OUR WEEK-JANUARY 19 TO JANUARY 25

REMINDERS —
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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15TH —
MARTHA CIRCLE IN CASEY AT 7 P.M.        

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 16TH — 
DEBORAH-MARY CIRCLE IN CASEY-2 P.M.

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SUNDAY, JANUARY 19TH —
Second Sunday after the Epiphany
HUMAN RELATIONS DAY   

SCRIPTURE READINGS —
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ISAIAH 49:1–7
THE MESSAGE (MSG)
SERVANT SONG
A Servant Song of Isaiah — "I will give you
as a light to the nations that my salvation
may reach to the end of the earth."
A LIGHT FOR THE NATIONS      

1-3 Listen, far-flung islands,
   pay attention, faraway people:
God put me to work from the day I was
   born.
   The moment I entered the world he
   named me.
He gave me speech that would cut and
   penetrate.
   He kept his hand on me to protect me.
He made me his straight arrow
   and hid me in his quiver.
He said to me, "You're my dear servant,
   Israel, through whom I'll shine."

4 But I said, "I've worked for nothing.
   I've nothing to show for a life of hard
   work.
Nevertheless, I'll let God have the last
   word.
   I'll let him pronounce his verdict."

5-6 "And now," God says,
   this God who took me in hand
   from the moment of birth to be his
   servant,
To bring Jacob back home to him,
   to set a reunion for Israel—
What an honor for me in God's eyes!
   That God should be my strength!
He says, "But that's not a big enough job
   for my servant—
   just to recover the tribes of Jacob,
   merely to round up the strays of Israel.
I'm setting you up as a light for the nations
   so that my salvation becomes global!"  

7 God, Redeemer of Israel, The Holy of
   Israel,
   says to the despised one, kicked around
   by the nations,
   slave labor to the ruling class:
"Kings will see, get to their feet—the
   princes, too—
   and then fall on their faces in homage
Because of God, who has faithfully kept
   his word,
   The Holy of Israel, has chosen you."
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PSALM 40:1-11 (UMH 774)
THE MESSAGE (MSG)
A PSALM OF DAVID
1-3 I waited and waited and waited for God.
   At last he looked; finally he listened.
   He lifted me out of the ditch,
      pulled me from deep mud.
   He stood me up on a solid rock
      to make sure I wouldn't slip.   

   He taught me how to sing the latest
   God-song,
      a praise-song to our God.
   More and more people are seeing this:
      they enter the mystery,
      abandoning themselves to God.

4-5 Blessed are you who give yourselves
   over to God,
      turn your backs on the world's "sure
   thing,"
      ignore what the world worships;
   The world's a huge stockpile
      of God-wonders and God-thoughts.
   Nothing and no one
      comes close to you!
   I start talking about you, telling what I
   know,
      and quickly run out of words.
   Neither numbers nor words
      account for you.

6 Doing something for you, bringing
   something to you—
      that's not what you're after.
   Being religious, acting pious—
      that's not what you're asking for.
   You've opened my ears
      so I can listen.

7-8 So I answered, "I'm coming.
      I read in your letter what you wrote
   about me,
   And I'm coming to the party
      you're throwing for me."
   That's when God's Word entered my life,
      became part of my very being.

9-10 I've preached you to the whole
   congregation,
      I've kept back nothing, God—you know
   that.
   I didn't keep the news of your ways
      a secret, didn't keep it to myself.
   I told it all, how dependable you are, how
   thorough.
      I didn't hold back pieces of love and
   truth
   For myself alone. I told it all,
      let the congregation know the whole
   story.

11-12 Now God, don't hold out on me,
      don't hold back your passion.
   Your love and truth
      are all that keeps me together.
   When troubles ganged up on me,
      a mob of sins past counting,
   I was so swamped by guilt
      I couldn't see my way clear.
   More guilt in my heart than hair on my
   head,
      so heavy the guilt that my heart gave
   out.
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1 CORINTHIANS 1:1-9
THE MESSAGE (MSG)
Paul's greeting to Corinthian community.
Paul begins his letter to the Christians in
Corinth with an affirmation of their robust
spiritual strength. Specifically, he notes
they are strong in speech, knowledge, and
testimony. They know how to talk about
their faith and know what they are talking
about when they do.     

1-2 I, Paul, have been called and sent by
Jesus, the Messiah, according to God's
plan, along with my friend Sosthenes. I
send this letter to you in God's church at
Corinth, believers cleaned up by Jesus and
set apart for a God-filled life. I include in
my greeting all who call out to Jesus,
wherever they live. He's their Master as
well as ours!

3 May all the gifts and benefits that come
from God our Father, and the Master,
Jesus Christ, be yours.

4-6 Every time I think of you—and I think
of you often!—I thank God for your lives of
free and open access to God, given by
Jesus. There's no end to what has
happened in you—it's beyond speech,
beyond knowledge. The evidence of Christ
has been clearly verified in your lives.

