Shelby County Today

March 22, 2016 - This week we look at the events 3 days following Jesus' death on the cross of Calvary. The most selfless act ever committed on this earth,an act that paid-in-full the sins of all men for all times. The scene here is the arrival of 3 women at the opened tomb of our Lord.

"He is Risen" these were the words spoken by the angel sitting at the tomb to the women that followed Jesus; Mary Magdalene, Mary the Mother of James and Salome as they came to the opened tomb that Sunday morning 3 days after His crucification on Friday. (Matt. 28:5-6) "And the Angel answered and said unto the women, "fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.

He is not here: for he is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay."

The women mentioned here had come to the sepulcher or tomb of Jesus, I suspect to see if He indeed had risen as He had promised. Upon their arrival they found the guards all unconscious and the large stone rolled away from the entrance to the tomb and the Angel of the Lord sitting by the tomb, waiting on them. He then made the statement; "He is risen" speaking of the absence of Jesus in the tomb and even invited the women to go in and witness for themselves where he had laid, so they knew for certain that Jesus had indeed "risen".

We can only imagine the shock and feelings of gladness when the women looked into the tomb to see only the clothes Jesus had been wrapped in when He was placed in the tomb 3 days earlier. Especially His own Mother, the Mother of James mentioned here.

(Matt. 28:7-8) "And go quickly, and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead; and behold, He goeth forth before thee into Galilee; there shall ye see Him: lo, I have told you. And they departed quickly from the sepulcher with fear and great joy; and did run to bring His disciples word."

From this day forth Jesus was seen many times by each of His disciples and the women who tended to them, He met with them, He talked with them and He ate with them all the while teaching them and proving of His being alive for about 40 days following His resurrection, the date we celebrate as "Easter Sunday" each year.

We can see in the book of Luke what Jesus did at the end of the 40 days; (Mark 16:19) "So then, after the Lord had spoken unto them, He was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God."

The verses called "the great commission" tell us what He expects of us today as we wait for His return. (Matt. 28:19-20) "Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen."

Because "He is risen" we have hope for eternity spent with our Lord in heaven. Amen.

March 21, 2016 - “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee…” Jeremiah 1:5  

My brother John lives in Huxley, Texas (Pop. 218) on one of the most beautiful spots on Toledo Bend Lake.  Several years ago he turned his RV Park and surrounding area into a haven for birds and other wildlife.  One of the most interesting spots on his land is a wet marshy area adjacent to the lake that he appropriately calls “The Duck Pond”.

Pam and I drove down one day to photograph the wood ducks that come daily to the pond.   As I sat in John’s photo blind, I noticed a snake’s head protruding from one of the duck boxes.   Soon afterwards the hen flew in and began nervously flying to and from the box but never entering it.  She finally dropped into the box and perched right on top of the coiled-up snake.  After moment or so, she reappeared briefly in the opening of the box and then squealed away.

When I reported what I’d seen to John, he quickly grabbed a ladder and we drove down to confront the intruder. While I stood at the bottom of the ladder, John screwed the top off the box and peered inside.  Sure enough, a huge chicken snake was in the process of swallowing its fourth duck egg. A stiff jab with a stick sent him straight into John’s face spraying him with egg juice as the snake dropped writhing at my feet.  It was the largest chicken snake we’d ever seen…and one of the quickest. 

We were concerned that the duck might not return to her nest, but when John climbed the ladder the nest morning and asked, “Duckie, are you in there?” she exploded from her nest and flew into the open lake. 

It’s comforting to know the little hen is back in her nest again and that she didn’t use the snake as an excuse to abandon her eggs.   I’m also glad that our mothers didn’t take us from her nest before we were born. 

Aren’t you?

March 17, 2016 - Shelbyville United Methodist Church is assembling health kits for United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) on Tuesday, March 22 at 2:00pm in the church Fellowship Hall.

The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is the humanitarian relief and development agency of The United Methodist Church, a worldwide denomination.

