Fairview and Center Methodist Churches

This post is woefully overdue. Many apologies for that! Our fundraising event on September 29th was a huge success! Our original plan to have everything in the park was not possible due to the much needed rain. But my first thanks goes to the Cardington American Legion, Jenkins-Vaughan Post 97 for their gracious hospitality. Your generosity made the whole event so much better! My second thanks goes to Walk By Faith who graced us with so much talent and passionate worship. We were all singing right along with you! Thank you for your support!! My third thanks goes to Emma Palmer and the SUMC Youth Group. They aren't on here so I cannot tag them...but they were a complete surprise when Emma brought them to the event. My fourth thanks goes to all of the people who came to our fundraiser, heard some really great worship music and supported Center Church's effort to raise funds for their roof replacement. We are so grateful for every thought, every prayer and every gift in support of Center Church. And of course, none of this would have been possible without the many volunteers who grilled hot dogs, served our hungry guests, and cleaned up afterward. Thank you for your willingness to serve!! The Lord has been faithful and generous, and we are deeply thankful!!

Our event will be moved to the Legion Hall if raining! Hope you'll come rain or shine! Sept 29, 3:30-5pm.

Here are further details for the fundraiser. Please come and join us!
If it's raining, we will move the event inside the Legion Hall.

While we can debate many things about God, Jesus, religion, politics etc., it is always true that God hears and understands. Go to him with your heart, even if there are no words. He Gets It!

Happy Father's Day to all of the fathers and father figures. May the strength of the Lord be with you!

https://youtu.be/rgK2OISzqkU?feature=share

I realize that it's not Easter, but this hymn is really hitting home today. Please stop and take a moment to watch. We Preach Christ Crucified!!!

Kathryn Scott "When I Survey" Kathryn Scott's "Wondrous Cross" set to scenes from Mel Gibson's The Passion of The Christ

For all the Mamma's out there, for all those who have taken on the role of a mother...for all those whom Mother's day is very difficult, we salute you! and every woman out there who are mother's, sisters, aunts, grandmas, great-grandmas and all around good people, may God shower you with mercy, grace and many blessings. Have a very blessed day in all the ways you can!

Fri-Yay!! YAY we have made it to the end of our reading plan. I certainly was blessed by what I read and shared with you. I hope you were too!
Matthew 28:11-20: What strikes me in this passage is the fact that the Jewish leaders are still acting in such underhanded and unholy ways. They concoct a story for the Roman soldiers that Jesus' body was taken while they were asleep. This accomplishes 2 things, that Jesus wasn't resurrected but stolen and it will keep the Roman guards from getting into trouble. And of course, there was a large amount of money involved. Why were Jewish leaders so afraid of Jesus and the truth? Well, they still believed that whatever Jesus was doing was under the influence of the devil. So they didn't want this getting out because of that. Like I said before, those who know the scriptures inside and out, should have known who Jesus was and understood that all of the prophecies that were said about him and indeed been fulfilled. It is interesting that the women went to share the truth at the same time the guards were saving their own skin by lying.
But we end our Gospel...and our study time with an assignment...a holy calling placed on our lives of faith: The Great Commission. Now go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit...and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." Go and make disciples, sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with everyone everywhere. That is our main purpose of our faith lives, to share the gospel and draw people into a saving relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Yes, we are to serve where we can and worship when we can and support the body of Christ in all the ways that we can. But our main mission is making disciples. Our salvation and what Jesus has done for us is not "something personal" that we choose to keep to ourselves, but we have been given grace to share it...we have been given salvation to proclaim it...we have been redeemed and restored to give us the power to be living evidence that Jesus Christ is alive...He lives, and so do we. Live to tell as they say. Our churches can help us with what to say and how to say it...but this is our duty and our desire, to help bring people to Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit. May God pour out his gifts and provisions and opportunities to do this very thing. Blessings to all of you who joined me in our reading plan. Thank you so much! and come see us! Fairview church worships at 9:45 and Center church worships at 11:00! We would love to have you join us!!
Peace be with you! amen!

