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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19TH —
IN CASEY U.M.C.
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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20TH —
• DEBORAH-MARY CIRCLE AT 2 P.M.
IN CASEY U.M.C.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22ND —
• FOOD PANTRY AT CASEY U.M.C.
OPEN FROM 9 A.M. TO 11 A.M.
This is George Washington's Birthday!
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• FEBRUARY IS BLACK HISTORY MONTH
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23RD —
SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY
COLOR: GREEN
Happy Birthday Sally Hubbard!
Happy Birthday Steve Ferguson!
Happy Birthday Cain Stephenson!
Happy Birthday Ray Sheeder!
• RED BIRD MISSION FUNDRAISER
IN CASEY U.M.C.
SOUP LUNCHEON SERVED
11:45 to 1 P.M.
SOUPS ARE:
CHILI, AND CHEEZY POTATO SOUP
PLUS SANDWICHES AND DESSERTS
FREE WILL OFFERING
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RULES OF RELATIONSHIPS, PART 2:
LOVING EVERYONE. ASKING EVERY
CHRISTIAN TO BECOME A FULL
PROFESSOR OF THE LOVE OF GOD IN
JESUS CHRIST MAY SEEM TO BE AN
UNATTAINABLE GOAL. THE CENTURIES
OF CHRISTIAN WITNESS WORLD WIDE
HAVE SHOWN GREAT CONFIDENCE
THAT THE GOAL MAY BE ATTAINED.————————————————————
LEVITICUS 19:1-2, 9-18
THE MESSAGE (MSG)
Social holiness involves those actions by
which we love our neighbors as ourselves,
or as Wesley puts it,
“watch over one another in love.”
The love we are empowered and called by
Jesus to embody, surely starts with such
neighbor love, but then goes much, much
deeper. Neighbor-love is kindergarten;
enemy-love is the PhD! There is much
loving and learning to love as God loves
us, in between.
"I AM GOD, YOUR GOD"
1-2 God spoke to Moses: "Speak to the
congregation of Israel. Tell them, Be holy
because I, God, your God, am holy.
3 "Every one of you must respect his
mother and father. "Keep my Sabbaths. I
am God, your God.
4 "Don't take up with no-god idols. Don't
make gods of cast metal. I am God, your
God.
5-8 "When you sacrifice a Peace-Offering
to God, do it as you've been taught so it is
acceptable. Eat it on the day you sacrifice
it and the day following. Whatever is left
until the third day is to be burned up. If it is
eaten on the third day it is polluted meat
and not acceptable. Whoever eats it will be
held responsible because he has violated
what is holy to God. That person will be
cut off from his people.
9-10 "When you harvest your land, don't
harvest right up to the edges of your field
or gather the gleanings from the harvest.
Don't strip your vineyard bare or go back
and pick up the fallen grapes. Leave them
for the poor and the foreigner. I am God,
your God.
11 "Don't steal.
"Don't lie.
"Don't deceive anyone.
12 "Don't swear falsely using my name,
violating the name of your God. I am God.
13 "Don't exploit your friend or rob him.
"Don't hold back the wages of a hired
hand overnight.
14 "Don't curse the deaf; don't put a
stumbling block in front of the blind; fear
your God. I am God.
15 "Don't pervert justice. Don't show
favoritism to either the poor or the great.
Judge on the basis of what is right.
16 "Don't spread gossip and rumors.
"Don't just stand by when your
neighbor's life is in danger. I am God.
17 "Don't secretly hate your neighbor. If
you have something against him, get it out
into the open; otherwise you are an
accomplice in his guilt.
18 "Don't seek revenge or carry a grudge
against any of your people.
"Love your neighbor as yourself.
I am God.
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PSALM 119:33-40 (UMH 840)
THE MESSAGE (MSG)
33-40 God, teach me lessons for living
so I can stay the course.
Give me insight so I can do what you tell
me—
my whole life one long, obedient
response.
Guide me down the road of your
commandments;
I love traveling this freeway!
Give me a bent for your words of
wisdom,
and not for piling up loot.
Divert my eyes from toys and trinkets,
invigorate me on the pilgrim way.
