The following are prayers taken from worship bulletins printed in the 1960's.
God our Father, forgive our sins, calm our hearts, and strengthen our faith. May Thy Spirit guide our paths by teaching us Thy will. Help us to grow in Thy grace through Thy Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Adapted from a Worship Folder:
Our Father, forgiver of sin, healer of sorrow, vanquisher of death, draw us close. You are our salvation and our unending hope. Bring us into your Kingdom, transforming us into children of goodwill, builders of a world where righteousness shall reign, and the law of love shall triumph over hate and strife. Increase in us true devotion to you, nourish us with all goodness, and keep us steadfast through your mercy and through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Adapted from the same Worship Folder:
Almighty and everlasting God, who is always more ready to hear than we are to pray, and who wants to give more than either we desire or deserve, pour down upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things we fear to even tell you. Give us those good things we are not worthy to ask. Through Jesus Christ we pray, Amen.
Thanks to Betty Long for the loan of her notebook of Worship Folders.
Adaptations made by Kim Matthews
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Devotional 11-13-09
Having taught school for over for over twenty years before retirement, hundreds of students visited my language arts classroom. When I became ill in June 2007, I heard from many former students and also from some of their parents. Their kind words regarding time spent in my classroom while wishing me good health warmed my heart; however, Jimmy's words always caused a lump to form in my throat whenever I received his letters.
When Jimmy attended middle school, he was usually in trouble. He greatly annoyed most of his teachers by not doing his work, causing classroom disruptions, or fighting with other students. I vividly recall Jimmy being suspended from school for walking into the girls' dressing room while girls were changing clothes, and another time for setting fire to astroturf that was rolled-up in the school's courtyard. He was suspended many times for various violations; however, Jimmy never caused me any trouble; for some reason, unbeknownst to me, Jimmy liked me and I liked him.
As Jimmy grew older, he never quite figured out how to stay out of trouble. Due to committing a violent crime while under the influence of drugs, Jimmy presently resides in the Mount Olive Correctional Center in Mount Olive, West Virginia. Two years ago, when Jimmy heard I had cancer, he wrote to me telling me how much he appreciated my kindness to him, and that he was keeping me in his prayers. Jimmy found God in prison and has been involved in Christian fellowship and Bible study while serving his sentence. He continues to write to me from time to time and recently included the following poems he had written for my family and me.
Love Him Most of All
All ye lovers of the Lord
in all things great and small,
Give him thanks and sing his praise,
but love him most of all.
While we were yet sinners hopelessly lost,
walking this world alone,
Jesus visited this wretched world
leaving his heavenly throne.
He suffered, bled, and died for us
with pain no man could bear,
Bruising the serpent's head with his heel,
he proved that God really cares.
Upon his body he bore our sins
as his innocent blood was shed,
Doing for us what we could not do,
for we were all spiritually dead.
Now we've been quickened and made alive
by the only begotten son,
As long as you've accepted Jesus as Lord
and accepted the work that he's done.
So, all ye lovers of the Lord
in all things great and small,
Remember to thank him and praise his name,
but love him most of all.
(written April 3, 2009)
The Warrior's Call to Freedom
The warrior's call to freedom
is revealed in the blood of the lamb;
It is written by the hand of God
and delivered by the great I am.
It is carried across the ages
and heard by the great and small;
It bears the message of eternal peace
for those who will answer this call.
"Take up thy cross and follow me,"
the Spirit speaks to our hearts;
These resounding words of Jesus
from within us should never part.
Down in the valley of the shadow of death,
you can hear those words ring out;
Almost as though he's standing before you,
urging you further on up to the Mount.
Today is the day to answer this call,
please don't make the Master wait;
Answer the warrior's call to freedom,
for tomorrow may be too late.
(written September 19, 2009)
Hearing from Jimmy these past few years has blessed my life in so many ways. Although Jimmy's body is confined behind the bars of prison, his soul soars as he maintains a deep and trusting faith in God, our Father. Please join me in keeping Jimmy in our prayers.
Theo Tippett
When Jimmy attended middle school, he was usually in trouble. He greatly annoyed most of his teachers by not doing his work, causing classroom disruptions, or fighting with other students. I vividly recall Jimmy being suspended from school for walking into the girls' dressing room while girls were changing clothes, and another time for setting fire to astroturf that was rolled-up in the school's courtyard. He was suspended many times for various violations; however, Jimmy never caused me any trouble; for some reason, unbeknownst to me, Jimmy liked me and I liked him.
