Sunday, September 12, 2004
A Special Place For Special Bibles
RURAL LIFE SUNDAY COORDINATOR JENNA NELSON DECLARES SPECIAL BIBLES AS THIS YEAR'S SPECIAL EMPHASIS. "Bring your family Bibles or other Bibles with special meaning on Sept. 26," she suggests. "We'll have a place of honor reserved for them." (Photo by David Stanton)
CHAPEL NEWS:
SPECIAL BIBLES TO BE ON SPECIAL
DISPLAY DURING RURAL LIFE SUNDAY
If you have a “special” Bible in your family, bring it to church for public display during Rural Life Sunday, Sept. 26, suggests event coordinator Jenna Nelson. “Last year’s emphasis was on family quilts, and this year's emphasis will be on family Bibles or other Bibles that are special to each of you. We’ll reserve for them a place of honor during that special day.”
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MORNING WORSHIP SERVICE TODAY: 9:00 a.m.
Congregational Songs:
Worthy, Great Is Thy Faithfulness, God Of Wonders, He Lives, You Are My King (Amazing Love), Blessed Assurance (a Fanny Crosby hymn), Heaven Came Down And Glory Filled My Soul.
SPECIAL MUSIC by Tinney Chapel’s quintessential choir:
Sanctuary, Shine medley (Shine On Me & Shine Jesus Shine).
Morning Prayer & Lord’s Prayer: Pastor Duncan Graham
LITURGY BY ASSOCIATE PASTOR GENE MILLER:
Call To Worship
Offertory Prayer
Doxology
Gloria Patri
Apostles Creed
CHILDREN’S TIME TODAY:
Senior Pastor Duncan Graham said to the children: “Know what this is? A quarter, half dollar? How about a dollar? Caught you, didn’t I? It’s a small dollar coin. The other day on TV, I heard a sportscaster refer to a football player as a 'Susan B. Anthony player,' referring perhaps to unexpected power based on a first impression of diminutive size? But, did you know that some people make life decisions based on the results of a coin toss. I recall doing that as a kid, sometimes trying to rig the outcome by switching to ‘2 out of 3’ instead of a single toss that had already disappointed me.
“But Scripture tells us to make life decisions by seeking to know God’s Will through asking, seeking and knocking,” added Pastor Graham. “Sometimes it’s hard to hear when we ask, so we seek, perhaps by reading the Bible. Finally, we may move to the option of knocking, and we know from the TV shows that there are usually several doors on which to knock, but we can’t always tell what’s behind the doors.
"Also, remember that I once gave each of you wristbands with the WWJD inscription: What Would Jesus Do? That’s always a good question to ask about any decision we face, isn’t it?
“Certainly, I do not recommend using the coin toss method,” emphasized the Pastor, whose closing prayer thanked God for the young lives present today, asking that the Lord continue to guide each of them in their life decisions: “Give them a heart for Truth and Righteousness as they make their life decisions, and we give You all the praise. Amen.”
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ADULT SERMON TODAY:
Senior Pastor Rev. Duncan Graham’s topic was “Parables Of The Kingdom: The Greatest Treasure,” based on Matthew 13:44-46:
13:44 God's kingdom is like a treasure hidden in a field for years and then accidentally found by a trespasser. The finder is ecstatic - what a find! - and proceeds to sell everything he owns to raise money and buy that field.
13:45 "Or, God's kingdom is like a jewel merchant on the hunt for excellent pearls.
13:46 Finding one that is flawless, he immediately sells everything and buys it.
---The Message Translation of the Bible
“The Kingdom of Heaven is two things,” declared Senior Pastor Rev. Duncan Graham. “It is a place we go to when we die, the New Jerusalem, a city with streets paved with gold, pearly gates and 12 foundations, each a precious stone, a place of God’s Glory, glorified bodies, no sadness, no tears, a place where a great river runs through. Nevertheless, those of sound mind are usually in no hurry to get there. The sweet bye and bye is sufficiently soon enough.
“The Kingdom of Heaven is also a state of being that is not directly associated with a place,” added Pastor Graham. “It is the place where God rules and reigns in people here and now. That’s what Jesus was referring to when He said the Kingdom of Heaven is near and that it is within us. So the Kingdom of Heaven is a time and place when and where God lives and reigns in our lives because we have given Him the right to control by our surrender to Him. We are living for God and not living for the devil or even living for ourselves.
“In one sense, we will always be living our lives under the reign of either God or the devil,” said the Pastor. “Which is true for you? Say amen or oh me! When we turn to God and let Him reign, we may occupy our place in the Kingdom of Heaven. In another respect, that situation is for us a time of preparation or a time of testing to see if we are serious about the life commitment: How important it is to us. Is it like a treasure found in a field? In the first century, there were no banks, so people did hide their treasures in fields as related in the Parable today in which a man stumbles on the treasure, recognizes it as such and then buys the land to acquire the treasure.
“The most valuable thing you or I will ever have is our place in the Kingdom of Heaven, our salvation in Jesus Christ,” added Pastor Graham. “It’s certain that when we leave this world, we will take nothing with us. And, we don’t really know what the Kingdom of Heaven will be like, despite the hints in Scripture. In fact, the Apostle Paul mentions in the 12th chapter of 2 Corinthians an event in which he apparently saw things in the third heaven, but was not at liberty to discuss them. We do know that the event made an impact on Paul’s life. The Kingdom of Heaven is very real. It is both the future and now, and we will be tested.
