Connection Between Relationship with God and Others

Reflections from Bro. Rudy –

CONNECTION BETWEEN RELATIONSHIP
WITH GOD AND OTHERS

Our staff has been studying the letter of First John. One thing is very apparent in the
letter: “Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.” (1 John 4:8; NRSV) In many different ways, John teaches us that love for God and love for others are connected.

This morning’s “Daily Hope” (March 21, 2012) devotion by Rick Warren, came at this same truth from a different way. His scripture was Isaiah 26:3; “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!” (Isaiah 26:3; NLT) He opened his devotional with this statement; “I have made an amazing discovery: The more time I spend alone with God, the better I get along with other people. I can count on it!”

Dr. Warren went on to make this application of the scripture from Isaiah: “When you spend time with the Lord, you turn your thoughts to him. Then, you get along better with others, because he keeps perfect peace in your heart, andyou’re not as irritable.”

I have witnessed this recently in my own home. Gina and I will be tense and frustrated and let those feeling come out in the way we talk to one another. Then, we go back and read our
devotional and pray and our attitude changes.

Dr. Warren went on to say; “The more you spend time with God, the more you will enjoy the rest of your time. It will be more productive and more beneficial. You’ll get along better with
others and have fewer arguments because you’re drawing closer to God.”

This raises a question; What am I doing to draw closer to God on a daily bases? Sometimes we think we are too busy to prayer and read the Bible. Those who seemed to have drawn closer to God, like John Wesley and Martin Luther, would say, “We are too busy not to pray.” Bill Hybels has written a very helpful book on prayer by that title: TooBusy Not To Pray. I commend it to
you.

Speaking of prayer, we have a new Sunday School class that is beginning this week using the Prayer Guide for General Conference. General Conference, the major policy making body for United Methodist around the world will begin in about a month (April 24 – May 4). Upper Room Ministries has developed this prayer guide. Here is the link to download
a copy of this prayer guide: http://50daysofprayer.upperroom.org/

Don’t forget the Easter Egg Hunts that are coming up March 31 and April 1. Clyde and Brenda Cork are leading the Easter Egg Hunt for the children of our United Methodist Children’s Homes. You can help support this mission by marking your check for, Children’s Home Egg Hunt.



Then on April 1, we will have our Community Easter Egg Hunt at Blackcreek Park. It will begin at 4:00 PM. Amy Sizemore, our Children’s Director, share that a person donated 1000. The
Children’s Team will fill these plus one’s they already had with candy and other prizes. There are bins around thechurch where you can place candy for this Easter Egg Hunt.

This Saturday, March 24th, there are two outreach opportunities: A Team will be painting at the Women’s Center, beginning at 8:00 AM. You can contact Danny Dunson if you would like to volunteer to help. ddunson@pinnacleptg.com

Also this Saturday, The Hispanic Team will pass out flyers in 100 Oaks Trailer Park. The flyers will announce the Easter Egg Hunt on April 1 and a new Hispanic Bible Study that will begin on April 4. If you would like to help with this outreach, meet here at the church at 8:30 AM.

As always, your responses to these Reflections are welcome. You can email me at rguess@gmvumc.org.

Reflections from Bro. Rudy –

JOIN IN THE GREATER WORK OF PRAYER

Oswald Chambers said, “Prayer does not equip us for greater works; Prayer is the greater work.” Our Prayer Team kind of took that as their motto several years ago. It is a reminder of the importance of prayer. But I wonder, does our practice of prayer say we believe it is the greater work?

Our Ministry Team on Prayer has decided they needed to do more praying than meeting. So each month, on the Third Thursday, they join together in the Chapel for prayer. Anyone is invited to join them at 5:45 for this time of prayer. The purpose is to make this more of a House of Prayer, seeking God’s direction and power for His Church here at Gardendale-Mt. Vernon.

This Friday marks the beginning of another Prayer Opportunity. Upper Room Ministries has developed a Prayer Guide for General Conference. General Conference is the major decision,
policy body of the United Methodist Church worldwide. It meets every four years. It will meet April 24 through May 4 in Tampa.

In preparation for General Conference, Upper Room Ministries has developed a 50 Days of Prayer Guide for us to use before and during General Conference. The Guide begins this Friday, March 16 and continues through May 4, the last day of General Conference. You can down load the prayer guide at http://50daysofprayer.upperroom.org/

The 988 Delegates from United Methodist Conferences around the world will gather to act on issues that will determine the direction of the United Methodist Church for the next four years and even beyond. There are those who believe some of the decisions that will come before
this General Conference have the possibly of dividing our connection.

