The Eufaula Messenger June/July 2015

Transcription

1 The Eufaula Messenger June/July 2015 From My Hear t to Yours Pastor Michael Brannon Reprinted from 2008 I went to fill up the car with gas the other day. I decided to find a station that had pure gas. Six stations later I finally gave in and filled up with E-10. I didn t want to but I was running out of gas and stations. I don t like E-10. I think it s immoral and a bad buy. You have to buy more of it because it lowers your mileage but costs the same. It is bad for the economy because it has caused the price of food to go up and in a starving hungry world I believe it s sinful to burn food in our cars. But good luck in finding a station that doesn t use it. Hopefully by the time you read this we will at least know which stations sell it because a law starts July 1 that requires stations to post what type of fuel they sell. If they don t post it you have no way of knowing it it s the real thing. It occurred to me that Christianity is very similar. Many Christians try to live a blended life. We blend a little of the world in our walk with God. The pressure is great to do this. What the world offers is very enticing and we certainly as a culture have bought lock stock and barrel the whole pursuit of happiness philosophy. But happiness at what cost? Television is constantly telling us that what we have is not enough and we need the latest and new and improved item. The American dream demands a bigger house, two new cars and a large bank account, not to mention all the other things that we acquire. The world says more is better. God says: It s more blessed to give than receive. So we mix some faith with culture and then not ask any questions. When we mix faith and culture we weaken our witness and tell the world that God is nice but only taken in small doses. We justify this by believing that is only a small compromise. It s kind of like going to a friends house and he serves you a plate of brownies. Right before you take one he says: Oh by the way, I put a tablespoon of manure in the batter but it s not very much compared to the rest of the mix. Would you eat one? When we mix our faith with the world we don t get as good of mileage and we let down a lot of spiritually hungry people. Would we consider it acceptable if when we get to heaven we were told: you served me faithfully 80% of the time so you can stay here but for 20% you have to stay in hell.? We may have to put up with E-10 but let s not put up with a mixed commitment to the Lord. Eternal matters are too important.

2 To know the will of God is the greatest knowledge, to find the will of God is the greatest discovery, and to do the will of God is the greatest achievement. If anyone serves Me, he must continue to follow Me (to cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living ) and wherever I am, there will My servant be also. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him. John 12:26 AMP Submitted by Kate Kuykendall By Jerry McCormick, UMM President Its been quite a while since I've written in the newsletter but the Methodist Men have been quite active over the course of the last few months. We wound up the winter activities by completing the Adirondack Chair building project. We built and distributed 28 chairs, from recycled deck wood when we tore off the old parsonage deck. We will donate the remaining chair to Boys Ranch this fall for their raffle. Donations increased our bank account by $1, Well done Men!! The Men also gave a special tribute to all of the Mothers' of the congregation on Mothers' Day by presenting them with a pin in recognition of their support to the church and our nation. They are an inspiration to us all and the backbone of our church. We continue to have our monthly breakfast meetings, which I might add are well attended. I attend a number of meetings in the community, during the month, and this one is the BEST. They start at 7:30 AM on the second Saturday of each month, with breakfast provided by the members, a devotional by the Pastor, and a short business meeting and we are done by 9:00. So come and join us and bring a friend! The big event this month was the fish fry! Lots of planning and preparation and if you missed it, well, we will probably have another this fall. Herschel Rinker took charge of the event since he is an old hand at it. He has done fish fry's for Eufaula Lake Ministries and other organizations in the past which resulted in the success of this one! He amassed a cadre of cookers that would put any seafood restaurant to shame. The aroma from the cook tent had people standing in the parking lot waiting for a handout. They cooked so much fish that we had members of the church handing out sacks of fish in the parking lot to strangers that walked by. And once again, the women of the church came to the aid of the men! They made desserts for the event, served the patrons beans, coleslaw, corn fritters, and drinks and walked through the crowd providing more fish to the tables. It was a special day for the church to witness the fun and laughter. Thanks to all of those who contributed to its success.

