E-Devo October 6, 2011

Posted on October 6, 2011 by

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.

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E-Devo September 30, 2011

Posted on October 1, 2011 by

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:

  • Visions or dreams- Throughout the Bible and the history of the church, individuals have been visited by God and been given special insight through visions. These tend to be more than just “a-ha” moments, but divine or supernatural revelations of things unseen. Most of us don’t have visions, but you may have a dream of an old friend or relative. I look at those as hints to pray, even contact someone to give them spiritual encouragement.  Read Acts 9 about Saul on the Road to Damascus having a vision of the Risen Christ.
  • Scripture- God’s people believe and trust that scripture is the Word of God, a “lamp unto my feet and a light for my path” (Psalm 119). Truly, God can speak to us and reveals Himself and His ways to us in scripture. Reading the Bible is a divine encounter. Don’t just open it up randomly every few months. I find when people start reading the Bible, that word is often reinforced in sermons, on the radio, etc. “For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates.”Hebrews 4: 12
  • The Holy Spirit- The person of the God-head who is our Teacher, our Advocate, and—for lack of a better word—Our Conscience. God speaks to believers every day through His Holy Spirit. Sometimes, we already know God’s will but just need to be reminded through the Holy Spirit. “The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my [Jesus] name, will teach you all things, and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” –John 14: 26.
  • Other Believers- God doesn’t have to rely on angels to deliver messages because God can also use other believers as vessels. So, we can “look for” a Christian friend with word of accountability, a spiritual mentor with a word of encouragement, or a preacher with a timely sermon. If this person is in step with the Spirit in other aspects of their life, we can trust that is a word from God.  Read Acts 10 about Cornelius, a non-Jew, who God used to speak to Paul about accepting others.

 

 

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!

  

Prayers Requests:
It is with a sad, yet full heart that I tell you of the passing of Betty Hammell on Sunday morning, 9/25, at age 93 in the home of her daughter and son-in-law under Hospice care. Betty was a delight to us all, including her husband, Don, to whom she was married for 68 years. A memorial service will be held here at the church Saturday, Oct 8th at 4pm. A reception will follow in the Fellowship Center.
Please keep in your prayers two vital items for our church ministry. First, pray for our continued search for a Music Director. We know that God will provide the right person at the right time (and it doesn’t hurt if you’ll spread the word, too.) Also, pray for upcoming plans & preparations for ministry in 2012. Our Lay Leadership team will be discerning and seeking volunteers for various teams including leadership positions. Plus, we’ll be setting 2012 budget goals and embarking on our annual fall outreach events: Halloween Fun Night, Country Fair, etc.
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Looking for Music Director

Posted on September 27, 2011 by

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.

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E-Devo, September 7, 2011

Posted on September 20, 2011 by

 
This Sunday marks the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 the day of the most deadly terrorist attack against America. There have been and will be many historical reviews and moving tributes this week, all of which will surely be poignant. We will begin our Sunday worship service with a special Call to Worship in honor of 9/11, for God’s people are called to remember with purpose and called to look ahead with hope.             As I’ve been watching myself, I have focused on what spiritual leaders are saying, especially on how churches and Christian organizations are trying to reflect theologically on what happened and where we are. We pray for healing; we pray for wisdom and justice; we pray for unity. And those things are all good and must come from the Lord. However, as much then as now, the hardest thing to pray for is our enemies. Under persecution and threat himself, Jesus modeled this most humble act of worship. Jesus prayed for those who persecuted him (Luke 23), and commands his followers to do the same (Luke 6). To pray for all people. To believe and demonstrate that no one is beyond God’s power to redeem. Wow!             Last week we talked about Integrity and being people of Integrity like Daniel and his friends. I explained how Integrity means two things to me, and we could see it Daniel’s witness while in exile. Integrity means to be undivided in your intentions and your actions, in other words to live wholly. Christians can’t say they believe one thing and then act in a different way—the world sees this for what it is hypocrisy. Integrity also means being consistent in your convictions during difficult times. Think of how the first responders of 9/11 embodied integrity that day. We are not only challenged to do what we believe, but do so in times of duress. Now back to the hard part… Personally, I don’t see praying for our enemies as a sign of weakness or resignation to evil; I see it as a sign of integrity. This is what our Lord and Savior did, so this is what we try to do in his name, for his honor and glory, and by his strength. It’s not easy—being a disciple never is. We’re not only called to pray for our loved ones but also our enemies; to praise God not only in the sunshine but in the rain; to give generously when we have a surplus and when times are lean. This is Christian Integrity. Sunday we’ll read about how three young men were tested in their faith, and how God—literally—went through the flames with them. I encourage you to read Daniel Chapter 3 with me in preparation. Peace,Pastor Amber

