Those who give to the poor will lack nothing, but those who close their eyes to them

receive many curses. Proverbs 28:27

Monthly Newsletter of Ithaca and Beebe United Methodist Churches August 2013 Edition

The Vine
Love God. Love others. Serve the world.

http://www.IthacaUMC.org Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/ithacaunitedmethodistchurch

It is summer... and it is going by fast.

From David Platt

his summer we have been looking at the biblical mandate through the lens of Dave Platts book, RADICAL. We have been challenged biblically to: Pray for the world, Read the entire Word, Give sacrificially bigger than ourselves,

, author, Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream

In the next few Sundays we will be looking at: Getting out of ourselves (and our context), and Becoming an active part of a multiplying community. This study and sermon series, presented by all four of the biblical teachers Mark, Keegan, Jerry and myself, has challenged us alla lot like Not A Fan did. We find that we have ALL, at times played church or had intellectual understanding but not putting that into action very often. Our challenge has been to put these biblical truths into action. It is my hope and prayer that while so many have been vacationing and allowing God to re-create you, you have also been praying about the present ministries and future ministries of our church. We are so blessed here with such amazing leaders and so many needs within our community that we have the potential to meetI hope all will continue to discern what Gods perfect plan for our church is. Our Building Team is still working behind the scenes to figure out what is possible and how much things will cost from fixing things here, redeveloping this land, building some place else. There is a lot of work to be looked at. As they find the answers they will be sharing with us. Summer is not a good time to share corporately because so many of us are traveling. Each Sunday there seems to be a different group of us here. But as Fall approaches we will hear from the Building Team with more details. I remind us that Labor Day weekend (Sunday) is our The Church Has Left the Building day. We will be going out to pray for our community as well as our church. We will also have at least one work project for those who wish to do that. I am looking forward to continue to serve together. God bless you. Pastor Cindi

Your church members are bombarded with the temporary. Make money, Get stuff. Be comfortable. Live well. Have fun. In the middle of it all they get blinded to the eternal. But its there. We stand on the porch of eternity. We will all stand before God to give an account for our stweardship of the time, resources, gifts, and the gospel he has entrusted to us. I am convinced that, when that day comes, we will not wish we had given more of ourselves to living the American dream. Instead we will wish we had given more of ourselves to living for the day when every nation, tribe, people, and language will bow around the throne and sing the praises of the Savior who delights in radical obedience and the God who deserves eternal worship. Lets not waver any longer!

Building Team Update

by Ron Davis, Trustee Facilitator

At Leadership Team meeting, Sunday July 21, Scott asked for approval to bring Dan Macha onto this team as a facilitator and Dans experience in project fund raising ability. There were no objections to this request. Pastor Cindi presented several of sketches of a churches that look much like a barn for another building concept. This sparked some lively conversion, mostly positive. After batting around several other possibilities for a location, we narrowed it down to two properties, based primarily on location. Existing property (current church location) purchase the two properties on the north east end for $80,000, continue to rent them out (in effect the church would act as landlords) until needed for parking or building space. Free land - Accept an offer from a church member who would donate up to ten acres of farm land on Union Rd. and the north side of St. Charles Rd. There was much discussion about the end cost of building a new church on either one of these properties. Pastor Cindi suggested that we hire an architectural firm that would give us an estimate of all cost involved. We could then make an informed decision. Most were in agreement to investigate this possibility. Three firms were suggested and this will take some time to sort out the choices and then bring it back to the leadership team. As the Building Team moves forward, we hope to bring you a more detailed report in October.

Are you too comfortable?

Its in our nature to want to be comfortable. We like to adjust our thermostats so that the inside of our homes remain at a stable 75 degrees. We fill our beds with pillows to guarantee a good nights sleep. Keeping comfy is tied to our survival in many ways, after all if we didnt get uncomfortable in 110 degree weather, we could end up dehydrated and heat-stroked. But there are times that our survival instincts will lead us astray if we dont check them. They can make us lazy and just flat out complacent. We want to do something about the people who are suffering in third world countries, but that would require us to get up off of cushy sofas and get out in the heat. We want to help others who need us, but when it will cause us to sacrifice our comfort, we always find convenient excuses to get out of it. We want to make necessary changes in our lives, but if it requires us to do things out of the norm that challenge us beyond what were used to doing, we freeze up. We think of all the things we dont want to give up. Many times, the number one thing we dont want to give up is our comfort. I can remember when I had to make a decision about my job. It wasnt what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. It didnt pay what I wanted to make, but it paid just enough. I had a routine that worked for me. The hours were convenient and in the summers the workload was low. I was comfortable.
Ithaca/Beebe Newsletter The Vine - August 2013 2

That comfort kept me from bidding on other better paying jobs. I didnt want to leave my comfort zone. That comfort made me delay the start of my college education. I didnt want anything to upset the balance in my life. All for what? Comfort? Ive learned the hard way that if we allow our comfort to keep us from doing what weve been called to do, eventually that comfort gets ripped away from us. For most of us, its adversity and discomfort that compels us to do something and make a change. If it wasnt for a fire, some of us would never leave the house. But it doesnt have to be that way. We have the mental capacity to check our comfort to make sure it is not keeping us from doing what we know we should. At any moment we can ask ourselves, Why havent I done something about this? Have I gotten to comfortable? At any moment we can decide that we will not let a little discomfort keep us from our destiny. We can decide to sweat it out for a little while if it means we will make a difference in someone elses life. When we start doing things this way, at the end of the day, we feel better about ourselves. Thats when we can truly rest knowing that weve done something. You are capable of more than you know. From the website Highly Favored http://highlyfavored.com

