Please check the current church calendar for the date of the next service. (click on the orange ‘special event’ link in the calendar legend).

Wholeness service is generally held on the first Tuesday evening at 7:00 pm of each month.

We’ll share a time of Worship and engage in Healing Prayer with Anointing.

Everyone in church and community who is struggling with any situation in life is invited to join us as we gather to pray and support one another.

For more info, contact: adultministry@ashfordumc.org

Cindy Serio

Scripture strongly affirms ministries of healing.  The root of the word healing in New Testament Greek, sozo, is the same as that of salvation and wholeness.

Spiritual healing is God’s work.  Persons find balance, harmony, and wholeness of body, mind, spirit, and relationships through confession, forgiveness, and reconciliation between God and humanity, among individuals and communities, within each person, and between humanity and the rest of creation.

Healing is not magic nor is it “cure” in this context, which is why we prefer the word wholeness.   Underlying healing and wholeness is the great mystery of God’s unfailing love for each one of us.

God does not promise that we will be spared suffering but God does promise to be with us in our suffering.   When we are able to trust that promise, we can recognize God’s sustaining presence in pain, sickness, injury, and estrangement.

A Service of Prayer for Wholeness provides an atmosphere in which healing can happen.  The greatest healing of all is the reunion or reconciliation of a human being with God.  When this happens, physical healing sometimes happens, mental and emotional balance is often restored, spiritual health is enhanced, and relationships are mended.  For the Christian, the basic purpose of spiritual healing is to renew and strengthen one’s relationship with God in Christ.

Anointing the forehead with oil is a “sign-act” which invokes the healing love of God.  The oil points beyond itself and those doing the anointing to the action of the Holy Spirit and the presence of the healing Christ, who is the “Anointed One.”

Laying on of hands show the power of touch, which plays a central role in the healings recorded in the New Testament.  Touch is a tangible expression of the presence of the Christ the Healer, working in and through those who pray in this way.

Excerpts and adaptation of UM Book of Worship, 613-614

It’s a great way to show your smiling face and say “Hello” to all coming for church.

Please don’t let this opportunity pass you by. Get involved.
Email the Church Office
or call Glenda Johnson at 281-496-4218

There is a story of an ancient king of Babylon who came back to life and visited one of our modern cities. His host showed him the underside of the city: brothels, gambling and drug dens, taverns, and the like. The king was polite but bored. He said, “We had all these in Babylon three thousand years ago, and on the whole, we did it better. Have you nothing new to show me?”

So his guide reversed his field and took his guest to churches, day care centers, libraries, schools, hospitals, public health centers, research laboratories, transient centers, institutions for the disabled, and soup kitchens.

“Ah,” said the king, “all this is new. We didn’t have these things in Babylon.”

No, they didn’t have those things in Babylon because they did not have the church of Jesus Christ. I challenge you to go into any non-Christian nation in this world and find the level of ministry to the intellectual, social, physical, and spiritual needs of people that you will find in those countries in which Christians are the majority. Search out the histories of our great universities, our great hospitals, our great benevolent societies and you will find, more often than not, that they were begun in the name of Christ. The church is an institution unlike any other in this world and the reason is that our founder is still with us. It is he who breathes life into his weary followers; it is he who still beckons with the call, “Follow me.”

We are his body. All of us are important. There is something each of us can do in his service. Most importantly of all, he is alive and he is with us.

Peace,

Pastor Chris

Christian Television personality Shelia Walsh writes; “Our paradigm of what a Christian life is supposed to be hugely affects whether we become bitter or not. So many of the people I work with are dealing with disappointment.

Disappointment with themselves and I sure understand that disappointment with other people, and disappointment with God because he doesn’t do what we think he’s going to do.

I got one of the most interesting letters at the 700 Club from a young woman in her mid-twenties who had cancer and MS. She said, “Sometimes I watch your program and I’m helped, and sometimes I want to take my shoe off and throw it through the screen.”

