Wednesday, August 13th — Prayer Breakfast will be at 7:00 A.M. at Happy Chef.
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Sunday, August 17 — Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost -- Our color is green.
***Our Scripture readings for today are taken from the GBOD (General Board of Descipleship) Lectionary supported by United Methodist Church. These are generally used throughout the land, but Pastor Lynn is on vacation this week, so scripture readings may vary from what the Lay Leadership has planned for Sunday:
***Genesis 45:1-15 (AMPLIFIED BIBLE): The other "bookend" of the Joseph story. Joseph reconciles with the brothers who sold him into slavery. Joseph, now second in command in Egypt, reveals his identity to his brothers and promises to provide land, food, and protection for the family during the famine and beyond, thanks to God's gracious provision.
1 THEN JOSEPH could not restrain himself any longer before all those who stood by him, and he called out, Cause every man to go from me! So no one stood there with Joseph while he made himself known to his brothers.
2 And he wept and sobbed aloud, and the Egyptians who had just left him heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard about it.
3 And Joseph said to his brothers, I am Joseph! Is my father still alive? And his brothers could not reply, for they were distressingly disturbed and dismayed at the startling realization that they were in Joseph's presence.
4 And Joseph said to his brothers, Come near to me, I pray you. And they did so. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt!
5 But now, do not be distressed and disheartened or vexed and angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me ahead of you to preserve life.
6 For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years more in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest.
7 God sent me before you to preserve for you a posterity and to continue a remnant on the earth, to save your lives by a great escape and save for you many survivors.
8 So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.
9 Hurry and go up to my father and tell him, Your son Joseph says this to you: God has put me in charge of all Egypt. Come down to me; do not delay.
10 You will live in the land of Goshen, and you will be close to me--you and your children and your grandchildren, your flocks, your herds, and all you have.
11 And there I will sustain and provide for you, so that you and your household and all that are yours may not come to poverty and want, for there are yet five [more] years of [the scarcity, hunger, and starvation of famine.
12 Now notice! Your own eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin can see that I am talking to you personally in your language and not through an interpreter.
13 And you shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt and of all that you have seen; and you shall hurry and bring my father down here.
14 And he fell on his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck.
15 Moreover, he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers conversed with him.
***Psalm 133 (New International Version) (NIV) 1 How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! 2 It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron's beard, down upon the collar of his robes. 3 It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life forevermore. ***Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32: Paul concludes his excursus on the theological connection between God's covenant with Israel and the church which includes both Jewish and Gentile people, but especially Gentiles with a strong affirmation of Israel's place in God's saving intent toward the whole world. All - Jew and Gentile - receive salvation by God's mercy and grace, not by merit. And to Gentiles - God's calling and gifts cannot be called back, which means Israel's place is permanently secure while Gentiles are like grafts of a wild olive tree into a domesticated olive tree.
***Romans 11:1-2 (Amplified Bible) (AMP)
1 I ASK then: Has God totally rejected and disowned His people? Of course not! Why, I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin!
2 No, God has not rejected and disowned His people whose destiny He had marked out and appointed and foreknown from the beginning. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel?
***Romans 11:29-32 (Amplified Bible) (AMP)
29 For God's gifts and His call are irrevocable. He never withdraws them when once they are given, and He does not change His mind about those to whom He gives His grace or to whom He sends His call.
30 Just as you were once disobedient and rebellious toward God but now have obtained His mercy, through their disobedience,
31 So they also now are being disobedient when you are receiving mercy, that they in turn may one day, through the mercy you are enjoying, also receive mercy that they may share the mercy which has been shown to you--through you as messengers of the Gospel to them.
32 For God has consigned (penned up) all men to disobedience, only that He may have mercy on them all alike.
***Matthew 15:10-20, 21-28: Jesus tells the crowd that it is what comes out of the heart that pollutes us. Then Jesus discovers great faith coming from the heart of a foreigner (the Canaanite woman) who won't take "no" for an answer.
Matthew 15:10-20; (Amplified Bible)(AMP)
10 And Jesus called the people to Him and said to them, Listen and grasp and comprehend this:
11 It is not what goes into the mouth of a man that makes him unclean and defiled, but what comes out of the mouth; this makes a man unclean and defiles him.
12 Then the disciples came and said to Him, Do You know that the Pharisees were displeased and offended and indignant when they heard this saying?
13 He answered, Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be torn up by the roots.
14 Let them alone and disregard them; they are blind guides and teachers. And if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a ditch.
15 But Peter said to Him, Explain this proverb to us.
16 And He said, Are you also even yet dull and ignorant without understanding and unable to put things together?
17 Do you not see and understand that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the abdomen and so passes on into the place where discharges are deposited?
18 But whatever comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this is what makes a man unclean and defiles him.
19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, reasonings, disputes, and designs such as murder, adultery, sexual vice, theft, false witnessing, slander, and irreverent speech.
20 These are what make a man unclean and defile him; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him unclean or defile him.
Matthew 15:21-28
21 And going away from there, Jesus withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.
22 And behold, a woman who was a Canaanite from that district came out and, with a loud, troublesome, urgent cry, begged, Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is miserably and distressingly and cruelly possessed by a demon!
