The Three Wills Of God - St. Matthew`s United Methodist Church

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February 2016
St. Matthew’s United Methodist Church
2738 MacArthur View, San Antonio, Texas 78217
www.smumcsa.org
The Three Wills Of God
I read a book some time ago entitled “The Will of God” by Leslie Weatherhead.
While I did not agree with everything he wrote, his view on God’s Will has stayed In This Edition:
with me over time. It came up again in my preparation for the next sermon on Rev- Page 1 Pastor Article
elation. Weatherhead looks at God’s will through three different lenses: Intentional, Page 2 Information, Admin
Permissive and Ultimate.
Board, Attendance
God’s intentional will can be seen in the Garden of Eden. There was peace Page 3 Sunday School
and harmony. There was life and no death. There was a personal relationship beClasses/ Fellowship
tween God and God’s human creations. Adam and Eve used to walk and fellowship
Time, XYZ
in the garden with God. God provided everything that humanity needed to thrive Page 4 New Women’s Bible
physically, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually. When Adam and Eve ate the
Study/Youth Events
fruit they were told not to eat, they rejected God’s intentional will for their own.
Page 5 Monday Night Bible
Since humanity had rejected God’s intentional will, God now had to interact
Study
with them differently. Weatherhead call this God’s “Permissive Will”. It is not
Page 6 Keep Wednesday
what God wanted but humanity had to be permitted to make their own choices. So
Night Free/ PNO
when a teenager decides to drink and drive and kills someone, that is not God’s inPage 7 UMM/ UMW
tentional will but it has become God’s permissive will. God had to let the teenager
Page 8/9 Calendar/Prayer
make the fateful choice or the teenager would no longer have free will.
List
How many times have we made decisions that God had to permit? As a
Christian do you want to walk in God’s permissive will or intentional will? One Page 10/11 UMW
thing Jesus did was model what intentional will looks like. God intended that we Page 12 Agua Viva Ministry
love the Creator and each other. (Love God with all you heart, soul, mind and Page 13 Day School
strength and love your neighbor as yourself.) When we put God ahead of our personal desires we are loving God. When we put the needs of our neighbor before our own needs, we are loving our
neighbor. It is simple and yet impossible.
With our free will comes self-centeredness. The world is all about me. Have you ever walked into a room
and the group you were going to join suddenly stopped talking? What is your first thought? They were talking
about me! It took me a long time to learn that they weren’t concerned about me. They were concerned about themselves. If we are going to love the way God loves, our nature would have to change That is what God offers everyone through the unselfish gift of Jesus’ life.
The third will is the Ultimate Will. We can read the last two chapters of the Bible to see that. The new
heaven and new earth, I believe, will be just like the Garden of Eden with a lot more people. God’s ultimate will is
that we spend an eternity with him. He is constantly moving us to walk in his intentional will instead of his permissive will. Ultimately, in the new heaven and earth, there will be no more dying, no aches and pains, we will have
access to God anytime and all the sorrows of this world will be wiped away. That is ultimately what is going to
happen.
There is a lot of destruction in the book of Revelation that scares people. That is not God’s intentional or
ultimate will but a response to the choices humanity has made. God is closing shop on this world so he can open a
perfect place for us to live with him. Closing shop is not easy or neat. There is a lot of banging and tearing and ripping that goes on. But unless this world comes to an end, there will be no place for the new heaven and earth.
Think of it this way, we are living through renovation phase.
Alan
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WORSHIP
OPPORTUNITIES
Sunday Morning Worship
8:30 a.m.—Traditional Worship Service/
Sanctuary
11:00 a.m.—Blended Worship Service/
Sanctuary
Sunday School—9:45 a.m.