I was so fascinated by her honesty, I called her. We became friends. One day she said, “One of the things I hate about what you do is you always present people whose marriages get better in 10 minutes, people who get healed, people who have the nice, packaged answers.” She said, “What about people like me who are dying and still love God? What about people who take very few steps, but every step leaves a big impression in the snow because it costs every ounce of strength they have left?”

Walsh comments, “She changed my perspective. Christianity is not this nice “everything’s going to work out okay” attitude. When you think of Christ at the tomb of Lazarus, he wept because it wasn’t supposed to be like this. He had spoken this beautiful world into existence and it was so broken, so messed up. I think one of the greatest gifts we can give is just a dose of reality that life down here is disappointing, that God doesn’t always give us answers, but he does always give us himself.

So it is with the mystery of God. Our lives are surrounded by the fog and gloom of everyday events. But once in awhile we discover there is much more to God than we knew, much more to his purpose for us than we could possibly imagine. God is so much more, God is higher, God is deeper, God is wider than we will ever know. God doesn’t always give us answers, but God always give us himself.

Peace,

Pastor Chris

Senator John McCain spent 5 ½ years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam in the 1960s. During that time, he was frequently tortured or held in solitary confinement. He reports that his lowest personal point came on Christmas Eve 1969.

McCain was giving up hope of ever getting out of Vietnam alive. His captors played the song “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” over the PA system to make them feel worse.

Just then, McCain heard tapping on his cell wall. This was the communication code the POWs used to communicate with one another. On the other side of the wall was Ernie Bruce, a Marine who had been imprisoned for four years already. In spite of his dire situation, Bruce was tapping out, “We’ll all be home for Christmas. God bless America.”

These simple words of comfort restored John McCain’s hope.

The message of Christmas is Hope. This world needs saving, but God began that process of salvation two thousand years ago with the birth of a Babe in Bethlehem. There’s something about Christmas that lifts us up. Christmas is about hope for a better world to come.

This Christmas, pray for hope.

Peace,

Pastor Chris

The Youth Group participates in many activities and events throughout the year:

Our youth group is preparing representatives to serve on some of the church ministry teams to learn leadership and about how they serve the congregation.

Here’s what coming up:

Nov 27, 2011, 4 P.M.
Sunday Afternoon Advent Adventure Family Fellowship, Food, Christmas Crafts to make and take and Ashford Crafters booths plus Church Outdoor Nativity Setup.

Dec 17, 2011
Live Nativity and fellowship and treats …

and so much more coming!

Stay tuned!

This is your Youth Group and as always my Door is open; my email/text is on so share what’s happening in your life and where you see God working. Invite a friend who isn’t coming to UMYF this Sunday! Every youth is welcome.

Blessings,

Carol Greenslate, Youth Director
youth@ashfordumc.org

The second sermon of four sermons in the “Enough: Discovering Joy Through Simplicity and Generosity” Series is adapted from Adam Hamilton’s Sermon: “Wisdom and Finance.”

Luke 15.11-24

Where Did All Our Money Go? We all know about keeping up with the Joneses don’t we? Keeping up with the Joneses is what we do! It starts in childhood and grows stronger every day of our lives. When Johnny down the street gets a new pair of Michael Jordan Retro basketball shoes, everybody in the class MUST have those shoes.

Keeping up with the Joneses causes us all to live beyond our means. And yet, people who live beyond their means are living in a false sense of security. They juggle their finances trying to keep their heads above water. They take a cash debit off of one credit card to make a minimum payment on another credit card. That’s a warning sign that financial disaster is right around the corner.