23 But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, Send her away, for she is crying out after us.
24 He answered, I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
25 But she came and, kneeling, worshiped Him and kept praying, Lord, help me!
26 And He answered, It is not right, proper, becoming, or fair to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs.
27 She said, Yes, Lord, yet even the little pups eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.
28 Then Jesus answered her, O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you wish. And her daughter was cured from that moment.
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Pastor Lynn is on vacation this week - visiting members of her family whom she has not seen for a long time. There will be no Disciple Fellowship Meetings this week.
• • •Naomi is going to try opening the office during morning hours to see if this is more accommodating and agreeable to you. We do our best to please.
The emergency pastors covering for Pastor Lynn are:
Pastor Chuck Layton of Greenfield UMC
Pastor Bonnie Peterson of Anita UMC and
Pastor Lillian Gallo-Seagren of Guthrie Center UMC
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• • •August 19th - There is a Blood Drive scheduled at St. Johns Lutheran Church in Casey. Hours are 3 P.M. to 7 P.M.
• • • August 20th - Conference Wide Workshop:
FIVE PRACTICES OF FRUITFUL CONGREGATIONS
WHERE: Winterset
TIME: FROM 10 A.M. TO 3 P.M.
Meals & refreshments are $7 per person. May pay on day of event.
REGISTER ONLINE, OR TAKE YOUR INFORMATION TO NAOMI AND SHE WILL SUBMIT YOUR REGISTRATION FOR THIS EVENT. It must be done online through the Iowa UMC website.
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• • • August 23rd —CELEBRATION OF BISHOP PALMER'S MINISTRY WITH THE IOWA ANNUAL CONFERENCE
• Date - Saturday, August 23, 2008 • Place -
• Reception will be from 1:00 P.M. to 4 P.M. with a special recognition
program at 2:00 P.M.
• 2:00 P.M. Special Program celebrating Palmers’ eight years with us.
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Confirmation classes will be offered in 2008/2009 beginning in October. They will meet on Wednesday nights from 4:00 PM till 5:30 PM. The location for this cycle of Confirmation will be the Casey UMC. Youth in 7& 8th grade are the primary age for Confirmation class. Those who are younger could be accepted by discussing the possibility with Pastor Lynn before the class begins. Adults who would be interested in learning more about their faith traditions are also welcome to participate.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The 3rd Wednesday afternoon of each month will be YOUTH GROUP MEETINGS. They will begin at 4:00 PM also. The Confirmation Classes and Youth Group will both end at 5:30 P.M.
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CHECK OUT THE UNITED METHODIST BOOTH AT THE FAIR
The United Methodist Booth is located in the Varied Industries Building. Our booth number is 353. Please be sure and stop by and say hello to our volunteers in the bright red shirts, and check out the all new interactive display featuring United Methodist people in Iowa. You just might see someone you know!
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SEPTEMBER 1-9 AT HY-VEE HALL
MEALS FROM THE HEARTLAND -
HELP US BATTLE HUNGER
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~• • •Please read 5 PRACTICES OF A FRUITFUL CONGREGATION before our ABC and Ad Council meetings the last week in September. We will be answering questions based on this book at that meeting. This will give us some wonderful ideas on how to set our future ministry goals for 2009.
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THANKSGIVING INGATHERING SW SITE —
GREENFIELD: 108 SW 5TH ST
Starts: 11/1/2008 at 8:00 A.M.
End Time: 1:00 PM
Questions? Call 641.877.8441 or 641.743.2715
The Thanksgiving Ingathering Manual may be downloaded from the "Iowa Conference U.M.C. - Thanksgiving Ingathering" site.
The exact contents of each kit are disclosed on pages 18 and 19. For example, the LAYETTE KIT contains:
• 1 Receiving Blanket
• 2 Diapers and 2 Diaper Pins
• 1 Lightweight gown or sleeper (small)
• 1 Undershirt, or onesie
• 1 Baby Washcloth All wrapped in the blanket and pinned, placed in appropriate sized ziplock bag ($20 value, $2 shipping)
Schedule for the Day:
8:00 - 10:30 AM — Check in kits, (Health, Sewing, School and Layette kits), quilts, woodcraft items, crafts and baked goods. (Rolls & coffee available)
8:30 - 9:00 AM — Music Presentation
8:30 - 1:00 PM — Bazaar, quilt silent auction
9:05 - 10:30 AM — Mission Project Presentations
10:45 AM — Worship Service in the Sanctuary
12:00 PM — Lunch served in Fellowship Hall
1:00 PM — Quilt & woodcraft auction
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~MONDAY, NOVEMBER 3RD — THIS IS THE DATE OF OUR CHARGE CONFERENCE - We have much to do to get ready, and, of course, it will be here before we know it.
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Summer is nearly over and - do you know what happens in September - 3 short weeks away? Exactly!!! Adair and Casey UMC switch service times. Beginning September 7th - Casey UMC Sunday service will begin at 9 A.M. and Sunday school will begin at 10:30 A.M. Adair Sunday service will begin at 10:30 A.M. and Sunday School may begin at 9:00 A.M.
Hope you are having a wonderful summer and thank you for all that you do in the UMC realm.
God bless and keep you,
Pastor Lynn
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