March and April Newsletter First United Methodist Church 200 N. Market St. Berwick, PA 18603 1stumcberwick@gmail.com 1stumcberwick.org Phone: 570-752-2591 Pastor Robert Wood cell 570-852-7581
The Meaning of Easter by Reverend Robert Wood Numbers 21:8-9 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live." So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived. 3,000 years ago our mothers and fathers in faith escaped from slavery in Egypt. But they escaped into a desert. And as slaves they did not know how to live on their own. So God provided for them by making the desert like a promised land. In the desert it was hard to find food, so God provided food. Bread fell from heaven at night and great flocks of quails would fly into their camp by day. In the desert it was hard to find water. So God provided water. Moses, their leader, would strike a rock with his staff, and water would come pouring out of it. In the desert there were enemies, Canaanites and Ammonites. Kings with great armies. Thieves and bandits with swift knives and swift camels. But God delivered his people from these also. Yet our mothers and fathers became weary and afraid. They didn't have to work for food or water, yet they were weary. God gave them victory after victory over their enemies, yet they were afraid. One day the Canaanites attacked, lead by the king of the city of Arad. He attacked the people of God and took some of them captive. So the people prayed and then made war on the king of Arad. And God delivered them. After a long battle they defeated his army and captured his city, setting their brothers and sisters free. But the people did not praise God for this victory. Instead they complained. They told Moses that they were tired of fighting wars for God. They told Moses that they were tired of eating quail and bread. They complained that they were better off as slaves in Egypt; at least there they had food and peace.
And then the next day a new danger arose - snakes. Poisonous snakes crept into the camp. And many of the people of God were bitten and died. It was almost as if God were punishing them for complaining. Yet God delivered them from this also. He told Moses to make a snake out of bronze and to raise it up on a pole, so that anyone who was bitten could look at this snake and be healed. The snake was a symbol of life. And it gave life. Everyone who looked at it was healed. For no reason, except for love, God delivered his people again. John 3:14-15 "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. When Jesus spoke the words quoted above it is 1,200 years later, but the story of the bronze snake is still remembered Jesus is in Jerusalem and late one night a Pharisee sneaks out to speak with Jesus. His name is Nicodemus. He approaches Jesus with respect and calls him Rabbi, which means teacher. He says, "Teacher, I believe that you come from God. I have heard of how you heal. I have heard of your miracles. And I saw what you did in the temple. No one would dare do that unless God is with him." And Jesus replies, "That is true. And truely I say to you that unless you are born from above, unless you are born anew, you will never fully understand who I am." Nicodemus is confused, "I do not understand," he says. "Am I to crawl back to my poor old mother and be her child again? How can a man be born when he is old? "How can this be? And Jesus answers, "Do you remember when our mothers and fathers were in the desert. Snakes were killing them. They were as good as dead. Their lives were over. But God gave them life anew. He raised up a serpent. And anyone who looked on that serpent lived. I am that serpent. I will be raised up and you will be born again." Ephesians 2:4-5,8 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
Nicodemus did not understand. But Paul, as he writes to the Ephesians, does. Paul knows that we are like our mothers and fathers. God has given us a promised land. God has given us a creation which could be heaven on earth. But we have become weary and fearful. We are so rich and secure that it is like having bread fall from heaven. But we don't believe it. We are weary, too weary to care, too weary to love. We are so rich and secure that it is like having water pour out of rocks. But we don't believe it. We are afraid. We fear strangers. We fear each other. We fear ourselves. God has given us a creation which could be heaven on earth. But through our trespasses we have allowed it to turn into Hell. We are weary and afraid, so we allow crime. We are weary and afraid, so we allow drug addiction. We are weary and afraid, so we allow poverty. We are weary and afraid, so we allow famine. We are weary and afraid, so we allow war. We are weary and afraid, so we allow poisonous snakes to creep into our camp. Through our trespasses we are as good as dead. But God is rich in mercy. And out of the great love that he has for us, even though we are dead through our trespasses, he has made us alive with Christ. He has raised us up with Christ. For by Grace we have been saved through faith. And this is not our doing; it is a gift from God. We now have the power to turn this Hell, which we have allowed, into the Heaven God intends it to be. Like the bronze serpent in the wilderness, Christ gives us life. And if we believe in him, we will not perish. This is the message of Easter. And after so many Easters, isn t it time to start believing it? And once we believe, isn t it time to act? Happy Easter and God bless.
