Buck's Grove United Methodist Church

08/25/2026

BUCKS GROVE/CIRCLEVILLE METHODIST CHURCHES
Sunday August 23, 2026
By Colleen Reamer

Eighteen people met together on the pretty Sunday morning of August 23rd to worship at Bucks Grove Methodist Church at 9:00 am.
Colleen Reamer lit the candles to the accompaniment of Lucas White.
After the Call to Worship the congregation sang “I Will Call Upon the Lord”.
Other songs sung on Sunday were “Now Thank We All Our God” and “Take My Life, and Let it Be”.
Don Boling had the special. He had the congregation sing “How Great Thou Art” together.
Colleen Reamer read the scriptures. The first scriptures read were Exodus 1: 8 - 2: 10.
These verses tell of how a new king has taken over in Egypt who does not have any connection to Joseph. He fears the Israelites because they have become numerous and he fears they will side with the enemy if there is a war. He oppresses them, makes them work at the worst jobs and works them ruthlessly but still they multiply. He tells the midwives to kill the baby boys but they don’t do it because they fear God. Pharaoh then ordered that every Hebrew boy that was born was to be thrown into the Nile. One woman put her baby into a basket and put the child in a basket at the edge of the Nile. Pharaoh’s daughter found the baby and knew he was one of the Hebrew babies. The baby's own mother was brought to feed the baby and when the baby grew older she took him back to Pharoah’s daughter. She named him Moses, saying she drew him from the water.
The New Testament scripture read was Romans 12: 1-8. These passages tell us to offer our lives, choices and actions to God and don’t conform to the patterns of this world. They tell us that we all have different gifts and to use the gifts given specifically to us but work with others the same as your different body parts work together.
Pastor Dawn then read to us from Matthew 16: 13-20. In this Gospel reading Jesus is asking his followers who people say He is. They answer that some think He is John the Baptizer, some say Elijah and some say He is Jeremiah. Jesus then asked His followers who they say He is. Simon Peter answers that He is the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Jesus tells Simon that he is blessed because no one taught him that. His Father in heaven showed him who Jesus was. Jesus told Peter that He would build His church on this rock and the power of death will not be able to defeat His church. When you promise forgiveness on earth, that forgiveness will be God’s forgiveness. Jesus then warned His followers not to tell anyone He was the Messiah.
Pastor Dawn then gave her message which was entitled Pharaoh and the Sin of Ingratitude. All Egypt has forgotten what Joseph did for them. There would have been widespread starvation if not for Joseph. But that was a long time ago and people forget. We still do.
How much do you really know about the founding of this country? Do you remember the people who fought and those brave men who risked death to set up our government? I do. I still believe in the statement that the first shot fired in the Revolution was the shot heard round the world. But it was 250 years ago and people do forget.
It’s been 300 years since Joseph died and the Israelites still continue to live and multiply in Egypt and Pharaoh can’t recall or maybe doesn’t want to recall the things that happened in the previous dynasty.
Egypt is already old when the book of Exodus begins. It is already around 2,000 years old. Pharaoh has forgotten the good deeds of the past and now intends to persecute the Israelites. He is using a three pronged attack. Work them hard, Kill the male children and keep the women and breed them out of existence, kind of like the N**i Germans did.
Moses is the savior of his people much like Joseph was but Moses will lead them out of slavery to freedom and out of Egypt and back to the promised land.
But, just as Joseph had to undergo some training for his position as a savior Moses must also endure training and preparation. Pastor Dawn told us that whenever God calls you to do something He will also prepare you. Sometimes the preparation is intensely distressing but sometimes it is just a time of quiet anonymity like what Jesus experienced before His ministry began at age 30. We don’t know what Jesus was doing during this time but it was something God considered necessary to prepare Him for the coming difficult times.
But the title of this message talks of ingratitude and Pastor Dawn spoke of Pharaoh’s. Ingratitude isn’t listed as a sin but remember that sin is straying from the path that God has laid out for you. Jesus modeled thankfulness for us in His life on earth. He thanked God in His prayers and thanked Him for giving Him the power to heal people.
Peter told the Thessalonians “Give Thanks in all circumstances and reminded the Ephesians to “sing and make melody to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks to God the Father at all times an for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” Psalm 118:1 tells us “O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His steadfast love endures forever” Living a life of thanksgiving is important as a Christian. We have a national holiday to celebrate and be thankful but it should be an everyday mindset. When you thank other people you are sharing with them the grace of God.
Sometimes we only think about what we lack and forget to be grateful for what we already have. We forget to count our blessings. We think we can find happiness by buying more stuff. The real key to happiness is learning to love where you are in life and to desire only what you already have. Remember that you come into life with nothing and everything you have is only through the grace of God. Also be thankful that you were born in a country with our amazing abundance and freedoms. You could have been born in a place that doesn’t have electricity or running water. Be thankful for the blessings you have been given.
Denny and Donna Ashcraft thanked all the people who came to help them clean up after the storm the other night. Phyllis Shupe reported that Sawyer Shupe is recovering from his tonsillectomy Leroy Rieschick reported that his granddaughter, Mekenna, is giving him a new grandson-in-law and his granddaughter, Brooklyn, will be giving him a new great-grandchild.
Services ended with the Benediction and the song “Be Thou My Vision”
After services ended the Bible study group met where we studied the Fall Into Sin of Adam and Eve.

