Lebanon United Methodist Church

Lebanon United Methodist Church Lebanon United Methodist Church is a church family who is dedicate to loving God and loving our neighbors. You are always welcome!

05/29/2026

Last Sunday was Pentecost. It was a day of celebration in Jerusalem for in giving thanks and praise for a good wheat harvest. Pentecost was celebrated every year. But this day, this Pentecost day would also be remembered for something else.
It would be remembered for the presence of the Holy Spirit. This Spirit would change people, would fill them, and give them strength and ministry as they had never had.
Jesus had told the disciples/Apostles to stay in Jerusalem. Something wonderful would happen. They were gathered together in a house, when suddenly a loud and violent wind seemed to engulf the whole inside of the house. Then fire, like tongues came upon each man. And they started speaking in all different languages. There were people outside from all different regions, who spoke in many different languages from their countries. They heard the violent noise and came close to the house.
And what did they find and hear? The disciples were talking in many different languages... THEIR LANGUAGES. How can this be? These men, in the house, are Galileans! How can they know all our languages?
The Holy Spirit had filled the disciples with its presence, its grace, and all that comes from God. It had also filled them with the truth of God. With this/these gifts they were ready to go out over the whole world and proclaim the truth of Christ, the gift of salvation, and the kingdom of God. This is what Jesus had been telling them... and now they were ready. This was the birth of Christ's Church .... Our Church to this day.
Let me not forget to mention the party-poopers in the outside crowd, you know, the ones who declared that the disciples were drunk and were speaking gibberish. We have to love Peter, here, because he came to declare that the men were not drunk because it was too early. And what was happening had been prophesied by the prophet Joel, that the people would be filled with everything of God. The disciples were those filled. They would go out and speak for the Lord.
When we gather together on Pentecost Sunday, we give praise to God for all he has done in our lives. We worship together as members of Christ's Church. And we repent for our sins, the weak times when we don't, and re-affirm our faith in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We are truly blessed < Pastor C

05/22/2026

What will happen next? The disciples were told... and so were we. "I will leave you and go to my Father. I will be glorified in Him and He in me. I will also be in you, and the Holy Spirit will come and be with you." These are serious words, words of promise and love. This is the day that Jesus will return to his Father and his throne.
This will be known as Ascension Day, the day that Jesus will no longer be seen walking the earth. It had been prophesied, and Christian denominations will honor it. It would only be a matter of days before the holy Spirit would come and fill Christ's Apostles with grace and knowledge and they would go out and teach the world the message of Jesus, our Lord, his death and resurrection and his plan for salvation for all who would believe.
This was serious for the Apostles. This meant that they were ready to face whatever world threw at them.
Jesus had told them to go to Jerusalem and wait. And they did... with joy and praise. They prayed in the temple every day and night. They were happy, and not so fearful ... because they knew, they had been told by the Master that something wonderful was coming.
When we arrive at church and enter the Sanctuary, do we have joy? Are we filled with "everything God"? We, as believers should be thankful each time that we gather to give praise to the Lord, and to bring our concerns to Him. For He will listen and he will provide, as is his will, answers to our questions. We will find peace, on some level, and praise Him always.
We never witnessed Jesus' ascension, but God's Holy Word told us it happened. That, sometimes, we should believe in things not seen but found in our Holy Scriptures.
We are looking towards Pentecost and the birth of Christ's Church. It has come a long way since that day and, though there have been and still are some wrinkles, the Church today is still strong and faithful. Let us all remain faithful as Christ's disciples and God's children. Peace, my friends < Pastor C

05/15/2026

Try to image that you and the other disciples are sitting or standing and listening the Teacher, the friend that you have followed for 3 years, and you know that he had been crucified, buried, and then raised from the dead. End that he has appeared to you all and spent time with you all is, well, just incomprehensible.
Now, in John's gospel, Jesus is reminding you that he will leave you soon ... . He reminds you that he "will not leave you like orphans: I will come to you. The world doesn't see me but you will see me."
He will pray to the Father, his Father, to send you all an Advocate, A Counselor. That, my friends will be The Holy Spirit.
They will never be alone. The spirit of Truth, the spirit of Jesus will always be with them. And to this very day, the Holy Spirit is here with us and in us, for all who believe in Jesus as our Savior and.
The world then is not that much different than it is today, and the deceiver is just as active and distracting as always. People of all ages are either being left to fend for themselves of taking advantage of those less prepared to defend themselves. Much of the world might not give any consideration to WHO Jesus is. The person of the Holy Spirit is our Gift from God the Father and God the Son. We must not ignore his presence. For me, he acts as my conscience. When trying to make a hard decision or maybe an 'iffy' decision, I think of the Spirit.
The disciples had lost Jesus' physical presence once already. And now as the resurrected Christ, they are needing to prepare themselves again for a deep loss, but this time it will be different. They have been reassured that Christ will come again.
We have that promise, the promise of Christ's Second Coming. Are you ready? We will see him and hear him. Keep praying and keep that fellowship with him going < Pastor C