The Prayer Guide could be used in your personal prayer times and also with a group. This could be a good time to form a small prayer group who would get together each week and use this Prayer Guide to lead your prayer time. If you would like help in forming such a group, Marcia and I would be happy to help you.

Don’t forget the Easter Egg Hunts that are coming up March 31 and April 1. Clyde and Brenda Cork are leading the Easter Egg Hunt for the children of our United Methodist Children’s Homes. The children will gather from across the state at Camp Sumatanga. You can help support this mission by marking your check for, Children’s Home Egg Hunt.

Then on April 1, we will have our Community Easter Egg Hunt at Blackcreek Park. It will begin at 4:00 PM. The Children’s Team needs candy to fill over 1000 Easter Eggs for the Hunt. There are
bins around the church were you can place your candy. The sooner the better, so they can start
filling eggs.

This Saturday, March 24, the Hispanic Team will been passing out flyers in 100 Oaks Trailer Park about the Community Easter Egg Hunt and a new Hispanic Bible Study that will begin Wednesday, April 4th. If you would like to help with this outreach,be here at 8:30 AM.

As always, your responses to these Reflections are welcome. You can email me at rguess@gmvumc.org.

Time With Jesus

Reflections from Bro. Rudy –

TIME WITH JESUS

Are you using the Lenten Devotional Guide that was developed
by our Prayer Team? I have been blessed
each morning as I have read the devotional thought that was shared by one of
our Church Family. This morning I was
reminded by a devotional written by Danny Dunson to “Make Christ the
masterpiece around which everything else in your life is ordered.”

One way we keep Christ at the center of our lives is to pray. We live such busy lives and prayer can easily
be pushed out of our lives if we are not very intentional. I remember how Christ-followers like Martin
Luther and John Wesley guarded their morning prayer time and when they were
expecting an extra busy day, they would spend extra time in prayer preparing
for the day.

Another way we keep Christ at the center of our lives is the
daily reading of scripture. In yesterday’s
devotional, Jackie Phelps reminded us of the importance of reading the
instructions. It is difficult to walk in
God’s Way, if we are not growing in both the grace and knowledge of our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18)

If you have not picked up a Lenten Devotional Guide, they
are available in the welcome areas around the church. Thanks to the Prayer Team for developing them
and for each who wrote a devotional.

In just over a month we will have our outreach ministries to
Children, two Easter Egg Hunts. For the
Easter Egg Hunt at Blackcreek Park, they need us to bring candy to fill the
eggs. For the Easter Egg Hunt at Camp
Sumatanga for the United Methodist Children’s Home they need our money to
purchase prizes. You can mark you check
for “Children’s Home Egg Hunt.”

Our Missions Faith Promise commitments continue to
increase. 92 have committed $63,348. We need $100,000 to sustain our present
commitments. Have you made your
commitment?

As always,
your responses to these Reflections are welcome. You can email me at rguess@gmvumc.org.

Reflections from Bro. Rudy –
February 1, 2012

IT IS HERE…

I’m not talking about National Signing Day. That’s where many sports fans are focused
today, on National Signing Day. And for
those who do not follow sports, this is the first day that High School Seniors
can sign to play football at the college level.
When I opened Tweeter this morning, the tweets were already being posted
related to National Signing Day.

What’s here for us is Prayer Walk for Missions. Many of us have been using the daily prayer
emails to pray for those mission agencies that will be joining us for IMPACT
2012. Tonight, between 5:00 and
9:00 PM you are encouraged to join in a Prayer Walk in which we lift up our
mission partners, pray for IMPACT 2012, pray for God’s vision to be caught and
our faithful response to God’s vision.

This Friday, IMPACT 2012 begins. It is about joining the move of the Holy
Spirit in being witnesses in our Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of
the earth. There will be times to
celebrate how God has used us in His mission this past year and times to hear
where God may be calling us this year.

Make plans to join in the excitement. You don’t have to have reservations to come
to any of the events, however, it would help us prepare if you signed up for
those times that have meals.

