Dec-Jan Newsletter

Volume 1, Issue 3

December/January 2010/11

THE CATAWISSA PARISH OF THE UMC

THE PARISH POST NEWSLETTER OF THE KULP AND MT. ZION UNITED METHODIST CHURCHES

I would have to say that so far my favorite day as your pastor was November 14th, 2010.

Let me share with you the day that I experienced in the church. In the morning at Kulp, we baptized a young man and received two members by transfer. After the worship at Mt. Zion I returned to Kulp where the UMW was sponsoring a Pajama Party. At the party we had 34 children, many of whom do not go to any church. At the party, you collected 64 pairs of pajamas and 76 children’s books.

When I left the PJ party, I went to Geisinger to visit a member in the hospital from Mt. Zion UMC. When I got to the patient’s room, I was surprised to hear that 9 people from Mt. Zion visited her that day. Also the ladies of Kulp also had given me a prayer shawl to give to her for her birthday. From Danville, I went to Mt. Zion for family fun night. For fun, you decided to collect and make 10 turkey baskets for families in the area.

While I was tired when I went home that evening, I was even more so proud to be your pastor. You fed the hungry, clothed the naked, visited the sick. You fulfilled the desires of Christ for

Twelve Days of Christmas This is not just a silly song, but a hymn rich in symbolism and theology.

1. The partridge in a pear tree is Jesus.

2. The two turtledoves are the Old and New Testaments.

3. Three French hens stand for faith, hope and love.

4. The four calling birds are the four Gospels.

5. The five gold rings recall the Hebrew Torah (Law), or the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament.

6. The six geese a-laying stand for the six days of creation.

7. The seven swans a-swimming represent the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.

His church. In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus says, “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’“ (Matthew 25:34-40) My friends, I need to ask you, will we wait until November 14, 2011 to do that again? How can we feed, clothe and visit daily? Ladies, should we collect clothes, not just pajamas, and do it year round? Gentlemen, is there a way to feed not only our own families, but all of God’s families? What can we do to serve Christ year round?

Thank you for all you do for Christ,

8. The eight maids a-milking are the eight Beatitudes.

9. Nine ladies dancing are the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit.

10. The ten lords a-leaping are the Ten Commandments.

11. Eleven pipers piping represent the eleven faithful Apostles.

12. Twelve drummers drumming symbolize the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostles Creed If you think Jesus being symbolized as a partridge in a pear tree sounds blasphemous, remember: "Jerusalem!

Jerusalem! How often would I have sheltered thee under my wings, as a hen does her chicks, but thou wouldst not have it so." (Luke 13:34 and Matthew 23:34)

THE PARISH POST

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With Passion by RC Sproul Jr. One of the troubles with trouble is that it can encourage us toward selfishness. When things are going well for us, it is rather easy to feel magnanimous. When challenges come our way, however, suddenly we feel entitled to be focused on ourselves.

Not so with Jesus. It is more than shocking that the Lord of glory would, as He did in John 13, take on the form of the lowliest servant and wash the feet of His disciples.

What makes it all the more potent is that He did this on the night in which He was betrayed. Jesus was within a day of facing not just Roman crucifixion, the most gruesome death one could imagine, but facing the full wrath and fury of His Father poured out on Him. Yet His immediate concern was not this grave challenge before Him but that He might teach one more lesson to His disciples. A few chapters later, His prayers were focused on two things — that God would be glorified in what was about to take place and that God would bless these same disciples. Jesus was thinking of others. In the face of His passion, His passion was those whom He loved.

and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (Matt. 6:25–26).

We can die to ourselves not because we are so worthless, but because He has ascribed worth to us. The One who gave us our value, who values us, is the same One who meets all of our needs. We who were dead, He has made alive — and He keeps us alive. He meets our needs daily, such that the last thing we need to worry about is our needs. Now we are free to show forth His compassion because we are indeed filled. We lose our cares when we remember we are dead. We care for others out of our fullness because He has made us alive.