Another warning sign is increased credit card debt. If a family’s credit card debt is higher this year than it was last year, that’s a danger signal that you’re heading in the wrong direction. Now please remember, we’re not here to judge each other. I get to preach this series, but I’m preaching to myself too. I am definitely part of the problem. But, I’m trying to point out that our society has a problem. WE have a problem! Our problem is that we live in a time of excessive materialism. We live on the treadmill of consumerism and that treadmill is going faster and faster. And we’re all afraid that the day will come when something’s got to give. Either we are going to break down, or the treadmill will explode. Because we already know in our hearts that we just can’t keep this up.

We’re like dieters who KNOW that in order to lose weight they have to eat right and eat less. They know what to do, but few of them are able to do it. I think we all know the basic principles of financial management, but like the dieters, we don’t practice them.

We are the PRODIGALS. We are living as Prodigals, and I’ll tell you what I mean. In Luke 15:11-24, Jesus tells us that the prodigal son had the bad habits of squandering and spending his money.

The word prodigal does not mean someone who wanders away from their family and gets themselves lost. It literally means “ONE WHO WASTES MONEY.”

A PRODIGAL IS ONE WHO WASTES MONEY. Many of us struggle with wasting money as well. I’m not worried about tomorrow. I want it TODAY. The problem with being a prodigal is that the “famine” comes sooner or later. Then famine comes when we have spent everything we have and even a significant part of next year’s income as well. So we use the credit card and charge it, and we go a little further into debt. Finally, we come to a place where we “find ourselves.” We have spent it all. There’s nothing left, not even any credit limit, and we can’t figure out how we are we going to make it. Where will we live? How will we eat tomorrow?

When Vicki and I were first starting out, our budget was stretched down to the penny. We had to be very careful how we spent our money. But today, a twenty here and a few twenty’s there just seems to slip through our fingers like water. Correction, she can make a few dollars last all week. It’s me. And then comes Income Tax time when we have to go through all those sales receipts. Where did it all go? Why did I buy that? What was I thinking? Well, maybe I wasn’t as careful with our money as I should have been. Every wasted dollar could have been used for something more meaningful. Maybe I could have spent the money on something more substantial than the deluxe carwash with triple wax.

Maybe that wasted money could have been used to invest in our retirement, or could have been given away to help others, or given to support the hungry in God’s Kingdom. I’m just saying that perhaps we should think carefully about how we handle our money. The More We Make, the More We Waste. It seems that the more financially secure we become, the less we worry about spending money here and there.

We waste a dollar on this or that, and we forget where it went. Money just seems to flow through our fingers. We’re not as careful with our money as we should be. There are many ways we waste money, but there are two primary money-wasters that many of us struggle with. It is not necessary to eliminate these two things all together, but we should think more carefully about how we spend our money.

I confess I am one of the worst IMPULSE BUYERS. I really struggle to control my impulse buying. If you also struggle with impulse buying, here are a few tips that I have learned: THIS WORKS FOR ME. Never go grocery shopping when you are hungry. Make a list and home and shop for what you need …only. Make that list and stick to it; buy what you need and get out of the store! If you are tempted to make an impulse buy, try having a twenty-four hour cooling down period before making that purchase.

We all spend a lot of our money eating out. Some times it’s necessary. But most of the time it’s not. The real issue is HOW OFTEN do you eat out? The average American eats out an average of four times a week. Perhaps if we can eat out less, and stay home more, we will save more money so we can spend it on something more important. We need to understand that we do not exist simply to consume as much as we can and get as much pleasure as we can while we are here on this earth.

We have a HIGHER PURPOSE. We need to know and understand our life purpose. And then spend our money in ways that are consistent with our purpose or calling. Our society tells us that our life purpose is to consume — to make as much money as possible and to blow as much money as possible. The Bible tells us that we were created to care for God’s creation. We were created to love God and to love our neighbors as ourselves. We were created to care for our loved ones as well as those in need. We were created to glorify God, to seek justice, and to do mercy. Our money and possessions should be devoted to loving God, and loving others.

