Sunday 2018-10-14

Order of Worship 7:45, 9:00, & 10:30

Building on the Past, Looking to the Future - Continuing the Conversation - Part 2

Hebrews 12:1-3, 12-16; Ephesians 4:1-6

1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

12Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13“Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.

14Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. 15See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. 16See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son.

1As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

  • Run with perseverance

    • Perseverance doesn’t just happen - there’s work involved - determination - grit - Christian faith has active participation in it

  • Fixing our eyes on Jesus 

  • Do not grow weary and lose heart

    • Ways to overcome weariness:

a)________________________

b)________________________

c)________________________

  • Worthy of the calling:

    • Humble and gentle

    • Patient

    • Bearing with one another in love

    • Making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit Through the bond of peace

    • One body, One Spirit, One hope, One Lord, One faith, One baptism, One God and Father of all - over all and through all and in all.



Next Week:  “When Dreams Become Nightmares”  

Matthew 16:26; Proverbs 29:18;  Matthew 5:3-12  


Closing Prayer - take these notes and this prayer home with you and pray it throughout the week.  Blessings and Peace in Christ Jesus.


Mighty God,

If I’m entangled in any nature or notion or act of sin - make me aware of it - forgive me for it - deliver me from it.

Teach me Holy Spirit how to be a faithful disciple - humble, gentle, patient, bearing with my brothers and sister in love.

Give me clear vision and help me to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 

Remind me to use the grace You gave in Christ Jesus to live and breather your Lordship every single day of my life.

In Jesus name. Amen.

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TODAY’S PREACHER

Randy Reese is the Directing Pastor of Calvary UMC

Sunday 2018-10-07

Order of Worship 7:45, 9:00, & 10:30

Building on the Past, Looking to the Future - Continuing the Conversation - Part 1

Hebrews 12:1-3, Ephesians 4:1-3

Remembering the context:

Hebrews

  • Throw off everything - everything?

    • hindrances - what hinders your relationship with God

    • sin that entangles

  • Run with perseverance

    • Perseverance doesn’t just happen - there’s work involved - determination - grit - Christian faith has active participation in it

  • Fixing our eyes on Jesus

    • The Qumran bunch lost sight

  • He’s at the right hand of God

    • Do not grow weary and lose heart - ways to overcome weariness:

a)__________________

b)__________________

c)__________________

    

Next week: “Continuing the Conversation - Part 2” Ephesians

Closing Prayer - take these notes and this prayer home with you and pray it throughout the week.  Blessings and Peace in Christ Jesus.

Mighty God,

If I’m entangled in any nature or notion or act of sin - make me aware of it - forgive me for it - deliver me from it.

Teach me Holy Spirit how to be a faithful disciple - trustworthy - honest - sincere - grace giving

Give me clear vision of my Lord and Savior and help me to remember and cherish His words

Strengthen me for the race of life that I am in

Thank you ………., In Jesus name.

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TODAY’S PREACHER

Randy Reese is Directing Pastor of Calvary UMC

Sunday 2018-09-23

Order of Worship 7:45, 9:00, & 10:30

Aging, Illness, Dying, and Fear of the Lord

I Peter 5:1-11

1To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; 3not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

5In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,

“God opposes the proud

but shows favor to the humble.”

6Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

8Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

10And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Key verses to dealing with our fears:

  • V. 4 “When the Good Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.”

  • V.6 “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because He cares for you.

  • V. 10-11  “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast. To Him be the power for ever and ever, Amen”

Checklist:  Have you ….

  • Humbled yourself before Him?

  • Cast all your cares and anxieties on Him”

  • Been self controlled and alert?

  • Resisted evil today?

  • Stood firm?

And are you willing to receive a restoration from God that will make you

strong and steadfast?

Faith Declaration Statement: God is my power for ever and ever.

Amen.

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TODAY’S PREACHER

Randy Reese is Co-Directing Pastor of Calvary UMC

Sunday 2018-09-16

Order of Worship 7:45, 9:00, & 10:30

Apocalypse, Change, Missing Out, & Finances

John 5:1-15

1Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. 2Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. 3Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. 4 5One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”

7“Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”

8Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” 9At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.

The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, 10and so the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.”

11But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’ ”

12So they asked him, “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?”

13The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.

14Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” 15The man went away and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had made him well.

Focus: Do you want to be healed? Do we really want transformation and change?

1) Change: What did healing mean for the man at the pool?

Jesus: “Do you want to be healed?”