Our passion, then, ought to be that we would identify with our Lord. We enter into His passion as we put to death all our selfish concerns and fears. When we take on the form of servants and wash the feet of our brothers, we become one with Him in dying to self. But we likewise are called to enter into His resurrection — even His ascension. He has, in Him, made us alive. When He Compassion, rightly understood, means entering into walked out into the garden from His tomb, the Firstborn the passion, or suffering, of others. It means setting aside our own concerns, our own fears, our own needs, of the new creation, He blazed the trail where we now walk. When He ascended to the right hand of the Faand not just supplying but feeling the needs of those around us. This, ironically, happens not when we have ther, He took us with Him. He has, in Him, made us kings and queens, seated in thrones of glory in the all that we need. It happens instead when we come to heavenly places. He has made us joint heirs with Him, understand that we have nothing and that we need such that we inherit the whole of the world. We have nothing. Compassion flows not out of the wellsatisfied but from those who have not. There is, in turn, only one nothing, and so have nothing to lose. We have everyway to do this — to die to self. When my aspirations, my thing, and so have everything to give. hopes and dreams, my wants are crucified, I enter into liberty. I am free to take up the concerns of others. A When we live with Him, when we seek to live like Him, dead man has no need to protect his comfort. He has then we are seeking first the kingdom of God. When we no need to protect his wealth. He has no need at all to put our desires to death, we are seeking first His rightprotect his reputation. Perhaps Janis Joplin had it right: eousness. And when we feast before Him, we feast befreedom may just be another word for “nothing left cause all these things have been added to us. to lose.”

The Serpent is more crafty than any of the beasts of the field. His passion is to build up in us misguided passions. Jesus hungered and thirsted after the will of the Father, yet the will of the Devil is that we would hunger and thirst. He delights to fill us with needs, whereas our Father delights to fill our needs. Jesus spoke to this in the Sermon on the Mount. He encourages us: “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food

He has given us one holy passion. He has given us His own passion. He has called us to identify with Him, and, in so doing, we identify with His body, the church.

Love your brother. Walk with him. Mourn with him when he mourns. Rejoice with him when he rejoices. And in both instances, know that your Father in heaven mourns and rejoices with you Used by permission from Tabletalk magazine.

For subscription information, go to www.ligonier.org

VOLUME 1, ISSUE 3

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To Speak in Parables He spoke many things to them in parables. - Matthew 13:3 The parable was one of the staple teaching tools the Lord Jesus used to convey spiritual truth in an understandable way. The word parable contains the idea of placing something alongside something else to make a comparison. In this way, Jesus would place a moral truth alongside a physical example that people could more easily grasp. By this common form of Jewish teaching, He used a common object or practice to elucidate an intangible truth or principle.

From His earliest teaching sessions, Christ used graphic analogies to instruct on divine truth. He likened believers to salt and light in this world (Matt. 5:13–16), pointed to the example of the birds and flowers concerning life’s essentials (6:26–30), and said Christians must build on the rock-solid foundation of Scripture rather than the loose sand of human philosophy (7:24–27). These

and other illustrations contain clear meanings.

They resonate with listeners. And they served the purpose of setting the stage for Jesus’ use of full-fledged parables.

“They make abstract truths more concrete, interesting, easier to remember, and easier to apply to life.”

Parables and other symbolic and figurative communication methods, when correctly understood, are genuine friends of the student of God’s Word. They make abstract truths more concrete, interesting, easier to remember, and easier to apply to life. Those were always the goals our Lord envisioned as He related any parables, such as the series of kingdom parables.

Ask Yourself: What can we learn from Jesus’ teaching style to help us improve our own spiritual communication, whether in Sunday School, Bible Study or simply in the ordinary vehicles of conversation?

Birthdays (if we missed anyone, please tell Pastor Chad)

Wendy Potter 12/5 (KP)

Richard Miller 1/3 (MZ)

Susan Runge 1/15 (KP)

Ed Minnich 12/11 (KP)

Bryan Breech 1/6 (MZ)

Tristan Williams 1/15 (KP)

Mark Schlieder 12/27 (MZ)

Randy Fetterman 1/12 (KP)

Ian Nevius 1/23 (KP)

Deanna Beaver 12/28 (KP)

Betty Woodruff 1/14 (MZ)

Nathan Weaver 1/25 (MZ)

Marvin Levan 1/2 (KP)

Ralph Hinkle 1/15 (MZ)

Anniversaries Vanessa & Glenn Weaver 12/17 (MZ)

Ron & Connie Levan 1/19 (KP)

Frank & Jean Getty 12/31 (MZ)

Robert & Clara Krum 1/29 (KP)

Linda & Scott Artley 1/2 (MZ)

THE PARISH POST

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WANTED: Servants of God GREETERS

FACEBOOK USERS

Mt. Zion is looking for volun‐ teers to serve during the 11AM worship service. We are in need of individuals to welcome visitors and regular attendees alike. There is a sign up sheet on the table outside of the sanctuary.

