Tuesday, November 4, 2008

OUR WEEK — NOV. 9TH - NOV. 15TH

REMINDERS —
Wednesday, November 5th — Adair UMW Meeting at Adair UMC beginning at 1:30PM.
CONFIRMATION CLASS meets in Casey UMC - 6 P.M. till 7:30 P.M.
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Thursday, November 6th — Casey UMW General Meeting at Casey UMC beginning at 2 P.M. Hostesses are Gladys Mark and Margaret Sullins.
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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 8TH—
Regional Workshop at Greenfield U.M.C.
The subject is "Radical Hospitality &
Passionate Worship.
Workshop time is 10 A.M. to 3 P.M.
Meals are $7.00. You must register to
attend by contacting:
deedee.sobotka@iaumc.org

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Sunday, November 9 - Twenty-Sixth Sunday After Pentecost. Our color is green.
Our Scripture Readings for today are:
Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25 Amplified Bible (AMP)
At the end of the conquest of Israel, Joshua exhorted the people to renew their covenant with God. The people of Israel responded by reaffirming their intent to remain faithful to God and by recalling their history with God. They made a commitment to "stay put." We must never think our work for God is done . . . until our life is done. If He lengthen out our days beyond what we expect, like those of Joshua, it is because He has some further service for us to do.
Joshua 24:1-3a
1 THEN JOSHUA gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders of Israel and their heads, their judges, and their officers; they presented themselves before God.

2 Joshua said to all the people, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt in olden times beyond the Euphrates River, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, and they served other gods.

3 And I took your father Abraham from beyond the Euphrates River and led him through all the land of Canaan and multiplied his offspring. I gave him Isaac.

Joshua 24:14-25

14 Now therefore, reverently fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and in truth; put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.

15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

16 The people answered, Far be it from us to forsake the Lord to serve other gods;

17 For it is the Lord our God Who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, Who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in all the way that we went and among all the peoples through whom we passed.

18 And the Lord drove out before us all the people, the Amorites who dwelt in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for He is our God.

19 And Joshua said to the people, You cannot serve the Lord, for He is a holy God; He is a jealous God. He will not forgive your transgressions or your sins.
20 If you forsake the Lord and serve strange gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having done you good.
21 And the people said to Joshua, No; but we will serve the Lord.
22 Then Joshua said to the people, You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord, to serve Him. And they said, We are witnesses.
23 Then put away, said he, the foreign gods that are among you and incline your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.
24 The people said to Joshua, The Lord our God we will serve; His voice we will obey.
25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made statutes and ordinances for them at Shechem.
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Psalm 78:1-7 (UMH 799) Amplified Bible (AMP) -
A skillful song of Asaph.
The law of God was given with a particular charge to teach it diligently to their children, that the church may abide for ever. Also, that the providences of God, both in mercy and in judgment, might encourage them to conform to the will of God. The works of God must strengthen our resolution to keep his commandments. Hypocrisy is the high road to apostasy (the abandonment or renunciation of a religious belief).
1 GIVE EAR, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth.

2 I will open my mouth in a parable in instruction by numerous examples; I will utter dark sayings of old that hide important truth - -

3 Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.

4 We will not hide them from their children, but we will tell to the generation to come the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, and His might, and the wonderful works that He has performed.

5 For He established a testimony an express precept in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, commanding our fathers that they should make the great facts of God's dealings with Israel known to their children,

6 That the generation to come might know them, that the children still to be born might arise and recount them to their children,

7 That they might set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but might keep His commandments.

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1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Paul was addressing Christians as Christians, and more specifically, these specific Christians in Thessalonica in the context of their particular relationships with one another as members of the body of Christ. The selection is addressing the church's need for clearer teaching about eschatology (the part of theology concerned with death, judgment, and the final destiny of the soul and of humankind). The first part deals with sexuality. Both of these issues, sexuality and eschatology, are important, and the nature of both of these was such that Paul and company needed the long reintroduction to bring them up. The gift of sexuality, after all, has much to do with continuing life as we know it. Eschatology, however, speaks boldly about the end of all things as we have known them.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 Amplified Bible (AMP)
13 Now also we would not have you ignorant, brethren, about those who fall asleep in death, that you may not grieve for them as the rest do who have no hope beyond the grave.

