Tinney Chapel Today

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL (VBS) STARTS MONDAY, and runs from 9:00 a.m. to noon all this week at Tinney Chapel UMC. This photo captures an enthusiastic spirit from last year's VBS group, under the direction of Sadie Jordan, far right. A healthy VBS is ususally one sign of a healthy rural church, which was the topic of today's sermon by Tinney Chapel's Pastor, Rev. Duncan Graham. Photo by Angela Wylie.

MORNING WORSHIP SERVICE, 9:00 A.M.:

Pastor: Rev. Duncan Graham

Greeter: Roger Schneider.

Sound: Bob Deitering

Ushers: George Jordan & Roger Schneider.

Music:

Song leader: Angela Wylie.

Piano: Pat Hollingsworth.

HYMNS:

There is Power in the Blood, Tell it to Jesus, Bless His Holy Name, Faith of our Fathers.

Call to Worship & Opening Prayer

Morning Prayer & Lord’s Prayer:

LITURGY

Offertory Prayer

Doxology

Gloria Patri

Apostles Creed

FATHER’S DAY CEREMONY:

All fathers present today were honored with a Man of God writing pen, and special recognition was given to those who are also great-great grandfathers: Derrell Hollingsworth and Glen Wood. Great grandfathers: Harold Lineus, Danny Lake, Jack Hicks, Woody Wilkerson, Carl Griffin and Louis Newton. The rest were either grandfathers or fathers. David Stanton was asked to lead the congregation in a Father’s Day prayer.

CHILDRENS SERMON:

The Pastor, Rev. Duncan Graham, showed the children a jar of jellybeans, asking each child to guess how many were in the jar. The guesses came quickly: 28, 23, 24, 4? “Actually, there are 38 jellybeans in there,” said the Pastor. “Pressley got the closest, so she wins the jar of jellybeans. Now, wouldn’t it be really something if someone could look at a jar of jellybeans and tell you exactly how many are in it? I mean someone who didn’t already know the number?

“When I was a kid, some of the local stores had big jars of beans in their show room windows, the one that guessed the closest to the actual number would win a prize on a certain given day,” explained Pastor Graham. “I guess there would be thousands of beans in those jars, and it would be really hard to guess the number of beans in them. But, if someone did just that, guessed the exact number: Wouldn’t that be something?

“Yet, according to Scripture, God knows every hair on your head,” emphasized Pastor Graham. “He knows exactly how many hairs you have on your head. Now, you look around at this congregation, and you see some heads on which the hairs are fairly easy to count: We don’t have that many hairs on our heads! On the other hand, some of those out there have a lot of hair on their heads. But God knows, for every person, how many hairs are on each head. That’s something! But, do you know what that tells us? It tells us how much God cares about you. If He knows how many hairs are on your head, it means He cares an awful lot about you.

“In fact, Scripture tells us that He cares so much that He gave His Son that you might have Life,” added the Pastor. “It says also, in Matthew 10:29, that not even a sparrow, worth half a penny, can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. If He cares that much about the sparrows, that have little value, how much more does He care about you? Nobody knows what your real value is except God! And, He says that your value is really, really great. Never forget: Wherever you go, whatever you do, how much God cares about you. Let’s pray:

“Oh, gracious, heavenly Father,” said Pastor Graham. “We pray that You always keep every one of these children aware of how much You care about them, how much You long for them to be close to You at all times. Bless them and keep them in every way. Keep them safe. Keep them whole. Keep them pure. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.”

"HEALTHY CHURCHES TRANSFORMING THE WORLD" was the theme of what was called the first nationwide training event for the United Methodist Church, held earlier this year in Houston, Texas. The North Texas Conference sent a large delegation, including one representative from Tinney Chapel UMC, to this event, which has sparked numerous initiatives aimed at infusing new life into the worship, music, ministry and members of United Methodist churches everywhere. A recent example is today's sermon by Tinney Chapel's Pastor, Rev. Duncan Graham. See the text of Rev. Graham's sermon below. Illustration courtesy of United Methodist Board of Discipleship.

ADULT SERMON:

The Pastor, Rev. Duncan Graham, chose as his sermon title today, “The Strength of Connection,” based on Ecclesiastes 4:12.

“Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” --- New King James Translation.