As Jimmy grew older, he never quite figured out how to stay out of trouble. Due to committing a violent crime while under the influence of drugs, Jimmy presently resides in the Mount Olive Correctional Center in Mount Olive, West Virginia. Two years ago, when Jimmy heard I had cancer, he wrote to me telling me how much he appreciated my kindness to him, and that he was keeping me in his prayers. Jimmy found God in prison and has been involved in Christian fellowship and Bible study while serving his sentence. He continues to write to me from time to time and recently included the following poems he had written for my family and me.
All ye lovers of the Lord
in all things great and small,
Give him thanks and sing his praise,
but love him most of all.
While we were yet sinners hopelessly lost,
walking this world alone,
Jesus visited this wretched world
leaving his heavenly throne.
He suffered, bled, and died for us
with pain no man could bear,
Bruising the serpent's head with his heel,
he proved that God really cares.
Upon his body he bore our sins
as his innocent blood was shed,
Doing for us what we could not do,
for we were all spiritually dead.
Now we've been quickened and made alive
by the only begotten son,
As long as you've accepted Jesus as Lord
and accepted the work that he's done.
So, all ye lovers of the Lord
in all things great and small,
Remember to thank him and praise his name,
but love him most of all.
(written April 3, 2009)
The Warrior's Call to Freedom
The warrior's call to freedom
is revealed in the blood of the lamb;
It is written by the hand of God
and delivered by the great I am.
It is carried across the ages
and heard by the great and small;
It bears the message of eternal peace
for those who will answer this call.
"Take up thy cross and follow me,"
the Spirit speaks to our hearts;
These resounding words of Jesus
from within us should never part.
Down in the valley of the shadow of death,
you can hear those words ring out;
Almost as though he's standing before you,
urging you further on up to the Mount.
Today is the day to answer this call,
please don't make the Master wait;
Answer the warrior's call to freedom,
for tomorrow may be too late.
(written September 19, 2009)
Hearing from Jimmy these past few years has blessed my life in so many ways. Although Jimmy's body is confined behind the bars of prison, his soul soars as he maintains a deep and trusting faith in God, our Father. Please join me in keeping Jimmy in our prayers.
Theo Tippett
Friday, November 6, 2009
Devotional 11-6-09
Please read Mark 12:38-44
The second half of the Gospel reading from the lectionary this week is probably familiar to many of us. Jesus is sitting in the temple, watching as people place money in the treasury. A widow comes and deposits two copper coins, equal to about one penny. Jesus tells his disciples that she gave everything she had – “all she had to live on.” He contrasts that to the many people who had contributed out of their abundance.
What is it that the widow contributed? She gave a very small amount of money in the “grand scheme” of contributions given to the temple. For her, it probably represented all of her money. For her, it was not a “small” contribution.
But that’s not all she gave. She gave EVERYTHING. When she offered the two copper coins, she was offering them to God in faith. I imagine that she believed what she was doing for God was going to make a difference – what she was giving to God had POWER. Can you imagine that? Could you place yourself in her shoes and actually believe that giving a penny to God would make any kind of difference at all? That’s radical faith.
What difference DID it make? The gift of her faith brought her closer to God – it brought her the joy of living in relationship with her creator. When we step out in faith – when we take any kind of action that is in response to a call from God – we are brought closer to Him. I imagine it made a huge difference in her life, and I know it can make a huge difference in our own lives. Joy comes with radical faith in God.
Did the penny make any difference? When we step out in faith, and move to the calling of God, it’s not a stretch to believe that God gives our actions power. She might never have known how lives were changed through her penny; we may never know the consequences of our actions done in obedience to God, but we can believe that God knows, and that what he calls us to do in His name makes a difference to someone else.
Do you think the widow could have imagined that we would be learning from her actions, even today, over 2000 years later? Could she have dreamed that her donation of a penny – everything she had – would inspire you and me to faithful generosity?
What difference does it make? It makes all the difference in the world!
Kim Matthews
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Devotional 10-30-09
All Saints Day
Mom and I were traveling north on I-79 earlier this week. It was a beautiful, crisp, fall day. The mountains in West Virginia were a glorious patchwork of deep brown, red, orange, yellow, and green. At times, when the sun was just right, it was almost too beautiful to be real. I’ve always loved this time of year. Growing up in the steep mountains of the southern West Virginia coal fields, I never took the beautiful fall colors for granted…I knew it was only a matter of a few weeks—less if there was any significant wind and rain—before the mountains would give up their colors for dreary gray.
