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16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.     1 Thessalonians 5:16-18  (NIV) I love to pray.  I pray all the time.  And I love to talk to others about an active, effective prayer life.  Rick Hamlin, executive editor at Guideposts magazine wrote a book, 10 Prayers You Can’t Live Without.  Part of his introduction says this:  “To try to pray is to pray.  You can’t fail at it.  Nobody…

Devotional for the Week of February 19, 2023 (Transfiguration Sunday)Written by Krista Parnin The LORD said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone with the law and commandments I have written for their instruction.”Then Moses set out with Joshua his aide, and Moses went up on the mountain of God. He said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we come back to you. Aaron…

Scout Sunday Service at Good Shepherd United Methodist Sunday, February 12, 2023 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them, he was hungry. Luke 4:1-2 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; make music to the Lord with the harp,…

Not Seen or Heard  I don’t really remember what I was doing. I think I was around 10 years old at the time, but “1 Corinthians 2:9” just popped in my head. Not the actual verse, but where to look it up.  My ability to recite scripture is a bit lacking. I was the kind of child in Sunday school when asked for a “memory” verse would blurt out, “Jesus wept” (John 11:35). I was always terrified that someone would…

Share Your God Sightings The man from whom the demons had gone begged to come along with Jesus as one of his disciples. Jesus sent him away, saying “return home and tell the story of what God has done for you. “So, he went throughout the city proclaiming what Jesus had done for him.  (Luke 6: 38 – 49) A Barna study indicated that only 78% of Christians share information about how they have been blessed by God. When I…

Discipleship – Going Where No Disciple-Maker Has Gone Before When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So, they signaled their partners in the…

When I need to get my head out of the “noise” of the world, I like to take a long walk in the park or a hike through the woods.  Something is cleansing about being surrounded by nature, clearing all thoughts from my mind and allowing my senses to experience God’s creation…breathing in the fresh air, listening to the bird’s joyful songs, watching squirrels go about their busy work, the calming sound of a rustling creek.  I was on one…

The Baptism of Jesus Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John.  But John tried to talk him out of it.  “I am the one who needs to be baptized by you,” he said, “so why are you coming to me?” But Jesus said, “It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires.”  So John agreed to baptize him. After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water,…

Ecclesiastes 3:1-13 3:1 There is a time for everything,    and a season for every activity under the heavens: 2     a time to be born and a time to die,    a time to plant and a time to uproot,3     a time to kill and a time to heal,    a time to tear down and a time to build,4     a time to weep and a time to laugh,    a time to mourn and a time to dance,5     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,    a time to embrace and…

It’s the day after Christmas. The glow on the tree is just a little dimmer because the anticipation of the day is now past. So often, we act as though Christmas ends on the evening of December 25. “Now, ladies and gentlemen, please turn your attention to our after-Christmas clearance sales, football games, and New Year’s Eve parties.” But there’s a lot wrong with shutting down the Christmas spirit the day after. No wonder people get the Christmas blues. To…

By: Austin Teegarden “28 One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; 30 you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The…