7-9 Just think—you don't need a thing,
you've got it all! All God's gifts are right in
front of you as you wait expectantly for our
Master Jesus to arrive on the scene for the
Finale. And not only that, but God himself
is right alongside to keep you steady and
on track until things are all wrapped up by
Jesus. God, who got you started in this
spiritual adventure, shares with us the life
of his Son and our Master Jesus. He will
never give up on you. Never forget that.
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JOHN 1:29-42
THE MESSAGE (MSG)
John the Baptist tells of the baptism of
Jesus and points out the "Lamb of God."
They follow him and tell others they have
found the Messiah.
THE GOD-REVEALER
29-31 The very next day John saw Jesus
coming toward him and yelled out, "Here
he is, God's Passover Lamb! He forgives
the sins of the world! This is the man I've
been talking about, 'the One who comes
after me but is really ahead of me.' I knew
nothing about who he was—only this: that
my task has been to get Israel ready to
recognize him as the God-Revealer. That
is why I came here baptizing with water,
giving you a good bath and scrubbing sins
from your life so you can get a fresh start
with God."

32-34 John clinched his witness with this:       

"I watched the Spirit, like a dove flying
down out of the sky, making himself at
home in him. I repeat, I know nothing about
him except this: The One who authorized
me to baptize with water told me, 'The One
on whom you see the Spirit come down
and stay, this One will baptize with the Holy
Spirit.' That's exactly what I saw happen,
and I'm telling you, there's no question
about it: This is the Son of God."
Come, See for Yourself
35-36 The next day John was back at his
post with two disciples, who were watching.
He looked up, saw Jesus walking nearby,
and said, "Here he is, God's Passover Lamb."

37-38 The two disciples heard him and
went after Jesus. Jesus looked over his
shoulder and said to them, "What are you
after?"

They said, "Rabbi"
(which means "Teacher"), "where are you
staying?"

39 He replied, "Come along and see for
yourself."

They came, saw where he was living, and
ended up staying with him for the day. It
was late afternoon when this happened.

40-42 Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was
one of the two who heard John's witness
and followed Jesus. The first thing he did
after finding where Jesus lived was find
his own brother, Simon, telling him, "We've
found the Messiah" (that is, "Christ"). He
immediately led him to Jesus.

Jesus took one look up and said, "You're
John's son, Simon? From now on your
name is Cephas" (or Peter, which means
"Rock").
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• 1793 - King Louis XVI was tried by the
French Convention, found guilty of treason
and sentenced to the guillotine.
• 1861 - Georgia seceded from the Union.
• 1883 - Thomas Edison's village electric
lighting system using overhead wires
began operation in Roselle, New Jersey.
• 1915 - More than 20 people were killed
when German zeppelins bombed England
for the first time. The bombs were dropped
on Great Yarmouth and King's Lynn.
• 1949 - The salary of the President of the
United States was increased from $75,000
to $100,000 with an additional $50,000
expense allowance for each year in office.
• 1955 - U.S. President Eisenhower allowed
a filmed news conference to be used on
television for the first time.
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MONDAY, JANUARY 20TH —
THE OFFICE IS CLOSED TODAY.
————————————————————
• THIS IS MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.'S 
BIRTHDAY!    

      

       