Affirm your promises to me—
promises made to all who fear you.
Deflect the harsh words of my critics—
but what you say is always so good.
See how hungry I am for your counsel;
preserve my life through your righteous
ways!
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I CORINTHIANS 3:10-11, 16-23
THE MESSAGE (MSG)
Paul reminds the Christians in Corinth that
they are the temple of God. They are to
honor their bodies as God has made them
and be grateful for all leaders who lay or
build on the foundation of Christ.
God's house. Using the gift God gave me
as a good architect, I designed blueprints;
Apollos is putting up the walls. Let each
carpenter who comes on the job take care
to build on the foundation! Remember,
there is only one foundation, the one
already laid: Jesus Christ. Take particular
care in picking out your building materials.
Eventually there is going to be an
inspection. If you use cheap or inferior
materials, you'll be found out. The
inspection will be thorough and rigorous.
You won't get by with a thing. If your work
passes inspection, fine; if it doesn't, your
part of the building will be torn out and
started over. But you won't be torn out;
you'll survive—but just barely.
16-17 You realize, don't you, that you are
the temple of God, and God himself is
present in you? No one will get by with
vandalizing God's temple, you can be sure
of that. God's temple is sacred—and you,
remember, are the temple.
18-20 Don't fool yourself. Don't think that
you can be wise merely by being up-to-date
with the times. Be God's fool—that's the
path to true wisdom. What the world calls
smart, God calls stupid. It's written in
Scripture,
He exposes the chicanery of the chic.
The Master sees through the smoke
screens of the know-it-alls.
21-23 I don't want to hear any of you
bragging about yourself or anyone else.
Everything is already yours as a gift—Paul,
Apollos, Peter, the world, life, death, the
present, the future—all of it is yours, and
you are privileged to be in union with
Christ, who is in union with God.
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MATTHEW 5:38-48
THE MESSAGE (MSG)
"You have heard it said… but I tell you,"
Part 2! The nearing of the kingdom of God
means we are to treat those who harm us,
oppressors and enemies very differently
than we may have been trained.
LOVE YOUR ENEMIES
38-42 "Here's another old saying that
deserves a second look: 'Eye for eye,
tooth for tooth.' Is that going to get us any-
where? Here's what I propose: 'Don't hit
back at all.' If someone strikes you, stand
there and take it. If someone drags you
into court and sues for the shirt off your
back, gift wrap your best coat and make a
present of it. And if someone takes unfair
advantage of you, use the occasion to
practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat
stuff. Live generously.
43-47 "You're familiar with the old written
law, 'Love your friend,' and its unwritten
companion, 'Hate your enemy.' I'm going to
challenge that. I'm telling you to love your
enemies. Let them bring out the best in you,
not the worst. When someone gives you a
hard time, respond with the energies of
prayer, for then you are working out of your
true selves, your God-created selves. This
is what God does. He gives his best—the
sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to
everyone, regardless: the good and bad,
the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the
lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody
can do that. If you simply say hello to those
who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any
run-of-the-mill sinner does that.
48 "In a word, what I'm saying is, Grow up.
You're kingdom subjects. Now live like it.
Live out your God-created identity. Live
generously and graciously toward others,
the way God lives toward you."
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• 1868 - Dr. William Edward Burghardt
DuBois, educator and civil rights advocate,
was born in Great Barrington, MA.
• 1925 - Louis Stokes, former mayor of
Detroit, Michigan, and member of the US
House of Representatives, was born in
Cleveland, Ohio. Stokes was the first
African American elected to the House
from Ohio.
• 1929 - Baseball catcher Elston Gene
Howard was born in St. Louis, Missouri. In
• 1965, Howard signed a $70,000 contract
with the New York Yankees and became the
highest paid player in the history of
baseball, at the time.
• 1979 - Frank E. Peterson Jr. was named
the first Black general in the Marine Corps.
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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24TH —
Happy Birthday Sharon Larson!
THE OFFICE IS CLOSED TODAY.
• 1811 - Bishop of AME Church Daniel
Payne born.
• 1864 - Rebecca Lee Crumpler became
the first black woman to receive an M.D.
degree. She graduated from the New
England Female Medical College. She
worked from 1852-1860 as a nurse in the
state of Massachusetts. Rebecca Crumpler
was born in 1833.
