Friday, January 17, 2020

GLENDA Good Morning: Did you hear the story about the man who went on a fishing trip, but caught four deer instead? It's a wonderful story of how God works in mysterious ways. True story...a man in Sitka, Alaska, had a fishing charter boat that he took out one day. Well, out into the water, he saw four deer swimming towards the boat. Unusual, because a deer's natural instinct is to go away from human contact. As he got closer to the deer, he realized they were in distress. He lowered the tailgate on his boat and all four deer came aboard and collapsed exhausted on the deck. Back on shore, he opened the tailgate, and the first deer bounded off, stopped, turned and looked back as if to say thank you and then fled into the woods. With a little coaxing the next two left the boat, and the last one had to be carried ashore. To me, God's hand was at work, placing that boat at just the right time and place to save those deer and to take away the deer's natural distrust of humans. A fine example of God taking care of his creations. He will take care of you, too. Just trust Him. Have a wonderful day!

Thursday, January 16, 2020

TIM Good morning, I’m Tim Wise, Senior Adult Minister and Sanctuary Choir Director at Central. Confession is an important part of our relationship with God and to ourselves. James 5:16 says: Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. Confession is an important step for us because it is a part of getting ourselves right with God. We want God to see us as forgiven children, but how can we be forgiven if we don’t ask for it? At Central, each time we take part in the breaking of bread and taking of the cup through communion, we offer a prayer of confession. We confess many general things to God such as not loving Him with our whole heart, failing to be an obedient church, not fulfilling God’s will, breaking his law, and some other things. While this seems very generic, it is a time that we become vulnerable and open to God about our sins. Although he already knows them, it is a time when we can accept the things we have done. Remember when you are working on your faith, confession is a necessary part of your spirituality. You are confessing to God what you have done and accepting it for yourself.

Wednesday, January 15, 2020

SABRINA In working with children, I tell them over and over that if they don’t remember one other thing they have learned, it is to remember that God will never, EVER leave them. EVER. As adults, we know all too well, the day will come when they will feel abandoned, often by someone they trust. In those times, as adults, we feel forsaken. If today is one of those days for you, you can rely on that promise. There is nothing you have done or ever will do that will drive God away. He is there – good times and bad. Good decisions and bad decisions. No abandonment. There is no hole too deep, no place too dark. Whether you are facing these days because of your own poor choices or someone else’s decision that has affected your life, hang on. Receive the hope and healing you need to move forward, confident in the fact that He is with you every step of the way. The love that God has for each of us is unfathomable, unrelenting, and immeasurable. And – He will NEVER leave us. Go in today with that assurance.

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

JOHN Good Morning! I’m John Branning the Lead Pastor of Central United Methodist Church. There are times in our lives that we are going through a spiritual valley and we want to obtain victory—we want to have answers—we want God's power to flow through us again. Jesus made us a promise, "He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." - John 7:38 The Lord promises us rivers of living water—not a puddle, not a pond, not a lake—He said rivers! These waters are not meant to be stagnant and not meant to be dammed up! They need to be flowing—unrestricted! We, who are believers in and followers of Jesus, have those living waters within us—but we must clear out the obstacles in our lives that prevent them from flowing! Sins of unforgiveness, resentment, bitterness, and clinging onto petty sins are just a few of the barriers which can damn up the "rivers" of living water! Let's seek the Lord and ask Him to search us deeply and thoroughly that we know how to destroy those obstacles that clog the free movement of His Spirit in our lives!

Monday, January 13, 2020

MATT Good Morning! I’m Matt Farmer, Associate Pastor at Central United Methodist Church in Meridian. What is real love? Love is not lust or emotion or sentimentalism. It's not tolerance, which often translates into intolerance of Godliness and apathy towards evil. What is love? The Bible tells us that the highest love is not based on feelings, but a commitment of our will. It is given unconditionally to another person, no matter how they respond to us. The Bible tells us this love is patient and kind. It's not envious, arrogant, or rude towards others. It's not selfish or easily angered. It's not like a resentment accountant who keeps a record of how others have wronged us. Love hates evil and rejoices in the truth. Real love puts up with a lot and endures it with hope. The Bible tells us God is love. He shows us this real love perfectly in Jesus, who truly loves you. Yes, Jesus loves you. Have faith in Him and you'll experience the greatest love you've ever known.

