First United Methodist Church - Lovington, NM

08/24/2023

This page is no longer being used, the new page is First Methodist Church of Lovington.

05/14/2023

Please don’t forget we are now using our new page. First Methodist Church of Lovington

05/06/2023

What a beautiful Saturday morning to start the weekend off right.

Tonight is game night with Plains Methodist at 5:00 pm. We will be playing Mexican Train and if you also have some games you like to play as family you can bring those as well.

Tomorrow is Communion Sunday, and the Christ our Lord invites all to the table.

Sunday school starts at 9:45 for all ages and I will be conducting the Confirmation Class.

We will also have our first Sunday of the month fellowship meal following the service.

This will be the last Sunday that we will be using this page so please make sure you like the new one, First Methodist Church of Lovington

05/03/2023

I hope that you are all doing well on this beautiful day. We are already a few days into May, and it is almost time for graduations and summer vacations. It seems strange that a year ago today, I was turning in some of my last assignments to complete my Master of Divinity. Let’s take this time to enjoy this weather before it starts to get a little too hot. Let’s also pray for more rain.

While stationed in Georgia, we would get heavy rains and thunder almost every night during the summer. As a child, I loved the rain, not so much the thunderstorm, but the rain seemed to bring me comfort. I would sit out on the patio and just listen. I think the only time I did not like the rain was when we were out training. The rains are indeed life-giving, giving life to the ground and our souls.

Once Israel had been freed, there was to be agricultural prosperity and good health for all believers. If the people needed rain, all they needed to do was ask the Lord. Zechariah 10:1 reads, “Ask for rain from the Lord in the season of the spring rain, from the Lord who makes the storm clouds, who gives showers of rain to you, the vegetation in the field to everyone.” These rains were seen as a blessing and a symbol of spiritual refreshment. The things of this earth need the rain to grow, and we also need this refreshment and reminder of God’s great power and blessings on all of us for us to grow.

I ask that we continue to keep Pat Wise in our prayers.

Here are some things to add to your calendars.

May 5th is the “All Church Ladies Annual Potluck Luncheon.” First Methodist Church of Lovington is hosting this fantastic event. It will start at noon, but they ask that all food be at the church by 11:30.

May 6th is Game Night with Plains Methodist Church here at Frist Methodist Church of Lovington. It will be at 5:00 pm. If you have a family game that you would like to bring to play with others, you are welcome to.

May 7th is the first Sunday of the Month, so communion and lunch will follow the service. Sunday School will start at the regular time of 9:45 and service at 10:50.

May 14th, join us for “Muffins with Mom on Mother’s Day at 9:30 in Fellowship Hall

May 21st is Graduation Sunday. We will be honoring all our graduates during worship.

Revival Weekend is planned for September 9th-10th. Please join us for a weekend of worship, music, and praise.

The new page is up and running. Please go to this page as soon as possible if you follow us on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100091725805002. You can also look it up at First Methodist Church of Lovington.

04/26/2023

04/26/2023

I have been told that times seem to go by a little faster as you age. I ignored this as a child because it seemed that time just seemed to drag on. Now that I am older, I often wonder where the time has gone. I was reminded just how precious time is this morning as I looked at my daily quote. It says, "Do something today that your future self will thank you for." Now this may not sound too prophetic, but if we take the time to think about it, what have we done that maybe our future self will thank us for? Many of us have worked hard to ensure we can enjoy life a little more regarding retirement. But what is our spiritual life?

It is easy to use the excuse that COVID killed the Church, but have we looked a little deeper than COVID? The decline in church attendance is nothing new, and it started long before the pandemic. Now COVID did not help, but it helped us find other ways to get the Word to the people through live video streaming right to people's phones, tablets, and computers. This technology allowed us to stay in our pajamas on Sunday mornings or sleep longer since we could view the recorded version later. But what if we did not have this technology? Would people just not come to Church anymore?

It was not COVID that killed the Church, and it lacks relevance in the people's minds. Some may feel that Church is no longer needed or that the traditional aspects of the Church are a waste of time. I am not saying we cannot call ourselves faithful if we don't attend Church. But I am saying that sometimes we forget just how good fellowship with others is from time to time. When we get away from doing something we have grown accustomed to, we get used to doing other things. The opportunity to lift our praise to God should not be seen as a chore but a beautiful opportunity to spend time in the Lord's presence.

Times and people are changing, and many want us to change, but we need to remember that God has not changed. I hope and pray that we can see for ourselves what the future of the Church has in store for all of the people of this great community of believers. Let's take some time to reconnect and refresh.

May 5th is the All Church Ladies Annual Potluck Luncheon. First Methodist Church of Lovington will host this event in Fellowship Hall at 12:00 pm. Please have all food at the Church by 11:30.

May 6th will be Game Night with Plains Methodist Church. This will be in Fellowship Hall at 6:00 pm.

Holy Land trip March 1-10, 2024. If you would like more information on this, please see me. This is what is planned for each day as of now:

Arrive at Ben Gurion airport, meet and assist drive to Bethlehem, check in Angel hotel, dinner.

