Whose Birthday Is It Really?

Reflections from Bro. Rudy –

Whose Birthday Is It Really?

I was sent a devotional with the title, “Whose Birthday Is
It Really?” The author of the devotional
was Ann Voskamp who writes a devotional entitled “A Holy Experience.” In this particular devotional, Ann shared a life
changing moment in her family that happened when her preschooler asked, “What
does Jesus get for His birthday?” How
would you answer that question?

Many of us are busy getting ready for Christmas. A question we are often asked this time of
the year is, “Have you completed your shopping?” In answering that question, we generally
think in terms of all the gifts we will give this Christmas. But do we ever really consider the question, “What does Jesus get for His birthday?”

Ann did not have an answer for her son. So he pressed on; “But Mom…. if we get wrapped presents for our birthdays,
real sacrifices from people who love us — they gave up other things to
give something to us — then why don’t we do that for Jesus’ birthday?”

The son’s question
has led that family to radically change their approach to Christmas. They do not have presents under their
Christmas tree. In fact, they don’t
exchanged Christmas gifts in their family.
Instead, they give to Jesus by giving to the “least of these.”

During the last two
weeks of Advent they select projects to which they will give. At the breakfast table they have what she
called “His (Jesus) gift catalogues.”
Those include Compassion Catalog, Samaritan’s Purse Catalog, and World
Vision Catalog. Each day they pick a
project to which they will give. These
are their Christmas Gifts to Jesus.

As I read the
devotional, I thought about the Living Christmas Market we had in one of my
former churches. Each year, we would set
up a Christmas Market with Heifer Project International. Gina and I began to give a flock of chickens
each year in honor of her Grandparents.
At the market, we would get a Christmas card to send to her grandparents
to let them know that a flock of chickens had been given in their honor.

After her
grandparents died and we moved from that church, we stopped giving in that
manner. This devotional challenged me to
look again at our Christmas giving.
After all, “Whose Birthday is it really?”

This year we have
the unique opportunity of having Christmas fall on Sunday. I know many of us have family traditions related
to Christmas. But I cannot think of a
better why for families to celebrate the birthday of Jesus than to gather for
worship. After all, “Whose Birthday is
it really?”

Plans are being
finalized for a wonderful celebration of Christ birth. Our Christmas service will be at 10:00
AM. Steve West, who in now pastor of St.
Mark’s UMC in Birmingham, wrote some liturgy for the blessings of the
toys. We are going to use his idea
during the service. Children are invited
to bring one of their Christmas gifts, a non-scary, non-noise making toy with
them for the blessing of the toys.

This Sunday evening
we will go Caroling. This is an opportunity
to share some Christmas Joy with some of our Church family who are either
homebound or living alone. There will be
three caroling routes. Come and join in
this evening of ministry. It begins at
5:00 PM. When we return from caroling,
there will be some refreshments in the Fellowship Hall.

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

Living Close to God

Reflections from Bro. Rudy –
November 30, 2011

Living Close to God

I saw a quote this morning that has been around a long
time. It was posted by Pray in
Faith. “If you are not as close to God
as you used to be, who moved?”

Christmas is about God’s move toward us. Being created in the image of God there is a
need within us to be in relationship with God.
One of my seminary professors said we were created to be balanced by
God. But sin separates us from God. Sin puts our lives out of balance. God, in Jesus, came to reconcile us back unto
Himself. At Christmas God’s reaching
love took human flesh as God moved toward us, so we could reconnect with God.

The problem is, rather than living in this restored
relationship with God, we often focus on our own selfish desires instead of
living by the Spirit. Paul wrote, “Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not
gratify the desires of the flesh.”
(Galatians 5:16; NRSV) When we
are not intentional about living by the Spirit, we move away from God.

This Christmas season has many opportunities. Sometimes even the good things make our lives
so busy that we lose focus on the main thing.
We get so wrapped up in the many activities of the season that we fail
to spend time with the One who is the reason for the season. It is not that God has moved. Rather, we have drifted.

Christmas is about God moving toward us – Emmanuel, God with
us, has come. It is my prayer that we
don’t miss this great God in the busyness of the season.

This Sunday night, our Children’s
Choir will help us remember this great God who moves toward us. They will share their Christmas musicals at 6:30 in the Sanctuary. You will be blessed by their faith and
excitement about Jesus.

During our Sunday night service this week, we will receive
our White Christmas Offering for the
Children’s Home. This offering helps
support this special ministry to children.
If you cannot be present, you can still make your special gift by
marking your check for “White Christmas” or “Children’s Home.”

