May, 2015
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
God Never Said That
Pilate asked Jesus an ironic question at His trial – What is truth? The irony is that when Pilate asked Jesus this question he was staring right at it! Jesus came, saying in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.” Truth isn’t just a statement or a belief, it is a person! God sent the Truth into this world in the person and the work of Christ. Now this is hugely significant for us in a world filled with cultural belief systems that vehemently oppose the idea that there could be any kind of absolute truth. For many people the truth is relative or subjective, and what is true for you may not be true for me; or what once was true may no longer be true, because we have discovered new truth. This may leave one begging the question, “Is there any black and white left in this ever-‐increasing pluralistic and gray world?” While Jesus is the Truth, Satan is considered the father of lies. He is the great deceiver and wants nothing more than for us to believe things that aren’t aligned with God’s best for our life. That’s because what we believe to be true determines our behavior and how we live our life. Therefore Satan works to slip things into our life that are “true-‐ish”. They sound true, they seem right, they feel true, but in the end they aren’t true at all. His goal is to unknowingly get us just a little off the truth daily so that over the course of time, we will one day wake up finding ourselves far from God. Today many have formed cultural belief systems about God that aren’t true at all. We make claims of our beliefs about what God said and yet, God never said that. On Sunday May 24, 2015 we will begin a new sermon series called God Never Said That, in which we hope to expose Satan for the liar that he is and tackle several of the cultural beliefs about God that are actually misbeliefs. Some of them include: God wants me, above everything else, to be happy. God never said that. Another would be, God will never give us more than we can handle. God never said that. There is the immensely popular belief that, It doesn’t matter what you do as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone. God never said that. Most popular of all, It doesn’t matter what you believe. God never said any of these things, and if we accept them to be true, it will lead us down a dangerous path that takes us far from God. Come out to experience this series and discover some amazing truths about God. God wants you to be more than happy. He wants you to be blessed. Life will give you more than you can handle, but God is with you and has all the power you need. How you live and what you do does matter. God has in store for you an abundant and powerful life. These are God’s promises that He, in fact, did say. Let us be reminded that in Jesus Christ we discover Truth and the Truth will set you free! Blessed and Barefoot, Pastor John
May @ Rolling Plains
(RP) in the Community
Sunday, 5/3 KidStuf @ 9:45 AM Children’s Chapel
S.H.A.P.E Class@ 9:45
Only Hope Tour (Concert) @ Rolling Plains@6–8 PM
Tuesday, 5/5
Starting Point Class @ 6:30 PM
Thursday, 5/7
7 PM National Day of Prayer
Zanesville H.S.
Saturday, 5/9 9 AM-2 PM
Bike Safety & Picnic Bethel
Saturday, 5/16
Heartbeats Walk for Life Heartbeats.org
Sunday, 5/17
2 PM 4 G Mens Group Mt. Perry, OH
Saturday, 5/23
7 pm Married People @ RP
Financial Peace
Last month we covered our approach to how we believe we should be managing our money. The first step is to sit down and put together a cash flow for the following month. Notice, I didn’t say “a budget”. We don’t believe in budgets, because budgets have you tracking money that has already been spent. There is no reason to be tracking where money has already been spent. This does not help us in the long run, and most of the time it just causes disputes between those who are sharing the budget.
We prefer a cash flow. A cash flow is deciding where every dollar of your income is going to be spent before the month even starts. This allows an understanding or discussion, if needed, about where the money should go before it is spent; not where it has already been spent, as in a budget plan. This small adjustment in the approach to how you handle your money each month will make a huge impact on your finances.
Over the next couple of months we are going to show you more options for how you spend your money. Options where you control what your money does and not the other way around. The exercise for this month is to set a budget for the items that have to be paid every month – the expenses you must pay to live, which include food, utilities, shelter, transportation and personal care.
Next month we will look at how we use this in our full cash flow, which includes eating out, paying off debts, and knowing how to spend our money. Please visit the church website, www.rollingplainsumc.com, and under Financial Freedom view the video, which will walk you through how to set up your cash-flow plan. Please contact me if you have any questions or if you find you need more information.
We are beginning to schedule our next Financial Peace class. Please write “Financial Peace” on the back of the Connection Card in your bulletin to let us know if you are interested in attending our next class, and we will contact you when class dates are finalized.
Robert Matarazzo [email protected] or 352-678-1595
Children & Family Ministries
Thank you to everyone who helped make the Easter Egg Hunt happen! More volunteers than I can name stepped up to stuff eggs, buy supplies, set-‐up, tear down, dance, build, act, sing, and reset for Sunday. Also parents, grandparents, and friends, thank you for bringing your families out to spend the afternoon with us. We had a great time, and we hope you did as well.