08/18/2026

BUCKS GROVE/CIRCLEVILLE METHODIST CHURCHES
Sunday, August 16, 2026
By Colleen Reamer

A nice crowd of twenty-six people met to worship together at Bucks Grove Methodist Church on August 16th at 9:00 am.
Colleen Reamer lit the candles to the accompaniment of Sandy Hefty.
After the Call to Worship the congregation sang “For the Beauty of the Earth”.
Other songs on Sunday were “Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior” and “They’ll Know We are Christians”.
Betty Bernritter had the special. She told us that when we are faced with massive difficulties to consider joy. God is ready to catch and help you do whatever is possible. He has already accomplished the greatest miracle in our lives, saving us from our sins. Impossibilities are God’s speciality so the next time you face an impossible situation turn to God with a hopeful heart. Rely on God’s infinite sufficiency because all things are possible with God.
Lay Pastor Hefty then had the children present come up. He told them that education is a journey where you need help. The teachers are there to help you but you also need to turn to God and ask Him to help,
Lay Pastor Hefty then read to us from Genesis 45: 1-15. These verses tell of when Joseph revealed who he was to his brothers. He asks if his father is still alive but his brothers are too scared to answer him. He then tells them he is the brother they sold into Egypt but not to be distressed or angry with themselves because it was to save lives that God sent him ahead of them. There has been two years of famine but there will be five more years. God sent me ahead to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save their lives by a great deliverance. It was not them who sent him there, but God. He is now father to Pharaoh and lord of his entire household and ruler of Egypt. He tells them to get their father and come down to him. They will live in the region of Goshen and be near to Joseph and he will provide for them.
The second scripture read was Romans 11: 1-21, 29-32. These passages tell us that God has not thrown away His people. Paul uses himself as proof saying God’s covenant promise to the Jewish people remains active and unbroken God’s covenant promises to Israel remain permanent. Both Jews and Gentiles experience disobedience so that God can ultimately show mercy to everyone showing that human rebellion cannot defeat God’s plan to save people through grace.
Lay Pastor Hefty then read to us from Matthew 15 10-28. This Gospel reading tells of how Jesus calls the people to Him and tells them that it is not what people put in their mouth that makes them wrong. It is what comes out of their mouth that makes them wrong. His followers tell Jesus that the Pharisees were upset about what He said. Jesus tells them that every plant that his father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots, He tells them to stay away from the Pharisees because they are like blind men leading other blind men. When Peter doesn’t understand exactly what Jesus meant Jesus tells him that what you put into your mouths is processed by the body and eliminated but the evil things that come out of people’s mouths come from the way they think. Later a Gentile woman asks Jesus to heal her daughter who is possessed by a demon. Jesus is there to help Jewish people but the woman shows Jesus she has great faith and He heals her daughter.
Lay Pastor Hefty then gave his message. First he spoke about what happened to Joseph when he found his brothers. They take his coat and throw him in a dry well. This dry well will no longer be dry when it rains.
Joseph is eventually pulled out of the dry well and sold into slavery. It couldn’t have felt very good to know the family you love wants to get rid of you that bad. But he is sold and goes to Egypt. The journey to Egypt probably wasn’t pleasant. But he was sent to Egypt to prepare to save the people.
When he gets to Egypt he is sold to a rich man’s household. But he is a slave and a new slave at that. He probably got the worst job on the premises. But he did good. He worked hard. He must have impressed his masters because he was promoted over the entire household.
