With July 4th quickly approaching, maybe you too are thinking of our great nation and the freedoms we enjoy here. Each day I receive an email from the Presidential Prayer Team with a bible verse and a prayer. Daily I pray that God would bless America, our leaders, and our servicemen and women. I also post a prayer for my adopted troop, Peter C., a marine.
Like Irving Berlin said in his lyrics to God Bless America, “While the storm clouds gather far across the sea, Let us swear allegiance to a land that’s free, Let us all be grateful for a land so fair, As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer.”
Our nation needs our prayers, so I invite you join with me as I pause and raise my voice in prayer this Independence Day.
God Bless America!
Kim
“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord” Psalm 33:12a
This past Sunday at Encounter we saw the wood carver take a four foot long section of tree trunk and shape it into a bear holding a fish.
At first glance it looked like nothing more than a huge mess and distraction. The wood chips were flying and the saw dust was everywhere, but over time the image began to take shape.
So often all we see and feel is the painful gnawing of the saw and fail to realize that we too are being shaped by life’s circumstances.
How about you? What is cutting into the “normal” of your life? What distractions seem to be creeping in to make a mess of your task list and agenda?
I invite you to join me in rereading Saul/Paul’s dramatic story of conversion…Acts 22:1-16.
He had an agenda that was dramatically altered in this story. Maybe just maybe the pains and hurts we are enduring might even help shape us into better vessels for reaching the world for Christ.
One never fully appreciates the sunrise unless they have endured the long night of the soul. One best appreciates health if they have been sick and one never knows the peaceful power of hope unless they have dealt with the desperation of despair.
Perhaps the turbulent world we are living in with job losses, home foreclosures and broken dreams is the perfect place for Christians to share the reconciling message of hope that Christ offers. It reminds me that the best place to see the brilliance of night stars is in the dark blanket of the countryside.
Paul’s first countryside was Damascus…where’s yours?
With the Kenya mission team leaving today, we thought it would be a fun time to show you another way to see all of the places that Mt. Bethel is going this year.
This plugin allows you to view Google Earth content right in your browser, including 3D terrain, buildings, and fun stuff like that. We’ve added the rest of our 2008 mission trips into a collection, which you can browse below.
You’ll need to install the plugin before they will show up, and the plugin currently only runs in Windows (sorry about that — Mac/Linux support is due in August). Check it out!
What a wonderful celebration this past Sunday for the Mickler’s 20 years of service at Mt. Bethel. God has blessed so many through Randy’s and Diane’s commitment to serve and honor Him. Here are some pictures from Sunday’s celebration.
Take a tour of God’s Zoo from the privacy of your own home! MBUMC’S nursery, God’s Zoo, is finally in the 21st century. Watch the video below, which highlights all the amenities our nursery offers your precious little ones.
As we begin to prepare for our Fall Bible studies here at Mt. Bethel I find myself asking this question. “Why do we study the Bible?” Is it really that important? We have to answer with a resounding YES!
The most compelling reason to study Scripture is transformation to becoming more and more like Christ. I can speak to this from a personal perspective. When I graduated from college and started into the business world I was approached by a close friend to become a volunteer with Young Life ministries. I explained to my friend my life was in no condition to be ministering to teenagers. He told me “that is fine but why don’t you help us with some behind the scenes activities and start coming to our leadership training sessions.” I reluctantly agreed. The training sessions were actually an in depth Bible study. Immediately God began to transform my life. Soon I was actively volunteering with Young Life. After a while I was spending more time volunteering than I was doing my “real” job. It is because of the study of Scripture that I am in the ministry today. It is because of the study of Scripture that I came to understand the purpose God has for my life.
We have the class offerings up on the church website for the Fall. Look through these offerings and find one that fits your schedule. As you study the Scriptures, my prayer for you is God will reveal his will and purposes for your life. And by finding God’s purpose for your life you will find the joy of serving Christ.