Here are a few things for your calendar:
• May 3rd at 9:45 AM -‐-‐ Kidstuf Family Worship • May 23rd at 7:00 PM -‐-‐Married People Night Out • June 23rd, 24th, and 25th -‐-‐ RP/Bethel VBS at Bethel Community Center • June 27th at 6:00 PM -‐-‐ RP Family Olympics and Picnic
If you are interested in serving during our VBS this year, please contact me. We will need storytellers, group leaders, craft helpers, and much, much more! Heather Matarazzo, Director Children & Family Ministries [email protected] or call 740-‐453-‐4192
Hey all! There is a lot happening already and in the future with the Youth. Most of you know that our mission trip to Cherokee Nation in North Carolina is July 26-August 1. We have 30 people going on this trip, which is absolutely amazing. What we need now is our church family's support. We will be having some fund raising coming up in the future, but we
need your prayers from now until the trip concludes on August 1, 2015. Please pray that we make an impact on the people of Cherokee Nation and that we return full of faith and ready to do more. Thank you. I am also excited to announce a youth band! This youth band will be performing on Wednesday nights for RPG as well as any other time that is asked of them. Again prayers are appreciated as we put this new adventure together. Any of you out there that are musically talented, feel free to come see me and we can talk about you getting involved. Along with the youth band, I am excited to announce that on May 3rd, we will be having our first Junior High-Only group experience. The name will be determined shortly, but this is for grades 6th-8th and will take place on Sunday evenings from 6:30-8:00 p.m. Allen Smith will be heading this up with me, and we are always looking for other leaders. Mark your calendars and get ready for a full Summer schedule for the youth. Thanks for the love and support. In Christ, Beau
Our United Methodist Women’s first meeting was quite a success. June Smith was installed as a new President, and we celebrated fondly the retirement of Ruth Hartman as our leader for 12 years. Tentative plans for the year are to continue fund raising for missions with our sales of Rada Cutlery (knives & kitchen utensils), placemats, and other craft items. These can be purchased at local bazaars or through contacting one of our members. As always, we are also collecting Box Tops for Education and soup labels at the Welcome Center to support Red Bird missions. Several ladies from our group will be attending the UMW District meeting on April 25th at Faith UMC. The feature will be a speaker on human trafficking.
This year our group will concentrate on the theme of the UMW, which is prayer & self-‐denial. Upcoming programs and discussions will follow this theme. One of these is the annual Salvation Army fundraiser where we have lunch, enjoy a program, and they raise funds with a silent auction. On a monthly basis some of us attend a Christian Women’s Club luncheon at Eaglesticks. During these luncheons, we are treated to a program with local vocalists and speakers (some from RPUMC) who always leave us inspired with their talents and stories. We also have a chance to support and hear about a local charitable organization. Ladies!!! Please come join us May 26th at 7:00 p.m. in the Embers Room. We would love to have you check us out. Spring has arrived. Praise the Lord! New life and new growth are everywhere. Come grow with us. Glenda Scott, Secretary United Methodist Women
Calling all moms! If you've got kids (birth through 12th grade) then we've got a group starting that is perfect for you! Come build lasting friendships as we support one another in an atmosphere that is fun, uplifting and encouraging. Would you like to participate or learn more? Come join the conversation on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/RollingPlainsMOPS or contact Jocelyn for details: 614-‐203-‐651/[email protected]
May Anniversaries 4 Paul & Jane Law 5 Bryan & Torri Smith 10 Ray & Sue Snyder 11 Perry & Heather Collins Steve & Becky Johnson 16 Brian & Kim Spring 18 John & Erin Alice Rob & Heather Matarazzo 20 Larry & Maureen Dennis 22 Tracey & Jeanie Presley 24 Allen & Pam Deaver 25 Allan & Denise Boles Chuck & Heather Yontz 27 Ricky & Heather Moorehead 29 Larry & Carol Macenko
