CONFIRMATION CLASS will meet in Casey UMC from
6 P.M. till 7:30 P.M. Myrna has volunteered to bring in
food this evening. Thank you, Myrna.
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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 16 - Twenty-Seventh
Sunday after Pentecost [Our color is Green]
Our Scripture Readings for today are:
JUDGES 4:1-7 Amplified Bible (AMP)
After the death of Joshua, wickedness and apostasy (the abandonment or renunciation of a religious belief) became the order of the day. There was a leadership void in Israel. It followed, as Joshua had warned them, that they were oppressed by the nations whose gods they strayed to serve. As a result of their evil ways, they fell into the hands of the Canaanite king, Jabin. Their oppressor, King Jabin of Canaan, treated them cruelly for twenty years.
The leadership void was filled by men and one woman known as " judges." God used Deborah, who gave counsel to the Israelites, as she sat under the palms in the hill country of Ephraim.
In the face of Israel's crisis, she sent for a military leader named Barak, (h-m-m, where have we heard that name before?) and together they worked to free Israel.The Israelites prayed for God's help.Sisera was the commander of Jabin's army and he had 900 chariots of iron. God had instructed Barak to take 10,000 men from the familes of Naphtali and Zebulon and march toward the Mount of Tabor. Barak told Deborah that he would go and fight if Deborah would go with him. Deborah told him that she would go but that he would not receive honor for the victory. Sisera would be defeated by a woman.
God helped Barak and his army kill all of Sisera's men. Sisera fled to the tent of Heber the Kenite, whose family was friendly with Jabin, the king. Jael, Heber's wife, ran to meet him and told him that he would be safe in her tent. She covered him up with a blanket and gave him milk to drink.
Sisera fell asleep. Jael then took the tent nail and a hammer and drove the nail into Sisera's forehead and he died. The people had peace for the next 40 years.
JUDGES 4:1-7 Amplified Bible (AMP)1 BUT AFTER Ehud died the Israelites again did evil in the sight of the Lord.
2 So the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who dwelt in Harosheth-hagoiim, fortress or city of the nations.
3 Then the Israelites cried to the Lord, for Jabin had 900 chariots of iron and had severely oppressed the Israelites for twenty years.
4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, judged Israel at that time. 5 She sat under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites came up to her for judgment.
6 And she sent and called Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, Has not the Lord, the God of Israel, commanded you, Go, gather your men at Mount Tabor, taking 10,000 men from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun?
7 And I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin's army, to meet you at the river Kishon with his chariots and his multitude, and I will deliver him into your hand.
(Read another 14 verses for the end of the story.
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Psalm 76 Amplified Bible (AMP)
1 IN JUDAH God is known and renowned; His name is highly praised and is great in Israel.
2 In Jerusalem also is His tabernacle, and His dwelling place is in Zion.
3 There He broke the bow's flashing arrows, the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah, (pause, and calmly think of that!)
4 Glorious and excellent are You from the mountains of prey, splendid and majestic, more than the everlasting mountains.
5 The stouthearted are stripped of their spoil, they have slept the sleep of death; and none of the men of might could raise their hands.6 At Your rebuke, O God of Jacob, both chariot, rider, and horse are cast into a dead sleep of death.
7 You, even You, are to be feared with awe and reverence! Who may stand in Your presence when once Your anger is roused?
8 You caused sentence to be heard from heaven; the earth feared and was still--
9 When God arose to establish judgment, to save all the meek and oppressed of the earth. Selah, (pause, and calmly think of that!)
10 Surely the wrath of man shall praise You; the remainder of wrath shall You restrain and gird and arm Yourself with it.
11 Vow and pay to the Lord your God; let all who are round about Him bring presents to Him Who ought to be reverently feared.
12 He will cut off the spirit of pride and fury of princes; He is terrible to the ungodly kings of the earth.
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1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 Amplified Bible (AMP)
1 BUT AS to the suitable times and the precise seasons and dates, brethren, you have no necessity for anything being written to you.
2 For you yourselves know perfectly well that the day of the return of the Lord will come as unexpectedly and suddenly as a thief in the night.
3 When people are saying, All is well and secure, and, There is peace and safety, then in a moment unforeseen destruction, ruin and death will come upon them as suddenly as labor pains come upon a woman with child; and they shall by no means escape, for there will be no escape.
