Pine Lake Chapel

Pine Lake Chapel Pine Lake United Methodist Chapel is located in the heart of Cutler, MN on beautiful Big Pine Lake in south Aitkin County.

From Highway 169 go west on 240th Street about 1/4 mile.

03/14/2026

Due to the upcoming snow event church services have been canceled for tomorrow, March 15th. Stay safe out there!

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,What an end to the week. A little snow on Wednesday night, a lot more snow on Thursday ni...
03/13/2026

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

What an end to the week. A little snow on Wednesday night, a lot more snow on Thursday night, and more snow on the way.

If the winter storm predicted for this weekend is severe, the Emily church will still be open on Sunday, even if I don't make it. If I am not there, I suggest that you have a hymn sing interspersed with scriptures, and, of course, offering. I ask everyone to use your best judgement in travelling to and from church.

As for Cascade, if church is cancelled, we will send out email notices, posted it on our page, and use our "all call" system to let you know. IF that happens, Cheryl and I plan on having a live-stream service on our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/ beginning at 10:00 am.

Pine Lake Chapel people, look for an email from Angie and a posting on our page about any cancellation.

If the weather is good enough, I will be at a band concert in Wadena. Susan Clark Harris will be leading worship in my absence. She will be preaching on 1 Samuel 16:1-13, Ephesians 5:8-14, and John 9:1-11, 26-33. Her sermon is titled, "Keep Your Eyes Open for God’s Plan”.

IF church services are not called off, we worship at 8:30 am at Emily UMC, 10:00 am at Cascade UMC, and 1:00 pm at Pine Lake Chapel, where Susan Clark Harris will be filling in for me.
Peace in Christ

Pastor Gary Taylor

Sisters and Brothers in Christ, grace be with you on this foggy, misty day.Last week, I began another sermon series usin...
03/06/2026

Sisters and Brothers in Christ, grace be with you on this foggy, misty day.

Last week, I began another sermon series using Isaiah. If you recall, we began the liturgical (church) year with "Isaiah's Advent". We continued it with "Isaiah's Christmas", and concluded with "Isaiah's Epiphany" on Epiphany Sunday. We went back to the lectionary readings for the remainder of Epiphany, but have now returned to Isaiah for Lent. We are exploring what are know as the "Suffering Servant Songs".

Our second of these songs is in the voice of that servant. "The Lord called me before I was born." "He said to me, 'You are my servant, Israel.'" Again, is the servant one person, a group of people, or the nation of Israel". The answer is ambiguous.

The servant complains that the work he has been doing has been done in vain. However, the Lord replies that work the servant thought he had, that is, to return Israel and Judah to the Lord, is too small a task. God says that the servant is to be a light to the nations; something we heard last week.

The suffering part comes in the last verse. When the kings of all the nations see the faithfulness of the one who is despised and suffers abuse, they will bow down because they will know that this servant is chosen by the Lord.

I am pairing that with Jesus' second prediction of his suffering, death and resurrection. It feels like an offhand remark following the healing of a boy with a demon (which the disciples could not cast out). When the disciples heard it, they were "greatly distressed".

Our readings are Isaiah 49:1-7 and Matthew 17: 14-23. Please join us in worship at 8:30 am at Emily UMC, 10:00 am at Cascade UMC, or 1:00 pm at Pine Lake Chapel. Bring a friend. I would love to meet them.

Pastor Gary

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,May God's grace and peace be with you through the presence of the Holy Spirit.Last week, ...
02/28/2026

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

May God's grace and peace be with you through the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Last week, we explored Christ's temptations as reported in Matthew's Gospel. The Lectionary now turns to four (l o n g) readings in John's Gospel. Each reading is Jesus' encounter with someone in need of physical, social, and spiritual healing. These people are Nicodemus (John 3), an unnamed Samaritan woman (John 4), an unnamed man who was blind from birth (John 9), and a dead friend, Lazarus (John 11). I have chosen to skip these readings over the next four weeks, but I encourage you to read them.

I have chosen to focus on the four Servant Songs in Isaiah. And, yes, I am back to Isaiah! I have paired them with Jesus' three predictions of his death and one other encounter while on his way to Jerusalem as found in Matthew.

First up is Isaiah 42:1-9 and Matthew 16:13-23. The Gospel lesson is about Peter's confession of Jesus as the Messiah, Jesus's first prediction of his death, and Peter trying to dissuade him (another temptation?).