Friday, January 10, 2020

TIM Good morning, I’m Tim Wise, Senior Adult Minister and Sanctuary Choir Director at Central, and welcome to 2020! It’s a New Year! What does that mean? New year...new you? Have you made your resolutions, started your exercise program and diet...excuse me...your lifestyle change? The “new year...new you” idea tends to get people in a mindset of making changes. I want to invite you to consider doing the same for your spiritual life. I want to encourage you to focus your vision on renewing your spiritual life. Often times, people stray away from where God is leading them, and the mindset may be that you can never return—but it is through confession of sin and acceptance of His grace and forgiveness that we find a new path—should we stray. Now that we are entering the year of “perfect vision”, it’s about time we get our eyes checked and make sure they are focused on God and not on imperfect, temporal things. Romans 12 tells us: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” So, as you prepare for your new self, with this new 20/20 vision, allow God to transform you from the inside out.

Thursday, January 9, 2020

JOHN Good Morning! I’m John Branning the Lead Pastor of Central United Methodist Church. "Before refrigerators, people used icehouses to preserve their food. Icehouses had thick walls, no windows, and a tightly fitted door. In winter, when streams and lakes were frozen, large blocks of ice were cut from the frozen waters, hauled to the icehouses, and covered with sawdust. Often these ice blocks would last well into the summer. One man lost a valuable watch while working in an icehouse. He searched diligently for it, carefully raking through the sawdust, but didn't find it. His fellow workers also looked, but their efforts, too, proved futile. A small boy who heard about the fruitless search slipped into the icehouse during the noon hour and soon emerged with the watch. Amazed, the men asked him how he found it." I closed the door," the boy replied, "lay down in the sawdust, and kept very still. Soon I heard the watch ticking." This is a good lesson for all of us as we listen for God. You see the question isn't whether God will speak, but whether we will take the time to be quiet and still enough to hear His voice. Let's be sure to take that time to hear what He's saying to us!

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

BOB This is Bob Peden of Central and United Methodist Community in downtown Meridian. The apostle Paul wrote: "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever!" Are you a dreamer? Even if you are not a dreamer, imagine the most impossible thing you could do to honor God. Then realize that God can do far more through you than that—more than you can even begin to imagine! And the power to do it? The power at work within you? Ah yes, you guessed it: It is the power of the Holy Spirit! The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is at work within each true follower of Jesus. So, dream your wildest dream for God's will in your life today for his glory.

Tuesday, January 7, 2020

MATT Good Morning! I’m Matt Farmer, Associate Pastor at Central United Methodist Church in Meridian. In his book The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains, Nicholas Carr says that in our connected world, “The sense that there might be a message out there for us” is increasingly difficult to resist. Samuel was a young boy when he heard a voice call his name and thought it was Eli the priest in the tabernacle where he served the Lord. When Eli realized that God was calling Samuel, he told the boy how to respond. When God called his name a fourth time, “Samuel answered, ‘Speak, for Your servant hears’”. This attentiveness to God’s voice became the pattern of Samuel’s life as “the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord.” Are we listening for God’s voice in our lives today? Are we more drawn by the vibration of a smartphone than the still, small voice of the Lord through His Word and His Spirit? Like Samuel, we must learn to discern God’s voice and say, “Speak, Lord. I’m listening.”

Monday, january 6, 2020

SABRINA Tomorrow would have been my daddy’s birthday. After daddy passed away, my sister and I tried to determine how to sum up a life on a headstone. We ended up with his name, the names we all had for him, and ended with simply “our legacy.” You see, my daddy was a precious, God-fearing man, who left his imprint on many, but particularly on the hearts of those who loved him. In Jeremiah 1:4-5, we are reminded “before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born, I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Have you ever thought – our nations are our homes. We have been set apart to accomplish great things. No matter what else we leave behind – and we will surely leave all these earthly possessions behind, the most important thing by far is a passion for Christ. So today, let us pause and think of our legacy, remembering that the legacy of loving God and putting Him first, is indeed the greatest gift we can leave to those most precious to us.

