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| Articles about Methodist Church |
| “What a Blessing”, sermon by Pastor Ruth L. Foss, Suncook United Methodist Church, Suncook, NH 8/3/08 | | 2008-08-04 08:36:00 | | Have you ever said to yourself “what a blessing that was” when you receive something that was unexpected? I know I have. I might run into someone I haven’t seen in a while and have a conversation with them and as I walk away I think to myself “what a blessing that was running into so and so. I had a great conversation with them” or I might be reading something and it touches my heart in a way that I never expected. There are so many ways that we are blessed each day. Some we notice right away, some we notice at some point later or even others we may never realize we received.Last week. . . I was talking about “Fully Relying On God” and about Grace that abounds all around us even when we are not asking or looking for it. Grace is one of the many blessings given to us from God. But this blessing. . . this grace. . . we are to share with those around us. In Matthew 14:13-21. . . we hear about another blessing. . . a miracle. . . that Jesus performed. Jesus had gone away by H | | By: Poetry Where You Live | | |
| | “F.R.O.G”, sermon by Pastor Ruth L. Foss, Suncook United Methodist Church, Suncook, NH 7/27/08 | | 2008-07-28 11:32:00 | | Ephesians 2:6-10Last week…Huntley talked about God’s grace. He talked about Murphy’s Law and about how it was wrong and about his own life and how things that should have gone wrong didn’t and how things that shouldn’t have gone right went right. He talked about King David who had questionable morals and was a bad father but. . . he was called a man after God’s own heart. We heard about prophets that failed in their work and about a man named Paul who was the founder of the church who had persecuted Christians in his former life. We learned that it was not about Murphy’s Law but about a word called grace…God’s grace. This grace is not anything that you or I can buy on “EBay” or any other place…we can’t even earn it. . . it is freely given to us by God. Grace, Grace, God’s Grace . . . In Genesis 22:1-19, we have more proof that Murphy was wrong. Here we have Abraham. He was told to take his only son to a place that God told him and sacrifice him. Now prior to | | By: Poetry Where You Live | | |
| | Walk This Way - Sermon by Pastor Ruth L. Foss, Suncook United Methodist Church, July 13, 2008 | | 2008-07-19 17:24:00 | | This week I have been thinking a lot about the sermon Huntley gave us last week. He talked about the transition of the Gospel from Jesus to the apostles before He ascended into heaven and how they waited and prayed. They had faith in Jesus and went blindly and did what He told them to do. They went, waited, listened and prayed. They did this together with other disciples, waiting to hear a Word from God. Well…this got me thinking. What exactly was it they were doing…what were their actions saying about their lives and what does it say about our lives as disciples today?I want to show you something…this is a walking stick that Ray and the girls made for me when I was in undergrad. I took a hiking class because I had to take a physed course and they thought that mom needed a walking stick. (My question is did they think I was unfit or too old to take the class.) Inscribed on it is one of my favorite pieces of scripture that I have learned (and am still learning) to live by. It’s | | By: Poetry Where You Live | | |
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| | July 4, 2008 - Poems - at Wesley United Methodist Church, Concord, NH | | 2008-07-05 16:27:00 | | The following poems were shared at Wesley United Methodist Church, Concord, NH, as part of the 4th of July celebration:------- SET ONE--------On the FourthOn the Fourthand all year longwe must never forgetthe words on that parchment so long agoOur prayer of that daystill true here and nowour nation to be trueall to be free,as our creator intendedfree from oppression,to pursue, happiness to findwithin ourselvesand with our GodA vision worthy to upholda hope to share with the worldMay we never forgetto hold these words in our heartsJuly 4, 2008Declaration of Independencewritten for July 4th celebrationWesley United Methodist Church,Concord, NH--- Words of MettleI paused todayto read, once again,those words of mettle,of resolve, of hope, of our faithThose words, part of the threadthe dream, the story that is AmericaThose words written in Philadelphiaproclaimed the sins of the kingthe prayers of the coloniesthe roots of our democracyWhat we believeand what we celebrate todayJuly 4, 2008Dec | | By: Poetry Where You Live | | |
| | July 4th - at Wesley United Methodist Church, Concord, NH | | 2008-07-05 09:18:00 | | Annually, our church opens its lawn to the community, offering music, pie and ice cream, and one of the best views of Concord's fireworks. I have been able for the last four years to share some of my poetry as part of the celebration. Each year I end up writing more that day as well, as I listen to the patriot music and think about what it means to be an American, especially on the birthday of our country. | | By: Poetry Where You Live | | |
