Pastor’s Ponderings, Wonderings, Wanderings

May 28, 2012

This is Memorial Day and it is a day of remembering and honoring those who have given so much for their country. While this can be a time of sorrow as we remember those who have sacrificed everything up to and including their lives, we must also remember why so many have sacrificed so much. Our freedom and our way of life depends on their sacrifice. So lets also remember those who are currently serving our country in all of the military armed services. Let’s remember them in our prayers. Pray for their safety, for peace and for sanity in this crazy world we live in.

As we are praying let’s remember that there is nothing in the teachings of Jesus Christ that supports war. His way is a way of peace that reaches out in love to all. Let’s remember that as believers in God and Jesus as the Christ we should be praying for our country to find peaceful solutions to all disagreements in this world. Too many times throughout history men have taken destructive paths in the name of Jesus and we must always remember that it is not a teaching of Jesus to cause harm to anyone.

So we must pray for our country and it’s leadership. Pray that they will seek peaceful solutions to every crisis we are facing as a country.  When our leadership chooses or is forced into military action, then we must pray the action we take will be quick and decisive with little or no loss of life on either side.  We must pray that all who are involved will come home safely and if they make the ultimate sacrifice then we must pray for their families to be filled with the grace of God and be able to reach out to the world with the love of Jesus Christ.  Pray for all of those who serve in times of war because so many suffer from the stress of war and all of its horrors.  Pray that they may be able to return home and live a life of peace with pride in their service to their country.

Well I guess the question is “Are you praying for those in the military, past and present, for your country, for those who have suffered loss of any kind?”  I believe that our prayers for those who are or have been in service to our country and their families are the best way for us to remember and honor them.

Have a blessed Memorial Day by spending at least a part of it in prayer,  Randy

Lectionary Scripture May 27, 2012 Day of Pentecost

May 21, 2012

Pastor’s Ponderings, Wonderings, Wanderings

May 16, 2012

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Our Bible Study is about Heaven and all that it promises us.  For me this is pretty close to Heaven on earth. I love being around and with my grandchildren because they bring me such joy and happiness.  Isn’t that what Heaven is about, joy and happiness. Randy Alcorn’s book Heaven tells us all that the bible has to say about Heaven and our life there eternally.  View the slideshow and you see what heaven is for me here on this earth.  As a Pastor it is a blessing and an honor to perform a baptism and it is a little bit of heaven to be able to Baptize your grandchildren.  Emilee came along and I did not get to actually baptize her but the other three I was able to perform the baptism myself and God was there leading me and guiding me and blessing the ceremony.  Yes I am in Heaven, all of my grandchildren have been baptised in the church of Jesus Christ and I am one happy Pappy.

These pictures are of Georgia’s Baptism on Sunday the 13th of May.

Lectionary Scripture May 17, 2012 Ascension of the Lord

May 16, 2012

Lectionary Scripture May 20,2012 Seventh Sunday of Easter

May 14, 2012

Pastor’s Ponderings, Wonderings, Wanderings

May 9, 2012

This is the cross on Wesley UMC. I like to think it is reaching up to  the heavens carrying prayers to our savior.

In our study on Heaven we had discussion on what will Heaven be like.  Will it be clouds and harps? Will it be peaceful?  Will it be boring?  Will there be something for us to do?  Will we be in physical bodies?  Will we be spiritual beings?  Lots of other questions were asked and some were answered based on the book “Heaven” by Randy Alcorn.  Here is an excerpt from that book that gives us some answers:

