian biographies, especially missionary biographies, can be very inspirational. The Shadow of The Almighty, by Elizabeth Elliot shares from the journal of her husband Jim Elliot one of five missionaries who was killed in Ecuador in Look for biographies about these persons: Adoniram Judson, John Wesley, Martin Luther, Augustine, C. S. Lewis, Mother Teresa, and Billy Graham. Also look at books such W H A T S O N Y O U R R E A D I N G L I S T? as The Hiding Place, by Corrie Ten Boom, and Born Again, by Charles Colson. PrayerBooks on prayer can encourage your prayer life. A classic is Prayer, by O. Hallesby. Another well respected writer on prayer is Richard Foster. Check out his books, Prayer: Finding the Hearts True Home, and Celebration of Discipline. E. M. Bounds books on prayer are not easy reading, but are well worth chewing on. Rosalind Rinker, Prayer: Conversing With God is excellent for learning to pray in small groups. Christian Growth and Discipleship J. I. Packer s, Knowing God is a must read. Charles Swindoll is a prolific writer (more than 230 titles) in this area, for example, Improving Your Serve and Laugh Again/Hope Again. John R. W. Stott also has written much to help people get established in the faith. Especially good is Basic Christianity which makes a clear explanation of the gospel message and the evidence for Jesus deity, atoning death, and resurrection. Dietrich Bonhoeffer s Cost of Discipleship is a penetrating call to give one s all to follow Christ. Witnessing/Sharing Your Faith How To Give Away Your Faith, by Paul E. Little and James F. Nyquist is the best book on personal evangelism. This book places telling others about Jesus in the context of genuine friendship. Other books worth reading in this area include: Becoming a Contagious Christian, by Bill Hybels and Mark Mittleberg, and Just Walk Across the Room, by Bill Hybels. Also look at Faith Sharing Revised and Expanded, by Eddie Fox and George Morris. The Best of All Of course the best of all is the Good Book, the Bible. I always recommend beginners to start by reading the Gospel of Mark then the Gospel of John. Continue reading the New Testament. When you have some what of a handle on the New Testament then read the Old Testament. We are so blessed today with access to books. Available to us through our local library is the inter-library loan program, so if our library does not have a book you want, it can usually get it through another library somewhere in the state or even the country. I have made use of this many times. Now with e- books and audio books there are more than one way to access the material within a book. You can download and read it on your e- reader, tablet, or smart-phone. And with audio books you can listen while traveling, and again these can be downloaded to electronic devices. Bookstores are as close as the inter-net. If you are not acquainted with CBD (Christian Book Distributors, check it out on-line. Also look at Cokesbury and Amazon. If you are in Garden City stop by the Family Bookhouse at 519 N. Main St. May God richly bless you as you invest reading time in good Christian books. ~ Don Hasty C O U R A G E O U S M O V I E T O B E S H O W N F E B. 1 2 T H Plans are being made for an upcoming showing of the movie Courageous. Watch for announcement of the details. Also in the weeks following the showing, we will offer several small group opportunities for men and women to participate in the Courageous Living Bible Study and to make the Courageous Resolution.

3 THE MESSENGER Page 3 2 David Walker 3 Lewis Shore, Debbie Roth 4 Connie Moser 6 Emily Toews 7 Jacob Dickson 8 Ann Davis 9 Tye Barber 10 Scott Tucker 12 Barbara Morris, Dakota Limon 13 Pat Crawford, Bernice Seyb 15 Faydean Fiss, Cort Peterson 17 Delomia Hurst 18 Nick Shirk, John Dickson 19 Floyd Chenoweth 20 Beulah Edmisson, Moran Tomson, Jaxson Rios 21 Troy Adams, Spencer Walker 22 Jim Cartwright 23 Oreta McKinney CHURCH FAMILY PRAYER LIST Jan 1 Bryant Tallant Jan 8 Glen & Velta Teeter Jan 15 John, Cassie, Macee, Kael & Lilee Teeter Jan 22 Monty & Becky Teeter Jan 29 Myrtle Teeter 25 Mary Guy 26 Carter Seyb 28 Cheryl Adams, Shawn Peterson 29 Coy Martin 30 Ronda Ford, Darbi Cook 31 Leaura Plummer, Chris Sierra, Peyton Peterson The Financial Secretary is currently in the process of creating the Annual Giving Statements. Watch your mail in the next week for your statement. 1 Tom & Dawn Tucker 2 O.W. & Nancy Josserand 16 Jim & Polly Cartwright AS OF 1/5/ Offerings Report: Received to Date: YTD Goal: $ 6, $ Note: $6, needed weekly to meet offering goal 2012 Bible Reading Guides for adults, youth & children are now available at the church. Pick up your guide today & start digging in to God s word. V I T A L C O N G R E G A T I O N S D A S H B O A R D We wanted to let you know beginning Jan. 1, 2012 the United Methodist Church is gathering statistical data weekly from every congregation in the denomination. Via the internet, each week we will submit for the time frame Monday-Sunday the following data: Worship Attendance, Professions of Faith, Attendance in Small Groups, Ministry Volunteers beyond the local church, Giving to Missions, Giving received for the week, and a brief narrative of the week s ministries. This will not replace the annual statistical report which is always due near the end of January. But this data will allow our bishops, general church and conference leaders to better understand the ebb and flow of local congregations across the denomination. Beyond this, the denomination hopes each church and each pastor will use this data collection to motivate our planning. For example we can get a picture of what we are doing with small groups. We can also recognize in order to have professions of faith we need to be taking actions which will encourage such results. May we make this an opportunity to strengthen our vitality?

