Mary’s Corner

Greetings to all of you! I thank God every time I think of you and of our wonderful church. I am grateful for your prayers and encouragement as my family works through some of life’s challenges. Thank you for respecting our privacy and for understanding the time required for me to be away from church. I do watch the services, whether live-streamed or recorded, and I love to hear you singing and worshiping. I am very much enjoying the new sound and video system—it is good to see all of you on the big screen, looking engaged and blessed by God. I am very glad to be back with you this Sunday.

We have a busy fall schedule! Choir practice begins very soon. The first rehearsal will be on September 21, 2025, at 9:45 a.m. Thanks to the new sound system, I have clearly heard some of your voices, and I know there are many of you who should be singing in the choir with us.

Our upcoming concerts include:

  • September 20 at 6 p.m. – MSB Gospel Choir from Denton. Tickets are still on sale in the church office and on the church website.
  • October 25 at 6 p.m. – All Peoples Church Choir performing Lazarus. This concert is free, and all proceeds will go to Eastside Community Assistance.
  • November 23 – Thanksgiving meal (more details coming soon).
  • December 5 at 6 p.m. – Western Hills Ensemble Choir, led by Blake Glass. All proceeds will support the Western Hills Choir’s 2026 competition expenses.

Meals will be served after every concert. We will announce what kind of food contributions are needed in advance.

My love to all,

Mary

Kids’ News – Baby in a Basket

“Why are you being so quiet, Mom?” the little girl whispered. The room was dark, and she could hear the faint sound of a baby’s cry.

“Shh,” her mother said softly. “If Pharaoh’s soldiers hear him, they’ll take him away.”

Long ago, God’s people—the Israelites—were living in Egypt. At first, things were good, but after a new Pharaoh came to power, everything changed (Exodus 1:8). He was afraid that the Israelites were becoming too strong, so he made them slaves. And then he gave a terrible order: every Hebrew baby boy must be thrown into the Nile River (Exodus 1:22).

But one mother refused to give up on her child. She hid him for three months, but babies don’t stay quiet forever. So she made a basket, sealed it so it would float, and placed her baby gently in the river, trusting God to protect him (Exodus 2:3).

And here’s where the story takes a surprising turn: Pharaoh’s own daughter found the basket! Instead of obeying her father’s command, she felt compassion. She chose life. She adopted the baby as her own, and that child grew up to be Moses—the one God would use to lead His people out of slavery (Exodus 2:5–10).

This story reminds us that God has a plan, even in the hardest and scariest times. It also shows us that sometimes the most unlikely people—like Pharaoh’s daughter—can be part of God’s rescue mission.

What we learned:

  • God’s plans are never stopped, even by the hardest situations.
  • Acts of courage—like Moses’ mother and sister—can change everything.
  • Compassion can break through fear, just as Pharaoh’s daughter showed.
  • God watches over us, even when life feels uncertain.

Friday’s Word

NDEs seem to verify much of what Jesus taught us: life after death, the forgiveness of sins, and the nature of God as love.

They also point to Jesus as the divine Savior of the world.

But some people who experience NDEs leave the church and Christianity.

Why is that?

If a person shares his NDE with a conservative pastor, the pastor will likely reject the NDE and may even suggest a demonic origin.

That person who had the near-death experience is stuck. He knows his experience was real, so he chooses it over the church.

And here’s another problem: The information from the NDE does not match what his conservative church has taught him.

He discovered in his NDE that there is no “wrath” in God, no anger, only love.

There is judgment.

But the judgment comes from us, against our own sins. God has only love for us, and all our sins are forgiven.

Just as Jesus taught us.

In other words, NDEs fully support the teachings of Jesus.

But they do not support the angry, punitive God of conservative Christianity.

That angry God does not exist.

And if that is the only God a person has heard of from the church, that person may well give up the church after an NDE.

But some churches preach the loving God we meet in our deepest experiences.

St. Matthew is one of them. We proclaim the unconditional love of God.

And I am encouraging you—yes, YOU, in this hard time—to support such a church. Come. Sunday.

At 11:00 a.m.

saintmatthewumc.com
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