St John United Methodist Church

06/07/2026

06/05/2026

Our second lesson from The Master - speak the truth, always, but do it in love...every time. A tall order, but we'll talk about it Sunday morning and figure it out together ❤️

06/03/2026

One final run around the lake...my first Annual Conference in the books. It was tiring but very special at the same time. You know what? Our denomination is not perfect, but yet, I love the vast majority of what we do and stand for. The theme for this year was Love Boldly Together - let's continue to do that as a church and win just one more for Christ 🙏

06/02/2026

Devotional for June 3, 2026

Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:17-19 - "Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life."

What it means

This is from the Methodist Sunday School curriculum teacher’s guide…thought it would preach 😊

“Wesley’s famous maxim “Gain all you can…save all you can…give all you can” is often misunderstood because we tend to understand save as accumulate (Sermon 50: “The Use of Money”). Wesley, however, means economize. Christians should, if possible, be gainfully employed, ethically earning as much as possible. We economize by not spending more on ourselves than necessary for a modest, useful, disciplined life. We can thus contribute liberally, giving all we can for the poor and for ministry.
Wesley knew that running a business may require capital, so he was not opposed to accumulating money for this purpose. But any wealth beyond what is necessary for ethical business and modest living belongs to the poor. We rob God if we do not give it away. Our money is not really ours; it rightfully belongs to God and the poor. We are stewards. Christian discipleship requires us to “give all we can”, not as charity but as stewardship. By giving, we grow in grace.”

What it means to me

There’s nothing wrong with earning money – there’s nothing wrong with making a decent living or even being rich…but we should always be willing to give away a large portion of it for those who are less fortunate than us. I guess like everything else in life, it’s a heart issue…many people value money more than they should, but like everything else, wealth is fleeting and can come and go very quickly. The apostle Paul is simply exhorting us to not put our ultimate hope in our wealth, but in God – the provider of wealth, and everything else. When we do that, we will be in a better position to do what John Wesley would advise – “Gain all you can…save all you can…give all you can.”

Love you guys, see you on Sunday!

In Christ,

Brian

06/02/2026

Food for thought church...

06/02/2026

Race complete - grateful 🙏

06/02/2026

Getting ready for the 5K...Robert ran 110 miles as a fundraiser for Kenya.

06/01/2026

Annual Conference, ready for worship-let's go!

05/29/2026

Had to use two rows on the sign this week 😀 We'll take a couple weeks to look at the example that Our Lord set for us...this week we'll look at how Jesus didn't just love selectively but all inclusively, and radically.

Just a reminder that Gail Willocks and I will be at Annual Conference next Sun-Wed, and if any of you would like to contribute to either Change for Children or Missions, you can give it to us Sunday morning and we’ll take it with us!