1 | Page “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes,” Judges 21:25 The last verse of the Book of Judges reveals a serious problem that leads to chaos: everyone doing what is right in their own eyes. The people of God decided that what they needed was a tangible structure that would bring them security. Their problem was that God was supposed to be their King. They just did not want to be faithful in following Him. Their rebellion led to an endless cycle of judgment and deliverance. The children of Israel demanded to have a king like all the other nations. Consequently they rejected God as being their King. I bet they did not think about it that way. Yet, that is the way God defined it. God had Samuel warn them about the consequences of having a man as their king. He told them that a king would tax them, take their land, and then take their sons and daughters. The king would raise up an army that is well equipped with the latest in weapons. God said that one day they would cry out to Him about this system of government. They soon discovered that what they chose was not as good as they thought that it would be. When Jesus arrived he preached about restoring God as the King that we served. The Kingdom of God was to hold priority in our lives; “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and its righteousness.” He later revealed that He was the King. With God as our King we found a King that was willing to selflessly die in the place of His people. He did not come to be served, but to serve. Once again God was rejected as our King. The people demanded that Jesus be crucified and cried out, “We have no king but Caesar.” A Christian must counteract the rejection of God. God and His Kingdom must be our first loyalty. The Kingdom of God exists when and where God reigns; where Jesus Christ reigns as the King of kings, and Lord of lords. Christians are called to be salt and light in this fallen world, reflecting the Lordship of our King and the values of His Kingdom. As strangers and aliens in a foreign land we serve as ambassadors for Christ to do all we can to establish the Kingdom of God. This is a reversal of the direction Israel chose in demanding a king. We are to influence the world, not become like the world, conforming to its values. The United States of America was founded as “One Nation, Under God,” rejecting the rule of an earthly king; sorry George. Our forefathers paid a great price to establish this nation as a land of freedom from tyranny, and a place for religious freedom. Our country was founded on Christian principles. In the beginning we could truly have been called a Christian nation. Today, we have strayed far from our charter, convictions and confession. We have attempted to use the word “freedom” to justify sinfulness, rather than to live by the fact that freedom can only be had within boundaries, so that we can have liberty and justice for all. True freedom, both temporal and eternal, can only be found in submission to Jesus Christ as Lord, and by following the principles of the Bible. Yet, we have fellow Americans who have forsaken the desires and dreams of our founding fathers by insisting that we are meant to have “freedom from religion.” We have kicked God out of government, courtrooms, schools, parks, and even prayer, and then wondered where our blessings are. We have declared our independence from the tyranny of an earthly king, a heavenly King, and now any system of authority that we dislike. We have returned full cycle to the days where everyone is doing what is right in their own eyes. Our founding fathers were not perfect. Yet in the name of social justice we have become a nation where violence and destruction is permissible. Tearing down statues, attacking the police, and forsaking authorities of any kind is not what our founding fathers had in mind. Rebellion and hatred can be cloaked with words that seem to define them as a just and righteous cause, but the truth is that sin is just sin. When a nation, church, denomination, family, person…chooses to forsake a divine call to honor God’s sovereign rule in order to be like the rest of the world, we should not be surprised when there are consequences. The evil nature on humanity is on display. This applies to our country as well as the Church. The farther we stray from Biblical convictions, and conform more to the values of the world, the less we will have to offer a lost world. We must pray for our nation, our families, our church, and our world. Let’s be examples of individual lives that are submitted to the King, Jesus Christ our Lord, lining up our lives with the principles of God’s Word, and lovingly reaching out to the lost. We fought for our independence from England, not from God. Our fight is not finished yet! in Christ, Blanco United Methodist Church July 2020
Transcript
1 | P a g e
“In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes,” Judges 21:25
The last verse of the Book of
Judges reveals a serious problem that leads to chaos:
everyone doing what is right in their own eyes. The
people of God decided that what they needed was a
tangible structure that would bring them security. Their
problem was that God was supposed to be their King.
They just did not want to be faithful in following Him.
Their rebellion led to an endless cycle of judgment and
deliverance. The children of Israel demanded to have a
king like all the other nations. Consequently they
rejected God as being their King. I bet they did not
think about it that way. Yet, that is the way God defined
it. God had Samuel warn them about the consequences
of having a man as their king. He told them that a king
would tax them, take their land, and then take their sons
and daughters. The king would raise up an army that is
well equipped with the latest in weapons. God said that
one day they would cry out to Him about this system of
government. They soon discovered that what they chose
was not as good as they thought that it would be.
