Lunenburg United Methodist Charge
On our walk. . . . .
August 22, 2007
Pastor’s Message –
Now the word of the Lord came to me saying,
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I
consecrated you: I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Then I said, “Ah,
Lord God! Truly, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.” But the Lord
said to me, “Do not say you, “I am only a boy”; for you shall go to all whom I
send you and you shall speak whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.” Then the Lord put out his
hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me, “Now I have put my words in
your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck
up and to pull down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.
You
have heard of the term, Predestination. When
you read the first chapter of Jeremiah, you cannot but help to think about how
Jeremiah’s life was predestined or predetermined. Normally, when we think of the term
“predestined or predestination” we think of John Calvin and it’s something we
as Methodists do not believe in. But
Jeremiah was not predestined; he was given the choice of responding to this
call. The call was within the will of
God. To avoid the call was not in God’s
will. God calls all of us to salvation, but not all who are called will choose
to comply. Here, in Jeremiah’s call, God
had called him to be his mouthpiece for a people who were gone astray. God had called Jeremiah to be a prophet. Jeremiah could have chosen to go against God’s
will and if he had, his life would have been miserable because he would have
chosen a course other than the one that God had mapped out for him.
Like most people, Jeremiah questioned his purpose in life. God had informed him that his purpose was
predetermined even before his birth. Jeremiah
was trying to think of some of the things that might disqualify him. He was too
young; he couldn’t speak before crowds.
God was clear to point out that his manner of speech would be dependent upon
what God put on his heart to speak, and age had nothing to do with what God was
calling him to do. God was telling
Jeremiah, as He tells us, that “He is not interested in our ability but in our
availability.” God is essentially
telling us all that same thing; that “He is not interested in our ability but
in our availability”. God may not call
us to be a prophet but if we are willing and listening to His call, God will
inform us of what His task is for us. And
what should we do with that call? Use it
to build God’s Kingdom here on this earth. Make disciples of Jesus Christ. Reach out to those who need to hear the word.
God Bless.
Upcoming Events – August 22 –
August 28, 2007
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Prayer
Meeting @ Williams @ 5:45 PM
William’s
Celebration Choir practice @ Williams @ 6:30 PM
Friday, August 24, 2007
Williams
Youth Group Camp Out @ Williams @ 7:00 pm
Monday August 27, 2007
Bible Study@
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Bible Study@
Audrey Smith’s @ 10:00am
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Special meeting of VBS Committee @
Williams @ 5:00 PM
William’s Plans Heritage Days.
Keep
Saturday and Sunday, September 15 and 16 open on your calendars. William’s is planning to have a Heritage Day
weekend. Plans include a yard sale, bake
sale, Brunswick stew sale, an antique farm equipment display, live
entertainment and free games for the children. And that’s only Saturday. On Sunday there will be a special worship
service, special music and an old fashioned covered dish Homecoming on the
grounds, weather permitting.
Cookbooks are still available. If
you would like to purchase one, please contact Susan Moseley at 676-2081, Gayle
Grant at 676-3531, Trudy Wilkins at 676-4458, or anyone at
150th Anniversary
Throws Throws are still
available. These beautiful throws will make a great present for a family member.
The cost is $45.00 each. Please call
Jane DiStefano if you would like to order a throw or have any questions. 434-676-2314
Sunday
School is
available each Sunday morning. The
importance of Sunday School is that, though you may think hearing the word will
suffice for you, you really need to be in attendance at Sunday School to gather
all the information that you can in an open discussion classroom. Jesus’ word cannot be totally understood just
by listening to a sermon. You have to
interact with it and with other Christians to learn what He was saying to us. This is a life long study and you should take
part. There is a class for every age so
please plan on joining us to learn more about our Lord, Jesus Christ. Sunday
School at Williams begins at 10:45 AM and at
Evening Bible Study. Evening Bible study continues on August 27, at
7:00PM. This week we will continue to
read and study Genesis with a particular look at the historical view of the
writers. If you would like to join us
come on over, Monday @ 7:00PM at
The
The Bible Belt
represents a particular way of looking at the Bible (sometimes accompanied by a
conviction that everyone else’s way of looking at the Bible is wrong). Bible Belt thought
often takes the Bible as being literally true. Methodists tend to
feel it is more important to take the Bible seriously than to take it
literally. The Bible Belt
may look at the Bible in a microcosmic way (like through a microscope, finding
small isolated bits of information); Methodists are more
likely to look at the Bible in a macrocosmic way (looking for the big picture,
the overall message).
“Being
Methodist in the Bible Belt” F. Belton Joyner, Jr.
If you cannot reach Rev. Ed at the parsonage,
you may call him on his cell phone:
252-532-0952. He can also be
reached via e-mail at revedumc@yahoo.com
If you would like to receive e-mail
messages from the pastor send an e-mail to him at revedumc@yahoo.com and we will add you to
our list.
Please keep the following families in your prayers:
|
Marjorie Thompson |
Eddie Slagle |
Bertha Arthur |
|
Frances Hawthorne |
Sarah Agnes Callis |
Jeffrey Hendricks |
|
Earl "Chuckie” Barnes |
Alice Wright |
Paul & Argy Turner |
|
Edna & Wilson Bagley |
Christian Sutton |
Thomas Taylor |
|
“B” & Teewah Hayes |
|
Grace DiStefano |
|
Elizabeth Biggerstaff |
Sheila Cage |
Jean Parham |
|
Robert & Virginia Overby |
Sara Sutton |
Tommy Cage |
|
Edward Parham & family |
Sue Barnes |
Shepherd’s |
|
Marvin L. Crutchfield |
Maria Kay |
Our Military |
|
Ellen & John Gentry |
Gertrude Hite |
David King |
|
Frank Callis |
|
C.V. Thompson |
|
Rev. & Mrs. Robert Day |
Neil Barnes |
Peggy Stone |
|
Elsie Pennington |
Steve Piercy |
Elizabeth Crowder |
|
Frances Bloodworth |
Dorothy McKinney |
Hannah Watkins |
|
Joey Howerton |
Kayla Watkins |
Allie Daniel |
|
Walter B. Moseley |
Joe Heater |
Shawn Umpstead |
|
Rebecca |
Lee Barnhill |
Joe N. Coleman |
|
Mattie Rose Edwards |
James Woods |
Jeannette McGuire |
|
Teresa Carpenter |
Mae Overby |
Rev. Al Green |
|
Alexia Hatzopoulas |
Paul Willis |
|
Remember: When we get tangled up in our problems, be still, God wants us to be still so He can untangle the knot.
Have
a Blessed Week