Commitments to the 2012 budget continue to come in. If you have not made your commitment,
Commitment Cards are available in the welcome areas.

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

Giving Thanks

Sunday that old song “Count Your Blessings, Name them One by
One,” came to me. As I begin to count my
blessings, it has a way of lifting my spirit.
God really is a good God.

Years ago I heard someone say that depression and expression
are the same root words, but they are totally opposites. You cannot have depression and expression at
the same time. I believe that is one of
the reasons the scriptures continually remind us to express praise and
thanksgiving. Giving thanks refocuses
our attention on the blessing that God is giving us. When we do we discover the song was right,
“it will surprise you what the Lord has done.”

I’m rejoicing at the privilege God has given me to be an
ambassador for Jesus. Just this week,
I’ve had the privilege of talking with a boy and his family as he was exploring
faith. After sharing the basics of the
Gospel, I asked him if he was ready to invite Jesus into his heart. He said he was. So I lead him in a prayer. I can still see the tears of joy in his
father’s eyes as we finished that prayer.
There is no experience like having a part in a person coming to faith in
Jesus Christ.

That same day I was meeting with a couple who are planning
on getting married. In the conversation
we talked about faith and he shared that he had not confessed his sin to
God. I had the privilege of leading him
in a prayer of confession and forgiveness.

As I left the office that night, I remembered that the
scriptures say there is rejoicing in heaven when a lost sheep is found. That made Thanksgiving for me.

We have discovered that many did not receive your letter
with a Commitment Card for
2012. They went out a couple of weeks
ago, but apparently some sections of our parish area never received their
cards. If you have not made your
commitment to the 2012 ministries of the church, a card is attached.

Have you finished your Christmas Shopping? This Sunday you will have a unique
opportunity to do some Christmas Shopping as our United Methodist Women and
Emerge Young Adult Ministries host a Holiday Bazaar. Sojourns, a local Fair Trade retailer, will
be here with a variety of Fair Trade items.
By purchasing gifts through this means, you not only can get your gifts
at a good price, but you are providing fair wages and labor. Items on sale will range from Coffee and
Chocolate, to soaps, accessories and jewelry, along with some great children’s
gifts from all across the globe. The
Bazaar will be in the Fellowship Hall.

This Sunday night, our Hanging of the Green service will
take place in the sanctuary at 6:30 PM.
It is a learning time, a refocusing time and a worshipful time. It is a great way to set our sights on the
reason for the season.


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

I Bring an Offering to You

Paul Baloche has a great worship song entitled, Offering. It reminds us that worship itself is an
offering to God. The chorus
declares: “I bring an offering of
worship to my King. No one on earth
deserves the praises that I sing. Jesus
may You receive the honor that You’re due.
O Lord I bring an offering to You.”

Psalm 100 is sometimes called “The Call to Worship for the
Great Day of Thanksgiving.” Long before
we Americans established Thanksgiving Day, the Hebrew people had their Great
Day of Thanksgiving. On the day they
came together to bring an offering of worship.
The Psalm encouraged worshippers to “Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise. Give thanks
to him, bless his name.” (Psalm 100:4;
NRSV)

Singing and prayer are two ways we offer praise and
thanksgiving. But the Psalmist also
referred to another form of thanksgiving that took place in worship – the
offering. “Give an offering to show thanks
to God. Give God Most High what you have
promised.” (Psalm 50:14; NCV) This is
one reason I believe the offering time is a vital part of worship. It is not simply about collecting money for
the church. It is an act of worship in
which we declare our thanks and praise to God.
Notice also, that the offering is something “you have promised.”

This Sunday, you and I have the opportunity to make a
promise to God concerning our offerings for 2012. In making that promise, we are saying that we
trust God to supply our needs. And we
are giving Him thanks believing that God will be faithful so we can bring an
offering to God. It’s like Paul wrote to
the Corinthians; “And God is able to provide you with every blessing in
abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share
abundantly in every good work.” (2
Corinthians 9:8; NRSV)

Be in prayer about your Offerings for 2012. And bring your Commitment Card with you on
Sunday to make that promise of thanksgiving to God. If you cannot be present, you can mail you
card to the Church.

This Sunday night, we are hosting a Community Thanksgiving Service, at 6:30 PM. Mayor Othell Phillips will bring the message
and the Gardendale High School Chamber Choir will share some special
music. Invite your neighbors to join you
in this special evening of worship.

