WEek ending july 19, 2020sunday service onlineGaddis UMC presents the 7-05-2020 Sunday Service at this link:
vimeo.com/435350073 Children's servicedaily devotional God Is Like a Tiger
Isaiah 9:6; Exodus 6:30; Jeremiah 32:17, 27; Revelation 5:6; John 4:24 A priest friend of mine went to the missions in Africa. It took him three years to learn Swahili. He was working in a small village when he could finally communicate to his community. They understood him, but one of the men came up to him afterwards and said, "Father, we thank you for all the sacrifices you’ve made to preach to us in Swahili, but you don’t understand God the way we do. You speak of God as out there in the universe, but for us God is like a tiger and we are the prey. Not only does He hunt us down, but we are already captured by him and baptism puts the seal on this capture. We are held by Him and He owns us, so there is not any great difficulty in reaching him. He is the one who seizes us." The priest learned more from that man, the native, than he probably learned in the seminary. It is just a way of looking at God which is more meaningful in some ways than some kind of a vague, distant God in whom you have faith. We are owned by God. Once you have the faith to know that the Lord will sustain you and keep you and hold you and protect you, you do not have to worry. Faith then becomes the support of your life. In our Confirmation Class we talked about how you describe God. We did not say that God was like a tiger, we used words like Love, Creator, Spirit, The Holy One, The I Am, Yahweh, the Alpha and Omega, Beginning and End, Potter, God Almighty, All Powerful, Infinite, All Knowing, Ever Present, Unchangeable, Jehovah, The Everlasting Father, The author of Salvation, King of kings, Lord of Lambs, The Bright Morning Star, The Word, Redeemer, Healer, and The Prince of Peace. What words would you use to describe God? Perhaps it depends on what you are dealing with in your life at the moment. All the above are correct, you can find references to these names in the Bible. But they are certainly not a complete list of how we experience and callout to God. John Wesley would say the tiger story is using examples of Prevenient Grace and Justifying Grace. Prevenient Grace God wooing us, loving us, before we know about God. And Justifying Grace when we say yes to a relationship with God or being caught by God. Once we are caught we are to grow in our relationship with God, which we good Methodists call Sanctifying Grace. Growing to be more Christ like as we live our faith journey. However you describe God, know that God loves you and seeks to be in relationship with you. There is nothing you can ever do that will stop God from loving you. God calls us to repent and accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. When we do, we enter a relationship of love and hope. We are Children of God, forgiven and cherished. Let God catch us so that we begin our journey trusting God with all that we are. Amen. God bless, Pastor Barbara 
Artwork by SM Bittler.
|
welcomeGaddis Church is a United Methodist Congregation.
Please explore our website to learn more about us! 141 Hwy 87 | P.O. Box 566
Comfort, Texas 78013 830.995.3813 gaddischurch@gmail.com Sunday Service: 10:00 am Worship Service With Sunday school at 8:30 am Office Hours: Monday - Thursday | 8:00 am - 4:00 pm Friday | 8:00 am - Noon www.gaddischurch.org OFFERINGSGaddis Methodist Church is now taking offerings through the following link:
https://tithe.ly/give?c=1471116 Clicking on the link will take you to a secure web page with a form that you may fill out to make an offering to Gaddis UMC. You do not have to login or join, simply fill in the form blanks and donate. It is secure. It is deposited into the Gaddis account with credit to you, the donor, including the type of donation you wish it to be, such as Tithe, Pledge, Discretionary, Rail, etc. You will receive full credit and statement from the website and Gaddis as long as you fill in the giving form completely. The form is set up to allow donations by Credit Card or Bank Account transfer. It is done from your own computer or phone and is safe in terms of secure connection and done remotely from your own secure sanctuary of the moment. Gaddis UMC thanks you for your cooperation and use of this plan. God Bless and keep watching our videos of Church Service. Stay safe and healthy; Stay the Way. 
|