July 23, 2018 - Sunday was the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Most of the talk before Sunday School was about the hot weather. All of East Texas is under a heat advisory warning, and I am thankful for a cool house to take refuge in. We had a nice crowd by Paxton standards this morning. Our Sunday School lesson was titled “Entering God’s Kingdom.” The background scripture was Luke 13: 22-30, where Jesus tries to explain who will be saved. Jesus speaks of a narrow gate through which many will not be able to enter. I found this scripture difficult but thought-provoking. Fannie kept us on message, and we had good discussions. Joe shared with us seven verses that give him an understanding of salvation.
The Gospel Lesson for the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time was split. The first part was Mark 6: 30-34 and then it skipped to verses 53-56. In between this Gospel Lesson are two wonderful stories—the feeding of the multitude and Jesus walking on water. Both of these stories are sermons unto themselves. But by focusing on the two parts of today’s lesson, we see how Jesus understands the need for rest. In Genesis, after each day of creation, God proclaims that what he created is good. It is only when God creates the Sabbath that he calls it holy. Our need for rest and silence, focusing our energies on the spiritual, is a vital part of a living faith.
Before the church service began, a car pulled in and we thought we might have a visitor. No one came in, so Sue went to see if the person needed something. It turned out she was driving to Florida and had suddenly became very tired; she stopped to remove her contacts, close her eyes, and rest. That was really a good illustration for the sermon and our need for rest.
It is hard to believe that we are heading into the final weeks of July. This summer is flying by: Before we know it, kids, teachers, and school staff will be getting ready for school. I sure hope the temperature moderates some before school starts.
Last week was our program at Holiday Nursing Home. Hilda played piano for most of the singing, but Stellar accompanied herself on guitar. After she finished, a Holiday client—the brother of our newest volunteer Sallie—said he wanted to play guitar on the next song. What a special gift! Heather, their activity director, also joined us; she had remembered her grandfather’s signature song, so Nora led that a capella. Nora also sang a hymn and “sang a book,” John Denver’s story about his grandmother’s feather bed. Sue read some funny poems chosen by kids and emceed the program. Pastor Matt started and ended the program with his unique slant on God’s message.
This week our ministry at Lakeside Assisted Living Thursday begins at 2:00. All this month we will be collecting cans of spaghetti and ravioli for Community Christian Services; in August we expand “Undie Sunday” to the whole month, collecting children’s socks and underwear.
“Whoever you are, in whatever faith you were born, whatever creed you profess; if you come to this house to find God you are welcome here.” Paxton United Methodist Church is an inviting church that takes to heart the idea of “Open Doors, Open Hearts, Open Minds.” Sunday School starts at 9:30 and Worship begins at 10:00. Our email address is paxtonumc@yahoo.com. If you would like the weekly email newsletter about Paxton Methodist you can send me your email address to the Paxton email address and I will add you to the list. Godspeed.
