Brown's Daily Word 9-15-11

Good morning,
The Gospel Reading from last Sunday was taken from Mathew 18. Peter asked our Lord how often we should forgive. Should we forgive seven times seven?
Craig Barnes has a book called, "When God Interrupts". In his book, he talks about times in our life when things don’t go the way we planned or the way we want them to go. He’s not talking about life’s small disappointments but, rather, about catastrophic illness, divorce, death of a loved one. Craig is talking about life’s big disappointments. In his discussion, He addresses the danger of loving Jesus. He indicates that Jesus has a tendency to lead us away from places we would rather be and then lead us to places we would rather not go. The story of Jonah is a great illustration of this point. God called Jonah to go to a town called Nineveh.
Craig describes Nineveh this way: “Nineveh was the capital of Assyria, the enemy of God’s people. It was a strong city that had grown sick and decadent and needed to turn toward the grace of God. Nineveh illustrates what is wrong with the world, and what is oppressive to the church. Nineveh doesn’t care about our Savior. Nineveh hurts us all the time.”
When God called Jonah, he had a choice to make. He could not stay where he was. Rather, he either had to follow where God led, or turn and go the other way.
We, as Christians, are faced with the same decision when we hear the Good News of God’s love - respond or turn away. God called to Jonah, and told him to go to Nineveh and tell the people there about God, but Jonah had a different idea. Jonah didn’t like the idea of going to Nineveh because Ninevites were evil people who didn’t care for God. Jonah decided that he would rather go to the city of Tarshish.
“Tarshish was a far-off idealized port city, a kind of ancient Shangri-La. Solomon’s fleet went there to get gold, silver, ivory and peacocks.”
It was a great city, an enjoyable place. It was a good neighborhood with a low crime rate. Most everybody got along. Most everybody tried to be good citizens. Most everybody was fairly well off and had very little needs. It was kind of like a paradise. Jonah could be happy in Tarshish. Jonah really had Tarshish more in mind when God called him to Nineveh.
The problem is when we respond to God’s call on our life most of us really have the “Shangri-la Christianity” in mind. Often, as Christians we want to ask God, ‘Do you really want me to go to Nineveh, because I had Tarshish more in mind. They need good Christians in Tarshish. Can’t I go to Tarshish instead?’
“No,” God responds to us, I want you to go to Nineveh.”
“But God, the people there - they don’t believe in you. And they don’t follow you. God, the people of Nineveh are mean and hateful. We don’t get along. Who could get along with the people of Nineveh? What am I suppose to do? They don’t like me and I don’t like them. How am I suppose to cope with these people?”
God calls us first to pray for them, and especially to pray for God's blessing for them. His desire is that we care for them, and then to celebrate what they have to be happy about. We must be concerned about their troubles, and do everything we can to live in peace with them.”
It is hard to keep at a distance and be at odds with someone whom we are genuinely praying for. In Romans12, Paul tells us to ask for God’s blessing on our enemy when we’d rather curse them. When we truly pray for someone’s well-being, when we care about their needs, when we celebrate their joys, they really can’t keep being our enemies.
Our Lord declared to us as it is recorded in Mathew, "You have heard that it was said, ’You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?
In Christ,
Brown
http://youtu.be/ZIUCRXMM4pE
Please pray for our upcoming ministry events:


We will be back to our Wednesday schedule, including Bible study, fellowship, and prayer, starting September 14.2011.. We will meet with a meal at 6 PM, with the Bible study beginning at 6:30 PM. We will begin a 4 week study on the theme, "Why? Making Sense of God's Will", by Adam Hamilton. Topics include, "Why Do the Innocent Suffer?", Why Do My Prayers Go Unanswered?", "Why Can't I See God's Will for My Life?", and "Why God's Love Prevails". Following the completion of this study we will be using Rick Warren's study, "Forty Days of Love". This will lead us to the beginning of the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons. More information will follow in the church newsletter.

Please mark your calendar for our prayer conference, which will begin on Friday, October 14 and continue through Sunday morning, October 16.
The Key Note Speaker: Kelly Johnson from Memphis TN.
Prayer Team will include: Sunita and Andy, Rob and Jenn and Meredith from Washington DC.

The tentative schedule follows:
Friday, October 14 at 6 PM - opening session at Union Center UMC
Saturday, October 15, 9 AM - noon - concert of prayer at UCUMC
Prayer teams will be available to pray for people for salvation, restoration, healing, deliverance...
Saturday, 5:30 PM - banquet at First UMC, 53 McKinley Ave., Endicott
6:30 PM worship service, including an open invitation to pray at the altar following the worship service. I invite you to be a part of the prayer team during that time.
Sunday morning worship at 8:30 and 11 AM. at UCUMC Kelly Johnson will be preaching. There will be a time for prayer / a concert of prayer

Our first Saturday evening service will be held on Saturday, September 17 at 6:30 PM (Coffee Fellowship at 6 PM) at First United Methodist Church, 53 McKinley Avenue in Endicott. Rev. Earle Cowden will be preaching, and Laureen Naik will be leading the worship. One of our ministry teams, led by Lynn Rosenbarker, will be preparing and serving a meal at noon on 9/17, as part of our outreach ministry.
Our youth will be attending the Word of Life Superbowl at the arena and other sites on November 4 & 5.
Our annual Thanksgiving Banquet will be held on Saturday, November 19.
The Russian Men's Ensemble will be in concert on December 3.
We are planning for a trip to the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Extravaganza on December 6, leaving here at 6 AM, spending the day in NYC, and attending the show at 5 PM. There are optional sites to visit, including the Ground Zero 9/11 Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine. The trip costs $90 per person, including the bus ticket and a ticket to the show. Anyone who wants to reserve a spot on the bus should make their check payable to Union Center United Methodist Church, memo "Radio City Christmas Extravaganza".
September 18, we will go back onto the regular schedule with services at both 8:30 and 11 AM and Sunday School at 9:50 AM. Wesley will resume meeting at 9:30 AM.
Here at Union Center- Wesley- Endicott, we focus on " World as our Parish"., We remind ourselves that we serve under a captain who has never lost a battle. Jesus Christ the Head of the Church is Faithful . We are invited to embrace 7 holy habits of Christian faithfulness. We are called to FOCUS on our prayer life, our relationship with Christ, reading the Bible, faithful worship attendance, financial gifts to Christ and His Church,, serving Jesus with our hands, and sharing the good news of His Great Redemption,with others. May Christ be praised.