Tuesday, February 1, 2011

OUR WEEK - FEBRUARY 6 TO FEBRUARY 12TH

REMINDERS —
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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 2ND —
ADAIR U.M.W. IN ADAIR U.M.C. AT 1:30 P.M.ABC AD COUNCIL MEETING
IN CASEY U.M.C. @ 6:30
EVERYONE WELCOME!
It's the beginning of consultation with
Rev. Edward Kail,
Field Outreach Minister,
Southwest District
. It concerns all of us.
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FRIDAY, SATURDAY AND SUNDAY —
FEBRUARY 4TH, PLUS 5TH, AND 6TH —
POLK COUNTY CONVENTION CENTER
YOUTH STRIKE FOR CHRIST
FOR 7TH THROUGH 12TH GRADE YOUTH!
GREAT MUSIC! GREAT SPEAKERS!
RESEARCH ONLINE: http://www.youthstrike.com/
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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5TH —
ILA LYDON'S 90TH BIRTHDAY PARTY
WHERE:
GUTHRIE CENTER UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
WHEN: 2 P.M. UNTIL 4 P.M.

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 6TH —
FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY
COLOR: GREEN

HOLY COMMUNION TODAY
SCRIPTURE READINGS:
ISAIAH 58:1-12
(The Message)
The fast God chooses and honors - -
ritual tied to real action.

1 "Shout! A full-throated shout! Hold nothing back - a
trumpet-blast shout! Tell my people what's wrong with
their lives, face my family Jacob with their sins!
2 They're busy, busy, busy at worship, and love
studying all about me. To all appearances they're
a nation of right-living people - law-abiding,
God-honoring. They ask me, 'What's the right thing to
do?' and love having me on their side.
3 But they also complain, 'Why do we fast and you
don't look our way? Why do we humble ourselves and
you don't even notice?' "Well, here's why: "The bottom
line on your 'fast days' is profit. You drive your
employees much too hard.
4 You fast, but at the same time you bicker and fight.
You fast, but you swing a mean fist. The kind of fasting
you do won't get your prayers off the ground.
5 Do you think this is the kind of fast day I'm after: a day
to show off humility? To put on a pious long face and
parade around solemnly in black? Do you call that
fasting, a fast day that I, God, would like?
6 "This is the kind of fast day I'm after: to break the
chains of injustice, get rid of exploitation in the
workplace, free the oppressed, cancel debts.
7 What I'm interested in seeing you do is: sharing
your food with the hungry,
inviting the homeless poor into your homes, putting
clothes on the shivering ill-clad, being available to your
own families.
8 Do this and the lights will turn on, and your lives will
turn around at once. Your righteousness will pave your
way. The God of glory will secure your passage.
9 Then when you pray, God will answer. You'll call out
for help and I'll say, 'Here I am.' A Full Life in the
Emptiest of Places "If you get rid of unfair practices, quit
blaming victims, quit gossiping about other people's sins,
10 If you are generous with the hungry and start giving
yourselves to the down-and-out, Your lives will begin to
glow in the darkness, your shadowed lives will be bathed
in sunlight.
11 I will always show you where to go. I'll give you a full
life in the emptiest of places - firm muscles, strong
bones. You'll be like a well-watered garden, a gurgling
spring that never runs dry.
12 You'll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew,
rebuild the foundations from out of your past. You'll be
known as those who can fix anything, restore old ruins,
rebuild and renovate, make the community livable again.
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PSALM 112:1-10 (UMH 833) (The Message)
1 Hallelujah! Blessed man, blessed woman, who fear
God, Who cherish and relish his commandments,
2 Their children robust on the earth, And the homes
of the upright - how blessed!
3 Their houses brim with wealth And a generosity that
never runs dry.
4 Sunrise breaks through the darkness for good
people - God's grace and mercy and justice!
5 The good person is generous and lends lavishly;
6 No shuffling or stumbling around for this one, But a
sterling and solid and lasting reputation.
7 Unfazed by rumor and gossip, Heart ready, trusting
in God,
8 Spirit firm, unperturbed, Ever blessed, relaxed
among enemies,
9 They lavish gifts on the poor - A generosity that goes
on, and on, and on. An honored life! A beautiful life! 10 Someone wicked takes one look and rages,
Blusters away but ends up speechless. There's
nothing to the dreams of the wicked. Nothing.
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I CORINTHIANS 2:1-16
(The Message)
Paul's proclamation in Corinth was not based on
elegant human wisdom, but spiritual wisdom
displayed with power.
1 You'll remember, friends, that when I first came to
you to let you in on God's master stroke, I didn't try
to impress you with polished speeches and the
latest philosophy.
2 I deliberately kept it plain and simple: first Jesus
and who he is; then Jesus and what he did - Jesus
crucified.
3 I was unsure of how to go about this, and felt
otally inadequate - I was scared to death, if you
want the truth of it -
4 and so nothing I said could have impressed you
or anyone else. But the Message came through
anyway. God's Spirit and God's power did it,
5 which made it clear that your life of faith is a
response to God's power, not to some fancy mental
or emotional footwork by me or anyone else.
6 We, of course, have plenty of wisdom to pass on
to you once you get your feet on firm spiritual ground,
but it's not popular wisdom, the fashionable wisdom
of high-priced experts that will be out-of-date in a
year or so.
7 God's wisdom is something mysterious that goes
deep into the interior of his purposes. You don't find
it lying around on the surface. It's not the latest
message, but more like the oldest - what God
determined as the way to bring out his best in us,
long before we ever arrived on the scene.
8 The experts of our day haven't a clue about what
this eternal plan is. If they had, they wouldn't have
killed the Master of the God-designed life on a cross.
9 That's why we have this Scripture text: No one's
ever seen or heard anything like this, Never so
much as imagined anything quite like it - What God
has arranged for those who love him.
10 But you've seen and heard it because God by
his Spirit has brought it all out into the open before
you.
11 Who ever knows what you're thinking and
planning except you yourself? The same with God
- except that he not only knows what he's thinking,
12 but he lets us in on it. God offers a full report on
the gifts of life and salvation that he is giving us.
13 We don't have to rely on the world's guesses
and opinions. We didn't learn this by reading books
or going to school; we learned it from God, who
taught us person-to-person through Jesus, and
we're passing it on to you in the same firsthand,
personal way.
14 The unspiritual self, just as it is by nature, can't
receive the gifts of God's Spirit. There's no capacity
for them. They seem like so much silliness. Spirit
can be known only by spirit - God's Spirit and our
spirits in open communion.
15 Spiritually alive, we have access to everything
God's Spirit is doing, and can't be judged by
unspiritual critics.
16 Isaiah's question, "Is there anyone around who
knows God's Spirit, anyone who knows what he is
doing?" has been answered: Christ knows, and we
have Christ's Spirit.
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MATTHEW 5:13-20
(The Message)
The Sermon on the Mount continues with words of
blessing and expectation for the crowds. Jesus says
to these crowds, not just to his closest associates,
"You are the salt of the earth! You are the light of
the
world!" These are not religious giants. These
are
ordinary folks who live in the region around the
north
shore of the Sea of Galilee.
13 "Let me tell you why you are here. You're here to
be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of
this earth.
If you lose your saltiness, how will people
taste godliness? You've lost your usefulness and will
end up in the garbage.
14 "Here's another way to put it: You're here to be
light, bringing out the God-colors in the world.
God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with
this, as public as a city on a hill.
15 If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm
going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting
you on a light stand.
16 Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light
stand - shine! Keep open house; be generous with
your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt
people to open up with God, this generous Father in
heaven.
17 "Don't suppose for a minute that I have come to
demolish the Scriptures - either God's Law or the
Prophets. I'm not here to demolish but to complete.
I am going to put it all together, pull it all together in
a vast panorama.
18 God's Law is more real and lasting than the stars
in the sky and the ground at your feet. Long after
stars burn out and earth wears out, God's Law will
be alive and working.
19 "Trivialize even the smallest item in God's Law
and you will only have trivialized yourself. But take it
seriously, show the way for others, and you will find
honor in the kingdom.
20 Unless you do far better than the Pharisees in
the matters of right living, you won't know the first
thing about entering the kingdom.

