Pastors Ponderings: A Divine Love Song
Pastor Jim submitted the following on April 5, 2017… Greetings Friends: PLEASE READ: 1 John 4:7 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God” (NASB). PLEASE READ: Hebrews 6:1-2 “Let us stop going over the same old ground again and again, always teaching those first lessons about Christ. Let us go on instead to other things and become mature in our understanding, as strong Christians ought to...
Read MorePastors Ponderings: Christ the Lord is Risen Today!
No Easter Sunday at PUMC would be complete without singing the hymn Christ the Lord is Risen Today. In this article (and in the corresponding podcast on the UMC website), Dr. Paul Chilcote guides us through this hymn’s verses and shows us how to take the Risen Christ into the other 364 days of the year.
Read MorePastors Ponderings: Dump it all In!
Pastor Jim submitted the following thoughts on 3/20/17 regarding our commitment. Do we trust God enough to follow His instructions to give our all? Or do we hold back and keep some for ourselves just in case God doesn’t come through? Greetings Friends: PLEASE READ: Isaiah 58:11 & 13a… “The LORD will guide you always; He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never...
Read MorePastors Ponderings: Running into a Burning House!
Pastor Jim submitted the following thoughts on 3/18/17… Greetings Friends: PLEASE READ: Matthew 9:35-38 “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the...
Read MorePastors Ponderings: Who is St. Patrick?
Pastor Jim submitted the following on 3/17/17… Greetings Friends: A very Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all! Below is a brief yet informative article about Patrick and this day. I cannot take credit for it other than I received it from Christian History Institute, of whom I am a member. I hope you are blessed by this humble offering about a wonderful Saint of the Christian Church. Pastor Jim We all Know St. Partick’s Day… but what about St. Patrick Himself??? ON...
Read MoreRest, Relax,and Rejuvenate
We are entering the summer season, a season that affords opportunities for Rest, Relax & Rejuvenate rest and relaxation. Let’s make it a priority to look for these moments that we can relax physically and renew ourselves emotionally and spiritually.
These moments are gifts from God. Let’s embrace the gift and “loosen the bow” this summer!
Read MorePastor’s Ponderings: Second Coming?!? He’s Already Here!!!
Pastor Jim submitted the following on 4/25/16… Not long ago I saw a sign on someone’s front yard which simply read, ‘Jesus is coming!’” FRIENDS, while I respect the enthusiasm of that person but I think have better news than that; Jesus is already here! Sometimes we are so focused on the “second coming” that we forget that Jesus is already present in us! Jesus said in John 15:26… “When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit...
Read MorePastor’s Ponderings: You Owe Me
This devotional was sent by Pastor Jim on 2/25/15… Greetings Friends: PLEASE READ: 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.” As we...
Read MorePastors Ponderings: Christmas Wishes
Pastor Jim emailed the following devotional on January 5. We’re a bit slow in posting this message, but it’s relevant all year… Greetings Friends: Happy New Year to all! Since we are still in the holy season of Christmas (Epiphany begins January 6), I was trying to think of some way to express greetings to all of you. Below is a poem I actually came across many years ago. I recently found it again and feel led to share it with you. It really sums up what this...
Read MorePastor’s Ponderings: Sing it Out!
Pastor Jim’s sermon for this coming Sunday (10/25/15) is entitled: “God: Our Rock Star!” It is based on Zephaniah 3:14-18. He submitted this devotional on 10/23/15 in advance of the 10/25/15 sermon… PLEASE READ: Hebrews 2:12 “I will tell them your name and sing your praises when they come together to worship” (CEV). Singing in worship has always been an appropriate way to offer praise to God. The pages of Scripture record this. Especially in the tradition...
Read MorePastors Ponderings: Watch What You Hang on to- Time to Re-Consider Your Priorities?
Is it time to rid yourself of distractions and fully re-commit yourself to God? This post was originally submitted by Pastor Jim in 2015, but it’s an ongoing goal to pursue.
Read MorePastor’s Ponderings: What is Love?
Greetings Friends: PLEASE READ: John 15:12-17 (Jesus said), “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you...
Read MorePastor’s Ponderings: The Significance of One
Pastor Jim submitted the following devotional on Monday Aug. 23, 2015. It references his sermon from the previous Sunday (“The Life and Music of Charles Wesley”); Both Charles and John Wesley demonstrated that God can work through one person to do mighty things… PLEASE READ: 1 Corinthians 12:4-11… There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God...
Read MorePastor’s Ponderings: Faith in the Face of Opposition
Pastor’s Ponderings: Faith in the Face of Opposition The following “Pastor’s Ponderings” devotional was submitted by Pastor Jim on August 22, 2015. Our sermon for August 23 is entitled “The Life and Music of Charles Wesley”… this devotional gives a preview into that theme… Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”...
Read MorePastor’s Ponderings: A Believer in Blessings
Are we really resting in the peace and security that God offers us? Or, we running around, bearing burdens that God wants to lift from us? Matthew 6:25-26… “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are...
Read MorePastor’s Ponderings: The Cross
Pastor Jim submitted the following devotional on March 27, 2015… Greetings Friends: PLEASE READ: 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again.” Our journey through Lent is bringing us ever closer to the cross of Jesus. A question I have been pondering...
Read MorePastor’s Ponderings: A Stormy Month
Pastor Jim sent the following devotional on 2/28/15… Greetings Friends: PLEASE READ: Mark 4:35-41 On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke him and...
Read MorePastor’s Ponderings: Lent is Calling
The following devotional was sent by Pastor Jim on 2/26/15… Greetings Friends: PLEASE READ: Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God” (NKJV). PLEASE READ: Isaiah 40:31 “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint” (NKJV). Can we agree that regular Bible reading, regular times of prayer, being faithful in worship, to name a few...
Read MorePastor’s Ponderings: The Family of God
Pastor Jim submitted the following devotional on February 6 2015… Greetings Friends: PLEASE READ: Hebrews 10:25 Some people have gotten out of the habit of meeting for worship, but we must not do that. We should keep on encouraging each other, especially since you know that the day of the Lord’s coming is getting closer” (CEV). PLEASE READ: Acts 2:42 They spent their time learning from the apostles, and they were like family to each other. They also broke bread and prayed...
Read MorePastor’s Ponderings: Jesus Never Had Ulcers!
Pastor Jim submitted the following on January 25… Greetings Friends: 11 months from today is Christmas!!!! PLEASE READ: Romans 12:1-2 “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and...
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