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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 29TH —
ABC Finance Meeting at 6:30 P.M. and
ABC AD Council Meeting at 7:00 P.M.
Both meetings held at Adair U.M.C.
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THURSDAY, AUGUST 30TH —
Guthrie County Fair begins in Guthrie Center
GUTHRIE COUNTY FAIR SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
THURSDAY, AUGUST 30TH
• 7:00 p.m. Bill Riley Talent Show at GCHS
FRIDAY, AUGUST 31ST
• 9:00 a.m. Cribbage Tournament
• 2:00 p.m. Antique Appraisal
• 6:30 p.m. Mutton Busting.
• 7:30 p.m. Grand River Rodeo,
IRCA Sanctioned.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 1ST
• 10:00 a.m. Parade
• 1:00 p.m. Mud Volleyball
• 2:00 p.m. Baby Olympics
• 8:00 p.m. Grand Stand Entertainment:
Rumbles
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2ND
• 7:00 a.m. Church Services
• 1:00 p.m. MAPA Hot Rod Garden Tractor Pull
& Antique Tractor show
• 5:00 p.m. Arm Wrestling
• 8:00 p.m. Grandstand Entertainment:
Redhead Express Family
• 10:00 p.m. Fireworks
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3RD
• 11:00 a.m. Mud Bogs in front of
Old Grandstand
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FRIDAY, AUGUST 31ST —
School will dismiss at 2:20 P.M.
BEGINNING OF LABOR DAY WEEKEND.
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SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2ND —
CASEY AND ADAIR CHURCHES WILL SWITCH
CHURCH SERVICE TIMES TODAY.
• CASEY U.M.C. WILL HAVE 9 A.M. WORSHIP &
10:30 FELLOWSHIP.
• ADAIR U.M.C. WILL HAVE 10:30 A.M. WORSHIP
WITH FELLOWSHIP BEFORE AT 9:00 A.M.
WE CELEBRATE HOLY COMMUNION TODAY.
FOURTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
COLOR: GREEN
Today is also a "hinge day" or
"stream-crossing day" in our readings.
All three readings (Old Testament, Epistle
and Gospel) start new streams today.
The Old Testament readings begin a series
in Wisdom Literature, starting with
Song of Solomon, then we continue with
practical instruction from James.
We conclude with more confrontation of
Jesus in Mark.
• Wisdom herself speaks; "When he marked
out the foundations of the earth, then I was
beside him, like a master worker; and I was
daily his delight, rejoicing before him always,
rejoicing in his world and delighting in the
human race" (NRSV).
• Wisdom, from the beginning then, takes
sheer delight in creation and in the Creator
who turns a chaos entirely hostile to life into
a new order where life in every form can
develop, abound and multiply.
• The brief verses we read today from
Song of Solomon evoke that sense of delight
in the creation and the Creator, in abundant
life and its multiplying, perhaps at least as
richly and succinctly as any in the Bible.
SONG OF SOLOMON 2:8-13
New International Reader's Version (NIRV)
Song of Solomon is rhapsodic poetry
celebrating human love and new life.
A suitor calls on his beloved to prepare for
their uniting.
8 "Listen! I hear my love!Look! Here he comes!
He's leaping across the mountains.
He's coming over the hills.
9 The one who loves me is like an antelope or
a young deer.
Look! There he stands behind our wall.
He's gazing through the window.
He's peering through the screen.
10 He said to me, 'Rise up, my love.
Come with me, my beautiful one.
11 Look! The winter is past.
The rains are over and gone.
12 Flowers are appearing on the earth.
The season for singing has come.The cooing of doves is heard in our land.
13 The fig trees are producing their early fruit.The flowers on the vines are giving off their
sweet smell.
Rise up and come, my love.Come with me, my beautiful one.' "
BEGINNING OF GREAT THANKSGIVINGBASED ON SONG OF SOLOMON FOUND ON
PAGES 13 and 14
IN UNITED METHODIST HYMNAL
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
It is right, and a good and joyful thing,
always and everywhere to give thanks to you,
Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
You filled the earth with abundant life,
flowers blooming, sweet fragrances wafting,
fruits and fields and vines rejoicing,
rains refreshing, birds singing,
all creation resounding with the joys of love.
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PSALM 45:1-2, 6-9 OR PSALM 72 (UMH 795)
New International Reader's Version (NIRV)
1 My heart is full of beautiful words
as I say my poem for the king.
My tongue is like the pen of a skillful writer.
