so
so
what's up everyone this is miss mary
from lynnhaven methodist i'm here today
along with
some of my very best friends to tell you
the most exciting news
are you ready here it is
things are getting back to normal
wait mary hold on did you actually say
normal yes normal like starting moana is
like
normal right i mean it falls in that
category if you ask me i mean
um around a club year is gonna kick off
for
group a september 9th
and it's gonna be the best day ever i'm
just excited
i mean i suppose we can debate what's
normal means
um another time but for now let's have
our wonderful friends
tell us a little bit about awana club
you know
for the people watching who may have no
idea
what we're talking about let's do that
at awana club we teach kids about the
bible
we build friendships through small
groups
and games and we encourage them to
boldly walk with christ
for life as a leader it is so fun
getting to know the kids and pray with
them and
play with them
awana a-w-a-n-a
stands for approved workers are not
ashamed
it's from 2 timothy 2 15 where the
apostle paul explained to timothy
do your best to present yourself to god
as one approved
a worker who does not need to be ashamed
and who correctly handles
the word of truth unhaven umc's awana
club is for kids three years old through
fifth grade
the children are divided into age level
groups and are led by caring adult
leaders
i know because all three of my kids love
their leaders
awana meetings are wednesday evenings
from 6 to 7 30
from september until may 5th when we
have our awards celebration
by participating in awana children learn
life lessons
that feed their soul they play
fun games we have silly theme nights and
lessons that focus on a mission-minded
activities
that teach them to joyfully serve god
and others in our community and
other places not to mention we build
lots of relationships
with friends in our small groups i've
been a leader for over seven years and
love
watching the kids grow and in their
relationship with christ
and just grow you know seeing them from
five-year-olds to the time that they
get out graduate high school that's
awesome
wow you guys did a great job uh mclean
marijuana club
they sure did i mean i told you things
are getting back to normal i mean we've
been doing a wanna club for longer than
i can remember
i know you might be right mary it would
be very abnormal for us
not to have a wanna club but we should
probably mention that
there's gonna be some changes this year
you know the major changes
is that you will have the option of
going to the wanna club in person every
other week
or we also have a home option where
we'll do some check-ins
yeah that's right we're gonna divide the
group in half so that
you know we can alternate nights that
way it's going to help us keep our group
smaller for safety at this time um
there is just a small fee of 30 this
year that helps us cover all the costs
for all the handbook and the t-shirts
and the bags and all the cool stuff that
an awards they're going to get along the
way
um details just go to our website
mylhumc.netback
forward slash kids yeah or you can email
um any of us me mary mylhumc.net or
whatever we'd love to work with you help
you find the best fit for your kids
well i don't know do you think i think
we covered everything i love this career
i mean
i sure can't wait until alana starts i
can't wait for september
when our wannaclog club finally kicks
off
yay all right
well we hope to see all of you guys then
i know these leaders will be there
me and miss bobby will be there a lot of
other leaders and some of your friends i
can't wait to see em all
it's gonna be a great one a year
absolutely
good morning i'm terry i'm one of the
pastors here today is a
very exciting sunday for us here at
church it is our last
sunday of online only worship
so next week september the 6th we're
going to be right back in here
we're going to have church here and
online before i get too far into that
take a second for me if you would and
text your attendance to us
text the word present to twenty one
thousand
present to twenty one thousand or you
can go online to mylhumc.net
backslash worship there you'll have a
contact card we can you can fill that
out that's how we track attendance
there's room for prayer requests you can
all kinds of stuff's on there if you
would take a second to do that
i would sure appreciate it now while
you're doing that i want to give you
some information about next sunday
we're going to have a new uh two
services but we're gonna have two
new times so i really want you to write
this down so if you usually don't listen
to what i say please pay attention to
this
we're gonna worship at 8 30 and at 10
o'clock
8 30 and at 10 o'clock right here at our
at our
newly renovated or actually it's been
renovated for a while
campus here at 3203 minnesota avenue
the early service is going to be a more
traditional service with more
with traditional elements and it's going
to be for our people that are at risk
anybody that needs to come that will be
in an at-risk group for covet
please come at 8 30. the 10 o'clock
service is going to be what you've
usually seen online the last couple of
months
it's going to be a great time we're
really looking forward to it but we're
not going to abandon the online presence
at all
we're going to have a live service we're
going to just record what happens here
here in the sanctuary and play it live
at 10 o'clock
on sunday mornings on facebook and
youtube you can also watch those
throughout the week they'll be there
hopefully forever
for you to go back to i know that's a
lot of information but
next sunday september the 6th 8 30 and
10 o'clock
please be here and let's get let's get
to praising our lord and savior jesus
christ
glory how he gave his life
my
jesus myself
is
and somehow jesus came and bought
to me the victory
jesus my savior forever
is
and i heard about the streaks of gold
beyond the crystal sea
how about the angels singing
victory
is true
worthy is the
lamb who was slain
holy holy is he
singing a new song
to him who sits on heaven's mercy
sings
worthy is
sing a new song
to him who sits on
god almighty
praise to the king of kings
golden rainbow
glory
is
praise
filled with
jesus name is
mystery
you are my everything
and i will adore you
the lord god almighty
who was
with all creation i sing
praise to the king of kings
you are my everything
and i will adore you
christ alone my hope is found
he is my line my strength
my song this cornerstone
this solid ground
firm through the fiercest
cease
i stand
oh
righteousness
was laid
there in the ground his
body lay light of the world by
darkness
in glorious day
up from the gravy
he is
no fear in death
this is the power of christ
in me from life's first
cry till final breath
jesus commands my
i stand till he returns
or calls me home
here in the power of christ
i stand
well hello everyone i'm mindy clemons
and i oversee
adult discipleship here sometimes called
adult education
and as terry mentioned earlier there are
a lot of changes coming next sunday
new service times and we're going to be
worshiping in person
but i personally am so excited because
we have a new sermon
series and it's called how to live