There’s a melancholy in the autumn, too. We know that cold, dark, and gray are just around the corner. If we can hope past the winter, we know there’s a spring that waits to be bursting with fresh new colors.
Dad loved the autumn, too. We would go to Grandma Mitchell’s in Lewis County and gather nuts—hickory nuts, hazel nuts, butternuts, but especially the black walnuts. People can be divided into two categories: those who love black walnuts, and those who hate them. We loved them. My brother and I liked to climb up in the tree and shake the limbs to knock down the walnuts. We laughed at the dirty looks Dad would give us when he would walk under the tree thinking we were finished, only to get pummeled with nuts. It was all part of the game. We wore gloves to keep from staining our hands as we knocked off the outer hulls. Eventually, the stain would bleed through the gloves. Dad would spread the walnuts out on the garage floor to dry. After several days of drying, he would crack several at time with a hammer, and then, sitting in front of the television, begin the painstaking process of picking walnuts out of the shell. No one else had the patience for it. Fortunately, his patience paid off for all of us when we enjoyed the cakes and pies with the delicious unique black walnut flavor.
Dad loved autumn. Mom told me that as she stands at her rear window looking at the fall splendor, she can hear Dad’s voice saying how beautiful it is. She told me she caught herself saying out loud the other day, “I know it’s a lot prettier where you are, honey.”
What a great attitude! What a faith, and a hope in the resurrection! Mom knows and trusts God’s promise that death is not the end, but the beginning of something else, something better. “[H]e will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away. And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.’” Revelation 21:4-5.
Mom and I were traveling north on I-79 earlier this week. It was a beautiful, crisp, fall day. The mountains in West Virginia were a glorious patchwork of deep brown, red, orange, yellow, and green. At times, when the sun was just right, it was almost too beautiful to be real. I’ve always loved this time of year. Growing up in the steep mountains of the southern West Virginia coal fields, I never took the beautiful fall colors for granted…I knew it was only a matter of a few weeks—less if there was any significant wind and rain—before the mountains would give up their colors for dreary gray.
There’s a melancholy in the autumn, too. We know that cold, dark, and gray are just around the corner. If we can hope past the winter, we know there’s a spring that waits to be bursting with fresh new colors.
Dad loved the autumn, too. We would go to Grandma Mitchell’s in Lewis County and gather nuts—hickory nuts, hazel nuts, butternuts, but especially the black walnuts. People can be divided into two categories: those who love black walnuts, and those who hate them. We loved them. My brother and I liked to climb up in the tree and shake the limbs to knock down the walnuts. We laughed at the dirty looks Dad would give us when he would walk under the tree thinking we were finished, only to get pummeled with nuts. It was all part of the game. We wore gloves to keep from staining our hands as we knocked off the outer hulls. Eventually, the stain would bleed through the gloves. Dad would spread the walnuts out on the garage floor to dry. After several days of drying, he would crack several at time with a hammer, and then, sitting in front of the television, begin the painstaking process of picking walnuts out of the shell. No one else had the patience for it. Fortunately, his patience paid off for all of us when we enjoyed the cakes and pies with the delicious unique black walnut flavor.
Dad loved autumn. Mom told me that as she stands at her rear window looking at the fall splendor, she can hear Dad’s voice saying how beautiful it is. She told me she caught herself saying out loud the other day, “I know it’s a lot prettier where you are, honey.”
What a great attitude! What a faith, and a hope in the resurrection! Mom knows and trusts God’s promise that death is not the end, but the beginning of something else, something better. “[H]e will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away. And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.’” Revelation 21:4-5.
Oh, when the saints go marching in;Jeff Taylor
Oh, when the saints go marching in!
Oh, Lord I want to be in that number
When the saints go marching in!
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Today’s Thought; Are you Blessed?
Please read:
Job 42:1-6, 10-17
Psalm 34:1-8 (19-22) (UMH 769)
Hebrews 7:23-28;
Mark 10:46-52
I was Blessed even before my birth. My Heavenly Father had a plan for me. Are you Blessed? I was Blessed with two loving, guiding and caring parents. Are you Blessed? I was and I still am blessed by the many loving and caring teachers and Pastors at Johnson Memorial UMC. Are you Blessed? I have been Blessed by God for guiding me to marry a loving, caring, thoughtful wife and mother of our children for thirty-eight years. Are you Blessed? We were blessed with three wonderful, caring and loving children and grand children. Are you Blessed? I was guided by God’s plan to a position of helping others in time of need. Are you Blessed?