If you picked up a Box for Operation Christmas Child,
don’t forget to bring it Sunday. That is
another offering we bring to God. We
will pray over the boxes during worship and then on Sunday afternoon they will
begin their journey to the children.

Be in prayer for our wonderful custodians. This time of the year is very busy for
them. Yesterday, our Child Enrichment
Center had its Thanksgiving Celebration.
They had over 420 children, parents and grand-parents at the feast.

Now preparations are being made for tonight’s Night
in Bethlehem. The gym is being
transformed from a Thanksgiving Feast to the little town of Bethlehem. This will be a fun night for all ages. We are expecting guests from all over the area;
one church is bringing a group of their members to experience the night.

Then on Thursday night, we host a Boy Scout Banquet in the
gym. At the same time, our Junior Girl
Scouts have a special program going on in another part of the building.

With all the traffic, not to mention the set up and take
down, our custodians are busy. When you
see Lee, Joseph, Beverly and Betty, let them know how much you appreciate them.

Speaking of appreciation, the first phrase of the Playground
renovation has almost been completed.
There were numbers of volunteers who worked last Wednesday night and
Saturday pouring the new sidewalks that will also be a bike track. The main purpose was to provide wheelchair
access to the playground and also a better way to take wheelchair persons out
of the building in case of an emergency.
Thanks to all who gave time to this project.

This Sunday is the youth/UMW bake sale in the fellowship
hall. You can shop in between any of the
services. All money raised from this bake sale will go to buy gifts for the
CASA kids. Come with your sweet tooth
and a little money to go to a good cause!

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

Giving Thanks for Freedom - It came with a cost.

Last Sunday we remembered the saints from our church that
have entered the Communion of Saints around the throne. I was part of the Home going Celebration for
several of them. Some of them were
veterans. They were honored with an
American Flag over their casket, which was presented to the family at the
graveside. It is always a moving moment
for me when the family is presented the flags with the words, “On behalf of a
grateful country…” We should be
grateful.

This Friday, November 11th, our nation celebrates
Veterans Day. This is an opportunity to
express our gratitude to those who have served in our nation’s Armed
Forces. During each of our worship
services this Sunday we will recognize our veterans. Because of the sacrifices they made, we have
the freedoms we enjoy in this country.

It is also true that our freedom from sin and death came at
a cost. As Paul wrote to Timothy,
“[Jesus] gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone.” (1 Timothy 2:6a; NLT) Our freedom was purchased at great cost. That is the reason the German Theologian
Dietrich Bonhoeffer referred to grace as “costly grace.” This unconditional acceptance, that we call
grace, cost Jesus His life on the cross.

How do you say thanks for such a costly gift? Over and over in the scriptures we see that
God’s unconditional acceptance brought forth a response of repentance,
re-commitment and worship. Jacob
responded by committing a tithe of all that God would bless Him with. Isaiah responded with confession, and then a
commitment to serve, “Here I am, send me.”

The Sunday before Thanksgiving, November 20th, will
be Commitment Sunday. It is appropriate
for Commitment Sunday to fall on Thanksgiving Sunday. The best expressions of Thanksgiving go
beyond words. We thank God for His
amazing grace by giving God our very selves.
Like Jacob we pledge our tithe and like Isaiah we surrender, “Here I am,
send me.”

This Sunday afternoon, November 13th, will be a
wonderful opportunity for Christian Fellowship.
The Tailgate Party begins at 3:30.
Bring food for your family or join with your small group or Sunday school
class to share a meal together. Also
bring a game or two to involve people in fellowship. Then at 5:15, we gather for worship. Martin Houston, who played on the 1992
Championship Team at the University of Alabama, will be the preacher.

If you have not picked up a box and instructions for
Operation Christmas Child, they are available in the welcome areas. The boxes need to be returned by November 20th,
so they can begin their journey to the children who will receive them at
Christmas.


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

November 2, 2011

All Hallows’ Eve

It is impossible to know how many we actually had on our
campus for the Harvest Hoedown on Monday night.
Just the children who registered and their parents put the attendance
over 2500. But we know that many did not
register. The Children’s Team did an
outstanding job in preparing for the evening.
And it appeared that those who volunteered to help had a good time.

Did you know that before Halloween emerged as a holiday,
Christ-Followers were celebrating All Hallows’ Eve? That word “eve” points to something that is
coming, something just over the horizon.
For example, Christmas Eve points us to the celebration of Christmas,
the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
All Hallows’ Eve pointed believers to All Hallows or All Saints day. It was the day the Church celebrated the
“Communion of the Saints” as we affirm in the creed.