Feeling of grieving related to change:

Kubler-Ross

  • Denial

  • Anger

  • Bargaining

  • Depression

  • Acceptance

2) Missing Out

  • FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)

  • FOBO  (Fear of a Better Offer)

  • Ecc. 2:10-11; 13-14

II Corinthians 5:17 - “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

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TODAY’S PREACHER

Randy Reese is Co-Directing Pastor of Calvary UMC

Sunday 2018-09-09

Order of Worship 7:45, 9:00, & 10:30

When I'm Not Good Enough

Psalm 139:1-18

1You have searched me, Lord,
and you know me.
2You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.
5You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
7Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
11If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
12even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
13For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
17How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand—
when I awake, I am still with you.
 

#1 fear of Calvary’s youth a few years ago was fear of failure which leads to fear of rejection and loneliness.

“A culture that makes success or at least the appearance of it the only option for everyone, starting in childhood, exacts a steep cost: if you don’t succeed, you’re often left feeling that you are a loser--a nobody.”  Adam Hamilton, Unafraid:  Living with Courage and Hope in Uncertain Times

Psalm 139:14: “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

To whom do you listen to rate your worth?

  • A relationship?
  • Your job?
  • Your role as a son/daughter or father/mother?
  • Your financial stability?
  • Other……

How is God ‘rating’ you right this moment?
       What goes through your heart as God’s criteria for ‘rating’ you?

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TODAY'S PREACHER

Debbie Reese is Co-Directing Pastor of Calvary UMC

Sunday 2018-09-02

Order of Worship 7:45, 9:00, & 10:30

The Fear of Crime, Racism, Terrorism, & Politics

Psalm 46:1-2, 6-7; Jeremiah 22:3; Romans 12:18-21

1God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
2Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
6Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
7The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
3This is what the Lord says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place. 
18If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”12:19 Deut. 32:35 says the Lord. 20On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”12:20 Prov. 25:21,22
21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

A Word of Declaration:

God is:

  • Our refuge
  • Our strength
  • Ever present help
  • God is the One who makes things right

The Application: 

  • Do what is just and right
  • Rescue the one robbed, harmed, etc. 
  • Do no wrong or violence - who are foreigners
  • Live at peace with everyone
  • Do not take revenge
  • Give them water

The Goal:  
     Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.


Based on Adam Hamilton’s “Unafraid: Living with Courage and Hope in Uncertain Times” 
    

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TODAY'S PREACHER

Randy Reese is Co-Directing Pastor of Calvary UMC

Sunday 2018-08-26

Order of Worship 7:45, 9:00, & 10:30

Dealing with Fear

Numbers 13:26-28a; 30-14:4

26They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. 27They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. 28But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. 
30Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”
31But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” 32And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. 33We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”
1That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. 2All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! 3Why is the Lordbringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” 4And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”
 

What is your greatest fear?

How do you unconsciously feed that fear?

The amygdala: an almond-shaped mass of gray matter inside each cerebral hemisphere, involved with the experiencing of emotions

Combatting fear:

  • Pray with others who are NOT afraid.

  • Start a book of ‘God things’ in which we write down those times when God seems so obviously in control…..and then look at those when we’re scared.

  • Take a deep breath and let the Holy Spirit replace fear with peace.

  • Don’t be afraid to laugh at any ridiculous fears.

  • Go through the fear quadrangle:  

grid.png
Remember the old acronym:  

False

Events

Appearing

Real

 

Deuteronomy 31:6; Joshua 1:3-9; I Chronicles 28:20; Psalm 27:1; Psalm 56:3-4; Isaiah 41:13; Romans 8:15; 2 Corinthians 4:8-11….and so many more!

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TODAY'S PREACHER

Debbie Reese is Co-Directing Pastor of Calvary UMC

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Sunday 2018-08-19

Order of Worship 7:45, 9:00, & 10:30

Growing in Wisdom

Ephesians 5:15-20

15Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, 19speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

"Being filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and songs from the spirit, and giving thanks to God for everything."

God’s words of wisdom to us:

    1. Make the most of everyday
    2. Beware of evil
    3. Do not get drunk on wine
    4. Be filled with the Spirit - Galatians 5:22-23
      • Speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit
      •  Giving thanks to God for everything (neither life nor death

 

Galatians 5:22-23:

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

 

Choose this morning for today what shall fill you - that He shall fill you.   