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| Sermon - "Life's Waters", given by Pastor Ruth L. Foss, Sanbornville United Methodist Church, Wakefield, NH, February 24, 2008 | | 2008-02-27 09:25:00 | | John 4:5-42 Well…here we are at the 3rd week of Lent. We are one more week closer to that day we are all looking forward to. The day that our Lord and Savior is victorious over sin and death…the day that He rises from the tomb to offer us a new life of reconciliation and redemption…the day that we are able to once more have a right relationship with our Creator God…as it was in the Garden so long ago. Last time I was here…I was talking about the time of Lent and how it should be not just a season but something we do every day of our lives. I talked about how to Lent…or to live a life of Lent…means accepting boundaries…the wise boundaries…that God has set before us. Boundaries that keep us safe...under His protective wings of love. Something that Adam and Eve didn’t do. Well…in reading my Daily Devotional, The Upper Room Disciplines, I learned another way to live a life to Lent. To Lent also means to learn to be an ambassador for Christ, to point away from | | By: Poetry Where You Live | | |
| | Sermon, "Follow the Leader", by Pastor Ruth L. Foss, January 27, 2008, prepared for worship - Sanbornville, United Methodist Church, Wakefield, NH | | 2008-01-27 10:59:00 | | Matthew 4: 12-23“Follow the Leader”How many of you remember playing follow the leader when you were a child? (pause) I sure remember. As a matter of fact…I still get into a good game of it with my daughters. It gets silly after a while when they realize that I know how to follow their lead. I also liked playing “Simon Says” when I was little…and still do now. It’s all about following the leader. In today’s scripture from Matthew…we see these fisher men playing follow the leader. Jesus came by and said “Follow Me”…and they immediately got into the “game.” Following the leader…what kind of leader was Jesus any way? He wasn’t the type of leader that took things by force…He taught love and patience. He didn’t have a large army of fighting men ready to take over the city…He had a band of fishermen and a tax collector. He even hung out with sinners…prostitutes…tax collectors and the like (for shame!). So what type of leader was He? Why did these men stop what they were doing…walk away from their lives and families they had…just to follow this man…this prophet…of their time? Well…one thing that they may have felt was the urgency of Jesus’ ministry. We have to remember…just before this time…Jesus had been in the desert for 40 days and was tested there by the tempter…now we don’t know if it was actually Satan that tempted Him there but we assume it was Satan…all it tells us is that it was the “tempter…the devil.” Now that His time of tempting was over it was time for Him to get on with His ministry…a ministry of Redemption.This was what He came to earth for…to be that Redemptive “bridge” over the gap that was made in the Garden of Eden…to Redeem humanity back to the life that was lost there. Jesus immediately started to teach in the synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing disease and sickness among the people. (Redeeming Grace…was redeeming them … | | By: Poetry Where You Live | | |
| | Sermon, "Beacons of Light", by Pastor Ruth L. Foss, January 13, 2008, Sanbornville, United Methodist Church, Wakefield, NH | | 2008-01-13 18:48:00 | | Baptism of the Lord SundayMatthew 3:13-17/Isaiah 42:6-9 Good Morning…today is the Baptism of the Lord Sunday. What a glorious day it is. It was the day…that…marked the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. It was the day that…marked the beginning of OUR salvation story. What a great day it is indeed!How many of you remember your baptism? Well…I was baptized twice in my life. Once…when I was an infant so I don’t remember it…but…the second one I remember it well. It was when I was around 37…I was baptized by immersion at the church I belonged to at the time. I remember coming up out of the waters and knowing I was a changed person. I knew that…my life was no longer my own…I knew that I was adopted into a royal priesthood with Christ as my guide. It was an overwhelmingly joyous time in my life and was the beginning of a new life with Christ as the head of it. Baptism… What is baptism? What happens when we are baptized…do we have to do it every time we sin or is it a “one shot deal”…how can we be truly free…after baptism…what’s next? How should our lives be different? These are questions that many people ask…my prayer is that we will be able to have a better understanding of our baptism, the freedom that is offered us and all the joy that surrounds that time in our lives by taking a look at baptism and what takes place during our baptism as well as how are lives should be after baptism. Well…in Colossians 2 vs. 11-12…it speaks of baptism as spiritual circumcision and being raised with Christ. The verses state: “11In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, 12having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.” It introduces us to sharing in Christ’s suffering and death because we are “buried with Him. | | By: Poetry Where You Live | | |