Friday, January 3, 2020

JOHN Good Morning! I’m John Branning the Lead Pastor of Central United Methodist Church. This Sunday marks the first Sunday of the year and the first for the 2020s. This is a time of new beginnings and a time for new choices, new experiences, new hopes, and dreams. Can we allow this new year to inspire the desire for new experiences and initiatives in God? Can we choose to pray for, expect, and act within the divine order of a new cycle...break out of the "same old-same old" and choose to believe in His power to do exceedingly abundantly more than we could ask or imagine? The new season beckons us to this: If we believe that our Lord is really on top of things, if we believe that He can even redeem our mistakes, then we ought to be filled with expectation for change, great change in our lives, by His divine power to work in and through us. Entering this new season can inspire a choice in faith, to love and serve with greater devotion than ever, perhaps in ways that we have only dreamt of before. A new year is upon us. Let's make the choice for change—He will "do a new thing."

Thursday, January 2, 2020

MATT Good Morning! I’m Matt Farmer, Associate Pastor at Central United Methodist Church in Meridian. A man who had just been elected to the British Parliament brought his family to London. He felt important as he told them about his new job and gave them a tour of the city. When they entered Westminster Abbey, his eight-year-old daughter was awestruck by the size of that magnificent structure. Her proud father asked, “What, my dear, are you thinking about?” She replied, “Daddy, I was just thinking about how big you are in our house, but how small you look here!” Without knowing it, that little girl said something her father needed to hear. Pride can creep into our lives so easily, and from time to time, it’s good to be “cut down to size.” It’s easy to become proud when we stay in our own little circles of life. But when we are thrust into larger situations, with increased demands, pressures, and competition, we come to the shocking realization that “big fish in small ponds” shrink quickly in a large ocean. James 4:6 says, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble”. So, let’s ask the Lord to help us see ourselves as we really are. With His help, we’ll learn to rid ourselves of foolish pride.

Wednesday, January 1, 2020

GLENDA Good morning: People are always predicting what will happen in the new year. Some of those predictions come true, while others do not. Here are some predictions that will definitely come true: The Bible will still have all the answers; Prayer will still be the most powerful thing on Earth; The Holy Spirit will still move; God will still honor the praises of His people; There will still be God-anointed preaching; There will still be singing of praise to God; God will still pour out blessings upon His people; There will still be room at the Cross; Jesus will still love you; and Jesus will still save the lost when they come to Him. Isn’t it great to remember who is really in control, and that, like we read in 1 Peter 1:25, “The Word of the Lord endures forever”? Have a wonderful day!

Tuesday, December 31, 2019

SABRINA Today marks the end of 2019. For some, it was the most glorious year thus far – for others, it brought heartache like never before. But regardless – tonight at the stroke of midnight, this year will take its place in history. SO – tomorrow when you wake up to 2020, may I challenge each of us to walk into this year celebrating the little things in life that make up the big year? Why let the seemingly mundane things slip away? We can never reclaim uncelebrated moments. This next year, why not – go overboard for a friends birthday, take a friend to lunch, surprise your coworkers with happies, or a homecooked lunch, celebrate your anniversary with sparklers – easy, simple, achievable things – but in celebrating both the big – and small – things in life, we live out God’s blessings in 3D and honor and acknowledge all the blessings afforded to us. When we do this, we also begin to see blessings in things we might have otherwise overlooked. My challenge? Go into 2020 with a clear vision, LOOKING and CHOOSING one big and one small thing to celebrate each month – and do just that – CELEBRATE – beginning with a Happy-New-Year!

Monday, December 30, 2019

TIM Good morning. I’m Tim Wise, Senior Adult Minister and Sanctuary Choir Director at Central. Matthew 2:9-11 says: “The star they had seen in the East went ahead of them until it stood over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were filled with joy. They entered the house and saw the child with Mary, his mother. Falling to their knees, they honored him. Then they opened their treasure chests and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” I want to encourage you to follow the star to Jesus. Just like the wise men, you will be overwhelmed with great joy! What gifts do you have to bring this newborn king? You can bring him your heart. I leave you with the fifth verse of this Christina Rossetti poem: “What can I give Him, poor as I am? If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb. If I were a wise man, I would do my part. Yet, what can I give Him: give my heart.”