 

Pray with me if you will - 

“Lord, this morning of August 19, 2018, I choose You to be the Lord of my thoughts, my mouth, my feelings, my desires - everything in me and about me.  Fill me with Your love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Help me to live and breathe Jesus.  Amen”

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TODAY'S PREACHER

Randy Reese is Co-Directing Pastor of Calvary UMC

Sunday 2018-08-12

Order of Worship 7:45, 9:00, & 10:30

Living Bread

John 6:35-51

35Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.36But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe.37All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.38For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.39And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.40For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.” 41At this the Jews there began to grumble about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”42They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?” 43 “Stop grumbling among yourselves,”Jesus answered. 44“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.45It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’6:45Isaiah 54:13Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me.46No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father.47Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life.48I am the bread of life.49Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died.50But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die.51I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

When carbs are good: the bread of life

 

Bread: a very ordinary food that was a staple at every meal 

 

Head knowledge

Heart knowledge

Which directs our actions?

 

Who does Jesus think he is, telling us that He is all we need?

 

“Stop grumbling among yourselves.” John 6:43

 

When have you been so swallowed up in ‘grumbling’ that you missed the blessing of Jesus right in front of you? Why do we get caught up in the ‘grumbling’ cycle?

 

“Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert yet they died.”  John 6:49

 

How are you sustained, nourished, & strengthened by the Bread of Life that is Jesus?

 

“Granddad used to say we go to church on communion Sunday to feast on the bread and juice — on those and other Sundays we feast on the Word of God as well. He would say that “anyone who goes away hungry — it’s their own dang fault.” The feast is laid out, the invitation is given and the table is before us. So if we go away hungry, why did that happen? What is stopping us from joining in the feast?”  (Dr. Karyn Wiseman)

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TODAY'S PREACHER

Debbie Reese is Co-Directing Pastor of Calvary UMC

Sunday 2018-08-05

Order of Worship 7:45, 9:00, & 10:30

Murmurings Against the Lord

Exodus 16:2-4, 9-15

2In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 3The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.” 4Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. 
9Then Moses told Aaron, “Say to the entire Israelite community, ‘Come before the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling.’ ” 10While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of the Lord appearing in the cloud. 11The Lord said to Moses, 12“I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’ ” 13That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. 15When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat. 

We are:

  • Afflicted by the enemy
  • Engulfed by a spirit of discontent
  • Mad about our circumstances
  • Consumed with worry
  • Afraid of the unknown or change
  • We forget God’s faithfulness in the past - spiritual amnesia

 

List some times when God was faithful to you or yours:

 

Thank God for those times of His faithfulness.

 

Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you with a spirit of Thanksgiving and Praise.

 

Our attitude is a reflection of the spirit that dwells in us. Have you “put on” a spirit of gratitude this morning or do you just have an “attitude” that does not speak of the presence of Christ Jesus?

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TODAY'S PREACHER

Randy Reese is Co-Directing Pastor of Calvary UMC

 

 

Sunday 2018-07-29

Order of Worship 7:45, 9:00, & 10:30

Synergy for the Win

Ephesians 3:14-21

14For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 20Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
 

Synergy: when the whole is greater than the sum of its parts

 

Doing ministry as individuals: excellent! However, this is a linear model of 1 person plus 1 person plus 1 person = 3 persons accomplishing 3 things.

 

Which is more efficient?

Doing it as individuals whenever we have time.

Doing it together at a specified time.

 

Which brings a greater result?

Doing it as individuals whenever we have time.

Doing it together at a specified time.

 

A Few Biblical Examples of synergy:

Joshua 6:2-21

Acts 2:1-12

Acts 2:42-47

Acts 4:29-35

I Corinthians 12:4-11

Ephesians 4:1-32

TODAY'S PREACHER

Debbie Reese is Co-Directing Pastor of Calvary UMC

 

 

Sunday 2018-07-22

Order of Worship 7:45, 9:00, & 10:30

How Much More Can You Carry?

Psalm 23; Luke 15:3-7

1The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. 2He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. 4Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

3Then Jesus told them this parable: 4“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?5And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders6and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’7I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

 

Remember Shrek - the lost sheep

  1. Our role is to recognize the relationship - God is my shepherd.
  2. Our greatest need is to recognize we have a need.
  3. We are smarter than sheep.
  4. Jesus is my shepherd.
  5. Let Him lead you beside His choice of still waters.
  6. Let Him lead you through the tough times.
  7. He is with you even when there are enemies at the table.
  8. The pinnacle - I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
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TODAY'S PREACHER

Randy Reese is Co-Directing Pastor of Calvary UMC

Sunday 2018-07-15

Order of Worship 7:45, 9:00, & 10:30

How Are We Entering Life?