Camp Infusion was held last week and was an incredible experience for all who attended. You can check out a few hundred photos here, or keep reading to hear some first-hand account of the trip.
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Oh what a mighty God we serve!
We watched upper elementary students build relationships with their upcoming student ministry leaders, we watched college interns connect with students, we watched parents that volunteered their service connect with their children and their peers. Several parent leaders ministered side by side with their adult child. God used different generations to build relationships at the foot of the Cross!
I am thankful for the opportunity to partner with Dianne, Sarah Beth, Justin and Chris in prayer, planning, and preparation for an amazing week of ministry at Camp Infusion! What a testimony to see the Holy Spirit at work!
Our prayer is that this week of basic training (2 Timothy 3:16) ignites each student’s desire to grow in relationship through a life of prayer, wisdom through study of the Holy Bible, continued fellowship with the Body of Christ, and an overflowing love that only our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ can fill their hearts with.
What a fantastic week we had at Infusion Camp. I wish you all could have been there.
It was an inspiring week. A week where we invested our time with the students and made new friends and built new relationships.
Rob Perry, the speaker and Seraph, the band ingrained the work of God into our hearts and minds.
The students spirits were ignited to go and share the word of God with the world in service to our Lord.
My prayer is that we walked away with hearts, minds and souls ingrained with God’s word and joyfully commit to be contagious with our faith in Jesus. I believe that we accomplished that.
Thanks to Sarah Beth for leading a terrific team, the Sherri for an ultimate unit time where we work together in teams to make missions happen, to Justin who never fails to bring joy and fun to the group and to Chris for the games that will forever be in our memories.
What a pleasure being able to be a part of a new adventure in the Mt Bethel UMC ever expanding ways.
I have one of the greatest jobs in the world! Every week I get to see God transforming lives and making a difference for His kingdom. Don’t get me wrong, there are lots of challenges, and I mean lots, but the blessings and the stories of what God is doing through missions make all the challenges fade out of sight.
I started out my week with hearing good news about the wonderful work our mission team did in Pass Christian, Mississippi, as they continued the effort to rebuild homes on the Gulf Coast. Long after Katrina, many people have moved on to other concerns, but a number of our Mt. Bethel members are revitalizing the commitment to help those who are still in need.
Two Sundays ago, we commissioned a mission team to Costa Rica and Romania (Deborah House), which will be doing work projects to help these ministries as well as Vacation Bible School for the children. I will have the joy of sending off both teams with communion and prayer on Friday and Saturday.
A few nights ago, we had the mission committee meeting where we heard about the ongoing work of Breakthrough House, which we support with help from our members both physically and financial. Breakthrough House is helping women who have had a life of substance, physical, or emotional abuse put there lives back together and have a new life in Christ.
At Infusion (a summer youth retreat) that took place last week, our middle high school students did craft projects to give to children of the community we sponsor in Kenya. The crafts tell of how God loves them and protects them.
This past Sunday, we commissioned the Austria mission team, which will work at a Christian sports camp, and the Kenya Mission Team, which will work on the medical center in Kwambekenya.
And if all the praying over and sending out and sharing with others isn’t enough for the week, a group of our women made 1200 sandwiches to send to MUST ministries, a ministry that helps the needy and homeless. Wow!
That is just a taste of the missions ministries I saw going on this week at Mt. Bethel. In just this one week, I have been blessed to see so many mission ministries that are making a difference at Mt. Bethel, and the best part is yet to come - all those teams that are going out, will come back with testimonies of what God has done through them and in them!
Can you see why I say I have one of the greatest jobs world!
I can’t wait for next week!!!
In August I have an opportunity to spend the night at MUST ministries and feed the homeless and help out around the facility. We are in need of some other folks to come along side me and others and give a night to help the least of these.
If you are interested in helping with MUST or hearing of other mission opportunities, give me a call.
