Church guide

STP Study Guide for May 25, 2019 Visions and Purple Cloth “In Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of the Italian Cohort, as it was called. 2 He was a devout man who feared God with all his household; he gave alms generously to the people and prayed constantly to God. 3 One afternoon at about three o’clock he had a vision in which he clearly saw an angel of God coming in and saying to him, ‘Cornelius.’ 4 He stared at him in terror and said, ‘What is it, Lord?’ He answered, ‘Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. 5 Now send men to Joppa for a certain Simon who is called Peter; 6 he is lodging with Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the seaside.’”—Acts 10:1-6 NRSV If you’ve been paying attention this week you will have noticed that we have been looking people who are believers in God, have been blessed by God, and find compassion for those in need. Cornelius is called the first Gentile convert. He had been a centurion in the Roman Army, but he had found Christ. After being visited by a messenger from God, He immediately sent for Peter but, if you read on in the scripture, you find that God had to convince Peter that it was alright to go to Caesarea, share a meal with Cornelius and baptize him as a member of the church. Cornelius and Peter prayed for God’s direction and followed…we should too. Lord, we pray for your direction so that we may follow…Amen. Sunday School, 9:50am; Sunday Morning Worship, 10:50am…

Today's Memory Verse: "He was a devout man who feared God with all his household; he gave alms generously to the people and prayed constantly to God.”—Acts 10:2 NRSV

News from the church office... The church office will be closed today, May 24, and Monday, May 27, in observance of Memorial Day.

Today's Memory Verse: "But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity.”—Luke 10:33 NRSV Blessings and prayers...

STP Study Guide for May 24, 2019 Visions and Purple Cloth “But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’ 30 Jesus replied, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?’ 37 He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’”—Luke 10:29-37 NRSV This morning we have the story of the Good Samaritan. The Pharisee who was questioning Jesus is trying to justify himself because he hadn’t loved his neighbor as himself. There are some biblical scholars who argue that Jesus is telling the Pharisee’s own story; that he was the one who fell into the hands of robbers and was left to die on the side of the road. The priest and the Levite failed to have compassion on the injured man, but the Samaritan, who was obviously a man of means, stopped and helped him, and although he had to move on he left him in the capable hands of the innkeeper to make sure that he would be okay. The Samaritan who was hated by the Jews was the true neighbor to the one who was attacked. Lord help us to have compassion on those who are in need…Amen. Sunday School, 9:50am; Sunday Morning Worship, 10:50am…

Today's Memory Verse: "On the Sabbath, we left the city and went down along the river where we had heard there was to be a prayer meeting. We took our place with the women who had gathered there and talked with them.”—Acts 16:13 MSG

STP Study Guide for May 23, 2019 Visions and Purple Cloth “That night Paul had a dream: A Macedonian stood on the far shore and called across the sea, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us!’ The dream gave Paul his map. We went to work at once getting things ready to cross over to Macedonia. All the pieces had come together. We knew now for sure that God had called us to preach the good news to the Europeans. 11-12 Putting out from the harbor at Troas, we made a straight run for Samothrace. The next day we tied up at New City and walked from there to Philippi, the main city in that part of Macedonia and, even more importantly, a Roman colony. We lingered there several days. 13-14 On the Sabbath, we left the city and went down along the river where we had heard there was to be a prayer meeting. We took our place with the women who had gathered there and talked with them. One woman, Lydia, was from Thyatira and a dealer in expensive textiles, known to be a God-fearing woman. As she listened with intensity to what was being said, the Master gave her a trusting heart—and she believed! 15 After she was baptized, along with everyone in her household, she said in a surge of hospitality, ‘If you’re confident that I’m in this with you and believe in the Master truly, come home with me and be my guests.’ We hesitated, but she wouldn’t take no for an answer.”—Acts 16:9-15 MSG This morning we have this week’s scripture from The Message Translation. Paul dreams that a Macedonian was calling him and his assistants to come there and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They took it as a sign that they should be taking the Gospel to Europe. When they arrived, they immediately went to Philippi, the main Roman city in the area. On the Sabbath they found a place where other believers had gathered to worship. Paul shows us that we should always take time to find a place to worship our Lord and Savior. That’s a good reminder for us on this Memorial Day Weekend. Holy God let us all gather to worship you wherever we are…Amen. Sunday School, 9:50am; Sunday Morning Worship, 10:50am…

Pastor Paul’s Corner It is difficult for me to believe that Vacation Bible School will be going on in four weeks. From the time I arrived at Central Avenue, I felt that our VBS is one of the best in this entire area because of all our volunteers who join to make the classes interesting and meaningful to the students. Dennie Baker, our VBS Director, has a special way with our children as she teaches them songs and dance moves that go along with our theme, “To Mars and Beyond.” To Mars and Beyond invites Voyagers age 3—6th grade on a space travel adventure June 17—20 from 9:00am—11:15am. Voyagers will discover a new realm of possibilities as they reach for the stars and encounter the limitless power and the love of God. Our mission project this year is the installation of a Blessing Box, a miniature food pantry, here at the church. The VBS Program will be Thursday, June 20, at 6:30pm in the Family Life Center, I hope you will all be able to attend. The offering will go for the material to build the Blessing Box that Mr. Asa Whitaker has agreed to build for us. I hope you are letting your friends know about our VBS. I noticed that Laura Vickers posted an announcement on her Facebook page about VBS and one of her friends immediately posted that her child would love to come. Thank you, Laura, for showing us an easy way to reach out to our friends. Let your friends and neighbors know about our outstanding Vacation Bible School and help them get their children enrolled. It will be an exciting time. Annual Conference begins next Wednesday in Hot Springs and our church will be represented by LaDonna and Glenn Busby, Kenneth Wilson and myself. I’ll have more to say about it in next week’s newsletter. Memorial Day is this weekend and I know that many of you will be taking advantage of the first 3-day weekend of the summer. Whatever you do, please be safe. We will be having church and Sunday school at the regular times so I hope you can join us or consider visiting a church near where you are…