CHURCH STAFF
Pastor
Alan Delafield
Bible Studies at St. Matthew’s
Monday:
Beth Moore Bible Study, 6:30 pm, Abel Chapel
Monday Night Bible Study, 7:00 pm, Room 105
Tuesday:
Women of Faith, 8:00 am, Room 105
Tuesday Morning Bible Study, 9:30 am, Room 105
Wednesday:
Keep Wednesday Nights FREE—Study for Adults, Youth, Children, and nursery for the little ones
Agua Viva Woman's Bible Study 10:00 am , Fellowship Hall
Agua Viva Spanish Discipleship Class, 6:00 pm, Room 605
Associated Pastor of Agua Viva
Veronica Harvey
Business Administrator
Hermy Rudloff
Children & Family Ministries Director
Judy Langford
College/Youth Ministries Director
Tim Diemert
Day School Director
Nikki Irving
Secretary
Diana Garza
Music Director
David Cain
Administrative Board
Chairman
Vice Chairman
Lay Leader for 8:30 am
Lay Leader for 11:00 am
Conference Delegate
Conference Delegate Alternate
Treasurer
Secretary
COM Chair
Finance Chair
SPRC Chair
2016:
Eugene Hileman
Ralph Pipes
Jo Reinschmidt
Anne Verner
Carolyn Twyford
Jo Reinschmidt
Mike Verner
Jeanie Etter
Steve Shrader
Fred Long
Bill Twyford
Organist
Irwin Witebsky
Handbell Director
Susan Collins
Nursery Coordinator
Annalie Tamez
Pastor’s Office Hours
Month
November
December
January
Church
Sunday School
Small Groups
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118
186
117
188 (Only 4 Sundays) 112
Church Office Hours
Monday-Thursday
9:00 am to 4:00pm
Friday - 9:00 am to 12:00 pm
Phone: (210) 822-0252
Fax: (210) 828-2195
Church Email Address
Information@smumcsa.org
St. Matthew’s Website
www.smumcsa.org
St. Matthew’s Day School
Phone: (210) 826-4850
Average Church and
Sunday School
Attendance
November 2015
Through
January 2016
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SUNDAY SCHOOL FOR ALL AGES 9:45 AM
Preschool 3-4 year olds – meet in room 606. Contact person: Judy Langford
(822-0252 ext. 105)
Kinder through 1st grade - meet in room 604.Contact person: Judy Langford (822-0252 ext. 105)
Grades 2nd through 5th grade explore the Bible using music, art, science,
games, story, and cooking. They begin each session in room 611. Contact
person: Judy Langford (822-0252 ext. 105)
Teens and Tweens meet in the Youth Building. Contact Youth Team: Tim
and Kelli Diemert (940-594-8633)
Come and See Class: (All Ages) Meets in room 301 (Deats Bldg). A discipleship class on knowing Christ and making him know. Studying “Romans”
Contact person: Jim Humphries (494-0112) assisted by John Shero.
New Seasonings: (Middle Adult) Meets in room 603. Studying “ Living the
Questions”, The Church’s Hidden Strength by Barbra Wendland. Contact
person: David Mack (654-0162)
Son Shine Class: (Senior Adult) Meets in room 605. Studying “ Seeing Jesus
in the Old & New Testament. Contact person: Marsha Humphries (494-0112)
Voyagers: (Senior Adult) Meets in room 601. Adult Bible Study.
Contact person: Frank Tyk (655-2324)
Friends of Faith: (Young & Middle Adult) – meets in the Fellowship Hall.
Contact person: Greg Klaerner (402-3711)
Covenant Believers: (Middle Adult) – Meet in conference room 105. Starting
a new study “To Live is Christ, to Die is Gain” a study of Philippians. Contact persons: Anne Verner (655-7380) or Judy Langford (822-0252 ext. 105)
XYZ ADULT FELLOWSHIP will meet on February 10th at
noon in the Fellowship Hall. Lunch will be provided. Join
us for fellowship and interesting conversation. question
SUNDAY FELLOWSHIP
REFRESHMENT TIME - 2016
February
March
April
Friends of Faith
Come and See
Sonshine
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NEW WOMEN’S BIBLE STUDY
MONDAY NIGHTS 6:30 - 8:30 PM
BEGAN JANUARY 25th
In the Abel Chapel
Join us and Beth Moore in the new , eleven week study
“Breath” which examines the work of the Holy Spirit in
our lives. It’s title is drawn from the words of John 20:22,
which records that Jesus "breathed on them and said,
'Receive the Holy Spirit.'" Cost of the study will be $15.
Babysitting is available in the church nursery. For further
questions and to reserve your workbook please contact Judy Langford at 822-0252.
Youth Events
Happy 2016!
This year is off to a bang!! We have a few events that are coming up right around the corner so we
want to get the info out and start getting registered.
Here is a new program that we are trying out. We love it so far. This program will allow you to
register for event (s) online. Just click on here and choose the event (s) to register for. EASY!!!
Plus helps keep me organized!
https://form.jotform.com/60055290176149
We will be booking our summer events in the next couple weeks so we can get dates out to
you. If you have questions or concerns please let us know.
Midwinter------Feb 5-7 cost is $160.00
Midwinter Feb 5-7 is a weekend to worship & praise. This will take place in the hill
country. Rusty Freeman & The Mark Swayze band will be there. The cost of this is
$160.00 and deadline to register is Jan 27.
Super Bowl Party----Feb.7
Will start at 5:00 pm in the gym
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Monday Night Bible Study
7:00 PM - Room 105
The Monday Night Bible Study will resume on 11 January at 7:00 p.m.