In Genesis 3, the earth’s first radical transition (mankind’s fall and first judgment) can be seen as one bookend of human history. In Revelation 20, we see the second bookend in the earth’s last radical transition (Christ’s return and last judgment), creating a picture of great symmetry. In Genesis, God plants the Garden on Earth; in Revelation, he brings down the New Jerusalem, with a garden at its center, to the New Earth. In Eden, there’s no sin, death, or Curse; on the New Earth, there’s no more sin, death, or Curse. In Genesis, the Redeemer is promised; in Revelation, the Redeemer returns. Genesis tells the story of Paradise lost; Revelation tells the story of Paradise regained. In Genesis, humanity’s stewardship is squandered; in Revelation, humanity’s stewardship is triumphant, empowered by the human and divine King Jesus. These parallels are too remarkable to be anything but deliberate. These mirror images demonstrate the perfect symmetry of God’s plan. We live in the in-between time, hearing echoes of Eden and the approaching footfalls of the New Earth. Paul Marshall concludes, “This world is our home: we are made to live here. It has been devastated by sin, but God plans to put it right. Hence, we look forward with joy to newly restored bodies and to living in a newly restored heaven and earth. We can love this world because it is God’s, and it will be healed, becoming at last what God intended from the beginning.”72 The earth matters, our bodies matter, animals and trees matter, matter matters, because God created them and intends them to manifest his glory. And as we’ll see in the following chapters, the God who created them has not given up on them any more than he has given up on us.

A new earth that has perfect everything. Perfect grass, water, air, dirt, animals, humans, sky, wind, temperature, hair, skin, society and okay I snuck that perfect hair in there to see if you were paying attention but why not perfect hair.  Well we may not know based on scripture exactly what everything will be like but we can say that it is going to be three gasp good. That’s oh, oooh, oooooh, my goodness (I know it is completely understated) and I am looking forward to the moment when I am able to meet my savior in our eternal home.  Have a great evening, morning and week.  Remember that it is all about the savior we know and the life we lead.

Randy

Lectionary Scripture May 13, 2012 Sixth Sunday of Easter

May 7, 2012

Pastor’s Ponderings, Wonderings, Wanderings

May 2, 2012

The sun might be setting in this picture but heaven is alight with God’s presence.

Our Bible Study for the past couple of weeks is over Randy Alcorn’s book “Heaven”. There are five sessions left so if the topic is of interest to you come on by on Wednesday nights. We have a covered dish fellowship meal at 5:30, prayer at 6:15 and we start watching the video about 6:30. You are welcome at all or part of the evening. So many of us have heard so much about Heaven, about what it is like and what we will be doing. So many different ideas and many of them have nothing to do with scripture. The Rev. Dr. Randy Alcorn bases all of his ideas and statements on scripture throughout the Bible. Here is an excerpt from his book.

“A fundamental article of the Christian faith is that the resurrected Christ now dwells in Heaven. We are told that his resurrected body on Earth was physical, and that this same, physical Jesus ascended to Heaven, from which he will one day return to Earth (Acts 1:11). It seems indisputable, then, to say that there is at least one physical body in the present Heaven.

If Christ’s body in the present Heaven has physical properties, it stands to reason that others in Heaven might have physical forms as well, even if only temporary ones. It also makes sense that other aspects of the present Heaven would have physical properties-so that, for example, when Christ is seen standing at the right hand of God(Acts 7:56), he is actually standing on something. Otherwise we would have to conclude that the resurrected (and thus, embodied) Christ has been floating for two thousand years in a realm without material substance. (He could, of course, but does he?) If we know there is physical substance in Heaven (namely, Christ’s body), can we not also assume that other references to physical objects in Heaven, including physical forms and clothing, are literal rather than figurative?”

We hope to find many scriptural answers to the many questions we have. At least we will hear scripture quoted to support Randy Alcorn’s opinions and we can make educated, spirit-led decisions about our future life eternal.

With a first name like Randy, I just have to listen to him.

Have a blessed week,

Pastor Randy Branch

Lectionary Scripture May 6, 2012 – Fifth Sunday of Easter

April 30, 2012

Wesley UMC at The Wesley Center of Lamar

April 25, 2012

Tuesday this beautiful group of United Methodist went to feed some hungry kids at Lamar’s Wesley Foundation.  We fed 283 students a spaghetti and  meatball lunch. There was also salad, bread, lemonade and cookies.  It was a great time of fellowship and some hard work.  We were busy serving for most of those 2 hours from 11am to 1pm.  It is a great feeling to go with this group of people who support each other and all work so fluidly together.  Other than the sauce splattered all over my shirt I think we left it all there.  Good job Wesley United Methodist Church!  God smiles when we take the Gospel message out to the world.  Many different nationalities were represented by the students and they all were served with smiles on peoples faces who showed them the love God has for us all.

20120425-145845.jpg


Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 311 other followers