Now you might feel that I am “tooting” my own horn but the purpose of this is not to show off the Blessings God has given me, but to guide you to think about the Blessings in your life. We all have been Blessed by the grace of God in many ways. Sometimes we just need to think about those Blessings.
Just like Job, God had a plan for him, and once Job listened to God and allowed God into his life he was Blessed many times over until the day he joined God in heaven.
You are Blessed!!!
Shalom
Fred Herr
Pray: God my Father in Heaven thank you so much for all that you have Blessed me with and help me to see those Blessings. Help me to use the talents, gifts and Blessings you have given me to help others. I pray this in the name of your Son Jesus Christ. Amen
Please read:
Job 42:1-6, 10-17
Psalm 34:1-8 (19-22) (UMH 769)
Hebrews 7:23-28;
Mark 10:46-52
I was Blessed even before my birth. My Heavenly Father had a plan for me. Are you Blessed? I was Blessed with two loving, guiding and caring parents. Are you Blessed? I was and I still am blessed by the many loving and caring teachers and Pastors at Johnson Memorial UMC. Are you Blessed? I have been Blessed by God for guiding me to marry a loving, caring, thoughtful wife and mother of our children for thirty-eight years. Are you Blessed? We were blessed with three wonderful, caring and loving children and grand children. Are you Blessed? I was guided by God’s plan to a position of helping others in time of need. Are you Blessed?
Now you might feel that I am “tooting” my own horn but the purpose of this is not to show off the Blessings God has given me, but to guide you to think about the Blessings in your life. We all have been Blessed by the grace of God in many ways. Sometimes we just need to think about those Blessings.
Just like Job, God had a plan for him, and once Job listened to God and allowed God into his life he was Blessed many times over until the day he joined God in heaven.
You are Blessed!!!
Shalom
Fred Herr
Pray: God my Father in Heaven thank you so much for all that you have Blessed me with and help me to see those Blessings. Help me to use the talents, gifts and Blessings you have given me to help others. I pray this in the name of your Son Jesus Christ. Amen
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Devotional 10-16-09
Have you seen on TV or maybe in your own house the exercise where an item is to be divided (usually between children – each wanting the lion’s share) and the adult says, “One of you cut, the other gets to pick.”? This kind of ensures an equitable division of the booty. Growing up with one brother might seem to some as a prime opportunity to have worn, day and night, a custom made “selfish suit” with one brother always trying to outdo the other and always wanting the most, the best, the biggest, etc. I don’t remember it that way at all. Rob and I are two years apart in age and have always been nearly the same size. The size thing was great because we could share clothes. This meant more for both – Hmmm. All, that is, except for shoes! I don’t know whose big, flat feet I inherited, but my shoes were my shoes; as big as the box Rob’s came in. We never had to fight over food or treats and other than wanting what he had because he was older and cooler and I wanted to be cool too, I don’t remember us arguing about any of that ‘kinda stuff’.
We lost Mom is August. As her end drew near and during our time of honoring her life, the stories told and the memories shared opened my eyes. Mom was a “share-er.” It’s not that fighting or selfish behavior was forbidden; it’s that we just didn’t see it to know that it was a possible way to be. Mom’s mom, our Grandma Toby, was the same. She raised two daughters on her own. Financially strapped and continually moving from one small apartment to another, she only voiced one regret that I can ever remember hearing from her. During a cold winter’s bus ride one evening, she encountered a child on the bus. The child did not seem to be dressed warmly enough, and my grandmother always wished that she had given the child her coat.
Because Rob and I are named in Mom’s will, we have had to sign a certain number of documents.
I am glad that there are lawyers to keep all of these things straight, and I am equally glad that I am not one of them. The wording is fairly technical and, I am sure, universal. It contains the kind of language understood across the industry to keep everyone singing off the same sheet of music. There is one phrase in her will that although it is ‘legal-ese’, sounds so much like her. With regard to certain parameters, if Rob and I were to have to divide her property, it says, “Share and share alike.” I can just hear her; “You boys share that now, share and share alike.”
Mom was not actually a share-er; she was a give-er. She would not share her time, money, possessions, love -- she would give them to you and never expect anything in return. As my memories run like an endless reel of film, she always put others first. She would endure personal discomfort if it meant that you would be comforted. She would sit in a straight back chair next to your hospital bed so that you would not be alone. She would gladly give you the sweater she was wearing because you needed it or just because you commented on how much you liked it. She did not share and share alike. She gave and gave and gave. She found joy in making others happy.