Studies on the first two nights in 2016 will use a DVD titled
“The Star of Bethlehem.”
This DVD has been described as . . . “fascinating and
meticulously researched,” and “wide ranging and insightful scholarship.”
It involves astronomical examination of the stars during the period when
Christ was born. A very good and thought provoking video.
Although our Bible study uses DVD’s to inform participants and stimulate
discussion, the playback of topic material can be stopped by anyone attending.
We plan for the study sessions to last one hour. Bottom line is that we maintain flexibility
as to the session ending time but the latest
we have run in the past was about 8:15 p.m.
During our first two sessions in 2016 we will vote on topics to follow
“The Star of Bethlehem.” Choices include but are not limited to those
listed below. MANY MORE TITLES ARE AVAILABLE
“Ancient Roads from Christ to Constantine” presents the first three
hundred years of Christian faith. Six hours of material “Birth of a Faith,”
“The Great Missionary,” “Age of the Apostles,” “From Apocalypse to Heresies,”
“Pagans and the Cult of Martyrs,” and “Constantine.”
“The Lost Tomb of Jesus” 105 minutes by Simca Jacobovici.
Controversial topic.
Old Testament “Bible Battles.” 100 minutes. “. . . explores the biblical
world from a military perspective from the time of Abraham to David’s
ascension to the throne.”
“Bible Stories for the Whole Family.” Will take between 12 and 14 sessions to cover all material or we may choose individual topics. Disks include
“Esther and the King,” “Joseph and His Brethren,” “The Power of the Resurrection,”
“The Great Commandment,” “Hill Number One,” “I Beheld His Glory,” “Martin Luther,”
For questions: Call Ken Lingle, (210) 655-8539. Oh yes, we meet in the
Conference Room, Room 105. Hope to see you there.
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Wednesday night F. R. E. E.
F ellowship
R elationship
E ducate
E nergize
Supper, worship, study for children, youth and adults
6:00—6:30
Supper
6:30—6:45
Worship
6:45—7:45
Study for all ages
Elementary ages: Kindergarten - 4th grade
Tweens: Fifth and sixth grade
February 5th
6:30 – 9:30 PM
Ages 12 months to 5th grade
Volunteers are always needed for our monthly Parent’s Night Out Ministry Scheduled on the first Friday night of each month. Getting involved is such a blessing to
the children. The children arrive at 6:30 pm for play, dinner, story, crafts, and games
and stay till 9:30 pm. We are using our Power Xpress Sunday School curriculum as
a basis for planning each month’s activities. It’s a blessing to reach children with the
Good News of Jesus Christ. This outreach is a living expression of the vitality of
this church.
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METHODIST MEN With the holidays over and our leader back, we started our New Year by finishing
the movie ”Courageous “. We are now looking for a new topicfor our program
and are planning to continue meeting in the gym at 8:00 am on the second Sunday
of each month. On Sunday, February 14th 2016, our program will be presented by
Jeff and Veronica Harvey on their connection with St. Matthew’s and the Methodist Church in the Piedras Negras, Mexico. Come join us for an excellent breakfast
followed by a 30 minute meeting, you can still attend the early morning service
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2016
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St. Matthew’s UMW General Meeting
Thursday, February 4
12:00 Lunch provided by Eve Circle
12:30 program
A Call to Prayer and Self Denial
“Women at Work-Economic Justice and Empowerment”
given by Linda Wiley
Business Meeting will follow
(childcare can be provided, please notify church office)
H.O.P.E.- Tuesday, Feb. 9, 6:30, Youth Bldg, contact Annelie Tamez
Lady Bugs- Sunday, Feb. 14, 12:30, Youth Bldg, contact Kelli Diemert
Lydia- Thursday, Feb. 18, 10:30, room #105
Sarah-Saturday, Feb. 20, 10:00 at Marilyn Seidel’s
Eve-Thur, Feb. 25, 7:00, at Susanne Garvin’s
UMW Book Club
We meet on the third Wednesday each month to discuss books on the Reading List. Bring a
sack lunch and join us, February 17 at 11:30 in room #105.
This month’s books are:
Tilly:
A Story
of Hope
and Resilience
by
Monique
GraySmith
Just Mercy:
A Story of
Justice and
Redemption
by Bryan Stevenson
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Lillie B. Williams, Rio Texas Conference UMW President will present this inspirational and stimulating program.
Bring your Bible, a sack
lunch, and a heart ready
for praise and prayer.
Registration Deadline is
February 20
Contact
Schertz UMW
Hosting
Mercy Chikhosi Nyirongo
Hear first-hand of the impact our Connectional funds
make in the lives and health of persons
none of us are likely to ever meet!