2 You are the most excellent of men.
Your lips have been given the ability to speak
gracious words.
God has blessed you forever.
6 Your throne is the very throne of God.
Your kingdom will last for ever and ever.
You will rule by treating everyone fairly.
7 You love what is right and hate what is evil.
So your God has placed you above your
companions.
He has filled you with joy by pouring the sacred
oil on your head.
8 Myrrh and aloes and cassia make all of your
robes smell good.
In palaces decorated with ivory
the music played on stringed instruments makes
you glad.
9 Daughters of kings are among the women youhonor.
At your right hand is the royal bride dressed in
gold from Ophir.
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PSALM 72
A PSALM OF SOLOMON.
1 God, give the king the ability to judge fairly.
He is your royal son. Help him to do what is right.
2 Then he will rule your people in the right way.
He will be fair to those among your people who
are hurting.
3 The mountains and the hills will produce rich
crops,
because the people will do what is right.
4 The king will stand up for those who are hurting.
He will save the children of those who are in need.
He will crush those who beat others down.
5 He will rule as long as the sun shines
and the moon gives its light.
He will rule for all time to come.
6 He will be like rain falling on the fields.
He will be like showers watering the earth.
7 Godly people will do well as long as he rules.
They will have more than they need as long as
the moon lasts.
8 He will rule from ocean to ocean.
His kingdom will reach from the Euphrates River
to the ends of the earth.
9 The desert tribes will bow down to him.
His enemies will lick the dust.
10 The kings of Tarshish and of places far away
will bring him gifts.
The kings of Sheba and Seba
will give him presents.
11 All kings will bow down to him.
All nations will serve him.
12 People who are in need will cry out, and he
will save them.
He will save those who are hurting.
They don't have anyone else who can help them.
13 He will take pity on those who are weak and
in need.
He will save them from death.
14 He will save them from people who beat
others down.
He will save them from people who do mean
things to them.
Their lives are very special to him.
15 May he live a long time!
May gold from Sheba be given to him.
May people always pray for him.
May they ask the Lord to bless him all day long.
16 Let there be plenty of grain everywhere in the
land.
May it sway in the wind on the tops of the hills.
Let crops grow well, like those in Lebanon.
Let them grow like the grass of the field.
17 May the king's name be remembered forever.
May his fame last as long as the sun shines.
All nations will be blessed because of him.
They will call him blessed.
18 Give praise to the Lord God, the God of Israel.
Only he can do wonderful things.
19 Give praise to his glorious name forever.
May his glory fill the whole earth.
Amen and Amen.
20 The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, end here.
JAMES 1:17-27
New International Reader's Version (NIRV)
This week's reading reminds us that pure,
undefiled religion involves "doing the word,"
and that "doing the word" involves "caring for
people in distressed circumstances." We are
rarely "needy" people. We are more often gifted
people who haven't yet seen the possibilities in
all of the giftedness in us and in the people
around us.
• We must not allow the way the world treats
the poor, the widow, the orphans, and the
marginalized. As disciples of Jesus we must
conquer or restrain the way we treat all people.
The world's way keeps the marginalized stuckin their rut, or channels them off to the edge of
life. The way of Jesus and his disciples is to
come in alongside - as advocates for all the
vulnerable and voiceless. And when we come
alongside folks like this, if we are actively
seeking together and sharing in the abundant
gifts of God, we may bring them back to the
center of life again.
17 Every good and perfect gift is from God. It
comes down from the Father. He created the
heavenly lights. He does not change like shadows
that move.
18 God chose to give us new birth through the
message of truth. He wanted us to be the first
and best of everything he created.
LISTEN TO THE WORD - DO WHAT IT SAYS19 My dear brothers and sisters, pay attention
to what I say. Everyone should be quick to listen.
But they should be slow to speak.
They should be slow to get angry.
20 A man's anger doesn't produce the kind of life
God wants.
21 So get rid of everything that is dirty and sinful.
Get rid of the evil that is all around us. Don't be
too proud to accept the word that is planted in
you. It can save you.
22 Don't just listen to the word. You fool
yourselves if you do that.
You must do what it says.
23 Suppose you listen to the word but don't do
what it says. Then you are like a man who
looks at his face in a mirror.
24 After looking at himself, he leaves. Right
away he forgets what he looks like.
25 But suppose you take a good look at the
perfect law that gives freedom. You keep looking
at it. You don't forget what you've heard, but
you do what the law says. Then you will be
blessed in what you do.
