Lebanon United Methodist Church

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

08/16/2026

08/13/2026

THIS COMING SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICE – AUGUST 16th, 2026
This coming Sunday is August 9th. Worship is at 11:00AM. (No Sunday School during the summer) The sermon title this week is “God With Us”. 😊 The scriptures this week are Exodus 15:19-21 & Matthew 11:2-5. So come and join us for a wonderful time of faith, fellowship and yes, even fun! (Remember that there is a pot luck luncheon right after church also)😊

08/10/2026

REV. RICH’S RITTINGS – AUGUST 10th, 2026

PONDERING CHURCH ATTENDANCE 😊

As a young pastor serving my first appointment I was told by my first district Superintendent (think regional boss) that I should understand that in the summertime “church attendance is up and down; up at the mountains and down at the beach”! 😊 Seeing the attendance at our church these past two Sundays I completely understand that statement! Most of the time in the summer church members are more at the beach than they are in the mountains, but they certainly aren't in the pews! I think preachers struggle with this. I know I do. Being human, I think many preachers when attendance is down wonder if it's their preaching or their personality or a combination of both that is responsible for the low attendance. 😊 I think most preachers believe that if they have a decent personality, can preach a decent sermon, and enjoy visiting their people, that attendance will always remain strong no matter what time of year it is. It is hard not to believe low attendance numbers relate directly to the popularity of the pastor. And yet that is probably not a truthful statement. The truth is that attendance in worship relates more to the popularity and the need of the Lord. The need to sense God in one's life and to make Him a priority. In times of national tragedy or crisis church attendance always increases considerably. When life seems to be status quo church attendance ebbs and flows. Now don’t get me wrong, there are many valid reasons to miss church on a Sunday. People go on vacations, people get sick/health issues, weather gets bad, and sometimes one just wants to stay in bed. So, I guess the issue of church attendance is always the same no matter what time of season it is. Assuming that one is not on vacation, or dealing with health issues or the weather is terrible, each of us has to answer the question of how much do I need God in my life and where does the Lord fit into my priorities? And that question is one only each one of us can answer. Amen & Amen.

Rev. Rich

08/04/2026

THIS COMING SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICE – AUGUST 9th, 2026
This coming Sunday is August 9th. Worship is at 11:00AM. (No Sunday School during the summer) This Sunday wraps up the series on the Holy Spirit the sermon title this week is “The Holy Spirit Finale”. 😊 The scripture this week is Genesis 1:1=2. So come, catch the Spirit 😊 and join us for a wonderful time of faith, fellowship and yes, even fun! 😊

07/29/2026

THIS COMING SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICE – AUGUST 2nd, 2026
This coming Sunday is August 2nd. This is Communion Sunday. Worship is at 11:00AM. (No Sunday School during the summer) Continuing the series on the Holy Spirit the sermon title this week is “Powered People”. 😊 The scripture this week is Ephesians 5:22-25. So come, catch the Spirit 😊 and join us for a wonderful time of faith, fellowship and yes, even fun! 😊

07/22/2026

REV. RICH’S RITTINGS … JULY 22, 2026
THE REAL AMERICA
Now that America hosting the World Cup is over, I wonder how many of us, even those not soccer fans (called football by the rest of the world), noticed the best part of the event. The best part of the event was not the matches although they were very good. The best part was the visitors from all the different countries involved in the World Cup discovering the America we often overlook. When you read the news or listen to it. When you see things on social media. You would think that this isn't a very good place to live anymore. Our visitors reminded us time after time in video after video and interview after interview of how great America still is. They came with preconceived notions, mostly negative, about America that they admitted had been acquired from media sources. Yet what they found was a nation in all the different locations where the matches were held, that was friendly and welcoming. They couldn't get over the air conditioning most of us take for granted. They couldn't get over that you get free refills on your drinks. They couldn't get over the physical size of America. They loved the small towns they encountered. They loved the decorations they would see outside homes whether it was for July 4th, summertime, or just some event going on in the community. They saw so much good and wonder in this place we call home. And yet we overlook our blessings. We take for granted what others see as extraordinary and amazing. No, we are not a perfect nation. And we see hateful things posted by the extremes on all sides. But the real America is made up of average everyday people. They go to work; they meet with their friends and their own families. Many love the Lord and this nation. The phrase was coined back in the 70s but there is a silent majority in our beloved land that are on both sides of the political aisle and that is just one of the blessings of this country we call home. I was amazed to hear some of our visitors from different countries say they think they were born in the wrong country! Tey wish they had been born here. But the truth is most of us born here don't even give it a second thought of our blessings. Maybe we should. The World Cup event remind us of our many blessings that God has bestowed upon us in this nation. I hope we never forget that in our journey of life and that we will pass it on to the future generations. God has been good to us may we always remember that.
Amen & Amen. 😊

Rev. Rich

07/22/2026

THIS COMING SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICE – JULY 26th, 2026
This coming Sunday is July 26th. Worship is at 11:00AM. (No Sunday School during the summer) Continuing the series on the Holy Spirit the sermon title this week is “Walking in the Spirit”. 😊 The scripture this week is John 14:25-27. So come, catch the Spirit and join us for a wonderful time of faith, fellowship and yes, even fun! 😊

07/15/2026

THIS COMING SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICE – JULY 19th, 2026
This coming Sunday is July 19th. Worship is at 11:00AM. (No Sunday School during the summer) Continuing the series on the Holy Spirit the sermon title this week is “The Holy How”. 😊 The scripture this week is John 3:1-3. So come, catch the Spirit and join us for a wonderful time of faith, fellowship and yes, even fun! 😊

07/15/2026

REV. RICH’S RITTINGS … JULY 15th, 2026
THE HARDEST PART
What is the hardest part of being a Christian? Some would say it's turning the other cheek others might say forgiving someone who's wronged you, others might say it's believing that all those miracles record in the Bible happened as they are recorded. You could make a good argument for any of those issues. But I think the hardest part of being a Christian is faith. In his book, “When God Whispers Your Name”, Max Lucado writes that:
“Faith is trusting what the eye can't see. Eyes see the prowling lion. Faith sees Daniel's Angel. Eyes see storms. Faith sees Noah's rainbow. Eyes see giants. Faith sees Canaan (The Promise Land). Your eyes see your faults. Your faith sees your savior. Your eyes see your guilt. Your faith sees Jesus’ blood.”
Over my 52 years as a pastor and my 70 plus years as a Christian I have found that faith can sometimes be the hardest part of my religious journey. And yet over those years and my ministry I have seen countless moments where God has been in the moment, the situation, and even in the valley. In the 9th chapter of the Gospel of Mark a desperate father seeking healing for his demonically possessed son is recorded as having said to Jesus, “I believe help my unbelief.” I imagine that phrase has been repeated by Christians at different moments through the generations. And yet the simple fact is we are people of faith. So, the next time you struggle with your faith remember the promises of God and how he has kept everyone! Remember how we often must look back behind the storms to see that God has been with us the whole time. Remember that archaeology over thousands of years has never found one item that disproves anything in the Bible and in fact has often discovered things they thought couldn't possibly be true until they were staring at it in an archaeological dig. Faith may be the hardest part of our walk, but it is also the greatest part. May your faith grow with each passing day and may you find your feet planted firmly in the Bible. Hebrews 11 sums it up wonderfully when the author writes, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (ESV) The Living Bible puts it this way; “What is faith? It is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen. It is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us even though we cannot see it ahead.” (LB) Amen & Amen. 😊

Rev. Rich