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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4TH —
CONFIRMATION IN CASEY UMC - FROM 6-7:30 P.M.
Frankie plans to feed our hungry kids today.
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ADAIR: ABC FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETS AT 6:30
AND — AD COUNCIL MEETING AT 7:00 P.M.
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SUNDAY - FEBRUARY 8TH —
February 8, 2009 - - Fifth Sunday after Epiphany Color: Green
TODAY'S MEMORY VERSE IS:
Joshua 1:8 “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”
Our Scripture Readings are:
ISAIAH 40:21-31;
-- a prophecy to the exiles in Babylon that the God they serve is still sovereign in all the earth (not just for them!) and will continue to sustain, support, restore, and lift up God's servants. "The inhabitants of the earth are like grasshoppers" (Isaiah 40:22).
"Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint" (Isaiah 40:31).
ISAIAH 40:21-31 (Amplified Bible)21 You worshipers of idols, you are without excuse. Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? These things ought to convince you of God's omnipotence and of the folly of bowing to idols. Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22 It is God Who sits above the circle, the horizon of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; it is He Who stretches out the heavens like gauze curtains and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in,
23 Who brings dignitaries to nothing, Who makes the judges and rulers of the earth as chaos, emptiness, falsity, and futility.
24 Yes, these men are scarcely planted, scarcely are they sown, scarcely does their stock take root in the earth, when the Lord blows upon them and they wither, and the whirlwind or tempest takes them away like stubble.
25 To whom then will you liken Me, that I should be equal to him? says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high and see! Who has created these? He Who brings out their host by number and calls them all by name; through the greatness of His might and because He is strong in power, not one is missing or lacks anything.
27 Why, O Jacob, do you say, and declare, O Israel, My way and my lot are hidden from the Lord, and my right is passed over without regard from my God?
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, does not faint or grow weary; there is no searching of His understanding.
29 He gives power to the faint and weary, and to him who has no might, He increases strength causing it to multiply and making it to abound.
30 Even youths shall faint and be weary, and selected young men shall feebly stumble and fall exhausted;
31 But those who wait for the Lord who expect, look for, and hope in Him shall change and renew their strength and power; they shall lift their wings and mount up close to God as eagles mount up to the sun; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired.
PSALM 147:1-11, 20c (UMH 859) (New International Version)
1 Praise the LORD.
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
how pleasant and fitting to praise him!
2 The LORD builds up Jerusalem;
he gathers the exiles of Israel.
3 He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
4 He determines the number of the stars
and calls them each by name.
5 Great is our Lord and mighty in power;
his understanding has no limit.
6 The LORD sustains the humble
but casts the wicked to the ground.
7 Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving;
make music to our God on the harp.
8 He covers the sky with clouds;
he supplies the earth with rainand makes grass grow on the hills.
9 He provides food for the cattleand for the young ravens when they call.
10 His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse,
nor his delight in the legs of a man;
11 the LORD delights in those who fear him,
who put their hope in his unfailing love.
20 He has done this for no other nation;
they do not know his laws.
Praise the LORD.
1 CORINTHIANS 9:16-23;
- - Paul writes that he "can't not" share the gospel, and so has no basis for boasting about his commitment to his ministry. He also describes his strategy of "identification" with others, of coming alongside them and seeking to listen to them as they are, as an effective means of sharing God's gift of salvation. The first, from verses 16-18, is the "can't-notness" of his ministry. As Paul puts it, he has to proclaim the gospel. That's what he's been given to do, and he cannot escape it. Part of what Lent can do for people who engage it fully is to identify or rekindle their passion and obligation in discipleship to Jesus. From verses 19-23, is Paul's missional strategy of becoming "all things to all people." Paul is clear about what this means. When he is among Jewish people, he lives as a Jewish person -- not just in thoughts, but in customs and actions. When he is among other cultures, he seeks to take on the life of those cultures as he can, as a living demonstration of the incarnation of God in Jesus for all (a point of connection with last week's reading as well!).
1 CORINTHIANS 9:16-23 (Amplified Bible)
16 For if I merely preach the Gospel, that gives me no reason to boast, for I feel compelled of necessity to do it. Woe is me if I do not preach the glad tidings of the Gospel!