Thursday Matthew 28:1-10: So this is another account of the resurrection of Jesus. What strikes me this time, is that the women believed what the angel had told them. And they ran back to tell the others when Jesus appears before them. And appropriately they fell to the ground and worshiped him. It may be easy to believe what someone tells you, but to see it with your very own eyes makes the whole thing even more powerful...and indisputable. They had seen him, not just heard about him. I think this makes their story that much more believable when they share it with the others. And I won't lie, I wish Jesus would just show up like that so that I too can see him. But blessed are those who believe without seeing! Plus we have the Holy Spirit as our helper and advocate who makes Jesus known to us. I am thankful for that! Lord, strengthen my faith until I too have an 'indisputable' message. Thank you for blessing me with redemption and restoration which makes my message and witness even more believable. amen.
Feel free to share your thoughts below!
Blessings!

Luke 24:36-53: Jesus appears...not through the door because it was locked. And not through a window or any other opening. He simply appeared before the disciples. I think I would have been just as shocked as they were! It wasn't until he opened their minds that they were able to fully understand everything that had taken place. All prophecies were fulfilled just as he said they would be. The standout verses for me were V. 47-48, that forgiveness and repentance will be preached in his name to all nations. And they were witnesses of these things. I believe that the message of repentance and the forgiveness of sins have indeed spread around the world in every nation, though many have rejected this notion altogether. But we must persist in our efforts to share the gospel as far and wide as we can. No, we may not be responsible for going to other nations, or even other states, but we sure can share with those closest to us, right here in our own communities and neighborhoods and families. If what we say brings even one person closer to Jesus, then all efforts were worth it. Lord, again, make me a beacon of hope to all the world, even if it is only as far as my next door neighbor. Thank you for the opportunity to share your message! Amen.
What were your thoughts about our passage for today? Let me know in the comments below.
Blessings!

Tuesday Luke 24:13-35: This is one of my favorite passages whose story is only found in Luke's gospel. It also confirms that there were more disciples of Jesus than just the original 12. Cleopas and another disciple were on the road to Emmaus when Jesus came alongside them to discuss what had been going on. They were intentionally kept from recognizing Jesus...maybe so that Jesus could teach them everything about the Old Testament and about his life. Now, Luke's gospel does not reveal who the other disciple was, but most scholars agree that the unnamed disciple is Cleopas' wife Mary, who was mentioned elsewhere in the Gospels. The standout verse for me in this passage was V. 30. The disciples invited Jesus to come and dine with them and when he did, he took the bread and gave thanks, and broke it...and gave it to them. It is then that they recognized Jesus who immediately disappears from their sight. This has an obvious reference to the Lord's supper which they may have very well taken in the upper room that night. We come to recognize Jesus in a multitude of ways, but most recognizable is the Lord's supper...a means of grace that deeply connects us to him. Their eyes were opened, so to speak, to the truth, which they immediately shared with their fellow disciples. Lord, I hope that I am just as prepared to share your love story with anyone who asks. Give me the right words and the right opportunity to lead someone to you. amen.
How did you feel about our passage for today? Let me know in the comments below!
Blessings!

Hello and welcome to the last week of our Lenten reading plan, though it isn't Lent anymore. Just a few more readings to augment what we have done for the last 7 weeks. Add to that a very special moment in our solar system....a total eclipse! I hope you are able to get out and enjoy it! Be sure to have proper eye protection so that you avoid damaging your eyes. Let's hope the clouds are few!
Here is our schedule for this week: Monday Luke 24:1-12; Tuesday Luke 24:13-35; Wednesday Luke 24:36-53; Thursday Matthew 28:1-10; Friday Matthew 28:11-20.

Monday Luke 24:1-12: This is Luke's version of the resurrection story. I love how each of the disciples had a way of telling their stories which were at times quite different from each other. But most of the time, they tell the same story from their own perspective which seems to augment the point they were making. The standout verse for me in Luke's version of the resurrection was V. 9-10. He makes mention of the women going back to share how they discovered the tomb empty...and they told the 11 and to all the others. Sometimes when we talk about the disciples, we only think of the 12 men and that is all. So we have a tendency to think that is all there was. But the reality is that there were in fact many disciples that were with Jesus much of the time. This includes many women as well. Jesus was a staunch supporter of women and treated them with dignity and respect. Therefore they would become his followers as well. Grace knows no bounds at all, not even gender or class could exclude anyone from the love of Jesus. To him, they were all creations of his Father who deserved to be treated with mercy and grace. Thank you Lord Jesus for your unending and unconditional love. Change my heart and mind so that I too can see dignity and worth in every single soul. Amen.
Let me know your thoughts on our passage in the comments below.
Blessings!