What comes to your mind when you hear the word “Saint?” Because of the influence of the Roman
Catholic Church, we tend to think of special people who lived extra-ordinary
lives. We think of the Apostles as
Saints; St. Matthew, St. John, St. Paul.
Some of the early church leaders are referred to as saints, like St.
Augustine and St. Francis. And more
recently we’ve heard about Mother Teresa’s journey to sainthood.

Sometime after the third century, the word “saint” began to
take on this different meaning in the church.
As the church became more of an institution in Rome, the emergence of
these special “saints” took place. That
was not the class in the early church.
In the New Testament, the word “saint” refers to those who are followers
of Jesus Christ. You may have heard the
saying, “Jesus transforms sinners into saints.”
By His grace we are cleansed of sin and made new creations. As followers of Jesus Christ, we are set
apart as holy, seeking after sanctification through His grace.

All Hallows or All Saints day emerged both to challenge
Christ-Followers to live as holy, set apart people and to remember those who
had joined the eternal Communion of Saints during the year. All Saints Day was celebrated in the Church
on November 1st. Hence, All
Hallows Eve, on October 31st, was the preparation for the All Saints
Day celebration.

Today, many churches take the first Sunday after November 1st,
to celebrate “All Saints Day.” It still
has that dual role, to challenge Christ-Followers to live as holy, set apart
people and to remember those who have joined the eternal Communion of the
Saints. In our 11:00 Service this Sunday
we will remember those from our Church Family who have become part of that
great “cloud of witnesses” referred to in Hebrews 12:1.

This Sunday our United Methodist Women will have their Soup Luncheon
for missions. Tickets are on sale
in the office for only $6.00 a person.
Be sure to get your tickets so they will know how much soup to
prepare.
As always, your responses to these
Reflections are welcome. You can
email me at rguess@gmvumc.org.

Prayer

October 26, 2011
This morning’s Upper Room devotional spoke to me. Being still and silent challenges many of
us. Where do we find time to be still
and silent before the Lord? If you are
like me, it doesn’t happen without intentionality.

I remember a Prayer Guide that was developed by The
Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference Council on Ministries. It challenged persons to pray for five
unchurched people during the Lenten season.
Each day’s prayer guide began with a statement about realizing you are
in the presence of God. Here are a
couple of the ways it was put:

Get
comfortable. Realize that you are in The
Presence, receiving special attention, as you join God in love and concern for
each of the Five.

Get
comfortable. Become aware of the
presence of God within you and about you.
Prepare yourself with expectation to receive some new truth from the
scripture you are about to read.

I need to remind myself to be
still and become aware of God’s presence.
Without such an intentional commitment to be still, I tend to rush
through my petitions without ever sensing God’s presence.

This week, some of the staff was
talking about prayer and one mentioned writing her prayers. I have practiced that at times in my life. Writing my prayer helps me stay focused. It also helps me look at my prayer
times. Am I giving God praise and
adoration or simply asking things of God.

If you want an example of written
prayers, look at the Psalms. Many of the
Psalms are prayers. In the Psalms, the
Psalmist pours out his heart to God.
Sometimes he offers praise and adoration, at other times he offers
confession, petitions and intercessions.

This Sunday, our Youth will be
giving leadership to our Sunday morning services. Be in prayer for them and for Micah Dormann
as he brings the message. Then on Sunday
evening we will have “The Resolution Service.”
We have copies of “The Resolution” used in the movie Courageous and also
a women’s version. There will time in
the service for families to come to the altar to reaffirm their commitments to
one another using these resolutions. If
you plan to participate in signing the resolution during the service, please
communicate with Marcia Cuellar, so we will have enough copies. (mcuellar@gmvumc.org)

Monday night, October 31, is our
Harvest Hoedown. That needs to be on
your prayer list. Especially pray for a
door to open to any undiscipled person who attends. While it is a night of fun and games, our
main focus is to become all things to all people in order to reach one for
Jesus.

We expect a few thousand to come
to the Harvest Hoedown. I understand we
could still use some more candy and trunks for “Trunk or Treat.” Find where they are having sales on candy and
purchase a large bag or two. If you want
to volunteer to help, contact Amy Sizemore (asizemore@gmvumc.org).


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

The Ministry of Hospitality

The other night, Gina and I went to a nice restaurant in the
greater Birmingham area. We met there,
for we were coming from different places.
I arrived first, was greeted by the host and taken to our table. The waitress came quickly to welcome me and
ask if she could get me something to drink while I waited. But that was the end of the quickly.