Unfortunately the master’s wife took a liking to him and decided she wanted him in a way that wasn’t right. Joseph, knowing it wasn’t right, and knowing that it wasn’t something God wanted him to do, leaves her but leaves his coat behind. She accuses him of wrongdoing and he is thrown into prison.
This was also God’s plan.
At the prison Joseph’s job is taking care of the other prisoners. During this time he interpreted dreams from two people from the Pharoah’s household. The butler and the baker. When they had told him their dreams he told them that the butler would be restored to his position but that baker would be executed, both in three days. This interpretation came true. The butler was overjoyed and told Joseph he would tell Pharoah what Joseph had done. And he does - two years later. A long time to wait. Joseph was waiting on God.
Then, Pharoah had a dream and the butler remembered about Joseph interpreting his dream and he tells Pharoah about it. He called for Joseph and Joseph interpreted the dream to mean there would be seven years of plenty and then seven years of famine.
Pharoah knows it’s going to take a lot of work and Pharoah doesn’t really enjoy working so Joseph gets the job. There’s a lot of work to do. There’s a lot of organizing to do and during the famine it appears the only food available is in Egypt. God had sent Joseph ahead to save a lot of people.
Lay Pastor Hefty told us that the story of Joseph is thought by some people to foreshadow Jesus’ story. One of the first things that happened to Jesus was that his parents had to get up in the middle of the night and escape from Herod who was trying to kill Him.
When Herod passed away they came back and Joseph began work. He was working and thinking about staying in Bethlehem with his family. But, if you thought Herod was bad, his son was just as bad or worse and ruled over the area that included Behlehem. So, again, they had to move. So God sent his son to Nazareth.
So, Jesus began His ministry when He was around thirty. The first thing He did was gather His disciples to follow Him. Some of the disciples had their own personal agendas on their minds instead of Jesus’. Many of the Jewish elders were against Him. He found Himself in a debate with them and they became angry and began to pursue Him. They began to pursue His death. They found an opportunity to falsely accuse Him and He was betrayed and tried. In the end He was crucified.
God had sent His only son. He was badly mistreated. He was whipped and pierced. He was rejected by people but it is through our Savior Jesus Christ that we know salvation.
Prayers are asked for Marvin and Barbara Moore and for Josiah Hefty as they are experiencing health difficulties. Leroy Rieschck reported that he has another grandchild getting married which makes three who are soon to be married. Continued prayers are also asked for Denny Ashcraft as he continues to recover.
Services ended with the Benediction and the song “Be Thou My Vision”.
After services ended the Bible study group began their new book.

08/10/2026

BUCKS GROVE/CIRCLEVILLE METHODIST CHURCHES
Sunday, August 9, 2026
by COLLEEN REAMER

Twenty-five people met together to worship on the hot Sunday morning of August 9th at Bucks Grove Methodist Church at 9:00 am.

Carole Po***ck lit the candles to the accompaniment of Lucas White.

After the Call to Worship the congregation sang “ I Sing the Almighty Power of God”.

Other hymns on Sunday were “He Leadeth Me, O Blessed Thought” and “O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing”

Pastor Dawn invited the children to the front and told them the story about Jesus walking on water to the apostles who were on the sea during a storm. Peter wanted to walk to Jesus when he saw Him coming. He had faith and started to walk across the water but then got distracted and started to sink. Jesus saved him. When Jesus got aboard the boat He calmed the storm.

