I need your help. This coming Sunday I am planning on preaching on "holy conferencing." I would love to hear from you all what your experience in small groups has been. Answer this question in the comment section below: "What have you found most beneficial while being involved in a small group?" I am planning on using some of your responses this Sunday during worship. Thanks for your help.

The End of the Semester - Crunch Time

I only have 5 days left until the end of the semester. It is actually coming together pretty well. I will finish a 12 page paper today and then begin on a 14 page paper that is due on Monday. And then Monday afternoon I have one exam, that is 20th Century Methodism. Please be praying for me as it is CRUNCH TIME. But in 5 days it is time to celebrate summer.

A Call to Fast and Pray

In Sunday's sermon we covered the Spiritual Discipline of Fasting. As a result of that I have called all of Warren's Grove to fast and pray. I know that many of you have other friends who are people of prayer. You are more than welcome to forward this message to anyone and everyone that you think this would be important to them. During this week fast from food for a meal or more and then pray for these things:

-repentance for the banks taking advantage of people

-repentance for companies exploiting peoples labor

-repentance for not being thrifty with our money

-repentance for racism and classifying people by the color of their skin

-repentance for not taking seriously God's call for us to love our neighbors

-pray for God to stir up the creativity of his people and make new ways of industry here in Person County for those who are unemployed

-pray for God to create us into a people that are generous

-pray for God to strengthen the marriages here in Person County

-pray for the young people that do not have hope

-pray for God to reach out to the people of Person County and draw them to himself.

-pray for revival to break out in our county

Also, in Isaiah 58.7 it says: Is not this the fast that I choose "to share your bread with the hungry." Because of this verse I want you to save up the money that you would normally spend on that breakfast, and/or lunch, and/or dinner and bring that money next week and we are going to take up a special collection for the Christian Help Center.

This is very important for us as Christians------being intentional with crying out to God and seeking God's face, as we fast and pray. If you have any questions please send me an email.

Blessings to you during this holy fast.

Spiritual Disciplines Part IV ----- Fasting

On Sunday I am going to be preaching on the Spiritual Discipline of fasting. This is one of those spiritual disciplines that seem so easy to overlook and to put off. I personally have not always been the most faithful about fasting ----- but, since lent began this year I have been fasting for two meals on Saturdays. I was wondering if you all have any stories to tell about fasting from meals? Or if you have not ever done it, then why have you not tried it yet?

Crop Walk

We are participating in the annual Crop Walk at Salem United Methodist Church this Sunday. If you are interested in sponsoring one of our walkers you can see one of our youth or contact Ginger Harris.

Can We Have Easter Without the Cross?

A friend of mine from school said something rather profound to me ---- she said ----- "You can't have Easter without the cross." At first glance, I wanted to shout a great big amen. But then I thought about ---- you know what that is kind of morbid and it almost seems like we have to go through this terrible experience in order to come into the resurrected life. Which this seems rather unfair. Now, I think I am back to the big AMEN. What do you all think? Can we have Easter without the cross? And in reality ----- I think a lot of people, that claim Christianity, claim Easter without ever dying to their old ways and their old way of thinking. Can we have Easter without the cross?

Today is Maundy Thursday. I have noticed over and over, so few Christians know about Maundy Thursday. This is traditionally known as the time where Jesus institutes the Lord's Supper and also he washes his disciples feet. But, it is also the night he went to the garden of Gethsemane and was betrayed by his friend Judas. I want to encourage all of you to go to a Maundy Thursday service. It is a powerful time of remembering that Jesus was stripped of his glory and went to the cross for you and for me.

Spiritual Disciplines Part III ----- Scripture Reading

This coming Sunday I am going to be talking about how we can stay in love with God through the spiritual discipline of scripture reading. I love this picture above, because I love a well used Bible. I bring my Bible with me everyday I come to school, while at the same time I bring it with me to meetings and to worship on Sundays. As a result of that, it looks pretty beat up at times. I was wondering if your Bibles look pretty beat up as well? Write a comment below and tell about your Bible's wear and tear.
Also, the scripture that I will be preaching from this coming Sunday is 2 Timothy 3.10-17. I give this to you so that you can have already read that and studied it before this coming Sunday. I will post more about this sermon throughout the week.