• 1265 - The first British parliament met in
Westminster Hall.
• 1841 - The island of Hong Kong was ceded
to England. It returned to Chinese control in
July 1997. 
• 1887 - The U.S. Senate approved an
agreement to lease Pearl Harbor in Hawaii
as a naval base.
• 1937 - Franklin Delano Roosevelt became
the first U.S. President to be inaugurated
on January 20th. The 20th Amendment of
the U.S. Constitution officially set the date
for the swearing in of the President and
Vice President.
• 1942 - Nazi officials held the Wannsee
Conference, during which they arrived at
their "final solution" which called for
exterminating Europe's Jews.
• 1944 - The British RAF dropped 2,300 tons
of bombs on Berlin.
• 1972 - The number of unemployed in
England exceeded 1 million.
• 1981 - Iran released 52 Americans that
had been held hostage for 444 days. The
hostages were flown to Algeria and then to
a U.S. base in Wiesbaden, West Germany.
• 1985 - The most-watched Super Bowl
game in history was seen by an estimated
115.9 million people. The San Francisco
49ers defeated the Miami Dolphins, 38-16.
Super Bowl XIX marked the first time that
TV commercials sold for a million dollars a
minute.
• 1986 - The U.S. observed the first federal
holiday in honor of slain civil rights leader
Martin Luther King Jr.
• 1986 - Britain and France announced their
plans to build the Channel Tunnel.
• 1987 - Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite
was kidnapped in Beirut, Lebanon. He was
there attempting to negotiate the release of
Western hostages. He was not freed until
four years later, November 1991.
• 1999 - China News Service announced
that the Chinese government would tighten
restrictions on internet use. The rules were
aimed at 'Internet Bars.'  
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TUESDAY, JANUARY 21ST —
Happy Birthday Lilly Rochholz
Happy Birthday Brad Fairfield
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• 1789 - W.H. Brown's "Power of Sympathy"
was the first American novel ever to be
published. The novel is also known as the
"Triumph of Nature Founded in Truth".
• 1846 - The first issue of the "Daily News,"
edited by Charles Dickens, was published
• 1861 - The future president of the
Confederacy, Senator Jefferson Davis of
Mississippi, resigned from the U.S. Senate.
• 1900 - Canadian troops set sail to battle in
South Africa. The Boers had attacked
Ladysmith on January 8, 1900.
• 1924 - Soviet leader Vladimir Llyich Lenin
died. Joseph Stalin began a purge of his
rivals for leadership of the Soviet Union.
• 1954 - The Nautilus was launched in
Groton, Connecticut. It was the first atomic
powered submarine. U.S. First Lady Mamie
Eisenhower broke the traditional bottle of
champagne across the bow. 
• 1954 - The gas turbine automobile was
introduced in New York City.  
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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22ND —
Happy Birthday Sara Young
Happy Birthday Marilyn Warner
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• 1666 - Shah Jahan, a descendant of
Genghis Khan, died at the age of 74. He
was the Mongul emperor of India that built
the Taj Mahal as a mausoleum for his wife
Mumtaz-i-Mahal.
• 1771 - The Falkland Islands were ceded to
England by Spain.
• 1901 - Queen Victoria of England died after
reigning for nearly 64 years. Edward VII,
her son, succeeded her.  
• 1917 - U.S. President Wilson pleaded for
an end to war in Europe, calling for
"peace without victory."
• 1944 - Allied forces began landing at Anzio,
Italy, during World War II.
• 1951 - Fidel Castro was ejected from a
Winter League baseball game after hitting
a batter. He then gave up baseball for
politics.
• 1984 - Apple introduced the Macintosh
during third quarter of Super Bowl XVIII.
• 1997 - The U.S. Senate confirmed
Madeleine Albright as the first female
secretary of state.
• 2002 - Amazon.com announced that it had
posted its first net profit in the fourth
quarter. 
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THURSDAY, JANUARY 23RD — ————————————————————
• 1556 - An earthquake in Shanxi Province,
China, is thought to have killed about
830,000 people.
• 1845 - The U.S. Congress decided all
national elections would be held on the first
Tuesday after the first Monday in November. 
• 1907 - Charles Curtis, of Kansas, began
serving in the United States Senate. He was
the first American Indian to become a U.S.
Senator. He resigned in March of 1929 to
become U.S. President Herbert Hoover’s
Vice President.
• 1950 - The Israeli Knesset approved a
resolution proclaiming Jerusalem as the
capital of Israel. 
• 1960 - The U.S. Navy bathyscaphe Trieste
descended to a record depth of 35,820 feet
in the Pacific Ocean.
• 1964 - Ratification of the 24th Amendment
to the U.S. Constitution was completed.
This amendment eliminated the poll tax in
federal elections.
• 1971 - In Prospect Creek Camp, Arkansas,
the lowest temperature ever recorded in the
U.S. was reported as minus 80 degrees.
• 1973 - U.S. President Nixon announced
that an accord had been reached to end
the Vietnam War.
• 1977 - The TV mini-series "Roots," began
airing on ABC. The show was based on the
Alex Haley novel about slavery.
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FRIDAY, JANUARY 24TH ————————————————————
• 1848 - James W. Marshall discovered a 
gold nugget at Sutter's Mill in northern 
California. The discovery led to the gold 
rush of '1849.
• 1908 - In England, the first Boy Scout 
troop was put together by Robert Baden-
Powell.
• 1924 - The Russian city of St. Petersburg 
was renamed Leningrad. The name has 
since been changed back to St. Petersburg.
• 1985 - Penny Harrington became the first 
woman police chief of a major city. She 
assumed the duties as head of Portland, 
Oregon's, force of 940 officers and staff.
• 1986 - The Voyager 2 space probe flew 
past Uranus. The probe came within 50,679 
miles of the seventh planet of the solar 
system.
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SATURDAY, JANUARY 25TH —
• A-C FOOD PANTRY -  9 TO 11 A.M.

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• 1858 - Mendelssohn’s "Wedding March" 
was presented for the first time, as the 
daughter of Queen Victoria married the 
Crown Prince of Prussia.
• 1924 - The 1st Winter Olympic Games was 
inaugurated in Chamonix, the French Alps.
• 1949 - The first Emmys were presented at 
the Hollywood Athletic Club.
• 1961 - John F. Kennedy presented the first 
live presidential news conference from 
Washington, D.C. The event was carried on 
radio and television.
• 1999 - In Louisville, Kentucky, man 
received the first hand transplant in the 
United States.
• 2001 - A minor earthquake hit north-
eastern Ohio.
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FUTURE FOCUS   
SUNDAY, JANUARY 26TH—     

RED BIRD MISSION TEAM FUNDRAISER
LUNCH AT CASEY U.M.C. AT 11:30 A.M.
YOUTH GROUP FOLLOWING LUNCH     

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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 8TH –
SERVANT OPPORTUNITY       

HOPE MINISTRIES
WE LEAVE CASEY U.M.C. AT 9 A.M.
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This time of year our spirits can dim in the 
gray chill of winter.  Keep your spirits high.        

Soon the sun will move back north and the 
warm, bright days will return.

God Bless and Keep You, 
Donna