17 For if I do this work of my own free will, then I have my pay my reward; but if it is not of my own will, but is done reluctantly and under compulsion, I am still entrusted with a sacred trusteeship and commission.
18 What then is the actual reward that I get? Just this: that in my preaching the good news, the Gospel, I may offer it absolutely free of expense to anybody, not taking advantage of my rights and privileges as a preacher of the Gospel.
19 For although I am free in every way from anyone's control, I have made myself a bond servant to everyone, so that I might gain the more for Christ.
20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to men under the Law, I became as one under the Law, though not myself being under the Law, that I might win those under the Law.
21 To those without law I became as one without law, not that I am without the law of God and lawless toward Him, but that I am especially keeping within and committed to the law of Christ, that I might win those who are without law.
22 To the weak wanting in discernment, I have become weak wanting in discernment that I might win the weak and overscrupulous. I have in short become all things to all men, that I might by all means at all costs and in any and every way save some by winning them to faith in Jesus Christ.
23 And I do this for the sake of the good news (the Gospel), in order that I may become a participator in it and share in its blessings along with you.
MARK 1:29-39
- - Mark recounts, in almost breathless fashion, Jesus' intensive ministry of healing and exorcism in Capernaum, his withdrawal for prayer, and his determination to move out into the other Galilean villages to proclaim the nearness of the kingdom of God (see Mark 1:14-15).
MARK 1:29-39 (New Living Translation)
Jesus Heals Many People
29 After Jesus left the synagogue with James and John, they went to Simon and Andrew’s home.
30 Now Simon’s mother-in-law was sick in bed with a high fever. They told Jesus about her right away.
31 So he went to her bedside, took her by the hand, and helped her sit up. Then the fever left her, and she prepared a meal for them.
32 That evening after sunset, many sick and demon-possessed people were brought to Jesus.
33 The whole town gathered at the door to watch.
34 So Jesus healed many people who were sick with various diseases, and he cast out many demons. But because the demons knew who he was, he did not allow them to speak.
Jesus Preaches in Galilee
35 Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.
36 Later Simon and the others went out to find him.37 When they found him, they said, “Everyone is looking for you.”
38 But Jesus replied, “We must go on to other towns as well, and I will preach to them, too. That is why I came.”
39 So he traveled throughout the region of Galilee, preaching in the synagogues and casting out demons.
————————————————————————TODAY IS OUR STONE SOUP LUNCHEON
Everyone is invited to bring some vegetables or rice
or quinoa to put in the pot. Our cooks will season the
soup to perfection. There will be an auction after lunch.
Everyone bring something to sell, and be sure to take
something home as well.
A favorite children's story says that a soldier came
through a village on his way home from the war and
asked for some food.
Nobody had any food to give him, so the soldier madea pot of stone soup. Everyone contributed one small
ingredient and voila! A delicious soup was shared by all.
Soup Kitchens have provided nourishment for desperatepeople perhaps since the beginning of the "kitchen". Our
Stone Soup Luncheon is a reminder that we can all
contribute something and, magically we can have a
sustaining meal for everyone. It is also a reminder that we
are very blessed to live in this land of plenty.
We have Evening Prayer Service scheduled at 5:30 P.M.
in Adair UMC.
Please bring your dried out palms from last years PalmSunday to church. You will find a bucket to put them in
before they are burned at the beginning of Lent.
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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 9TH —
This is Pastor Lynn's and Naomi's day off.
There will be Bible Study in Casey UMC at 6:30 P.M.
Everyone is invited to join in the Casey UMC at 6:30PM
to study the book of the Gospel of John chapter 1 and
the first chapter of the book written by Ann Graham Lotz,
"Just Give Me Jesus". We will finish by 8:00PM.
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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10TH —
Bible Study will be held in Adair UMC from 9 A.M. to 11 A.M.
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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11TH —
7 AM Prayer Breakfast will be held at the Happy Chef.
Confirmation will be from 6 PM to 7:30 PM in Casey UMC.
Grethen Umbaugh has volunteered to bring food in to our
starving children. Thank you, Gretchen
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HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!
Can we all agree that the weather is getting to betiresome? The gloom of mid-winter will certainly
make the warmth of Spring very dear to us this year.
God Bless and Keep You,
Pastor Lynn