Tour Mt Olives, Gethsemane, St Anne, Bethesda Pools, Wailing Wall, Teaching Steps, Last Supper, David Tomb, dinner at hotel.

Tour Bethlehem, Nativity church, Shepherds field, Herodioun Herod's burial fortress, complimentary cultural evening after dinner.

Check out, drive north, visit Caesarea Maritima, Mt Carmel, Mt Tabor the Transfiguration site, Nazareth, check in the hotel in Galilee, dinner.

Visit Caesarea Philippi, Beatitudes, Primacy Capernaum, Maghdala, Boat ride, dinner.

Check out, drive to Samaria, visit the ancient capital Sebastia , visit Jacobs well ,
view Mt Ebal & Gerizim, drive to Jerusalem, check in the hotel, and have dinner.


Tour Via Dolorosa, Holy sepulcher, down to Jericho, Qumran, Baptismal site, Dead Sea, dinner at hotel.

Holocaust Museum, Elah Valley, Emmaus, John the Baptist birthplace, dinner .

Free morning, Garden Tomb, dinner in a nice restaurant in Jerusalem, transfer to the airport.

04/23/2023

04/19/2023

I hope everyone is doing well as we hit the week's midpoint. May is approaching fast, and I have no clue where this year is going. Before you know it, school will be out, and it will be time for summer vacation.

I have been thinking a lot about a lesson that some youth and I looked at on Monday night. It was about influencers and how they may sometimes direct our thinking. I feel that this is something that many of us do not take the time to think about, but say we stop for a moment and look at who or what are the influencers in our lives. I asked some of the youth what their influences were; most said it was people on the internet, and some were friends.

For some of us adults, it may be the same as well. We are drawn to the internet because it is a treasure trove of information. We listen to our friends because maybe we feel that they know best. Some of our adult influencers could be our favorite newscaster or sports legend. Not only do these influencers affect our thinking, but they also affect the things we do, the stuff we buy, and even how we act.

In Paul's letter to the Roman Church, he writes, "I appeal to you; therefore, brothers and sister, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and accountable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by renewing your minds, so that you may discern God's will—what is good and acceptable and perfect." Paul tells us that we do not need to conform to what these influencers tell us. He is telling us there is only one authentic influencer and that when we allow ourselves to be a sacrifice to God, we will be distinguished by characteristics that can inform the rest of our lives.

Let's turn back toward God. Let's sacrifice ourselves to Him so that He can lead, teach, and guide the rest of our lives. All the other influencers cannot compare to His great power as He reveals His purpose for our lives.

I ask that we continue to keep Robert Caudle in our prayers. I also request that we keep all of our world leaders in our prayers.

There will be a meeting tomorrow, Thursday, April 20th, regarding planning the "All Church Ladies Annual Luncheon" at 5:00 pm. The Luncheon will be on May 5th, 12:00-1:00 pm.

May 6th will be Game Night with Plains Methodist. This will be at 5:00 pm.

04/09/2023

What a great way to start our Easter Morning. The youth did an amazing job for the Sunrise Service.

04/06/2023

Tonight the FUMC Choir recorded the Easter Cantata to be played on FM 105.1, Friday morning at 9:00 am.

04/05/2023

Another busy week in the church's life, and I hope everyone is doing well. I hope you all are looking forward to the Good Friday service and the opportunity to draw closer together as a community of believers. This evening also starts at the beginning of Passover.

As I was getting coffee ready this morning for the Men's Bible Study, I started thinking about how coffee always tastes differently in different locations. Most of the time, it's always the same brand, but there seems to be something different about the taste. We seem to make it the same way, the water comes from the same source, but the taste differs. Could this be more psychological than anything?

Scripture can be very similar to this experience. Depending on how we are feeling, where we are currently in our lives, or even the things that are going on around us, scripture can have a different meaning each time we open up our Bibles. It's still the same bible, just like the same brand of coffee, so why is it different?

For many people, coffee is a must to start the day. We need that energy boost to give us power in the morning. Scripture can also offer us the same type of energy if we allow it. While the coffee prepares our flesh, scripture can prepare our hearts and souls. Think of what would happen if we put the same effort and enjoyment into reading scripture as we make our coffee. How we look at scripture may change with what may be currently going on in our lives, this means that we may discover different ways that we may be able to apply it to our lives in ways that we have not thought about before.

There are so many people that we need to keep in our prayers. We should also pray for our community and our world.

Holy Week Service will be today at 6:00 pm, Holy Thursday at 6:00 pm, and our Good Friday Service with First Baptist, Jackson Avenue Baptist, Church of Christ, and First Christian. It will be here at FUMC Lovington at 6:00 pm, and a meal will follow the service.

Easter Sunrise Service will be 6:30 am on Sunday. There will be breakfast following the service. Please come out and support our outstanding youth.

03/31/2023

Following the Easter Service on April 9th, there will be an Easter Egg hunt for the children. We will need plenty of prefilled eggs for this event. They can be dropped off with Cammie Bishop or in my office.