Trevor Ashcraft had the special. He told the story of a man who was going to a basketball game. His wife told him not to use the county roads on the way home because it was supposed to snow. The man, rationalizing that he had driven these roads for fifty years, took the county road, slid on an icy spot and went into the ditch. He couldn’t get out. A young man came by and offered to take him home. On the way the older man sensed the young man was troubled and asked what was wrong. The young man reluctantly told him that his wife had left and he’d lost his job. He felt God had forgotten about him. The older man told him that he was seventy-two and had also thought that God had forgotten about him a time or two but he never really did. The young man told the older man that he thought he was the one who was doing the rescuing. This story matched the story of Joseph as Joseph didn’t choose the road he ultimately took. God did.

Colleen Reamer read the scriptures. The first scripture read was Genesis 37: 1-5. These verses tell us that Jacob lived in the land of Canaan. His son, Joseph, who was seventeen was tending the flocks with his brothers and brought his father a bad report on the job they were doing. Israel loved Joseph more than his other sons and made him an ornate robe to wear. When his brothers saw this robe this confirmed that their father loved Joseph more and they hated him and wouldn’t have anything to do with him.

The second scripture read was Romans 10: 5-15. These verses tell us that salvation is not earned by keeping religious rules, but is received through personal faith in Jesus Christ. They tell us that believing in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead brings a right standing with God. They also tell us that God sees no difference between Jews and Gentiles, anyone who calls on the name of the Lord receives salvation.

Pastor Dawn’s message was Joseph’s Journey. She began by telling us about Joseph, her favorite Old Testament hero. Joseph is Jacob’s favorite son - maybe because he is the son of Jacob’s beloved wife Rchel. We all know favoritism in families is painful and can lead to resentment. The other sons will never measure up because they will never be Joseph.

Joseph, maybe, is unaware of their hatred because he continually shows off his favored status. He tells about his dreams, which will come in handy for him, but the one where he saw the sun and moon and eleven stars bowing down to him which means his brothers will bow down to him doesn’t go over very well. And then there is the coat his father had made for him. It might have been multicolored but the word ‘passim’ has many interpretations. It may have been striped or embroidered or indeed multicolored but no matter what it upset his brothers and they resolved to kill him.

Jacob has been sent out to check on his brothers, kinda being a little spy. They aren’t where he thought they would be. They are further away which may allow them to express their true feelings for Joseph since their father was not anywhere close.

These brothers decide to get rid of this favored son. The oldest, Reuben, suggests throwing him into a pit without harming him. This way he’d just starve to death or drown if a rain storm came up. Well, hey, at least they didn’t kill him. They were far from God when they did this and they could not hear His voice because of the hatred in their hearts.

Why did God allow this to happen to Joseph? Why does God allow any of us to suffer? These are the questions that are hiding in the text. If you ask these questions you will learn more than just the historical events.

God needed to get the Israelites to Egypt because they are meant to be enslaved. The dreamer, Joseph, is meant to be the savior of his people. He is sold into slavery, accused of adultery, sent to prison and then he interprets the Pharaoh's dreams and joins the Pharaoh's household. He works his way up to become the Pharoah’s right hand man. He is guided by God’s hand. We don’t know why Joseph had to follow this torturous path to get where he needed to be. Only God knows.

Joseph had interpreted Pharaoh/s dream to be seven years of good harvests and then seven years of bad harvests. Joseph told Pharaoh to save grain to tide them over during the seven years of drought. When his brothers come to buy grain, Joseph doesn’t trust them and puts them to the test. They don’t recognize him but he recognizes them. He tests them to see if they would sacrifice another brother to save themselves. They pass the test and Joseph finally has been able to get over their betrayal and forgive them. They come before him and all bow before him just as he had dreamed so long ago. When Joseph reveals himself to his brothers they are terrified. Joseph tells them not to be distressed because God had sent him there to preserve life.

Unlike Joseph’s story, Peter's path to faith is short and not too scary. Peter had Jesus as a mentor where Joseph was in a foreign land and away from his family and friends. Joseph remained faithful to God in all things and eventually he was rewarded with a powerful position in Pharoah’s household. He was soon to hold the fate of the world in his hands.