Learn about Wandilweza,
a program Mercy established in Malawi.
Learn why community health and girl power matters.
Wednesday, March 2 at 6:30
Schertz UMC, 3460 Roy Richards Dr.
RSVP at
Lucy Mccann lucymcc@gmail.com
Or
708-285-1317
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February being the month of love, St. Matthew’s fills each and every day with tender
love and care. We strive to share the love and care Christ has given us to all that we
meet. God is shining down on us and showing us how much he loves us, our current
enrollment is 77 children. We are grateful for the blessings to be able to continue to
grow and spread the word of God to families near and far. We will also be having our
annual Rodeo Day on Friday February 5th. Its rodeo time again! Our rodeo day will be
a big hit with our little ones. Be sure to come dressed in your finest Texas, boots, hats,
and jeans! We can use all the help that we can receive, if you are willing to lend a
helping hand please see Nikki or Anne to be sure your background check is completed
and on file. There are so many exciting events and activities to come this February.
Our Valentine’s Day celebrations will be on Friday February 12th. On February 19th
we will be hosting our Family BBQ, I know it’s chilly we’ll be inside our rooms. The
Literacy Van will join us from 6:00-8:00 p.m. be sure to take the children to the van it’s
a great time to just sit and read with your child and for taking the time to do so, you’ll
receive a free book. This is open to the public as well not just Day School families.
With the New Year started, I’m sure you’re all eager to know the progress on the playground. At this time we are planning the next phase of the project, which is taking
away of old playground items and adding new items. The Day School would like to
thank the St. Matthew’s UMC Church all for your continued support, prayers, and dedication to the Day School ministry. We are especially thankful for the new fresh start of
2016; we cannot express how grateful we are to have such an amazing ministry to
work for. Over the last few weeks there has been a lot of work done in the Day School
and we would like to say THANK YOU to Mr. Larry Etter and Mr. Joe Garvin for all
the hard work and talent that they put into making sure that we are always in compliance, and now that the after schoolers don’t have to leave the room to go to the bathroom, they are very grateful for all the hard work. We would also like to thank the
UMW for their wonderful donation in help of supporting the Day School thank you so
much. Last Month we had such a blast on our winter play day, the children enjoyed
having a snowball fight and having a race to see who can put their winter clothes on
Nikki Irving and Staff
St. Matthew’s Day School
dayschool@smumcsa.org
Phone—210-826-4850
Website www.smumcsa.org
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The 2016 calendar is up on the wall in the narthex.
Please select a date, enter your name and if in
memory of / in honor of a loved one. The cost is
$35.00 each Sunday. You may place your check in
the offering plate. After the 11:00 service is over,
you may pick up you arrangement. Thank you for
sharing God’s Blessing of your flowers with St.
Matthew’s.
The fight against cancer goes on. There is no one I know
who can say they don’t have a friend or relative that has
battled this terrible disease. We here at St. Matthew’s have
found a way to help in the fight against cancer. We will be
dedicating the proceeds from our Daddy and me Dance
(March 13, 2016) and the fight against Multiple Myeloma
key chain sales to Dean Pearson & Family , who is currently battling Multiple Myeloma cancer.
Now, your part is easy. All you need to do to help with the
fight against cancer is to please donate as generously as you can, God knows our
hearts and what we can and cannot to. Please stop by the church office or the
Day school office with donations.
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THANKS FOLKS!
During WW 11 my father was in the American Legion and my brother and I were
in the Sons of the American Legion. These were exciting years, but not nearly as exciting as this past Thanksgiving to Christmas, when I experienced Legionnaires
Disease, NOT a good experience! I want to thank you folks for your concern and
particularly for the warm welcome back on the first Sunday of the New Year. This
may sound strange, but I also want to thank you for not overwhelming us with food
and visits because I have had a very limited appetite and low energy since Thanksgiving. Things are looking much better now, so look out ….. The old me is back!
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fàA `tàà{xãËá
United Methodist Church
2738 MacArthur View
San Antonio, TX 78217-4503
February 2016
St. Matthew’s is all about
FAMILY!!!
Come see what God is doing at St. Matthew’s!!!!
Check out our awesome website at - www.smumcsa.org
Piano
Lessons by
Irwin Witebsky St. Matthew’s organist
Expert instruction for a
reasonable fee
Please call (210) 690-2188
Comfort-Air Engineering, Inc.
“A New Generation of Comfort!”
Robert & Georganne Freund
St. Matthew’s members since 1984
Commercial / Residential / Sales & Service
11403 Jones Maltsberger / www.comfort-air.com / Phone: 210-494-1691
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