P.K.’s Corner
Matthew 14:61“They do not need to go away, you give them something to eat”.
Picture the scene, 5000 + people scattered out on the hill side listening to the words of Jesus. The day is getting long, and many have not eaten. You can almost hear the stomachs growling from hunger. Concerned for the people, maybe out of fear of a riot, the disciples suggest the people be sent away in order to find food.
The disciples find some food, and a young boy willing to share it.
Jesus blessed the food, and all were fed. But, the one act that allowed the feeding of the 5000 is the initial act of a young lad sharing his food. You see, Jesus cannot bless what has not been shared.
In our churches, people share their talents, and we are blessed by beautiful music, artistry, bible studies and fine meals. These folks who share understand that in order to be blessed, you must share and give up something of yourself. Just as the young lad gave up his meal, so we are called to give up ourselves. The young lad did not go hungry, and we will not be left alone if we share what God has given us.
If we trust in God, and offer what we have, even if it is fish and bread, the world will be blessed.
Think about it.
God Bless
Pastor Kent
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
hating life
P.K.’s Corner
John 12:25 “those who love their life will lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life”.
This morning during my prayer time, I face the back of the church. In the middle window of the back chapel wall is a window that was installed in 1906. In the center are these words…”ALL FOR CHRIST”.
Jesus tells us that if we love this life, we lose everything, but if we life for Christ, we gain everything. This verse is a call to follow Christ, not just in thought, but also in action and in life. We must be willing to give up our very lives for the cause of Christ, to give all for Christ.
Which do your prefer, your life, or Christ? That is the simplicity of the question; we are called to choose what we wish to do with our lives. How do we give up our lives? How do we live in Christ? In the Methodist tradition it is by our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service and our witness. It is in essence the willingness to give up ourselves and give all to Christ.
The church needs ministers, not just in the pulpits, but also in the congregation. We need to be more than pew setters; we need to be doers and givers and prayers, and sharers and livers of the word. We need to think first of Christ and live the life he offers us. The world needs the hope we have and the mercy Christ gives. We need to hate this life so much that we are willing to give it up to Christ. We need to love Christ so much that we can give everything we have and are.
We have challenges in plenty, and only through Christ can we face these challenges, but only if we are willing to “hate our life in this world”.
God Bless
Pastor Kent
John 12:25 “those who love their life will lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life”.
This morning during my prayer time, I face the back of the church. In the middle window of the back chapel wall is a window that was installed in 1906. In the center are these words…”ALL FOR CHRIST”.
Jesus tells us that if we love this life, we lose everything, but if we life for Christ, we gain everything. This verse is a call to follow Christ, not just in thought, but also in action and in life. We must be willing to give up our very lives for the cause of Christ, to give all for Christ.
Which do your prefer, your life, or Christ? That is the simplicity of the question; we are called to choose what we wish to do with our lives. How do we give up our lives? How do we live in Christ? In the Methodist tradition it is by our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service and our witness. It is in essence the willingness to give up ourselves and give all to Christ.
The church needs ministers, not just in the pulpits, but also in the congregation. We need to be more than pew setters; we need to be doers and givers and prayers, and sharers and livers of the word. We need to think first of Christ and live the life he offers us. The world needs the hope we have and the mercy Christ gives. We need to hate this life so much that we are willing to give it up to Christ. We need to love Christ so much that we can give everything we have and are.
We have challenges in plenty, and only through Christ can we face these challenges, but only if we are willing to “hate our life in this world”.
God Bless
Pastor Kent
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Lent
P.K.’s Corner
Psalm 51: 16,17
“For you have no delight in sacrifice; if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased. The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
The Lenten season is upon us. For the next few weeks, the churches that follow the Liturgical Calendar will be sharing in Lenten sacrifices. But, contrary to popular belief, giving up something is not the intent of Lent.