26 Suppose you think your beliefs are right
because of how you live. But you don't control
what you say. Then you are fooling yourselves.
Your beliefs are not worth anything at all.
27 Here are the kinds of beliefs that God our
Father accepts as pure and without fault.
When widows and children who have no parentsare in trouble, take care of them. And keep
yourselves from being polluted by the world.
MARK 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23New International Reader's Version (NIRV)
Good news of God's kingdom is for all
people in all places. Galilee will still play
some part, but the narrative generally moves
away from the shoreline and takes Jesus and
his disciples toward the inland villages and
beyond, as far as Tyre and Sidon, and
ultimately to Jerusalem.
These verses indicate Jesus and his disciples
had started traveling to a number of
neighboring villages and farms. While we do
not know where Jesus is, we do know his
inquisitors came from Jerusalem. Now, with
reinforcements, the inquisitors are going after
Jesus' disciples, and so indirectly after him.
• WHAT MAKES PEOPLE "UNCLEAN"?
1 The Pharisees gathered around Jesus. So
did some of the teachers of the law. All of them
had come from Jerusalem.
2 They saw some of his disciples eating food
with "unclean" hands. That means they were
not washed.
3 The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat
unless they wash their hands to make them
pure. That's what the elders teach.
4 When they come from the market place, they
do not eat unless they wash. And they follow
many other teachings. For example, they wash
cups, pitchers, and kettles in a special way.
5 So the Pharisees and the teachers of the law
questioned Jesus. "Why don't your disciples live
by what the elders teach?" they asked. "Why do
they eat their food with 'unclean' hands?"
6 He replied, "Isaiah was right. He prophesied
about you people who pretend to be good.
He said, " 'These people honor me by what they
say. But their hearts are far away from me.
7 Their worship doesn't mean anything to me.
They teach nothing but human rules.'
— (Isaiah 29:13)
8 You have let go of God's commands. And you
are holding on to the teachings that men have
made up."
14 Again Jesus called the crowd to him. He said,
"Listen to me, everyone. Understand this.
15-16 Nothing outside of you can make you
'unclean' by going into you. It is what comes out
of you that makes you 'unclean.' "
21 Evil thoughts come from the inside, from
people's hearts. So do sexual sins, stealing and
murder. Adultery,
22 greed, hate and cheating come from people's
hearts too. So do desires that are not pure, and
wanting what belongs to others. And so do telling
lies about others and being proud and being foolish.
23 All those evil things come from inside a person.
They make him 'unclean.' "
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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3RD —
LABOR DAY - NO SCHOOL
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• Adair U.M.W. will meet in the church at 1:30 P.M.
• Nominating Meeting at 7:30 P.M. will be in the
Adair U.M.C.
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[ THERE ARE CHANGES IN OFFICE HOURS. ]
ADAIR U.M.C. OFFICE WILL NO LONGER BE
OPEN.
CASEY U.M.C. OFFICE IS NOW CLOSED
MONDAY AND FRIDAY.
CASEY U.M.C. OFFICE HOURS WILL BE:
• TUESDAY & WEDNESDAY: 8 A.M. TO NOON.
• THURSDAY: 1 P.M. TO 5 P.M.
PASTOR MELODEE IS OFF ON FRIDAY BUT
MAY BE REACHED ON HER CELL PHONE IN
A PASTORAL EMERGENCY.
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FUTURE FOCUS —
CASEY U.M.C. WILL HAVE SUNDAY SCHOOL
EVERY SUNDAY AT 10:15
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 9TH — ADAIR WILL HAVE
SUNDAY SCHOOL AT 9:30
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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 10TH —
PASTOR MELODEE IS TRYING A NEW CONCEPT
CALLED “MONDAY WITH MELODEE”. This will
meet at Happy Chef - - time not yet formulated.
Perhaps 5 or 5:30 P.M.? Not yet carved in stone.
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JAMES 1:17-27 Asks us to think about our
obligations to those in distressed circumstances.
Much of the country has been experiencing
drought this summer and that will certainly
present difficulties for many of us. To put distress
in perspective, think about what you do have.
• If you have a nice cozy place that keeps you safe
from life's storms, you are blessed. If you usually get
to eat a meal before you are hungry, you are blessed.
If you have children in your family, let them know they
are a treasure beyond diamonds, and yes . . . . .
you are indeed blessed!
"If the only prayer you ever said in your whole life
was 'Thank you', that would be immense."
––––– German Philosopher Meister Eckart
God Bless and Keep You,
Pastor Melodee