“The rich young ruler of Scripture was tested,” reminded Pastor Graham. “When he asked Jesus what he must do to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus told him to obey the commandments, and the ruler said he already did that, so what next? Jesus told him that, if he would be perfect, to sell all his possessions, give the money to the poor and follow Him (Jesus) to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. But the rich young ruler was sorrowful because of the value he placed on his earthly treasure. The rich young ruler was thus tested and found wanting.
“We will always have that testing,” declared Pastor Graham. “How serious are we? Salvation is free, but not necessarily without cost to us. The decisions we face are sometimes God’s way of asking us if we truly desire the Kingdom of Heaven.
[At this point, the Pastor told a story which emphasized the value of a gift given though love and grace, exemplified by blood sacrifice, compared with the attitude of attempting to earn (by works or merit) love and grace, which are gifts without price. Bottom line to the story: Some gifts are available to us only through love, and can not be bought at any price other than acceptance of the love gift. Salvation, available to us as a gift through the sacrifice of God’s own Son, is the best example of this. Anything we might do to earn salvation pales in comparison to the sacrifice of the love in which this precious gift is packaged.]
“That’s how salvation comes to us,” added the Pastor. “We receive a great and precious gift from God, which results in a New Life and we walk in a New Way to the Kingdom of Heaven. That gift to us cost God the Father His greatest possession, His Son, yet He offers it freely to all who accept it in gratitude. I can only marvel, but never understand, those who regard such an act with indifference. If, indeed, as they seem to think, this life is all there is: Then live it any way you can get by with. If there is more, then anyone is a fool not to prepare for it. In any event, we all die either full of faith or full of foolishness!
“The Kingdom of Heaven is our greatest gift,” concluded the Pastor. “All the gold in the world pales in comparison. The Kingdom of Heaven is a place and a state of being, and we can never see the place unless we choose the state of being, which is best exemplified by an attitude of: Here I am Lord, be my Savior, and take me to be Your Own.”
In his closing prayer, the Pastor said, “Help us to see clearly in our spiritual vision the Kingdom of Heaven: What it does for us! Give us the wisdom to choose the vision that will bring to us the pearl of great price. Let your Son live in us that we might live lives of renewed dedication. For all that You do, and for all that we are because of You, we give thanks in His most precious Name. Amen.”
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SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS TOPICS TODAY:
WISE ONES, Frankie Brewer: Beginning Again.
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LADIES BYKOTA, Peggy Boyd: Responding To God’s Holiness.
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OVERCOMERS: Jenna Nelson: CHARLES STANLEY STUDY: FEELING SECURE IN A TROUBLED WORLD! (This is a multiple-week study.)
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YOUTH: Stephen Graham: Journey Through The Bible (Quiz) Continued.
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CHILDREN: Linda Hallman: Jesus Goes To Synagogue School.
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PAIRS & SPARES, Joe Dan Boyd: 2 Timothy 1: THE PROMISE OF LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS
Pairs & Spares Class Handout is below:
MOMENTS OF TRUTH (Life lessons # 234)
Take home lessons from studying 2 Timothy 1 and related Scripture:
1. The Apostle Paul uses a distinctive phrase to describe the Gospel Message, calling it: “The Promise of Life in Christ Jesus.” Our challenge is to make the most of such a Promise, which includes both the present and the future.
2. While the contents of this Letter present the last recorded words of the Apostle Paul, composed under decidedly depressing prison conditions, his faith and resolve are clearly intact. Our challenge is to remember one of Paul’s favorite admonitions: Do not lose heart!
3. Paul faces what he knows are his final days with this attitude: “The time of my departure has come, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.” Our challenge is to learn from this awesome example of unwavering faith and the power of a focused mission.
4. Paul’s second letter to Timothy lingers lovingly over the nature of Timothy’s faith as it reflects that of his mother, grandmother and the divine grace of God’s own gift. Our challenge is to be grateful for the abiding gift of faith and its inherent rich rewards, one of which is the ability to please God.
5. Paul gently advises the young Timothy to “stir up” his God-given gifts, to stoke the coals into flames, presumably by study, prayer and frequent use. Our challenge is not to neglect the gifts that are in us!
TODAY’S DATE: 09-12-04
Pairs & Spares
Sunday School Class
Tinney Chapel UMC
Winnsboro, Texas
ASSIGNMENT FOR NEXT SUNDAY: 09-19-04
READ 2 TIMOTHY 2
Afterwards, reflect upon these things:
1. The character of a soldier of Christ.
2. Finding strength in the gifts of God.
3. Power in a focused vision.
4. The unchained Word of God.
5. An unashamed workman of God.
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COMMUNITY LINKS TODAY:
Winnsboro Today, a great online newspaper serving the Greater Winnsboro community:
http://www.winnsborotoday.com/
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METHODIST LINKS TODAY:
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TO READ THE CURRENT SEPT.10 ISSUE OF THE NORTH TEXAS METHODIST REPORTER (NTMR) ON LINE, GO TO:
http://www.ntcumc.org/ArcUMR/2004/040910mr.html
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For the “mother lode” link to Methodism go to: http://www.umc.org/
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TINNEY CHAPEL UMC COMMUNICATIONS
The quintessential country church!
JOE DAN BOYD, COORDINATOR