One list time let me remind you of the opportunities this
weekend. To register for any of the
meals, email Rachel Hodges at rhodges@gmvumc.org

Friday, February 3rd
12:00 Noon Senior
Luncheon
6:00 PM Celebration
Dinner - Gym
6:45 PM Opening
Ceremony – Sanctuary

Saturday, February 4th
8:30 AM Missionary
Breakfasts at Host Homes

If you would like to join a
host home, contact the host for information.

David & Tara Salters –
hosting the Osteen’s with Life for Children - Kenya
Brian & Jennifer Ledlow –
hosting Kipuke’s – Togo
Cory & Heather Lebischak –
hosting Susan Canafaz – UMC Global ministries
Rick & Dee Dee Coley –
hosting Monica Lopez – To Every Tribe
Jackie & Kathy Phelps –
hosting Mark & Robin Howard – Spain
Wayne & Paula Burrow –
hosting Wesley Denham – India
Waller & Jeffreys –
hosting Lennie Allen (Bridges of Peace) and the Guzman’s Mexico
12:00 Noon Communion
Service – Sanctuary
12:30 PM Family
Luncheon – meet the missionaries
1:15 PM Kids:
World Games
7:00
PM Mike’s Chair in Concert
– Sanctuary – tickets required. For
tickets go to http://www.tickets.com/ or follow
link for our web page; http://www.gmvumc.com/

Sunday, February 5th
8:30 & 9:45 AM Missionaries in Sunday School
Classes
8:30, 9:45 & 11:00 AM Michael
Mozley from the Mission Society preaching.

I encourage you to be in
prayer about your commitment to missions.
Our Missions Faith Promise Budget provides our support to our
mission partners. To sustain our present
commitments requires $100,000. Our
Mission Team feels lead to add some new partners. So the overall goal is $120,000. Remember, this is a second mile commitment,
beyond your tithes and offerings to the Ministry Budget. We find the Apostle Paul encouraging the
Church at Corinthians to receive such an offering 1 Corinthians 16.

Of course, our resources are
just part of the commitment God’s mission requires of us. Like the Macedonians in 2 Corinthians 8, God
calls us to first give ourselves fully to God.
In doing so, God has some part for all of us to play in His mission of
reaching the world. What part are you
playing?

There has been so much
response to the Tornados that they do not need teams this week. They need roads free so those removing brush
piles can do their work. They will need
teams again on Saturday, February 11.
Jim Jefferys will be leading our team.
You can contact Jim or Betty Langston blangston@gmvumc.org for more
information or to let them know you would like to be part of the team.


As always, your
responses to these Reflections are welcome.
You can email me at rguess@gmvumc.org.

Rules for Life

Reflections from Bro. Rudy –

Rules for Life

Kenny Baskins is the pastor at Arab First United Methodist
Church. In his January Newsletter he
shared an article that had been written by Lowell Grisham about a Rule for
Life. Grisham wrote:

One of the church’s ancient traditions
is a Rule for Life. A Rule for Life is
the spiritual counterpoint to a physical exercise plan created by a personal
fitness trainer. Many people will go to
a Spiritual Director for some help in devising a Rule of Life. Most just make some resolutions and promises
to themselves and start trying to live into their better intentions.

At our church we invite everyone to
live in a five-part corporate Rule of Life: Worship Weekly, Pray Daily, Learn
Constantly, Serve Joyfully, and Live Generously.

Their five-part Rule of Life sounds a lot like the vows we
made when we joined the church. We made
a promise to be loyal to the church and uphold it with our prayers, presences,
gifts, service and witness.

Kenny Baskin’s offered this five-part corporate Rule of Life
worthy resolution to help believers live a more balanced and meaningful
life. He then offered a short reflection
on each of the five parts:

Worship Weekly. Making
regular time to feed your soul, for it is critical to our emotional
balance.

Pray Daily. Some form of
daily recollection is incredibly valuable.
It is good to begin the day with some intention that reminds you of your
deepest values, your identity and calling.
It is helpful to reflect on the past day and to honor it with
thanksgiving and with intentions to make amends tomorrow wherever you can. In a real sense, to pray is to remember.

Learn Constantly. Education
is life long. It’s great to have a book
in progress and a subscription to some interesting magazine. (And I would add, to have a Bible Study
plan.)

Serve Joyfully. We all need
to have an outlet for offering ourselves to something beyond jour
self-interest. Researchers have found a
remarkable correlation between happiness and lives of service. It is deeply satisfying to find some need
that moves your heart, and then to discover a way to do something to contribute
to that need.