4 But you are not given up to the power of darkness, brethren, for that day to overtake you by surprise like a thief.
5 For you are all sons of light and sons of the day; we do not belong either to the night or to darkness.
6 Accordingly then, let us not sleep, as the rest do, but let us keep wide awake alert, watchful, cautious, and on our guard and let us be sober calm, collected, and circumspect.
7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who are drunk, get drunk at night.
8 But we belong to the day; therefore, let us be sober and put on the breastplate of faith and love and for a helmet the hope of salvation.
9 For God has not appointed us to incur His wrath, He did not select us to condemn us, but that we might obtain His salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah.
10 Who died for us so that whether we are still alive or are dead at Christ's appearing, we might live together with Him and share His life.
11 Therefore encourage, admonish, exhort one another and edify, strengthen and build up one another, just as you are doing.
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Matthew 25:14-30:
The PARABLE OF THE TALENTS has become a perennial "favorite". The two issues in this story are about what God is ready to entrust to us and what kind of master we think God is. No property holder would entrust the entirety of his property to slaves in Roman culture. This man was giving these three slaves the equivalent of 120 years of daily wages to manage, which would never happen. We learn "To all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away." When we compare it to the modern world, the poor continue to get poorer. The rich glide off on golden parachutes even when they have run their companies and economies into ruin. This is the world as we know it.
Matthew 25:14-30 Amplified Bible (AMP)
14 For it is like a man who was about to take a long journey, and he called his servants together and entrusted them with his property.
15 To one he gave five talents [probably about $5,000], to another two talents, and to another, one - - to each in proportion to his own personal ability. Then he departed and left the country.
16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he gained five talents more.
17 And likewise he who had received the two talents--he also gained two talents more.
18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.
19 Now after a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.
20 And he who had received the five talents came and brought him five more, saying, Master, you entrusted to me five talents; see, here I have gained five talents more.
21 His master said to him, Well done, you upright honorable, admirable and faithful servant! You have been faithful and trustworthy over a little; I will put you in charge of much. Enter into and share the joy the delight, the blessedness which your master enjoys.
22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, Master, you entrusted two talents to me; here I have gained two talents more.
23 His master said to him, Well done, you upright honorable, admirable and faithful servant! You have been faithful and trustworthy over a little; I will put you in charge of much. Enter into and share the joy the delight, the blessedness which your master enjoys.
24 He who had received one talent also came forward, saying, Master, I knew you to be a harsh and hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you had not winnowed the grain.
25 So I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is your own.
26 But his master answered him, You wicked and lazy and idle servant! Did you indeed know that I reap where I have not sowed and gather grain where I have not winnowed?
27 Then you should have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received what was my own with interest.
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Monday, November 17th — This is Pastor Lynn's and Naomi's day off.
Quilting Group meets at Casey U.M.C. this afternoon.
Casey U.M.C. Disciple Study will meet again after January 1.
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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 18TH—Disciple Fellowship will meet from 9 A.M. to 11 A.M. in Adair U.M.C.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19TH—
D-R CIRCLE WILL MEET WITH DARLENE BETTS - TIME, 1:30 P.M.
ESTHER CIRCLE WILL MEET IN ADAIR UMC - TIME, 7 P.M.
MARTHA CIRCLE WILL MEET IN CASEY UMC - TIME, 7 P.M.
TWEENS YOUTH GROUP will meet in Casey UMC from 6 P.M. till 7:30 P.M. Betty will serve lunch. Thank you Betty.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Thursday, November 20th —
DEBORAH-MARY CIRCLE WILL MEET IN CASEY UMC AT 2 P.M.
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Saturday, November 22nd —
Angelfood Distribution will begin in Casey Community Building at 1 P.M. and end at 3 P.M.
Benefit Dinner and Silent Auction will be held in Adair Community Centre at 4 P.M. for Luann Peterson.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Maya Angelou wrote this poem for her own race but, after following the Israelites this week, I think she speaks for the human race:
STILL I RISE ©1978 by Maya Angelou
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.
Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.
Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.
Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own back yard.
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.
Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?
Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~We have received a certificate for the World Service Blankets we have given.
Thank you for your generosity of time, talents and monetary assets. You do truly make the world go around.
God Bless and Keep You,
Pastor Lynn
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