May Birthdays 1 Maureen Dennis, Alex Jackson, Joe Thompson, Matthew Walser, Misti Wiseman 2 Colton Butler 3 Ashley Ervin, Kevin Franklin, Amber Stokes, Jon Vizzuto, Lauren Wood, Caleb Zinn 4 Greg Miller, Brittani Smith 5 Gene Swingle, Jon Geyer 6 Kery Pettit, Lisa Wiseman 7 Paul Law, Gabe Rheinscheld 8 Jean Ellis, Jodi Higdon, Chad Novaria 9 Don Longwell, Ashley Merritt 10 Nick Fink, Kris McCutcheon 11 Dakota Harper 12 Drew Morrison, Brianna Morrison 13 Chris Mohler, Adam Pontious 14 Ana Presley 15 Braidyn Lane, Maggie Ziel 16 Ruth Henthorne, Teresa James, Carla Samson 17 Jen Bronner, Stephanie Lowe 18 Harold Barnhart, Adam Siddle 19 Renee Hammers, Mike McFarland 20 Ashton Pettit, Van Slack 21 Rebecca Curtis, Chase Myers, Rebecca Snouffer, Charlie Strickler 22 Sarah Pierce, Heather Stoltz 23 Cammie Bunting, Sam Law 24 Jennifer Hearing, Chris Jarvis, Sherry Moore 25 Jean Dicken, Nic Guy, Dan Mohler, Kathy Mohler, Mark Swauger 26 Nikole Daniels 27 Tyler Stutes 28 Tim Adams 29 Pat Baker, Sue Moran, Shirleen Morehouse, Melissa Smith 30 Steve Johnson, Morgan Swauger 31 Courtney Mangold, Beth Scott
If you do not see your birthday or anniversary listed we may not have all your information. Please contact the
office at 740-453-4192
Thank you Rolling Plains prayer team for all the prayers while I was in the hospital with
pneumonia. God is good. Blessings to all, Larry Miller
Kroger Community Rewards Program
Supporting our Missions It is time to re-enroll your Kroger Plus card for the May 2015 – April 2016 year! Even though you may already have linked your card to the Rolling Plains account, you will need to re-enroll once every year. To re-enroll your card, go to www.krogercommunityrewards.com and click “sign-in”. Enter the email address
and the password that you used to enroll your card. Enter the group number (84919) and choose Rolling Plains as your organization, then click “Enroll”. For those of you who have not yet registered your Kroger Plus card, here is how to enroll online: Go to www.krogercommunityrewards.com and click “create an account”. Enter your email address and select a password. Confirm your password and enter plus card OR alt ID number. Go to Community Rewards (near bottom) and follow through the steps (Name, address, etc.). Put in the group number (84919) and choose Rolling Plains as your organization. Click Enroll. You will then be enrolled for the May 1, 2015 to April 30, 2016 year of Kroger Community Rewards. If you need assistance linking your card to our account, call the church office (740/453-4192) and someone will help you. Many thanks, to all who have signed up to help in this way. Remember, in order for us to receive proper credit, you must swipe your registered Kroger Plus card or use the phone number that is related to your registered Kroger Plus card on each shopping trip.
Summer Morning Worship Schedule
Over the course of the last eight months we have been worshiping together at 8:15, 9:45, and 11 AM. Many people have found the additional 9:45 service to be a blessing to their worship experience. Therefore, it is our plan to continue this schedule indefinitely. This does mean that there will be upcoming seasons, like Summertime, where we will be making adjustments with our chairs and seating arrangements in the sanctuary in order to create a more dynamic worship environment for all. These are exciting times at Rolling Plains with the consistent influx of new families, children, teens, new faith commitments, and baptisms as lives are being changed for eternity. Let us be filled with grace and joy as we come to worship our King, as we come to tell Him that we love Him, and come to make famous the name of Jesus Christ from whatever place we are sitting.
Easter Worship Update
Our Church and community were blessed by a tremendous performance, The Cross Changes Everything, which took place at Rolling Plains on Sunday, March 29th. There were more than 425 blessed that evening. Thank you to so many for sharing their talents: Choir, the Plainsmen, Hearts for Worship, Drama Team, Tech/Sound Team, Visual Design Team and so many others who served up awesome hospitality and delicious treats. In addition, Holy Week was amazing with a Maundy Thursday service, Good Friday Service, a Bethel Community Service, a KidsStuf Service, Easter Egg Hunt and our Easter morning services. All-‐in-‐all, our Church welcomed 1654 people Easter weekend (Thursday-‐Sunday).