and so our sermon series is going to be
coming from the book of james
as a church we're going to study the
book of james for the next
12 weeks this fall so we hope that you
will all
join us there's a reading plan that will
work us
through james whether you're a child a
teenager or someone who is a seasoned
adult christian
read james with us take the time to
reflect on it and study
there's lots more information about our
study of james on the website
mylhumc.net and you can download the
bible reading plan there you can join
our facebook discussion group
you can sign up for weekly emails you
can join a small group
you can ask me questions all those
things are there
and we're also going to be going back to
wednesday night bible study
in the book of james so excited for all
the good things
that are coming very soon
as we move from thinking about
james and how to live let me talk just
for a minute about offering
it's a time for you to think about are
you giving
should you be giving and how can you
give so the how you can give
is relatively simple you can give on our
website mylhumc.net
you can text to give and you can also
mail a check to us at 3203
minnesota avenue lynnhaven florida
324-05
so would you pray with me now for our
offerings
father we thank you for this church body
for how they have remained
faithful over these last two years of
excitement
and challenges that we have endured we
are confident you have good things
in store for us and we are looking
forward to being back
worshiping live and in person we are
looking forward to the study of james
this fall
father i pray that you would take the
tithes and offerings that are given this
week and use them to multiply your
kingdom
i pray for pastor craig this morning as
he um
speaks to us about essential things and
about becoming more like christ i just
pray that you'd bless him in his words
and in his speech and that our eyes and
ears would be open
to hear the truth of your word this
morning in jesus name
amen
well good morning i'm craig carter i
have a question for you
what do you want to be what do you want
to be
now if you were to ask that question of
children you'd expect answers like i
want to be
an astronaut or i want to be a
firefighter
i want to be a dancer or a ballplayer
but if you were to ask that same
question of those kids parents
you'd probably get radically different
responses
most parents would say i want my child
to be kind and considerate
i want my child to be loving and
compassionate i want my child to be
truthful and honest
that you see most parents are more
concerned
with who their children are
who they are becoming as persons then
they are
concerned about what they're going to do
as a profession
and god feels the same way about each
one of us
are you aware that god is much more
interested in our character
than he is in our career he's more
interested in who we
are and who we are becoming than we he
is
and what we do and what we're doing
that's why we have been created to be
human beings
not human doings
now that being said who does god want us
to be
but what characteristics what character
traits does he want us to exhibit
well it's stated explicitly in the old
testament
when we read in leviticus chapter 19
verse 2
you are to be holy as i the lord your
god
am holy well that's a pretty lofty
ambition isn't it
to be holy even as god is holy
and yet that notion makes its way into
the new testament as well
there it's phrased a bit differently but
repeatedly we are told that we are to
become
like christ here's the way paul puts it
in his letter to the romans
he says for god knew his people in
advance and he chose them to become
like his son so that his son would be
the firstborn among many brothers and
sisters
do you realize it that you and i are
chips off the old block
like father like son like father like
daughter we are to become
like god and like god's son
now that being said we are not to become
divine mini-mes little gods
but we are to become godly in our
thoughts our words
and our actions and most of us have
tried to accomplish that goal
of becoming holy of becoming
like christ and we have also failed
miserably at that task and we inevitably
will
left to our own devices and that's why
but we need to avail ourselves to the
final benefit
the essential benefit provided by the
church
in recent weeks we've talked about how
belonging
to a body of believers
gives us a sense of belonging because it
makes us part of god's
family it's also
in the context of the church that we
start believing in jesus
and learning of god his will and his
ways
and when those two things happen when we
have that sense of belonging with other
christians and start believing the right
things well then it's inevitable
that we start becoming like
christ and so it is absolutely essential
that each of us belong to a community of
faith
that we believe in jesus so that we can
become
all that god wants us to be
now how do we go about becoming like
christ that is a very tall order isn't
it
well hebrews chapter 12 gives us
a plan to follow and a path to take
there the christian life is described as
running a race
and if we will follow the prescribed
steps we'll get to where god
wants us to be we will indeed become
like christ i want us to look at those
steps that are outlined in hebrews
chapter
12. you'll find them on an outline in
your virtual worship guide
but first of all we become like christ
by simplifying our lives
the writer of hebrews says let us strip
off anything that slows us down or holds
us back
and especially those sins that wrap
themselves so tightly
around our feet and trip us up
that word anything is the greek word
that literally means
weight anything that weighs us down
anything that
burdens us uh we're to rid ourselves
of that it's the notion of
a runner getting ready to enter the race
what's the last
thing that athlete does he or she strips
off
all excess clothing not wanting anything
to slow them down or to hold them
back now most of us go through life
weighed down and burdened by all sorts
of things
our minds are cluttered our schedules
are filled to overflowing
our hearts are captured by all sorts of
other interests
and given the fact that we are weighed
down by all those things and so burdened
by the things of this world
it should not surprise us that we end up
becoming something or someone we never
intended to be or to become
none of us plans on being irritable and
short-tempered
or cynical and judgmental or
anxious or fearful and so it's essential
that we simplify our lives
that we rid ourselves and eliminate any
diversions
any distractions any dead ends any
detours
that take us off course
now above all the writer of hebrew says
that we need to strip off those sins
that wrap themselves
so tightly around our feet and trip us
up you can just see that image can't you
in this analogy of running a race
it would be like trying to run that race
with your shoes tied together or with
shackles around
your ankles it's always going to trip
you up
now thankfully the writer of hebrews
tells us that god has already
dealt with this issue once and for all
he says later in the er earlier in this
letter
in chapters 9 and 10 christ died once
