Rest in the Word

07.21.24 Hodgdon & Houlton UMC <The Lord is my shepherd> Good morning. Seeing you all here for our Summer Combined Service with Hodgdon and Houlton United Methodist Church is wonderful. We are sisters and brothers in Christ, united in our faith and fellowship. May God bless us with unity, spiritual fellowship, and great memories this summer. I want to thank you for your incredible support through your cards, texts, gifts, food, babysitting, and prayers. I am deeply grateful and feel like a debtor of grace and love. While I can never fully repay your kindness, please know how much it means to me. During my two weeks of recovery, God restored not only my body but also my soul and mind. He allowed me to reflect on my life, especially the past ten years here in Houlton and Hodgdon. This period of reflection brought to mind a Bible verse that perfectly captures my feelings: “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1). Many who knew us were concerned about ou...

  6.30.24 Hodgdon UMC Psalm: The Book of Prayer Do you pray? How do you pray? Do you know how to pray? The disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, and He gave them the Lord's Prayer. However, long before that, God taught us how to pray through the Psalms, which is essentially the Bible's prayer book. The Psalms, a collection of 150 prayers and hymns, are divided into five sections and were written by various authors, including David, Asaph, Solomon, Moses, the sons of Korah, and other music directors from the time of Moses (around the 15th century BCE) to the post-exilic period (after the 6th century BCE). Even though they were written by humans, 2 Timothy 3:16-17 reminds us that “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.” God inspired the psalmists to write these prayers and taught us how to pray ...

                  The Biggest Communion with Jesus 05.05.24 Hodgdon UMC <General Conference 2020> What time is it? You might say it's 9:00 a.m., but I'd suggest it's Jesus's time, signaling the approaching end of the world and His imminent return. When we hear news about disasters, climate change, false prophets, and war, we can't help but feel that time is running out. What time is it? It's time to pray. Especially for our denomination, which is in great need of prayer. Recently, we concluded the General Conference, which spanned the last 12 days from April 23 to May 3, 2024, in Charlotte, North Carolina. The General Conference is responsible for making decisions on behalf of the denomination and updating the Book of Discipline.   Victor's email provided a recap of the recent General Conference. The budget was significantly reduced by 40% due to the reality of disaffiliation within the denomination. This resulted in the lowest pro...

                                                                     * Photo by NASA 2024 Total Solar Eclipse; Psalm 19 04.14.24 Mars Hill UMC <Once in a Lifetime Event: A Total Solar Eclipse> As Victor shared with you last Sunday, the past two weeks posed numerous challenges for our family with the multitude of Holy Week services, Easter celebrations, sickness among the children, and several doctor's appointments. Despite our busy schedule, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to witness the once-in-a-lifetime event of a Total Solar Eclipse. There were several pre-planned programs for visitors; the town set up a photo booth, provided large eclipse glasses, organized a fireworks display, and many people arranged concerts, opened stores, and hosted fun activities. Many scientists brought a bio bus, and ...