God blesses us so that we can be a blessing to others. We are to use our resources to help care for our families and others — to serve Christ and the world through the church, missions, and everyday opportunities. We have a life purpose that is greater than our own self-interests, and how we spend our God-given resources reflects our understanding and commitment to this life purpose or mission.

We need to set Worthy Goals. Being able to accomplish the greater purposes God has for our lives requires planning. Once we have a sense of our life purpose, the next step is to set goals. Taking the time to set life goals and financial goals is crucial if we are to become wise stewards of our God-given resources. Each of us should think about our life purpose and goals and then identify two short-term financial goals, two mid-range financial goals, and two long-term financial goals that are aimed at helping us to accomplish our broader life goals. At least one goal in each category should relate specifically to our faith.

Once we have set some financial goals, we need to develop a PLAN to meet those goals. A BUDGET is a spending plan that enables us to accomplish our goals. Some people use an envelope system to help them manage their saving and spending and stay on budget. In the envelope system you put the budgeted amount of cash into each envelope marked, tithe, food, electric bill, gasoline and so on. That way you carefully control your spending. If you put $100 in the “Eating Out” envelope, and you spend all that money in the first three days of the week, you spent your budget for eating out. So you stay at home until next pay day.

Others use a variety of different approaches. Many people find it helpful to seek the advice of a financial advisor. For those who find themselves in the midst of a financial crisis, a financial counselor can help to work out terms with creditors and develop a workable financial plan. Whatever approach you choose, the important thing is simply to HAVE A PLAN.

HERE ARE SOME OTHER SUGGESTIONS FOR MANAGING YOUR MONEY WITH WISDOM AND FAITH: Pay your tithe and offerings to God first. Put God first in your living and your giving. Give your tithe and offering from the “top” of your paycheck, and then live on the balance. Create a budget and TRACK YOUR EXPENSES. Creating a budget is simply developing a plan in which you tell your money what you want it to do. Tracking your expenses with a budget is like getting on the scales: HOLD YOURSELF ACCOUNTABLE. It allows you to see how you are doing and motivates you to be more careful with your expenditures.

SIMPLIFY YOUR LIFESTYLE. Put yourself on a Financial Diet. …(live below your means). Establish an EMERGENCY FUND. A “Do Not Touch” savings account to be used only in emergencies. An emergency fund is an account separate from checking or long-term savings that is set aside specifically for emergencies. Financial Guru Dave Ramsey recommends starting with $1,000 and building that to three months’ worth of income. When you have this amount to fall back on, you won’t need to use your credit cards anymore.

Pay off your credit cards, pay with cash or use debit cards for purchases, and use credit wisely. As you are building your emergency fund, begin to pay off your credit card debt and start using cash or debit cards for purchases. Some experts suggest starting with the credit card that has the highest interest rate. Then pay them off one by one. Others suggest paying down the smallest debt first, experiencing that victory, and applying your payments from the first card to the second, and so on, creating a snowball effect to pay off the cards as soon as possible. Cut up your cards as you pay them down so that you are not trapped or leveraged by your future for present-day pleasure, as the prodigal son was. If you must use a credit card, such as when traveling or making purchases online, make it a policy to pay off the debt monthly. If you are unable to do this, then it is better for you to cut up your cards and stop using them altogether.

Practice long-term savings and investing habits. Saving money is the number-one wise money management principle everyone should practice. Saving, is meant to be purposeful. There are three types of savings we should have: 1) emergency savings, 2) savings for wants and goals, and 3) retirement savings.

In his book entitled “Enough,” Adam Hamilton writes: “Years ago, I was having lunch with a church member. He was the Vice President of his company.

He said, “I bought a new car this week.”

Adam said, “Really? What did you buy?”

He said, “I’ll show you after lunch.”

We went out to the parking lot after lunch and I expected to see a new BMW. To my surprise he pointed out a seven year old Honda Civic.

Adam said, “Tell me about this car.”

He said, “It’s a cream puff, one owner, low-miles, always garaged car.