UNC - Chapel Hill

This is for all the Chapel Hill fans out there. Way to go!!! I am excited for you and this is your moment. 2009 National Champions ----- the Tar Heels!!!

Healing

8) Healing: a sacrament that heals our broken bodies.

Saint Ignatius (35-110): “the Eucharist is the medicine of immortality.”

Eschatology

7) Eschatology: the branch of theology that is concerned with such final things as death and Last Judgment; Heaven and Hell; the ultimate destiny of humankind. (Essentially, last things).

Matthew 26.29: I [Jesus] tell you, I will never again drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.

Geoffrey Wainwright (Duke Divinity School Professor of Theology): “And so participating in the Lord's Supper, we receive a foretaste of the feast in the Kingdom to come - but only a foretaste. This nicely illustrates the tension present in these images of the Eucharist, the tension of a Kingdom that is already inaugurated in Christ, but not yet arrived in its fullness.” (Already and not yet)

Presence of the Holy Spirit

6) Presence of the Holy Spirit: pour out your Holy Spirit on us gather here and on these gifts of bread and wine. Make them be for us the body and blood of Christ, that we may be for the world the body of Christ, redeemed by his blood. By your Spirit make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world.... (Hymnal p 10).

Acts 2.4-6: All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability ... And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each.

Mystery

5) Mystery: The presence of the risen Christ in communion is an inexhaustible mystery that the Church can never fully explain in words. (Luke 24.30-31; Colossians 1.26-27)

Refer to: Luke 22.19-20; John 6.56; 1 Corinthians 11.24-25.

Saint Ambrose (338-397 ad): This bread is bread before the sacramental words; when the consecration has taken place, from being bread it becomes the flesh of Christ.

Sacrifice

4)Sacrifice: Jesus offered himself like the sacrificial lamb from the Passover (Exodus 12.5-8), this was for our sins.

John 6.53-55: So Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life ..... for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.”

Saint Augustine (354-430 ad): “The sacrifice the Church celebrates is the sacrament of the altar which the faithful know well, where it is shown to her that in this thing which she offers she herself is offered.”

Communion

3) Communion: A body of Christians with a common religious faith who practice the same rites. If you break down the words they come out common and union. Another word is fellowship.

1 Corinthians 10.16-17: The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not the sharing of the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not the sharing of the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. Also refer to the dissension 1 Cor 11.19-21.

Saint Cyrian (253 ad): “...so in Christ, who is the heavenly bread, we may know that there is one body, with which our number is joined and united.”

Memorial and Remembrance

2) Commemoration (historical) Memorial: ╬ this do in Remembrance of me ╬ (front of our communion table).

1 Corinthians 11.24: And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” Also, Luke 22.19.

Justin Martyr (100-165 ad): “the celebration of which our Lord Jesus Christ prescribed, in remembrance of the suffering which He endured.

Eucharist

1) Eucharist: The act of giving thanks; thanksgiving (Webster's Revised, Unabridged Dictionary).
eukharistia = thanksgiving; gratitude.
eukharistos = grateful. kharizesthai = show favor.

Luke 22.19: Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he (Jesus) broke it and give it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” Also, 1 Corinthians 11.24; Luke 22.19; Mark 14.23; Matthew 26.27.

Justin Martyr (100-165 ad): “...in order that we may at the same time thank God for having created the world, with all things therein, for the sake of man, and for delivering us from the evil in which we were, and for utterly overthrowing principalities and powers by Him who suffered according to His will.”

Spiritual Disciplines Part II ---- Communion

We are now going into our second week of the sermon series called Spiritual Disciplines. Last week I spoke about Prayer as a Spiritual Discipline, this week I will speak about Communion. This last summer I taught on Communion and there were 8 aspects of communion I highlighted. I thought this would be a good place to highlight these 8. I am not planning on teaching on communion during the sermon ----- instead I will be talking about how we stay in love with God by partaking of communion. So I thought, for any of you that were not able to hear the teaching on communion this last summer would benefit from it. So, with out further ado, what I plan to do is put one of the 8 aspects at each blog entry. If you have any questions please email me or comment below.