The church has a facebook page. “Catawissa Parish UMC”. Check us out, friend us, like it and whatever else FB’rs do. If you would like to help administer the page, add pics or events, let PC know.

CHILDREN’S CHURCH

God has really blessed both Kulp and Mt. Zion with chil‐ dren in the last few weeks.

We cannot just sit back and be happy about it. We have a responsibility. God has placed them in our care. It is our duty to disciple and teach them. We need help.

WEBSITE This may be the most impor‐ The conference has provided tant ministry of either VISITATION TEAMS us with a free Google web‐ church, and both need more Both Mt. Zion & Kulp are site. There are templates and help. looking to create visitation Pastor Chad is working on AUDITORS teams. The teams will visit setting the website up. If you the sick, visitors to the are interested in helping with Mt. Zion is looking for volun‐ church, shut‐ins and inactive setup or can provide time for teers to help with the re‐ members. Please see Pastor the weekly maintenance, quired yearly audits.

Chad if you are interested. please let PC know.

Pastor Chad has a new email address

Acolyte Training January 15, 12PM Kulp UMC

Pastor Chad’s new email address is

If you or your children are interested in the service of Acolyte, please plan on attending a short ccarter@susumc.org. training session. We will discuss the meaning of the service, the mechanics of lighting and extinThe old address should send messages to my guishing the candles and practice. All children 7 account for at least a year, but please change the and older are eligible to Acolyte. Membership is email address in your address books. not required.

Also, check out the conference’s new website, it There will be a signup sheet at each church. is: www.susumc.org.

Pastor Chad will be available in the office and available by parsonage telephone on: Tuesdays 10:00 am-2:00PM Wednesdays 3:00PM—6:00PM Thursdays 1:00PM-4:00PM Please call before stopping by to make sure Pastor Chad is in the office.

Pastor Chad’s regular day off is Friday.

VOLUME 1, ISSUE 3

What is Heaven Like?

During the Spring of 2006 I was attending a Reformed Theological Pastor’s conference at Messiah College. One of my favorite theologians was a guest speaker and took questions at the end of his presentation. I remember I was so in awe of him that I asked him with stars in my eyes, “What’s heaven like?” I asked him as if he had been there and could give me a firsthand report! Of course, he steered me immediately to the last two chapters of the New Testament, Revelation 21 and 22, in which we get an extensive visual image of what heaven is like. Some dismiss it as being pure symbolism, but we must remember that the symbols in the New Testament point beyond themselves to a deeper and better reality than they themselves describe. It’s here that we read of the streets of gold and of the great treasuries of jewels that adorn the New Jerusalem that comes down from heaven. In the description of the New Jerusalem, we hear that there’s no sun and no moon, no stars, because the light that radiates from the presence of God and from his Anointed One is sufficient to illumine the whole place by the refulgence of their glory. We are told that there’s no death, there’s no pain, and God wipes away the tears of his people. I remember as a child having that tender experience (not often accessible to adults) in which I would scrape my knee, or something would go wrong, and I would cry and come into the house, and my mother would stoop over and dry the tears from my eyes. I received great consolation from that. But of course, when my mother dried my tears, there was always the opportunity the next day for me to cry again. But in heaven when God wipes away the tears from people’s eyes, that’s the end of tears—there are no more tears after that. And so heaven is described as a place of utter felicity that is filled with the radiant majesty and glory of God, where God’s people have become sanctified, where justice has been brought to bear, and where his people have been vindicated. There’s no more death, no more disease, no more sorrow, no more sickness, no more hatred, and no more evil. And then there is an experience of healing in that place. And that’s just a glimpse, but it’s enough to get us started…

Will we recognize each other in heaven?