05/06/2026

This world of ours can be a very confusing. There are distractions all over the place. Someone or something is always trying to get your attention, sometimes at a deep cost. We might fail in completing tasks or just reprioritize our to-do list.
On this night in the Upper Room, Jesus is reminding his disciples of why he chose them, what he has been teaching them, and that he is going away ... and very soon. He needs them to understand the mission he has laid out for them.
But all they are focused on is "the where" he is going and that they don't know how to get there. This was voiced by Thomas. Jesus sees that they are upset and confused when he tells them to "Not let their hearts be troubled; You believe in God; believe in me also." Jesus is appealing to their trust in him. In fact, he said this twice.
As he tells them that he is going away, he tells them that he will prepare a place for them so that they will be with him always. He tells them that he is the Way, the Truth, and the Light and that it is only through him (a belief and relationship) that they will be with the Father.
More confusion. This time it is Phillip that asks to see the Father. This leads us to think that Phillip and others. Jesus has been fervently trying to show his disciples who God is and what God is like. This is a hard lesson for these men because they're still thinking in human terms and not spiritual or divine terms. But that will change. Come Pentecost, they will understand. The Holy Spirit (Advocate as Jesus had told them) would come.
It has been 2,000 years since this conversation happened and the Holy Spirit is still filling believers with grace, knowledge, and perseverance to go forward in Christ's name, to show kindness and compassion in Christ's name, and to TRUST... trust in the Lord God for the strength and mercy that he gives.
Take time to think about what you believe and why. Take time to pray and talk to the Lord; not only when things are going wrong but also when giving thanks is in order.
Love the Lord, Love each other, and remember, you are never alone. Peace < Pastor C

05/01/2026

Who do you follow to when it comes to life's many paths? What voice grabs your attention? Is it a familiar voice or one that makes the loudest noise? What noises in this confusing world call to you?
Do those noises and voices promise quick answers to your problems ... but don't really give you the assurance you're looking for?
There is only one voice that should grab our attention and that is Jesus. All other voices are empty and false when it comes to having the assurance that we are loved and cared for by the Lord.
Jesus is our Lord, our Shepherd. He leads us in the correct paths for salvation. We, as Christians, always hear his voice calling out to us. He is the pathway, the gate to the Father and gives us the promise that he will protect us from all the false "shepherds" that want to take us away from His flock.
I will say that even Christians do have a choice to listen for his voice and might veer off in another direction. God did give us free will to do that. But, it is in our best interest to listen and follow only His voice when it comes to matters of belief and trust in the Lord. He won't lead you astray. He guards the sheepfold (Church) and guides us in the right ways.
Jesus is our Shepherd. We are His flock. There is a promise in that. There is a sacredness in that promise. He was willing to die to keep us safe within His flock... and he did. He still stands before the gate and prevents evil from entering and robbing us of our salvation.
When in doubt. When temptation is before you, remember that Christ is stronger, mightier than any temptation. Take the time to pray, to reconnect with the Lord. Always be grateful that we have such a mighty and loving Savior. < Pastor C

04/22/2026

There is just something so relaxing when we decide to take a leisurely stroll. The warmth of the sun and the sounds of the birds chirping. All is right with the world. Well, usually it is. But on this day, the first day of the week, there is unrest and questions... lots of questions. For two of Jesus' followers there is a lack of surety.
These two disciples are on their way to Emmaus, and they are talking about the events that took place over this past weekend. A man they knew had been crucified. Now it was not unusual to witness crucifixions. It happened frequently. It was the Roman way of "controlling" those that rose up against Rome. BUT THIS TIME ... their Master and Teacher had been crucified. The skies had turned black and thunder roared. And bodies rose up out of graves! Even the Temple curtain in the Holy of Holies had been torn.!
They had been told that women had gone to the tomb this morning and found the stone rolled away and Jesus' body gone. And that an angel told the women that Jesus had risen!
As they are walking and talking, a stranger joins them and asks them what they are talking about. They quickly respond with, "Are you the only one who doesn't know what happened?" So, they begin to tell him everything. Of course, we know that Jesus was just testing them.
So Jesus tells them that they are slow to believe what the prophets had said about him and how things would play out through the prophesies and point to him as the Messiah Jesus begins to tell them everything from Genesis on that said that the Messiah would have to suffer and die and be resurrected on the third day. This would bring about God's new creation and God's new covenant with man/people.
It is late as they near Emmaus and the two invite this stranger to their home and for a meal. As Jesus is lifting up the bread and giving thanks, suddenly their eyes are opened, and they recognize their Lord and Teacher! And just like that ... Jesus vanishes.
Amazed and giving praise, they start talking about how their hearts burned when they were listening to Jesus talk. They immediately left to go back to Jerusalem. They found the disciples and told them everything that happened and everything that Jesus said. THEY ALL BELIEVED! This was a case of SEEING IS BELIVING even though that was not the case when they began their walk home.
Ther will be, as already might have been, times when something is really hard to believe. Times when our faith is so stretched that that well it's possible that there are holes in our faith-fabric. When it comes to Jesus ... it is the truth
His birth and life/ministry have all been written about by the prophets. This salvation, through him, had been promised from as far back as Moses.
We may not have seen him for ourselves or witnessed his many miracles or heard him speak but it happened. HE HAPPENED WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN A GIFT .... AND WE ARE STILL RECEIVING THIS GIFT EVERYDAY BECAUSE WE BELIEVE. Give praise frequently. Be thankful always. Live in peace and love for one another < Pastor C