Please join us in worship at 8:30 am at Emily UMC, 10:00 am at Cascade UMC, or 1:00 pm at Pine Lake Chapel. Invite and bring a friend to worship with you. I'll see you on Sunday!

Peace in Christ
Pastor Gary Taylor

Sisters and Brothers in Christ,Cheryl and I are back from Eugene, Oregon, following my Aunt Dorothy's funeral. I am anti...
02/20/2026

Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Cheryl and I are back from Eugene, Oregon, following my Aunt Dorothy's funeral. I am anticipating leading worship again on Sunday. I give thanks to God for Elaine Foote-Blum, who filled in for me the last two Sundays.

Wednesday was Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. I was saddened to have to cancel our Ash Wednesday service and the imposition of the ashes, although Wednesday's snow storm may have necessitated cancellation anyway.

In the lectionary cycle, Jesus' temptations in the wilderness is read on the First Sunday of Lent. In the Gospel According to Mark, this is only two verses. The Gospels of Matthew and Luke, the temptations are 11 and 13 verses respectively.

In Matthew and Luke, there are three specific temptations: turning rocks into bread, stepping off the pinnacle of the temple, and claiming control of all the kingdoms of the world (implying past, present, and future kingdoms). Matthew has them in that order while Luke reverses #2 and #3.

A couple of Sundays ago, while preaching on the Sermon on the Mount's Beatitudes, I mentioned that God's blessings were for least, lost, left out, and lonely. These are people without our notion of power. (See also Jesus' parable of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31.) The temptations are about our ideal of power: economic power, religious power, and political power.

Look around the world. Every bad thing we do to humans, other living creatures, and to our environment, happens because people with power don't help those without power: hunger, thirst, war, crime, climate change, extinctions, etc.

Jesus rejects the temptations of power by relying on God's subversive power from below. In each of the temptations, even the one where the tempter quotes scripture, Jesus knows that true life is connected to God and God's love.

All of us are tempted by power (our other reading in Romans 5). How do we handle them? Prayer? Reading the Bible? A trusted confidant?

Our readings for this Sunday are Romans 5:12-19 and Matthew 4:1-11. Please join us in worship on Sunday at 8:30 am at Emily UMC, 10:00 am at Cascade UMC, and 1:00 pm at Pine Lake Chapel UMC. Invite a friend or family member to join you in worship this Sunday.

Pastor Gary B. Taylor
Cascade United Methodist Church,
Emily UMC, Pine Lake Chapel UMC

02/14/2026

Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

What does it mean to live as a follower of and believer in Jesus Christ? First and foremost would be to read the New Testament, especially the four Gospels. Pay attention to what Jesus says:

"Love God with your heart, mind, soul, and strength."
"Love your neighbors as yourself."
"Love each other."
"Love your enemies."
"Forgive others as you have been forgiven."
"Give your shirt in addition to your coat, walk the second mile, and turn the other cheek."
"Take the log out of your own eye."

You get the idea. A couple of them are contained in what is known as "The Sermon on the Mount". Here is the dramatic and wonderful recreation by "The Chosen": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDJTRC6LIOk

In the lectionary cycle that highlights the Gospel of Matthew, the Sermon on the Mount is in Epiphany, starting on the 4th Sunday. Since Epiphany varies in length, we can have as few as one Sunday or as many as five Sundays with portions of the sermon. This year we get two Sundays. This Sunday, we start with the Beatitudes and it is rightly paired with a famous reading from the Old Testament prophet Micah.

To follow Jesus is to heed the call of Micah to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God. To follow Jesus is to look and see who it is Jesus calls blessed: the poor in spirit, the mourners, the meek, those who desire righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness.

How do we, you and I, follow Jesus?

Our readings for Sunday are Micah 6:1-8 and Matthew 5:1-12.

Please note, I will be on vacation from February 4 to 17. Rev. Elaine Foote-Blum will be leading worship at all three churches. Also note that Ash Wednesday is February 18 and worship that day will be at 5 pm at Pine Lake Chapel UMC. I hope everyone can make it.

Sunday worship is at 8:30 am at Emily UMC, 10:00 am at Cascade UMC, and 1:00 pm at Pine Lake Chapel.