Pastor Dawn then told us about the apostles on the sea. Jesus was walking out to them on the stormy sea to comfort them because he knew they would be afraid.. They don’t recognize Him. They think he’s a ghost. Peter, when he recognizes Jesus, says “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” Peter has seen some things by now and has seen Jesus do some pretty amazing things. Peter knows he can't walk on water but is willing to trust his life to Jesus, That’s how strong his faith is now. The storm is still raging. That first step must have been really hard but Peter’s faith was strong. Se, he walks out on the water. Then he overthinks it or something distracts him. He loses focus and starts to sink. Jesus pulls Peter to safety. There was never any danger. When they reach the boat, the wind dies down and all proclaim Jesus as the Son of God.

Pastor Dawn told us that the lesson we can learn from Joseph’s and Peter’s stories is to always seek the face of God in all circumstances and never let our attention waver. It is when we recognize that God has a hand in the events of our lives and His presence is always near that we can be assured of His grace and full of His peace.

Prayers are asked for Katie Moore as she is having some health concerns. It was a joy to see Denny at church and recovering from his fall. Benjamin and Oliver reported they each have a new cat.

Services ended with the Benediction and the song “Be Thou My Vision”.

Send a message to learn more

08/03/2026

BUCKS GROVE/CIRCLEVILLE METHODIST CHURCHES
Sunday, August 2, 2026
By Colleen Reamer

A small crowd of just twenty people met to worship on the beautiful Sunday morning of August 2nd at Bucks Grove Methodist Church at 9:00 am.
Carol Po***ck lit the candles to the accompaniment of Lucas White.
After the Call to Worship the congregation sang “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling”.
Other songs sung on Sunday were “I Am Thine, O Lord” and “Great is Thy Faithfulness”.
Teresa Rieschick had the special. She told of how the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas” coincides with the Bible. The partridge is Jesus, the two turtle doves are the Old and New Testaments, the three french hens are faith, hope and love, the four calling birds are the four Gospels, the five golden rings are the Pentateuch, the six geese-a-laying are the six days of creation, the seven swans a-swimming are the Holy Spirit gifts, the eight maids a-milking are the beatitudes, the nine ladies dancing are the fruits of the Holy Spirit, the ten lords a-leaping are the Ten Commandments, the eleven pipers piping are the eleven faithful apostles and the twelve drummers drumming is the Apostles Creed.
Colleen Reamer read the scriptures. The first scripture read was Genesis 32:22-31. These scriptures tell of how Jacob was taking his wives, servants, sons and possessions to cross the ford of the Jabbok. After he had sent them across he was alone and a man came and wrestled with him all night. When the man couldn’t overpower Jacob he touched Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. The man then said let me go because it is daybreak. Jacob told the man he wouldn’t let him go unless the man blessed him. The man then asked Jacob what his name was. When Jacob told him the man told him his name would no longer be Jacob but Israel because he had struggled with God and humans and overcome. Jacob asked for the man’s name but the man said why do you ask my name and then blessed him.
The second scripture read was Romans 9: 1-5: These verses tell us of Paul’s great anguish because his own people do not believe in Jesus. He swears by Christ and the Holy Spirit that he is telling them the truth and even wishes he could be cut off from Christ if it would save them.