I paid cash for it, and the insurance and the taxes were nothing. It’s really fun to drive!”

Adam said, “Very interesting. What’s going on here? “

He said, “I just figured out that I could do other things with the money I was spending on a car – things that were more important to me.

Since my life is taking a new turn, I felt like I could use that money to support that.”

Adam writes, “As he drove off that day, do you think I admired him less? Or, did I admire him more?”

Which person do you admire the most? Do you admire a person who lives on the edge of their means, who puts on a good show and can’t afford to do the things that really matter or someone who lives below their means and has a meaningful life and purpose?

Do you admire the one who LIVES extravagantly, or the one who GIVES extravagantly? If we are to GIVE extravagantly and experience the joy that comes from living for something beyond ourselves, we need to SIMPLIFY our lives.

Remember the old Shaker hymn that puts it so nicely:

“’Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free,
‘Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be.
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
‘Twill be in the valley of love and delight.”

Amen

The first sermon of four sermons in the “Enough: Discovering Joy Through Simplicity and Generosity” Series is adapted from Adam Hamilton’s Sermon: “When Dreams Become Nightmares.”

Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith, and pierced themselves with many griefs. (1 Timothy 6:10b, NIV)

The lover of money will not be satisfied with money; nor the lover of wealth, with gain. This also is vanity. (Ecclesiastes 5:10)

For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life? (Matthew 16:26)

Several years ago the Royal Bank of Scotland sent an offer for a Gold Master Card to Monty Slater. The card came with an automatic $20,000 credit limit — quite impressive for his first credit card, particularly when you understand that Monty is a dog.

His owner Raymond considered using Monty’s card to buy some of Monty’s favorite treats but reconsidered because Monty was really in no position to pay the bills when they came in. Ray didn’t want to do anything that might affect Monty’s credit rating.

Now this is a funny story, but it reveals a sobering truth. They might have made a mistake and sent the card to a dog this time, but we all know that they send cards to our high school and college students, and that’s no mistake at all. It underscores a serious problem. We are enticed to have it all and pay for it later, as opposed to saving and being good stewards of our God-given resources.

We are all caught in the struggle in one way or another. No one is exempt. Myself included. I love electronic toys. I was especially fond of my Palm pilot t/x. It was great. I had all my contact information completes with names and addresses of my whole congregation. I had my calendar with all my dates and appointments complete with alarms to point me the direction I needed to go every day. I had a whole library of electronic books, a complete file of pictures, a playlist of top 40 songs and the list goes on and on. Then I saw a TV ad for the I-phone. It was so cool!

I drove over to the store and asked to see the new I-Phone. I just wanted to look at one. I held it in my hand. I drooled over its many features. I laughed at its many applications. I thought briefly about my trusty Palm Pilot sitting faithfully in my pocket. It worked perfectly and it was paid for. But the I-Phone …was light years beyond that slow clunky Palm Pilot. So I quickly reached into my wallet and plunked down my credit card.

I thought to myself, “Should I really be buying this phone?” I hesitated, but I bought it anyway. We love stuff. And I’m one of the very worst.

We love gadgets and we drool over all the latest makes and models that come on the market. We replace our cars when they’re only a few years old. Our closets overflow with the latest fashions. We love our stuff. Now let me say at the very beginning that we must be careful not to judge one another. We must look in the mirror and judge only ourselves. If these words apply to you like they apply to me …please take these words to heart. But let’s be careful not to judge one another. We know ourselves. We know how much money we make and how much we give away. We know whether we really need something or whether don’t really need it. We know when it’s ok to splurge and buy something for fun, because there’s a balance in our lives, and we know when it’s OK or not OK. We know these things about ourselves, but we don’t know these things about each other.

There was a pastor who invited a missionary to speak at his church about social justice and ministry to the poor. As the pastor and the missionary pulled into the church parking lot, a gentleman driving a brand-new top of the line Lexus pulled in beside them. The missionary said “Now that’s what I’m talking about right there. I’m talking about people just like that!”