No specific biblical reference declares explicitly that we will recognize each other. But the implicit teaching of Scripture is so overwhelming that I don’t think

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there’s really any doubt that we will be able to recognize each other in heaven. There is an element of discontinuity between this life and the life to come: We’re going to be changed in the twinkling of an eye; we’ll have a new body, and the old will pass away.

Nevertheless, the Christian view of life after death is not like the Eastern view of annihilation, in which we lose our personal identities in some kind of a sea of forgetfulness. Even though there is this element of discontinuity, replacing the old with the new, there’s a strong element of continuity in that the individual person will continue to live on into eternity.

Part of what it means to be an individual person is to be involved in personal relationships. In fact, one of the articles of the Apostles’ Creed is that we say we believe in the communion of the saints. That affirmation does not apply only to the fellowship that we enjoy with each other now, but it indicates a communion that all people who are in Christ have with one another. Even now, in this world, I mystically enter into communion with Martin Luther and John Calvin and Jonathan Edwards, who are part of the whole company of saints. There’s no reason to expect that this communion will cease.

When we enter into a better level of communion with Christ and with those who are in Christ, we would think that communion would naturally intensify rather than diminish.

Although you have to be careful about how much you draw out of a parable, Jesus’ parable about the rich man and Lazarus does give us an inside look at the afterlife. He talks about a rich man who had everything going for him in this world and a poor man who was a beggar at the rich man’s gates. The rich man ignored the pleas of the poor man. Both of them died, and the poor man, Lazarus, was carried to the bosom of Abraham, whereas the rich man was in the outer darkness. But even there this one who was presumably in hell was able to see across the unbridgeable chasm to the bosom of Abraham and see the state of felicity this beggar was now enjoying. He pleaded with Abraham, crying across the gulf, to have mercy and to let him have the power to go back to earth or to send a message back to warn his own brothers lest they fell into the judgment he had fallen into. Of course, Jesus says it’s too late at that point. At least in the parable there is recognition of the persons involved and also recognition of where people are and where they aren’t.

THE PARISH POST Important dates to remember Dec 2: Ad Council Mtg MZ, 7PM Dec 5: Chalk Artist at Fisherdale, 6PM Dec 6: Kulp UMW, Ponduce, 6PM Dec 7: MZ UMW, Em Styer’s, 7PM Dec 10: Red Cross Blood Bank, MZ 1‐5:30PM Dec 11: Open House at the Parsonage 4‐7PM Dec 12: Kulp Family Christmas Party, 1PM Dec 12: Christmas Caroling in Catawissa, 4PM Dec 14: Ad Council Mtg Kulp Dec 18: MZ Breakfast Dec 24: Christmas Eve Svc, 7PM @ Mt. Zion

Jan 3: Kulp UMW, 7PM Jan 4: MZ UMW, 7PM Jan 6: Ad Council Mtg MZ, 7PM Jan 15: MZ Breakfast Jan 19: RCV Ministerium, Christian Unity Svc, Kulp 7PM Jan 22: Movie Night at Kulp UMC 6PM Jan 30: Wesley Soup Kitchen

let’s pray for the church Let us pray together. For the next 60 days I covenant with you to pray for the church. Here is what I will be praying for everyday. Would you put a copy of this in your Bible, and join me?

O Lord, as you are often accustomed to do, show your great power to the churches of Kulp & Mt. Zion, send a remarkable awakening that results in…

hundreds of people coming to Christ, old animosities being removed, marriages being reconciled and renewed, wayward children coming home, long-standing slavery to sin being conquered, spiritual dullness being replaced by vibrant joy, weak faith being replaced by bold witness, disinterest in prayer being replaced by fervent intercession, boring Bible reading being replaced by passion for the Word, lukewarm worship being replaced by zeal for the greatness of God’s glory.

Lord, when Gideon had thousands of men you said, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me’” (Judges 7:2). You stripped his army to 300, and with that you conquered the peoples of the East who covered the ground like locusts and whose camels were like the sand of sea (Judges 7:12).

O Lord, take the mighty 150 of this valley and bless this church beyond anything we have ever dreamed. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen and Amen.