Thackerville Oklahoma United Methodist Church

04/21/2025

Happy Easter! What a blessed day! ✝️. Bennett loved Easter Egg hunting this year!

04/20/2025

It is such an incredible experience! Come join us!❤️. He is Risen!

All are welcome!! Baptisms to follow the service.
Come Worship, Listen and Receive what God has done for us!

04/16/2022

Easter sunrise service at Blue Lake. Come join us for breakfast, Easter service, and a beautiful view at 7 am.

10/31/2021

10/31/2021

Come get a treat!!! Happy Halloween!!

05/13/2021

“A Guide to Prayer for All Who Walk with God” ~ Rueben P. Job & Norman Shawchuck

READINGS FOR REFLECTION

There are those times in our lives when nothing seems to go as we planned. Times when day after day we are faced with difficulties and darkness no matter how much we long for lighter loads and light for our pathway. There are other times when we come from a spectacular high moment and suddenly find ourselves hanging on to hope by our fingernails. While such a situation can be distressing, it is good to remember that we are not the first to experience darkness, difficulty, or disappointing surprises in the midst of faithful and sunny days.

Chapter 6 in Mark’s Gospel reports the rejection Jesus encountered in his hometown, the first missionary venture of the Twelve, the death of John the Baptist, feeding the five thousand, Jesus’ walking on the water, and the healing in Gennesaret. In this one chapter we are confronted with the widest range of human emotion and experience, great miracles as well as great disappointment.

Our lives may be a bit steadier and the peaks and valleys a little more subdued than what Jesus and the Twelve experienced. However, we do live through those periods when nothing seems to go our way, when the winds of life seem to be against us, when we are working hard but getting nowhere. So it was with the disciples as they strained at the oars against an adverse wind. Then Jesus appeared to them and uttered the words we all want to hear in the terror of our personal storm: “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid” (Mark 6:50). The storm was over the moment Jesus was recognized by the disciples, and soon the men found themselves at their destination.

One of the best times for us to cultivate the nearness of God emerges when nothing is going our way. Such an experience may sharpen our ability to see God at work in our midst and in our lives. Remember that we are not alone when things are not going our way, as we are not alone when things are going our way. Each situation gives us opportunity to pay attention to God’s presence and call for God’s help. —Rueben P. Job

Job, Rueben P.; Shawchuck, Norman. A Guide to Prayer for All Who Walk with God . Upper Room Books. Kindle Edition.

05/13/2021

PSALM 85 (NRSV)
1 Lord, you were favorable to your land;
you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
2 You forgave the iniquity of your people;
you pardoned all their sin. Selah
3 You withdrew all your wrath;
you turned from your hot anger.
4 Restore us again, O God of our salvation,
and put away your indignation toward us.
5 Will you be angry with us forever?
Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
6 Will you not revive us again,
so that your people may rejoice in you?
7 Show us your steadfast love, O Lord,
and grant us your salvation.
8 Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,
for he will speak peace to his people,
to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts.
9 Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him,
that his glory may dwell in our land.
10 Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet;
righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
11 Faithfulness will spring up from the ground,
and righteousness will look down from the sky.
12 The Lord will give what is good,
and our land will yield its increase.
13 Righteousness will go before him,
and will make a path for his steps.

My study Bible asks this question concerning verses 8-13: What should we do after we pray? This psalm shows that we should make an effort both to listen and to take action. We learn how to listen by turning to God in our heart (85:8). We learn what to do by following the way of righteousness (85:13). We show that we fear God when we listen and act accordingly after we pray.

“O Lord, Your patience and Your kindness knows no end. Your forgiveness gives us direction, Your goodness lights the way, and Your truth brings us comfort and peace. We thank You that in Your beloved only Son, Jesus Christ, salvation has come to us all, and that the peace He brings can heal this broken world. Amen.”

05/10/2021

“Streams in the Desert: 366 Daily Devotional Readings” – May 10

I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord. . . . Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage. (Psalm 27:13–14)

Do not despair!

Oh, how great the temptation is to despair at times! Our soul becomes depressed and disheartened, and our faith staggers under the severe trials and testing that come into our lives, especially during times of bereavement and suffering. We may come to the place where we say, “I cannot bear this any longer. I am close to despair under these circumstances God has allowed. He tells me not to despair, but what am I supposed to do when I am at this point?”

What have you done in the past when you felt weak physically? You could not do anything. You ceased from doing. In your weakness, you leaned on the shoulder of a strong loved one. You leaned completely on someone else and rested, becoming still, and trusting in another’s strength.

It is the same when you are tempted to despair under spiritual afflictions. Once you have come close to the point of despair, God’s message is not, “Be strong and courageous” (Josh. 1:6), for He knows that your strength and courage have run away. Instead, He says sweetly, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Ps. 46:10).

That is all God asks of you as His dear child. When you become weak through the fierce fires of affliction, do not try to “be strong.” Just “be still, and know that [He is] God.” And know that He will sustain you and bring you through the fire.

God reserves His best medicine for our times of deepest despair.

Be strong and take heart. Psalm 27:14

Reimann, Jim; Cowman, L. B. E.. Streams in the Desert: 366 Daily Devotional Readings (pp. 188-189). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

05/10/2021

From "Why?: Making Sense of God's Will" by Adam Hamilton

God's primary way of ruling and acting on our planet is through people. When God wants something done in the world, God calls people to do it. When the poor are going to be fed, God doesn't rain down manna from heaven; God sends people. When the sick are going to be cared for, God sends people. When justice is going to be sought, God sends people to fight for it. When others are discouraged and in need of love, God sends people to offer encouragement and care.

In a sense this is how it has always been in the scriptures. When God wanted the Israelites set free from slavery in Egypt, God sent Moses. When God wanted to comfort the Jews living in exile, God prompted Jeremiah to prophesy. When Jesus wanted the gospel to go to the ends of the earth, he sent the apostles. God's primary way of working in the world is through people who are empowered and led by God's Spirit.

Hamilton, Adam (2010-10-01). Why?: Making Sense of God's Will (Kindle Locations 170-177). Abingdon Press. Kindle Edition.