for all time as a sacrifice to take away
the sins
of many people for god's will was for us
to be made
holy by the sacrifice of christ
we become who god intends us to be
holy through the sacrifice of christ
and so life becomes so much simpler when
we allow
what christ has already done to rid us
of sin
rather than trying to rid ourselves
currently
of it if we are going to become like
christ
well it starts by simplifying our lives
eliminating any unnecessary activities
that would throw us
off course or any sin
that would tangle entangle us secondly
we become like christ
by understanding it is a process
the writer goes on to say let us run
with patience
the particular race god has set before
us
with patience other translations say
with endurance or perseverance
why do we need to run the race in that
way well because the christian life is
not a sprint
it is more like a marathon
and so it's important that we run with
patience that we set the proper
pace in years past
i have run a number of road races
not in order to try and win them but
just to get the t-shirt that's being
given away kind of the participation
prize
and in almost every race that i've ever
run in
early on as soon as the gun goes off
somebody just
dashes off it's usually a young
inexperienced
runner and in every race i've ever run
by the time i got to the one mile mark
of a three mile or five or six mile race
i was already passing these people that
had taken off
in a sprint to begin with why because
they didn't understand they needed to
run
with patience setting the proper
pace it's kind of the image of the
tortoise
and the hair but we need to understand
that the christian life is a process
we didn't get where we are apart from
christ overnight we're not going to get
back where we need to be with christ
overnight either it's
the image that oftentimes is a christian
we kind of when we first become a
follower of christ
man we we start growing really fast
don't we we're just
off and running the bible talks about it
as being a baby christian are you aware
that in the first year of life the
typical baby doubles in size
but then that growth rate slows down
doesn't it
and thankfully it does although when you
get to be my age your waistline then
doubles in size every year
but that baby in one year doubles in
size
but then the growth rate slows down the
same is true in our spiritual lives
that we need to understand that it's a
process
i've said it before that we prefer a
microwave brand of christianity we want
god just to zap
us and get our lives right
but god is more into crockpot
christianity he lets us simmer and savor
over time maybe think of it another way
did you know that god can grow a
mushroom
fully developed in six hours takes six
hours to grow
a fully developed mushroom and yet it
takes god
60 years to grow a mature
oak tree now which one would you rather
be
a fragile mushroom or a sturdy
secure oak tree
you see you can spell christian maturity
t-i-m-e
we need to understand that it's a
process
we might not be there yet today we might
not even get there tomorrow
but just as god is patient with us we
can run the race with patience
knowing that in god's grace day by day
we will become more
like christ i think it's also important
to point out that
the writer of hebrews says we need to
run with patience the particular race
god has set before us
we've all been given a different race we
don't need to look at how
others are doing just as some babies and
children grow faster than others
some christians grow faster than others
but that's where the church is so
beneficial
it gives us examples of what that growth
looks like
how the process takes place
this past week has been difficult in the
life of our congregation we
conducted the memorial services for two
men that i consider
spiritual oak trees tom gildersleeve
and bill byrd and they would testify
today
that they didn't become the godly men
that they had become
they didn't become as they did
like christ overnight it didn't just
take
years it took decades for them to grow
and to develop and they show us that if
we're going to become like christ
but we need to understand that it's a
process
now as we're undergoing that process
that brings us to
a third step we become like christ by
focusing on jesus
every day we do this by keeping our eyes
on jesus
on whom our faith depends from start
to finish you know if you want to become
like someone
you need to become familiar with that
person
i mean if you want to become like a
great athlete well you need to familiar
familiarize yourself with that person
that athlete you might read about them
you might uh listen to what people that
know him
them firsthand say about them you might
observe their behavior
but if you really want to become like
someone the best way you can do that is
by spending time
with that person i mean if you spend
time with southerners
you'll start saying y'all and
i'm fixing to go and do something
if you spend time around cynical people
you will become cynical
if you spend time around optimistic
folks
you'll become more optimistic that's why
it is so important who we
spend our lives with but if we spend
time with
christ guess what we become
like him now how do we focus
on jesus how do we keep our eyes on him
how do we spend time with him well we
can learn from his own example
in his own relationship with his
heavenly father
he demonstrated first of all that that
he
was well acquainted with the scriptures
in the gospel accounts jesus quoted from
15
different old testament books on 78
separate occasions we also know that
jesus had a consistent and daily prayer
life
we're told again and again that he went
out to pray
as was his custom
and so from jesus in his relationship
with his heavenly father
we discovered that the two primary ways
that we focus on jesus
is by reading about him in his word
and by seeking him in prayer
now we can do that individually by
ourselves
but the church provides us a great
context for
focusing our attention on jesus
this church in particular we always
publish a daily
bible reading plan so far this year
we've already read through
the book of genesis and through a major
portion of the book of psalms
as you heard earlier from mindy starting
this week we're going to
journey through the new testament letter
of james and i encourage you to go to
our church website
and you can download the 12-week reading
plan there
you can sign up for weekly emails that
will guide you
in this endeavor you can become a part
of one of the facebook
discussion groups and this is going to
be a deep dive an
in-depth look at the letter of james
we're going to look at it over and over
again
a verse at a time and then on sundays as
we come together
we're going to have sermons that are
based on that daily
reading plan it's a way that we're going
to be focusing our attention
on jesus and how to live
also i hope you'll have your own
personal prayer time
but if you want to join with other
christians every monday through thursday
at 8 a.m
we meet online in a zoom meeting room
and you can find that again on our
website
every day anywhere from a half dozen to
a dozen or more people gather
for that daily prayer and i'd love for
many more of you
to join us in that endeavor
you see it's essential
that we seek the lord through prayer
that we
read about jesus and who he was and who
he
is in his holy scriptures and when we do
that when we focus our attention
on jesus in those in other ways
well then we become more and more
like him by spending time with him do
you remember moses
when he spent some time with god on
mount sinai
for 40 days and 40 nights he was on the
mountaintop
receiving the 10 commandments in the
book of law
and when he came off of that mountain
we're told that his
face shone that the glory of god was on
him
as a matter of fact his face shines so
brightly he had to wear a veil
so that other people could even look
upon him
listen to what paul then says
in second corinthians chapter three he
says all of us
have that veil removed so that we can be
mirrors that brightly reflect the glory
of the lord
and as the spirit of the lord works
within us we become
more and more like him and reflect his
glory
even more even as moses
spent time with god and reflected some
of his glory became more like him
well through the spirit of christ we
become
more and more like jesus
i just want to point out from that one
verse that it's again a process we
become more and more
like him there is no christ-like pill to
take
it's a process that takes place over
time as we spend time with him
but also you'll notice that we become
like
mirrors that reflect his glory
have you ever heard of mirror neurons
mirror neurons they are electrical
impulses in the brain
that fire when we're around other people
and it causes us to feel the things that
they're feeling
or to mimic their behavior let me give
you a couple examples of that
if you've ever gone into a movie theater
no connection to
the story or to the characters but after
watching that movie for an hour or maybe
two
something happens to those characters
and you start to cry
yeah i've never done that either well no
i do that frequently
and we all admit yeah when old yeller
died we all cried right
why because mirror neurons were firing
in our brain
that caused us to feel what those
characters are feeling
you ever seen somebody suddenly yawn
and the next thing you know you too are
yawning
or somebody gets a bowl of ice cream
from the freezer
and you haven't thought about ice cream
for days or weeks but now suddenly you
can't wait for
everybody to go to bed so that you can
still keep your diet and yet get some
ice cream
from the freezer isn't that the way it
works it's not breaking the diet if
nobody sees you
why because mirror neurons are firing
and you begin to mimic
that behavior in the same way when we
become
closely associated with christ as we
focus our attention on him
those mirror neurons begin to fire and
we become
more and more like him we radiate
god's glory we also become
more like christ
by refusing to give up listen to what's
said
about jesus in this regard jesus did not
give up because of the cross
on the contrary because of the joy that
was awaiting that was waiting for him
he thought nothing of the disgrace of
dying on the cross
and he's now seated at the right side of
god's throne
think of what he went through how he put
up with so much hatred from sinners
so do not let yourselves become
discouraged
and give up now given a choice would you
rather
have smooth sailing in life or go
through very stormy seas
well the choice is obvious right we all
would prefer smooth sailing
but the truth is that's not the way life
is life brings hardships
life brings difficulties
and jesus the creator
of the heavens and the earth was not
spared those hardships and difficulties
so why would we think that god would
spare us either
and the answer is he won't christians
and non-christians alike go through
difficulties
that make us want to give up
paul states it this way he says if we
are to share in christ's glory we must
also
share his suffering
how was jesus able to experience the
glory of the resurrection
well it was because he first experienced
the suffering
of the cross and if we're going to share
in christ's glory
well we're going to probably have to go
through some trials and tribulations
of our own but no matter what life
throws at us
no matter how life how hard life becomes
we can look to jesus in his example
we can also call upon him
for his help again let me remind you of
what the writer of hebrews says
think about what jesus went through
the torture the mockery
the suffering even death upon a cross
and when we think about that we don't
need to be discouraged and we certainly
don't need to give up
i've said it many times and i will
continue to say it as long as i have
breath
there is only one way to fail
at the christian life there's only one
way and it's to quit
it's to give up and i want to say to
every one of you
god will never give up on you so please
don't give up on him
it all boils down to a real simple
expression that i like to share with
folks
probably many of you have gotten a text
or an email with this little phrase in
it
it's simply keep keeping on
keep the faith keep believing keep
keeping on we become like christ by
refusing as
jesus did to give up and then finally we
become like christ by
gathering with other believers you know
this familiar verse since we are
surrounded by such a great crowd of
witnesses
to the life of faith
we're surrounded by a great huge crowd
of witnesses
the christian life here is being talked
about as a race
a race isn't a race if only one person
is involved right
that might be a workout but it's not
a race and since the christian life is
to be run
as a race it's to be run surrounded by
other people it's why jesus chose 12
men to invest his time and his energy in
to teach them the ways of the lord and
from that those men
gain support and strength
and stamina as well i love the african
proverb that says
if you want to go fast go alone but if
you want to go
far go together
what have we said the christian life is
not a sprint
if you want to go fast go alone but
since it's a marathon
since we want to go far in the christian
life
we need to go together
surrounded with like-minded believers
that's why the writer of hebrews says
this earlier
let us think of ways to motivate one
another to acts of love and good works
let us not neglect our meeting together
as some people do
but let us encourage one another
he says think of ways to encourage each
other
to motivate each other to inspire each
other and you do that by not
neglecting to meet
together it is absolutely essential
that we run the race of the christian
life not as
isolated individuals but collectively as
a team
in concert with other believers
you know the founder of our denomination
john wesley
talked about this subject that we're
talking about today more than any other
talking about becoming holy or becoming
like christ
in fact he said it was the very reason
god raised up the people called
methodists
to preach this message of holiness and
becoming christ-like
and it was for that reason it was so
important to him that he
organized those first methodists into
groups
making sure that they were in things
called classes and bands
and societies he he knew that christians
could never run the race alone
