St. Paul’s United Methodist Church
January 17, 2019
Questions or corrections? Please call the Office (209) 823-7154
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This Sunday, January 20, 2019 2nd Sunday After Epiphany “Gifts of the Spirit”
1 Corinthians 12:1-11
Join us in the Fellowship Hall following worship for coffee fellowship Hosed by the Memorial & Membership Committees
Human Relations Sunday, January 20th
Over the years, The United Methodist Church has come together to extend a helping hand to those in crisis so they can overcome formi- dable obstacles. When you give on Human Relations Day, you stand with the people of The United Methodist Church in our efforts to con- tinue the ministry of Jesus Christ helping all God’s children to realize their potential
Your support of Human Relations Day
elps communities flourish.
For more information go to: www,umcgiving.org/hrd
Andrew Price Celebration of life Thursday, January 17th at 1:00 PM Tuesday Small Group New Study Begins January 22nd Help Thanks Wow: The Three Essential Prayers By Anne Lamott It is these three prayers – asking for assistance from a higher power, appreciating what we have that is good, and feeling awe at the world around us – that can get us through the day and can show us the way forward. In Help, Thanks, Wow, Lamott recounts how she came to these insights, explains what they mean to her and how they have helped, and explores how others have embraced these same ideas.
January 20th St. Paul’s Kids Preschool through 3rd Grade Students Bible Lessons * Hands-On Activities * Fellowship
Jesus Heals a Young Woman
Guest Speaker Sunday, January 27th Sponsored by the Reconciling/Inclusive Congregation Committee Ben Zamora from San Joaquin Gay Pride Center
On Sunday, January 27, the Reconciling/Inclusive Congregation Committee's Speaker Series will welcome Ben Zamora from the San Joaquin Gay Pride Center to share the Center’s mission, service and outreach to the LGBT community in our area. Please welcome Ben for his brief overview during the January 27 worship service and then afterwards for more conversation in Fellowship.
Sunday, January 27th @ 11:30 am to 1:30pm All families with children and youth are welcome to join the Family Ministry TEAM for a pizza luncheon after worship. Let’s take some time to get acquainted or re-acquainted by connecting through food, stories, and our hopes for the new year. The TEAM is excited to spend this valuable time with you! Any questions, please see Pastor Lisa. Suppers for Six(or 8) * Small groups meeting for fellowship & meal *February – June, 2019 *Multi-generational – open to all interested *Flexible – brunch, lunch, supper *Flexible – 1x each month; every other month
Sign up in Fellowship after Worship during January (or) Contact Kim in office (or) contact Bea Lingenfelter
Each group will decide when, where, eat in or eat out. JOIN US February 3rd Following Worship CELEBRATING OUR LEGACY All women are invited to the gathering as we celebrate our past, present, and future! Lunch will be served. Save the date now! ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE CONTACT PASTOR LISA
Sister Saints Book Club Hosted by: United Methodist Women FEBRUARY 18TH 10am to 11:30 am OR 6:00pm to 7:30pm
Please select 10 women to read about and share during our time together. We will be remembering our sister saint…Virginia Pitt. Hope to see you there!
WALKING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF JESUS Respectfully submitted by DavidBland
Distinctive Wesleyan Emphases From The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church -— 2012. Copyright 2012 by The United Methodist Publishing House. Used by permission.ebook2
Although Wesley shared with many other Christians a belief in grace, justification, assurance, and sanctification, he combined them in a powerful manner to create distinctive emphases for living the full Christian life.
Prevenient Grace We acknowledge God's prevenient grace, the divine love that surrounds all humanity and pre- cedes any and all of our conscious impulses. This grace prompts our first wish to please God, our first glim- mer of understanding concerning God's will, and our "first slight transient conviction" of having sinned against God. God's grace also awakens in us an earnest longing for deliverance from sin and death and moves us toward repentance and faith.
Justification and Assurance We believe God reaches out to the repentant believer in justifying grace with accepting and pardoning love. Wesleyan theology stresses that a decisive change in the human heart can and does occur under the prompting of grace and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. In justification we are, through faith, forgiven our sin and restored to God's favor. This righting of relationships by God through Christ calls forth our faith and trust as we experience regeneration, by which we are made new creatures in Christ. Such a change may be sud- den and dramatic, or gradual and cumulative. It marks a new beginning, yet it is part of an ongoing process.
Sanctification and Perfection We hold that the wonder of God's acceptance and pardon does not end God's saving work, which continues to nurture our growth in grace. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we are enabled to increase in the knowledge and love of God and in love for our neighbor. New birth is the first step in this process of sanctifi- cation. Sanctifying grace draws us toward the gift of Christian perfection, which Wesley described as a heart "habitually filled with the love of God and neighbor" and as "having the mind of Christ and walking as he walked." This gracious gift of God's power and love, the hope and expectation of the faithful, is neither war- ranted by our efforts nor limited by our frailties.