3 PRAYER CORNER The Word Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 The Thought From the writings of Charles Spurgeon Pray without ceasing. Observe what it follows. It comes immediately after the precept Rejoice evermore, as if that command had somewhat staggered the reader and made him ask, How can I always rejoice? and therefore the apostle appended as answer, Always pray. The more praying, the more rejoicing. Prayer gives a channel to the pent-up sorrows of the soul; they flow away, and in their stead streams of sacred delight pour into the heart. At the same time the more rejoicing, the more praying; when the heart is in a quiet condition and full of joy in the Lord, then also will it be sure to draw near to the Lord in worship. Holy joy and prayer act and react upon each other. Observe, however, what immediately follows the text: In everything give thanks. When joy and prayer are married, their firstborn child is gratitude. When we joy in God for what we have and believingly pray to Him for more, then our souls thank Him both in the enjoyment of what we have and in the prospect of what is yet to come. Those three texts are three companion pictures, representing the life of a true Christian. These three precepts are an ornament of grace to every believer s neck; wear them, every one of you, for glory and for beauty: Rejoice evermore ; Pray without ceasing ; In everything give thanks.

4 Friendship Kitchen July Report Deuteronomy 15:10... Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in everything you put your hands to. I was looking back through the Friendship Kitchen scrap book and saw this scripture that Kathleen used in one of her updates back in May of She also commented on what a wonderful promise this is and we have been so blessed. Friendship Kitchen opened on June 8, 2013 and served chili dogs, slaw, chips, cookies and drinks to sixteen people. We had more volunteers that day than we had patrons. Two years later Friendship Kitchen has served nearly 6000 people. This ministry was started when Kathleen and David Shannon felt that God was leading them to open a kitchen to share a meal with anyone who walked through the door and was started with donations of $ and prayers from three churches, First Assembly of God, St. Paul Catholic and Eufaula First United Methodist. Currently we have ten churches who actively prepare and serve meals and one church who faithfully contributes to expenses monthly. We also have two incredible individuals who contribute personal items and snacks. We are growing in every aspect. Our list of participating churches is growing and the number of people being served has grown to over one hundred each week. God is surely pleased to see people of different denominations and walks of life, sharing meals, smiles, hugs, laughter and prayers. Let me remind you, everyone is welcome to come and share the fellowship, prayer and meals. Everyone needs others who care, who want to share their experiences and are willing to listen to ours. I cherish the greetings, the smiles and hugs I get from my friends at Friendship Kitchen. Don't miss out on these blessings! This ministry requests your presence, your donations and your prayers in order for it to continue to grow and meet the needs of our friends an neighbors. Barbara McCormick

5 Communing with God After Apollo 11 landed on the moon on July 20, 1969, pilot Buzz Aldrin requested via radio that people pause to give thanks for the achievement in their own way. When his broadcast ended, Aldrin read a verse from the Gospel of John and took communion, which his church had sent to space with him. It was interesting for me to think: the very first liquid ever poured on the moon, and the very first food eaten there, were the communion elements, the astronaut said. At the time, I could think of no better way to acknowledge the enormity of the Apollo 11 experience than by giving thanks to God. Brenda Gill representing COC from Pearl s Hope Tulsa, spoke during our worship service Mother s Day, May 10th. Our special offering for COC Sunday was $220. Donations are welcome anytime during the year. Just take by office, or drop in offering marked COC. You will be blessed for all your sharing. Brenda is dedicated in providing Christian help, healing, and hope to mothers and their children who live in the three Transitional Housing Cottages on campus. The cottages provide a home free for nine months. The mothers are trained in financial management, family stability, transportation, utilities and other things to help them manage a household and family needs leading to self support. Families are provided with support for one year following their move into homes off campus. Funding for Pearl s Hope is provided through endowments from the programs namesake, Pearl Opel Thorpe, private individual donations, and apportionments by the Oklahoma United Methodist Conference. Since opening, the ministry has also been privileged to earn financial support of the United Way, and various private foundations in Tulsa Area. Until next month, keep COC programs in your prayers. God Bless. Bee Bozarth, Ambassador