“Today’s message grows out of several concerns that I have had of late, beginning with our General Conference that was held in 2004,” said Pastor Graham. “There, one of the real concerns that was raised, and a resolution was passed, and some money designated, for the rural churches of Methodism across this nation. And their concern came about over the fact that the rural church is a major part of the Methodist Church that has been kind of the stable backbone of Methodism ever since Methodism started in this country, back in the 1700s. But, in recent decades, it has been declining all the while. If you were to really look at the numbers, you would see that there has been a number of closings of the rural Methodist churches in this country, over the last 50 or 60 years, especially.

“In regard to that, they’ve raised the concern, and the issue, over strengthening the Methodist Church, and yet they really didn’t tell us much about how to do it,” explained the Pastor. “Or, what to do about it! They just kind of talked about the problem, and threw a little money at it, an inadequate amount I might say, as far as really doing much across Methodism as a whole. But, it is a problem. It is a great need in the Methodist church.

“I started praying about two to three years ago that this house down here on the corner of 312 and 4620 would have a good Methodist family move in it that we could claim for our own,” added Pastor Graham. “We kind of went about it backwards: We got the member first, and then she bought the house. But I still think that’s an answer to prayer. So, we are glad, Elena, that you are here, and have acquired that place down there.

“But, indeed, prayer is one of the things that needs to go into the strengthening and building of the rural church in Methodism in America today,” said the Pastor. “In addition to that, I have also this past year taken on the responsibility of being the District Representative for the United Methodist Rural Fellowship (UMRF) because I believe that, historically, over the past 50 years or so that Methodism has not really supported the rural churches as either it ought to or as they needed to be supported.

“By that, I don’t mean handing them money,” emphasized Pastor Graham. “Finances are, indeed, always a big part of it, as far as that goes, but I think it starts somewhere else, and I’ll get into that more here in a moment. Most of the things I am putting out to you this morning are things I have been putting together in regard to being the District Representative of UMRF. However, I’ve got to test it on you, and I’ve got to see what we do about this church, because I think that, if we can’t do it here, we might as well write off the rural church in Methodism! Please understand that I am not ready to write off anything.

“But, I want you to understand that, number one, I believe that we have a calling, a higher calling, than perhaps we have even been aware of,” added the Pastor. “And, I think that calling is a calling of God, that is vitally important in His plan and in His purpose for the rural church. And, that being the case, if we can catch the vision, together, of that calling and realize that God has more for us to do and to be than just a small congregation in a little local area that is inward turned and looking only at what we are and what we want to be, and seeing a greater calling that we are called to provide help, strength, leadership, everything that the rural church needs in a much broader area than just our own community, then we are going to see something that is truly great, Godly, and fulfilling for us.

“But, we have to see ourselves as becoming a servant church that reaches those who have no vision, who feel they have no strength, who do not know they can be a strong and a viable church in this world today,” declared Pastor Graham. “So, I’m saying to you today, that Tinney Chapel has the place and, I’m convinced, the calling, to be a leader in helping others become, as the Army would put it, all that they can be! It’s a divine calling: It’s one that we have to see God in the midst of for us to latch on to it.

“The Scripture this morning, Ecclesiastes 4:12, says: ‘Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.’ If you were to pick up a rope: When I was a kid, I used to love to play with my grandfather’s plow lines. He was a farmer, so he didn’t really have any lariat ropes around his place. He wasn’t out roping cattle. But, he had to have plow lines that he used on his mules all the time. When you picked up one of those ropes, you immediately found several cords that were bound together. There were three cords in that rope that were bound together, and each cord was made up of many strands, and that rope was very, very hard to break.

“So it is,” added Pastor Graham. “When two or three are gathered together in one accord, or form one rope or one cord, rather than three individuals! Interestingly enough, if you go over to the Book of Acts you will find no less than 13 times, the term accord, and all but about one of those times, that term, accord, is used of speaking of people being united in one accord. And, when they were, tremendous things happened! They had a common cause, a common purpose that caused them to always be in unity and do their single purpose together!

“I don’t know how you get 120 people in accord,” quipped the Pastor. “I suppose if you lock them up in one room together and leave them together for 10 days, you will either have accord or you will have an explosion. One or the other! But, they did. And adopted one cause and one purpose, and what happened immediately was that the Holy Spirit fell on them and empowered them to go and birth the Church of Jesus Christ in the world in such a way that it has been growing every since. It has impacted the world through the power of the Holy Spirit, because a few people got together in one accord. What a great and wonderful blessing that was for those people.