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E-Devo Aug. 31, 2011

Posted on September 6, 2011 by

 Friends, Although I don’t think I count as a devoted football fan (I only support my old hometown heroes), I learned a lot from Sunday’s sermon: How Faith is Like Football. Thanks to Paul for preaching and sharing some great stories. His first point is that faith is a battle. Being a Christian isn’t an “armchair warrior” calling. No one plays football from the sidelines or bleachers-those are only people who watch and comment. Neither can you live as a Christian only watching what others (your parents, the pastor, church leaders) do and commenting on it. God calls us to the field and calls us—as the saying goes—to leave it all on the field. While there is a side to God that is comforting and nurturing, there is also a side of God that is fierce and relentless. God and the heavenly realm are engaged in a battle, as we breathe and read this, against evil. Isn’t this the kind of God we want to honor and follow? A God who is willing to fight for the orphan forced to fire a gun, the woman caught in human trafficking, the hopeless student who cuts herself, the unloved prisoner forgotten behind bars. And if God is willing to get bloody—on the cross—shouldn’t we be willing to fight for the cause? Where is God calling you to stop merely watching and get involved?  The second lesson is that, in regards to faith, you and I play like we practice. Paul made the point that attending worship even volunteering around the church is more like practice than the actual game. The true game is when we are engaging the world outside the Body of Christ. At your workplace, at school, in the neighborhood, on the streets. This makes your worship life, daily devotions, Bible study, prayer life all the more important. It’s what conditions us as Christians. Football players endure “two-a-days,” as Paul shared, but many Christians struggle to get to the “locker room” to hear the “coach” once a week or fail to study the “play book” on their own. One of my greatest hopes and aspirations for folks connected with CRUMC is that we would increase the number of people involved in small groups and Bible study. This is the supportive and challenging environment when we learn to pray, we mentor and encourage one another, and of course we learn the playbook. As Paul asked, “How is your practice?”  In a couple of weeks, on 9/11, we will have Get Connected Sunday when you can express interest in a bible study or small group. We will also be looking for people to host or facilitate groups. Please be in prayer about these and other opportunities to live out your Christian calling. This past week’s message segues nicely into our next worship series on Daniel. This coming Sunday we will meet Daniel and his friends as young men when they are taken into exile in Babylon. Throughout the book, we will see that they are men of integrity even during times of extreme crisis. I invite you to read Daniel Chapter 1 in preparation for Sunday’s message, and read along throughout the month.  Peace,Pastor Amber

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E-Devo 8/25/2011

Posted on August 25, 2011 by

Welcome Back! It’s good to see so many of you in worship again, and I look forward to seeing many more faces this coming Sunday. I’ve appreciated the positive responses to the last messages “In the Potter’s Hands” based on Jeremiah 18 and the special video we watched. The Holy Spirit has been at work in many hearts. It’s only the Holy Spirit who can cause us to want to live a more God-centered life. It’s only the Holy Spirit who can move and open a person who has been raw, closed, or weighed down–like so many of us are by sin and the troubles of life. Those are just the first two steps in becoming “workable material” according to the video. Several honest hands went up when I asked who just felt like a lump of clay lately!                                                                                                              The next two steps are all about becoming more like Christ and more authentically who God created you to be when He first started forming you. God has always had a purpose for your life even before it was visible, just as the potter has a purpose for the clay that he works out in his hands on the wheel. After centering the clay and opening it, the potter lifts up the clay, stretching up or out depending on the kind of vessel it’s intended to be. Similarly, God stretches every Christian so we can grow more like Christ. Whatever you are going through, let God lift your focus upward and your actions toward those of Christ. To know Christ better, we must be familiar with Him in Spirit (e.g., prayer) and in the scriptures. Any Christian—at any stage of faith—who wants to grow spiritually, I encourage to practice regular personal devotions and join a small group for bible study. The final step is the specific details that God wants to add; it’s when God brings together all the parts of your life and reveals how you can be used as a vessel for God’s love and grace. Remember a vessel holds, but a vessel also gives back what it has stored. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—not by works so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” ~Ephesians 2: 8-10 . How is God calling you to give back—to church, to the community, to the world?                                                                                                                                                              For those who didn’t see all or parts of the video, you can find it at this link: http://www.worshiphousemedia.com/mini-movies/19347/Four-Steps-Of-The-Potter    I’m excited that this Sunday, my husband Paul will be preaching a special message for fall and back to school. Ask him and other dads (some moms) what your favorite part of this season is…IT’S FOOTBALL! This Sunday, Paul will share how faith is like football. You heard me! You can even wear your team jersey. See you then!

