October 2015 Sermon Schedule

October 1, 2015October 1, 2015 / Rev. Alan Van Hooser / Leave a comment

We will continue to discuss the many tools that God gives us to discern our life’s direction Concentrating God’s word as our compass and the Holy Spirit as Guide. We will cut the clutter and discuss as much about what the Bible doesn’t say as what it does say. We will hone our discernment skills to refine our “Vision Statement” as a congregation and to develop our personal life statement as well. Come and see us at 10:oo worship!

October 4: Exodus 3:1-15 “Tell Them I-Am Sent You”

The word of the day: God’s Direction for our lives and our congregation. This direction is Knowable and Do-able. What God requires, God Directs and provides. Moses was endorsed by God, and In Christ, so are we.
October 11: “Laity Sunday!”The message will be brought by Lay Person Jackie Fitzgerald from 1 Peter 4:10-11. Judi Yarbrough will also present a mission report in word and photos.
“October 18: 21st: Mark 10:17-31 ”Oh, Come on….You know this!”We know the basics of Christ, some of us even from childhood, but we still have to be reminded of them from time to time.
October 25: James 3:1-12 “But we must all learn”Not all can or should teach. It is a gift and a craft. BUT we must all learn from our many teachers. Christ is teaching all things everywhere. Listen, and learn…..

“Monday School”: A precept study of James-Week 1

September 28, 2015September 28, 2015 / Rev. Alan Van Hooser / 1 Comment

Tonight we had a small group with a BIG discussion! We have set aside Monday Evenings at 6:00 for Adult Bible Study This is an Inductive study where we look at the whole to see where God’s direction comes from.

In Monday School, It is as important to know HOW to study as it is to know the information. We are not seeking simple intellectual knowledge but God’s wisdom. To do this we will hone three skills: Observation-spiritual reading, Interpretation-spiritual seeking, and Application-putting truth into practice.

Tonight was James, Chapter 1: CLICK HERE for the full text: Hey the book in only 5 pages!

What we observed:

It was written by a powerhouse guy, but a real person who really knew Jesus. He had a solid grasp of a mixed Christian culture and Jewish wisdom literature. This is the New Testament book of proverbs.
People of faith have problems. Seeking God uses them to build us up, strengthen us, to stay standing and motivate us to DO faith instead of folding when times get tough. We shared stories about carrying on. Tough times build a Faith that stands when the heat is on and an untested faith is no faith at all.
One likened to simply hearing as reading a novel, when tired, looking away, and looking back to forget what we read. Faith leads to Wisdom which moves us from a forgetful hearer to an effectual doer. Talk+love= action.
Wisdom that builds faith listens, then speaks and doesn’t get mad. Mad takes our mind off of God.
Finally wisdom is shown by keeping our mouths under control and our moral decision inline with God’s word. This is hard BUT we have everything we need to observe, interpret and they bravely apply. We don’t have to feel inferior to ANYONE but carry on.

Next week Chapter 2: How is a growing faith lived out with others. Excellent Group! Group members and others are welcome to add a comment

Weekly Sermon Briefs: September 20, 2015, “Me Neither” Romans 1:1-17

September 23, 2015September 23, 2015 / Rev. Alan Van Hooser / Leave a comment

This is third of four sermons on discerning God’s true direction for our lives, this week we look at MOTIVATION! God’s will for our lives is healthy, sensible, less anxious,and God want us to follow Him.

Our First sermon focused on prayer, Everything begins and ends with prayer, The exercise was to pray “ceaselessly” a spirit of prayer and not an act of prayer. The second dealt with passion for this discernment- You have to want it. This week is motivation: What plugs you into the amazing power of God. Its as present as a power line but you must connect! wherever prayer driven passion is, there will your motivation be. Discernment requires us to know it, grow it, act upon it and use it to grow closer to God.

powerline 1

My grandfather helped found an electrical Coop before WWII. This would revolutionize his rural area but at first had little impact. Why? There were few things to plug in and little understanding what this newfangled power did. One man hooked it up, plugged in a light bulb and enjoyed the ability to read at night. Everything was fine until he got his first bill-about a dollar, and he threw a fit. If the coop would not negotiate a deal he threatened to take out the bulb and let the power spill onto the floor! Not much understanding.

What do we Know, You have to plug in, it costs, useful, destructive, scary, You need to understand it to be able to use it. Electrons get excited at the source, are generated onto the transmission lines, do their work and return to the source. Unplugging anything along the way that break the flow, stops the power. The power is still there but the “Short-Circuit” stops the work of power. So it is with the quest for God’s plan for our lives. You have to plug in and pay the price! When you plug in you will want more and this is this source of growth-moving from faith to faith! FAITH MOTIVATES FAITH in a self feeding circle! Check out the text!

