Month: September 2007

Above is one of the hymn slides for this coming Sunday. I’m working on the others.

We just upgraded the free wireless hotspot in the church from wireless-g to wireless-n. If you’re not a geek like me and that doesn’t make sense, let me just summarize that the free wireless service we provide at the church is now faster and extends farther.

Our next movie event will be shown Sunday, October 14, 2007 at 4:00 pm.

We’ll be watching The Wonderful Wizard of Ha’s, the latest edition in the VeggieTales series by Big Idea. The show is based on the parable of the prodigal son. Big Idea provides the following description:

“Meet Darby, the son of a Kansas floss farmer who just wants to have fun! When he learns about the Wonderful Land of Ha’s, where you can do whatever you want, Darby is determined to go –– even against his father’s wishes.”

“But when Darby reaches Ha’s, will he find all that he searching for … and at what price? Will it be worth everything Darby has given up –– his home back on the farm? His father’s love? Harvesting floss? Find out in the all-new family adventure that reminds kids everywhere that there’s nothing like forgiveness and there’s no place like home.”

This movie event is open to everyone. As always, admittance, popcorn and juiceboxes will be provided free. You’re encouraged to bring blankets, camp chairs, pillows, etc. Send us an email if you have a question or would like more information.

Congratulations are due to all our local United Methodist Women for the event they put on today. By all accounts it was a great event.

The September edition of the Parish Visitor is now online. You can download a copy from www.coffeyvillefirstumc.org. Just go to the “Newsletter” page.

Now you see it.

Now you don’t.

Please note the speaker array has been raised by 15″. The present screen doesn’t go quite low enough, it will be extended by 16″.

Above is a picture of the scaffolding that will be used to install the main screen for the sanctuary.

The cross in the chapel has been taken down to facilitate painting the wall behind it. It will be put back up after the wall has been painted. I’m posting this because I don’t want anyone to worry.

The screens in the chapel haven’t been hooked up yet, but they have been hung in place. Below is the screen on the north side of the chapel (there is a matching screen on the south side).

Below is the confidence monitor in the back of the chapel for the pastors and accompanist.

Tonight the youth tested one of the 42″ screens that will be used in our Multi-Media system. It passed handily.

I’ll also be studying John Wesley’s sermon on “The Use of Money” for this Sunday’s sermon. This sermon is one of the relatively few sermons by Wesley that can be well understood without a thorough introduction to Wesley’s frame of thought. The General Board of Global Ministries has many sermons by John Wesley, including “The Use of Money” available online at:
http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umhistory/wesley/sermons/.
“The Use of Money” is sermon number 50.

I’ll be preaching on Luke 16.1-13 this Sunday if you want to study the scripture lesson. The bulletin insert will contain the following introduction from the notes on Luke in The New Interpreter’s Study Bible by Joel B. Green.

This parable illustrates well the problem of trying to read the parables in Luke in an allegorical way––that is, by trying to identify God or Jesus or someone else as characters within the parable. Like so many parables in Luke, the point is simply that Jesus’ audience should learn lessons from “the real world” about how the new age works. Crucial for reading this parable is noting the parallel between v. 4 and v. 9. Just as, in this age, one might engage in business practices that guarantee one’s security in the future, so also, with regard to the age to come, one might engage in practices that guarantee one’s heavenly home.