When Jesus arrived he preached about restoring God
as the King that we served. The Kingdom of God was
to hold priority in our lives; “Seek ye first the Kingdom
of God and its righteousness.” He later revealed that He
was the King. With God as our King we found a King
that was willing to selflessly die in the place of His
people. He did not come to be served, but to serve.
Once again God was rejected as our King. The people
demanded that Jesus be crucified and cried out, “We
have no king but Caesar.”
A Christian must counteract the rejection of God.
God and His Kingdom must be our first loyalty. The
Kingdom of God exists when and where God reigns;
where Jesus Christ reigns as the King of kings, and
Lord of lords. Christians are called to be salt and light
in this fallen world, reflecting the Lordship of our King
and the values of His Kingdom. As strangers and aliens
in a foreign land we serve as ambassadors for Christ to
do all we can to establish the Kingdom of God. This is a
reversal of the direction Israel chose in demanding a
king. We are to influence the world, not become like
the world, conforming to its values.
The United States of America was founded as “One
Nation, Under God,” rejecting the rule of an earthly
king; sorry George. Our forefathers paid a great price to
establish this nation as a land of freedom from tyranny,
and a place for religious freedom. Our country was
founded on Christian principles. In the beginning we
could truly have been called a Christian nation. Today,
we have strayed far from our charter, convictions and
confession. We have attempted to use the word
“freedom” to justify sinfulness, rather than to live by
the fact that freedom can only be had within
boundaries, so that we can have liberty and justice for
all. True freedom, both temporal and eternal, can only
be found in submission to Jesus Christ as Lord, and by
following the principles of the Bible. Yet, we have
fellow Americans who have forsaken the desires and
dreams of our founding fathers by insisting that we are
meant to have “freedom from religion.” We have
kicked God out of government, courtrooms, schools,
parks, and even prayer, and then wondered where our
blessings are. We have declared our independence from
the tyranny of an earthly king, a heavenly King, and
now any system of authority that we dislike. We have
returned full cycle to the days where everyone is doing
what is right in their own eyes. Our founding fathers
were not perfect. Yet in the name of social justice we
have become a nation where violence and destruction is
permissible. Tearing down statues, attacking the police,
and forsaking authorities of any kind is not what our
founding fathers had in mind. Rebellion and hatred can
be cloaked with words that seem to define them as a
just and righteous cause, but the truth is that sin is just
sin. When a nation, church, denomination, family,
person…chooses to forsake a divine call to honor God’s
sovereign rule in order to be like the rest of the world,
we should not be surprised when there are
consequences. The evil nature on humanity is on
display. This applies to our country as well as the
Church. The farther we stray from Biblical convictions,
and conform more to the values of the world, the less
we will have to offer a lost world.
We must pray for our nation, our families, our
church, and our world. Let’s be examples of individual
lives that are submitted to the King, Jesus Christ our
Lord, lining up our lives with the principles of God’s
Word, and lovingly reaching out to the lost. We fought
for our independence from England, not from God. Our
fight is not finished yet!
in Christ,
Blanco United Methodist Church July 2020
2 | P a g e
July 5 “Unity Under God”
TBA TBA
July 12
“Mission Sunday” Micah 6:6-8 Matthew 25:31-46
July 19 “TBA”
TBA TBA
July 26 “The Confession of Jabez”
Romans 8:31-39 1 Chronicles 4:9-10
Prayer Vigil Warriors needed! We have one opportunity for you to be a member of the Prayer Vigil Warriors. The time we need to fill is:
4:30-5:00 PM
The responsibility of Prayer Vigil Warriors is to pray at your designated time for church members who are having surgery or medical procedures. If you’re willing to fill this slot, please let Elizabeth Pavlov know at [email protected] . Thankfully, our church is pretty healthy, so you’re not called upon very often.
For the month of July we be collecting small boxes
of cereal. We thank you for your generosity! The Methodist presence at the Good Samaritan is amazing!