Pastor Gary B. Taylor

Sisters and Brothers in Christ,"Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 1:...
01/23/2026

Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

"Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 1:3)

This week, we are looking at 1 Corinthians 1:10-18 and Matthew 4:12-23. As I ponder these two readings, I wonder why the people who developed the Lectionary chose to pair them. One is about people quarrelling, and the other is about Jesus calling disciples. I do know that the Sundays after Epiphany, excluding Baptism of the Lord Sunday, are devoted to 1st and 2nd Corinthians in all three years of the cycle. I conclude that the Epistle Readings and the Gospel Readings are not meant to correspond.

Paul's letters to the 1st Church of Corinth are famous because he is trying to put out "fires" that have erupted in the church. They argue over who is the better apostle, how to take communion, about eating certain meats, and one man (a widower) involved with his mother-in-law (ew), to name a few. In the midst of this, the letter illuminates Paul's love for the church. In our reading, Paul asserts that his primary mission is to proclaim the Gospel as revealed in the cross of Christ. The message of the cross is foolishness to unbelievers, but, in fact, it is the power of God.

In Matthew, Jesus begins his ministry after hearing that John the Baptist has been jailed. Two weeks ago, we heard the story of Jesus' baptism by John. Immediately, Jesus is led to the desert where he is tempted by Satan. We will read that story on February 22. (Sometimes I wish that the Church Calendar and the Lectionary would keep the stories in order!) The theme of Jesus' message is, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." This is the exact wording that John the Baptist used when he started.

Our passage also tells us that Jesus moved from Nazareth to Capernaum, which is located on Lake Galilee. One day, while strolling along the lakeshore, Jesus invites two pairs of brothers, who were fishermen, to "Follow me!" They drop their nets, leave their boats, say goodbye to their fathers, and go.

Not mentioned by Matthew, or Mark and Luke for that matter, was "Why?" Why did Simon-Peter (who was married, we find out later), his brother Andrew, and the sons of Zebedee, James and John, leave everything? Was following an itinerant preacher a more attractive vocation than fishing? Was the fame, power, and wealth to be gained? Good questions to ponder!

Invite a family member, friend, or neighbor to join you in worship this week. Use last week's invitation to "Come and See". We worship at 8:30 am at Emily UMC, 10:00 am at Cascade UMC, and 1:00 pm at Pine Lake Chapel. Stay warm and be bold.

[Artwork by He Qi]

Pastor Gary B. Taylor

Sisters and Brothers in Christ,What "made" (not the best word, I know) you become a follower of Jesus? Some of us grew u...
01/16/2026

Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

What "made" (not the best word, I know) you become a follower of Jesus? Some of us grew up following Jesus because it was part of our family life. Some of us became friends with followers, learned from them, and decided following Jesus was right for us. Some of us were specifically invited to get to know Jesus, and when we did, we started following.

This week and next, we will hear two different stories of Jesus inviting the men who became his disciples to join him. This week, our reading comes from the Gospel of John, chapter 1. An interesting tidbit: John 1 sort of tracks with Genesis 1 and its seven days.

Prologue: John 1:1-18, "In the beginning . . . "
Day 1: John 1:19-28, "the testimony given by John"
Day 2: John 1:29-34, "The next day he saw Jesus"
Day 3: John 1:35-42, "The next day John again . . ."
Day 4: John 1:43-51, "Then next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee."
Day 7: John 2:1-11, "On the third day there was a wedding . . ."

Our readings are on Day 2 and 3. On day 2, John declares Jesus to be "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." He also testifies that when Jesus was baptized, he saw the Spirit of God descend like a dove and land on Jesus. On day 3, John points out Jesus to two disciple and they begin to follow Jesus. When Jesus notices, he asks them what they want. They replied, "Where are you staying?" Jesus said, "Come and see." One of those disciples was Andrew who went to his brother Simon (Peter) saying they found the Messiah.

There are two questions to think about. What does it mean that Jesus is the "Lamb of God?" What is your response to "Come and See?" Bonus points: invite a friend to come and see the Body of Christ in worship.

Our reading for this week is John 1:29-42. We worship at 8:30 am at Emily UMC, 10:00 am at Cascade UMC, and 1:00 pm at Pine Lake Chapel. Invite a friend and join us in worship.

Pastor Gary

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43472 240th Street
Aitkin, MN
56431

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