Pentecost 4: Matthew 5:13-16; Mark 6:6b-13, 30

June 20, 2010

    During college I would hook up with a friend in Chicago to ride with him across Indiana and Ohio on Interstate 80 to and from school in Connecticut. He owned an old Plymouth, 8 cylinders with high tail fins. It was a heavy car that he nicknamed: "Sherman" as in Sherman tank. Little did I know back then that some years later I would be riding along that same stretch of Interstate 80 a week ago Friday in another big vehicle with the name Sherman as in Sherman United Methodist Church printed on the sides.

    I was reading on the bus and came across this Chinese proverb. "If you want one year of prosperity, grow grain. If you want 10 years of prosperity, grow trees. If you want 100 years of prosperity, grow people." To piggyback on this, our mission team this year was all about growing people as disciples of Jesus Christ.

    We stopped to spend two nights in Sandusky, Ohio so our group could enjoy a day at Cedar Point...

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Pentecost 2: Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31; Psalm 8; John 16:12-15

May 30, 2010

    He was born in the state of Vermont where he became a blacksmith. When his business played out he moved to Illinois and re-established his blacksmith shop. He listened to farmers complaining about how hard it was to plow the thick muddy prairie soils. Every few feet they had to stop to scrape the gummy dirt sticking to the cast iron plowshares. The work was back breaking and took forever.

    The young blacksmith saw an opportunity and set his mind on finding a solution to this problem. He came up with the idea of a steel share that would scour itself clean as it sliced and turned the heavy black soil. His invention proved to be revolutionary in transforming agriculture and opening the prairies to large scale settlement. It played a huge role in transforming the Midwest into the breadbasket of the world we know today.

    The young man's name, of course, was John Deere and the rest is history as they...

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Easter 6: Rev. 21:1-10, 22-22:5; John 14:8-14, 21-29

May 9, 2010

We have had some wonderful days recently with full sun, not too hot, not too cold, just right. There's plenty of moisture. The grass is a deep green and trees fully leafed out. The corn is up and going and bean planting right behind. Flowers are blossoming, gardens growing. This is the most beautiful time of year for me.

In the news this week was the death of Robin Roberts, the Hall of Fame pitcher from Springfield. It was inspiring to read what was said about him. He was the son of immigrant parents from Wales. He is remembered as a good and decent person who not only had a gift for striking out batters, but also for helping others.

Jason Werth of Chatham was one of those quoted about Roberts. He is the 3rd generation on his mother's side to play in the major leagues. His family story is an inspiration too despite the fact he hit a couple of home runs against the Cardinals this week.

Every time I drive by the Old...

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Pastor Mike Pennell

Easter 5: Acts 11:1-18; Revelation 21:1-6; John 13:33-35

May 2, 2010

One of our favorite programs on weekends is the "Prairie Home Companion" show with Garrison Keillor. Each week Keillor tells the story of a small town in Minnesota called Lake Wobegon where 'all the women are strong, the men are good looking and the children are above average.' In a good natured way he frequently pokes fun at various religious groups, frequently the Lutherans, but also Methodists.

"You know you are Methodist when its 100 degrees and 90 percent humidity and you still have coffee after the service. You hear something funny during the sermon and smile as loudly as you can. Donuts are a line item in the church budget just like coffee. When you watch a Star Wars movie and they say, "May the force be with you," and you respond, "and also with you." And lastly you'll know you've been in the presence of a Methodist, if it takes 10 minutes to say good-bye!"

These are fun ways of type...

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Easter 4: John 6:32-35, 51; 12:32; Matthew 21:22; 1 John 3:2                     April 25, 2010

    "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever."(Jn 6)

    "To all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God."(Jn 1)

    Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the scriptures: "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is amazing in our eyes'? (Mt 21)

    "Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is." (1 Jn 3)

    "And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." (Jn 12)

    These scriptures show that...

