Good Wednesday to all,

I am back from my many recent travels. This last trip to Lubbock to celebrate the 7th birthday of my great-niece Ady. I am telling you all these details because 7 years ago this church prayed for this baby girl who was born at 20 weeks and overcame tremendous odds to survive. It is your prayers and faithfulness that my family depended on during those 6 months that Ady was in the NICU. Please remember that the prayers of a faithful believer are powerful. This is one of the reasons we pray for each other, because through these prayers we tap into the healing power of the Holy Spirit. I also believe that prayer connects us to each other. The Holy Spirit that dwells with us and never leaves us is ONE spirit, not a bunch of individual spirits. It is the ever present, always loving, presence of God in our lives. The touch of this kind of supernatural love binds us together as children of God. When you bow your head in prayer, or whisper a prayer under your breath, you are never praying alone. Faithful people are praying with you and for you. And even when we are not consciously praying, the Lord is aware and listening to our thoughts. I can remember a time in my life when praying was separate from everything else that I did. When I was young, my family had “prayer circle” at night in our living room. We all sat on the floor, holding hands, taking turns praying. The habit was helpful. Now that I am older, it seems I am constantly in conversation with God. Asking silly questions, “What do you think, Lord” and “Where are you today, Lord”? It is really strange that I rarely bow my head and close my eyes for prayer anymore except when I’m in church, or before a meal. My scheduled prayer time is now that constant conversation with God.

I am grateful for your love and your commitment to Saint Matthew United Methodist Church. I was incredibly pleased to see that this past Sunday there were 69 people in attendance. Our numbers are moving back to pre-COVID levels very quickly. Blessings to all. Mary

Our story this Sunday was very interesting. Jesus had been traveling through Samaria with his disciples. It was around noon and Jesus was hot and tired. He sat down by a well to rest and hoped for a drink of water.

Soon, a Samaritan woman came to the well for water. Usually, no one came to the well at noon because it was the hottest part of the day. She did not want her neighbors to see her, because they were unkind to her. Jesus spoke to the woman. She was surprised because Jews and Samaritans did not speak to one another.

Jesus said to her, “Give me to drink”.

Then the woman said, “How is it that thou, being a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan, for a drink?”

Jesus answered, “If you knew who saith to you “Give me to drink” thou would have asked him, and he would give you living water.”

Jesus talked with this woman for some time and told her all that he knew about her life. Jesus revealed to her that he was the Messiah she had heard about. The woman’s faith was so great that she ran into the city to tell people to come and hear what Jesus had to teach. Many believed because of what the woman said.

The main takeaway of this story is that everyone is accepted by God, no matter who she or he is. With God, it doesn’t matter what you have done, where you are from, or how different you are from others; we can all find our spiritual gifts through Jesus.

See you in church.

Service for Julie

The memorial service for Julie Maxwell will be this Saturday at 1:00 pm, followed by lunch for family and friends. Julie was a beloved member of this church and cherished by her husband, Tracy, and her friends.

We hope you can be present.

NDE Study Off to a Good Start

We had 23 present for the first session at 9:30 am last Sunday. This will require us to move to the larger classroom next door for the remaining three or four sessions.

Each week someone who has had a near-death experience will share their story with the class.

This NDE study will be followed by an extended study of my to-be-published book, Discovering God. This study will also meet at 9:45 am each Sunday.

Breakfast This Sunday

It’s a “Winston Sunday.”

We had all 23 people from the NDE class join breakfast last week.

Food and fellowship at 10:30 am.

This Sunday

This is it: the sermon that will answer the question: Did God Kill Ananias and Sapphira?

See you in worship.

God Bless—MB

I have forgotten the date of our upcoming concert (and it is too late at night to call anyone to find out).

We will remind you on Sunday.

Or Jason or Mary may mention it in this newsletter. It is coming. And it will be great.

Greetings dear church and extended church family,

Blessings to all of you in the name of Jesus from Matthew 25. Blessings upon blessings to you for being who Jesus describes in Matthew 25. Our church is not the picture painted in the comments of Kaitlin Shelter that I read to you on Sunday morning. Our church is an affirming, welcoming, loving congregation that stands with arms wide open to our community. We do many things for our colleagues at Eastside Community Assistance. I do not doubt your engagement or your willingness to be the hands, feet, mouth, and resources of Jesus Christ to the least of these in our neighborhood. And then I stood before you on Sunday morning and asked you to consider doing more. I listed several things that we could do: groceries for folks who cannot buy food; a place to be when the temperatures are dangerously cold and maybe even when they are dangerously hot; a safe space for folks recovering from the trauma of addiction and/or abuse. There is a Title I elementary school just down the street from us. Those kiddos could use a friendly neighbor, I am almost certain. We could make an appointment with the counselor at the school to determine exactly how we can help.

I cannot do this alone, though, and I don’t want to do it without you. School starts in about 30 days. I am tentatively scheduling a meeting for August 4th after church at 12:30. Please plan on bringing a sack lunch with you to church. We will fellowship and discuss some feasible plans.

Blessings to all, Mary

This week, we met Mephibosheth. Do you remember him? He was the son of Jonathan, who was King Saul’s son.

Jonathan and David were best friends when they were young. Jonathan helped David escape when the king wanted to kill him. David and Jonathan made a promise that they would always protect each other’s families.

Many years later, after David is established as King, he sends for a man named Ziba, who had been a servant in King Saul’s household. Ziba asks if there are any survivors from Jonathan’s household. He learns that Jonathan has a son who is disabled. New kings often killed family members of the old king because they were afraid they would try to take the kingdom. Instead, David invites Mephibosheth to eat at his table each night, like a member of his family. David gives Mephibosheth the property that would have been his as Jonathan’s son.

We all need to know that we have a place to belong through God’s love. Because we want to show faithful love back to God, we must be like David and welcome and show love to those God loves.

See you in church on Sunday. Blessings