04/18/2026

Can you just imagine this ... 10 men, disciples of the Lord, hunkered down behind locked doors. Thomas is not with them this day. Their Master had been crucified, buried, then rose from the tomb (as he said he would). They don't know what will happen next. Will the religious leaders come for them next? Are they supposed to go out boldly and preach like Jesus did? They are afraid and are beyond making any decisions.
Suddenly, Jesus appears before the, saying, "Peace be with you!" They are not sure what to do or believe. Is it really him? Jesus tells them to put their fingers in the nail prints in his hands and touch the wound in his side. They are ecstatic! It's him! It's really him. Then Jesus tells them that he will send them out as the Father has sent him. And Jesus vanishes.
Later, when they see Thomas, they tell him everything that happened in that room. Thomas tells them he will not believe unless he sees the nail prints and the wound and touches them. That's when we want to say "O ye of little faith." But his time will come.
The next week, they are all together in the room and the doors are locked. Jesus appears again and says, "Peace be with you." He knows what Thomas said and turns to him and tells him to look and touch the nail prints and side wound. Immediately Thomas says, "My Lord and my God!" He had to see to believe. And Jesus did not really rebuke him but addresses that. "Why do you believe only because you saw for yourself? Blessed are those who have not seen but believe."
There's a lesson here for us. We have not had the privilege of seeing the Lord. We only have someone's paintings, drawings or descriptions of what they think Jesus looked like. We do have the Bible's holy words that tell us what happened. We are asked to have faith in these words of salvation. All that he was and did was prophesied way before he came.
That faith is what keeps us going, keeps us reassured that we are loved and redeemed by a God that is all-loving and all-forgiving. The Father sent His Son to bring us back to God. His teachings have been passed down by word of mouth and in print for all of us to read, to study, and to take in as a means of living our lives as Jesus wants us to.
Believe though you've not seen. Pray to the Lord with fervor and humility. Christ listens to everything we say and think. Remember that you are blessed beyond understanding. Peace < Pastor C

04/11/2026

What a glorious day last Sunday was! Christ rose from the dead as he had told his disciples. When Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to the tomb, they found the stone rolled away and Christ's body gone.
An angel told them that "He is not here. He has risen! Go tell the others." So Mary did. At first they didn't believe her but soon found out it was true. Halleluia!
Now what will happen? What do we do now? That was their thought and concern.
They want to believe. They want to have faith and trust what they had been told by the Master. Don't we find ourselves in this situation at times? There are times when we need reassurance that something will work out, or that we are trying to have the strength to move forward ... but we feel unsure. We feel weak. We have doubts. So, what do we do? We turn to the Lord in prayer. "Please help me, Lord. I don't know if I can do this by myself." We should believe that we are never alone ... but there are times when we do feel alone.
I could compare our situations to what Jesus went through, but I feel that we would come out looking wimpy. Christ experienced the worst torture, pain, abandonment ... yet he overcame it all. That is what the Father sent him to do. For us. For our redemption.
When you are feeling low, feeling discouraged, and at your wits end, remember Jesus. He overcame and he will help you through whatever has got you feeling off balance and desperate.
Easter is a day for celebration. It is a day of resurrection. Place your trust in Him who gave all < Pastor C

04/04/2026

We have read and heard the Scriptures and felt the agony of the crucifixion and burial of Christ Jesus. The disciples are crushed, in disbelief, even though they had been told of what was to come. They are filled with a deep sadness, a deep emptiness, and fear that they will be next.
We have all faced one tragedy or another, in our lives ... but nothing like what Jesus closest followers felt that Thursday night and Friday.
It is now Holy Saturday. A day of silence, a day of grief, a day of still remaining disbelief. But wait... wait for the morning and see what God will do. He is steadfast in his promises. Something wonderful will happen and we will be blessed beyond any of our imaginings.
Kyrie eleison, Christos eleison, Kyrie eleison

Let us give thanks and praise to the Lord < Pastor C

01/23/2026

There will be no service this Sunday 1/25 due to dangerous storm predictions of ice, snow and freezing rain. Please stay home and be safe and warm. < Pastor C.

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