“Or, I will take you back to Genesis, Chapter 11:5-7,” declared Pastor Graham. To view the New Revised Standard translation of that Scripture, click HERE “On that occasion, it was kind of a negative thing in one sense, in that Nimrod has established the city that became Babylon, and he has gathered the people together, and they got in one accord, and decided to build a tower up to the sky so that their name would be great, and they would actually be equal to God. Terrible motives, but they got together in one purpose, and listen to what God said about them in verse 6: ‘If as one people, speaking the same language, they have begin to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.’

“Now, think about that a little,” suggested Pastor Graham. “The key words are this: If one people, or if as one people, in other words, if they get in unity, if they get in accord, speaking the same language. All of us here at Tinney Chapel understand each other, so we are speaking the same language. Or, are we? I think there is more to this Scripture than just speaking the same language that everybody understands. I think what He is really saying, down deep here, is that, if they are speaking the same purpose! If they all have the same call! If they are all aimed toward speaking about this tower that we are building, all excited about this tower that we are building, then they get involved and get it built.

“They were speaking as one people,” explained the Pastor. “The same language, the same vision, the same goal. Because they were, God said, if they keep this up, nothing will be impossible for them. What I want you to see in all this is that if this could be done negatively, think, think what could be done positively! If we are speaking from the Holy Spirit. If we are speaking the good things of God. If we have the vision that God gives us. There is strength in unity. But for unity to really be effective, you have to have accountability, which means that you have to be open for someone always to tell you that you are doing wrong. If you are on the wrong path. Or, if you are doing right. If you are on the right path.

“I was not telling you that it would be easy to tell others when they are on the wrong path,” emphasized Pastor Graham. “But, it’s a lot harder to have someone tell you that you are on the wrong path. It’s often easy to get self-righteous, and be able to judge everybody else. The world is full of people like that. But it’s another story when you open yourself up for somebody else to say: Am I doing this right? Or am I doing this wrong? To say: What do you see in my vision and my goals? What am I really about? That’s where the difficulty of accountability comes in. We have to be willing to allow some Godly person to, basically, deal with us.

“What’s at issue is church growth,” said the Pastor. “Church growth certainly needs to happen in every local, rural church. But, if that local, rural church is sitting out there, isolated, by itself, growth is very difficult. On the other hand, if that rural church is supportive and supporting, by others, it becomes much easier. I am suggesting, this morning, and these are some things for which I want you provide feedback about your understanding, views and concepts of this. Whether you think it’s good or not. So you are my guinea pigs in a sense today.

“I’m convinced the possibility exists of rural churches beginning to develop a relationship with another rural church, let’s call them sister churches, who are accountable to one another,” explained the Pastor. “That is to say, that when one church establishes a vision and a goal for itself, and shares it with another church, and that church keeps sharing things back and forth, and being sure you are working toward your goals, your objectives, then they can help one another, strengthen one another.

“Sometimes it may mean taking an offering for another church,” he added. “Or sharing services with another church. Or, just rejoicing over something that has happened, positively, in a church. But, I believe that, for the rural church, beginning with Tinney Chapel, to be more effective, and to grow more, there has to be some accountability to other churches, that engage in a give and take, constantly.

“For these churches to grow, there are three areas that we must grow in,” added Pastor Graham. “And the first is spiritual. The second is in number. And the third is financially. You can not really become a strong and vital church without growth in these three areas. The first is certainly the most important part, the part that must be given priority in the life of any church. But that spiritual growth really represents our relationship with God. And, because it represents our relationship with God, it is the most important thing in the life of the church or in our individual lives. It only comes through our Lord, Jesus Christ. But, you know, when we grow spiritually, it builds us up: It makes us strong, as Christians.

“When we grow spiritually, it builds character within our lives; it makes us righteous, or right-standing before God, when we grow spiritually,” explained the Pastor. “It is the cornerstone of our existence. Our spiritual walk determines our eternity. So, we need always to devote ourselves to spiritual growth in ourselves and in the Body of Believers that we gather with, and I believe in the Body of Believers extended beyond our walls here.

“How do we accomplish this?” asked Pastor Graham. “We accomplish it through what I call Holy Habits. I preached a sermon on Holy Habits some time ago. Probably three or four years ago, now. (For more on the Pastor's Holy Habits sermon, click HERE) And, although the idea of Holy Habits is geared toward spiritual growth, those Holy Habits are things that need to be developed in the life of every Christian. And just a few of them are these Holy Habits. The first is he Holy Habit of prayer. Prayer will do great and wonderful things in your own life, and in the lives of others. Because it has power. Because that power comes from on high. Because it puts you in touch with the Almighty. There is more wrought through prayer than you have ever supposed.