March Birthday s 3/05 Marcy Zdanavage 3/13 Delores Holeman 3/23 Jordon Yohn 3/23 Jeff Petty April Birthday s 4/02 Ricky Cashman 4/06 Julia Grocki 4/10 Lucille Horsefield 4/14 Brian Whitenight 4/18 Margaret Livsey 4/21 Tyler Yohn 4/23 Jean Whitenight 4/23 Linda Schultz
March Anniversaries 3/12 Linda & David Schultz 3/26 Carl & MaryAnna Ernest April Anniversaries 4/24 Clark & Jean Whitenight 4/30 Mark & Victoria Ernest
Meetings & Activities 3/05 SPRC Meeting at 7 PM 3/ 07 Lenten Service at First Church at 7 PM 3/11 BRV2 Service at 2:30 PM 3/12 Trustee Meeting at 7 PM 3/14 Lenten Service at Bower Memorial at 7 PM 3/19 Administrative Council at 7 PM 3/21 Lenten Service at Bethany at 7 PM 3/25 Palm Sunday 3/29 Holy Thursday at Wesley at 7 PM 3/30 BRV1 at 2:30 PM-Good Friday Service 4/01 Easter Service at 10:30 AM 4/09 Trustees Meeting at 7 PM 4/16 Administrative Council at 7 PM 4/28 Salvation Army luncheon, meet at the church at 9:45 AM to take food over
Open Flower Dates March 11 th & 18 th April 8 th, 15 th & 29 th May 6 th, 20 th & 27 th June 3 rd, 10 th, & 24 th July 1 st, 8 th, 15 th & 22 nd August 5 th, 12 th & 19 th September 2 nd, 16 th & 30 th October 21 st & 28 th November 4 th, 11 th & 25 th December 9 th, 16 th & 30 th If you would like the church to order your flowers the price is $33.00. Please let the church office know by Tuesday morning of that week.
The United Methodist Lent Quiz What does the term Lent, which comes from lencten, mean? Sacrifice Time Spring or March Madness How were ashes imposed in the early church? The shape of a cross was drawn on the forehead. Ashes were smeared across closed eyelids. Ashes were poured or sprinkled over the head. Why do people give things up for Lent? To follow the example of Jesus 40 day fast in the wilderness. To help us focus on prayer and devotions. To give the acquired savings to the poor. All of the above. What snack food has significance during Lent? Chocolate Pretzels Popcorn or All of the above. Many people fast during Lent. How often did John Wesley fast? Twice a week Twice a month Twice a year Rarely He did not fast.
Why does Lent last 40 days? To represent the time Jesus spent in the wilderness, tempted by Satan. To recall the 40 days and nights the earth was flooded in the Old Testament To remind us of the 40 years the Israelites wandered in the desert. What do some United Methodists not sing at Lent? Doxologies Alleluia In the Garden or The communion liturgy Which hymn, based on St. Patrick s prayer, would be a good Lenten devotional? Jesus Walked This Lonely Valley Christ Beside Me O Happy Day, That Fixed My Choice Come and Find the Quiet Center Sundays are not counted in the 40 days of Lent. True or False
When early Methodist in America sat in a church on a mourner s bench, they would: Repent their sins Experience a new birth Rededicate themselves to Jesus All of the above Answers to the quiz 1. Spring 2. Ashes were poured or sprinkled over the head. 3. All of above 4. Pretzels 5. Twice a week 6. To represent the time Jesus spent in the wilderness, tempted by Satan. 7. Alleluia 8. Christ Beside Me 9. True 10. All above
Items needed for the luncheon at The Salvation Army on April 28 th. 10 pounds of hamburger 3 pounds of macaroni 2 sleeves of celery 5 pounds of hotdogs 7 packs of 8 rolls or 4 packs of 16 rolls of hamburger rolls 7 packs of 8 rolls or 4 packs of 16 rolls of hotdog rolls 3-4 bake goods Also, help is needed to make and to take the food over to The Salvation Army.