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THIS IS SUPER BOWL SUNDAY

WE HAVE A SUBMARINE SANDWICH PROJECT
ROLLING FOR TODAY.
PICKLES, CHIPS, AND BAR COOKIESPRICE: $3 EACH OR BUY SIX AND OVER: $2.50 EA.
SIGN-UP SHEET IN CASEY U.M.C. LOBBY.
Money will send kids to camp.
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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 7TH —
Pastor Lynn's and Naomi's day off.
Office will be closed today.

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8TH —
No Morning Bible Study today.
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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9TH —
PRAYER BREAKFAST — 7 A.M. AT HAPPY CHEF
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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10TH —
MORNING BIBLE STUDY - CASEY U.M.C. —
9:30 TO 10:30 A.M.
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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 12TH —
ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S BIRTHDAY
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Bishop Trimble is initiating a Call to a Season
of
Prayer, February 6 - March 7, 2011.

• Pray for those who do not know the love of Christ
and Jesus as Lord and Savior; and those who
have
not witnessed that love through the church.
• Pray that God’s mission for the church will
break
through and spark revival in our communities.
• Pray that divine love will shape our conversations
and collaboration.
• Pray that radical hospitality and doing justice will
be part of our Annual Conference DNA.

Our first Renewal Gathering will be February 13th
at Villisca U.M.C. Session will be from 3 - 5 P.M.
followed by a meal.
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The Camp Books are out so we need to begin thinking
about making plans for going to camp. Give people
some ideas about what is out there, and tell some
experiences you or a friend have had at camp in past
years.I know, it's hard to listen to blizzard warnings and
snowfall amounts, and then plan your camping
experience. Soon the blizzards will be a memory
and, before you know it, school will be out.
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Take it easy with the snow shovel. We are not
accustomed to heavy manual labor at frigid
temperatures.
Be cautious in this weather. Blizzard's demand our
great respect.

God Bless and Keep You,
Pastor Lynn