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Pastor’s Ponderings, Wanderings, Wonderings

June 9, 2015

Day of Pentecost

This is a copy of my article in our June Newsletter that is published by Jan Day. You can read the whole newsletter by going to our website http://www.orangewesley.org. In the right hand column you will see our pages and the Newsletter is one of those. Click on Newsletters then click on the page you would like to read. It should expand for easy reading.

Have a blessed day in Jesus Christ, Pastor Randy

May the 24^th was Pentecost Sunday. For the next twenty six Sundays we will be in the season after Pentecost and then it will be the Advent season again. As most of you know Pentecost is the day we celebrate the Holy Spirit coming down upon the disciples in the Upper Room.

Acts 2:1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Some folks heard them and were amazed and others heard them and said they were drunk at 9:00am in the morning.

Acts 2:5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God- fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked:”Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language?

Acts 2:13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine. ‘”14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd:”Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning!

Even today Christians are made fun of by those who do not believe in Jesus Christ or the God who sent Him to us. I have said before that sometimes Christians are Christ’s worse enemies. Simply by their actions and words they turn people away from Christ and eternal salvation. Only by being filled with the Holy Spirit will we ever be able to turn the tide of people leaving churches because they cannot see or feel love in the house of God. Each and every person who claims Jesus Christ as their savior is responsible for their actions in Church and out in the world. The only way any of us can ever come close to being the people Jesus Christ teaches us to be is to be filled and led by the Holy Spirit in Church and out in the world. Seek the Spirit of God and know that you can be that person who invites souls into the fellowship of Christian Love through word and deed.

Pastor Randy

Tags:1 corinthians, faith, God, Holy Spirit, hope, love, Pentecost, witness
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Pastor’s Ponderings, Wonderings, Wanderings

June 18, 2012

I was just thinking about the Twelve Commandments or is it maybe thirteen. You do remember Jesus telling us to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and love our neighbor as ourselves? Of course those would be eleven and twelve but where is thirteen? Well let’s look in John 15:12 where Jesus tells us “This is my commandment: that you love one another as I have loved you!” You may be thinking that they all say we should love each other and that loving God and loving our neighbor are actually a part of the original Ten. I would say that Jesus made sure that we knew the original Ten were essential and if we were not following His love commandments we would not be using the glue that holds them all together. Remember from Mark:

Mar 12:29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord, Mar 12:30 and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ Mar 12:31 The second is this: ‘You must love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”

So love would be essential to all that we do and who we are as Christians and is punctuated in John 15:12 with “love one another as I have loved you.” He is telling His disciples that love is what will hold His Church together. Can you see now how important love is to our Christian beliefs? Can you also see how divided the Christian church is? Do you think that love is left out of the equation in the differences we have in our denominations and the teachings that divide us? Yes, I think there is much hatred and bigotry “exclusiveness” in some “Christian” churches today because they pick and choose scripture that suits their own priorities. They then make those scripture primary over the “thirteen commandments.”

Jesus tells us that if love is not in the equation then it is not of Him. Jesus was very wise in His teachings and I sometimes wonder why Christian churches don’t listen to Him. Love your neighbor as yourself! That means you cannot pick and choose by color of skin, ethnicity, language spoken, denomination, immersion or sprinkling or affluency. Just love your neighbor!

Pastor Randy

Tags:1 corinthians, 1 John, Bless, bridesmaids, church, commandments, Common, God, growth, integrity, Jesus, lamp, Lectionary, light, Mark, Matthew, methodist, spirit, spiritual, ten, thirteen, united
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Pastor’s Ponderings, Wonderings, Wanderings

June 15, 2012

Our Bible Study time each week for the past 7 weeks has been centered around the book “Heaven” by Randy Alcorn. Dr. Alcorn does a wonderful job of reaching into the Bible and gleaning scriptures that refer to Heaven. This week we took up another book called “90 Minutes in Heaven” by Don Piper. I recommend either of these books as a very rewarding and inspirational read. In each of these books I am reminded that there is a very great reward that none of us living today deserve so let’s give thanks for our belief in Jesus Christ. It is just that belief that gets us that reward and there is nothing else required of us.