| | Sermon - "You Can’t Take It with You", given by Ruth L. Foss, Sanbornville United Methodist Church, Wakefield, NH, September 30, 2007 | | 2007-11-30 08:13:00 | | 1 Timothy There is an old song that goes Money makes the world go around…the world go around …the world go around. Money makes the world go around…that clinking clanking sound†from Cabaret. /it reminds me of how society is today. If you don’t have money…you have nothing, are nothing, you have not accomplished anything in life. What a way we live today...all stressed out because we have too little money and stressed out because we have too much and have a new set of issues we have to deal with because of it. How can we find balance…find peace…be truly happy in this life we live? The Epistle reading from 1 Timothy this morning is a wealth of information for us. It tells us of the problems with earthly treasure but it also tells us what the true treasure we should be looking for…aspiring to find. It is a road map for us on the road of “Christian Perfection†that John Wesley talked about so many times. It gives us a guide line to live by. T | | By: Poetry Where You Live | | |
| | Sermon - "The Art of Forgiving", given by Ruth L. Foss, Sanbornville United Methodist Church, Sanbornville, NH, November 25, 2007 | | 2007-11-30 08:06:00 | | Luke 23:33-43Have you ever done anything for someone out of the goodness of your heart? How about for someone who has done you wrong…someone who has made fun of you and mocked you…someone who has stolen from you…or even someone who you know has done something wrong to someone you love? If you’re like me…it is a hard thing to do. How about forgiving someone who has done you wrong or someone you love…or even someone who you don’t even know who does something wrong…something evil to someone else? To truly forgive someone who has done wrong is a tuff thing to do. It’s our human nature. We want to see someone pay for what they have done to us or those we love…they deserve whatever they get for what they have done. But here…on the cross…Jesus shows us a different way of life. We are shown a radical forgiveness.Jesus’ ministry on earth was pretty radical to begin with. Instead of fighting we were told to love one another as ourselves…instead of cursing our enemies | | By: Poetry Where You Live | | |
| | Sermon - "Shaken but Not Stirred", given by Ruth L. Foss, Sanbornville United Methodist Church, Wakefield, NH, November 11, 2007 | | 2007-11-30 08:02:00 | | (Read Haggai 1:15b-2:9)Wow…a moving and a shaken…when our God moves…when our Creator creates…there is a whole lot of shaken going on. Is our God awesome or what? (Glory to God) I can only imagine the scene when God moves in this way. I am sure that during the creation of the world…God spoke…the earth trembled…and came into being.In the scripture from Haggai…I am sure that the Israelites too were shaken during this part of their history…but shaken in a different way. They were finally able to start rebuilding the temple…but the task…what a task they had. There was the temple of the Lord…laying in ruin…nothing but rubble…sitting on the ground in front of them. How were they going to take on this task?I am sure that there were many people in the remnant that remembered the temple the way it was. They probably had some wonderful times there and remember it in its grandeur (This had been Solomon’s temple after all…can you imagine how it looked in its day?). T | | By: Poetry Where You Live | | |
| | Authentic Prayer - sermon by Ray Foss for Basic Lay Speaker class, September 29, 2007, Warren United Methodist Church | | 2007-10-23 20:56:00 | | The passage from 1st Timothy 2:1-7, is a rich piece of scripture, because it speaks of the need to pray, so as to be at peace with the world, a holy peace so as to go on to make disciples, as we are all called in the Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-19, disciples of the one true God, who loved us enough to sacrifice his son.As Paul himself said in 1 Timothy 1:15, when he was still Saul, he had persecuted the followers of Christ. Now he himself knew the struggle of spreading the Good News throughout the Middle East and beyond.Like the Attorney in Luke 10:25-37, Paul had tried to live the pious life Jews were called to in Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18 (to love God and to love your neighbor as yourself); but it was only the saving grace of Jesus Christ who gave him the tools to be the Good Neighbor, to bring the balm, the healing of Christ, to the Gentiles.But what of Timothy the young pastor in Ephesus, the recipient of these instructions, these teachings? We know quite a bit about him, again through the Book of Acts, where we learn of