“The second is the Holy Habit of worship,” added the Pastor. “You were created for worship by God, both corporate worship and private worship. Worship is a constant thing that always lifts us up as we approach God and glorify His Name. Worship is a very important aspect of our relationship with Him. How do you worship? In many, many, ways. One of the ways you can worship is when you get off by yourself at anytime. Just look up and say, Praise the Lord, Glory to God, Hallelujah. It’s as simple as that. There are many times when I might not shout in public, but I have no qualms about shouting in private. So, go out to your back forty, wherever that may be. Get alone in your prayer closet, in your car. Let the world know, or wonder, what that idiot is doing, driving down the road, shouting Praise God! But, worship, worship.

“And, The Word is the third Holy Habit,” emphasized Pastor Graham. “Study the Word, read the Word, get into the Word, down in your spirit. I was reading one of these George Barna updates that came this past week on my e-mail. He said the great percentage of people in the US attest to the fact that their greatest weakness is that they don’t know the Word. They don’t know Scripture. They don’t read it, and they don’t know it. And, that’s amazing to me because the same reports will tell you that 90% of the people in this nation say that their religious faith is a very vital part of their lives. And yet, they don’t know the Word. I call that laziness. I call that so averse to reading that people won’t devote any time to it. In fact, really, and I don’t mean to offend anybody, but I’d call it just plain dumb. This Word is so full of promises to you that you ought to know what you’ve got coming. You ought to know what God has done, and what He has spoken though many people to give to you.

“You ought to know it because I might read it wrong to you some Sunday morning,” challenged the Pastor. “I might mislead you, and you need to know whether I’m misleading you or not. And, if I’m not reading the Word to you, you need to discount what I’m saying. The Word is sharp and alive, and more powerful than a two-edged sword, dividing asunder the soul and spirit, bones and marrow, joints and tendons. It’s that sharp.

“Another Holy Habit is your giving,” added Pastor Graham. “Uh, oh, he’s talking about money again. Well, no, not just money. I’m talking about your time and your resources. Talking about your talents and your abilities. Talking about who you are. Talking about all of you. I’ve told you the story before about a friend of mine who was baptizing one time, I think it was down in the Gulf, off the shores of the Florida Panhandle. People were coming out into the water to be immersed, and here comes this woman with her pocketbook, her purse in her hand, as she came to be baptized. My preacher friend asked the lady to let someone hold her pocketbook, but she said: Oh, no! I want that baptized, too. I know that if I give my pocketbook to God, I will be fully His. Selah. Pause, and think calmly on this!

“Holy Habits: Also included is partaking of Holy Communion,” declared the Pastor. “There is something spiritual that happens when you take Holy Communion in the right attitude. In repentance. In desire for Jesus Christ. And a commitment to love Him, and to walk in charity with your neighbors. And the last one I will mention today is fellowship. In the Greek it would be called koininia: fellowship. Christian fellowship. Fellowship that causes people to come together in the Name of Jesus Christ, that builds that unity, that causes them to become strong in their relationships with one another in Jesus Christ. That causes them to begin to catch a common vision.

“These are not all the Holy Habits that we could list, but they are a very good start,” said Pastor Graham. “And, build that spiritual strength, first and foremost. I don’t have time this morning to talk about numerical building or financial building, but you know many things about it yourself without me telling you. The vision that I have, and have had for a long time, for Tinney Chapel, is that Tinney Chapel would not be just another rural church out here in the middle of cow pastures that would be of that attitude: Bless us, Lord, us four, no more! But, Tinney Chapel would be one that would build and grow to the Glory of God, and cause others to build and grow to the Glory of God.

“As long as we focus on self, there will be no fulfillment of a vision,” said Pastor Graham. “But, when we determine to take our vision to the world, we will grow, spiritually, numerically, financially, and will cause others to grow this way. I believe that, within this District, over the next few years, we could see a great movement that would come together to start a fire that would burn brighter and brighter to the Glory of God. And, for the salvation of some Methodist churches.

“I will just take the time to share this with you,” added the Pastor. “I’ve been given the challenge and responsibility over the last couple of years, by our District Superintendent, to go and welcome the new, incoming pastors into the District. I’ve been doing some of that this week: I went with a lady pastor and her husband who had just moved in to a two-point charge. She was telling me that one of the churches on that charge is in a little town, with much more people around them than we have here, has about 15 people in the church and about $10,000 in the bank, and she says that they are basically just holding on until that money is gone, and then they will close the doors.