that they needed support they also
needed encouragement
they also needed accountability
we need one another to inspire us to
spur us on
to encourage us
you need me i need you
we need one another if we are going to
become
like christ and that's why this current
pandemic
has proved so detrimental
to many people's spiritual well-being
it's isolated us it has caused us to
distance ourselves
from other believers in the body of
christ and it's why i'm excited about
the news that a week from today on
september
6th we're going to have a regathering
of our church we're going to
start once again in person
ministries including in-person worship
now i understand that some of you still
need to stay home and
and isolate yourselves that you need to
protect
your well-being but for most of us
we don't need to neglect meeting
together by following the health experts
protocols and guidelines
we can gather with other believers
and we're going to do that and i hope to
see many of you
uh next sunday morning september 6th
right here in this room
either at 8 30 or 10 o'clock and as
terry said
notice that time difference from what
you maybe have become accustomed to
at the same time as we gather here
i i believe we will inspire one another
we'll motivate each other
we'll encourage each other even if we're
still social distance even if we're
still wearing masks
but for those of you that are a part of
a vulnerable or at-risk category
to the covet 19 virus but you can still
join us online and i believe that it's
going to be a great experience for
people in person and in their homes
because those that are you still
watching at home you're going to feel
more connected to believers you're going
to see other people here
your brothers and sisters in christ
meeting together
and you're going to feel like you're
meeting with us and we're going to live
stream
that 10 o'clock service so you'll see
exactly what's going on in this room
and as soon as we get our tech team up
and running and familiar with all of our
new equipment and technology
it is our hope and our desire to live
stream both
of those services but it doesn't stop
there it's not just sunday mornings
but we're also going to resume in-person
gatherings
like awanas and children's church and
youth group and adult discipleship
activities i'm especially excited
that we're going to resume our wednesday
night study bible study with the pastors
we haven't had that since october 3rd
2018 23 months ago
was the last time we had a wednesday
night study and we're going to now be
able to resume that and it's going to
tie into our study of the book of james
we're going to continue to do what the
writer of hebrews says we're going to
think of ways that we can motivate each
other that we can spur each other on
that we can encourage each other
by not neglecting to meet together
whether that's in person or whether
that's online
whether that's face to face or in a
virtual electronic
fashion and so i'm just excited
how god is going to use this do you see
that god has given us a really tall
order
we are to be holy as he is holy we are
to become
like his son jesus christ but
fortunately we're not left
to our own devices he has given us this
incredible blessing
called the church and so it's essential
that by belonging to this community of
faith
by believing in jesus
we are then becoming all that god
intends us to be
becoming like christ himself
let's pray i just want to ask you as we
go to the lord in prayer
to consider where you are in this
process that i've described and the
writer of hebrews describes this
this process of becoming like christ
in particular is there some way that you
need to simplify your life maybe
eliminate some activity that's getting
you off course or some
sin that's hindering you
do you need to be focusing on jesus in
an intentional way through bible study
or through
prayer do you maybe feel like giving up
right now
well just look to jesus and his example
and know that
he's never going to leave you or forsake
you he's going to help you in your time
of need
and how about this gathering of other
believers will you commit to worshiping
with us
every sunday either in person or online
and
becoming a part of a small group either
face to face or
in a virtual fashion dear god our father
we are honored we're flattered by the
fact
that that you say that we can be holy
even as you are holy
that we can become like jesus christ
and god that's our desire but we know we
can't do it ourselves
but we need your divine help and we know
that a lot of your help
comes to us through this body
called the church and so god i pray for
myself i pray for every person
listening to and watching this service
today
i pray for the greater lynn haven united
methodist church
that day by day moment by moment
we would become more and more like jesus
both individually and collectively
and in particular god as we relaunch our
church ministries in an in-person
fashion
as we regather the family of god
i pray that you would grant us
protection that you would defend us from
this virus
but also lord i pray that you would work
in us in a
supernatural magnificent fashion
god help us to become those mirrors that
radiate
the very glory of christ
and so god continue to pour out your
holy spirit upon this your church
help us to become
like christ in every way and we ask this
in jesus name
amen just as a final word i want to
remind you to sign up for that
reading plan and over the course of the
summer we have learned the essentials in
life
and now james is going to teach us
how to live to god be the glory
amen
praise god from whom all blessings flow
praise him all creatures
hear below
praise him above ye heavenly
host praise father
son and holy ghost
hey we're so glad you joined us for
service today my name is miriam mcquaig
i'm your children's minister
and grab those kids and stick around
because the children's ministry message
starts
in three two one
hey everyone and welcome to lynnhaven
methodist children's message
it's been an incredible month around
here so far we've been discovering how
creative god is
and seeing how he made us creative too
creativity is imagining what you could
do
because you're made in god's image i
mean it's pretty great to know that
we're made in god's image you know why
because well god is great
all right so who remembers our memory
verse from this month it's been a while
all right well i'll read it for you
psalm 145 3
lord you are great you are really worthy
of praise
no one can completely understand how
great
you are it's true it's impossible for us
to understand
how truly great god is you might say
he's
indescribable one way we can clearly see
god's greatness is in his creation
he's made some pretty amazing things say
take
salt for an example okay so you probably
don't think oh
well but the you know this simple thing
why would i worry about it okay but it's
an ingredient you sprinkle on your eggs
whatever your popcorn
but salt plays a huge role in our
natural
world have you ever seen salt flats
they might look like sand but it's
actually salt
salt flats are created when lakes in the
desert dry up
or how about the dead sea the extreme
salt has caused some really amazing salt
formations in this area of the world