• 1868 - House of Representatives voted,
126 to 47, to impeach President Andrew
Johnson. Johnson became president after
Lincoln was assassinated. Johnson
opposed the Fourteenth Amendment, which
gave citizenship to African-Americans.
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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25TH —
Happy Birthday Andrew Lehman!
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• 1839 - Seminoles Indians and their Black
allies were shipped from Tampa Bay,
Florida, to the West.
• 1870 - Hirman R. Revels of Mississippi was
sworn in as first Black U.S. senator and
first Black representative in Congress.
• 1948 - Martin Luther King Jr. was ordained
as a Baptist minister.
• 1964 - Cassius Clay became the world
heavyweight boxing champion.
• 1991 - Adrienne Mitchell, first African
American woman to die in combat in the
Persian Gulf War was killed in her military
barracks in Dharan, Saudi Arabia.
• 1998 - R. Kelly's hit rhythm and blues
song "I Believe I Can Fly" won Best Male
R&B Vocal, Best Song Written for a Movie,
and Best R&B Song at Grammy Awards.
• 1999 - White supremacist John King was
sentenced to death. One of three white men
accused of chaining James Byrd to a pickup
and dragging him along a Texas road until
he was decapitated.
Lawrence Russell Brewer was executed for
participating in this crime Wednesday,
September 21, 2011, in Huntsville, Texas.
He was the first white Texan executed for
killing a black since slavery ended.
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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26TH —
AD COUNCIL MEETINGS —
IN CASEY U.M.C. AT 7 P.M.
IN ADAIR U.M.C. AT 7:30 P.M.
AND COMBINED AT 8 P.M.
• 1928 - Singer "Fats" Domino was born.
• 1985 - On this day at the Grammy Awards
ceremony, Lionel Richie's 'Can't Slow Down'
won best album of 1984.
Tina Turner's 'What's Love Got to Do With It'
took the best record slot and earned her the
title Best Female Pop Vocalist.
The Pointer Sisters won best Pop Group for
the song 'Jump.'
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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27TH —
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• 1869 - Congress Adopts 15th Amendmant
Congress adopted the 15th constitutional
amendment, making it illegal for the US or
any single government to deny or abridge
the right to vote "on account of race, color
or previous condition of servitude."
• 1872 - Charlotte Ray graduates from
Howard Law School. She is the first African
American lawyer in the United States.
• 1988 - Figure skater Debi Thomas became
the first African American to win a medal
(bronze) at the winter Olympic Games.
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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28TH —
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• 1704 - Elias Neau, a Frenchman, opened
a school for Blacks in New York City.
• 1984 - Michael Jackson, entertainer won
8 Grammys. His album, "Thriller", broke all
sales records to-date, and remains one of
the top-grossing albums of all time.
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SATURDAY, MARCH 1ST —
The movie "Gravity" will be showing at
the Casey Public Library tonight at 7 P.M.
• 1940 - Hattie McDaniel known for her
supporting roles became the first African
American to win an Oscar. The award was
for her role as 'Mammy' in the movie
'Gone With The Wind'.
• 1968 - Juanita Long Hall died in Bayshore,
New York. This singer was best-known for
her role as Bloody Mary in the production
of South Pacific.
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FUTURE FOCUS —
Sunday, March 2nd — Holy Communion.
Ash Wednesday is March 5th.
Ash Wednesday is the start of the Lenten
journey of 40 weekdays (Monday through
Saturday) that takes the church to the eve
of Easter.
SHEPHERD LUTHERAN CHURCH - 7 P.M.
Remember: Ash Wednesday is deeply
penitential in purpose and feeling.
This service is about confronting our own
mortality and sinfulness.
Simplicity and solemnity, quiet and focus.
These are the atmospheric touchstones for
today. We embrace our mortality through
the imposition of ashes. We confess and
turn away from our sinfulness through our
confession and pardon. These two actions
prepare us for Holy Communion.
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An enormous thank you for our hard
working congregations this week. You do
make a tremendous difference you know.
God Bless and Keep You,
Donna