Peace, Pastor Amber

-Upcoming Events: 

Men’s Breakfast will resume Sunday, September 4th at 8am in the Fellowship Center. Please come to this event for a great breakfast, fellowship and to hear our speaker Tom McClary. All are welcome!                                                                                                    Mission Possible Kids will also resume Sunday, September 4th. Families will meet in the Fellowship Center at 5pm beginning with a family-friendly potluck dinner. Bring a new friend and you will earn an extra mission star!                                                                        Get Connected Sunday! September 11th  at  10:15 am. Get ready to Get Connected as we explore ways you can get involved with our church’s many ministries.

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E-Devo August 17, 2011

Posted on August 17, 2011 by

Dear Friends, 5 days and counting…until the beginning of school for many of our families, our members who are on staff with schools, and our church preschool. There are many ways our church can be in ministry to the community at the beginning of the school year. Not least among them is that we can pray!!! We can also be a witness during this time of transition and stress for the community. Whether at school, the stores, on the roads, this is an opportune time to share a sign of patience, an act of kindness, a word of grace that can convey the love of Christ.            
I’m looking forward to seeing many of you back in church on the eve of the 1st Day of School. Besides the end of summer vacation, we had a cliff hanger message last Sunday! The scripture reading was Jeremiah 18: 1-6 which says that we are like clay in the Potter’s hands. Like a potter, God wants to shape each one of us into a vessel of his love and grace. However, it is not a quick or easy process. As I once heard, disciples are hand-made, not mass-produced. Just as a potter must take his time with a piece of clay, God takes his time with us, and sometimes has to start-over. This was the case with Israel. The people had sinned against the Lord, turning their back on the covenant. God warned Israel that His firm hand would work on them, but that He would re-make the nation into a beautiful, purposeful vessel.          
 As an illustration, we saw a video of a potter at his wheel working the clay. The narrator describes the four technical steps of working clay into such a vessel. God’s spiritual work with us overtime is just as Jeremiah and this potter tell us. First, we must be centered on God. The first step in the Christian journey is letting God move us from being self-centered to God-centered.  Most of us would like to be free and without restraint to pursue what “I want.” But this leaves us out of balance, wobbling in different directions; we will not be “workable” material in this state.
 
Once God becomes the center of my life and I rest in Him, the second step is to be open to God. The potter uses water to achieve this with clay. God uses change, transition, even crisis in our lives to open us to His transformational work. Far too often people close themselves to God during times of change, then, become weighed down like water-logged clay, and are thrown off balance again. And, guess what? God starts over again, molding us once more into workable material. Being a Christian is about being transformed from the inside out. To experience this transformation, you and I must open ourselves to God, allowing him to move away excesses and unwanted things on the inside (like resentment, pride, vanity). As it happens, those things usually aren’t obvious until or unless God starts moving in our life. Finally, you are centered and open. This is the point at which God starts shaping a unique purpose for you.
 
Here are the two questions I left with you on Sunday: Who/what is the center of your life right now? Are you willing to let yourself be opened before God, to let God transform you from the inside out? Pray about these questions; talk with a friend and God about your answer. Then, on Sunday, we’ll talk about Steps #3 & #4.   Peace,Pastor Amber

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