St. John's Global Methodist Church-Batesburg, South Carolina

06/14/2026

6-17/26

06/12/2026

June 17, 2026
Prelude: “Trumpet Tune” Purcell
Organist: Clark Matthews
Welcome and Announcements
Opening Prayer: Blessed Lord, whose grace is poured out on all who
call on the name of Jesus, worshipping him in Spirit and Truth, we
pray that our eyes, ears, and hearts are opened to you today, that we
may see you in the world around us. May we hear your Word through
this service, and feel your Spirit in our hearts, such that we may feel
closer to you, leaving here with a deeper personal relationship with our
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
*Opening Hymn 1: How Great Thou Art, verses 1&3 MH #77
*Opening Hymn 2: Because He Lives, verses 1&2 MH #364
*Opening Hymn 3: Sanding on the Promises, verses 1&3 MH #374
Sharing our Testimonies, Joys and Concerns
Children Moments Melanie Lorick
Offering Ourselves and Our Gifts to God
Offering Anthem: “The Lord Is My Shepherd” Leone
*The Doxology MH #94
*Offering Prayer
Sermon: In Spirit and Truth Pastor Scott
*Closing Hymn: Open My Eyes, That I May See MH #454
*Dismissal with Blessing
*Recessional: Lord, I Lift Your Name on High TFWS #2088
Postlude: “I Must Tell Jesus” Hoffman
*Please Stand If You Are Able”
MH-Methodist Hymnal TFWS-The Faith We Sing
From the Pastor’s Desk: Jesus told the woman at the well that the day would come when people wouldn’t worship on a mountain or in a temple. Instead he said they would someday worship in
spirit and truth. What did Jesus mean when he said we would worship in spirit and truth? That is today’s question. God Blesses! Pastor Scott
Bible Study meets every Wednesday at 6PM (6:30
on the first Wednesday of the month). Currently we are studying the book of John. All are welcome and a light meal will be served.
OUR PRAYER CONCERNS
Mary Adams Sara Kate Bryant Susie CullumDavid Cullum Jackie Dorn Augustine Frye Jackie Hall Libby Taylor Hipp Mike Hipp Joy Cleland Michelle Metts Shelby Rikard Laura Starnes Eric Wallace Fran Wallace St. John’s Methodist People of Israel People of Ukraine Our First Responders Members of the Military Judy Adamick Frances Nurse Trevor Nurse Susan Nurse
JR Barnes
RECORD OF OUR FAITHFULNESS-June 7, 2026
Sunday School- 20 Worship-50
Budget Offering-$1,917.00 Building Fund Memorial-$2.00
VBS-$250.00
SERVING TODAY-June 14, 2027
Ushers Carroll Hoover, Ken Lorick
Greeter Janet Smith
Acolyte Duncan Corum
Counters Kimberly Burton, Terri Owen
Nursery Laurie Boozer, Jenny Hallman
CALENDAR
June 2026 Kitchen Team #2
Becky Jones
July 2026 Kitchen Team #1
Daphyne Ridgell
Sunday School 9:30AM
Worship 10:30AM
Pastor: Rev. Scott D. Nurse, Sr.
Secretary: Janet Smith
Church Office: Pastor’s Cell:
803-532-6968 803-580-8989
Email:[email protected]
Pastor’s Email: [email protected]
Face Book: St, John’s Global Methodist Church-Batesburg,
South Carolina
WELCOME GUESTS!
We are honored that you have chosen to worship with us today. We invite
you to worship with us again whenever you are able. Please fill out a visitor
card from the pew rack and place it in the offering plate.
ST JOHN’S
Global Methodist Church
513 W. Church Street
Batesburg, SC 29006
Proclaiming the Good News
Teaching the Faith
Living in True Community
Serving Christ in the Needs of His Sisters & Brothers

06/10/2026

Today’s Good Word
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 1st Corinthians 13:1 NIV

What a strange way to open what is known as the "love chapter" in scripture. Paul starts out by claiming that the spiritual gift of tongues, along with prophecy (verse 2) or faith to move mountains (verse 2) are nothing without love. Some people use these verses to criticize spiritual gifts such as tongues and prophecy, claiming they no longer exist in the modern church and were only for the early church. This is not what Paul is saying.

And it may seem odd that a person could be so full of the Spirit that they could speak as angels and have the gift of prophecy and all knowledge, and yet not have love in their hearts. What Paul is condemning is not the gifts, but seeking the gifts of God, and not exercising agape love for others. Some denominations get so hung up on spiritual gifts that it dominates their worship and instead of learning to love Christ and our neighbors enough. Probably the ultimate example of this were the Shakers, whose name came from the way they danced and shook in ecstatic worship. While focused on the end times, they started out as a fairly normal Christian group, but their search for feeling ecstatic power in worship led them into false worship.

