It is that time of year again. We refer to it as the season of Advent on the church calendar, while our culture calls it the holiday season. It is the time when we anticipate the celebration of Christmas. It is a time of cherished memories and traditions. It is a time of deep religious significance. However, we also know it can be a time of stress and worry. We want to buy the perfect gifts for everyone on our list. We want to make sure we create special memories for our families. We are trying to make sure we get everything done in time. Let’s face it: one trip to the shopping mall can leave us feeling anything but Christian.

So how can we be a Christian at Christmas? How can we make sure that we reflect Jesus in the midst of all the holiday pressures of the season? How do we balance the Christian celebration of Christmas with the cultural celebration? My Advent sermon series is going to tackle that very issue. I will be looking at some of the ways that Christianity and culture conflict during this time of year and how we can maintain the true Spirit of Christmas during the holiday rush.

The sermon titles for Advent are as follows:
November 27: Embracing the Spirit of Love (Matthew 5:43-48)
December 4: Embracing the Spirit of Giving (Matthew 6:1-4)
December 11: Embracing the Spirit of Receiving (Titus 3:3-7)
December 18: Carrying the Spirit Forward (Hebrews 5:7-14)

My prayer for all of us at this time of year is that we can be a reflection of Christ in the world around us, so that people will see that the spirit of Christmas is the love of Jesus Christ. May all of you have a special Christmas celebration and cherished times with your families.

Blessings,
Pastor John

Suppose we went shopping for a new car and when we arrived at the dealership we found out that there was nothing but 1950′s styles cars on the lot; what would we do? Well, unless we are car collectors we would probably look for another dealership. Most of us would not enjoy driving a car with no power steering, no power breaks, and no air-conditioning. We also wouldn’t like a manual transmission and getting less than 20 miles to the gallon! Driving an old style car just isn’t practical for the way most of us drive today.

However, a lot of churches are still trying to do ministry using a church structure that dates back to the 50′s. It is a top-down corporate model where ministry is driven by the pastor and enacted through committees. It is a system that worked well in the 50′s when the church was the center of the religious and social life of a community. Lifestyles were different as well. People went to the neighborhood church, commuted shorter distances to work, and had only one spouse working. All these things added up to having a larger number of people available to fill all of those committee positions and make ministry happen. Trying to still do ministry with this model today is like trying to drive a 1950′s car in 2011. It just isn’t practical and leads to frustration for clergy and congregation.

Today, more of a church’s ministry needs to take place outside the walls of the church and congregation members are more inclined to participate in short-term projects than to serve on long standing committees. Ministries today need to be flexible and able to respond quickly to changing
needs, which is why churches that have an active small group network are more successful in reaching people for Christ. These small groups have more freedom to develop and implement ministry on their own. They also give people in the church a greater sense of ownership of the church’s ministry and a greater sense of belonging in the church.

This is the philosophy behind the M.O.R.E. group network we have been trying to establish here. These groups exist for mutual support and encouragement, service to the church, and mission to the world. In 2011, our four existing groups have planned outreach and fellowship events for our church. The ultimate goal is to have as many people in the church as possible hooked up to a M.O.R.E. group so that we can maximize the giftedness of our congregation while minimizing the time burden. In other words, many hands make for lighter work. I would encourage you to talk with one of the following M.O.R.E. group leaders to find out how you could fit into this ministry.

Blessings,
Pastor John

On May 21, 2011, the Eastern PA Conference of the United Methodist Church recognized Earl Rutledge for his outstanding work in evangelism by giving him the Denman award for evangelism. This award is given every year to one pastor and one lay person. The award remembers the legacy of Harry Denman, a United Methodist pastor who Billy Graham called one of his mentors in evangelism, and recognizes the outstanding work being done by United Methodists in our Conference in the area of evangelism.

I nominated Earl for the award because of his commitment to sharing Jesus both here and in Latin America. In the past 16 years Earl has made 18 trips with SCEI to ten different countries. Through those trips I am certain he has given his testimony to thousands of people and has personally lead many to Jesus. The key to Earl’s success in evangelism is his heart and his humility. His love for Jesus shines through his life which gives his testimony power. Earl’s life exemplifies our church’s mission statement

to “reach the world for Jesus Christ, one person at a time.”

Our whole church celebrates this award because ministry is a team effort. The generous financial support of our congregation has been a big part of allowing Earl to do the work for which God has called him. Also, Earl does not go on these trips alone, but is part of a team of people that enable this ministry to happen. In celebrating this award together we celebrate the efforts of many in our congregation to bring the love of Jesus to the world around us. Flowing Oil Café, Love Inc., Water Street, the food bank, New Hope, M.O.R.E. groups, are just some of the ways we are seeking to fulfill our mission through the dedication of people in our congregation.