It's Saturday once again....time for a rest and catching up with the readings, if you haven't already. One more week to go! Thank you for joining us!

Fri-YAY! Mark 16: This is another look at the resurrection of Jesus, but it also contains Jesus giving them the command to go out into the world and preach the good news and tell people that whoever believes and is baptized will be saved. Jesus basically gives them their marching orders! The standout verses for me were V. 17-18. I don't recall any other verses in all of the Bible that says someone should be able to pick up snakes with their hands and be able to drink poison and not get hurt. Unfortunately these verses were used to start new faith traditions where people were harmed due to trying things like this (specifically snakes and poison). And when their is harm done, it is usually chalked up to not having enough faith or not having done enough praying. I don't think Jesus would have meant for these verses to be taken that way. In fact, My study Bible seems to indicate that verses 9-19 probably didn't actually belong to the gospel of Mark...mainly because they were absent from the earliest and most reliable manuscripts. So I don't know. But one would think that reason would prevail here. I trust Jesus sure enough, but I was also bestowed enough reason to know that poison will cause harm if I drink it. Does reason cancel out faith? I don't think so.
How about you? What do you think about our chapter for today?
Blessings!

Thursday John 21:15-25: This passage contains the reinstatement of Peter, which basically means that, since Peter abandoned Jesus just as he predicted, Jesus is now placing a call on Peter's life. When it seemed like the relationship between Jesus and Peter would not survive, Jesus comes to Peter to not only forgive him, but to entrust him with 'feeding my sheep.' I think that this shows that we can never go too far for grace to reach us. Peter did wrong, but felt bad about it. Jesus recognizes what is in his heart and chose him to move on with Jesus' ministry. The standout verse for me is V. 22. Jesus tells Peter in not so many words just how he was to die, but when Peter asked Jesus about the 'other' disciple, Jesus basically says.. What's it to you? If I want him to live until I return, what is that to you? What struck me about that is that Jesus has a plan for everything and everyone. We may not always know what that is, but trusting Jesus for the plan is essential. Peter was once again trying to lead/coerce Jesus into Peter's thoughts. Jesus reminds him not to concern himself with other people's futures. Jesus has it under control. Lord, create in me a spirit of deep trust and help me not to concern myself with your plans for someone. I want to be in control too, but it's really a good thing I am not. Amen.
How did you feel about our passage for today? Feel free to comment below!
Blessings!

Wednesday John 21:1-14: I Love the book of John because John writes in a way that is less explanatory and more relational...at least it seems that way to me. When reading the story about the miraculous catch of fish, I feel the disciples discouragement in not catching any fish earlier that morning. I feel their uncertainty since they have seen Jesus alive, but now have no idea what the future will be like. Do they just go back to life as it once was? How could that even be possible? But there they are, doing as they have done so many times in the past...fishing. That is, until Jesus appears on the shore. When he told them to cast their net out on the right side of the boat, I felt their 'eye roll', thinking how this would be of any benefit since they hadn't caught anything all morning. But they did as they were told, and they were completely surprised at how many fish they caught. I felt Peter's exuberance as he leapt from the boat. I felt their happiness that Jesus had come to them once again. I found myself wishing I could have had breakfast with them on the shore. The standout verse for me was V. 13, where Jesus took the bread and gave it to his disciples...the same with the fish. This reminds me of the Last Supper...Jesus breaking bread and giving it to his disciples. I believe that this was truly a blessed moment indeed. Thank you for keeping up with this study!
Did you find any stand out verses in our passage for today? Feel free to comment below!

