A Matter Of The Heart

"Egypt, Judah, Edom, the Ammonites, Moab, and all

those with shaven temples who live in the desert.

For all these nations are uncircumcised,

and all of the house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart."

--A reflection based on Jeremiah 9:26

God cares about our hearts because God needs our hearts to reach the hearts of others with the Good News of Jesus. This is the essence of our faith. In the time of Jeremiah the hearts of the Jewish people had become cluttered with things that are not of God. To circumcise the heart was to cut away all those things which separated them from God.

Give from the heart and give to help young people receive scholarships through the United Methodist Student Day, World Communion Sunday and Native American Ministries Sunday offerings.

--adapted from Bishop Wills' Life Journal Entry for 8/10/09

Donate now!

To learn more about Special Sundays click here.

God is still in control

Miss Lladale Carey
Web Producer
UMCGiving.org

Matthew 6

Giving to the Needy

1. "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2. "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.
3. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
4. so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Treasures in Heaven

19. "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
20. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
21. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22. "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.
23. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
24. "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

Do Not Worry

25. "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?
26. Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
27. Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life ?
28. "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.
29. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.
30. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31. So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'
32. For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
33. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
34. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

The scriptures have already told us how to live and how to give. Let's put into action our beliefs.

To donate to any of the 6 churchwide Special Sundays click here.

To learn more about the apportion funds click here. Please encourage your congregation/members to give 100% to all 7 apportion funds. There's still time.


Lladale Carey
Web Coordinator
UMCGiving.org
United Methodsit Communications

United Methodist Student Day

“Scholarships have been a blessing for me,” says Elyssa Sanner, a member of Wesley United Methodist Church, Evans, Ga. “I would have pursued a college education without the help of scholarships, but having the scholarships made the financial burden easier. I worried less about the technicalities of getting a college degree, saved my parents from worrying and financial burden, and saved more for my future.”


She received a United Methodist Scholarship as an undergraduate and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English. She graduated from Georgia College and State University, Milledgeville, in May 2009. “I served the church I attended in Milledgeville,” Sanner recalls, “through participating in the choir, praise team and Bible studies, and serving as a youth counselor.”


Now at the University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill, she is “a first-year graduate student working towards a Master’s of Science in Library Science. I’m just beginning this journey, but I’m excited by the opportunities the field provides,” Sanner notes. She looks forward to “making information organized and accessible and being involved with creative solutions to the problems that arise with the transition from physical to digital libraries.”


When she graduates, Sanner adds, she hopes to work “as a reference librarian in a university setting, where I can educate students on the resources available to them for research.”


When United Methodists support United Methodist Student Day, Sanner asserts, they “will see a return on their offering! The offering is so much more than less money in your pocket; it is an investment in someone’s future. You might not know exactly who benefits from your gift, but you will see the future leaders of the church benefiting from a college education they might not receive otherwise.”


Please give generously to this Special Sunday offering November 29. Thank you!

--Barbara Dunlap-Berg

To Donate click here.

Lladale Carey

Web Coordinator

UMCGiving.org

United Methodsit Communications

Blessings

Today as I boarded a bus, I saw a lovely girl with golden hair, I envied her, she seemed so gay and I wished I were as fair. When suddenly she rose to leave, I saw her hobble down the aisle; she had one leg and wore a crutch but as she passed, she flashed a smile Oh, God, forgive me when I whine, I have two legs, the world is mine.

And then I stopped to buy some sweets, the lad who sold it had such charm. I talked with him, he seemed so glad. If I were late to work it would do no harm; and as I left, he said to me, “I thak you, you have been so kind. It’s nice to talk with folks like you. you see,” he said, “I’m blind.” Oh, God, forgive me when I whine, I have two eyes, the world is mine.

Later while walking down the street, I saw a girl with eyes of blue. She stood and watched the others play; it seemed she knew not what to do. I stopped a moment and then I said, “Why don’t you join the others dear?” She looked ahead without a word, and then I knew she couldn’t hear. Oh, God, forgive me when I whine, I have two ears, the world is mine.

Oh, God, forgive me when I whine, I have two ears, the world is mine. With legs to take me where I want to go, with eyes to see the sunset glow. With ears to hear what I would know. Oh, God, forgive me when I whine, I have you and the world is mine. Author Unknown

Show God how much you love him by giving to those who do not have. Encourage your congregation/members to give 100% of all apportion funds. If you would like to give to any Special Sundays with offerings click here.

God has blessed us with so much, let's give back just a little.

God is still in control!

Miss Lladale Carey
Web Coordinator
United Methodist Communications