A couple was sitting in the same area that the waitress
knew. The rest of the night, we were
waiting on her. The people she knew
became her priority, not us. When we
finished, we waited several minutes as she stood at her friends’ table talking,
trying to get her attention so we could get our check and pay our bill. If that had been my first time there, I
probably would not have been impressed enough to come back. You see, the quality of the meal is only part
of the restaurant experience. The whole
experience plays a part in whether or not we will return.

As I have reflected on that experience, I remembered an
article Dan Reiland wrote on connection.
He used a similar experience to illustrate the importance of hospitality
when the Church gathers. He wrote; “This idea of connection is the same in your church. Whether
you are part of a chain, or a mom and pop café, or an independent, people want
to connect with your experience or they're not coming back. And keep in mind, it's not all about the meal
(sermon), it's the whole experience.”

Dan then raised the question,
“Connection on whose terms?” Here is how
he responded:
I think it's best to set the
connection to the environment on their (the guests’) terms and set the
connection to the church mission on your (church leaders’) terms. It's often
done just the opposite in many churches.
Here's what I mean. When you set the connection based on the new person's
experience, you set the environment to make them feel at home. So we make the
space itself feel good, we have a Coffee Shop for the fancy stuff, and free
coffee stations too, the aroma is important. The dress is casual, we don't make
visitors stand, we don't make them were a name tag that says "Hey
everybody, look at me, I'm new, I don't belong here." They don't have to
do anything, say anything, or commit to anything to come to church. Those are
the terms new people love when trying a church. And like a restaurant, they
know real fast if they like it or not.
In churches where the environment is set on the church leaders' terms, the
guest is required to embrace any number of things such as dressing a certain
way, wear a name badge, sit in a special section, stand up, go to a room,
accept a visit, meet the pastor after the service, and the list goes on. All
these things can be good, but keep in mind one crucial issue, your guest might
not want to!

You’ve
probably heard the expression, “First Impressions Matter.” Many point out that guest begin to form their
first impressions when the pull on the church campus. Have the church members taken all the good
parking spaces? Last Sunday I watched a
church family park in a parking space marked for visitors and most of the
parking around the Family Ministry Building was taken by those of us who are
here to serve. What kind of first
impressions does that make for a young family with children, who have to park
in the upper parking lot and find their way first to the place of worship and
then to the nursery?

And
when persons enter the building, are we there welcoming them or have we huddled
in our little groups? The same could be
asked of Sunday school classes. I was
talking to a person recently who had visited one of the larger Sunday school
classes. He said no one spoke to them (he
and his wife) when they visited the class.

I
regularly hear persons talk about the friendliness of Gardendale-Mt.
Vernon. Apparently we do make some
pretty good first impressions. The
restaurant I ate at generally does. But
that night, the waitress’ focus was somewhere else. It reminded me how important it is for us to
be very intentional Sunday after Sunday, Wednesday after Wednesday. When we don’t put our best foot forward, a
person may not get connected.

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

What does a healthy family look like?

First of all, we have canceled our Wednesday activities for this evening, April 27. We know that some have dealt with power outage and fallen trees already this morning. The weather people tell us that more storms could be on the way.

Now to the question, “What does a healthy Family look like?” That is a question that Dr. Nick Stinnett, chairman of the Department of Human Development and the Family at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, set out to answer. Dr. Stinnett led a major international research project to learn the secrets of strong families. His studies included traditional families, single parent families and blended families. It included families from different racial backgrounds across North America, South America, Switzerland, Austria, Germany and South Africa.

Dr. Stinnett’s findings were discussed at a national forum on the family held in Washington, D.C. The content of those discussions are present in a book edited by Dr. George Rekers entitled, Family Building: Six Qualities of a Strong Family.
In the study led by Dr. Stinnett, 3,000 families were interviewed. Each one, regardless of its back-ground, rated very high on marriage happiness and in their satisfaction with parent-child relationships. A considerable amount of information was collected, but, according to Dr. Stinnett, when thoroughly analyzed it boiled down to six major qualities. Those six qualities are the focus of the book and discussion I just mentioned.
Here are those six qualities that Dr. Stinnett found strong, to which healthy families are committed: (1) Are committed to the family; (2) Spend time together; (3) Have good family communications; (4) Express appreciation to each other; (5) Have a spiritual commitment; and (6) Are able to solve problems in a crisis. (Nick Stinnett, Family Building: Six Qualities of a Strong Family, p. 38) His research also showed that these qualities did not just happen. They are the result of “deliberate intention and practice.”
His finding should not surprise us, for they come right out of the scriptures. We will look at some of these scriptural teachings about family in our May Message Series, “Keys to Healthy Families.” Our focus will be how to apply these teachings to our family, regardless of the make up of our family.
To kick of this Family Month, we will have a Family Movie Night, this Friday, April 29, 7:00 PM., at the Gardendale Amphitheater, which is located at the Civic Center. The movie will be the blockbuster hit, Despicable Me. It is a story of how the love of three children changed a criminal from super bad to a super dad. Admission is Free. Chick-fil-A will be there along with other concessions. So bring your lawn chairs, blankets, invite your friends and join in this night at the movies.

