Tuesday, November 18, 2008

OUR WEEK — NOV. 23RD - NOV. 29TH

REMINDERS —
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19TH —
D/R CIRCLE WILL MEET WITH DARLENE BETTS AT 1:30 P.M.
ESTHER CIRCLE WILL MEET AT 7 P.M. For information contact Carla Eggen
Martha Circle is not meeting.
TWEENS YOUTH GROUP will meet art Casey UMC from 6 PM till 7:30 P.M. Betty will bring in food.
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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20TH —
Deborah-Mary Circle will meet in Casey UMC at 2 PM.
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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. Don't forget to pick up your order. We are having great success with this project. If you know anyone who would like to try this kind of food service, call the office or contact Sharon Aupperle.
BENEFIT DINNER and SILENT AUCTION for
Luann Peterson
will be held in Adair Community
Centre at 4 P.M..
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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 23 —
This is Reign of Christ Sunday. It marks the close of the Christian liturgical
year. November 30th we begin the advent season. We would like to ask for help lighting the Advent candles in worship. It can be families, church groups, friends working together, or a newly formed group for this purpose.
WE WILL WORSHIP TOGETHER THIS SUNDAY at 9:30AM - Everyone at Casey UMC. Fall Dinner at 11 AM followed by the Auction at 1 PM
Our Scripture Readings this Sunday are:
Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24
To the people scattered in exile in Babylon (Iraq), the prophet Ezekiel declares the word of the Lord: "I will seek out my sheep . . . I will rescue them . . . I will bring them into their own land." To the Babylonian rulers, God announces that it is God, and not they, who will judge the covenant people, and that God, and not they, will establish a shepherd over them, a descendent of David.
Ezekiel 34:11-16 Amplified Bible (AMP)
11 For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I Myself, will search for My sheep and will seek them out.


12 As a shepherd seeks out his sheep in the day that he is among his flock that are scattered, so will I seek out My sheep; and I will rescue them out of all places where they have been scattered in the day of clouds and thick darkness.


13 And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and will bring them to their own land; and I will feed them upon the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited places of the country.


14 I will feed them with good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be; there shall they lie down in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel.


15 I will feed My sheep and I will cause them to lie down, says the Lord God.


16 I will seek that which was lost and bring back that which has strayed, and I will bandage the hurt and the crippled and will strengthen the weak and the sick, but I will destroy the fat and the strong [who have become hardhearted and perverse]; I will feed them with judgment and punishment.

20 Therefore thus says the Lord God to them: Behold, I, I Myself, will judge between fat sheep and impoverished sheep, or fat goats and lean goats.
21 Because you push with side and with shoulder and thrust with your horns all those that have become weak and diseased, till you have scattered them abroad,
22 Therefore will I rescue My flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between sheep and sheep.
23 And I will raise up over them one Shepherd and He shall feed them, even My Servant David; He shall feed them and He shall be their Shepherd.
24 And I the Lord will be their God and My Servant David a Prince among them;
I the Lord have spoken it.

Psalm 100 (UMH 821)
This song of praise should be considered as a prophecy, and even used as a prayer, for the coming of that time when all people shall know that the Lord He is God, and shall become his worshippers, and the sheep of his pasture. Great encouragement is given us, in worshipping God, to do it cheerfully. If, when we strayed, he has brought us again to his fold, we have indeed abundant cause to gladly bless his name. Know ye what God is to you. Know it; consider and apply it, then you will be close and constant, more inward and serious, in his worship, in his praise.
Psalm 100 Amplified Bible (AMP)
A Psalm of thanksgiving.
1 MAKE A joyful noise to the Lord, all you lands!

2 Serve the Lord with gladness! Come before His presence with singing!

3 Know, perceive, recognize, and understand with approval that the Lord is God! It is He Who has made us, not we ourselves, and we are His! We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and a thank offering and into His courts with praise! Be thankful and say so to Him, bless and affectionately praise His name!