6 The Stuff of God: Making Our Parent's Faith Our Own By Jep Robertson, from The Good, The Bad, and the Grace of God On Sunday nights, dad and the house church men would sometimes take me trot-lining with them. We d take a couple of boats out and string out the long trotlines, weighted at both ends with plastic milk-jug floaters in the middle and multiple baited hooks. My dad knew just where to go. We d catch all kinds of fish, but the best were the big Opelousa cats. We d bring whatever we caught back, and Dad would clean the fish and cook them. He s a great cook, and the men loved it. But Dad did more in the river than just fish. He also baptized people. Men and women who were in trouble somehow found their way down to our house, where my dad and mom would stop what they were doing and talk to them. In our living room is where I first started to realize that there was something to this God stuff my dad was always talking about. These people would come in looking like they d been down a long road and were worried, unhappy, unhealthy, and just plain scraggly. Dad would talk to them about God and Jesus as I was sitting there on the couch, watching and listening. Pretty soon he d take em down to the river and baptize them. I d see them later, singing at church, but they looked different happier, healthier, changed from someone you might run away from to looking like the nicest person you ve ever met. There s something to this, I began to think. I knew God was real, but there was something powerful happening with the words my dad was using out of the Bible. And my dad not only shared Jesus with people, but he also helped people. Mom and Dad always took people in vagrants, criminal types, and people with mental problems. Word got around. If people had a cousin or a friend in trouble, they d offer Dad up: There s this guy who lives down by the river. People come to see him. He can help you. It didn t matter where you came from or what you were like. Dad would welcome you in and talk to you. People have compared him to John the Baptist, baptizing people in the river. With the hair and the beard, he even looks the part, and he played the part of John the Baptist in a play at church one Christmas. I also saw my parents live out their faith in real time as they took people in to our house. It wasn t unusual for people to be living with us while they tried to get their lives straightened out. Dad ran a little boot camp of sorts, taking people hunting and fishing and showing them how to do good honest work, in between nightly Bible studies. Sometimes we even had people sleeping on the floor. I saw what it meant to really love your neighbor. I listened to Mom and Dad, watched what they were doing, and saw what a difference God made in these people s lives. When I was thirteen years old, I told Dad I was ready to be a Christian, and he baptized me in the river too. I loved church, loved the Bible lessons, and had good friends there. But then things changed. I d started experimenting with some things I d never done during my straight-and-narrow childhood. I knew right from wrong my parents had taught me, and I d been in Bible classes for years, so I had a strong conscience that generally kept me out of trouble. But by my junior year I d started hanging out with a likeminded friend, and together we started cutting up. Then I started drinking. A broken ankle and the loss of my basketball scholarship dreams led to more of this behavior and left me disappointed, angry, and with a bad attitude getting worse all the time. Back when I was in the middle of that crazy time of drugging and drinking, I remember feeling guilty once in a while and knowing I needed God. But then the thoughts would come. I m not good enough. Or I m just not quite ready. I think that s the number one excuse because you ll never be perfect, and you ll never be ready.

7 Getting right with God and getting rid of the bad stuff in your life takes time. You have to take it one step at a time. It s not easy, I m not perfect, and I still struggle. It's not easy, I'm not perfect, and I still struggle. In fact, it took me a while to wrap my mind around the idea that church was about getting to know God and getting right with God, and that it didn t have to happen in a church building. I finally began to understand when I realized that the act of going to church hadn t saved me from my bad choices before. My ritual of going to church services to please my parents and keep the peace in my family hadn t meant much because my heart hadn t been in it. I had been far more interested in parties and girls and cuttin up than getting to know my Creator and Savior. That all began to change as I studied the Bible with my dad, spent time talking to my mom, and let the Word of God begin the process of changing me. It didn t happen overnight, and there were stumbles along the way, but I worked hard to let go of the chase for the perfect high and, instead, started on the chase for a godly life. I also realized I was blessed to have spent only six months in the pit of alcohol and drug abuse. My brother Alan had struggles that lasted a few years, and my dad was a prodigal for ten years. But I had the advantage of three brothers and two parents who saw me messing up my life and who stepped forward to pull me out of the pit. I understand now that the longer you stay in that kind of life, the worse you get and the harder it is to change. My dad had to lose just about everything, including his business, his wife, and his sons, before he turned to God. He was blessed in that my mom forgave him and let him come back. Phil and Miss Kay have left a legacy of love for their children and grandchildren. They ve been teaching us their whole lives what Christ has taught them about love, sacrifice, forgiveness, and grace. We want to carry on the Robertson legacy with our old and new friends, including those who know us from the television show. It s a little scary to know we re being watched, but we look at it as a privilege to be able to show who we are and how we live our lives to so many others. We work hard to love each other and love others. But in the end, it s our children who are most important. We want to carry on our family legacy with our four children and someday our grandchildren and great-grandchildren. It s an awesome responsibility to be parents and to know that what we are doing with our kids will have eternal consequences because we know this world is not our home we re just passing through. O, For a Faith That Will Not Shrink Lyrics: William H. Bathurst O, for a faith that will not shrink, Though pressed by every foe, That will not tremble on the brink Of any earthly woe! That will not murmur nor complain Beneath the chastening rod, But, in the hour of grief or pain, Will lean upon its God. A faith that shines more bright and clear When tempests rage without; That when in danger knows no fear, In darkness feels no doubt. Lord, give me such a faith as this, And then, whate er may come, I ll taste, e en here, the hallowed bliss Of an eternal home.