which is actually near where jesus lived
when he was here on earth
and not only that but there is so much
salt
in this particular sea that it's
impossible
for people to sink in the water that's
crazy right
i think so i mean of course other than
those really cool things that salt can
do
let's be honest it's it also really just
tastes good
um there might not be anything better
than a
soft pretzel you know with some salt
loaded on it just perfectly you can let
that salt off the paper i like to do
that
so i figured today we would play one of
my favorite games it's a relay and it's
called
salted pretzel relay yes and
i mean have you ever played it before uh
no
no all right well tell me about it well
we're about to walk over here and we've
got some pretzels here okay
and we are going to have to soak them
and so we have
water to sprinkle on them and then salt
to sprinkle on top of that to make it
all happen
and so we're going to have 30 seconds to
get our pretzels perfectly salted
for a delicious snack
challenge because i'm really good at
this oh you're stretching
well then i pulled a hammy the other day
all right here we go
where are we got our 30 second timer
mr bobby are you ready i'm ready
set gotta run
it
yes
i don't know what do you guys think
who's got the better pretzels
i'm out of breath i can't even decide i
definitely think it's mine
but i don't know i think i got salt on
all of them though well but the ones i
did do
they're better than those but
whatever you decide who's the winner
all right that was fun that was fun
pretzels with the boobs i know i always
see those kids doing those challenges
and
it's fun to do those it was all right so
last week we talked about how jesus was
teaching and performing miracles
people were starting to hear about jesus
and all about the amazing things he was
doing
so everywhere he went large crowds would
follow
one particular day the crowds began to
gather to see what jesus
might have to say now jesus went up a
mountainside above the crowds and
sat and his disciples joined him
jesus began to teach his disciples in
the crowd that was gathering
listen to what jesus had to say that day
it's in matthew 5 13 you
are the salt of the earth but suppose
the salt loses
its saltiness how can it be made salty
again it is no longer good for anything
it will be thrown out
people will walk all over it okay let's
rewind rewind rewind okay
jesus told the people you are the salt
of the earth
what what does that mean well i it's
kind of weird but
back then salt was really valuable
it wasn't easy to get in fact sometimes
roman
soldiers were even paid in salt can you
imagine
it was also used to preserve meat so the
meat wouldn't go bad
salt was even required to make purple
dye
which is why purple clothing was
expensive
and why it is often worn by kings
and queens all right so yes saul was
valuable
but why did jesus say we have to
be like salt point
well for one thing that means we're
valuable
each of us is made in god's image but
also
as followers of jesus we're supposed to
preserve things
and keep them fresh and good we're
supposed to act in a way that makes the
world
better we're supposed to show god's love
and goodness to others with our actions
okay
yeah i see that you know we're supposed
to show god's loving goodness to others
with our actions we don't want to lose
our saltiness i get it i get it but
jesus didn't stop there he told the
crowd
in matthew 5 14-15
you are the light of the world
a town built on a hill cannot be hidden
also people do not light a lamp and put
it under a bowl
instead they put it on a stand it gives
light to everyone in the house
hmm okay let me see if i can figure this
one out on my own okay
jesus said you are the light of the
world
what do lights do they shine in the
darkness
right i mean if you're scared of the
dark just turn on a light
you can't see what to do turn on the
light i mean
when we do things for people around us
it's like we're shining the light of
god's love you wouldn't turn on light
and then cover it up and what's the
point of that
so with the bowl yeah i get that part of
course not um
all right so you let it shine you let it
shine for the whole house to see
so jesus was saying that we shouldn't
hide
our light either we should keep shining
for
him and showing him you know his love
everywhere to everyone exactly all right
exactly now listen to the next thing
jesus
was said about light in 5
matthew 5 16 in the same way
let your light shine so others can see
it
then they will see the good things you
do
and they will bring glory to your father
who is in heaven
so what happens when we let our light
shine mary okay okay well other people
will be able to see those good things we
do
and they'll know that we act that way
because we believe
and follow god they'll start to
understand the reason we act the way we
do is because
of him that's right when we use our
creativity to help others it's
really cool way that we can share god's
story
we can share what god is doing
um in us on the inside by the way we
treat people
on the outside i love this i mean
god created everything there was
darkness
and and then god created light just like
the stars point to our creator
your life can point others to god's
story
too you can show what a difference god
has made in your life by the way you
act each day you can act in a way
that shines his light by sharing his
love with others and if they wonder
where that kindness and goodness came
from you tell
them everything good and creative in you
comes
from god that's right well
that takes us to the bottom line for
today
god created you to share
his story you know let's talk to god
and ask him to help us do that sounds
good bow your heads
put your hands together dear god thank
you for creating everything we can see
thank you for creating me and everyone
in this room
i know you created us to know you and
you want the same thing
for everyone in our lives everyone will
ever meet
we want all of us to understand how much
you love us
help us use our creativity shine our
light for you
as we share your story help us to tell
others
about you with our words and with our
actions
we love you and we ask these things in
jesus name
amen god made you
in his image he made you good at
something
and whatever that gift or talent is you
need to use it well
give it everything you got and that's a
great way to show honor and glory to god
think about it what does it look like
for you i mean to be the salt right
remember we show god's love
with our actions not just words and
there's
no limit to the ways that we can share
his love with others
you can use the creativity that god gave
you to love others
and give them a glimpse of how good he
is that's right maybe you can invite a
friend to church
or be a part of our
awana club that is starting up soon i'm
so excited
you can share a bag of pretzels tell
them what we talked about in today's
story
maybe you could even ask someone how you
can pray for them there are
limitless ways to share god's story and
shine his light
and speaking of a wanna club
when is it starting okay so the first
group gets to start on september 9th
but we need to tell them like this is
serious business