his growing up, the son of a Greek father and a Jewish mother, Eunice, herself the daughter of Lois, a believer in Christ, a follower of the Risen Lord.But, what kind of prayer was Paul calling Timothy to, in his personal letter to his protégé? This peace, to allow him to be the servant he was called to be? How can we make the same plea to other followers, perhaps to other followers who, might be newer in their faith than we, just like Timothy was when compared to Paul, the Billy Graham of his time. What can we say to help them know the Good News, and to bring it to others themselves, to remove the clutter?This was part of the challenge I faced in my Middle High Sunday School class last week. We too had this same lectionary. And, as with Paul, there was a distance between me and the kids in where we are in our faith journeys. Though there are times when they stretch my faith, and show me a trust that many of us adults have lost.I sat in the circle in the Parlor, thinking, “So what was I going to tell them about this letter, the meaning and importance of Paul’s words to Timothy, for us now?”As Methodists, we believe in the ministry of all believers, the Great Commission; but, do we spend enough time in prayer to be centered and ready to do that work, truly loving our neighbors, even our enemies, as ourselves?When our church was beginning a strategic planning effort a couple of years ago now, Penny Thurston, a widow of a retired United Methodist pastor, was often asked to lead us in centering prayer. I wrote this poem about one of her prayers.SpiritWe sat silent in centering prayermy diaphragm and chest rose and fellsilently, in time with my heartyour word, the one you put in my mindIt was Spirit, Your Holy Spiritliving in the room with usflickering in the Christ candle before us.A call for your spirit to act,guide us, be present in each oneleading us in prayer and actionDo we trust God for everything in our lives? Do we pray for neighbors, for leaders, for others? Or do we merely pray for our own small troubles? Do we even know how to pray, to really pray, as Paul was describing.Paul reminded Timothy of the context of prayer, the kinds of prayer, the way he should pray, and the state of grace from which he could live his call, in these few words in this 1st letter to Timothy.I told my Middle High Sunday School class about my first experience with the five-finger prayer, as taught to me by Rolling Ridge Director, Rev. Larry J. Peacock, at Wesley United Methodist Church. It is a simple way of praying, that puts the pieces that Paul was describing in this passage from 1 Timothy 2:1-7. Our hand, our fingers, give us a wonderful way to remember how to pray as Paul instructed Timothy. Look at your hand, your fingers,- Praise – the one true God, Creator, Sustainer, Father, Son and Holy Spirit- Thanksgiving – for all He has done and is doing in the life of the world, in our lives- Confession – for where we all have fallen short, individually and as the human race- Supplication – prayers for others, including the leaders, even your enemies- Intercession – prayers for yourself, for your needs, to clear the clutter and help you do God’s will, to follow his call.What would we pray for, how would we take this lesson from Paul, the five fingers of prayer, consistent with Paul’s call to a prayer that leads to peace? What would the children say, those young and growing in their faith? How can we as Christians be mentors and examples to those, like my middle high school class? What are the authentic prayers of the children? Listen to the wisdom, the truth, the faith in their words. Like Paul, we want them to succeed in their journey. We want them to make disciples, as we must. Listen to the words of prayer of the children. Listen to their authentic words.Caleb Hawkins“We give you thanks, O God:for friends that help mefor food that tastes goodfor a good, fun familyfor a house to live infor Educationfor My health and fitnessGod be near and help us:for my focus at schoolfor my family’s problemsfor my injuries and sicknessfor my friend’s mom and her cancerfor my friends and whatever they’re needingAmen”--Dear God,I thank you for my guinea pig, my dog, and my hermit crabs.I thank you for my friends and familyI give you thanks for horsesAnd all the wild animalsAnd all the domestic animalsI Am sorry for all the paper and plastic andaluminum that I throw away instead ofrecycling it. I am sorry for the water I’ve wastedand the pollution I have caused. I know it isimportant to preserve your Earth because it is agift to us.Help people realize that slaughtering horses for petfood is cruel, and protect them from the trouble theyget themselves into. Help them understand thatanimals are a gift and they should be kind to themAlso help them to understand that Earth is agift from You as well and they shouldn’t trash sucha precious gift.And please, help me to achieve good grades inschool and high marks on my tests and quizzesFinally, keep my pets, family, and friends safe andhealthy. Peace Out. Amen.Jessa Fogel---Dear God,Thank you