The Psalmist points out how sacrifice alone is not pleasing to God. Just going through the motions of holiness does not bring us closer to God. Showing up at church, reading the bible, while all worthy activities mean nothing if you do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. You can fast for 40 days, give up all of your income, live in rags to show how pious you are, and with out giving yourself to Christ, those actions are naught.
Lent is meant to make room for God in our lives. We give up something that takes us away from God. The ultimate abstinence if you will would be to give up our selves. The broken spirit, the one that says I am yours, dear Lord, that is the sacrifice God will rejoice in.
Lent is not a time of self-deprivation, but a time of self-forgetfulness. God’s call to us is to focus on God, not on ourselves.
If you are going to give up something during these 40 days of lent, why not give something to God that God desires most, You.
Amen
Pastor Kent
Psalm 51: 16,17
“For you have no delight in sacrifice; if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased. The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
The Lenten season is upon us. For the next few weeks, the churches that follow the Liturgical Calendar will be sharing in Lenten sacrifices. But, contrary to popular belief, giving up something is not the intent of Lent.
The Psalmist points out how sacrifice alone is not pleasing to God. Just going through the motions of holiness does not bring us closer to God. Showing up at church, reading the bible, while all worthy activities mean nothing if you do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. You can fast for 40 days, give up all of your income, live in rags to show how pious you are, and with out giving yourself to Christ, those actions are naught.
Lent is meant to make room for God in our lives. We give up something that takes us away from God. The ultimate abstinence if you will would be to give up our selves. The broken spirit, the one that says I am yours, dear Lord, that is the sacrifice God will rejoice in.
Lent is not a time of self-deprivation, but a time of self-forgetfulness. God’s call to us is to focus on God, not on ourselves.
If you are going to give up something during these 40 days of lent, why not give something to God that God desires most, You.
Amen
Pastor Kent
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
If you choose
Mark 1:40 “…if you choose, you can make me clean”.
This excerpt is taken from a discourse between a leper and Jesus. Picture if you will a man, begging to be clean. It would have been so easy for Jesus to just walk the other way. I’m sure the disciples would have rather been somewhere else. In this one statement, the leper expressed his faith in the abilities of Jesus.
“If you choose”, are words not meant to shame our Savior, but to acknowledge that life and death, health and sickness, are all in the realm of his glory. In order to have a full relationship with God, we must realize that it is up to Jesus to make us clean.
As we read on in the story, Jesus chose to make the leper clean. Like the leper, our sins make us unclean. A leper is cast out from society, and sin keeps us away from knowing God fully, yet Jesus chooses to cleanse us so we can know God. Jesus will clean whatever it is, so that we will no longer be cast out from the kingdom.
The only thing separating us from God is our inability to ask Jesus to come into our hearts and wash away the muck and grime that sin has put there. When we ask, we hear those words in verse 41, “I do choose. Be made clean.” The wonderful thing about Jesus is this; He will choose to make you clean.
Have you asked?
Pastor Kent
This excerpt is taken from a discourse between a leper and Jesus. Picture if you will a man, begging to be clean. It would have been so easy for Jesus to just walk the other way. I’m sure the disciples would have rather been somewhere else. In this one statement, the leper expressed his faith in the abilities of Jesus.
“If you choose”, are words not meant to shame our Savior, but to acknowledge that life and death, health and sickness, are all in the realm of his glory. In order to have a full relationship with God, we must realize that it is up to Jesus to make us clean.
As we read on in the story, Jesus chose to make the leper clean. Like the leper, our sins make us unclean. A leper is cast out from society, and sin keeps us away from knowing God fully, yet Jesus chooses to cleanse us so we can know God. Jesus will clean whatever it is, so that we will no longer be cast out from the kingdom.
The only thing separating us from God is our inability to ask Jesus to come into our hearts and wash away the muck and grime that sin has put there. When we ask, we hear those words in verse 41, “I do choose. Be made clean.” The wonderful thing about Jesus is this; He will choose to make you clean.