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by Mike Pennell

3rd Easter: Acts 9:1-20; John 21:1-19

April 18, 2010    

    We are somewhat like the disciples in the gospel lesson from John. When we cast out the net for worship we draw anywhere from 175-200 each week, sometimes a few more. But when we cast out the net in the Family Life Center offering that famous secret recipe Poe Chicken well, we draw nearly 1000 every time.

    Think of this as a metaphor. In addition to our great hunger for good food to satisfy the natural appetite, we have an even greater hunger for the food that satisfies the soul which is the love of God. All people are hungry for love. And the greatest love of all comes from God. When our bodies are wracked in pain from disease and treatment, when loved ones pass away and life feels empty for us, when human love is broken and betrayed, when we feel left out and alone, when our hearts are filled with regret over the sins we have committed, when we feel our life is over because something doesn't work...

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"Tear it down!"

Easter 1: Acts 5:27-32; John 20:19-31

April 11, 2010

    The University of Mississippi football team was playing very poorly in the first half of the game. And so the coach gave them a good verbal shellacking inside the locker room during half time. As he ended his talk he began to say things like 'are you mice or men?' And the players answered loudly, "MEN." Are you going to roll over and give up? And again they shouted back loudly: "NO!!" Building up to crescendo, the coach yelled: "I want you to go back out there and start blocking and tackling and running like you've never done before. Are you ready?" And again the players shouted: "YES."

"Okay, let's go win this game" the coach yelled. And they all lunged for the door, but it wouldn't open.

    "Coach, the door is locked," one player shouted. And without hesitation the coach yelled back: "Then tear it down!" And they did and went on to win the game.

    Now, we have no record of Jesus...

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Easter – Acts 10:34-43; 1 Corinthians 15:19-26; John 20:1-18 April 4, 2010     A few years ago we had a garage sale in anticipation of moving my mother into town. We had an old garden plow made from scrap pieces of angle iron by Norval who lived the next house down the road. He had given it to my dad. It was a neat plow because Norval customized it to fit the stature of his body. The long steel handles were set at just the right angle so that he could exert the maximum strength from of his short stocky body when pushing it along.

Norval always had a great garden. He loved his onions, peppers, beans, tomatoes and was generous to share with others. He had a good heart.

Yet, in life he had problems that he was never able to conquer. Alcohol destroyed his first marriage and also his health. He was an early heart patient of Dr. DeBakey in Texas and was among the first to have coronary bypass surgery. His only consolation at the end of his life was the love of his second wife and what he had helped Doctors learn about this new medical procedure. The knowledge gained from his case has no doubt helped many others enjoy longer lives as a result....

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Palm/Passion Sunday: Luke 19:28-40; Isaiah 50:4-9a; Philippians 2:5-11; Luke 22:14-23:56

March 28, 2010

    Jesus enters Jerusalem like so many others that week to celebrate the annual festival of Passover. Because Passover is a celebration of freedom from slavery and oppression, Roman rulers would have sent additional troops to monitor the city during this time in order to prevent any public demonstrations from getting out of hand. The Pharisees, for example, who ask Jesus to calm down the excitement of his disciples, are probably afraid that such a public display might cause Roman soldiers to react with force. This was a week filled with both joyous celebration, but also fear and danger.

    It was customary in those days to pay homage to a king by having a processional. Everyone would join in the celebration by throwing their cloaks on the ground. The king would ride his horse on this carpet as he passed by the people shouting and cheering along the processional route. In Luke's...

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Lent 5: Isaiah43:16-21; Philippians 3:4b-14; John 12:1-8

March 21, 2010

Signs of spring

    As the weather has begun to warm over recent days and the grass turn green again, I know farmers, are now "forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead." They are looking ahead to a new season that hopefully will be a bit more normal than the last couple have been.

    It is transition time for many high school and college seniors too as they prepare to leave the past behind and move on to the next phase in their lives – more schooling for some, searching for a job for others, maybe marriage. This is always an anxious time of preparing to let go of what is familiar and predictable in anticipation of something new.

    Tiger Woods announced this week that he is coming back to golf and will play in the Masters tournament at the end of April. Based on what we have learned in recent months, there is probably no one more eager than Woods to "forget what lies behind"...

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