5 For the Lord is good; His mercy and loving-kindness are everlasting, His faithfulness and truth endure to all generations.
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Ephesians 1:15-23 Amplified Bible (AMP)
God has laid up spiritual blessings for us in his Son the Lord Jesus; but requires us to draw them out and fetch them in by prayer. Even the best Christians need to be prayed for: and while we hear of the welfare of Christian friends, we should pray for them. Even true believers greatly want heavenly wisdom. Are not the best of us unwilling to come under God's yoke, though there is no other way to find rest for the soul? Do we not for a little pleasure often part with our peace? If we dispute less, and prayed more with and for each other, we should daily see more and more what is the hope of our calling, and the riches of the Divine glory in this inheritance.
15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints (the people of God),

16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers.

17 For I always pray to the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, that He may grant you a spirit of wisdom and revelation, of insight into mysteries and secrets in the deep and intimate knowledge of Him,

18 By having the eyes of your heart flooded with light, so that you can know and understand the hope to which He has called you, and how rich is His glorious inheritance in the saints, His set-apart ones,

19 And so that you can know and understand what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for us who believe, as demonstrated in the working of His mighty strength,

20 Which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places,

21 Far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named above every title that can be conferred, not only in this age and in this world, but also in the age and the world which are to come.

22 And He has put all things under His feet and has appointed Him the universal and supreme Head of the church, a headship exercised throughout the church,

23 Which is His body, the fullness of Him Who fills all in all for in that body lives the full measure of Him Who makes everything complete, and Who fills everything everywhere with Himself.

Matthew 25:31-46 New International Version (NIV)
This final parable in Jesus' final sermon in Matthew brings home the reality of judgment. This parable brings together some themes from the rest of the Gospel: Christ, like the kingdom, had been present in a hidden way, and one's response to his agents represented one's response to him. The nations will be judged according to how they respond to the gospel and its messengers. Jewish lists of loving works include showing hospitality and visiting the sick. The nations or "Gentiles" in Jewish literature would be judged according to how they treated Israel.
The Sheep and the Goats
31 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.

32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34 "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.

35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,

36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
37 "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?
38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?
39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

40 "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of my brothers, you did also for me.'
41 "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,
43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

44 "They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

45 "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

46 "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
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Monday, November 24th —
NAOMI IS WORKING THIS MORNING from 9 A.M. till noon.
This is Pastor Lynn's day off.
The Nominating Committee will be meeting at 7 P.M. this evening.
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Tuesday, November 25th —
Disciple Fellowship will meet from 9 to 11 A.M. in Adair UMC
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Wednesday, November 26th —
No Confirmation this evening.
Adair UMC Thanksgiving Eve Service will be at 7 PM. Everyone is invited.
Casey Lutheran Church is have a Thanksgiving Eve Service at 7 PM. All are invited to this as well.

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Thanksgiving will be observed on Thursday, November 27th.
The Pilgrims disagreed with the religious teachings of the Anglican Church of England. In 1606, they formed their own church in a small village called Scrooby. The Pilgrims left England for Holland and worshiped there for 12 years. They could not support their families so they came to America. It was a small ship and very rough sailing.
They found they could make a living in America so they returned to England and brought back more Pilgrims on the Mayflower. They couldn't call ahead for reservations because there was nothing but wilderness at the mouth of the Hudson River. Now that indeed was FAITH.They had no lavish, sumptuous lodgings and they were hungry and cold. If you wonder why you are tough, resilient, rugged and determined, you just might be a descendant of these very strong, wonderful people. We must give thanks for these persevering folks who came to America's shores, insisted upon, and fought for so many of the freedoms we enjoy today. I wonder if they ever dreamed we would have over 300,000,000 citizens living within our borders one day.

Our heavily laden modern feast tables bear little resemblance to those first Thanksgiving tables. We have come a long way.
The office will be closed both Thursday and Friday.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
God Bless and Keep You,
Pastor Lynn