To help us grow healthier families, we are offering several great Wednesday night opportunities beginning May 4th.
For Couples: “Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage” – Video based Marriage Enrichment Experience.
For Household Leaders: “The Family God Uses” – A study on how to be a family that can join God in the work of His Kingdom.
For Single Mothers: “Small Group for Single Mothers”
For Persons Needing to Get Physically Healthier – “Healthy Eating and Exercise” - A class led by Ray Whittaker.

Don’t forget the Yard Sale for Missions, this weekend. They will be receiving items for sale on Thursday and the sale will be Friday and Saturday.

In addition, the Young Adult Ministry Team is having a Plant Sale for Missions on Saturday. This is an opportunity to get your hanging and bedding plants and also raise funds for missions.

Finally, the Trip to the Land of the Bible is on for February 2012. There will be a meeting about this opportunity this Sunday, May 1, at 5:00 PM. If you think you might be interested, you are invited to come to the Small Dinning Room for this informational meeting. We will talk about the proposed trip and the possibility of also spending a few extra days serving with Bridges for Peace, one of the mission ministries we support.

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

24 Hours Was Not The End

The television show “24” was unique in that each season looked at 24 hours in the life of Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each episode generally covered one hour of the 24 hour season. The show came to a close about a year ago, after eight seasons.

Jesus’ last 24 hours ended with His body being placed in the tomb. John tells us that Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus placed Jesus’ body in a tomb that belonged to Joseph. During this Lenten season we have looked at some of the key events in those last 24 hours, beginning with the Passover Meal.

But in the case of Jesus, His last hour was not really His last. His story does not end with the tomb. On Sunday morning, as grieving followers approached the tomb, one of their concerns was, “Who will roll the stone away.” But to their surprise, the stone had been rolled away and Jesus had been resurrected. Sunday morning brought a New Day, a New Hope, a New Life. That’s what we celebrate on Easter. Death could not hold our Lord.

This week we have the opportunity to experience again the Last Supper and the Cross in very unique worship experiences. Thursday night at 6:30 PM, our worship ministries will lead us in a musical-drama entitled “The Living Last Supper.” This will conclude with the celebration of Holy Communion. Then on Friday night at 6:30 PM, our worship ministries will lead us in a musical-drama entitled “The Living Last Words.” This will be a unique look at the cross. Invite someone to join you for these special worship experiences.

Then on Saturday night and Sunday morning we will have four opportunities to celebrate the New Day of Easter. Again this year we will have a Saturday evening Easter Celebration at 6:30 PM. This will be a contemporary service in the gym. On Sunday morning, we will have the three Sunday Easter Celebrations at 8:30, 9:45 and 11:00.

Easter this year is the latest it can be. The following Sunday is the first Sunday of May. On the Church Calendar the first week of May is Festival of the Christian Home. That week concludes with Mother’s Day. On some calendars, the days between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are known as Family Month. With that in mind, we are taking the Month of May to focus on families. I’m going to be preaching a series of messages entitled, “Keys to Healthy Families.”

We are kicking off the month with a Family Night at the movies, Friday, April 29, 7:00. This will be at the Ampitheather at the Gardendale Civic Center. Chick-fil-a will be there as part of the concessions for the evening. The movie will be Despicable Me. Bring your lawn chairs or blankets, invite your neighbors and friends, and join in this night of fellowship.

To help us grow healthier families, we are offering several great Wednesday night opportunities beginning May 4th. There will be a Marriage Enrichment video based opportunity, a family/parent opportunity and a new study for single moms. More information on these will be in next week’s Connection. Regardless of the make up of your family, you will find an opportunity for you.

Next week is always our next Yard Sale for Missions. In addition to the Yard Sale, our Young Adult Ministry Team will have a Plant sale, with the money going to our Mission Ministries. This is a good time to clean out your closets, the money will support our Volunteer In Mission Teams.

