Hello Church,
Yesterday during worship, we in the middle of the story of Jesus’ first miracle. It’s always felt strange to me that Jesus first miracle story is something as random and seemingly non-consequential as turning water into wine. That’s not to say that weddings aren’t consequential, but when we get used to stories of Jesus feeding thousands and healing people and so on, it feels weird.
Yet, what Jesus is doing with this story is that he is setting up our expectations. What Jesus does with the wine is extravagant; by most standards it is also extremely wasteful. That is exactly the message he wants to send.
Jesus is showing off with this miracle. But with each subsequent miracle he continues to reinforce who he is and what he can do. That’s the key. By doing this, his claims about who he is, and what he is here to do become more real. He also shows that he isn’t going to hold back and he’s not going to force anyone to conform to exactly what he wants. He’s going to give us the time and space to understand, but he’s not going to force us in under a deadline either.
This week, take the time and space you need to see Jesus’ extravagance, not just in your own life, but also in how it impacts someone else’s life around you.
Important Announcements
We’ve got several big fun things coming up.
Orpha Circle
The first is that Orpha is meeting on Wednesday at 2pm to sing out at Pioneer. We’ll be meeting at Pioneer that day.
On Aug. 21st, we’re having Back to School Sunday and some of our own kids are leading worship! Be sure you are here for it.
Looking for Choir Members!
Also, Choir is starting back up! Sign-up if you’re interested at the link below. We’ll have more information coming out soon.
Important links
Below are a few links to things. One is a link to the most recent packet of information from our last Church Council meeting. There are hard copies of it in the back of the sanctuary too. Another is a link the our District Facebook page. Check it out and give it a like so you can see more of what is going on around the district. That last link is to our church website. We’ve updated it recently, so check it out. Watch for further updates to it in the future as we activate some more features.
Sign-Ups
You can get signed up to host the Sharing Table! The Summer is coming to a close, but we’ve still got a few weeks left.
There are sign-up sheets in the back for Celebrate Recovery. This includes volunteer leaders for meals for the next six months. There is also a jar for monetary donations.
Finally, we’re looking for folks that would like to serve communion and anyone who would like to help get the bread and the juice ready for communion Sundays. You can sign-up in the back of the Sanctuary, or by clicking here.
Parting Shot
This week we’ve got a couple of different pictures. One is from our last Ark Storytime for this year, and the other is from the Rural Collab day that we hosted. Take a look at the end of this email to see them.
Send to a Friend
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Have a great week!
Peace,
Pastor John
Going On This Week
Community Calendars
Marceline School Calendar
My Country 99.1 Community Calendar
Worship Links
Youtube Services, Messages
Worship Music Lists: YouTube, Spotifiy
On September 10th, we’re having a special day at Central Methodist in Fayette! Our North Central District is going to the game. We’ll take in a game, have a tailgate, and get to know some other folks. Put it on your calendars!
If you’d like to go, let us know by replying to this email, or clicking on the link to sign-up.
Send a note or a message to these folks!
Get caught up!
You can always get caught up on sermons if you’re behind. Each Sunday’s message is posted by Friday of the next week (most of the time much sooner than that).
Prayer & Devotions
The Hours
Prayer Guide - PDF (book format), Online Format
Morning | Evening | Night Prayers
Daily Devotions
Seedbed Devotions, YMI
The Upper Room, Our Daily Bread
GPS Guide from Church of the Resurrection
Daily Meditations from the Center for Action & Contemplation
Other Resources
Bible Project great Bible Study resource for really engaging the Bible
Five Day Bible Reading - Read through the Bible in a year
YouVersion Online Bible
Prayer List
Groups: Church: Denomination, Conference, Area UMC's, Area Churches
Schools: Students, Teachers, Administrators, Employees, Parents
Community: Food Pantry, Ministries in Linn County, Ministerial Alliance
Government: Leaders, Local, County, State, National
Situations: Pandemic, Racism, Economic Disparity, Mental Health, Natural Disasters
Individuals: Rick Freeman, Harold & Carol Logue’s Niece, Jeff Linebaugh, Sherry Deal (Donna’s sister), Dorothy Downing, John Smith, Brenda Lain, Bill Stanley, Chris McGlothlin, Jake Jacobs, Vicki Gregg, Ron Klingsmith, Wayne Sisson, Mark Ewigman, David Munson, Goldie Cupp, Tony Tucker, Bill Westfall, Kyle Lake, Linda Ewigman, Angie Builder, Bob & Pat Magee, Zoe Tolliver, Dan Brooks, Ruth Farris, Lynn Fellmann
Pioneer: Mabel Worley, Marylin Mears
Military Service: Patric Munson, Nick Cain, LTC John Casey Welch, Tyler Nanneman, Jeffrey Tucker, Kelly Tucker, Brandon Wellman, Heath Floray, Steve Graves, Michael Pyrtle, William Leukenotte, Kerry Lowrey
Parting Shot
We had a great group of kids for our last Ark Storytime! We told Noah’s story and even got hit with some rain clouds.
We had a great group of folks come up last Thursday for a time to learn and collaborate with each other. What is important about what we were doing that day was not trying to solve problems, but put ourselves in the right place so that we can be in ministry, serve God, and as a result solve problems. It was a good day to share with folks from all over.