UMCOR Responds to Hurricane Harvey

The Seaman's Prayer

ETERNAL Lord God, 

who alone spreadest out the heavens, and rulest the raging of the sea; who hast compassed the waters with bounds until day and night come to an end; Be pleased to receive into thy Almighty and most gracious protection, the persons of us thy servants, and the Fleet in which we serve. Preserve us from the dangers of the sea, and from the violence of the enemy; that we may be a safeguard unto the United States of America and a security for such as pass on the seas upon their lawful occasions; that the inhabitants of our land may in peace and quietness serve thee our God; and that we may return in safety to enjoy the blessings of the land, with the fruits of our labour; and, with a thankful remembrance of thy mercies, to praise and glorify thy holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Amen.

Love First!

I seem to be glued to the news more than I can ever remember in the past. Every time I tune in I see crime and hate. The few good stories I do see are often the result of something bad happening first. There was a march in the streets of a nearby town and they called it a march for love which is a good thing, unfortunately, the march is in response to acts of hatred that resulted in deaths. Why has love become reactive and not proactive? Our first action in all cases should be Love. Love should not be a tool to fix a problem it should be the foundation that prevents problems from occurring.  When asked the question, which is the greatest commandment Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:36-40 NIV).  Jesus expands on the importance of Love in John 13:34-35 (NIV) when he says “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.”

John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church, said, “Though we cannot think alike, may we not love alike? May we not be of one heart, though we are not of one opinion? Without all doubt, we may. Herein all the children of God may unite, notwithstanding these smaller differences.” 

When will we all come together and share the Love our God has shared with us with the rest of the world.

Love First!!

Powerful Prayer

Today I was thinking about Prayer and how it leads to the blessing of the Lord.  The second half of James 5:16 (NIV) says “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” The question that came to me is “How do we make sure that our prayers are powerful and effective?”. So how do you know that God is answering our prayers even if the answers are not what we want to hear? The answer is the blessing equation. We can all have powerful and effective prayers, the formula for this is written out in the Bible Jesus in Matthew 17:20 (NIV) said, “He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”.”



So, to have powerful prayers, we need faith the type of faith that does not have us praying for God to do something but the faith to pray a prayer of thanksgiving for what God is about to do.  Jesus tells us “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8 NIV).  Our Powerful prayer should be to ask God for what we want and then thank him for the blessing we are going to receive.  Sometimes we get caught up in praying for God to have his will in a matter in our life, but we forget that God is our Father and as a father, he cares about what we want also. It’s not wrong to ask for what we want; it is a mistake to demand something from God or to try to make deals with God. We should never say “God if you answer my prayer I will do something in exchange.”

AUMC 11AM Service

Alva United Methodist Church Service

The New Church

Building a New Church

John 13:34-35 (ESV) “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this, all people will know that you are my disciples if you have a love for one another.”

When Jesus gave this commandment to his disciples he was doing more than just giving them another instruction to follow; he was giving them the foundation of his ministry and the foundation on which to build the church. Now, in these troubled times, it is more important than ever for the church to return to these roots. How can our leaders talk about the importance of the lives of the unborn and in the same time talk about going to war?

Every day people are killing people; kids are starving prisons are overcrowded, churches close and the rich get richer. I read something on Facebook just a couple days ago that kind of put some perspective on the current state of affairs in our nation.

“Imagine it's noon and you start reading a book using only the light of the sun. As it gets later, it naturally gets darker, but somehow your eyes adjust to the darkness without you even noticing.  Now imagine when someone else walks into the room, sees the darkness and turns on a light. When this has happened to me, I wonder how did I not notice the darkness, and activate the light. We are living in a world that is growing darker and darker every single day. Someone....ANYONE needs to show this world THE LIGHT.

“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12 (NIV)” (Getter 2016)

  

Part 1: The Home Church

So how do we overcome this and strengthen the church? Paul began laying out a plan that would build up the church and can help us today. The Home Church is the key to church growth and strength.

    In Acts 20:17-20 (NIV) it says “17 From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church. 18 When they arrived, he said to them: “You know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I came into the province of Asia. 19 I served the Lord with great humility and with tears and in the midst of severe testing by the plots of my Jewish opponents. 20 You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house.”

The Foundations of Religious and moral value need to start at home and spread outward. The Lord said where two or three are gathered in His Name, He is present (Matthew 18:20). This home church also enforces that the church is not a building but the people. When we open our homes to the community, we also open our hearts to them.  From the home churches, we can build community churches where several home churches come together every once in a while to share and fellowship.

Part 2 Discipleship

Matthew 28: 18-20(NIV) “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

The church starts at home but it cannot stay at home if there is to be growth.  The best way to grow is through discipleship. It is our commission given down from Christ to make disciples and send them out to build the church.

Paul said to Timothy in 2Timothy 2:1- 2(NIV) “You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.”

One generation must train the next, building them up in Biblical knowledge, passion for the Lord, and Moral fortitude. The home church is not meant to be a replacement to the current churches but an alternative to it for those who feel uncomfortable with the large churches for any reason.

Conclusion

This plan is not another small groups plan. The home churches do not belong to a larger church they are churches. The plan is not for them to grow into bigger churches if a home church starts to get to big then it is not using discipleship correctly.

References

Getter, Melissa. 2016. “Light of Jesus.” Facebook. July 8. https://www.facebook.com/TheGetters?fref=nf&pnref=story.