Bethel Community Center Returns on Your Investment
After School Program -‐ Celebrating the Third Year of this Program
On May 28 we will celebrate the end of the third year of our After School Program. Reflecting on the 2014-‐2015 year, I am overwhelmed with how I’ve seen God working at Bethel. We have
had over thirty-‐five different children, ages five to seventeen, enter our doors. Some have remained with us all year long, while others were there for a time. I’m reminded often that what God does is often not measured in “the number of days” a child is present with us, but in the connections we make while they are with us. I treasure the faithfulness of our volunteers who have made it possible for us to be the stable presence for these children and youth. In many ways we have become “family” for one another. To determine the “returns on our investment” we will be looking at program costs; at the number of volunteers and volunteer hours; and the impact of our craft, math, reading, and Bible study centers. We know it is more difficult to measure the relationship and connection impact, but when we get text messages asking, “Why are you closed during Spring Break?” and “Why don’t you have After School every day of the week?” we know we are becoming a valued presence in the neighborhood. When the kids ask about a volunteer who has been absent due to illness or travel, we know they are missing their “adult mentor friends”. These are the most treasured “returns” on our investment. YOU can invest yourself in the missional work we are doing at Bethel. We will do our best to make sure you get a high value return on your investment. Here are some upcoming opportunities for you:
• Help with Bicycle Safety Day and Bethel Picnic on May 9 from 9:30 AM to 2:00 PM. Come early and stay as long as you can, or arrive in time to help with the picnic. Bring a covered dish.
• Volunteer for the Summer Park Activity and Lunch Program. This program is Monday through Friday from
June 8 to August 8, 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM. We will have a sign-up sheet. You may come one day a week on a regular basis or any day this Summer that fits your time availability. A Program Coordinator will oversee the program and schedule volunteers.
• Bethel-Rolling Plains Vacation Bible School: June 23, 24, and 25 at Bethel from 12:30 to 3:00 PM. Everest:
Conquering Challenges with God’s Mighty Power is the theme. Children, ages 5 through fifth grade, from both Rolling Plains and the Bethel neighborhood are invited to attend.
• Spaghetti Dinner Fund Raiser at VFW on Moxahala Avenue – June 13. We will need food donations, serve
ware, and help organizing the event, serving, and selling tickets.
• Items for Bethel: markers, crayons, zip lock bags of all sizes, yogurt, cheese sticks, juice boxes, pencils, copy paper, large and small paper plates and bowls, and beverage cups.
• Donations. Make checks payable to Bethel Mission. Mail to 126 Ontario Street, Zanesville, OH 43701. We are a
tax-exempt 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. Thank you for your valued investment in Bethel. Kay Miller, Executive Director [email protected] or 740/297-‐4816
Like us on Facebook. See our webpage: www.zanesvillebethel.org
WHY DO SPANIARDS WANT TO LEARN ENGLISH? Learning a Foreign Language: Part II
In my last message, I shared with you my excitement and struggles while beginning a new course to learn Spanish. I also shared with you some reasons why it is so important for me to learn and be able to speak Spanish. This time, I want to begin with a question for you: Why do you think Spaniards are so interested in learning to speak English? You might be thinking reasons like: to live in a more global society; to increase tourism; to prepare their children for the future; or perhaps to speak with those new English speaking neighbors down the street. In truth, none of these are the real motives for Spaniards to learn English. Spain is struggling with a recession. More than one in five Spaniards are out of work. People aren’t learning English for cultural reasons. Some might, but for ninety-‐nine percent of them, the motive is professional. They need to speak English to maintain their present jobs or to find new work in Spain or in an English-‐speaking country. They are learning English out of necessity, not by choice. Last month, I was invited to help a missionary couple from the Madrid area host a Family English Camp for Spaniards. The main objective of this camp was to provide Spaniards with fun and enjoyable ways to learn and/or practice English, meet people from other cultures, and learn some interesting aspects of America. The “Taste of America” camp was held in San Martin de Valediglesias, a scenic mountain area about 2 hours north of Madrid. The program was organized and presented by a short-‐term mission team from Wisconsin. Along with presentations about various regions of the US, we grouped the 40 participants by levels (beginning, intermediate, or advanced) for English conversation and other activities. All of these sessions were helpful, but I think one of the greatest opportunities for the Spaniards to practice their English came during meal times when they could relax and chat with English speakers. While driving to the camp, I have to admit that I had some concerns about whether my Spanish level was high enough to help at a camp like this, but I left on Sunday thanking God for the opportunity, knowing that while we tried to bless them with a great learning experience, we were also blessed with new friends and future opportunities to connect.
When was the last time you had to do something out of necessity and not because you chose to do it? There are countless examples in the Bible of people who had to make hard choices and do things that they didn’t want to do, but had to do. The first Sunday in April, we celebrated a man who gave his life for us (something of which He asked three times not to have to do), but knew it was His Father’s will and so He did it. He could have said, “No way am I going to do that,” but He didn’t. His decision was one of necessity. It was the only way that this fallen world could be saved from sin – past, present and future. So when I think about my own struggles with learning Spanish and the fact that I’m engaged in
this process out of necessity, my struggles seem rather insignificant when compared to what Jesus Christ did out of necessity for you and for me.