The pastor said, “Before you embarrass yourself, let me straighten you out about one thing. I know this guy. He makes a million dollars a year, but he gives $700,000 away to run the mission for the poor in our city. This guy is humble and caring. He could afford to drive a Rolls Royce if he wanted to, but he actually lives FIVE STEPS BELOW his means. So don’t criticize him. If only you and I were able to give as much of what we have as he does!”

When it comes to money and possessions, we should not judge one another because we just don’t know each other’s circumstances. All we should say is, “This is where I’M out of control. This is where I might need to change some things. So this month, let’s focus on what God may be saying to YOU, and let’s not pass judgment on anyone else.

Let’s talk about The American Dream. Our Founding Fathers dreamed about Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. They dreamed about freedom and new beginnings so beautifully expressed in the inscription on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty: “Give me you’re tired, you’re poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free …” They dreamed of equality and opportunity.

For most people, the American Dream has to do with a subconscious desire for achieving success and satisfying the desire for material possessions. It is the opportunity to pursue more than what we have, to gain more than what we have, and to meet success. We tend to measure our success by the stuff that we possess. The Pursuit of Happiness has become the Pursuit of Our Immediate Material Pleasure. The love of money and the things money can buy is a primary or secondary motive behind most of what we Americans do. We want to consume, acquire, and buy our way to happiness—and we want it all, now.

The American Dream is in danger of becoming an American Nightmare due to two distinct yet related illnesses that impact us both socially and spiritually. The first is AFFLUENZA. AFFLUENZA is the constant need for more and bigger and better stuff—as well as the effect that this need has on us.

I was happy for 10 minutes with my I-phone 3g until the I-phone 4 came out a few weeks later. We suffer from the desire to acquire, and most of us have been infected by this virus to some degree. Shopping is the national pastime here in America. Our economy is dependent on consumer spending, which is why it is reported on the nightly news. We tune in to hear about the impact of consumer spending on the stock market and on our retirement funds. We are lectured that our consumer spending determines the strength of our nation.

How do we know we’re having a merry Christmas? The news believes it depends on consumer spending. Our lives are dominated by advertisements trying to convince us that we need something else. They are very good at it and we are susceptible to these advertising campaigns.

The average American home went from 1,660 square feet in 1973 to 2,400 square feet in 2004. We have plenty of living space. And yet, our closets bulge with all our stuff. Our garages are crammed full. And we still have to rent storage space for all our stuff. An entire industry has developed for storing the stuff we have been enticed to buy, with money we don’t have.

This brings us to the second disease that goes along with Affluenza: CREDIT-IT-US. Credit-itis is an illness that is brought on by the opportunity to buy now and pay later, (6 months to pay – same as cash!) … and it feeds on our desire for instant gratification. Our economy today is built on the concept of credit-itis. Unfortunately, it has exploited our lack of self-discipline and allowed us to feed our affluenza, wreaking havoc in our personal and national finances.

Our average credit card debt in America in 1990 was around $3,000. Today it’s $15, 519. If you count the interest we pay, the average sale ends up being around 125 percent higher if we use a credit card than if we pay cash. Credit-itis is not limited to purchases made with credit cards; it includes car loans, mortgages, and other loans.

If you look on the internet, you can find a 96 month loan for a $30,000 car. That’s eight years! If I drive 15,000 miles a year, that 30,000 car will have 120,000 miles on it by the time I pay it off. Of course most of us don’t keep a car for eight years. We trade it in and roll the balance due into the new note! The Banks love it when we do this!

The life of the average car loan and home mortgage continues to increase, while the average American’s savings rate continues to decline. All this is evidence of a Much Deeper Problem Within.

