Starting January 8, 2012, Pastor Amber will be starting a series “10 Things Jesus Never Said and Why you Should STOP believing Them” Be sure to hear these great sermons, starting at 10:15am with EXALT & PRAISE followed by Worship at 10:30am
12/18 Sunday, 10:30am
Choir Cantata – “Love Came Down”
12/21, Wednesday, 7:00pm
Blue Christmas: A quiet prayer service for those who are experiencing loss and sadness this holiday season. Nursery available.
12/24, Saturday, 7:00pm
Christmas Eve Candlelight Communion service. Nursery available.
12/25, Sunday, 11:00am
Christmas Day! A casual service of Lessons & Carols. Including a “Birthday Party for Jesus” for the kids. Come as you are! Nursery available
1/1/2012, Sunday 10:15
New Year’s Day! Starting at 10:15 with EXALT. Communion with prayers for healing in the New Year.
Our annual BBQ & Country Fair on November 5th, 2011 from 8AM- 5PM. Fresh, hot from the oven, cinnamon rolls in the morning. Indoor craft display and homemade baked goods. Many vendor booths and free rides for the kids. Our wonderful 1/4 grilled chicken dinner with baked beans, corn on the cob and a soda of your choice for only $5.00. Dinners will be served from 11am – 4pm. See you there!!
Sunday October 30 4-6PM
Cutler Ridge UMC, Fellowship Center
Don’t miss this faith-filled, family-friendly event!!!
This holiday fun night is ideal for small children and will be a fun, safe alternative for Halloween.
Dear Friends,
When scripture and the message get you thinking after worship is over, you know God’s word has rung true. I hope that’s the case for you as we’ve been exploring the Parable of the Lost Sons (Luke 15). For the most part, Jesus befriends the younger, rebel son; remember the Pharisees are always criticizing Jesus for hanging out with sinners. However, he preaches these parables—teaching lessons—to the religious insiders of his day who resembles the moralistic elder son. On Sunday, I left you with the simple question: Which son are you? Our personal faith journeys are certainly influenced by the answer to that question. Has your journey been one of rebellion and wandering? Or have you lived your faith by the letter of the law and expecting others (including God) to do so, too?
This parable reminds me of a wonderful movie called Chocolat…ever seen it? The story is about a village of “elder son” types who exclude the wandering river people and eccentric loners, including a flamboyant single mother who sells homemade chocolate during Lent. The town mayor is the chief of all “elder brothers,” who leads the charge to condemn immorality. He finally comprehends the grace of God when he succumbs to his own weaknesses and is caught red-handed. (If you’ve ever had an insatiable midnight craving for chocolate, then you’ll appreciate his downfall.) We cannot fully appreciate the grace of God given to others until we acknowledge and depend on it completely for ourselves. What’s also obvious in the movie is communal and individual lack of joy among the town’s folks. By the end, they truly know how to celebrate Easter—and enjoy a good party—because they have welcomed all.
This is Jesus’ commandment: Love one another, and in doing so our joy will be complete (John 15.) Or as Mike Slaughter put it in his book Unlearning Church, “Jesus’ preoccupation is with people that are in need. He is not concerned about our claims to love and serve him, but our willingness to demonstrate that love through caring for those who are still on the outside and not yet experiencing God’s party. ‘If you love,’ Jesus is saying, ‘you will be my connection to those who are not here.’” We’re not done yet with this Parable. We’ve got one more person to talk about…see you on Sunday!
Peace,
Pastor Amber
As you probably heard, Steve Jobs, Founder and CEO of Apple Inc, passed away this weekend from cancer at the age of 56. An inspiring leader, he created one of the most successful companies of the modern era and pioneered computer & communication technology as we know it today. Pictures flooded the news of people around the world lifting their iPhones in tribute to him.
I can’t help think of the Parable of the Lost Sons which we are exploring in worship for the next few weeks. I’m not so much reminded about Steve Jobs, but many of the 90 million people who bought his products with the attitude, “I can’t live without this.” In Jesus’ story, the youngest son put material gain and pleasures over all else until he realized its emptiness and returned to his father. I was struck by what our Bishop, Timothy Whitaker, said in his most recent blog regarding our society and how people are motivated by and re-order their lives for materialistic wants. Like a young dad I talked with recently who left work early to get his truck rims fixed and was trying to decide if he should go to a party that weekend where most people would be drinking heavily. Here is an excerpt from the Bishop’s blog:
Steve Jobs rarely appeared in public. The main occasions were his inspirational speeches with video presentations to the shareholders of Apple. With his black turtle-necks and jeans and his close-cropped hair and beard, Jobs looked like the senior pastor of a mega-church. Surely it is mere coincidence that he looked like a modern evangelical preacher. However, he did seem to be a kind of preacher proclaiming a secular gospel. One of the few speeches he gave outside of Apple was his commencement address at Stanford University. To the graduating class he said:
No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because death is very likely the single best invention of life. It’s life’s change agent; it clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now, the new is you. But someday, not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it’s quite true. Your time is limited, ‘so don’t waste living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other people’s opinions drown out your own inner voice, heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.
