#numc

“I don’t need to go to worship to experience God.  God is everywhere, so I can experience God anywhere – in the park, on a golf course or resting in my bed on Sunday morning.  It doesn’t matter where I am or who I’m with.  I can experience God anywhere I want and any way I want.”

I’ve heard people say something like that many times.  It sounds so right and so true – and I believe parts of it are right and true.  

It’s true, I believe – God is everywhere.

It’s true, I believe - you can potentially experience God anywhere.  (God is not confined to little boxes called church buildings.)

However, just because something is everywhere doesn’t mean that you can experience it the same way everywhere.

Take the sun, for instance.

I think it’s fair to say that the power of the sun is pretty much everywhere.  (If it weren’t, we’d all be ice cubes!)  However, there are certain things which can intensify that power for us.

Walk outside on a nice day. Put a piece of paper on the ground. Wait.  Nothing happens to the paper.  The power of the sun is there, but it’s not affecting the paper.   Then, hold a magnifying glass up to the sun and point it at the paper.  Hold the magnifying glass there long enough and a spot will appear on the paper. Hold it even longer and the paper may catch on fire.

The magnifying glass didn’t increase the presence of the sun.  The sun was no more or less powerful because of the magnifying glass. What the magnifying glass did was focus that power to the point that it made a noticeable difference.

Worship is like that.

Pastor Blaik, are you saying that you believe worship is an event designed to enable us to experience God in a concentrated way?   Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying – and I believe it was designed that way by God.   My conviction is that worship is the main “lens” used by God in helping people experience the power of the divine presence – not because God’s presence doesn’t exist anywhere else, but because worship intensifies that presence.

Do you want to warm up, spiritually?  Come to worship.  You may just catch fire!

Blessings on All,

Soon many of us will be doing those things that signal the approach of Christmas – shopping, sending cards, buying and decorating trees and hosting friends and family.  With so much to do during this time of year, it's easy to forget what Christmas really means. 

I know – that's a cliché. It's true, though. 

Take a few moments with me in this article and consider what God did to make Christmas a reality for us. 

Christmas is all about God entering the world as a human being and starting were we all start – as a baby. 

Granted, many of us have heard about the baby Jesus being God-in-the-flesh.  How often have we stopped and actually thought about what that meant for God? 

Quite frankly, birth doesn't look like a very pleasant experience.  God went through that.  Why? 

Babies often have runny noses.  Did God have a runny nose?  I believe that Christmas says, “Yes.”  It doesn't seem like a very dignified thing for the Creator of the universe to have. Why would God go through that? 

Babies grow up into children, and children grow up into adults.  The transition can sometimes be awkward.  Can you picture God as a teenager?  Somehow, I have a very hard time picturing God as a sixteen-year-old. Christmas says, “Picture it!”  Why would God go through that? 

Adults go to work. Jesus went to work.  Jesus was a carpenter.  Carpenters hammer nails.  Carpenters often miss.  God-in-the-flesh knew the pain of a hammer.  Why would God go through that? 

(Maybe you're asking yourself right now, “Being fully divine as well as fully human, was it even possible for Jesus to miss a nail when hammering?”  Let me just say: You're thinking way too theologically at this point!) 

Why would God go through any of what it meant to become fully human? 

The answer to that question turns out to be very simple: God wants us to know how much we are loved by God and how much God wants to have a relationship with us. 

We're humans.  We understand things on a human level.  To communicate with us in a way we could comprehend, God became one of us.  In so doing, God experienced things that we might consider below God’s dignity – the shock of birth, the discomfort of a cold and the blow of a hammer, just to name a few.    God is willing to do whatever it takes for us to have a clear picture of what God is like – a picture we find in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. (Yes, God is even willing to go to the length of experiencing death for us!) 

As you wish people a merry Christmas this year, pause and reflect on why any of us should be merry this time of year.  Christmas means that God is reaching out to you – whoever you are, wherever you are, whatever you've done, whatever you haven't done – and is willing to do whatever it takes to bring you close – all through the One whose birth is at the very heart of the Christmas season. 

Merry Christmas!  God is willing to do whatever it takes to forgive you, claim you and change your life in amazing ways – whatever it takes!  Come and celebrate this incredible reality at the Newtown United Methodist Church this Christmas and all year long! 

دید در شب با کیفیت بالا با حداقل نور ( دارای LED دید در شب)

دارای دوربین سونی ژاپن، نسل جدید دو هسته ایی

مقاوم در سخت ترین شرایط جوی (-۳۰°) سفارش روسیه

۸۰۰ تیوی لاین

قابلیت تنظیم صدای رفت و برگشت

دکمه شاسی زنگ کاملا ضد آب

دارای دو اسپیکر ضد آب

قابلیت نصب در تمامی شرایط آب و هوایی مقاوم در برابر رطوبت، گرما و سرما

نوشته پنل آیفون تصویری سوزوکی دو واحدی SZ-nUDC,nUMC اولین بار در چراغستان. پدیدار شد.

New Story has been published on https://enzaime.com/10-15-mile-per-day-walking-routine/

10-15 Mile-Per-Day Walking Routine!!

New Ulm resident John O’Kane readily admits that he can’t keep up with his wife’s 10-15 mile-per-day walking routine. But when his knee began hurting so badly that he couldn’t walk even 2-3 miles a day, he knew it was time to get the total knee replacement that he had been putting off for years.

“I got tired of looking out my living room window and seeing people walking by,” he said. “I wanted to get back out there and take my dog for walks.”

After getting opinions from various friends around town, O’Kane decided to go see Dr. Mario Desouza, orthopedic surgeon at New Ulm Medical Center (NUMC). It turned out to be a great decision.

“I like a person who has a sense of humor and can smile and be positive all the time,” he said of DeSouza. “I asked a lot of questions and he answered every single one.”

O’Kane’s surgery was followed by a standard three days in the hospital.

“Everyone, from the housekeepers, the LPNs, the RNs, and the doctors to Toby (Freier, NUMC President) delivering the newspaper in the morning was so positive and nice,” he said. “The housekeepers probably don’t even realize it but when they come into your room with a big smile on their face and they chat with you for a while – that’s medicine! That makes a big difference.”

As is standard, O’Kane was up and out of bed the day after surgery, putting minimal weight on his new joint with the help of a walker and the guidance of physical therapy.

Just a few months later, O’Kane was back to things he enjoys doing, including one of his favorite pastimes – fishing. Getting in and out of a boat is a lot easier with his new joint in place, he said.