A little boy cries out in the night, frightened from the storm outside his window. As his parents arrive he announces that he was scared to be there by himself. Trying to console him and at the same time not show any sign of agitation, they respond that he was not alone – that God was with him. He thinks for a moment and responds back that while that is all well and good he sometimes needs God with skin on. You do not have to travel far to run into WWJD. Bracelets, bumper stickers, tee shirts and even spray paint on a building wall. We read the Bible and go to church and study and speculate. In THIS situation, “What Would Jesus Do?” We hope we get it right. Sometimes in our lives (and we all know someone; or several someones) there is that person that is Jesus with skin on -- someone that lives the answer to the question.
In Mark 10:35-45 we read …the first among you must be slave of all. Mom lived her life with a servant’s heart. She was a great role model. and I am blessed to have known her, learned from her and been loved by her.
Steve Matthews
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Devotional 10-9-09
Lectionary: Hebrews 4:12-16, Mark 10:17-31
What does it mean to have grace? Several months ago we heard in the Sunday sermon that we should choose grace over wealth, power, fame. Just how do we choose grace? What is the meaning of grace? This is a topic that causes me much contemplation, and has since my teen years when i heard about the man who sold all of his clothes except for one suit. He travelled wherever he was called, he represented his church, and he wrapped his life around the needs of the people in whatever situation he found himself. It was as difficult to imagine then as it is today. How easy is it for us to do God’s will?
In the lectionary reading for today in mark, the word is concerned with what we must do to have eternal life. First of all we must obey all of the commandments. Then Jesus tells us to sell all we have and give to the poor, and we will then have heavenly wealth. His request is for us to follow him. We can follow if he leads us with a good life; can we follow when the road gets rough?
Jesus said, “do you know how difficult it is for people who ‘have it all’ to enter God’s kingdom? It is easier for a camel to go thru a needle’s eye than for the rich to get into God’s kingdom.”
The disciples ask, “Then who has any chance at all?”
Jesus replies, “No chance at all if you think you can pull it off by yourself. Every chance in the world if you let God do it”
Read in mark to get the rest of the story. Jesus has a promise for those who follow his request and then also a bonus.
I believe in God’s promise of good gifts, and I know of the burden of troubles that also come. We can rejoice in the gifts we receive which are hundreds of times more than we deserve to receive and thus we know that Jesus is the ultimate source of grace. So as Christians we choose to strive for this grace. Grace over wealth, power, fame. By the way, the bonus --eternal life.
God help me to show grace and mercy to those around me. Help me to have feelings of love enough that I can live my life with purpose, love and joy, and know that the love comes from the center of who I am. In God’s name I pray. Amen.
Marilyn Holleron
What does it mean to have grace? Several months ago we heard in the Sunday sermon that we should choose grace over wealth, power, fame. Just how do we choose grace? What is the meaning of grace? This is a topic that causes me much contemplation, and has since my teen years when i heard about the man who sold all of his clothes except for one suit. He travelled wherever he was called, he represented his church, and he wrapped his life around the needs of the people in whatever situation he found himself. It was as difficult to imagine then as it is today. How easy is it for us to do God’s will?
In the lectionary reading for today in mark, the word is concerned with what we must do to have eternal life. First of all we must obey all of the commandments. Then Jesus tells us to sell all we have and give to the poor, and we will then have heavenly wealth. His request is for us to follow him. We can follow if he leads us with a good life; can we follow when the road gets rough?
Jesus said, “do you know how difficult it is for people who ‘have it all’ to enter God’s kingdom? It is easier for a camel to go thru a needle’s eye than for the rich to get into God’s kingdom.”
The disciples ask, “Then who has any chance at all?”
Jesus replies, “No chance at all if you think you can pull it off by yourself. Every chance in the world if you let God do it”
Read in mark to get the rest of the story. Jesus has a promise for those who follow his request and then also a bonus.
I believe in God’s promise of good gifts, and I know of the burden of troubles that also come. We can rejoice in the gifts we receive which are hundreds of times more than we deserve to receive and thus we know that Jesus is the ultimate source of grace. So as Christians we choose to strive for this grace. Grace over wealth, power, fame. By the way, the bonus --eternal life.
God help me to show grace and mercy to those around me. Help me to have feelings of love enough that I can live my life with purpose, love and joy, and know that the love comes from the center of who I am. In God’s name I pray. Amen.
Marilyn Holleron
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