Growing in Grace, Sue Silverthorn, Evangelism Facilitator

God is intimately involved with bringing life and breath to us. What do we do with the life and breath He brings to us each day? Do we honor Him, praise Him and thank Him? Every day? Do we honor Him with the love He brings to us by loving Him throughout each day? Do we honor Him by loving others, ALL others? Luke 6:35 & 36 says, Love your enemies! Do good to them! Lend to them and dont expect to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons/daughters of the Most High because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do we encourage goodness in others and help them see past their own weaknesses? Or are we more likely to separate ourselves, be passive and uninvolved or be critical of them? Jesus said in Luke 6:37 & 38, Do not judge; do not condemn instead forgive, and give. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Do we put others first or do we put ourselves first? I read that if we have a refrigerator with food in it and just a mattress to sleep on we have MORE than 75 percent of the people around the world! We, in America, have so much more, yet do we give God his 10 percent tithe to the church, and bring many offerings to Him, to use to bring a helping hand and the Gospel to the millions of people in need? Or do we keep most of what God has provided us in order to try to satisfy our American lifestyles and appetites? God calls us to do much more with His provisions than just keeping them for ourselves and our immediate family and friends. I know that if I was starving and people had the resources to have a home, car, tools, clothes, recreation/vacation, eating out, etc., I would hope they would help me and my family to survive and know Jesus, to help us have life now and eternally! Love the Lord with ALL your heart, with ALL your soul and with ALL your mind. Jesus said this is the first and greatest commandment, and the second is, Love your neighbor as yourself. (Matt. 22:37-39)

Praise God! He has blessed us so we can do this in a mighty way!

Beebe Corner
August Greetings from Beebe UMC Beebe services begin at 9:00 a.m. and we welcome guests at any time. Our church is located at the corner of North Baldwin and East Tyler Roads.

by Sandra Reeves, Beebe UMC (If you have any news for Beebe Corner, please contact Sandra at 875-3689.) 3 Ithaca/Beebe Newsletter The Vine - August 2013

Adult Sunday School - 9:30 a.m. in the Wesley Room K-5 Sunday School - 10:30 am. Downstairs in the Asbury Room Youth Group (6 - 12 Grades) - new schedule to be announced Womens Workout Ministry - Tuesdays and Thursdays, 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. in the church basement. August 15 - BINS UMW, 1:30 p.m. at Ithaca UMC August 18 - Leadership Team 1:30, Ad Board follows. All members are highly encouraged to attend. August 24 - BINS UMW will have a booth at the Fun Fest. Donations are needed for baked goods and craft items to sell. Money raised will go to the Beebe and Ithaca Churches.

Womens Workout Ministry

Tuesdays and Thursday at 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. in the church basement.
Join Kaitlyn and Eva in devotion, prayer and exercise. Women from teens to grandmas welcome! Come and bring a friend.

Missions

Barb Swanson, Facilitator

School Supply Collection

During the month of August, Missions will be taking a collection of school supplies to give to the school children who use the services of the Ithaca Food Pantry. A box will be in the entry way for paper, notebooks, pencils, crayons and etc. that children need in school. Thank you for your donations to help with this project. Elma Jocson, missionary in Liberia, will be here Thursday, September 12. Check our Missionary Showcase in the lobby bor more information on Elma. Mark your calendar, more information coming soon.

Hey Kids!

How Does Your Favorite Animal Remind You of God? 6 - 8 year olds answer this question.
would be wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities, he wrote, and by His stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:5). Before Jesus was sentenced to death by crucifixion, his captors beat and mocked him. As for the color of sin, Isaiah also wrote, Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow (Isaiah 1:18). Jeremy, 9, says the tiger reminds him of God because he is a hunter, and God hunts us so we can become Christians. Not only is there none righteous, but There is none who seeks after God, wrote the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans. Like a stalking tiger in pursuit of its prey, God hunts us down. Kids think about this: God wants you to soar like an eagle. But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles (Isaiah 40:31a). From www.creators.com website
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A giraffe can kiss the clouds because it is long, and God is long, says Tori, age 6. Well, the Psalmist wrote that with an outstretched arm Gods mercy endures forever. I suppose outstretched qualifies as long. God created the horse so people could ride on it, says Jacob, 7. The horse takes care of its babies like God takes care of us. Yes, God nurtures us as a mare weans its newborn foal. Scotty, 6, likes cheetahs: God created cheetahs because they are fast. God is everywhere, and he is fast. The next time youre tempted to pull a fast one on someone, think of God as a cheetah. You may think youre slick and fast, but at 70 miles per hour, the cheetah can run by you like youre standing still. You can never outrun God because as Scotty said, God is everywhere. God created the zebra for their stripes, says Cade, 8. The black stripes show sin, but the white stripes show washed-away sin. Courtney, 6, also chose the zebra but adds, They whipped Jesus, and it hurt God. After the prophet Isaiah wrote that the Messiah
Ithaca/Beebe Newsletter The Vine - August 2013