“Folks, my vision is that they don’t have to close that church,” said the Pastor. “I was told, this past Conference, about Leighton Farrell, once a pastor of Highland Park, the biggest church in this Conference, and most of Methodism. But, he said to that congregation: If every member of this congregation was on welfare, but tithed, our budget would be bigger than it is today. Realize that they have some very, very wealthy people in that church, and a lot of members.

“Does a little church in a rural community have to die when there are people all around it who need a church somewhere?” asked Pastor Graham. “Even if they are in a depressed area, and they are on welfare, I say there needs to be some coming together of sister churches that lead the way, that show them that it can be done. Folks, we are blessed, beyond what we may imagine, here and now. And, we need to share the proof, spiritual development and growth, the calling of Almighty God for people to be His disciples: May you go and make disciples! Let’s pray:

“Oh, gracious, gracious heavenly Father, I pray that Your Calling may not be in vain. Father, you said in Your Word that many are called, but few are chosen. I pray very ardently that we not only be called, but because of our willingness, we would be chosen. All to Your Glory. In Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.”

SUNDAY SCHOOL DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE at Tinney Chapel UMC. Illustration courtesy of North Texas Conference Igniting Ministry Initiative.

CLASSES TODAY:

SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS TOPICS:

WISE ONES, Frankie Brewer: The Prevailing Good.

LADIES BYKOTA CLASS, Peggy Boyd: The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren.

TINNEY CHAPEL MEN, Bill Knoop: Faith for Earth's Final Hour, by Hal Lindsey.

OVERCOMERS, Jenna Nelson: The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren.

YOUTH, Ronny Ellison: Life Lessons from 1 & 2 Peter, by Max Lucado.

CHILDREN, Linda Hallman: The Flower and the Oil, part 2.

REMNANT, Joe Dan Boyd: Enemies & Strife in Proverbs 10-31, a study by Roger Hahn.

The Remnant Righteousness handout is below:

REMNANT RIGHTEOUSNESS

Life lessons # 271 from studying “Enemies & Strife” in Proverbs 10-31, a study by Roger Hahn.

1. The frank discussion about enemies, revenge, hatred and strife, in the Book of Proverbs, sometimes shocks the pious Christian reader.

2. Proverbs teaches a right way to get along with friends and neighbors, and a right way to get along with one’s enemies.

3. Unfortunately, some people may choose animosity and bitterness as the basis of their relationship with us.

4. Thus, our enemies are not always of our own choosing.

5. Proverbs demands that we not allow ourselves to be brought down to their level of thinking and acting.

6. Proverbs 20:22 suggests that it is better to wait for the Lord to sort things out, and bring justice, than to take matters into our own hands.

7. Proverbs tells us that God promises to help those who suffer evil at the hands of someone else.

8. The Book of Proverbs teaches that secret rejoicing at the difficulties faced by an enemy is forbidden because God expects us to think toward our enemies as lovingly as He thinks toward them.

9. Proverbs 25:21-22 actually commands that we help an enemy in his most difficult times. Paul reminds us of this in Romans 12:20.

10. Proverbs teaches that strife is caused by hatred and a quarrelsome attitude.

11. We are cautioned not to be the source of contention and struggle, because peaceful relationships are too important.

12. Even when we are not the source of strife, Proverbs advises us to immediately do what we can to put an end to escalating hostility.

13. To those who choose not to avoid conflict, Proverbs says that, for them, life will be about as peaceful as if they had grabbed a passing dog by the ears.

TODAY’S DATE: 06-19-05

THE REMNANT

Sunday School Class

Tinney Chapel UMC

Winnsboro, Texas

ASSIGNMENT FOR NEXT SUNDAY: 06-26-05

Study “Care for the Poor,” in Proverbs 10-31. This includes the following Proverbs, listed below in the order we will discuss them:

17:5; 14:21, 31; 22:16; 30:14; 28:3; 22:22-23; 15:25; 22:28; 23:10-11; 22:9; 19:17; 28:27; 21:13.

Afterwards, reflect upon these things:

1. Proverbs is harsh on those who are lazy.

2. But Proverbs never concludes that everyone who is poor is also lazy.

3. Proverbs teaches that the way we treat the poor is a critical indication of our awareness of the heart of God.

4. God takes disregard for the poor as a personal insult because He is the Creator.

BIBLE READINGS:

Readings for the fifth Sunday after Pentecost: Genesis 21:8-21; Psalm 86:1-10, 16-17; Romans 6:1b-11; Matthew 10:24-39.