God for coming down to earthand saving us. Thank you for friends and familywho love me and support me. Thank you forfood and shelter that my parents provide for me.God, we give you great thanks. For life and happiness,we give you thanks o’ God. Thank you for babyback ribs that come right off the grill. And mostof all, thank you for you. In your name I pray,Amen--I am thankful for all that you havedone for me. I am sorry aboutyour family loss and I am sad aboutit too. My Gia Gia (gramma in Greek)was very close to me and she mustbe with you. I really miss her So pleasetake good care of here. Thank you formy family, friends, my sisters, my dads,my mom, and my friends.Love,from your servantErica--A Prayer from TimothyHoly God,Creator and sustainerof the earth, I offer this prayerfor myself and the world.I thank you Lord, for my family,for this beautiful Sunday, for this churchand church family, for the changing seasonsthis season of fall, and especially for your presence.Lord, I confess that I have fallen short of your grace,that I have not communicated with my family,that I have struggled in my work and I have notput my whole trust in you.I pray for this torn world, where strife and povertyare too common, where one in seven Americansare without health insurance, and wheretoo many know war and disease.Lord, I pray for President Bush and the Congress,may they find a way to end warI pray also for this church, as we prepare fora capital campaign and budget,for the Iraqi government and its peopleI ask for your peace for them and forthose who seeks after peace in the Middle East.I pray Lord too, for the world, for global warmingand the melting ice caps. May we come to gripswith these challenges before it is too late.Lord, I ask for your guidance, your strengthto get more done, to be more available to Ruth,and to help the girls more.I ask all these things in Your son’s precious name.AmenOkay, so that last one was the prayer I wrote last Sunday morning, when we were all centering, quieting ourselves in prayer, when we were at peace, in God’s house, thinking about ourselves and others, and seeking God’s Peace, His Strength. What about you? Right now? In this place, this house of God? Remember, we all are to be ministers like Timothy; that is what we as United Methodists believe.What prayers for peace in the world, for supplication, for intercession, for thanksgiving, and for praise do these words of 1st Timothy call you? What joys or concerns do you need to bring to the Lord this day? What is standing in the way of your getting on with the work you feel God has called you to do, to minister to his flock and to go out and make disciples of all the nations?AMEN. | | By: Poetry Where You Live | | |
| | “Have You Seen My…” - Sermon by Ruth L. Foss, September 16, 2007, given at Sanbornville United Methodist Church, Sanbornville, NH | | 2007-09-16 12:47:00 | | How many of you have ever lost anything of great worth to you…or even something that has no real value but…you feel you need it?...I know I have…at times I have put things away for “Safe Keeping” and forgot where I put it…boy I hate when that happens! What do you do? Do you just forget about it…or do you search until it is found? I know with me…I will search high and low…I might even say to myself…well I just give up…I can’t find it. But…I find myself…after awhile…going back to the “search”…to the “hunt”…until I find it. I am so happy when I find it…I even have to share my story of how it was lost and how it is now found.In the two parables we read from the Gospel of Luke today…something was lost. The main character in the parables searched until they found what they were looking for…to the point of leaving what they had to find their lost object. When they found it…they went to their neighbors and rejoiced with them…what was lost was | | By: Poetry Where You Live | | |
| | Reach Out and Touch - Sermon by Ruth L. Foss, Sanbornville United Methodist Church, Sanbornville, NH, September 2, 2007 | | 2007-09-15 16:03:00 | | “Reach Out and Touch…”Scripture: Hebrews 13: 1-8, 15-16Sermon:How many of you enjoy having people over just for the sake of having them over... I know I do. I like making a meal or a snack when I’ve invited someone over. I always ask what kinds of food do they like…what they don’t like…what they want to drink and other same types of questions. I want to make sure that they have a good time…feel relaxed…you know…at home. It is one of the biggest joys in life for me.Sometimes…it’s just for fellowship not a meal (but then again I always ask if they are hungry when they get there). Having 3 small children at home…there are time when I am just dying for adult conversation. I enjoy having people over just to sit around, talk, find out what’s been going on in their lives since the last time we got together or talked. Just the fellowship alone is a great time of fun and laughter.But there are also times…during our time together…I find out that they may be going | | By: Poetry Where You Live | | |
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