In a very perceptive article on Saturday, October 8, 2011 in The Wall Street Journal, “The Secular Prophet,” Andy Crouch says that Jobs succeeded in articulating a secular form of hope. “This is the gospel of a secular age. Crouch added, “Upon close inspection, this gospel offers no hope that you cannot generate yourself and only the comfort of having been true to yourself. In the face of tragedy and evil–the kind of tragedy that cuts off lives not just at 56 years old but at 5 or 6, the kind of evil bent on eradicating whole tribes and nations from the earth–it is strangely inert.”
It is not only the realities of tragedy and evil which stand as an affront to this middle class American secular gospel of hope, but it is also life itself. Is the joy of life nothing more than marvelous toys which inform and entertain? Is technology all we need to live an abundant life? Apparently, there are many Americans whose vision of life does not transcend the promises of a secular gospel.
There is another gospel–the original one. It does not offer a comfortable way. It offers the way of the cross, which involves learning to overcome selfishness, suffering to make way for justice, and living in community with others who are different from us. Its joys are not to be found on a screen, but under the open sky and in the human heart. It faces death with its own kind of courage, not the courage of a modern day Stoic, but the courage of hope that there is more beyond this finite life.■
In the words of St. Paul, “I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus, lord, for who sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish that I may gain Christ.” –Phil 3:8. Abundant life is gaining Christ and a relationship with the Father. I don’t judge los sons & daughters (or Steve Jobs), it’s just that I want to see them come home to my Father’s house. Have you invited someone to church or a relationship with Jesus Christ lately?
Peace,
Pastor Amber
Announcements:
Youth Group begins this Sunday (10/16) at 5pm in the youth room (208). Middle & High school students are invited to grow in faith weekly through this ministry lead by Betty Cesar.
Open house-As a way for the youth to say “Thank You” for the congregations support and generosity, they will be holding an open house after worship this Sunday (10/16) in the youth room (208). Refreshments will be served. Come check out the new improvements to the youth room.
Halloween Fun Night (Sun. 10/30) will start collecting candy this Sunday. Please bring individualy wraped candy. See Leila Toledo or Gem Rhodd to help.
Fall Softball League for Adults is about to begin. If you are interested in playing, please see Mark Frye ASAP. $50 registration, plus the cost of a team t-shirt. Friends & family of CRUMC can join the fun!
Greetings, Another great question about the unseen spiritual battle between good and evil, God and Satan: If Christ won the “victory” why does evil seem so strong, why do we still have to fight these battles? Like me, maybe you feel and discouraged about goodness in the world, and are weary of these constant spiritual attacks of the enemy such as discouragement, temptation, doubt, and anger. Jesus himself acknowledged this tension, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world (John 16:33).” Christ has won the final victory over sin and death; this is the promise of the Resurrection. Yet, evil is around and can appear to be winning. So what gives? It reminds me of a news story of four Japanese soldiers who remained in the jungle of a remote Philippine island, not unaware, but unwilling to accept that the war was over. They continued to fight guerilla warfare from hiding. In the end, local authorities say they killed 20 people and wounded 100 others over the course of many more years. The last soldier of this hold-out group of this defunct war surrendered in 1972—29 years after the surrender of Japan in 1945. Friends, Satan has not, nor will not, accept easily that the victory has been won by Christ. The battles that continue today are not for cosmic power, but for the hearts and minds of human beings. There are thousands upon thousands people alive today who have not heard or will not willing to accept yet that Christ is the Victorious King, the true King. Don’t you think that Satan wants to take advantage of that lack of belief? Plus, those who do believe are targets of “enemy fire”. If God is relying on His people to share the good news, don’t you think the Evil One will want to thwart us, bearers of the gospel? Of course! The war has been won, for certain, but these skirmishes will continue. This is why we pray for the return of Christ and for the peace of Christ to guard our hearts and minds (Phil 4:7). To read more about how to stand firm, see Ephesians 6:10-20. During the summer I read a fantastic book called The Prodigal God by Tim Keller which I’ve wanted to share with you. It’s a unique and challenging look at the cast of characters in this Parable of the Lost Son. So, this Sunday and for the next 3 weeks I’ll share some thoughts on Luke 15 based on Keller’s book. See you then! Peace,Pastor Amber
Announcements
Right now, our Lay Leadership team is accepting names of volunteers and prayerfully matching gifts & passions with our church’s ministries needs for 2012. If you took home a blue survey about joining a ministry team or committee at CRUMC please fill it out prayerfully and bring it back this Sunday. If you did not get one yet, we will have more available on Sunday. Remember…God’s spreads gifts diversely so that none of us has to do everything, but each of us can do something.
