NICK AT NITE AGAIN

Good day dear friends.
We welcomed a new member yesterday! Please make Don Boney welcome. Don was a longtime member of our church, then went to the Lutheran church for a while then decided to "come home" yesterday. We will present Don next Sunday in worship.
Here is our study guide for today:
Monday - John 6, 7
Notice the reappearance of Nicodemus in John 7. To what degree of faith-commitment has he come?
Nick at Nite shows up again in the reading of John 7. He came to Jesus to find out what He was up to, and gets the lesson on being born again or from above. He ponders this and goes away. In the reading for today, Nick is hearing the charges and discussion about Jesus and he tries to make the case for at least adhering to the law which said one must find out more about a person before deciding on what course to follow. Nick wants his brothers on the council to find out more about Jesus before making a decision. He is cut off and the discussion ends and they go home.
Yesterday's sermon presented three salvation stories and Nick's was one of them in which he is a cautious convert. He needed more information before he knew what to do about Jesus. The Samaritan woman became an instant convert when she was confronted by her own sin and the fact that Jesus knew it. Jesus showed that He cared for her and would take away her sin; that was the closing part of the deal. The third one was the man in John 5 that receives healing and takes a so-what attitude. The question posed to us: What are we doing from what we know Jesus has done for us?
PRAYER: Loving God of salvation, speak to my heart. You have done so much for me, let me surrender to You. I pray this in Jesus' Name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

PERSPECTIVES ON PRAYER

Good day dear friends,
Our brother and dear friend John Morrissett was taken to the ER on Monday with an elevated heartbeat. He was treated and released home the same day. I spoke with Beth yesterday afternoon and she reports John continues to self-monitor his heartbeat and should it get elevated again he will have to be taken back to the hospital. Please keep John and Beth in your prayers.
Here is our study guide for today:
Wednesday: Luke 17, 18, 19List insights on prayer you gain from Luke 18:1-14.
What I gained from this passage about prayer is that we should be persistent in our requests to God. We should not give up trusting or asking God for whatever need we believe we have. We should however, know that as we pray we know that we should be asking that perhaps our attitude towards the need changes as we pray. It could be that a change in attitude may bring about the solution that we're praying for. The story of the widow shows a woman of determination and faith. We should be like her.
In the second example of the pious man and the tax collector, we get the model of honesty and humility in our prayers. When we pray we're going before the Most High and as such we need to humble ourselves. We don't go to God to brag about our accomplishments but rather to get right with God. The pious man thought prayer was a great time to show off what he did and who he was, while the tax collector realized his need was to get right with God. Whose prayer did God hear? God heard them both, but one made Him realize that some still haven't gotten it yet. The other one made God happy in knowing some still go to Him to get it right.
PRAYER: Lord, I confess I am not what I should be, forgive me. Help me be the person You would have me be. I ask this in Jesus' Name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

HOME FOR CHRISTMAS

Good day dear friends.
Some of you from FUMCSM will remember Mrs. Bess Hopson. She died yesterday at 2 p.m. She was 89 and a longtime organist for our church. Her funeral is tentatively set for Saturday at 10 a.m. Please hold her family in your prayers.
Here is our study guide for today:
Thursday: Luke 1, 2, 3What are Luke’s several reasons for writing a Gospel in light of the fact that other records had already been written?
Luke was a physician and he was a Gentile. He was a trained scientist, and an educated man. He knew about investigation and compilation and he applies all this to compile a Gospel he believes can be one that help prove "beyond the shadow of a doubt the reliability" of what Theophilus had learned. He talked to eyewitnesses who were disciples and believers in the Lord and tried to get from them as much detail as he could about this man named Jesus.
The result was a gospel that is called by many the universal gospel, the Good News for all people. Unlike Matthew which was complied for the Jew and Mark as a sort of catecism manual for new believers, Luke tries to include all people and to show that Jesus came for all people. His birth story has shepherds coming to see the baby Jesus and the lineage of Jesus traces Him back to Adam, to God.
At this time of year we do well to remember that Jesus came for all people. Last night that was driven home as we followed the prayer service out of the Home for Christmas campaign. It included prayers and scriptures that deal specifically with those who have not yet come to know God's love. We prayed for those whose names have been turned in for invitation to our Christmas Eve services and for those who have not yet heard. We ask you continue to pray for them as well as to use this opportunity to invite folks to come home for Christmas.
PRAYER: Loving God of all people, we pray you would help us reach of Yours who have not heard or don't want to hear, to come to a situation where You would be shared and glorified. Let me be an instrument of Your peace. I pray this in Christ Jesus' Name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

WHAT ARE YOU KNOWN FOR?