Pastor Dawn then read Matthew 14: 13-21. This Gospel reading tells about after Jesus heard about what had happened to John the Baptist he left in a boat. When the people heard Jesus had left they followed Him. When Jesus got out of the boat he saw a large crowd, and feeling sorry for them He healed the ones who were sick. Later that afternoon some of Jesus’ followers came to Him and told Him He should send the people home so they could get something to eat. Jesus said that the people don’t need to leave because you can give them food to eat. The followers told Jesus they only had five loaves of bread and two fishes. Jesus told them to bring the food to Him and He took the five loaves and two fish, thanked God for the food, broke the bread into pieces and gave the food to the people. When everyone had eaten there were twelve baskets of food left.
Pastor Dawn’s message was The Fate of Israel. She explained that on Sunday we had two passages that focus on Israel. We began with Jacob who was on his way to meet with his brother Esau for the first time in 20 years. He was bringing Esau generous gifts to make up for all of his trickery and deceit. On the way he met a mysterious man who wrestled with him. This is when Jacob got the name of Israel. We have been concentrating on the Patriarchs from Genesis
Pastor Dawn told us that Jacob is important because he is the son of Isaac. Not the only son but the one who carries the promise of Abraham into the future. He does make amends to Esau but then Esau fades away into history. He does make an appearance later as his descendants, the Edomies, become the constant enemy of Israel.
When Jacob wrestles with the mysterious man he quickly realizes that this isn’t just any man. Jacob, as the opportunist he was, asks this man for a blessing. This is when Jacob’s name is changed to Israel. God possibly chose to rename Jacob at this time because Jacob had come into his own. He had left his uncle and was heading back to the land of his father - the land of Canaan. The land God promised to Abraham. Jacob now has wives, children, servants and flocks and is ready to start a new nation. He has eleven sons and will have one more. The twelve tribes of Israel.
These tribes will eventually form a nation and then split into two nations, Israel and Judah. Both of these nations will fall to the Babylonians. Israel ceases to exist in 586 BC and won’t be reestablished until the 20th century. The history of Israel is important to us because they are our spiritual forefathers.
The stories in Genesis tell us the history of the Jewish people and God’s special relationship with them. In our reading from Romans Paul is very unhappy because many of the Jews aren’t accepting Jesus as the Messiah and can no longer lay claim to the promise.
Pastor Dawn told us that not all of Abraham's natural descendants are the children of the promise. Ishmael was his son but his descendants are called Ishmaelites, not Israelites. Esau was also an heir of the promise of Abraham but his descendants are the Edomites and enemies of Israel. By these examples we see that it is not the children of the flesh that matter but only those who are chosen by God as His spiritual children.
We are told that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. The idea of spreading the promise of Abraham to all nations is found at the very beginning. God knew what He was doing. He started out selective, choosing to favor one people and not another. But now, through Jesus Christ all are invited, We are not the new chosen ones, but only the newest adopted children in the family of God.
Prayers are asked for Denny Ashcraft as he had a nasty accident on a horse. Mary Ringel reported they went to Lyle McDougal’s 90th birthday and saw many nieces and nephews they hadn’t seen in some time. Betty Bernritter told us that she had had tests run and is still holding her own against the cancer.
Services ended with Communion, the Benediction and the song “Be Thou My Vision”.

