Lunenburg United Methodist Charge

 

Antioch UMC                                                              Williams UMC

 

On our walk. . . . .                 

September 11, 2007

Pastor’s Message –

Psalm 14: 1-7

 

Fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is no one who does good.  The Lord looks down from heaven on humankind to see if there are any who are wise, who seek after God.  They have all gone astray, they are alike perverse; there is no one who does good, no, not one.  Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call upon the Lord?  There they shall be in great terror, for God is with the company of the righteous. You would confound the plans of the poor, but the Lord is their refuge.  O that deliverance for Israel would come from Zion!  When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people, Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad.

 

The Bible is not surprised or alarmed by the surplus of atheists.  It anticipates a world of atheists, people who dispute, deny and doubt God’s existence; those who think the world happens by itself, by chance or by evolution.  The fool is one who thinks the world of his ruling, discovery and theory and the worst about His revelation, design and truth. Why is he a fool?  Because man, who is so inadequate in knowledge, limited in understanding and shallow in thought has the most to say about the things they know least about.  How can mortal, finite, lowly and insignificant created human beings understand God, who is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent?  But the fool, who is fragile in body and proud at heart, rejects the gospel, God’s teachings and biblical wisdom.  The Bible is quick to praise man and reward man but is also quick to point to his folly. Whenever Psalms speaks of man’s vulnerability, the psalmist calls him not the regular “man” or “ish” in Hebrew, but “Adam” (v 2), to remind him who he is, where his place is and where he came from – the dust of the ground (Gen 2:7).  Yes, man is powerful and peerless but he is a mere mortal.  Adam is but a breath (Ps 39:5), a vanity or emptiness (Ps 39:11), and like the bests that perish (Ps 49:12, 20). Ps 144:4 says that “Adam” is like a breath; his days are like a fleeting shadow.       God Bless.

 

 

Upcoming Events – September 12 – September 19, 2007

 

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

   Prayer Meeting @ Williams @ 5:45 PM

   William’s Celebration Choir practice @ Williams @ 6:30 PM

   Administrative Council Meeting @ Williams @ 7:30PM

Thursday, September 13, 2007

   Parrish Relations Committee Meeting@ Antioch @ 7:00 PM

 

Saturday, September 15, 2007

   Heritage Day @ Williams 8:00 Am – 4:00Pm

 

Sunday September 16, 2007

   Heritage Day/Homecoming @ Williams 11:00 AM – 4:00PM  

 

Monday September 17, 2007

    Bible Study@ Antioch @ 7:00 PM

 

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

   Bible Study@ Audrey Smith’s @ 10:00am

 

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

   Prayer Meeting @ Williams @ 5:45 PM

   William’s Celebration Choir practice @ Williams @ 6:30 PM

 

 

 William’s 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 at 11:00AM, special music and an old fashioned covered dish Homecoming on the grounds, weather permitting. Order your stew by calling Sheila Cage @ 676-2495.

 

Lunenburg Charge Revival

 

A Revival will be held for the Lunenburg Charge on October 1st, 2nd and 3rd at Antioch at 7:00 PM.  Rev. Ken Thrasher will be our guest speaker.   Please mark your calendars for this event

                                

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 Antioch.  Any church member can get a copy to you for $10 each.  Over 700 copies have been sold & there are less than 20 left.  Get your copy now -- or some to give as gifts -- while they're still available!

 

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 Antioch at 10:00 AM.

 

Evening Bible Study. Evening Bible study will continue on September 10, at 7:00PM. We will be continuing 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 Antioch.

 

 

The Methodist Way

 

Some believers emphasize “getting saved” so one can go to heaven. Methodists are in favor of heaven!  Heaven is best marked as eternal fellowship with Christ.  Hell is the absence of that fellowship.  But Methodists understand that being saved is not just a matter of getting into heaven.  It is a full gift from God that is even more than heaven!  Ephesians 2:8 reads, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing, it is a gift of God.”

            John Wesley writes, “The salvation which is here spoken of is not what is frequently understood by that word, the going to heaven, eternal happiness….  It is not a blessing which lies on the other side of death, or in the other world.  The very words of the text itself put this beyond all question.  “Ye are saved.”  It is not something at a distance: it is a present thing, a blessing which, through the free mercy of god, ye now are in possession of.  Nay, the words may be rendered, and with equal propriety, “Ye have been saved.”  So that the salvation which is here spoken of might be extended to the entire work of God, from the first dawning of grace in the soul till it is consummated in glory”

 

Wesley was saying that salvation was more than getting into heaven. Salvation is all that God has done. From planting “salt on our souls so we thirst for Thee” to applying the work of Jesus Christ to us, accepting our repentance  and granting us the gift of faith, pardoning our sin, working in us to move toward perfect love, and keeping us in eternal fellowship.

