August 5, 2019 - Love and peace from our brother, Jesus. I went to bed with a heavy heart on Saturday thinking of all those innocent people killed by gun violence in El Paso. And then woke up Sunday morning to hear of yet another mass shooting, this time in Dayton Ohio. There have been over 250 mass shootings in 2019 alone, and it seems to be only increasing. Our hearts really do go out to all the victims. We need to think about what we can do as a nation to curb such insanity.
Some kids in our region are heading back to school this week. In Joaquin and Tenaha, teachers and staff return this week; the kids will be getting ready for next week. Sue and I have seen the Joaquin band practicing and know that the football team is also getting ready for a new season. I sure hope they are all careful in this heat. We wish the students, teachers, and staff a safe and productive school year.
We started a new series in our Sunday school lessons. Today’s scripture came from the Old Testament—1 Samuel 18-20 and 19: 1-17. The title of the lesson was “A Covenant Between Friends,” exploring the bond between David and Jonathan. Our writer reminds us that friendship is intentional: We must create space, time, and place in our lives for friendship to grow. The author also notes that the art of listening is one of the main ways to encourage and enrich closeness with others.
My sermon preparation was very ragged this week, as I wasn’t sure exactly where my sermon was heading. I usually write down ideas and then spend parts of the next several days writing my sermon. Many ideas on my outline never made it into my sermon. The Old Testament Lesson was from the first and second chapter of Ecclesiastes, where the teacher is overwhelmed by the fleeting nature of life. He looks back over his years, wondering why he worked so hard. The Gospel Lesson included Jesus’ parable of the rich fool who has such an abundance of harvest that his only thought is to replace his current barns with even bigger ones. In the parable, God calls this man a fool and informs him that he is going to die that night. Vanities of Vanities! In the Christian Testament, the harvest is always a symbol of God’s Kingdom. We are invited to work in the Kingdom here on earth, weaving Kingdom moments into our lives and the lives of those around us.
Today is the first Sunday of August, so we celebrated Holy Communion. We sure appreciate Ms. Fannie bringing the elements of communion each first Sunday. Tomorrow is our ministry at Focused Care. Ms. Hilda sent everyone a reminder email, and we are looking forward to seeing our friends there.
Our worship time is 10:00 AM; we would love to have you come to worship with us. I know how very busy everyone is: Our early meeting time enables you to move on to family get-togethers or jobs afterward. Not to mention naps, which my wife says are best on Sunday afternoon. 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. God’s Speed.