07/27/2026

Worship service during the month of August will be held at Buck’s Grove at 9:00 am on August 2, 9, 16, and 23. The Fifth Sunday, August 30, worship service will be held at First United in Holton.

Bible Study will resume on August 2 and we will begin studying “120 Bible Stories.”

Everyone welcome!

07/27/2026

BUCKS GROVE/CIRCLEVILLE METHODIST CHURCHES
Sunday, July 26, 2026
By Colleen Reamer

A nice crowd of twenty-five people met to worship together on the very hot Sunday morning of July 26th at Circleville Methodist Church at 9:00 am.
Helen Farley lit the candles to the song “Come, Christians Join to Sing”.
Sue Wichman had the special. She had come across a history of the Circleville church and read us a brief part of it, sharing when the children’s choir was formed and also the adult choir. She told us that the children had white robes and looked adorable when they sang. She mentioned several names from the past.
David Allen read the scriptures. The first scripture read was Genesis 29: 15-28. These verses tell of how Jacob was working for Laban but Laban did not feel it was right for Jacob to work without being paid. He asked Jacob what he should be paid. Jacob told Laban he wanted to marry Rachel who was beautiful. He told Laban he would work for him for seven years so he could marry Rachel. When the seven years passed Laban substituted Rachel’s older sister Leah as the bride. Jacob was very angry. Laban told him that it was the custom for the older sister to marry first and if Jacob would stay with Leah for one week he could then have Rachel for his bride but he would have to work for Laban another seven years.
The second scripture read was Romans 8: 26-39. These passages tell us that the Spirit helps us because we are very weak. We don’t know how to pray but the Spirit himself speaks to God for us. They tell us that God already knows our deepest thoughts and He understands what the Spirit is saying. We know that God works for the good of those who love Him and these are the people that God chose, which was His plan. If God is for us no one can stand against us and God is with us. In all our troubles we have complete victory through God and nothing can separate us from God’s love.
Pastor Dawn then read to us from Matthew 13: 31-33, 44-52. In this Gospel reading Jesus told the people that God’s kingdom is like a mustard seed. It is the smallest of all seeds but when it grows it is the largest of all garden plants. He also told them that God's kingdom is like yeast that makes dough rise. Jesus also told them that God’s kingdom is like a treasure hidden in a field. One day the man found the treasure, hid it again and went out and sold everything he owned and bought the field. He also said God’s Kingdom is like a net that was put into the lake. The net caught many different kinds of fish. The fisherman separated the good fish from the bad. It will be the same at the end of time. The angels will come and separate the evil people from the godly people and they will throw the evil people into the place of fire.
Pastor Dawn’s message was entitled God’s Patience. She began by speaking about the Gospel reading we had today where Laban tricked Jacob into marrying Leah. Jacob could have stormed off and never had anything to do with Laban again but, instead, he married Rachel and signed up for another seven years of work.
It is kind of a case of what goes around comes around. When Isaac was dying Jacob dressed in his brother’s clothing and placed a goatskin on his arm to fool Isaac so he could receive a blessing from his father that should have been given to Esau.
But this must all have been according to God’s plan. If Jacob had only Rachel as a wife he would only have had two sons. No twelve tribes of Israel, no older brothers to get jealous about how Jacob gave Joseph special treatment, no exile to Egypt, no Moses, no Exodus. Israel’s whole history would have been different.
Pastor Dawn told us that patience is one of her favorite virtues. It’s why she enjoys gardening. There is so much waiting in gardening. You plant the seed and wait for it to sprout. You watch it grow and wait for it to get buds and then finally to flower. God has to be really patient. The timescale of the creation of the Earth is huge. 4.6 billion years. That is really big and hard to really wrap your brain around.
If we took the whole 4.6 billion years and compressed it into 24 hours it would go like this. At midnight the planet is formed. From 5:00 to 6:00 am land masses start to form. Life would appear around 4:00 am and for the next 18 hours, from 4:00 am to shortly before 10:00 pm (about 3 billion years) all life is confined to water. The first land plants don’t appear until 9:52 pm. At 10:56 the dinosaurs come onto the scene and exit at 11: 41 pm. Human history doesn’t even begin until 11: 58:43 pm. Our existence on this planet has only been a blink of an eye for God.
We, as humans, seem to want to go fast but God’s time is slower, almost like it is not even moving. It’s like comparing our 77 seconds of existence to the 4.6 billion years of the Earth’s existence - there isn’t any commonality. It’s understandable that we have a hard time with patience when it comes to God’s activity, or inactivity, on Earth.
But God’s patience when it comes to human beings is Legendary. He created humans and the whole planet for their enjoyment. They had everything they needed and wanted and only had one rule to follow. The rest is history - they couldn’t do it. You’d think God would be angry. Maybe he was but he didn’t kill them and start over. He expelled them from the garden. You might think it was an act of punishment but it was really an act of mercy. God knew that they would experience suffering. Throughout the Bible people continued to stray from God’s way. It is depressing and enlightening. Depressing because it shows that humans are not as good as they want to be and enlightening because the pattern shows God’s faithfulness and infinite patience with his Creation whom he loves despite their disobedience.
Pastor Dawn told us that the Kingdom of God is that time when God will be revealed to be the Supreme rule of earth. C.H.Dodd explains that the Kingdom of God is something yet to be revealed, God is more than King of Israel; He is King of the world but the world does not recognize Him as King.
Jesus told the e\people gathered that the Kingdom is like a mustard seed - it starts out little but then grows into a large plant. Jesus planted the seek and that was His life. The Kingdom Has been established here on earth - and it is GROWING. The growth is due to people like you and me. We are the Kingdom of God on Earth.
Paul’s writing from today’s reading from Romans says “ For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels,, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Mary Jo and Allen Fernkopf were celebrating their 69th anniversary on Sunday and Evelyn Allen was celebrating her birthday. Prayers are asked for Andra Holiday after her fall and for the Zibell family at the passing of Bill. Mary Tessendorf attended her granddaughter's wedding on Saturday.
Services ended with the Benediction and the song “Be Thou My Vision”.