Tuesday John 20:19-31: This is a passage that describes Jesus appearing to his closest friends, and thus we see the scripture about 'doubting Thomas.' I think that many people feel like Thomas once in a while. We have to see it to believe it, but Jesus said, blessed are those who do not see and still believe. I guess that is why they call it 'faith!. At any rate, the stand out verse for me was V. 22. I always wondered how this relates to Pentecost. Did they receive the Holy Spirit twice? Does one cancel out the other? If I were to make a guess, Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit on them in an temporary way so that they could endure the 50 days until they were "baptized" by the Holy Spirit permanently at Pentecost. At least, that is how I understand it. I am glad I am re-reading Jesus' appearances after his resurrection. This is a great reminder to me!
How did you feel about today's passage? Let me know in the comments below!
Blessings!

Well, isn't this appropriate!! You thought we were done with our reading plan. April Fools!! We still have two weeks to go, although I don't think we can call it a Lenten plan any more. I hope your Easter holiday and resurrection celebrations brought you joy and peace!
Here is our schedule for this week: Monday: John 20:1-18. Tuesday: John 20:19-31. Wednesday: John 21:1-14. Thursday: John 21:15-25. Friday: Mark 16.
Monday John 20:1-18: It is true that Easter is over, and reading about the event surrounding the resurrection may not seem to make sense. But I really think that there is always something to learn when reading the Bible, even if it is about events we already know about. I hope you feel the same way.
The verse that stands out for me is V.7. I have always heard the legend of the folded napkin, that according to Jewish customs, if a person left a folded napkin near his or her plate, then the servant knew not to clear his setting because he or she would be returning. This leads some to think that the folded napkin was Jesus' way of signaling that we would be returning. This gives us hope that Jesus thought enough of his friends to leave them a signal like that. But the truth is, this tradition in Jewish culture didn't exist in their time, nor did table napkins. Additionally, there is no scholarship that can prove this legend. The story seems to have appeared on the internet in 2007 and has bee circulating around ever since. Nice thought though. Good thing we have many scriptures that talk about the return of Jesus, so we don't have to leave it up to a napkin to tell us about it. ;)
How did you feel about what you read today? Let me know in the comments below!
Blessings!

Christ the Lord has risen today...alleluia!! May the power of the resurrection reverberate love and hope in your lives today, and every day! And stay tuned! our reading resumes tomorrow!

Today is Holy Saturday. It is a day to give some deep thought to the death of Christ. It is a day of quiet reflection and prayer, remembering that those who saw Jesus die, did not know what would happen on the third day. Many people, particularly his closest friends, thought Jesus was gone forever. They did not know what to do or how to go about living without their friend and mentor. To them, the Christ had come and gone. And they would have to live with their guilt of abandoning him when he needed them the most. Let us feel this sense of loss and remember what Jesus has done for us, when he said "it is finished."
May the Holy Spirit move you in new ways this day.

This never gets old!! It's so worth watching today, Good Friday!

It's Friday... But Sunday's a Coming! Jesus crucifixion is one of betrayal. Denial. Cowardice. Envy. Hate. Brutality. Suffering. Despair. Defeat. Death. Yet, Christians celebrate the cross becaus...

Good Friday: Matthew 27:32-66: It's Friday and we know what happens on Friday. Jesus dies at the hands of people who hated him, really for no good reason. Trumped up charges and crowds stirred up by swirling rumors and lies. Jesus, the best of the best, dying by the forces of evil. It's hard to take this all in mind and heart. So I don't have a standout verse. But what I do notice is the actions of the Jewish leaders, who were supposed to be holy in their actions, were nothing but unholy. They did everything they could to s***f out the life of Jesus. While they themselves did not do the killing, they were completely satisfied in the outcome of the Roman trial and sentencing. Those who had memorized and were quite proficient in the knowledge of the scriptures, should have known that Jesus was the Christ, but instead were threatened at his very presence and continued to mock him as he was dying before them (V. 41-44). I wonder what they thought when they felt the earthquake and saw dead people come back to life. I wonder what they thought when they returned to the temple to see the curtain torn in two. I wonder what it would take to make them understand who Jesus was. Even still, they were so afraid of Jesus that they had to post a guard and seal Jesus' tomb, just to be sure he stayed in there beyond three days. Never underestimate the power of denial and insecurity. SMH.
How did you feel about these verses? Feel free to comment below!
May Good Friday speak to your heart.
Blessings!