Tinney Chapel Today

Click on any image above to view it in larger format and/or click on the arrow below to view the video of David's Lenten homily.



"Coming, coming, greedy or not!"
David Stanton's Lenten Homily

Luke 12:13-21 (New International Version, ©2011)

The Parable of the Rich Fool
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

Resource link to above Scripture:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+12%3A13-21&version=NIV

Click on any image above to view it in larger format and/or click on the arrow below to view the video of most of Peggy Boyd's REC presentation @ Tinney Chapel.


Peggy Boyd explains Residents Encounter Christ (REC) Ministry at the Johnston Unit prison to congregation at Tinney Chapel UMC, which helped pioneer the program

Pastor Sue Gross introduced Peggy Boyd, a member of Tinney Chapel, and one of the veterans of this REC outreach ministry to clients at the Johnston Substance Abuse Unit in Winnsboro.

Peggy detailed the history of the REC program and Tinney Chapel's early involvement in it, as well as her own personal testimony in the performance of her ministry in REC, which is a prison version of the Walk To Emmaus program, of which Peggy is also a veteran pilgrim and subsequent member of multiple teams.

You may view a video of most of Peggy's presentation by clicking on the arrow elsewhere in this weblog post.

Silver Strings Band, a big hit at last fall's Rural Life Sunday event, will perform @ Tinney Chapel's funraiser again tonight.

Click on any image to view it in larger format.

Food, fellowship & fine music @ Tinney Chapel TONIGHT, Sat., Mar. 26

Members of Tinney Chapel United Methodist Church invite the public to share an old-fashioned iron kettle stew at our Family Life Center TONIGHT, Saturday, March 26 from 5 pm to 7 pm.

The menu will include both beef stew and chicken stew, supplemented with plenty of iced tea, cornbread, crackers and homemade desserts provided by members of the congregation.

Entertainment will be provided by the Silver Strings band of Quitman, a group which has performed here before.

Admission is free, but donations will be appreciated to help with the cost of refurbishing floors of the church’s Family Life Center, which occasionally hosts community events of interest to the general public.

Tinney Chapel is located two miles south of Winnsboro, just off FM 312, then one-quarter mile east to 449 CR 4620.

Click on any image to view it in larger format and/or click on the arrow below to view the video of part of Lay Speaker Angela Wylie's Lenten devotional.


You Never Know
Lenten Devotional by Certified Lay Speaker Angela Wylie

Luke 10:25-37 (New International Version, ©2011)

The Parable of the Good Samaritan
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[a]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b]”

28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii[c] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

Resource site for above:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+10%3A25-37&version=NIV

Click on image above to view it in larger format.

Members of Tinney Chapel United Methodist Church invite the public to share an old-fashioned iron kettle stew at our Family Life Center on Saturday, March 26 from 5 pm to 7 pm.

The menu will include both beef stew and chicken stew, supplemented with plenty of iced tea, cornbread, crackers and homemade desserts provided by members of the congregation.

Entertainment will be provided by the Silver Strings band of Quitman, a group which has performed here before.

Admission is free, but donations will be appreciated to help with the cost of refurbishing floors of the church’s Family Life Center, which occasionally hosts community events of interest to the general public.

Tinney Chapel is located two miles south of Winnsboro, just off FM 312, then one-quarter mile east to 449 CR 4620.

Click on image above to view it in larger format or click on the arrow below to view part 1 of the Lay Speaker sermon video.


Forgive And Live

A Lay Sermon Devotional for Lent (see video), based on one of the Parables of Jesus found in Luke 7:40-47:

As an introduction, Joe Dan recited an old poem by James Henry Leigh Hunt:

Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase)
Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,
And saw, within the moonlight in his room,
Making it rich, and like a lilly in bloom,
An angel writing in a book of gold:
Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold,
And to the Presence in the room he said,
What writest thou?" The Vision raised its head,
And with a look made of all sweet accord
Answered, "The names of those who love the Lord."
"And is mine one?" said Abou.
"Nay, not so," replied the angel. Abou spoke more low,
But cheerily still; and said, "I pray thee, then,
Write me as one that loves his fellow-men."

The angel wrote, and vanished. The next night
It came again with a great wakening light,
And showed the names whom love of God had blessed,
And, lo! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest!


Luke 7:40-47 (New International Version, ©2011)

40 Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”

“Tell me, teacher,” he said.

41 “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii,[a] and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”

43 Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”

“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.