~Sharon Graves
REVIVAL – “The Expulsive Power of a New Affection.”
This may be old English thinking, but the message (adapted) comes from Scotland’s greatest 19th century churchman, Thomas Chalmer. It’s a slow read! There are two ways in which a sincere person may attempt to drain from the human heart its love of the world: (1) by exposing the hollowness of the world’s vanity so that the heart will willingly withdraw its affection from such an unworthy object; or, (2) by setting up another object that is more attractive and worthy of one’s affection. My purpose is to show that the first method is incompetent and useless. The second method will rescue and recover the heart from the ‘beast’ that dominates it. Trying to eradicate the love of the world by preaching against the ills of the world will never ultimately succeed. Love for this world can only be conquered when it is replaced by the far greater power found in the love poured in by the Holy Spirit. (Rom 5:5). It takes more than preaching to dump the charms of this world. We must set forth another affection whose charms are so alive they outshine the charms of this world. It is not enough to understand the worthlessness of the world; one must reaffirm the worth of the things of God. It’s simplistic to think that the heart will happily dump the ways of the world in a simple act of resignation. The way to disengage the heart from the grip and passion of the world’s charm is to fasten it in positive love found in God. St Paul put it in terms of new and old. If anyone is in Christ he’s a new creature; old things have passed away and behold! (sounds expulsive!) all things have become new. The love of God and the love of the world are two rival affections. They are bitter enemies. They so hate each other that they cannot co-exist in the same heart. Thus the only way to rid the heart of its affection is by the expulsive power of a new affection. Rather than loving this world, the Gospel calls us to love Him who made the world. Then at once our hearts are brought under the Management of one great and predominant affection. They are then delivered from the tyranny of their former desires in the only way spiritual deliverance is possible. There is no other way to keep the love of the world out of our heart than by keeping the love of God in our heart. How?? Start where St Paul starts: “I beseech you brothers, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:1-2 -‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐ The Newsletter Team is looking for 2 or 3 individuals to help assemble the newsletters and prepare them for bulk mailing. This would be a commitment of only 3 or 4 times per year (during daytime hours). For more information on how you can help, please contact Larry Miller at (740)454-‐9869.
Newsletter Options
Electronic newsletter: selecting this option rather than receiving the monthly newsletter via U.S. Postal mail. Receiving the newsletter electronically saves the Church money on postage and printing! Email [email protected] or write “e-‐newsletter” on your connection card. Website: the newsletter is available each month on the website at www.rollingplainsumc.com. Receiving the newsletter electronically saves the Church money on postage and printing! Please email [email protected] or call the office at 740-‐453-‐4192 and we will take you off the mailing list confident that you are enjoying the monthly newsletter via the web. U.S. Postal Mail: If you would like to continue receiving the newsletter via U.S. postal mail, do nothing and it will arrive in your mailbox monthly. Are you moving? Let us know the best way to get you your RP Newsletter.
The Rolling Plains UMC 4G group would like to invite everyone to our annual Spring shoot. The Range at the Frank Residence will be open to pistols, shotguns, and short range rifle shooting. The event will open at 2:00 PM, with fellowship and a devotional from Pastor John Alice, followed by an open-‐range session until 3:30 PM. Food will be served at 3:30, and an Action 3 -‐ Gun course will be set up after the food is served. The Action 3-‐Gun course will be open to everyone who wants to participate. Members will have firearms available for participants to use in the course for those who do not have their own (we just ask that you bring your own ammo, 9mm, 45 ACP, 12 Gauge, 223/5.56). *Everyone please bring your own eye and ear protection and get ready to have some FUN!!! *We ask anyone attending to please bring a side dish.
Women’s Ministry
Are you looking to get involved with Women’s Ministry? We are offering "Proverbs 31-‐ The Virtuous Women" on Friday, May 15, from 7 to 9 PM. This will be an evening for women to enjoy fellowship, prayer, and the opportunity to incorporate God’s Word with pie baking, blanket making, or painting. Tickets will be sold in advance. Prices range between $5 and $15 per person, to cover the cost of preferred activity.
This evening of “gir l t ime” and God’s Word wil l enrich women of al l ages .
Join us for our next sermon series “God Never Said That” beginning 5/24/15.
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