Have you asked?
Pastor Kent
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Resolve
Joshua 24:15 “ But if serving the Lord seems undesirable for you, then choose for yourselves whom you will serve…”
I know what you are thinking, what a verse to start of the New Year with, but there is a reason for this.
We are entering into a New Year, and with that comes the annual tradition of New Years resolution. Many of you have made resolutions, and many of you have probably already broken them. The question I have is, what is your resolution for your soul?
Joshua told the Israelite nation that they needed to resolve whom they would follow; this was not the time to be wishy-washy. This call comes out to us to resolve whom we will serve, will it be God or the World. Can we resolve to choose to serve God this year, or will we fall off the resolution bandwagon and go back to serving the world.
This year is going to present all sorts of new challenges. We have new leaders; we will have new laws, and new guidelines. There will be new prices, and new unemployment. There will also be new ways to entertain our selves and new ways to get into trouble. But more importantly there will be new ways to minister to the lost and lonely.
Choosing whom we serves will allow us to focus on what is important to us. If we choose to serve the world, the hungry will remain hungry, the poor will remain poor, the lost will stay lost and the sick will die. But, if we choose this day to serve God, then the lame will walk, the blind will see, the lost sheep will be found, the hungry will be fed and the sick will be cured.
The way Joshua’s speech ends is what I pray your response will be, for it is my response. “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Happy New Year and May God continue His blessings on you.
Pastor Kent
I know what you are thinking, what a verse to start of the New Year with, but there is a reason for this.
We are entering into a New Year, and with that comes the annual tradition of New Years resolution. Many of you have made resolutions, and many of you have probably already broken them. The question I have is, what is your resolution for your soul?
Joshua told the Israelite nation that they needed to resolve whom they would follow; this was not the time to be wishy-washy. This call comes out to us to resolve whom we will serve, will it be God or the World. Can we resolve to choose to serve God this year, or will we fall off the resolution bandwagon and go back to serving the world.
This year is going to present all sorts of new challenges. We have new leaders; we will have new laws, and new guidelines. There will be new prices, and new unemployment. There will also be new ways to entertain our selves and new ways to get into trouble. But more importantly there will be new ways to minister to the lost and lonely.
Choosing whom we serves will allow us to focus on what is important to us. If we choose to serve the world, the hungry will remain hungry, the poor will remain poor, the lost will stay lost and the sick will die. But, if we choose this day to serve God, then the lame will walk, the blind will see, the lost sheep will be found, the hungry will be fed and the sick will be cured.
The way Joshua’s speech ends is what I pray your response will be, for it is my response. “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Happy New Year and May God continue His blessings on you.
Pastor Kent
Friday, November 28, 2008
Keep Awake
P.K.’s Corner
Mark 13:37 “And what I say to you I say to all: Keep Awake”
In Mark, Jesus warns us that when he returns we will not know until it happens. There is no way to guess or be sure of the second coming, so we must be awake and ready for the return. Unfortunately we have forgotten how to stay awake and we have become spiritual sleepwalkers.
Our physical bodies require rest, this gives the body a chance to repair and refresh for the coming day. Even when we sleep, our bodies are hard at work repairing the damage of the day and preparing for the day to come.
In our spirituality, we tend to just sleep and not let our spirit be refreshed. Instead of resting and allowing the spirit to heal, we just shut down and do nothing to strengthen the spirit. We fall asleep, and it is a non-productive sleep.
Our spirits need to be re-energized on a regular basis. This is done through Church attendance, Sunday school, Bible Study, Devotional time and prayer. Only through these activities can our spirit be refreshed and ready for the challenges to come.
In the upcoming season, it is easy to get so caught up in the Christmas preparation that we forget to be ready for the kingdom. We let our spirits lag and fall in disrepair, and then we sleep. Jesus calls us to refresh, not pass-out, to prepare, and not fall down in fatigue, to be ready for the King of Kings.