Good day dear friends.
Please don't forget those in the SM area, that tonight at 6 p.m. we're having our Home for Christmas Prayer Service. Several have shared three names of neighbors, friends, etc. that they want invited to our Christmas Eve services and we will be praying for those individuals and families as well as praying for the Lord to bless our church. It won't take long, but it will be a powerful service. Also, our TV ad is available online at http://www.fumcsm.org/ click on the Home for Christmas part of the front page of our website.
I have not heard back from Dr. Judy Allen, she was to have an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon and I will share that update as soon as I hear.
On a very happy note, our eldest daughter, Nellie Maria, is now engaged. Jorge Garcia, her intended proposed to her last night and Nellie accepted. Please keep Nellie and George in your prayers.
Here is our study guide for today:
Wednesday: Mark 15, 16Why do you think the writer identifies Simon of Cyrene as “the father of Alexander and Rufus” (Mark 15:21-22)?
Simon of Cyrene forever has a special place in the heart of Jesus and the followers of Jesus. He was the man forced to carry the cross for Jesus for a significant part of that death walk. I don't know if he considered it an honor at that time or not, but I know that Jesus was grateful for this needed assistance. As Mark writes this in his gospel he feels it necessary to further identify Simon beyond where he was from, he also says, this man is the father of those whom you know, Alexander and Rufus. The tradition is that Alexander and Rufus had some standing in the Christian church in Rome while this gospel is being written. Some have identified Simon since he is from Libya of being the first African Christian, though others claim that there was a large Jewish population in Cyrene of which he could have been a member.
To be the father of those known for their Christian life is not a bad thing. It speaks highly of those who raise their children in ways that lead them to the Lord. Tradition says that Alexander and Rufus were Christian missionaries who took the message of Jesus into the world. We can't know for certain what they did, but we do know their father did a great thing for the Lord and tradition also says that Simon went on to be an evangelist for the Lord as well.
What has Jesus done in your life? What have you done for Jesus in your life? The two are closely related. Recognize what Jesus has done and then do something about it. Tell somebody!
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, thank you for saving my life. Thank you for lifting me up from the pits of despair and destruction. Help me this day share a word or two of the goodness and life that I have found in You. I pray this in Thy Name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

JESUS WILL COME AGAIN

Good day dear friends.
Here is our study guide for today:
Tuesday: Mark 13, 14Put yourself in the role of an observer or a disciple in these chapters and comment on what you hear and see.
These chapters are the final chapters with the Lord before His crucifixion. Jesus is using this time as the final sharing or teaching before He can no longer be with them alone; and He uses this time to talk about End Times. Jesus knew that in their hearts the disciples were still awaiting something spectacular along the lines of political or military demonstrations. Most of them believed Jesus would be set up as the King of the Jews and that they would become governors alongside Him. And yet Jesus says to them as they marvel at structures they believed would be theirs one day, one day not one stone of these shall be upon another. In their minds they must surely think, yes, a thousand years from now; but to be sure let's ask. And Jesus can only give them the warning signs, nothing definite.
Advent is a time of preparation not only for the remembrance celebration of the first Christmas, but also the preparation of our hearts and souls for the second coming of Christ. The hymn we sang on Sunday was one of Charles Wesley's poems set to music about that glorious event. Yet, many of us still worry if we have enough time to do our Christmas shopping.
PRAYER: Lord of the first and second Advents, prepare my heart and spirit for You. Be glorified in my life I ask in Jesus' Name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

A LOVE RELATIONSHIP

Good day dear friends.
Here is our study guide for today:
Monday: Mark 10, 11, 12As you read Mark 12, and observe the confrontations between Jesus and his opponents, reflect on what Jesus said to the scribe in 12:28-34. Why did Jesus think the scribe was close to the Kingdom? How close?
God desires relationship with us. God is a God of love. Love requires relationship. For Jesus to be asked the question of which was or is, the greatest commandment, was an easy one for Jesus. Jesus answered with His scripture and spoke of relationship necessary between us and God. It is not an easy love, for it is an all-encompassing love, a love that permeates all areas and aspects of our lives. There is not one dark, secret corner where God is not present nor should we speak of not having love. The love for God is to love God with our very being. And Jesus said we carry this love even further by loving others in the same way we love ourselves. God made us to love ourselves in a positive, encouraging way; and that is the way we should love others.
As for the scribe he understood this and his response to Jesus made Jesus reply that the scribe was close to the Kingdom of God. We are close to the Kingdom as well when we take our love relationship with God to our everyday lives. The other day when I spoke of discipleship that was what I was talking about, loving others and taking that love outside our churches into the streets, into our homes, our work places, our play spaces, etc. We are a people of relationship and we should be in relationship with God.
PRAYER: Loving God, let me seek ways to grow in my love relationship with You. Help that to carry over in my relationship with others. I pray this in Jesus' Name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.