So congratulations to Earl on receiving the Denman award, and congratulations to the people of Memorial UMC as we work together to bring the message of Jesus Christ to the world.

Blessings,

Pastor John

Sunday, October 31st we will be hosting an Old Testament Walk thru the Bible seminar beginning in our 10 am worship service. We will unlock 4,000 years of Godly wisdom and history in just 5 short hours! There will be a free lunch for all participants in the seminar after the morning worship service, as well as free childcare and snacks throughout the afternoon seminar.  The seminar will end at approximately 5:30 pm. Cost for the seminar is just $10/person for members of the church and $17 for the community. Registration includes the official Walk Thru The Bible workbook. Register early to reserve your spot and don’t be afraid to invite your friends and neighbors. To register for the seminar, pick up a registration form at the church or Click Here

Join us Saturday, September 25th for Dinner and a Movie, 6:00 pm at the church.

We will be offering a free ham dinner, followed by a showing of the movie “Fireproof”, along with free childcare. Please call the church to make your reservations now (786-2941).

We will begin an 8 week “Love Dare” Bible study during Sunday School the following day, September 26th. Everyone is welcome to attend either or both events.

If you have any questions, please contact the church.

I have been receiving a lot of questions lately, both firsthand and secondhand, that start with the phrase, “Is it true?”  “Is it true that worship times are being changed?”  “Is it true that we are changing adult classes in Sunday School?”  “Is it true that I am going to lose my home group?”  The answer to these questions is yes, we are looking at new ministry ideas that may mean restructuring some things, but no final decisions have been made about anything.  The reason we are looking at new ministry strategies is because the results of our congregational survey clearly indicate that we need new ways to do ministry if we are going to be effective in reaching our community for Jesus Christ.  The general agreement seems to be that what we are currently doing isn’t as effective as it could be so we need to make some changes.
It is understandable to have a certain level of anxiety whenever we hear about change.  The first thing we tend to do is focus on how that change affects us on a personal level. It’s easy to say that we need to do new things until that change impacts us directly.  The Bible challenges us to go beyond self-interest in our discipleship.  The Apostle Paul said, “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:4).  It’s fine to think about how change is going to affect us on a personal level but we must also look at the big picture as well and ask what is best for the church as a whole.
On August 29th, at our fifth Sunday service, I will be laying out the strategies we want to use to fulfill the mission God is giving us as a church.  These strategies will challenge us to view ministry in new ways and will require us to do some things differently.  Each of us must be prepared to ask ourselves if it is worth moving out of our comfort zone in order to be more effective at communicating the Gospel to the world.  As Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23).   I look forward to some exciting times ahead as we seek to “reach the world for Jesus Christ, one person at a time.”

Blessings,

Pastor John

One of the best known of Jesus’ parables is the one about the Good Samaritan.  A man gets beat up by robbers.  Two men, a priest and a Levite walk by the man without helping, while a Samaritan stops and aids the wounded man.  What made this parable shocking to the listeners of Jesus is that the men who passed by the injured person were thought to be righteous while the one who helped is the one they would have considered to be a sinner.  The point of the story is that the ones who are truly righteous are the ones who love one another.  Godliness isn’t about the way we dress or how much intellectual knowledge we have but about loving our neighbor.

A version if this parable was played out in real life before a security camera on the streets of New York City.  A man risked his life by coming to the aid of a woman who was being attacked.  He was stabbed and lay bleeding on the street for almost an hour before he died.  Many people passed by him but nobody helped, not even the woman he rescued.  It turned out that the man who sacrificed his life to save another person was a homeless immigrant from Guatemala.  I wonder how many “good” people passed this man by because they assumed he was just an illegal immigrant or just some homeless guy of no value.  Yet it is this man, Hugo Alfredo Tale-Yax, who has taught us what it means to love our neighbor.  Indeed, the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.

As the whole issue of immigration has become a political football, the ones getting lost in all the rhetoric are the immigrants themselves, both legal and illegal.  While some are drug dealers and criminals, the vast majority are people who are simply desperate to escape poverty and see no other way than to cross the border illegally.  So while it is true that we must secure our borders we also cannot forget that the people on the other side of that border are human beings and we are their neighbors.  How are we going to love those neighbors as we love ourselves?

Watch this video. What would you do?