you've got to register ahead of time
online because like we're breaking into
the two groups and so if you show up
that first night that might not be your
group and so we can't register people
that night we've got to do it
online so please that's right you know
but i wanna club
it's it's gonna be fun we're gonna have
helpful time we're gonna have some
themes
i mean it's going to be the same moana
club
that's even better and i remember you
know us being able to shine our light
and doing all these cool things at one
o'clock
so we need we also are gonna have a
little
good safety and if you don't feel
comfortable coming in person
we have an adoption you can stay at home
and you can join us later
yeah and we'll do some check-ins and
meet up with you at that time too and
just to kind of see how you're doing
maybe every couple of weeks we'll get to
hang out with you wanna
all right all right anyway so get out
there
and be the assault in the lives
i think that's what my shirt says look
at me the salt and the light
have a good day
a six-legged chicken it's chicken for
everyone
sheep that can shear themselves
a pair of glasses that'll let you see
behind you oh yeah
beef jerky made out of chicken
novels
oh this is the best idea yet ah where do
they come from
so strange
clothes that are made from other clothes
that's a jack scented deodorant
welcome to the so-and-so show i'm
brianna i'm john and we're we're an
awesome
mustache yes we are why because we're
chefs
and every self-respecting chef has a
mustache gordon ramsay doesn't have a
mustache
okay that's one bobby flay emeril
martha stewart some par chefs they're
like the most famous
chefs in the world below par okay who
are the
the above par chefs then with mustaches
chef louis chef the guy from the little
mermaid count
okay what about uh chef remy from
ratatouille oh no no no those are
whiskers plus he's a rat
and a cartoon doesn't count aha what
about the greatest
chef in history chef boyardee he was a
genius
okay you got me there we're dressed like
this because we are making an
old family recipe today snickerdoodle
soup surprise not your family's recipe
an old family recipe from someone who
knows stuff
bonjour
come on in have a seat oh this is cool
tell us who you are and what you know
i'm a madeleine lemmond but i am called
maddie and i know quite a bit
i know every winner of the tour de
france for the last two decades i know
how to put together a bugatti
racing engine but i am also known
for what i can cook great you're a cook
no no no no i am a chef
and by the way i do not have a mustache
it suits you merci so uh what are you
gonna
cook for us today
oh me too button no
we are making a 250 year old
recipe passed down in my family for
generations
oh sounds mysterious what's the recipe
for
punch fries
you know i heard that uh french fries
actually originated from the country of
belgium
oh so they're really belgian fries yeah
no they are french fries
yeah but if you look on the internet a
french fries
okay some people
like to peel the potatoes my family's
the pee
leaves the skin on now we cut them
all right where do we
voila start
you battle the fries
oh this batter is what makes these
french fries so
special and so delicious this
battle is made with flour ground from
the wheat kennels from the finest wheat
fields in france
and then we add a precise amount of a
wet grape juice
squeezed by and directly into the bowl
and then of course this
battle contains the perfect blend
of our secret family herbs and spices
put the duck fat in the pot
all right this is duck fat yes of course
what else would you cook in
yeah sorry
so uh chef maddie uh is there is there
like a recipe or something
and a cookbook or on the internet that
in case anyone wants to try this the
internet a cute book
no no no no no no this is a secret
family recipe
i was taught this recipe by my father
who learned it from his
mother who learned it from her great
aunt who learned it from her great
grandfather chef
jean-baptiste did he have a mustache we
do
not tell people the secret of the recipe
because then
then everyone would know it well i just
thought that
if the recipe is so delicious that you
would want other people to know it so
they could
you know share in the deliciousness huh
this is something i have not thought
about
it had always just been a recipe passed
down in my family
well i can't wait to pass it down my
throat and to my belly so are we going
to cook these belgian fries or
what yes of course you must bake them
bit by bit at 375 degrees until they are
golden brown
wait wait wait wait you're sticking
around to watch us cook them right
oh i'm afraid not no i
i do not think i can keep this recipe to
myself any longer
everyone should know no no
i mean yes i mean what be on the lookout
for
chef maddie's cookbook where all my
secrets will be
revealed magnafig
bye she doesn't even say bye
well she's gonna hurt you do you want to
put these in the oven
oh you speak french now no no no no i uh
i have to tinkle wee-wee
oh i don't tinkle and
put on some skin ow
it's bible story time with kellen
hey guys what's that delicious smell
oh we're cooking up some french fries
kellen yeah they should be ready by the
time the story's over
well let's get to it the story today
comes from
jesus most famous sermon in the bible
and since jesus preached the sermon from
the side of a mountain
today we call it the sermon on the mount
the sermon from the mouths i thought all
sermons were from the mouth
no the sermon on the mount it's short
for mountain
a short mountain it's called the hills
okay
so everyone this is my friend horvath um
i'm guessing he's here to help me tell
today's story
thank you for having me on your shows
calends i am horvath and i am an expert
in combining
the mental trainings of learning the
bible with the physical trainings of
making a moscow's biggest
perfect so i'll tell the story in
horvath you give us some
exercises to help us remember it all
right let's do this
okay so jesus was talking to a crowd of
people from the side of a mountain
one of the things he said to his
followers was this you
are the salt of the earth ah first
exercise
okay we are going to make salt for the
earth
all right so i put my hands on my hips
like this and then rotate around
click click click click this has got the
soft
grinder we do it 24 times
ready go one click click click
14 click click click elastic girl click
click click three goal punch click click
click 24
hey we make salt of the earth
okay that was fun but what do you think
jesus was talking about when he said
you are the salt of the earth
yeah so when jesus said you were the
salt of the earth
i'm pretty sure he wasn't saying we
actually taste like salt
but salt is used to make food taste
better and
salt is used to keep certain foods fresh
so maybe if we're the salt of the earth
jesus was saying that we have the
opportunity to make the world better
somehow
you see
okay jesus kept going
he said you are the light of the world
ah
second exercise we are not salt anymore
we are lights so let us pretend to be
lighthouses
stand straight and rotate your head like
a light all the way around
i call this turn the light on we do it
137 times go
26.