Friday, December 27, 2019

MATT Good Morning! I’m Matt Farmer, Associate Pastor at Central United Methodist Church in Meridian. Looking out the window of an airplane, you can see the winding paths of rivers below. Except for some man-made waterways, all rivers have one thing in common—they all are crooked. The reason is simple—they follow the path of least resistance finding their way around anything that blocks their flow because they take the easy way. The same can be said for some people. Because they fail to resist evil, they yield to temptation and deviate from the path God would have them follow. 1 John 4:4 says, “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world”. Rather than being overcome, we can be overcomers. Nothing should deter us from the course God wants us to travel. We don’t have to yield to any temptation or foe. The Holy Spirit who lives in us will strengthen us so that we can remain steadfast. We won’t become “crooked” if we refuse to follow the path of least resistance.

Thursday, December 26, 2019

TIM Good Morning and Merry Christmas to everyone! Many of you have celebrated with your families by sharing meals and giving gifts. Others have celebrated by serving the needy, cooking meals, and worshipping together. So, what are you celebrating? Well it's obvious, right? The birth of Christ! In chapter one of John’s Gospel, we read that this season yields another reason to celebrate. Not only is the Christmas story one of the miracles, but also a redemption story, one of forgiveness and reconciliation between God and man. “In him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” The light is Jesus, and he is the light of all people. The darkness is our sin, but with the light inside of us, the darkness will not overcome us. Christmas is a time to celebrate the birth of our Savior because he is born, and because he has come to redeem us. This is Tim Wise for Central. Merry Christmas and have a blessed New Year!

Wednesday, December 25, 2019

JOHN Good Morning! I’m John Branning the Lead Pastor of Central United Methodist Church. During World War I, in the winter of 1914, on the battlefields of Flanders, one of the most unusual events in history took place. The Germans set trees on trench parapets and lit the candles. Then, they began singing carols, and though their language was unfamiliar to their enemies, the tunes were not. After a few trees were shot at, the British became more curious than belligerent and crawled forward to watch and listen. And after a while, they began to sing. By Christmas morning, the "no man's land" between the trenches was filled with fraternizing soldiers, sharing rations and gifts, singing and (more solemnly) burying their dead between the lines. Soon they were even playing soccer, mostly with improvised balls. Though the war had to continue, as commanders on both sides ordered their troops to restart hostilities, this interval of peace during the war was extraordinary and unprecedented. This is the season of peace. And the Prince of Peace has commanded us to be peacemakers. May we become known for initiating peace—in our homes, in our families, in our workplaces, and in every situation.

Tuesday, December 24, 2019

BOB Good morning! This is Bob Peden of Central, A United Methodist Community here in downtown Meridian. I do not think there is any day more filled with anticipation than is Christmas Eve. You may have been getting ready for tomorrow since last year's Christmas Day, and yet, there are still presents to buy and wrap, food to prepare, miles to travel, and people to visit. Yet, with all that you have left to do to get ready for Christmas this year, I want to encourage you to slow down and experience the miracle of the birth of Jesus Christ, God with us. One great way to experience that again this year is to join us at Central for one of our three Christmas Eve worship services. We will sing and pray, hear the Christmas story read, and Celebrate Holy Communion at 12 noon, 4 PM and 6 PM. Every year this is the highlight of Christmas for me. I think you will find it to be a highlight for your Christmas too. That is at 12 noon, 4 PM, and 6 PM in the sanctuary at Central on 23rd Avenue between 10th and 11th Streets.

Monday, December 23, 2019

GLENDA Good Morning and Merry Christmas! If you have small children around your home, I am sure the excitement of Christmas morning and Santa Claus coming are almost too much to bear. How fun this time of year is! Let your children have the fun and joy of Santa, but please tell them the story of the birth of Jesus. How exciting it was for the shepherds who were startled by the angels filling up the sky above them and telling them the good news! Tell them how the shepherds ran to Bethlehem to see this newborn king. Tell them how the wise men with great curiosity followed the star a long, long way to find the newborn king. Tell them the first birthday presents and Christmas presents were for a tiny baby born—sent to earth to save us all. Tell them the Good News…that God sent His only son just for them. Merry Christmas and Go tell that Jesus Christ is born!