Those who need Healing:
Barbara Dowdy Dottie Stover
June Hensley Troy Bates
Libby Connell Jesse Rose
Carol Anne Donnie Johnson
Carol Rogers Doris Rose Justin Ellis Violet (Pavlov’s granddaughter)Carl Callison
Trudy Flores Mason Holmberg Madelynn & Christi Giese Joe Painter Jason Gallas & Family Les Warner Clint DeWolfe Jose Fernandez Laura Caza Martha Wagner Dale Hardy Ken Greene John Stults Those who are at home:
Gladys Leatherwood Ruby Barnard
Sheryl Houston Sid Spiller
Those who are in the Retirement Home:
Darlene Kiernan
Marilyn Reed Joan Curry
Those who are in the Health Center: Carol Granberg Grace Walker
07/01 Jesse Rose 07/03 Barbara Rolleg 07/04 Nancy Stephenson 07/08 Alyce Sierra 07/10 Shae Jester 07/13 Reva Jean McIntosh 07/14 Rebecca Vavrek 07/16 Dylan Tesch 07/22 Flo Smith 07/23 Arline Cathey 07/24 Lois Wood 07/26 Dan Ward 07/27 Anita Smitherman
07/16 Holly and Trevor Johnson 07/19 Cathy and Joe Owen 07/19 Wanda & Richard Gann 07/25 Barbara and Gerald Dowdy 07/25 Anita and Joe Smitherman 07/25 Cheryl and Bill Tesch
FOR FROM HONORARIUM
BARBARA TOMEK GUARD TEXAS INC. DEAN MYANE JOSEPH FINANCIAL
PARTNERS THE LORD’S KIDS PLAYGROUND
RON COOLEY SHIRLEY CAGE SCHOLARSHIP
HAROLD LORD TOM & PENNY BAGBY
FLORINE LORD JUNE BAIRD
Regarding Service/COVID-19 Changes
Greetings,
Upon the increase of COVID-19 reports and the encouragement of our Governor, we have decided to go back down to one service only at 10:00am. We encourage everyone to join us online at 10:00am on Facebook Live.
If you wish to attend in person we ask that you practice social distancing and wear a mask.
Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.
Our Chronological Bible Study Class has started
back up again! We are meeting on Wednesday nights at
7:30pm and on Sunday mornings at 11:15am. We can’t
wait to see everyone!
4 | P a g e
Safe Steps (Church Safety Policy) The Rio Texas Annual Conference is committed to the well-being of every person entrusted to its care as well as those persons entrusted to the care of the districts and local United Methodist Churches throughout our conference borders. Therefore, we will strive to create safe places for all of God's children. Our safety policy and procedures helps us to do this holy and hard work. Every leader of our congregations really needs to be certified under this policy to enable us to offer the ministries of our local congregation. We are asking everyone to follow these guidelines and get certified. If you have any questions, please contact the pastor. There is a small cost for the certification. Your pastor is aware that this is an inconvenience, but this is something we have to do. Thank you for taking this extra step to help us offer a safe environment for ministry. This page is dedicated to helping individuals and faith communities know what steps to take as they seek to complete the required TRUSTed con Confianza certification.
3 Steps for TRUSTed con Confianza certification
1. Register with Safe Gatherings
Go to safegatherings.com
Click on the red Get Started button at the top of the page.
Fill out the online application
Safe Gatherings will go to work processing the background check and reaching out to the applicant's
designated references.
Tips for filling out your application:
Application- laity should choose their church and clergy should choose their district as their
organization
References:
o One reference will automatically be sent to your senior pastor or the designated person for your
organization's account (check with your organization if you are unsure of who this is)
o you will be asked to provide 2 additional references:
1 personal or vocational reference
1 clergy reference (other than your senior pastor, or the clergy administrating your
organization's account), or another vocational reference.
o Alert your references and encourage them to watch for an e-mail from Safe Gatherings. The reference
will only take 2-3 minutes of their time.
Cost: The conference is subsidizing the application fee and a portion of the background fee. Therefore
individuals or their church are asked to pay $10 towards the background check fee. If an individual will be
driving vulnerable persons, individuals or their church are asked to pay an additional $10.50 for the driver
record check. The total cost to an individual and/or their church is either $10 or $20.50.
2. Complete the Safe Gatherings training course:
This is approximately an hour long presentation of information on safety guidelines and best practices.
Persons will take a test at the end of this training. This is a 2 hour interactive experience that can be taken
online via a webinar or in person via a scheduled workshop. For training dates and times, check
out: riotexas.org/safetrainings.
3. Attend a TRUSTed con Confianza Certification facilitated session: TBA
There are other opportunities for those who cannot make the training event.