Chuck Waller and I have been planning a trip to the Holy Land for next February. This will be an opportunity to tour the Lands of the Bible and for those who want to, spend a few days serving with Bridges for Peace. If you would be interested in such a trip, let me know as soon as possible. Some have asked about the price. That will be somewhat determined by the amount of interest. But a ball park would be around $3,000 for the basic trip, plus taxes and any insurance that you take out.

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

Praying That People Come to Know Jesus

I came upon this story about Arthur F. Burns, who served as an economic counselor to a number of presidents from Dwight D. Eisenhower to Ronald Regan. He also served as chairman of the United States Federal Reserve System and as an ambassador to West Germany. He was a man who opinions carried a lot of weight in Washington. Arthur Burns was also a Jew. When he began attending an informational White House Christian prayer group in the 1970’s, others in the group were not sure how to involve him. Different persons gave leadership to the prayer time each week and the leader would call upon someone to close in prayer. Weeks passed and no one called upon Arthur Burns to lead in prayer. Then, one week, another newcomer to the group was leading and he did not know that Burns’ was a Jew. As the prayer meeting ended, the newcomer turned to Arthur Burns and asked him to close the time with prayer. Some of the old-timers glanced at each other in surprise and wondered what would happen. Without missing a beat, Arthur Burns reached out, held hands with others in the circle, and prayed this prayer: “Lord, I pray that you bring Jews to know Jesus Christ. I pray that you bring Muslims to know Jesus Christ. Finally, Lord, I pray that you bring Christians to know Jesus Christ. Amen.” I cannot think of a more important prayer for us to pray than for persons to come to know Jesus Christ. Jesus is the way to a restored relationship with God. He is the truth that is unchanging and always relevant. And, He is the source of life that is abundant and eternal. He is the one and only Savior. Everyone needs to know Jesus. I also cannot think of a more appropriate prayer that we could pray for our neighbors, friends, family and other connections than that they come to know Jesus Christ. Holy Week Easter is a great time to put some feet to those prayers with an invitation to worship with you. You can pick up some of the invitational cards that were in the bulletin Sunday to help you make that invitation to others. This Saturday would be a good time to join others in praying that persons come to know Jesus Christ. Our Holy Week Prayer Vigil will be from 9:00 AM to 12:00 Noon. It will be held in the chapel. Come an spend some time in prayer. The Magnolia Festival is this Friday and Saturday. We will have a tent there. And could still use volunteers to take a time at the tent. You can contact Jenn Bryant for times, jbryant@gmvumc.org Sunday afternoon is our OLD FASHIONED EGG HUNT that will be held at Black Creek Park. All the fun begins at 3:30. We will have a Church Family picnic at 5:00 and then worship at 6:00. Bring your picnic basket, with a little extra for our guest, and invite someone to join you in this afternoon of fellowship and worship. Don’t forget one of our Outreach Ministries is the Children’s Home Easter Egg Hunt. Children from across Alabama who are in our United Methodist Group Homes will gather at Camp Sumatanga on April 23, for a great day of fellowship that is led by Clyde and Brenda Cork. They need our help in providing the prizes for the eggs. You can mark your donations for “Children’s Home Egg Hunt.” As always, your responses to these Reflections are welcome. You can email me at rguess@gmvumc.org.

Serving God's Children

Most Sundays as I move from the 8:30 service in the sanctuary to the 9:45 service in the gym, I pass one of God’s special children waiting for his “Sunday Granny”. Ethan is a special needs child who has captured the hearts of several ladies in our church. These “Sunday Grannies” keep him during the 9:45 service so his parents can be in worship. Often times they will be in the lobby of the Family Ministry Building as I leave that service. There is a special bond that has developed between Ethan and those who stay with him during that hour. Even more, they experience Jesus in each other.

This week, I visited Ethan in the hospital. His mother expressed appreciation for those who serve as his “Sunday Grannies.” As I left his hospital room, I remembered the words of Jesus, “Let the children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.” (Matthew 19:13; NRSV) I give thanks for those who serve children.

Ethan is not the only child in our church family who is confined to a wheelchair. Every Wednesday during chapel we have another child who makes his way in and out of the sanctuary in his wheelchair. He is able to join his class in most activities, except he cannot get around on our playground, because presently our playground is not handicap accessible.