14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will also bring with Him through Jesus those who have fallen asleep in death.

15 For this we declare to you by the Lord's own word, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord shall in no way precede into His presence or have any advantage at all over those who have previously fallen asleep in Him in death.

16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud cry of summons, with the shout of an archangel, and with the blast of the trumpet of God. And those who have departed this life in Christ will rise first.

17 Then we, the living ones who remain on the earth, shall simultaneously be caught up along with the resurrected dead in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so always through the eternity of the eternities, we shall be with the Lord!

18 Therefore comfort and encourage one another with these words.

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Matthew 25:1-13 Amplified Bible (AMP)
The circumstances of the parable of the ten virgins were taken from the marriage customs of the Jews. Those who live in the modern western world do not know the significance of Jesus' promise. Jewish marriage customs must be examined if one is to grasp the significance of the promise. ————————————————————————
The first step in a Jewish marriage was betrothal.
1 - In Jesus' time it was usual for a marriage covenant to be established by the prospective bridegroom.
2 -The bridegroom would travel from his father's house to the home of the prospective bride. There he would negotiate with the father of the young lady to determine the price that he must pay.
3 - Once the bridegroom paid the purchase price, the marriage covenant was established, and the young man and woman were regarded as husband and wife.
4 - From that moment on the bride was consecrated or sanctified, set apart exclusively for her bridegroom.
5 - As a symbol of the covenant relationship, the groom and bride would drink from a cup of wine over which a betrothal benediction had been pronounced.
6 - After the marriage covenant was established, the groom would return to his father's house. There he would remain separate from his bride for a period of TWELVE MONTHS.
7 - This period gave the bride time to gather her trousseau and to prepare for married life.
8 - The groom prepared living accommodations in his father's house where he could bring his bride.
At the end of the separation, the groom would come to take his bride to live with him. Taking the bride usually happened at night. The groom, best man and other male escorts would leave the groom's father's house and conduct a torch light procession to the home of the bride.
9 - Although the bride was expecting her groom, she did not know when he was coming.
10 - As a result the groom's arrival would be preceded by a shout.
11 - This shout would forewarn the bride to be prepared for the coming of the groom.
After the groom received his bride with her female attendants, the large wedding entourage would return to the groom's father's house for the wedding party.
Matthew 25:1-13
1 THEN THE kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.

2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise, sensible, and prudent.

3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they did not take any extra oil with them;

4 But the wise took flasks of oil along with them also with their lamps.

5 While the bridegroom lingered and was slow in coming, they all began nodding their heads, and they fell asleep.

6 But at midnight there was a shout, Behold, the bridegroom! Go out to meet him!

7 Then all those virgins got up and put their own lamps in order.

8 And the foolish said to the wise, Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.

9 But the wise replied, There will not be enough for us and for you; go instead to the dealers and buy for yourselves.

10 But while they were going away to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were prepared went in with him to the marriage feast; and the door was shut.

11 Later the other virgins also came and said, Lord, Lord, open the door to us!

12 But He replied, I solemnly declare to you, I do not know you, I am not acquainted with you.

13 Watch therefore and be cautious, for you know neither the day nor the hour when the Son of Man will come.
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Monday, November 10th — 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 not meet until after January 1.
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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 11TH—Disciple Fellowship will meet from 9 A.M. to 11 A.M. in Adair U.M.C.
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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 12THCONFIRMATION CLASS will meet in Casey UMC from 6 P.M. till 7:30 P.M.
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Did you vote? Good! I believe America had a superior turn out this year. Sometimes I hear patriotism being maligned and denigrated and I cannot understand that. Doesn't matter where you came from, once you are a citizen, you are an American.
Our citizenship in the United States is our national character. Our citizenship in any particular state is our local distinction. By the latter we are known at home, by the former we are known to the world. All citizens are titled. Our great title is "AMERICANS." — Thomas Paine
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~It's time to gather in the crops and caulk the windows. Soon the weather will get cold and summer will just be a happy memory. (All but the floods and tornados, of course.)
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Thank you for making last Sunday such a great day.
Everyone was very helpful and very generous. The
food was delicious and the weather was perfect - it
just couldn't have gone better.
God Bless and Keep You,
Pastor Lynn