44 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”

Resource link for the above:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+7%3A40-47&version=NIV

During today's Lenten Worship service, the congregation sang "Nothing But The Blood" and "My Hope Is Built," with Angela Wylie as song leader and piano accompaniment by Molly Mathis.

After the devotional sermon, Pastor Sue Gross served Holy Communion, assisted by Lay Speaker Joe Dan Boyd.

Please scroll down for part 2 of this Lenten devotional, filmed by fellow Lay Speaker David Stanton, who also made the still photos.

Click on the image above to view it in larger format or click on the arrow below to view part 2 of the Lay Speaker devotional video.



Forgive And Live video (part 2)
By Certified Lay Speaker Joe Dan Boyd

With thanx to David Stanton, fellow Certified Lay Speaker, who filmed the video and made the still photos during this event.

Please scroll still further down for the final (part 3) portion of this Lay Speaker video.

Click on the image above to view it in larger format or click on the arrow below to view the final (part 3) portion of the Lay Speaker Video.


Forgive And Live Final Portion (part 3) of Lay Speaker Video.

With thanx to David Stanton, fellow Certified Lay Speaker for filming this video and making the still photos of the Lenten event.

Click on any image above to view it in larger format or click on the arrow below to view Pastor Sue's sermon and Imposition of the Ashes.


Ash Wednesday: 03-09-11
Where Is Your Cross Worn?

It's a fair question, but not one that we often ask ourselves: Where do we wear our crosses?

On our necks, hanging by a golden chain? In our pockets, mingling and jingling with our silver coins? On our foreheads, as do we all on this Ash Wednesday evening?

Or, somewhere inside, perhaps in our hearts?

Pastor Sue Gross began her Lenten devotional with a story she heard in seminary. It was the tale of a young child who had been consecrated by a pastor who formed the cross on the baby's forehead, using oil. But the parents didn't think to remove the oil until the baby was home, after sufficient time in the sunlight for the image of a cross to have been "basted," temporarily, on the youngster's forehead.

It could have been an occasion for temporary embarrassment, temporary laughter or any number of temporary emotions, but the lasting thought was that this incident in the child's life might very well become the foundation for the rest of his life.

We can carry the cross in our hearts, declared Pastor Sue, referring to a portion of today's Scripture (Joel 2:12-13):

"Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning: rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the Lord, your God, for He is gracious and merciful."

"It's harder to rend our hearts than to rend out clothes," added the Pastor. "It's easier to wear a cross around our neck than to carry the actual burden of an actual cross."

The Pastor's point here is that it's easier for us to wear our piety outwardly (such as with a cross necklace) than to wear our piety inwardly, in our hearts. In other words, it's easier to talk the talk than to walk the walk. Easier to tell than to show.

Jesus told us not to pray as the hypocrites do: That is, for show! And, certainly, on this Ash Wednesday evening, it's not a night to practice any kind of false religion.

Rather, Pastor Sue said it's a time over the next 40 days to focus on the cross, and its impact on our individual lives.

She mentioned the movie, The Last Emperor, which tells the story of the last emperor of China, who had a stand-in to take his punishment when he did something wrong. In a sense, that's what Jesus did for all of us by His sacrifice on the cross. He took the punishment for our sins, making it possible for us to have Eternal Life by believing on Him. This, emphasized Pastor Sue, is the Gospel Story, it's the Good News.

Yet, some modern churches are being built without any crosses to be found anywhere: Not inside the sanctuaries and not outside on the church grounds. One church spokesman explained it like this: The cross can be viewed as a sign of weakness or failure.

The cross does have to be explained, declared Pastor Sue, a situation which has always been the case, even in the days of the early church. But, to True Believers, the most precious symbol of our faith is the cross. Among other things, it's a reminder that God is always with us, even in the toughest times.

The Empty Tomb, said Pastor Sue, was God's last victorious word on our lives. It's God's dream, not ours. It's God's ambition, not ours.

By the wounds, said the prophet, we are healed!

Pastor Sue concluded with an anecdote about a golfer named Doug Ford, who won the Masters Golf Tournament in 1957, a feat which earned him a lifetime privilege of playing (without having to make the cut) in all future Masters Tournaments. All because he won it once, long ago!

And, because Jesus went to the cross--for us--all those many centuries ago, we also have a lifetime privilege, an Eternal Lifetime privilege, that no one can take away.

AMEN