Psalm 24

1The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; 2for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters. 3Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? 4The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god. 5They will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God their Savior. 6Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, God of Jacob. 7Lift up your heads, you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. 8Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. 9Lift up your heads, you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. 10Who is he, this King of glory? The LordAlmighty— he is the King of glory.
 

How do we enter into life each day?

  • When we get out of bed…...what is our attitude? What are our expectations?
  • When we walk into work or school or to volunteer….what is our attitude? What are our expectations?
  • When we go outside and ….
    • ...it’s beautiful
    • ...it’s raining
    • ...it’s miserably hot
    • ...it’s freezing rain and sleet

….what is our attitude?  What are our expectations?

  • When we enter into worship each Sunday…..what is our attitude?  What are our expectations
  • When we go to bed at night…..what is our attitude? What are our expectations?

 

A few Psalms which help us celebrate what God has put all around us:

  • Psalm 8, 19, 33, 50, 74, 89, 90, 100, 102, 104, 115, 119, 121

TODAY'S PREACHER

Debbie Reese is Co-Directing Pastor of Calvary UMC

Sunday 2018-07-08

Order of Worship 7:45, 9:00, & 10:30

My Grace is Sufficient...

2 Corinthians 12:5-10

5 I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. 6Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, 7or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

 

  • Key thought: “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness”  NRSV

 

  • “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”  KJV

 

Paul’s story:

  • He was being challenged by false teachers in the church at Corinth
  • The Corinthians Church struggled with purity and spiritual consistency
  • The church, and the people there, had found Christ but wanted to still live a carnal lifestyle - a lifestyle that bypassed the cross

Take note of a couple of things here:

  1. A thorn was given to me - doesn’t matter what it is - it’s something that is troubling to Paul
  2. It came from Satan but God allowed it to come
  3. God said “no but…”
  4. I understand the purpose is to keep me from boasting, that no one will think better of me, to keep me from being elated. In other words, to keep pride from taking over my soul - of thinking of myself more highly than I should.
  5. I asked for the easy way but God gave me another way - the way of grace sufficient.
  6. I acknowledge God’s plan, accept it, celebrate it, and testify to it. Whenever I am weak, then through Christ Jesus I am strong.
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TODAY'S PREACHER

Randy Reese is Co-Directing Pastor of Calvary UMC

 

Sunday 2018-07-01

Order of Worship 7:45, 9:00, & 10:30

Why Bother the Teacher Anymore?

Mark 5:21-33

21When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. 22Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. 23He pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” 24So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” 29Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. 30At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” 31“You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’” 32But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 

 

  • What are the connections between these two stories?

 

  • What does this story say about God answering our prayers?

 

  • What is a situation that has passed in your life that you have stopped praying to God about?

 

  • Have you given up on praying to God to intervene in your life?

 

Going Deeper:

  • Luke 8:40-56 Parallel Story in Luke
  • Luke 18:1-8 The Parable of the Persistent Widow
  • John 11:1-44 The resurrection of Lazarus
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TODAY'S PREACHER

Michael Pitzer is Director of Senior High Ministries

Sunday 2018-06-24

Order of Worship 7:45, 9:00, & 10:30

A Shipwrecked Faith

2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:13

20We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
1As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. 2For he says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you. I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation. 3We put no stumbling block in anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. 4Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; 5in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; 6in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; 7in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; 8through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; 9known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; 10sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything. 11We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians, and opened wide our hearts to you. 12We are not withholding our affection from you, but you are withholding yours from us. 13As a fair exchange—I speak as to my children—open wide your hearts also.
 
  • Do we view God as an emergency contact or as a part of our very hearts?

 

  • How might our walk with Christ express taking full advantage of God’s grace?  

 

  • How might our ministry be discredited by the action of any one of us who claim to be Christ followers?

 

  • What do others see in us?

 

  • Are we modeling what a journey looks like when our tanks stay filled up by the Holy Spirit? Or are we ‘running on empty’ and often running out of spiritual fuel?

 

  • The 3 Simple Rules: Do no harm, do good, stay in love with God.  (Rueben Job’s interpretation of John Wesley’s General Rules)

TODAY'S PREACHER

Debbie Reese is Co-Directing Pastor of Calvary UMC

 

 

 

Sunday 2018-06-17

Order of Worship 7:45, 9:00, & 10:30

Mustard Seed Gardening and the Kingdom of God

Mark 4:26-34

26He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground.27Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.28All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head.29As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
30Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it?31It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth.32Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”
33With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. 34He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.
 

Three things:

  • Understand a bit about mustard seeds and mustard plants
  • Mustard seeds and the Kingdom of God
  • What does this mean?