Live Generously. The old
words, “the best way to gain your life is to lost it,” is still true
today. Generosity is the antidote to the
soul-shrinking temptation of self-centeredness and greed.

Those five practices will provide us a good base for growing
“in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter
3:18; NRSV)

Tonight begins our winter session of Wednesday Grow. There are many opportunities to help us “Learn Constantly.” If you have not signed up for a Grow Class, come and find a place.
Children’s Choir and Youth Worship also begin anew tonight.

First Connection
Training is this Sunday. All Church
Leaders are encouraged to come and learn how this Body of Christ seeks to
connect persons to Jesus Christ and His Body and grow disciples to serve like
Jesus. Don’t forget to make your meal
and child-care reservations. You can
email Rachel Hodges to make your reservations:
rhodges@gmvumc.org

I have begun a four week look at The Lord’s Prayer on Sunday
night. Come and join us for worship at
6:30.

As always, your responses to these
Reflections are welcome. You can
email me at rguess@gmvumc.org.

A Creed for the New Year

Reflections from Bro. Rudy –
January 4, 2012
A Creed for the New Year
Jackie Samples
introduced me to a devotional blog entitled “A Holy Experience.” It is
written by Ann Voskamp.
You can check
it out at http://www.aholyexperience.com/
The blog she
wrote on January 3rd was entitled, A Creed for the New Year.
She and her family have committed themselves to recite what she calls the Jesus
Creed every morning and evening. As I read her blog I was reminded
that Jesus was a Jew, who would have recited daily the Jewish Shema, “Hear, O
Israel: the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.” It is taken from the
instructions of Moses in Deuteronomy 6:4. That verse was repeated
throughout the Jewish prayer time. It is followed by the next verse, “You
shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and
with all your might.” (Deuteronomy 6:5)
In the
devotional Ann Voskamp offered a modification of the Shema for
Christ-Followers:
“The Lord our God, the Lord is One.
Love the Lord your God with all your Heart,
with all your soul,
with all your mind,
and with all your strength.
The second is this:
Love your neighbor as yourself
There is no commandment greater than these.”
{Mk. 12:29-31}
Ann made this
application,
“What I’ve been reading aloud to the kids
, this Jesus Creed challenge we’ve taken up — to recite Jesus’ creed when we wake and when we
sleep every day for a month — for year — isn’t this Jesus’ Creed, isn’t it the
essence of koinonia:
Communion with God. Community with God’s people.”
What else is
there?
Relationship
is the essence of all reality. What else is
eternal but love — to God and His people, relationship with God and God’s
people? What can be shaken when we’re holding onto this?
That is a New
Year’s Resolution that is worth making. I’ve accepted the challenge of
this daily reminder of what Jesus called the greatest commandments. Paul
taught us to think on “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is
just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable…”
(Philippians 4:8; NRSV) I cannot think of anything more true, just and
pleasing to God than what Jesus called the greatest commandments.
Next Wednesday, January 11th, there will be many new opportunities to grow deeper in God’s
Word. Here is a list of Wednesday Grow options. For more
information or to sign up for a class, contact Marcia Cuellar, mcuellar@gmvumc.org
**NEW** The Case for Christ
Wednesdays at
6:30pm in Room 308
This course
led by Rev. Bill Wolfe will dig deeply into the evidence of Christ’s
divinity.
Course Length: 6 weeks beginning January 11 and concluding
February 15.
Book Required: The Case for Christ Participant’s Guide by Lee Strobel,
available in the Discipleship Office for $9.00.
**NEW** Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
Wednesdays at
6:30pm in the Chapel
This course
led by Rick White will dive into the well know work of Author C.S. Lewis as he
wrote of his understanding and case for the Christian faith.
Course Length: Undetermined - begins January 11
Book Required: Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis available in the
Discipleship Office for $8.00.
Kindle edition
available
**NEW** Seeing Gray in a Black and White World
by Adam
Hamilton
Wednesdays at
6:30pm in Room 306
This course
led by Chester Jolly will probe into those areas which so often divide
us and explore the means by which we find common ground despite our sometimes
passionate
differences.
Course Length: 5 weeks beginning January 11th and concluding February 8th.
Book Required: Seeing Gray in a Black and White World Participant’s
Guide, available through the Discipleship Office for $10.00.
**NEW** God Never Blinks
Wednesdays at