What Paul is warning us about is against a false sense of righteousness, that makes us feel superior to all other people. True faith starts with humility, no matter how much we feel the presence of the Lord. In the end the true measure of a Christian is how we love, both God and our neighbors.

06/09/2026

Today’s Good Word
May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. 1 Thessalonians 5:23a NIV

Lately I have seen a lot of social media posts about Matthew 24 and people declaring the end times are at hand, and the rapture is about to happen. My goal today is not to engage in that debate, other than to say that nobody has any idea when the end times will happen. Jesus said he himself didn't know and no person on earth knows more than him. If you have heard me at all you know that my opinion is that when the end times happen really doesn't matter as we will all have our personal end time and stand before Jesus, and nobody knows when that day will come.

My real issue today is with preaching about the rapture and end times which I consider lazy preaching that tries to scare people into faith, which I don't believe works. Instead we should preach the benefits of faith in Christ. Many Christians will tell you those benefits are salvation from our sins and eternal life. Those are great points, but do they really appeal to those who do not have faith and may not believe in God? Does a person who is considered a good person, but doesn't have faith really worry about sins? How many young people that you know worry about dying? Elderly folks are far more aware of their impending mortality.

But is there another benefit to faith in Christ, that helps us in our lives? Some people see Christianity as a negative, limiting our behavior, and not seeing a benefit to being a Christian. Well the answer to that question is a resounding yes. Through the Holy Spirit, Christians are sanctified and we learn to live better lives as we deal with the world and the challenges it brings. I can't possibly cover sanctification in one post, so therefore I will spend the next number of days explaining the benefits of sanctification, besides our salvation and eternal life. I am going to provide this information through a dissection of 1st Corinthians 13, the so-called Love Chapter.

06/08/2026

I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. Genesis 17:7 NIV

This weekend we participated in the Highway 23 yard sale. Since we were set up in the church yard we had several questions about the church and were available to invite a young family to church who is new to the area. While we were sitting there a man came with a shirt that had "Love Jesus" written on it in very large letters. He came off as an evangelist wanting to preach to us, until my wife identified who we were.

Then his message totally changed into an anti-Israel message, claiming that the Ashkenazi Jews who comprise most of the Israelis were not real Jews and were not descended from the Hasmonean Jews who occupied Israel after the diaspora at the hands of Assyria and Babylon. And then claimed that Israel wasn't a real Jewish nation. For the record the Ashkenazi Jews are the Jews from central Europe, of whom six million were killed in the holocaust. After the war many of the Jews in Europe, especially the Ashkenazi and their holocaust survivors fled to either the new nation of Israel or the United States.

What this man was very vociferously arguing is what is called the Khazar Theory that says the Ashkenazi are descendants of a nation that existed in Turkey in the Middle Ages, and the entire nation converted to Judaism, and therefore are not really Jews. This concept comes from a book written in the mid 1970's and is used by people who claim they are Christians and hate Jews, such as the K*K and Neo Nazi's. For the record this theory has been totally discredited by modern genetics and the Askenazi are descendants of the original Jewish populations in the Holy Land, and while there has been some inbreeding with other peoples, they maintain distinctive genetic markers common to most Jewish people and a genetic makeup that shows them to be true Jewish descendants.

Normally I like to engage with people who are talking about religion, but this man was so hateful speaking towards the Jews and so strident in his belief that I decided it wasn't worth the effort. What really bothered me was that he had a shirt that said Love Jesus on it, while he was speaking hatred towards some of God's children. I really don't care if the Ashkenazi are real Jews or not, although I agree they are. What I care about is the image we portray of Jesus, who told us to love one another, to be kind to each other, and to be respectful, even with those whom we disagree with. In my eyes this man was portraying Christ in a hateful way, and would potentially turn off anyone who was really interested in God, except maybe a weak minded person who was already looking for someone to hate and blame for their problems.

When we portray Christ in public, people see Christ in our behavior and assume that we are acting the way he taught us to act. Spewing hatred against any group, even one that is wrong, is a sin. We can disagree with another group and we don't have to support what they believe, but we do have to treat them with kindness and Christian love. Remember to the world, you are Jesus.

06/07/2026

06/07/2026

We were few in number, but huge in fun😊🩳🏊🏊‍♀️🩱🤿

06/07/2026

We apologize for any inconvenience today. Our Facebook and YouTube channels continue to experience connection issues, causing us to be disconnected during broadcasts. We hope to switch to Comporium internet service as soon as the installation is completed. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

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06/07/2026

Untouchables