This year’s summer mission/music tour took 42 high schoolers (and 10 adults) to Louisville, Indianapolis and Chicago. (You can check out our itinerary on Google Earth!) We left Friday morning for Louisville, enjoying the fellowship of a truly special group of high school students. Believe it or not (and I know you won’t believe me)…I never heard one complaint from this group…ever! They were positive and appreciative and easy-going. Just a joy to work with!
Here are some highlights from our trip:
In Louisville, we provided lunch, sang and played games with the children from Wesley House. What a blessing it was to see their faces light up when our youth spent time with them!
Orchard Park Presbyterian church in Indianapolis…Sunday morning. We sang two services. In the traditional, we were up and down the stairs to the choir loft all morning…it was like singing while using a Stairmaster. They were so appreciative of our songs and really made us feel welcome. In the contemporary service, the band could barely hold themselves back from playing along!
Sunday evening…A beautiful old Congregational church in Crystal Lake, IL. A very tasty dinner, followed by the first full concert presentation of our tour.
Sight-seeing on Monday…a perfect day! Bike ride along Lake Michigan, deep dish pizza, Chicago’s wonderful museums, Michigan Avenue malls and the lights of the city seen from the Hancock Observatory. What a city!
On Tuesday, we cooked a full breakfast for the residents of the Eckhardt Senior Apartments, a subsidized housing unit for the elderly in Chicago. Eggs, sausage, biscuits, bananas, coffee, oj…prepared and served by our fabulous youth…with some help from a great team of chaperones! After breakfast we simply spent time with each resident, talking and listening. Then we went up to their 20th floor rec room and sang a concert with a great view of the city all around us.
Dinner at Ed Debevics! Don’t talk back and watch what you ask for!!
If you’re ever in Chicago, you need to check out the Chicago Temple! This skyscraper church has an amazing sanctuary…as if an old traditional church has been encased in a high-rise. Every Wednesday, First Methodist Chicago (aka Chicago Temple) has a noon-time communion service. For many people who work in the city, that service is their “Sunday.” We provided music for the service, then ascended 20 floors and 173 steps (whew!) to the Sky Chapel, a small chapel with panoramic views of the city and a rich history.
Wednesday night, we celebrated our time in Chicago. The seniors had a special dinner cruise on Lake Michigan that was lots of fun…despite the thick fog. (Hey seniors…Lola misses you already!) The rest of the crew enjoyed the evening at Navy Pier.
We left Chicago for the drive back to Louisville. Thursday evening, we presented our last full concert for the trip at Friendship House, a senior assisted living home. In a packed, standing room only, oppressively hot room, One A-Chord sang their hearts out…and the crowd responded with enthusiastic applause, lots of smiles, hugs and kisses. It was a fantastic end to the musical part of our journey. Of course the fun didn’t end!
Friday…Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom. Roller coasters and water rides that afternoon. Friday evening…choir banquet at the Hard Rock Café, followed by our annual superlative awards handed out riverside.
I’ve outlined the main stops, but couldn’t begin to tell you about all the moments in between. Students led wonderful, thoughtful devotions each night. Our wonderful college interns led the group in singing praise songs. “Family” groups who may not have really known each other before tour, spent time praying, talking, and supporting each other. And of course all the fun…movies on the bus, tossing the Frisbee in the park, climbing trees, crawling the malls, cookie dough in hotel rooms and lots and lots of laughter.
Mt. Bethel…you should be very proud of this group. I certainly am. They represented you in fine fashion! I hope you were all in worship last Sunday to hear One A-Chord present their Homecoming Concert. If you weren’t…you really missed something!
And if you’re a high school youth not participating in One A-Chord…join us next year! You don’t know what you’re missing. Check out 56 pictures from the trip, or watch the video below for a recap!
This Wednesday, June 15, Rev. Jody Ray will be leading a discussion on the book “The Shack.” The book has stirred up some theologial debate - I thought it was very inspirational and opened another avenue for me to view God’s love us and his desire to have a relationship with us. Bring your lunch and book to the small dining room at 11:45am.
Childcare is available. Contact Heather Wood for more information.