 

Mustard seeds and mustard seed gardening:

  • Size - seeds and plants
  • Uses
  • Resilient and persistent - can be planted almost anywhere

 

The Kingdom of God:

  • Understanding that God and His Kingdom will set a course for our lives - “Your reign come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
  • Includes Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
  • Encompasses both heaven and earth
  • Doesn’t belong to us but we are present and active in it
  • It’s multifaceted

 

Application:

  • Needs a sower - us or the Holy Spirit
  • Bring what you have to offer to God, not what you don’t have
  • Sowing a seed for God’s Kingdom doesn’t have to be complicated - a kind word, a kind deed, even a kind thought - truth be told, we plant seeds almost every minute of everyday. Seeds of kindness, seeds of discord, seeds of caring, seeds of hatred, seeds of faith ……

 

What kind of seeds do you want to plant today? What are you willing to do for the work of the Kingdom of God?

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TODAY'S PREACHER

Randy Reese is Co-Directing Pastor of Calvary UMC

 

 

Sunday 2018-06-10

Order of Worship 7:45, 9:00, & 10:30

Lord I Have Sinned

Genesis 3:8-15

8Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LordGod as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LordGod among the trees of the garden. 9But the LordGod called to the man, “Where are you?” 10He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” 11And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” 12The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” 13Then the LordGod said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” 14So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. 15And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

 

Guilt                                 “....and they hid from the Lord God…..”

Recognition                     “.....I heard you in the garden and I was afraid because I was                                                       naked….”                                   

Vulnerability                    “Who told you that you were naked?”  

Confession                       “Have you eaten from the tree……?”  

Taking Responsibility        Adam blamed Eve, Eve blamed the serpent….. 

Forgiveness                      “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us                                                 our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”  (I John 1:9)  

 

  • What guilt are you holding in your heart?
  • Have you identified the source of that guilt….not just the sin but the effect of that sin?
  • Where is your vulnerability as it pertains to that sin?
  • Are you ready to confess your sin to God?
  • Are you ready to take full responsibility for your sin?
  • Have you accepted the forgiveness that Christ offers to you?

 

Prayer of Confession:

God, we are naked and afraid…..vulnerable in the light of your presence….personally and as a church, a country, a world. We confess that not only have we sinned, but that we continue to sin. We pray for your strength as we face our sin, and your grace in freeing us from the chains with which we’ve bound ourselves. Thank you for sending your son Jesus to die for our sin and to be raised so that we may live.  In Jesus’ name we pray.  Amen.

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TODAY'S PREACHER
Debbie Reese is Co-Directing Pastor of Calvary UMC
 
 

Sunday 2018-06-03

Order of Worship 7:45, 9:00, & 10:30

God Knowing is a Good Thing

Psalm 139:1-6; 23-24

1You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. 2You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 3You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. 4Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. 5You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. 6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
23Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Omniscience

  • Psalms 139:6-14
  • Proverbs 23:7 (KJV)  “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…”
  • Matthew 9:4 - “Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts?”
    1. You know my activities/plans v1,3, 8-11
    2. You know my thoughts  v2, v13 (created my innermost being)
    3. You know all my ways - “that’s just the way he is”  v3
      1. Quirks
      2. Desires
      3. Work ethic
      4. Personality traits
    4.  You know my mouth/words/speaking  v4

God Knowing is a good thing:

  • He can guide me
  • He can temper my thoughts - help control them or direct them
  • He can guard my mouth - or fill it
  • He knows what I’m anxious about and can help me - “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”  Jesus            (Matthew 11:28)

Anxious thoughts given to Him

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TODAY'S PREACHER

Randy Reese is Co-Directing Pastor of Calvary UMC

Sunday 2018-05-27

Order of Worship 7:45, 9:00, & 10:30

What if...

John 1:9-14

9The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. 14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

 

  • Engaging the imagination

 

  • Imagine how different America and the world would be if Jesus had never been born
    • The American landscape
    • The Influence of Christianity on Science
    • Christianity and Health Care
      • Matthew 25:36, 40
    • Christianity and Institutions of Higher Education
      • Colossians 2:3
    • Christianity and Women’s Rights
      • John 4, the Woman at the Well
      • John 4:26
      • Galatians 3:28
    • The Unseen Powers of Jesus Christ
      • Faith
        • Romans 1:17
        • Mark 9:23
    • Love
      • Ephesians 3:17-18
    • Hope
      • Colossians 1:26-27

 

  • A final lesson about all of this from Virginia and the newspaper editor
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TODAY'S PREACHER

Lloyd Hulit