When I think about this gift God has given us it turns my heart towards the loving relationship that He desires us to have with Him. He loves us no matter what we do and that love poured out upon everyone on this earth helps me to think about returning that love to Him. Not because it is required but because when I think about Him my heart is warmed and His love is reflected in me and from me. When am I reflecting that love? When I am visiting those who are homebound! When I am smiling at those whom I meet each day! When I am helping someone in need! When I am doing the things that reflect God’s love for His world. I have to look at all of these things not as things I do but as God’s love for us being poured out from me as a willing vessel.

You see I truly believe that if you love someone you do things for them because you love them. God loves us and has done and is doing for us just because He loves us. Our response to that love should be that we show our love for Him by being His willing vessels that pour His love out on the world.

Smile at someone today! Better yet smile at everyone today! Smile because you know God loves you and because you know you love God! It is a marriage made in Heaven!

Pastor Randy

Tags:1 corinthians, 1 John, 1 Samuel, 2 Corinthians, Acts, America, bridesmaids, church, Common, ethics, Genesis, God, integrity, Jesus, Jesus Matthew Peter Spiritual growth, john, Lectionary, Mark, methodist, psalms, readings, Revised, Scripture readings per Revised Common Lectionary, Spiritual growth, study, Thessalonians, united
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Lectionary Scriptures for 6-10-12

June 8, 2012

1 Samuel 8:4-11, (12-15), 16-20, (11:14-15) and Psalm 138 •
Genesis 3:8-15 and Psalm 130 •
2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1 •
Mark 3:20-35

Tags:1 corinthians, 1 John, 1 Samuel, 2 Corinthians, Acts, America, bridesmaids, church, Common, ethics, Genesis, God, integrity, Jesus, Jesus Matthew Peter Spiritual growth, john, Lectionary, Mark, methodist, psalms, readings, Revised, Scripture readings per Revised Common Lectionary, Spiritual growth, study, Thessalonians, united
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Holy Thursday – Pastor’s Ponderings, Wonderings, Wanderings

April 6, 2012

Last night at Wesley United Methodist Church we held a Holy/Maundy Thursday Service. We read from John 13:1-17, 31-35 and from 1 Corinthians 11:23-26. Read the Passion of Christ from John 18:1-19:42 and received Holy Communion.

We received Holy Communion last because we wanted the Passion of Christ to be fresh on our minds and in our hearts when we received the gift He has given us.

We are fast closing out the season of Lent. A time when we should be focusing more on Christ and less on ourselves. Remembering Jesus’ teachings about being servants to all. In Jesus’ day the lowliest of lowly jobs was to have to wash someone’s feet. The footwear of choice was a sandal of some sort and feet were usually pretty dirty. Walking around in the streets of Jerusalem was a dusty endeavor with all kinds of animal droppings and such to be dodged so it is pretty easy to understand why Jesus used such a lowly example of servant hood to example to His disciples what it meant to be a servant to others. He showed them in His washing of their feet that the love He had for them was able to go to extremes for them. Even the extreme of willingly, voluntarily giving His very own life for them. In giving His life He exampled the very depths of suffering that He would go to because He loved them (us) all so much. Such depths as being beaten, spit upon, whipped in the most cruel and punishing way to cause the most damage without causing death. Then He was paraded through the streets carrying His own Cross to be nailed to it and left to die.

Who among those you know would be willing to do that for the one’s you love! Many over the centuries have given their lives for what they believe in. They have become Martyr’s for the cause and love of Jesus Christ. That is the extreme example so what do you do in your every day life to example Jesus’ love for everyone you meet every day. That is really why He gave himself up for us. To help us think about thinking about others. How do you serve every day? What are your thought’s about people and who they are? Why do you ignore those in need? Questions we all need to dig deep down into to search our own hearts and maybe we can allow the Holy Spirit to work within us.

Have a blessed day by being the servant to the world and the one’s you love that Christ calls you to be,

Pastor Randy

Tags:1 corinthians, church, Gospel, grace, growth, hope, Jesus, john, Lectionary, light, love, methodist, Scripture readings per Revised Common Lectionary, Spiritual growth, united, world
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