There Is a Spiritual Issue beneath the Surface of Affluenza and Credit-itis. Our souls were created in the image of God, but they have been distorted. We were created to desire God, but our sin has turned that desire toward a craving for material possessions. We were created to find our security in God, but we have chosen to find our security amassing wealth. We were created to love people, but instead we have chosen to compete with them.

We were created to enjoy the simple pleasures of life, but we have chosen to busy ourselves with pursuing money and material things. We were created to be generous and to share with those in need, but we have chosen to selfishly hoard our stuff for ourselves. We have chosen to put our love of possessions above our love of God.

And that is a SIN!

Here’s what the Devil knows. If he can get you in debt, he can make you the Devil’s slave. If he can convince you to spend all you have, you will never be able to offer your tithes to God, you will never be able to help the poor as you could have, and you will never use your God-given resources to accomplish Gods purposes. If the devil can tempt you to become a slave to your creditors, you will not know simplicity, generosity, and joy. The Devil Plays Upon our sinful nature.

Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). The devil doesn’t need to tempt us to do drugs or to steal or to have an extramarital affair in order to destroy us. All he needs to do is get us to keep pursuing the American Dream — to keep up with the Joneses, borrow against our futures, enjoy more than we can afford, and indulge ourselves. By doing that, he will rob us of joy, make us slaves, and keep us from doing God’s will.

Matthew 4:8-10 “The devil took Jesus up to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give to you if you will fall down and worship me.” But Jesus said, Be gone Satan! For it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.”

Luke 8:14 “…And as for the seed that fell among the thorns, they re those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.”

Mark 8:36 “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?”

Timothy 6:10 “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith…”

So what is the answer? What’s the solution? The Bible has our Solution: Very simply, we need a change of heart! We need a changed heart, which leads to changed desires and a changed sense of God’s purpose for our lives. Although we receive a changed heart when we accept Christ, in a sense we need a heart change every morning.

Each morning when I get up, I have my morning coffee and then I go to God in prayer and say, “Lord, help me to be the person you want me to be today. Take away the desires that shouldn’t be there, and help me be single-minded in my devotion to you.”

As we do this, God comes and cleanses us from the inside out, purifying our hearts. Every day we must ask God to change our hearts and allow the Holy Spirit to work within us. Christ works in us as we seek and strive to do God’s Will.

As this happens, we begin to sense a higher calling — a calling to simplicity and faithfulness and generosity.
We begin to look at ways we can make a difference with our time and talents and resources. By pursuing sound financial practices, we free ourselves from debt so that we are able to be in mission to the world. A key part of finding financial and spiritual freedom is found in simplicity and in exercising restraint.

Perhaps the best known Shaker hymn is “Simple Gifts” written by Elder Joseph Brackett in 1848. This song which was sung as people danced and worshiped captures the invitation to simplicity.

“Tis the gift to be simple, tis the gift to be free.
Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
Twill be in the valley of love and delight.”

With the help of God, we can simplify our lives and silence the voices constantly telling us we need more. With the help of God, we can live counter-culturally by living below, not above, our means. With the help of God, we can build into our budgets the money to buy with cash instead of credit. And with the help of God we can build into our budgets what we need to be able to live generously and faithfully

I’d like to invite you to put your hands on your lap, just extend your hands palm upright on your lap. And I would invite you to say this prayer with me, just quietly under your breath. Change my heart, of God. Clean me out inside. Make me new. Heal my desires. Help me to hold my possessions loosely. Help me to love you. Teach me simplicity. Teach me generosity and help me to have joy. I offer my life to you. In Jesus name. AMEN.

1 “Self-storage Nation: Americans Are Storing More Stuff Than Ever,”
by Tom Vanderbilt, July 18, 2005
2 “Credit Card Debt Statistics,” by Mark Brinker, August 2008

If you are interested in learning more about the history of the Methodist Church from its inception in 1736 to the present day, there is an excellent well-organized series of articles available on UMC.org.

Read more about the history of The United Methodist Church by year: