Announcements
UTC Fundraiser—June 11 will be UTC’s next pancake breakfast fundraiser! It’ll be at the O’Charley’s on Gunbarrel—please see me, Beth M, or Lizz for tickets! ($5)
$.02/Meal—July 24 will be our next collection date. Why advertise this now? To remind you to collect two pennies for every meal you eat! We’re hoping to hit $200 this month.
New Hope News
Evelyn Piatt thanks everyone for the cards & prayers
Pray for…
Eddie Ivey, Troy’s brother, who is undergoing some difficult medical times.
Martha Hicks.
Links
Other churches finding their mission in the local school.
This man is out to ruin my birthday. Why anyone still listens to him, I don’t know. Here are some lessons we can learn from Harold Camping.
Focus Book
I’ve been reading quite a bit of 2 Timothy lately. 1 & 2 Timothy, along with Titus, make up the ‘Pastoral letters’, so titled because they are focused on Christian leadership. There are doubts that they were written by Paul, and it is most likely that an unknown author used Paul’s name to gain authority for his letter. (I suppose I could preach this Sunday’s sermon in the name of Billy Graham?) The three letters were most likely written in the early 2nd century, due to their awareness of the events in Acts. In 2 Timothy, it is assumed that Paul is in prison, facing imminent death, and the letter reads like a final testament.
The ones who stop doing evil and make themselves pure will become special. Their lives will be holy and pleasing to their master, and they will be able to do all kinds of good deeds. Run from temptations that capture young people. Always do the right thing. Be faithful, loving, and easy to get along with. Worship with people whose hearts are pure. (2 Timothy 2:21-22, CEV)
Text for this Week
Luke 16:1-13 (The Message)
The Story of the Crooked Manager
1-2Jesus said to his disciples, "There was once a rich man who had a manager. He got reports that the manager had been taking advantage of his position by running up huge personal expenses. So he called him in and said, 'What's this I hear about you? You're fired. And I want a complete audit of your books.'
5"Then he went at it. One after another, he called in the people who were in debt to his master. He said to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?'
6"He replied, 'A hundred jugs of olive oil.'
"The manager said, 'Here, take your bill, sit down here—quick now— write fifty.'
7"To the next he said, 'And you, what do you owe?'
"He answered, 'A hundred sacks of wheat.'
"He said, 'Take your bill, write in eighty.'
8-9"Now here's a surprise: The master praised the crooked manager! And why? Because he knew how to look after himself. Streetwise people are smarter in this regard than law-abiding citizens. They are on constant alert, looking for angles, surviving by their wits. I want you to be smart in the same way—but for what is right—using every adversity to stimulate you to creative survival, to concentrate your attention on the bare essentials, so you'll live, really live, and not complacently just get by on good behavior."
God Sees Behind Appearances
10-13Jesus went on to make these comments:
If you're honest in small things,
you'll be honest in big things;
If you're a crook in small things,
you'll be a crook in big things.
If you're not honest in small jobs,
who will put you in charge of the store?
No worker can serve two bosses:
He'll either hate the first and love the second
Or adore the first and despise the second.
You can't serve both God and the Bank.
If you're honest in small things,
you'll be honest in big things;
If you're a crook in small things,
you'll be a crook in big things.
If you're not honest in small jobs,
who will put you in charge of the store?
No worker can serve two bosses:
He'll either hate the first and love the second
Or adore the first and despise the second.
You can't serve both God and the Bank.
No comments:
Post a Comment