6:30pm in Room 209
This course
led by Jimann Edmonds will examine the essays written by Regina Brett in her
book “God Never Blinks” these deeply personal stories of trial and triumph
uplift the soul and bring encouragement for all who have ever struggled in any
journey of life. Single parents may especially find this course to
be a wonderful resource.
Course Length: Undetermined –Begins January 11th.
Book Required: God Never Blinks by Regina Brett, available in the Discipleship
Office for $13.00.
Kindle edition available
**NEW** Good Sense (Biblical Financial Principles
for Transforming Your Finances and Life)
Wednesdays at
6:30pm in the Library
This course
led by CeCe McNeil uses the budget materials
written by
Dick Towner and John Tofilon to guide participants through sound, Biblical,
financial planning. This is a great course for those of any economic
background and can greatly benefit even the most skilled financial planner
through Biblical insight and resources.
Course Length: 6 weeks beginning January 11th and concluding February 15th.
Book Required: Good Sense Budget Course Participant Book available
through the Discipleship Office for $10 each.
(It is highly
recommended that this book is pre-purchased and preliminary homework completed
prior to the first session)
**NEW** The Story
Wednesdays at
6:30pm in Room 320
This course
led by Marcia Cuellar will guide participants on a journey through the
beautiful story of God’s Word. See the heart of Christ from beginning to
end through this journey through scripture. And, see where your own story
fits into God’s grand design.
Course Length: 31 Weeks – Beginning January 11th and concluding August 29th.
Book Required: The Story and The Story Participants Guide both are
available in the Discipleship office for a combined cost of $14.Several
Kindle resources are available
**NEW** James - Mercy Triumphs (Beth Moore
Study)
Wednesdays at
6:30pm in Room 305
This course
led by Cathy Harris will journey through Beth Moore’s latest study on the book
of James. Beth Moore’s exciting and relevant approach to scripture
encourages participants to examine their lives in light of God’s word.
Course Length: 8 weeks beginning January 11th and concluding February 29
Book Required: James Mercy
Triumphs Participant book available through the Discipleship Office for $18
each.
*Bible Study: Revelation
Wednesdays at
6:30pm in Room 310
This course is
an in-depth Bible Study verse by verse on the book of Revelation. Rev.
Ben Hogan takes his students through the scripture exploring the symbolism and
hope found in this book of the divine revelation. This is a course
continuation from the last year but all are welcome to come in and pick up
where the class is currently studying.
Course Length: Undetermined
Book Required: Personal Bible
*Bible Study
Wednesdays at
6:30pm in Room 318
This course
will explore a designated book of the Bible in-depth through expository
teaching lead by Rev. Jeri Hunt. Practical theological application is
explored and God’s Word is the primary text.
Course Length: Undetermined
Book Required: Personal Bible
*Threads and Prayers
Wednesdays at
6:30pm in the Parlor
This is a GROW
service oriented group that uses their knitting talents to create items to
donate to a variety of needs in the community.
Course Length: N/A
Book Required: None
*Conversational Spanish for Ministry
Wednesdays at
6:30pm in Room 317
This course
led by Dean Borden works through the Spanish language by use of CD
memorization, conversation, hymns, and more. Advanced and beginning
coursework are studied simultaneously. This is a great course for those
who are considering missions to Spanish speaking countries or local ministry to
Hispanic populations.
Course Length: Ongoing
Book Required: None
**NEW** Disciple IV (Under the Tree of Life)
Sundays at
5:00pm Room 319
This course
led by Marcia Cuellar goes further into the Disciple Bible Study series with an
in-depth look at the writings of John and Revelation. Disciple I is a
prerequisite to this course as it gives the foundation for further Disciple
Bible Study exploration. Discussion, videos, geographic, and historic
materials are examined in depth. This course requires a commitment of 32
weeks of both home study and 2 hour class attendance. It is well worth it
for the knowledge and understanding of God’s Word you will receive. Space
is limited in this Disciple Bible Study course so those who have completed
Disciple I should reserve their place by contacting the Discipleship Office.
Course Length:
32 weeks – Beginning January 15th and concluding September 16th
Book Required: Disciple IV
Student Manual and Personal Study Bible. Disciple IV manuals will be
available in the Discipleship Office for $38.00.
As always, your responses to
these Reflections are welcome. You can email me at rguess@gmvumc.org.