4 Page 4 FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH UMW NEWS,CHER Y L A D A M S, P R E S I D E N T Thursday, January 12, 2012 we will meet at the Sr. Center for lunch and will have a short business meeting and then travel to Manter to share the Prayer & Self Denial Program at 2:00 p.m. The total program of the United Methodist Women is MISSION. Our bazaar in November is our main money raising project to be able to give to our various missions throughout the whole year. We are so blessed to have all the support from our church members and the community. On Wednesday, February 8, 2012, at 5:15 p.m. we will have our meeting with a Mission program and short business meeting in Fellowship Hall. If you can t attend the noon meetings, come and fellowship with us on Wednesday, Feb. 5th at 5:15 p.m. Come and feel the spirit of giving and helping others from our community, to around the world. Sonshine Kids, ages Kindergarten through 5th grade meet on Wednesday s at 3:45 p.m. EPIC Youth Valentine Dinner Sunday, Feb. 12, :30 7:00 p.m. Tickets go on sale soon

5 1 1st Sunday after Christmas 8 1st Sunday after Epiphany 15 2nd Sunday after 22 3rd Sunday after 29 4th Sunday after Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat No Youth Youth-Jr. 4p; Sr. 5p Epiphany Human Relations Day Youth-Jr. 4p ; Sr. 5p Epiphany F I R S T U N I T E D M E T H O D I S T C H U R C H 202 S. Nipp St.; P.O. Box 179 Johnson, KS Youth-Jr. 4p; Sr. 5p Epiphany Youth-Jr. 4p; Sr. 5p Community Unity Worship Service tba 2 Office Closed Phone: Parsonage: FAX: Our vision is to bring God to people and people to God. jumc@pld.com Website: 3 Staff Mtg 8:30a 125th Anniv Mtg 5:30p 10 MOPS 6p th Anniv. Mtg 5:30p 4 Sonshine Kids 3:45p EPIC Parent Mtg 6:30p Choir 7:30p 11 Sonshine Kids 3:45p Disciple Mtg 5:30p Choir practice 7:30p 18 No Sonshine Kids Choir practice 7:30p 25 Sonshine Kids 3:45p Choir Practice 7:30p 5 12 Sr. Center 12p; to Manter 2p Evangelism Mtg 7p Epiphany EPIC Youth Swim Party@Ulysses

6 F I R S T U N I T E D M E T H O D I S T C H U R C H 202 S. Nipp St. P.O. Box 179 Johnson, KS RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED Need to contact the church? Phone: ; jumc@pld.com; website: UMW CENTENNIAL COOKBOOKS are still available to purchase! $15.00 each; or $20.00 (if mailed-includes postage. Contact the church office, DO YOU HAVE A RECIPE TO SHARE IN THE NEWSLETTER? Please it to: jumc@pld.com or drop it in the mail to: First UMC, Box 179, Johnson, KS First UMC Staff: Pastor: Don Hasty Associate Pastor: Will Kenyon Secretary: Shari Wiens Treasurer: Mandy Shirk Custodian: Victoria Garcia Music Coordinator: Gayla Myers Preschool Teacher: Cheryl Berens Youth Coordinator: Will Kenyon Community Developer: Jose` Olivas R E C I P E S F R O M T H E K I T C H E N Smokey Jalapeno Cheese Dip 3 cups shredded Cheddar cheese 1 cup mayonnaise 1/4 cup canned diced jalapeno peppers, drained (reserve juice) 1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke flavoring 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper Place the Cheddar cheese into a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the mayonnaise with the jalapeno peppers, 2 tablespoons of the liquid from the diced jalapenos, smoke flavoring, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper. Mix until thoroughly blended. Stir into the Cheddar cheese, turn into a serving dish, and serve. Bacon Wrapped Smokies 1 pound sliced bacon, cut into thirds 1 (14 ounce) package beef cocktail wieners 3/4 cup brown sugar, or to taste Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Keep bacon cold until needed; it is easier to wrap the wieners with cold bacon. Wrap each cocktail wiener with a piece of bacon and secure with a toothpick. Place on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle brown sugar generously over all. Bake for 40 minutes in the preheated oven, until the sugar is bubbly. To serve, place the wieners in a slow cooker and keep on the low setting. Hot Pizza Dip 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 1 cup pizza sauce 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley 2 TB chopped green bell pepper 1/4 teaspoon dried basil 2 oz pepperoni sausage, chopped 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese 2 tablespoons sliced black olives In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese, oregano, parsley, and basil. Spread mixture in the bottom of a 9 inch pie plate, or a shallow microwave-safe dish. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese on top of the cream cheese mixture. Spread the pizza sauce over all. Sprinkle with remaining cheese, then top with green pepper, pepperoni and olive slices. Cover, and microwave for 5 minutes. Serve hot.