Undefeated

Hello Emmanuel,

I apologize if you get this late.  It is 11:59 A.M. as I type this, so technically it IS the Monday Morning Pulpit.  I have been reminded how busy things can get in the church.

The Bengals are 6-0 for the first time since I was a Junior in High School (1988).  I remember that my Junior year was my best year.  I got the best grades that year; scored a 26 on the ACT; batted .361 with 20 stolen bases in 21 games and wrote my first novel. 

 Do you remember your best year?  Have you had that time frame when everything seemed to be great?  Yes?  No? 

We have the habit of remembering the bad times.  I don’t know why.  Perhaps it is because feelings like sadness and fear are the two strongest emotions and they leave a deeper imprint.  But for this edition, I challenge you to think really hard on when the best time was for you.  I’ll give you a second……

Ok… second is over.  Got it?  Good.  Now I want you to consider the possibility, even if it the slightest possibility, that tomorrow or next week or next year is even better than the best you’ve ever had it.  Do you think that is possible?  Do you think God wants it to be possible? 

For it to be so, it starts with a mindset.  It starts with believing that God wants you to have a good, happy, fulfilling life.  It starts with the faith that says ‘With God, anything is possible’.  It then proceeds with you behaving like you expect things to go well.  Stop looking for monsters under every bed.  Walk like you know that God is on your side (or you are on God’s side).  Talk like the optimist God wants you to be.  You might have heard the phrase, ‘the power of positive thinking’.  I prefer to think of it as the power of faithful living.

Live like God has given you life.  Talk like Jesus has given you hope.  Love like you know what it means to be loved. 

The Bengals are on a bye next week.  You know what that means?  For the first time ever, they will be undefeated after the 7^th week of the season.  Who Dey!

Now I’m going to go tackle the rest of my Monday.

God is Good,

Pastor Joe

Do-Overs

Hello Emmanuel,

Ever want a do-over?

Vacations are counter-intuitive to the human condition.  In some ways, vacations are nothing more than an attempt to fool ourselves into thinking we don’t really want what we inherently want…… routine and predictability.

I’ve watched others become so controlling and intentional in planning and spending their vacation that they have just as much irritable stress as they have in their ‘regular’ life.  I shake my head (smh for those in the texting world) at how silly that looks on the surface.  It’s one of the reasons I like to cruise.  I don’t have to stress and plan.  I buy a plane ticket.  I buy a boat ticket.  Then wherever the boat takes me is where I go.  Kim is a little bit different.   I won’t go there.  It’s Monday and it will get me off to a rough start on the week.

But sometimes I want a do-over.

I didn’t go on a cruise last week.  I stayed around town.  In addition, I didn’t turn my phone off.  I didn’t turn my email off.  I didn’t turn my facebook off.  I didn’t turn my texting off.  In the kind of world that we live in now, I suppose I wasn’t really on vacation because I didn’t vacate much of anything that I would normally be connected with.  The only difference is that I didn’t respond to most of that which demanded my attention.  Instead I let it pile up until that day when I ‘got back to work’.  Guess what?  Today is that day.  Yea for me!

Sorry if I sound a bit grumpy.  It’s another silly reality of vacations.  Watching people get back to the grind is a whole lot more entertaining than being the person who is experiencing such.  So I’ll stop complaining now and perform an exercise that will help me get back into a healthy mind-set.  My iced tea is in front of me at Panera.  Ready?  Here we go:

The annual Craft Show is this Saturday.  We fill the church with crafters and make money to spend for missions.  There is also food!  It isn’t free, but it still tastes good.

We are collecting shoes for the local schools.  Bring them in.  It will fill a basic need for many kids which will make Jesus happy.

We are collecting candy for the Community Boo Bash on October 25^th.  It will fill a perceived need for kids which will at least make them happy.  I don’t know how Jesus feels about sugar rushes, but the community will once again feel welcomed at Emmanuel.

October 20^th starts the Grow Class intended to help people ‘grow’ in discipleship at Emmanuel.  It is a 6-week class from 7:00-8:00 (on Tuesdays).  The cost is $11.  Sign-up at church or call me (833-5219).

The next food pantry at Emmanuel is October 23^rd.  Help is needed from 9:00-1:00.

October 24^th is the bonfire at Ron Hill’s house (4039 Amelia-Olive Branch Road) at 6:00.  This is carry-in style.  Bring your food to roast and your chair to sit in and your heart with which to fellowship.

October 15^th (every Thursday at 7:00) starts a new Bible Study.  This one will be on 1^st and 2^nd Corinthians.

This Wednesday there will be a memorial service for David Bowman at the church building.  Russ’s brother passed away unexpectedly.  Visitation will be from 6:00-7:00 with the service starting at 7:00.  This is one of those opportunities to show love and life even in the midst of death. 

A meeting was held Sunday for those interested in helping in the Nursery ministry.  Contact Nicole Georg (Nicky.eby@gmail.com) if you are interested or call me (833-5219).

Charge Conference is this Sunday.  This means that Emmanuel leaders will be getting together to worship and prepare for the 2016 calendar year alongside other leaders of other UM churches.  This year the worship will take place at Amelia UMC at 3:00 with the conference following at 4:00.  Feel free to join us if you wish.

I know I didn’t get everything.  There are youth meetings and Finance meetings and Vision meetings and visits to make and prayers to pray and papers to fill out and small groups to group with and new ministry ideas to think up……

Busy enough?  Maybe.  But in the midst of it all, remember why we do it.

It’s because, when we really needed it, Christ gave us a do-over.

God is Good,

Pastor Joe