Are you sleepwalking, or re-energizing?
Pastor Kent
Mark 13:37 “And what I say to you I say to all: Keep Awake”
In Mark, Jesus warns us that when he returns we will not know until it happens. There is no way to guess or be sure of the second coming, so we must be awake and ready for the return. Unfortunately we have forgotten how to stay awake and we have become spiritual sleepwalkers.
Our physical bodies require rest, this gives the body a chance to repair and refresh for the coming day. Even when we sleep, our bodies are hard at work repairing the damage of the day and preparing for the day to come.
In our spirituality, we tend to just sleep and not let our spirit be refreshed. Instead of resting and allowing the spirit to heal, we just shut down and do nothing to strengthen the spirit. We fall asleep, and it is a non-productive sleep.
Our spirits need to be re-energized on a regular basis. This is done through Church attendance, Sunday school, Bible Study, Devotional time and prayer. Only through these activities can our spirit be refreshed and ready for the challenges to come.
In the upcoming season, it is easy to get so caught up in the Christmas preparation that we forget to be ready for the kingdom. We let our spirits lag and fall in disrepair, and then we sleep. Jesus calls us to refresh, not pass-out, to prepare, and not fall down in fatigue, to be ready for the King of Kings.
Are you sleepwalking, or re-energizing?
Pastor Kent
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Give Thanks
Psalms 107:1 O give thanks unto the Lord for he is good, his steadfast love endures forever.
Last night, we had our Charge Conference. For those who may be new to this, this is the meeting where the church gathers to approve paperwork and plans for the coming year. It is also a chance for the District Superintendent to hear what has been happening in the church. During this sharing time I was told to not say a thing and let the members of the church share the good news. Those that were there shared many of the things that we had done over the year.
You, the Doniphan United Methodist Church, have been a loving, caring, committed family for Susan, the kids and I. The love that you expressed last night, and the love you continue to show confirms to me that this is the right place to be.
Throughout this year, Doniphan UMC has gone outside of itself. More kids than ever have attended church camp, for the 2nd time we sponsored a mission camp to an out of state disaster zone. You looked into your hearts and showed the love for the down trodden and handicapped through the PET vehicle project. You have shared in community ministries and have fed and housed over 2 dozen people this year. You have supported the local food pantry and continue to look for ways to help out those less fortunate. In essence God is working through every person in this congregation to reach every person outside of these walls. This is why I give thanks.
This past month, you shared your appreciation for Susan and I with a gift for Pastor Appreciation Month, and we feel truly blessed.
God is truly working here, and will continue, I give thanks for you, for what God is doing through you and for what God will do.
God Bless all of you.
Your Brother in Christ
Pastor Kent
Last night, we had our Charge Conference. For those who may be new to this, this is the meeting where the church gathers to approve paperwork and plans for the coming year. It is also a chance for the District Superintendent to hear what has been happening in the church. During this sharing time I was told to not say a thing and let the members of the church share the good news. Those that were there shared many of the things that we had done over the year.
You, the Doniphan United Methodist Church, have been a loving, caring, committed family for Susan, the kids and I. The love that you expressed last night, and the love you continue to show confirms to me that this is the right place to be.
Throughout this year, Doniphan UMC has gone outside of itself. More kids than ever have attended church camp, for the 2nd time we sponsored a mission camp to an out of state disaster zone. You looked into your hearts and showed the love for the down trodden and handicapped through the PET vehicle project. You have shared in community ministries and have fed and housed over 2 dozen people this year. You have supported the local food pantry and continue to look for ways to help out those less fortunate. In essence God is working through every person in this congregation to reach every person outside of these walls. This is why I give thanks.
This past month, you shared your appreciation for Susan and I with a gift for Pastor Appreciation Month, and we feel truly blessed.
God is truly working here, and will continue, I give thanks for you, for what God is doing through you and for what God will do.
God Bless all of you.
Your Brother in Christ
Pastor Kent
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