April 9, 2018 - Sunday was the Second Sunday of Easter. The First Lesson for this Sunday was a short passage from Acts 4: 32-35. In these four verses we see what the hallmark of the early Jesus Movement became—consumed with living a life of caring, giving, and compassion just as the Master taught and lived.
After plenty of rain, Sunday morning was chilly, but the sun was trying to break through. Sue and I got just over four inches at our house; most everyone had three or more inches. Gene is hoping that the ground will dry out enough so he can start putting in his garden. He is a serious gardener, with a huge garden that he works diligently. I, on the other hand, just play at being a gardener but I do really enjoy it. Flowers, vegetables, trees, and bushes are some of the lovelier things in God’s creation.
We had the regulars for Sunday School. Fannie’s lesson really stressed the idea of community, which was so important to the early church. The lesson from John 21: 1-14 has Jesus fixing breakfast for his disciples. The disciples don’t recognize Jesus until he has them cast the net to the right and bring up many large fish. I like the idea of Jesus appearing and doing something as ordinary as fixing breakfast for his friends. I think we are to be ready to encounter Jesus in shared experiences with each other.
All month long we will collect toothpaste and toothbrushes for Community Christian Services. I found their schedule of openings on the internet, so maybe I’ll be better able to deliver our monthly donations. Up until now, I’ve just been hoping they might be open when I go through Haslam on other errands. This Thursday we head to Focused Care at 10:15 for our first monthly program.
“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.