Today's Memory Verse: "For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.”—Luke 19:10 NRSV

STP Study Guide for May 22, 2019 Visions and Purple Cloth “He entered Jericho and was passing through it. 2 A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. 5 When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.’ 6 So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. 7 All who saw it began to grumble and said, ‘He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.’ 8 Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, ‘Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.’ 9 Then Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.’”—Luke 19:1-10 NRSV Tax collectors were some of the most hated people in first-century Israel. They worked directly for the Roman Government and were expected to collect taxes for the government. The Romans told the tax collectors how much to collect from the citizens of Israel. Their payment was whatever they wanted to charge the citizens above what had to be paid to the Romans. The people hated the tax collectors for working with the Romans and because they felt like the taxes, they collected for themselves were exorbitant and unfair. But when Zacchaeus encountered Jesus, his life changed. An encounter with Jesus can change our lives too. We must open our hearts and minds to his presence. Lord help us to feel the presence of Jesus Christ in our lives…Amen. Sunday School, 9:50am; Sunday Morning Worship, 10:50am…

Vacation Bible School To Mars and Beyond June 17-20; 9:00am-11:15am Call 870-793-2365 to register...

Today's Memory Verses: "He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; 53 he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.”—Luke 1:52-53 NRSV

STP Study Guide for May 21, 2019 Visions and Purple Cloth “He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. 52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; 53 he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.”—Luke 1:51-53 NRSV In the opening of his Gospel, Luke sounds a warning about rich people. But Luke doesn’t stop there, throughout his Gospel and Acts Luke speaks of the dangers of wealth. “Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”—Luke 18:25. But Lydia was a rich woman that was a believer in Jesus Christ. Others like Zacchaeus, the Good Samaritan, Cornelius, and many other wealthy Christians in ancient times and in today’s world do the work of Jesus Christ every day. Wealth is not the sin; the sin is how a person uses their wealth. Holy God help us to use our assets for your service…Amen. Sunday School, 9:50am; Sunday Morning Worship, 10:50am…

Listen to the Sunday Morning Songfest Worship Service from Central Avenue United Methodist Church...

Today's Memory Verse: "When he had seen the vision, we immediately tried to cross over to Macedonia, being convinced that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them.”—Acts 16:10 NRSV

STP (Study, Trust, Pray) for May 20, 2019 Visions and Purple Cloth “During the night Paul had a vision: there stood a man of Macedonia pleading with him and saying, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’ 10 When he had seen the vision, we immediately tried to cross over to Macedonia, being convinced that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them. 11 We set sail from Troas and took a straight course to Samothrace, the following day to Neapolis, 12 and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city for some days. 13 On the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there. 14 A certain woman named Lydia, a worshiper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul. 15 When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, ‘If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.’ And she prevailed upon us.”—Acts 16:9-15 NRSV The early church was growing, and Paul, Silas, and Timothy were going out and establishing and nurturing churches throughout the region. The work of Christian mission is not just establishing churches, but the churches must be carefully nurtured in the faith or they may be doomed to fail. They were contacting the churches when Paul had the vision of a man calling them to, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” They immediately left for Macedonia to help the people there. That is what Christians do; when they see a need they respond. We should all be ready to respond when needed. Lord, give us the strength and courage to respond when needed…Amen. Sunday School, 9:50am; Sunday Morning Worship, 10:50am…

It's early on Sunday Morning and although we had a more rain overnight it looks like it has moved out of the area. It's Songfest Sunday, when we feature our vocal and hand bell choirs along with many of our soloists, ensembles, and musicians. It is a wonderful day as we praise God in song and prayers. I hope you can join us for Sunday school at 9:50am and Songfest at 10:50am...

Good Old Gospel Singing There will be a Good Old Gospel Singing Sunday at Lifeline Baptist Church in Pleasant Plains. The singing begins at 5:00 pm and everyone is welcome.

Songfest We will have our annual service of music on this Sunday with special music from the choirs, plus vocalists and instrumentalists. Listed below is the rehearsal schedule. All other Songfest participants will need to rehearse after the scheduled rehearsals. Joybells (adult bell choir): 9:00 am Allegro Ringers (youth bell choir): 9:15 am Grace Notes (youth vocal choir): 9:30 am Heavenly Hallelujahs (children’s choir): 9:45 am Chancel Choir: 10:30 am

Something new because of last night's ice storm cancelled our services...