grape nuts
willie shoemaker
137 oh
what's next kellens right so first jesus
called people who followed him
salt and then he said we were light what
do you think that means
oh no don't don't don't don't do that
again no no here
uh maybe this will help jesus said you
are the light of the world
people don't light a lamp and put it
under a bowl right
right right instead they put it on its
stand
then it gives light to everyone in the
house in the same way
let your light shine so others can see
it then
they'll see the good things you do and
they'll bring glory to your father who
is in heaven
i think i understand you do now ah
that's okay it can be confusing
sometimes jesus was saying that if you
are someone who trusts and follows him
you should live in such a way that
brings light into what can sometimes be
a dark world you should be looking for
creative ways to do
things in creative ways to love others
and when we do that
it will point others to god all right
let's do this seventh exercise i call
this one ladders to heaven
so we can point people to gods okay so
we raise our hands and legs is
at the same time just like we are
climbing the ladders to heaven
and then when we reach the top we point
like this
huh okay we climb 45 of the ladder runs
go what one one one one
six forty five no point to god because
he is the most important
i think i need to take the elevator good
idea
bye horvath going down
uh
well just in case that wasn't clear it
boils down to this
you have the light inside of you and
it's up to you
to decide how to use it you can keep it
to yourself
or you can let it shine back to you guys
thanks kellen hey what are some ways we
can shine our lights
oh there are so many different ways
because everyone is so different
sometimes it's as simple as being nice
to someone anyone can do that
but sometimes you need to use your own
unique talents and abilities
to point people to god what's important
is that you don't keep it to yourself
i mean do you ever think about how you'd
feel if someone didn't point you to god
i'd feel so left out yeah jesus has been
such a big part of my life i want
everyone to know him
exactly you're the best kellen thanks
for shining your light
you bet i'll see you guys next time bye
let's do it all right reveal the
question
who first told you about god's story
what a great
question because those were people
who've shown their light to us
for me it was a a guy named brett in my
senior class
at high school oh cool for me it was my
my grandmother oh uncle
for me it was my mom when she took me to
sunday school for the first time
awesome are the fries ready yet
all right
we gotta tell people about this i think
you're right i think we should no
now we need to tell people right now hey
everybody you're gonna try this
okay we'll see you guys next week for
another so and so show laundry it's all
gone
try it right now right now done
lunch
all of them
um
what's up everyone this is miss mary
from lynnhaven methodist i'm here today
along with
some of my very best friends to tell you
the most
exciting news are you ready
here it is things are getting back
to normal wait
mary hold on did you actually say normal
yes normal like starting moana is like
normal right i mean it falls in that
category if you ask me i mean
um arowana club year is gonna kick off
for
group a it's september 9th
and it's gonna be the best day ever i'm
just excited
i mean i suppose we can debate what's
normal means
another time but for now let's have our
wonderful friends
tell us a little bit about awana club
for the people watching who may have no
idea
what we're talking about let's do that
at awana club we teach kids about the
bible
we build friendships through small
groups
and games and we encourage them to
boldly walk with christ
for life as a leader it is so fun
getting to know the kids and pray with
them
and play with them
awana a-w-a-n-a
stands for approved workers are not
ashamed
it's from 2 timothy 2 15 where the
apostle paul explained to timothy
do your best to present yourself to god
as one approved
a worker who does not need to be ashamed
and who correctly handles
the word of truth and haven umc's awana
club is for kids three years old through
fifth grade
the children are divided into age level
groups and are led by caring adult
leaders
i know because all three of my kids love
their leaders
awana meetings are wednesday evenings
from 6 to 7 30 from september until may
5th when we have our awards celebration
by participating in awana children learn
life lessons
that feed their soul they play
fun games we have silly theme nights and
lessons that focus on emission-minded
activities
that teach them to joyfully serve god
and others in our community
and other places not to mention we build
lots of relationships
with friends in our small groups i've
been a leader for over seven years
and love watching the kids grow and in
their
relationship with christ and just grow
you know seeing them from five-year-olds
to
the time that they get out graduate high
school
that's awesome wow you guys did a great
job
um mclean marijuana club they sure did i
mean i told you things are getting back
to normal i mean we've been doing a
wanna club for longer than i can
remember
i know you might be right mary it would
be very abnormal for us
not to have a wanna club but we should
probably
mention that there's gonna be some
changes this year you know the major
changes
is that you will have the option of
going to the wanna club in person every
other week
or we also have a home option where
we'll do some check-ins
yeah that's right we're gonna divide the
group in half so that
you know we can alternate nights that
way it's going to help us keep our
groups smaller
for safety at this time um there
is just a small fee of 30 this year that
helps us cover all the costs for all the
handbook and the t-shirts and the bags
and all the cool stuff that an awards
they're going to get along the way
um details just go to our website
mylhumc.netbackforwardslash
kids yeah or you can email um
any of us me mary mylhumc.net or
whatever
we'd love to work with you help you find
the best fit for your kids
well i don't know do you think i think
we covered everything
i love this career i mean i sure can't
wait until alana starts
i can't wait for september when our
wannaclog club
finally kicks off yay
all right well we hope to see all of you
guys then i know these leaders will be
there
me and miss bobby will be there a lot of
other leaders and
some of your friends i can't wait to see
them all
gonna be a great awana year absolutely
you