Faith and Good Works We see God's grace and human activity working together in the relationship of faith and good works. God's grace calls forth human response and discipline. Faith is the only response essential for salvation. However, the General Rules remind us that salvation evidences itself in good works. For Wesley, even repentance should be accompanied by "fruits meet for repentance," or works of piety and mercy. Both faith and good works belong within an all-encompassing theology of grace, since they stem from God's gracious love "shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit."
Mission and Service We insist that personal salvation always involves Christian mission and service to the world. By joining heart and hand, we assert that personal religion, evangelical witness, and Christian social action are reciprocal and mutually reinforcing. Scriptural holiness entails more than personal piety; love of God is always linked with love of neighbor, a passion for justice and renewal in the life of the world. The General Rules represent one traditional expression of the intrinsic relationship between Christian life and thought as understood within the Wesleyan tradition.
Nurture and Mission of the Church Finally, we emphasize the nurturing and serving function of Christian fellowship in the Church. The personal experience of faith is nourished by the worshiping community. For Wesley there is no religion but social reli- gion, no holiness but social holiness. The communal forms of faith in the Wesleyan tradition not only promote personal growth; they also equip and mobilize us for mission and service to the world. The outreach of the church springs from the working of the Spirit. As United Methodists, we respond to that working through a connectional polity based upon mutual responsiveness and accountability THE “COMMUNICATOR” better known as Dave Bland.
Who We Are Roots (1736–1816) of Methodism
The United Methodist Church shares a common history and heritage with other Methodist and Wesleyan bodies. The lives and ministries of John Wesley (1703–1791) and of his brother, Charles (1707–1788), mark the origin of their common roots. Both John and Charles were Church of England missionaries to the colony of Georgia, arriving in March 1736. It was their only occasion to visit America. Their mission was far from an unqualified success, and both returned to Eng- land disillusioned and discouraged, Charles in December 1736, and John in February 1738.
As the Methodist movement grew, it became apparent that their ministry would spread to the American colo- nies as some Methodists made the exhausting and hazardous Atlantic voyage to the New World. Organized Methodism in America began as a lay movement. Among its earliest leaders were Robert Strawbridge, an im- migrant farmer who organized work about 1760 in Maryland and Virginia, Philip Embury and his cousin, Bar- bara Heck, who began work in New York in 1766, and Captain Thomas Webb, whose labors were instrumen- tal in Methodist beginnings in Philadelphia in 1767. African Americans participated actively in these ground- breaking and formational initiatives though much of that contribution was acknowledged without much bio- graphical detail.
To strengthen the Methodist work in the colonies, John Wesley sent two of his lay preachers, Richard Board- man and Joseph Pilmore, to America in 1769. Two years later Richard Wright and Francis Asbury were also dispatched by Wesley to undergird the growing American Methodist societies. Francis Asbury became the most important figure in early American Methodism. His energetic devotion to the principles of Wesleyan theol- ogy, ministry, and organization shaped Methodism in America in a way unmatched by any other individual. In addition to the preachers sent by Wesley, some Methodists in the colonies also answered the call to become lay preachers in the movement.
The first conference of Methodist preachers in the colonies was held in Philadelphia in 1773. The ten who at- tended took several important actions. They pledged allegiance to Wesley’s leadership and agreed that they would not administer the sacraments because they were laypersons. Their people were to receive the sacra- ments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper at the local Anglican parish church. They emphasized strong disci- pline among the societies and preachers. A system of regular conferences of the preachers was inaugurated similar to those Wesley had instituted in England to conduct the business of the Methodist movement.
The American Revolution had a profound impact on Methodism. John Wesley’s Toryism and his writings against the revolutionary cause did not enhance the image of Methodism among many who supported inde- pendence. Furthermore, a number of Methodist preachers refused to bear arms to aid the patriots.
When independence from England had been won, Wesley recognized that changes were necessary in Ameri- can Methodism. He sent Thomas Coke to America to superintend the work with Asbury. Coke brought with him a prayer book titled The Sunday Service of the Methodists in North America, prepared by Wesley and in- corporating his revision of the Church of England’s Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion. Two other preachers, Rich- ard Whatcoat and Thomas Vasey, whom Wesley had ordained, accompanied Coke. Wesley’s ordinations set a precedent that ultimately permitted Methodists in America to become an independent church. In December 1784, the famous Christmas Conference of preachers was held in Baltimore at Lovely Lane Chapel to chart the future course of the movement in America. Most of the American preachers attended, probably including two African Americans, Harry Hosier and Richard Allen. It was at this gathering that the movement became organized as The Methodist Episcopal Church in America. In the years following the Christmas Conference, The Methodist Episcopal Church published its first Discipline (1785), adopted a quadrennial General Conference, the first of which was held in 1792, drafted a Constitution in 1808, refined its structure, established a publishing house, and became an ardent proponent of revivalism and the camp meeting.
From The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church - 2012. Copyright 2012 by The United Methodist Publishing House. Used by permission. THE “COMMUNICATOR” or better known as Dave Bland.
.Some thoughts for you. Have a great day.