Today, we were still discussing the twins Jacob and Esau. We talked about how different they were.

Esau had been hunting and came into the house to demand Jacob give him something to eat immediately. Jacob agreed to feed his brother, but wanted something in return; so after he thought a while, Jacob promised Esau soup right away if he would just give him his birthright.

Esau agreed to this on the spur of the moment without thinking through what he was really giving away for some food. When he later realized what he had given away for something he wanted immediately, he got very angry and threatened to kill Jacob.

Jacob now had his brother’s birthright, but to receive the inheritance he must also receive the full blessing from their father, Isaac. Isaac was now an old man and had lost his eyesight The only way he knew he was speaking to Esau was by smell and touch. Rebekah got some of Esau’s stinky clothes and put a hairy animal skin on his arm, so his father would think it was Esau. Though Isaac still questioned the identity of Esau, Jacob said that he was Esau and Isaac bestowed his blessing on Jacob.

When Esau discovered that he had been robbed of his father’s blessing, he wanted to kill Jacob. Rebecca sent Jacob away and Isaac finally gave Esau a blessing.

Everyone in this story must have been completely overwhelmed. When there is chaos all around us, we sometimes lose our ability to see clearly.

See you in church Sunday to continue our story. Blessings,

It’s Not Just for Us

Sermon this Sunday: “What Jesus Said about the Gay Issue.” We may not need this sermon, but a lot of people do.

Last time I spoke on a controversial subject (“Jesus Invented Woke”), 400 people joined us on-line for the service. They did not all stay for the full service, but many of them did.

We have the capacity to teach people the Gospel truth who are beyond the walls of this church.

One reason so many Methodist churches left the denomination is because too many preachers failed to proclaim the simple and honest truth about the gay issue: God does not care about sexual orientation. Bigotry needs to end.

Request: until we can get the new close-up lens for our second camera (our best camera), please make sure those front pews have people in them.

At the moment, we must show the eight or ten front pews from time to time. We can have good attendance and the church look empty if no one is sitting forward.

Your help is appreciated.

Big Things Coming

Bake Sale and Silent Auction—Saturday, Nov. 18—10:00 to 2:00.

The next day–Thanksgiving Dinner after worship–Sunday, Nov. 19.

“The Christmas Show”—plus dinner—plus Santa—on Saturday, Dec. 16—6:00 p.m.

Christmas Eve Candlelight Service—on Christmas Eve at 6:00 p.m.

See you Sunday!!
God bless—

Note: We received the heartbreaking news today that Darrell, son of Peggy Becker, has died. (Both were in our choir a few months ago.) We will let you know more when we know more.

Greetings to everyone in the name of Jesus the Christ,

I am grateful for the wonderful crowd we had this past Sunday and for your engagement in the topic of leading the UMC into the future. As a reminder, Bishop Saenz has a vision for the congregations from north Texas that includes these 5 Strategic Priorities:

1. Multiplying Followers of Jesus

2. Championing Children and Youth

3. Maximizing Care and Healing

4. Pursue and Embrace Diversity AND Inclusion

5. Telling Our Story

Our straw poll indicates that our interest lies in championing children and youth, maximizing care and healing, and pursuing and embracing diversity and inclusion. I believe that #1 will happen naturally if we are focused on #2, 3 and 4. I also believe that telling the story of the UMC can be interwoven in some of the activities of #2, 3 and 4.

Our next step is to meet with the church staff and volunteer leadership to create a plan for each of these 3 priorities and set an annual calendar with activities that support each priority. If the Holy Spirit compels you toward any of these activities, please send me an email, [email protected].

Even if you are not able to come to the church, there will be things that can be done remotely to support these priorities. I look forward to working side by side with you as we move forward in our journey to being great ancestors of our faith tradition. Blessings, Mary

We have been talking for some time about the twins, Esau and Jacob. In last week’s lesson, Rebecca helped her son Jacob fool her husband into bestowing Esau’s birthright onto Jacob. When Esau discovers he has been robbed of his birthright, he wants to kill Jacob. Esau is very upset, angry, and confused. Rebecca sends Jacob away and Isaac finally does give Esau a blessing; however, the blessing is more like a banishment. Isaac says Esau will move far away and will serve his brother. Everyone in this story must have felt overwhelmed. It is easy to get overwhelmed when life gets hard.

When there is chaos all around us, we sometimes lose our ability to think clearly; and we don’t always respond in helpful ways. This story shows us what to not do. But this story allows us to act differently. We can proceed by asking God to be with us and strengthen our faith, to be able to be healthy and whole. See you in church on Sunday. Blessings.

Topic a Week from Sunday

You don’t need the sermon I will be preaching Sunday after this, but many beyond our church do. Ignorance is rampant. Ugliness is growing. We need to make it clear that Jesus was aware that people are different, and differences must be accommodated.

We need to continue to say that “gay” and “straight” are not categories God cares about.

They are differences that make no difference to God.

Although we don’t need to be convinced, I think all of us will be interested in some remarkable scripture in Matthew.

Following that sermon, I will begin the series I talked about Sunday.

Communion Sunday

Mary up to Bat.

Mary has been in Puerto Rico because of her serious addiction—to golf! She has been helping a friend run a tournament.

(I agree with Mark Twain: “Golf is one way to ruin a good walk.”)

But Mary is back to preach for us Sunday as we begin the eventful month of November.

We will gather at the Lord’s table.

All Saints Sunday

You will have a chance to turn in the name of someone you loved and lost this year. We will read out the names in the service, along with those in our church who have passed since November a year ago.

All Saints Sunday.

Julian Rodriquez will sing his first solo for us.

Kristi is out, so Blake will play the whole service for us.

I hope you are looking forward to the grace of Thanksgiving, Advent, and Christmas in our church.

God bless—MB

(Hey!—remember breakfast every week at 10:30. And don’t eat all the donuts before I get there!)