One of the goals of our Children’s Ministries is to change this by raising funds for a new Handicap Accessible Playground. The Child Enrichment Center is sponsoring a Golf Tournament on Saturday, May 14th. It will be held at the Cullman Municipal Golf Course. You don’t have to be a golfer to help make this tournament a success. The real key to a successful Golf Tournament is sponsorships where most of the money is raised. There will be “hole sponsorships,” as well as some creative sponsorships such as “trees” and “sand-bunkers.” Some of us will see those signs more than once as they are in the center of the fairway. You can contact Gina Guess gguess@gmvumc.org or Kay Moman kmoman@gmvumc.org for information on sponsorships.

Along with sponsorships, another key to a successful Golf Tournament is the prizes. The goal is to have enough door prizes so that each golfer gets one. Door prizes can range from a certificate for a meal or haircut, to gift cards, golf balls, even a weekend at a lake home or beach condo. As you think about door prizes, remember there will be male and female golfers in the tournament.

Of course, golfers are vital to a successful tournament. We have people who have helped with other golf tournaments helping in the planning of this one. Pass on the date to the golfers you know. You can get register by going to the church web page, www.gmvumc.org. Information on the Golf Tournament is in the scrolling announcements, and also under the Child Enrichment Center tab.

Another ministry of our church has been the Easter Egg Hunt for the children of the United Methodist Children’s Home. Clyde and Brenda Cork have been giving leadership to that outreach for many years. It will be held at Camp Sumatanga on Saturday, April 23. They have worked it out with Camp Sumatanga so that children in our Group Homes across Alabama and the panhandle of Florida can spend the night at camp on Friday night and be there for the hunt on Saturday. One of our special offerings is for this Easter Egg Hunt. You can support this ministry through the church by marking you gift for “Children’s Home Egg Hunt.” The money is used to put prizes in the eggs along with special gifts for all the children and for the 12 golden eggs that are hidden each year.

This week most of our Small Groups for the “24” series began. It’s not too late to join a group. We have several that will begin tonight as part of Wednesday Grow and another one Thursday night. If you are out-of-town for Spring Break, join one next week. There was a list of all the Small Groups in this week’s “Connection.”

I have found Adam Hamilton’s “40 Days of Reflection” devotional book, that is related to “24”, to be a meaningful way to enhance my personal journey through this Lenten season. We still have some of those books and we have ordered some more of the “24” book if you would like one.

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

Deeper Spirituality Key to Growing Church

I came across an article Bishop Willimon wrote following a workshop with Tom Bandy. During the workshop a layperson asked, “What do you do when you want your church to grow but your pastor just won’t lead in evangelism?”

Bishop Willimon wrote, “I thought Bandy would respond to the question with, ‘you need a different pastor,’ or ‘you and the Board get together and insist that your pastor get busy.’ Bandy said none of that. He responded, ‘If you want to change your church or your pastor, you need to go deeper spiritually, you will need to pray more and go deeper in Scripture.’”

Prayer certainly played a vital role in the New Testament Church. The Holy Spirit fell upon the disciples as they were in a prayer meeting (Acts 2). Then as Luke describes the church that was born at Pentecost he wrote, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” (Acts 2:42; NRSV)

As you read on in the book of Acts, you see that prayer played a vital roll in the growth of the Church. One of the things that I see in Acts is that they often prayed together. Mission to the “ends of the earth” was birthed in the prayer of the church at Antioch. They did not just have their private devotionals. Long before we gave names to prayer movements like Prayer Vigils and Prayer Walks, they were practicing such prayer experiences.

Bishop Willimon, in the above mentioned article, made this application: “Lord help us if we think we can be faithful to Christ and achieve our priorities as a church on our own. Nothing Jesus commands us to do, does he command us to do by ourselves. This is Christ’s Church, not ours. Christ’s mission, not our program…Come to think of it, I’ve never see a church move from maintenance to ministry, from decline to growth, from the chaplain to the church members, to a mission mover to the word where someone in leadership had not experienced a new dimension of spiritual depth. It’s a God thing.”

Could it be that opportunities like this Saturday’s Prayer Walk are really vital to the Church? I believe so. Just as the early Church was empowered through prayer, Gardendale-Mt. Vernon finds it real power in prayer. As we come together in prayer, the Holy Spirit moves, just as He moved in the New Testament Church.

This weekend will be IMPACT 2011 (February 4-6). This will be a great opportunity to learn what God is doing through our mission partners and to hear God’s call to become a witness in words and deeds. On Sunday, February 6, you will have the opportunity to make a commitment of time, gifts and prayer to advance the mission of Christ. Be in prayer for God’s direction in your commitment.

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