And don’t forget to volunteer to help with our Fall Outreach Events!
Halloween Fun Night (Sun. 10/31) will start collecting candy this Sunday. See Leila Toledo or Gem Rhodd to help.
Country Fair (Sat. 11/5) sign up has begun and vendors and volunteers. Besides help that day, we need 5-6 volunteers to visit area shopping centers to collect prizes from local businesses for our free prize drawing. It takes about an hour to visit a shopping center, plus a follow visit, and we’ll provide the letters you’ll need. Especially if you can’t help on the 5th, this is a great way to contribute to the success of our fair.
This Saturday, October 8th, at 4pm will be a Service of Thanksgiving for the life of Betty Hammell. Please join the family and friends for this special time of remembrance followed by a reception in the Fellowship Center. Please continue to keep in your prayers our search for a Music Director. Besides your prayers, we really need you to pass the word to friends at your workplaces and other churches. Especially, if you are teacher and may know someone in music education, this could be a perfect opportunity for part-time employment. Contact Pastor Amber if you need more details.
Hello!
Things that make you go, “Hmmm…” Our scripture lesson last Sunday on the unseen spiritual battle between good and evil truly seemed to resonate with a lot of you. God calls us to jump into this spiritual battle—which is sometimes visible but many times is fought unseen in the heavenly realms and in the deep, dark of our own souls. That is we see fruit of evil in crime and war reports, but it’s also evident in our envy, anger, infidelity, etc (Galatians 5: 19-21). Our call—like Daniel’s—is to pray knowing that God immediately responds and will never relent in fighting for us, even if the Enemy tries to stop Him (or us) in working for good in the world. The words from the Angel are to encourage Daniel (and us) to be brave, that God loves us, and God’s power is available to us for the spiritual struggles which we face. I think all of us needed to hear a reminder not to underestimate the Enemy who is constantly trying to discourage, distract, and destroy us. But our God is greater!
A question left for me after church was if God always sends “messengers,” that is angels, to respond to our prayers. “What should we look for?” God definitely uses a variety of means to communicate with us about His will. Here are some examples:
That’s all for now…if you have other questions or comments about the spiritual struggle between good & evil, I welcome your emails.
Peace,
Pastor Amber
Announcements:
Thursday, at 11am, help is needed to unload a truck of canned food for our new expanded food pantry. If you can help, meet by the Rudy Hall kitchen door. In the future, we will receive shipments once a month on a date to be determined.
This Sunday. October 2nd is World Communion Sunday. If you have any special cultural clothing from your native home country, we encourage you to wear it Sunday. We are one Body, the Body of Christ. Also, on Sunday:
8am Men’s Breakfast (All men, women, and children are invited)
11:45am Lay Leadership Meeting
5pm Mission Possible Kids
Lend us your Poor, Your Tired, Your Shoes! Help MPKids collect gently used shoes for their September project. Bring any size shoes to church this week and place them in the orange container. *MPKids will meet this Sunday, Oct 2 at 5pm for its next Top Secret Mission. Bring a friend and a dish to share!
A Reminder to Church Council- Your lay leadership response forms need to be turned in this Sunday. This information will aid in the nominations process to fill our teams for 2012. And mark your calendar for Monday’s Council Meeting at 7pm. Thanks!
Cutler Ridge United Methodist Church (Miami, FL) is looking for a part-time Director of Music. We are a friendly and diverse congregation looking for an outgoing and musically diverse leader. Primary responsibilities include directing an adult choir and developing musical talent especially among young people. Position has the potential for growth. Contact us at 305.235.6651 or cruni@bellsouth.net for more details. PLEASE PASS THE WORD.