Romans 1:1-17New International Version (NIV)

Paul is Asking Two Questions: What Motivates you and Us, second, What Should Motivate you and us. . The second question is the best question.

The text has three motivators for a follower of Jesus to discern God’s mission for our lives instead of a random decision or mere chance. First, the end zone, goal, ground, plan and reward with responsibility is FAITH. We move from faith to faith to live by faith. Second, faith in God is for us personally but lived out in community “Mutually Encouraged by each other’s faith”. We motivate and are motivated by our fellow travelers! Third and finally, The gift of “Sent-ness, or apostleship.” This isn’t geography but a state of the heart. We are sent where we live to be plugged in, excited, to give witness to the power given to us to work and return through praise to God who changes our lives and the lives of others.

When we don’t have faith, work anyway. John Wesley, founder of the Methodist movement had doubts. He received this advice from pastor Peter Muhller, “Preach faith until you have it and all you will be able to preach is faith. Keep at it through prayer, worship, service and keep your eyes on Christ

My motivators are these three things: I love Jesus Christ, why, this is the source of love I have for others. I Love his church, This is his chosen powerline to transmit the very salvation of the world. NOT THE SIGN OUT FRONT! But the Jesus within the Church. and finally, I Love You, A pastor’s love is a funny thing these motivate me, drive me out of bed and keep me going. Few know the lengths I would go to to introduce you to Jesus, or a better way to deepen your walk with him.

So now we ask the question, SO WHAT? Ask these three and write down three things and pray for them to be your source of spirit led motivation! Give them to God and find a new energy for spiritual growth.

Paul said, I am not ashamed of the Gospel! Me neither, how about you?

These briefs are a follow up to our Sunday worship. I pray that you enjoy them but they are not a substitute for being in church. Attend your church or come see us at CMUMC. Do you have questions about how to become a Christian? contact me at revavanhooser@gmail.com or click on the icon below to contact our office.

Book Review:The Gospel of Joy by Pope Francis

September 23, 2015September 23, 2015 / Rev. Alan Van Hooser / 1 Comment

Pope Francis has come to North America. This rather modest pastor who drives a Ford Focus, answers his own phone and, oh by the way, leads 2 Billion Roman Catholic believers, over 70 million in the USA alone. This modesty is met in the US by being greeted by the president and other dignitaries and even has bobble heads of his likeness for sale. This intrigues me and I would like some idea of what he stands for in the larger universal Church.

His “Apostolic Exhortation”, the Evangeli Gaudium or Gospel of Joy, is available as a free download from the Vatican and other sources. While several summaries are on the internet, it is worth reading as a whole. This is Pope Francis’s playbook, his ministry foci, and a sort of credo. Click here for the English translation. It is clearly written, though using a lot of Roman Catholic jargon, and set up in 288 short paragraphs in three sections.

I read it as a Methodist. Make no mistake that this is a Roman Catholic document and written by a reformer of the Roman Catholic church. Issues like low worship attendance, difficulty in keeping Sunday School teachers, “Clericalalism” subordinating the laity,faith stealing secularism, unbridaled consumerism, a diminished sense of community and a loss of evangelistic zeal are issues that my own bishop is dealing with. Francis is blunt when he addresses clergy and laity alike. He does not shy away from women’s issues, abortion, and other social issues. Francis is quite blunt with the consumerism and market structures of today. The US and capitalism are not mentioned by name but is isn’t a stretch to see that he is addressing the western, so called first-world, countries.

He speaks passionately of the sacraments being open to all, inter-faith dialogue, inter religious dialogue and even a more energetic conversation with the various Orthodox communities. However, there is no mention of ordaining women or opening up communion to those outside of the Roman Catholic community. When he speak of the mission of “all believers” and the “entire church” I feel he is speaking to his Roman Catholic family. My understanding of these terms includes him though I wonder if his understanding includes me.

Francis’s evangelistic zeal of a renewed relationship with Jesus Christ that is bigger than church structure and more important than edicts is pervasive. He quotes Aquinas, Augustine and both ancient and contemporary writings. However, when he presses a point he goes to the New Testament, especially the Pauline texts. Francis presents a real relationship with Jesus, taken personally, lived in community and at work in a missionary calling wherever you are.

So what? Why does this matter enough to a non-Catholic to spend a couple of hours reading it? Two big things. First, it is refreshing to know that we United Methodists are not the only one struggling with these issues. People are people wherever you go and we are not all that different in out different denominations. Second, dialogue with other Christians begins with understanding and this document gives a glimmer of how things really are. Understanding them a first step to being better understood ourselves by Roman Catholic Christians who need to know that our struggles are much the same.