We are inviting all of the community to be part of this hands on mission opportunity. If you are able to, we are looking for the following items for each kit so we can have these to assemble the kits. We have a goal to assemble at least 25 kits. [Health Kit value: $12.00]
- 1 hand towel (15"x25" or 17"x27") (kitchen, cleaning, and microfiber towels not accepted)
- 1 wash cloth
- 1 comb (needs to be sturdy...no pocket or picks please...rattail combs and combs without handles are acceptable)
- 1 metal nail file or nail clipper (no emery boards or toenail clippers please)
- 1 bath size soap (3 oz. and larger sizes only in original package)
- 1 toothbrush (adult size only in original package)
- 6 adhesive packages (3/4" to 1" size common household band aids)
- 1 plastic bag (one gallon sealable bags)
- $1.00 to purchase toothpaste 

If you are able to assemble beforehand and would like to bring to the church, the assembly instructions are:
- Set the $1.00 for toothpaste aside to be included in a separate envelope.
- Lay out the hand towel flat on a table.
- Lay the washcloth flat in the center of the hand towel.
- Place all remaining items on top of the wash cloth.
- Fold over the sides of the hand towel to cover all the items.
- Fold over one end of the hand towel so that it covers all of the items.
- Grasp the bundle of items tightly and roll over the remainder of the hand towel tightly.
- Place the tightly rolled bundle in the plastic bag.
- Remove as much air as possible.

NOTES:
- For this mission project, all items must be new.
- Items do not need to be washed.
- Please remove all packaging.
- All emergency kits are carefully planned to make them usable in the greatest number of situations.
- Since strict rules often govern product entry into international countries, it is important that kits contain only the requested items - nothing more.
- Please do not include any personal notes, money, or additional material in the kits. These things must be painstakingly removed and could delay the shipment.
- UMCOR is purchasing toothpaste in bulk to be added to health kits before shipping to ensure the product does not expire before being sent. 
- Please do not put single dollar bills in each kit.
- All monies collected for toothpaste will be put in a separate envelope with the completed kits.

Thank you for your support for this mission project. We live in a time when disasters strike at any time. Anything we can do to assist people and communities helps remind them of the tangible presence of God. We always have opportunities to show the love and grace of God through Jesus Christ.

In Christ,
Pastor Ryan Stratton
Shelbyville UMC and Short UMC

March 15, 2016 - God’s great love; what is His great love, how does it work for Christians, how can I receive this great love myself?

These are all questions one might ask if he or she were struggling, wandering in the darkness of the sins of this world, or seeking for answers to a better life.

So, what is God’s Great Love? It is His saving grace, it is salvation for all who ask and who accept His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

It is a love so great that God was willing to sacrifice His only Son Jesus on the cross of Calvary that all people might be able to receive salvation for their souls and redemption for their sins.

Jesus gave up His princely role in heaven to come to earth, to be born of a woman, to live a perfect life, to be wrongly convicted and eventually crucified in order that the sins of all men, for all time would be, once and for all, paid-in-full. Such is God’s great love and it is freely available for all to receive, just for publicly accepting Jesus as Lord.

For faithfully believing that He died and the Father raised Him from the dead and that He sits now at the right hand of the Father in heaven.

That is the saving grace of God, the love of God toward all people. Our scripture today tells us of this great love.

(Ephesians 2:4) “But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us,” (Ephesians 2:5) “even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ,” (Ephesians 2:6) “ and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,” (Ephesians 2:7) “that in the ages to come He might shew the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.”

We see clearly from these scriptures just how God’s grace works. We are kept from our just rewards of sin by God’s great mercy. Not one of us is worthy of His grace, of salvation, by anything we have done or could do, no, we are saved by His amazing grace and that alone.
God saves those who do accept Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior. While we were still sinners, while we were turned away from Him, He loved us before we loved Him. That is His great mercy and grace.

He raises us up together, a part of His heavenly family, cleaned of all sins by the precious blood of Jesus shed upon the cross of Calvary. Raises us up to be with Jesus, washed clean as snow by Jesus’ blood.

He protects us in His grace through this age so that in the age to come, the “kingdom age” we will see His great love for us when we are able to claim, through faith, our heirship to His throne, His Kingdom in heaven.

ALL saved peoples will then forever spend eternity in heaven with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

If you do not know Jesus as Lord, please ask Jesus to save you today then go to a local church and worship Him each week. Salvation is there for you, but you must claim it. God will not force it upon anyone, we must accept it for ourselves