Lebanon United Methodist Church

10/04/2026

10/02/2026

THIS COMING SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICE – October 4th, 2026
This coming Sunday is October 4th. It is also WORLDWIDE COMMUNION SUNDAY. We will be joining with all the Christian churches across the world in celebrating communion! SUNDAY SCHOOL is at 10:00AM in the fellowship hall! 😊 We are studying David Jeremiah’s book “Everything You Need”. In Worship the scripture this week will be II Samuel 9:12-13 and the sermon title will be “To Eat at a Kings Table”. Come join us for a time of connecting to the Lord and one another as well as a time of spiritual growth.

09/24/2026

REV. RICH’S RITTINGS – SEPTEMBER 24th,2026
FOUR LETTER WORDS
This old pastor learned a new 4 letter word this week. Now before you get judgmental it's not like the words I learned working in the steel mill so long ago! 😊 No, this 4-letter word is “gout”. It surfaced about a week ago and if you're not familiar with it it is a very painful affliction to a joint in the body. Mine was in the right foot big toe area. It kept getting worse to where I could hardly walk on it and cumulated on the pain keeping me up all night on Tuesday night. I did not sleep at all. So, I took a trip to urgent care Wednesday who confirmed my wife's Debbie's suspicion that it was gout. (Debbie is a retired RN) The gist of it is I'm taking a steroid to reduce the inflammation, drinking lots of water (a lot more than I want to drink!), and having to cut way down on my sugar intake. The only way to describe the pain is if anyone reading this has had a kidney stone attack, the pain is very similar. On a scale of 1 to 10 on Wednesday morning the pain was a 10 (or maybe an 11!). The good news is that the water, and the steroid seemed to be helping and I can walk much better today than yesterday. Getting older is certainly a challenge to say the least! 😊 Now, what does this four-letter word gout have to do with a devotion? Good question. In our culture today when we discuss “four letter words” we generally think cuss words and very bad words. But what about good four-letter words? How about the words “Love, Hope, Kind, and Soul”? These are the words that need to be part of our life and our Christian journey. So, the next time you want to say a 4- letter word make it a good one a “nice” one and apply the words in your actions as well as your speaking. I hope you have a “nice” day when you read this. I hope you are “kind” to all those you encounter. I hope your “soul” feels God's presence and “love” and that wherever you are in your journey of life you find the “hope” that is in Jesus . 😊 Amen & Amen!
Rev. Rich

09/08/2026

SUNDAY SCHOOL IS BACK! SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 13TH, 2026! 😊
Sunday School starts again on Sunday, September 13th at 10:00AM in the Fellowship Hall. We will be studying the book of II Peter so bring your Bibles! 😊 As a background we will be using Dr. David Jeremiah’s book, “Everything You Need” as a resource but it is not necessary to purchase the book since I will be sharing its insights.

09/02/2026

THIS COMING SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICE – SEPTEMBER 6th, 2026
This coming Sunday is September 6th. It is also COMMUNION SUNDAY. The scripture this week is John 11:43-44 and the sermon title is “Resurrection Power”. Come join us for a time of connecting to the Lord and one another as well as a time of spiritual growth and even fun! 😊

08/21/2026

REV. RICH’S RITTINGS – AUGUST 21st, 2026
ANNIVERSARY THOUGHTS
55 years ago today, Steubenville Ohio was hot as hades. It was so hot that Satan had left town and gone back to hell to cool off! 😊 It was also the day that Debbie and I got married in a non – airconditioned church! It is hard for me to believe but Debbie and I have been married for 55 years. It does not seem possible that it has been that long. And as I tell her, at least 25 of those years have been good! 😊 In all seriousness it has been quite a journey. Together we have served 8 churches and raised four boys to manhood, We also now have 5 grandchildren and two wonderful daughters-in-law. But getting back to our anniversary, not every day of those 55 years has been perfect. I mean Debbie is a redhead so there have been “discussions” at various times, and I think I won one of those. 😊 There has also been plenty of times of laughter and love shared in so many ways. I first saw Debbie at lake Austin. A lake we high school kids went to regularly in the summer when we were not working. It wasn't long after that that we began dating. She was 16 and I was 17 so in some ways we've been together for 60 years which also does not seem possible. But it reminds me that relationships take love and hard work to survive, grow, and walk together through the years. What has our anniversary to do with a devotion? Just this, like a long lasting marriage, it takes work and love to develop a strong relationship with Jesus. It is easy in marriage to get caught in ruts to get apathetic and not appreciate all the things that your spouse does over the years that are special. Most of us when we first became followers of Jesus were so excited and so caught up in the relationship .(Much like the early phases of dating your spouse). But just like in marriage it is easy to begin to take our relationship with Jesus for granted. We don't work at it, we get slack, we sometimes ignore him. My question for us today is how strong and stable is our relationship with Jesus and if we are not happy with our answer what we can do to make it better. I think you know the answer, itis prayer, it's reading your Bible, it's going to Bible studies and doing devotions and most of all it is being faithful and attending the Church of your choice and being involved in it. To Debbie, I love you and thanks for walking with me and putting up with my weaknesses and encouraging my strengths. To Jesus, I love you and thanks for forgiving my sins and walking with me through the ups and downs of life. May I always be a good husband and a faithful disciple. Amen & Amen. 😊
Agape,
Rev. Rich