8 United Methodist Women met on Tuesday, June 2 with a potluck luncheon at 12 noon. Rosella Riley gave the program entitled "Welcoming People Of All Abilities". Georgia Nichols was hostess for the delicious luncheon. On Tuesday, June 9, we met and made fried pies. We made over 100 pies and sold them all. The price of the fried pies is $2.00 now. On Father's Day, UMW presented each man present with 2 small gifts - ceramic coasters for car cup holders and a scripture magnet. President Twyla King thanked all men of the congregation for their continuous work and announced that a donation of $100. had been made in their honor to Dayspring Villa, Oklahoma's first faith based, certified shelter for domestic violence victims and adult victims of human trafficking. As a non-profit organization, DaySpring Villa receives no United Way or government funding, relying on financial gifts from caring individuals, corporations, foundations and churches of every denomination. DaySpring Villa is located in Sand Springs and in 2014 had 144 domestic violence guests and 30 sex trafficking guests. These guests stayed an average of 111 days. UMW will meet on Tuesday, July 7, at 1 p.m. Robyn Burris will give the program entitled "Welcoming Our Diversity" and Anne Gilbert and Charlotte Robberson will be hostesses. All women of the church are encouraged to attend. We will not be making fried pies until Whole Hog Day, when we will have them for sale at the parade and on Sat. We will have our annual "Giant Garage Sale" on Whole Hog Day. If you have items to donate for the sale, please wait until the week of July 20 to bring them. Thanks, Twyla. UMW Garage Sale Saturday July 25th Please do not bring donations until July 20th

9 6/7 Carl & Bee Bozarth 6/7 Randy & Robyn Burris 6/12 David & Carol Conatser 6/23 Todd & Michelle Dalton 6/24 Hershel & Janis Rinker 6/25 Jay & Kathy Hunn 7/2 Ernest & Loretta Browning 7/4 Charles & Regan Urquhart 7/20 Robert & Rosemary Simpson 7/26 Bob & Sylvia Brazelton 6/3 Riley Marlar 6/7 Martha McCracken 6/10 Bill Smith 6/25 Patti Pipkins 6/25 Joyce Wilkerson-White 6/26 Iryna Zherebko 6/30 Margaret Kramer 7/4 Rosella Riley 7/8 Yuriy Zherebko 7/18 Kate Kuykendall 7/19 Vicki Carder 7/28 Dorothy Merrick 7/29 Bud McCombs Due to a family loss, this Newsletter is a June/July Newsletter. I was unable to put together the June Newsletter. I apologize to all of those who s birthdays and anniversaries were published after the fact. Happy Belated Birthday and Anniversary. Forgiveness, The Way to Freedom By Henri Nouwen To forgive another person from the heart is an act of liberation. We set that person free from the negative bonds that exist between us. We say, I no longer hold your offense against you: but thee is more. We also free ourselves from the burden of being the offended one. As long as we do not forgive those who have wounded us, we carry them with us or, worse, pull them as a heavy load. The great temptation is to cling in anger to our enemies and then define ourselves as being offended and wounded by them. Forgiveness, therefore, liberates not only the other but also ourselves. It is the way to the freedom of the children of God.

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11 First United Methodist Church 220 S. Main Eufaula, OK 74432