 

Perfect love is not something that is often part of the Christian community.  Methodists think it should be.  Perfect love.

 

                                            “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

Rev. Al Green

Paul & Argy Turner

Edna & Wilson Bagley

Christian Sutton

Maria Kay

“B” & Teewah Hayes

Paul Willis

Grace DiStefano

Elizabeth Biggerstaff

Sheila Cage

Micky Narron

Robert & Virginia Overby

Sara Sutton

Tommy Cage

Marvin L. Crutchfield

Bernard Bottoms

Our Military

Ellen & John Gentry

Gertrude Hite

Dorothy Driskill

Alexia Hatzopoulas

 Neil Barnes

 Jeff Bacon

The May Family

LaVerna Matthews

Joe N. Coleman

Henry Lee Cundiff

Kitty Springer

Peggy Stone

Mary Ann Cundiff

James Wood

Garland Parham

The Nash Family

Gayle Grant

Virgie Gillispie

Family of Allie Daniel

David King

Diane Overby

Nannie Sue Dawson

Unspoken

J.B. Morris

If you have anyone who is in need of prayer, please place their names on the Prayer List and lift up their names in prayer during worship service and throughout the week

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Welcome:

On Sunday September 2, 2007 we welcomed a new member at each church.  At Antioch we welcomed Brenda Barnes as an affiliate member and at Williams we welcomed Betty Yerby as a professing member.  Let us all remember our own vows of membership: “As members of this congregation we will faithfully participate in its ministries by our prayers, our presence, our gifts, and our service that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.”

 

In the Library

 

A Light In the Window
The Second Novel in the Beloved Mitford Series

 

His attractive neighbor is tugging at his heartstrings. A wealthy widow is pursuing him with hot casseroles. And his red-haired Cousin Meg has moved into the rectory, uninvited.

As you can see, Mitford's rector and lifelong bachelor, Father Tim, is in need of divine intervention. In this beautifully crafted second novel in the Mitford series, Jan Karon delivers a love story that's both heartwarming and hilarious. Only time will tell if the village parson can practice what he preaches.

Like At Home in Mitford, the first novel in the series, this book is filled with the miracles and mysteries of everyday life. And the affirmation that life in a small town is rarely quiet, and absolutely never boring.

 

The Walk to Emmaus

 

This week we will start a new series about “The Walk to Emmaus”. Just this past week Wayne Hendricks attended the weekend.  In the next couple of weeks Betsey Hendricks and Betty Yerby will also be attending. The following information comes from “What Is Emmaus?” We hope you find it informative and we hope it clears up any misconception there may be about the Walk to Emmaus.

 

Rev Ed

 

  

[We] were reminded that Emmaus is not an "emotional bubble-bath." It is essentially a journey with Jesus Christ. The main focus is not how wonderfully close we have grown with each other, but how much closer we are to Christ and how much more effective we are as servants in his church.

Clergyperson from Illinois

The Walk to Emmaus is a spiritual renewal program intended to strengthen the local church through the development of Christian disciples and leaders. The Walk to Emmaus experi­ence begins with a 72-hour short course in Christianity, comprised of fifteen talks by lay and clergy on the themes of God's grace, disciplines of Christian discipleship, and what it means to be the church. The course is wrapped in prayer and meditation, special times of worship and daily celebration of Holy Communion. The "Emmaus community:' made up of those who have attended an Emmaus weekend, support the 72-hour experience with a prayer vigil, by preparing and serving meals, and other acts of love and self-giving. Men and women attend separate events.

During and after the three days, Emmaus leaders encourage partic­ipants to meet regularly in small groups. The members of the small groups challenge and support one another in faithful living. Participants seek to Christianize their environments of family, job, and community through the ministry of their congregations.

The Upper Room of The United Methodist Church sponsors The Walk to Emmaus and offers it through local Emmaus groups around the world. The three-day Emmaus experience and the follow-up groups strengthen and renew Christians as disciples of Jesus Christ and as active members of the body of Christ in mission to the world.

Many church leaders acclaim Emmaus as much more than a pro­gram. It is a powerful movement of spiritual renewal that is making a dif­ference for countless individuals and congregations in many denominations. Between 1978 and 1995, nearly half a million persons participated in Emmaus. During this same period, the Emmaus move­ment has taken hold in 300 sites around the world, including the U.S.A., Australia, Brazil, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Germany, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and India.

Emmaus is an experience in which growing Christians of all sorts come together in common affirmation of the essentials of the Christian faith. Bishop Adriel de Souza Maia of Brazil worked to take Emmaus to his homeland because, as he put it, "We need a church renewal move­ment which brings together the two sides of the Christian life: prayer and action, personal spiritual growth and social concern. Emmaus holds together these two sides of the coin."

 

 

Remember:      God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts.

 

 

Have a Blessed Week