This review is an editorial and I speak only for myself and am solely responsible for the content of The Thoughtful Pastor Blog. Watch for book reviews of whatever I am reading.

September 21 CMUMC smart phone Bible study

September 21, 2015September 21, 2015 / Rev. Alan Van Hooser / Leave a comment

Welcome to our September 21smart phone Bible study! You can now use a tablet or PC as well as your phone. For the blog

I am not in the office this week and am working on advent sermons. My thoughts are are on the power of words and My meditation for the week is psalm 45. Please pray along with me and share your comments.
Click here for the text

Read the text as you would a news article and answer the daily questions and share 1-2 sentences in a comment box with your fellow students.

Monday: what does it say. (Read)
Tuesday: what does it mean? (interpret)
Wednesday: What does it mean to me? (Apply)
Thursday: Read it a final time and own it. Comment on whatever God brings to your mind!
Pastor Alan

“Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.

Cheatham Memorial UMC

Sermon Briefs: September 13, 2015, “They Won’t Know it ‘Till You Show It”

September 14, 2015September 14, 2015 / Rev. Alan Van Hooser / 1 Comment

This second of five sermons that explores the discernment of God’s will/vision and then making it our mission to do. Following God’s plan makes for a less anxious and healthy life as well as connecting us to eternity.

Passion is essential to knowing God’s Vision for our lives. We have to want it before we can know it or share it.

The Fisherman’s lesson….

I am a stick and earthworm sort of fisherman but found myself on the Walmart fishing aisle looking at plastic worms. Real fishing folks know that if they could talk a fish into the boat, there would be no fish out there to catch. There is always someone on the fishing aisle to talk to.

On this day a gentleman fishing had this passion to teach me the ways of plastic baits and he had to get out or it might cause him physical harm. He told of big fish and many adventures along with my need for 7 1/2 inch watermelon colored worms with a circle hooks. This was the answer to life’s questions and the way to slay the most elusive fish. He told of these magic worms with such passion that I was ready to chew on one just to share the experience.

In the back of my mind I thought that if I presented Christ with the passion that this fellow had for rubber worms, we would be short of parking spots and seats on Sunday. Passion is essential for mission. Too often Christians become Walmart talkers instead of Kingdom fishers. As Paul said ( 1 Corinthians 4:20) “For the Kingdom of God does not exist is talk but in power. Passion is a key ingredient to discernment. We are Christ’s love in Action and not Christ love in talking. Faith is learned by DOING!

Check out this worship video that reinforces the sermon: The Fishless fisherman’s society, courtesy of EZ Zwayne, Click Here

LESSONS FROM THE GOSPEL, Click here to follow my notes: John chapter 21:1-19

Jesus gave them coaching before they recognized him-“hey use the 7 1/2″ Watermelon Flip Tailed Worms!”THEY FOLLOWED AND PROSPERED-THIS WAS NOT ABOUT THE FISH BUT THE FISHERMEN
Peter was led by passion over the gunnels and into the lake. He wanted Jesus! The rest were left to row the boat-That takes passion too.
This fishing advice became advice for life. They were fishing for survival and not recreation. Follow Me.
Jesus didn’t send them to a conference or form a committee, he identified himself clearly and in him, defined the role of a disciple.
Jesus met them on the beach, where they were living the day-to-day
The Mission was that of Love and Nurture. Peter the bold, passionate and clumsy, was asked if he loved Jesus three times, and received his calling, first to love Jesus, then to feed and pastor Jesus’ people
Peter accepted this ordination fully knowing the danger and difficulty of his mission. His calling was simply, “Follow Me.”

SO WHAT? What do we do with all of this?

Jesus is meeting us where we are, to tell us we can handle life , to do what needs to be done. Follow Him. Do the Life in Christ with Passion! Want it!
Live a balance of study and action, inreach and outreach, and reflect our passion outside with a clear focus on Jesus’ direction
Don’t over think-JUMP IN, live by faith with grace enough to share

PUT YOUR FAITH INTO PRACTICE WITH THIS EXERCISE

Don’t complicate this Process. Talk to people God Brings your way.

Fish-Practice the power of letting someone speak for 2 minutes or more uninterrupted. Inhale each time you are tempted to speak.
Concentrate-listen for something spiritual to be said in this conversation
Know-You are a beloved child of the living God-God put you in this conversation.
Invite-JUMP IN! Tell them about your church family, and your faith. Bring them to church and sit with them
Lead by following-Don’t lecture them, tell of how Christ works in your life everyday. You grow when your show your passion. This may be loud and rowdy, but more likely it will be quiet and conversational.

Write a comment of this encounter and I will mail you a 7 1/2″ watermelon colored fishing worm! Yes, Really. Follow Jesus with passion. Who knows, You might change the world.