Category: All

RENEWAL OF SPIRIT AND SOUL

Good Morning Church!

What a beautiful spring morning it is! The rain has washed everything clean and the sun is shining through the new leaves on the trees. God’s creation never ceases to amaze us, does it?

I will be away on a retreat this weekend with a wonderful group of friends. I am so looking forward to having a chance to do nothing but enjoy being in that creation and letting its calm and beauty fill me with the presence of God. I plan on breathing deeply and seeking nothing but a renewal of spirit and soul. But I have left you in very good hands while I am away. On Sunday, Rev. Gary Lawrence will be preaching. Gary is an old friend and a newly retired pastor in the United Methodist Church, and I promise you will not want to miss getting to know him and hearing him preach. He is absolutely one of my favorite people! And he will continue in our now favorite book of 1 John. I will be interested to see what he finds there!

Take care and I will see you all next week! I love you and appreciate your giving me this opportunity to get away for a little while. Retreat is crucial to our spiritual growth, and I am looking forward to being in a place where I can do just that!

Love you all!

Rev. Martha

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Tender Mercies

Pastoral Prayer – by Rev. Martha Dye

 

Reading of Scripture – 1 John 3:1-7 – by Mrs. Stacey Thornton

 

Tender Mercies – Sermon by Rev. Martha Dye

 

[1John 3:1-7 NIV] 1 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. 4 Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.

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TENDER MERCIES

Happy Friday!

Hope you are all well and that your feet are securely connected to the ground…….the April wind is having a great time out there!

But when we get together for worship on Sunday morning, we will be safe and calm……… protected by God’s loving hand, and so glad to be together! Our sermon will be based on I Joyn 3:1-7 as well as one of my very favorite movies, “Tender Mercies”, with Robert Duval and Tess Harper. The movie is the story of a guy named Mac Sledge, a really, really talented country singer who let money and fame and whiskey get the best of him. It is what happened after he hit rock bottom that I want to share with you.  I John tells us that we are “children of God”. And God is showering down tender mercy on us all the time. Sometimes, we are able to recognize it. But most times, we don’t have a clue. John tells us that all things come in good time! I think this is a message we all need to hear!

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Leaning Toward the Light

Pastoral Prayer – by Rev. Martha Dye (Edited Version) (An unedited version can be found in the “Church Members Only” section of this website)

 

Reading of Scripture – 1 John 1:1-10 & 2:1-2 – by Mrs. Martha Baldwin

 

Leaning Toward the Light – Sermon by Rev. Martha Dye

 

Song: Lean In Toward The Light  By Carrie Newcomer

 

[1 John 1:1-10 NIV] 1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched–this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy complete. 5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.

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GOD IS LIGHT, AND IN HIM IS NO DARKNESS AT ALL

Greetings Easter People!

I hope you have had a wonderful Easter week, and that you have finished all the left overs from Easter dinner and have found every one of the Easter eggs in your yard! (One year we hid them in the house, and there was one unfound egg…… oh, boy! a week or so later it was not hard to find at all!!)

I have been enjoying seeing all the families walking by our house who are on Spring break – just relaxing and having fun and catching their breath! To rest and renew is so important. The Contemporary English version of the Bible says, “By the seventh day, God had finished all the work he had to do, so he rested.” So should we!

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Because He Lives

Pastoral Prayer – by Rev. Martha Dye (Edited Version) (An unedited version can be found in the “Church Members Only” section of this website)

 

Reading of Scripture – Mark 16:1-8 – by Rev. Linda Hessel

 

Because He Lives – Sermon by Rev. Martha Dye

 

[Mark 16:1-8 NET] 1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought aromatic spices so that they might go and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, at sunrise, they went to the tomb. 3 They had been asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” 4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled back. 5 Then as they went into the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. 6 But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has been raised! He is not here. Look, there is the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples, even Peter, that he is going ahead of you into Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you.” 8 Then they went out and ran from the tomb, for terror and bewilderment had seized them. And they said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

 

“Permissions.” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 13 March, 2023.

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HOLY WEEK

Good Saturday Morning, Whitesburg UMC!

Are y’all ready? We are putting on our shoes and getting prepared to walk into a week that is unlike any other week of the church year: Holy Week. This is the week we literally put all else aside and walk in gratitude and love with Jesus during the last week of his life on earth. It’s a week full of light and darkness. It’s a week full of unbelievable pain at how cruel the world can be as well as unbelievable joy at the depth of the love God has for the world. I want to encourage you to continue with your daily practice of devotional reading and prayer. But I also hope you will be a part of all the church is doing this week as well.

Every church lives out the week differently depending on their traditions and situations.

Here’s what the week looks like for us at Whitesburg:

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The Third Day: Paul

Pastoral Prayer – by Rev. Martha Dye (Edited Version) (An unedited version can be found in the “Church Members Only” section of this website)

 

Reading of Scripture – Acts 9:1-18 – by Mrs. Jackie Pate

 

The Third Day: Paul – Sermon by Rev. Martha Dye

 

[Acts 9:1-18 CEB] 1 Meanwhile, Saul was still spewing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest, 2 seeking letters to the synagogues in Damascus. If he found persons who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, these letters would authorize him to take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3 During the journey, as he approached Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven encircled him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice asking him, “Saul, Saul, why are you harassing me?” 5 Saul asked, “Who are you, Lord?” “I am Jesus, whom you are harassing,” came the reply.

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ST. PATRICK IS PRETTY COOL!

Greetings, Whitesburg UMC, on this dreary Friday afternoon!

Sunday is St. Patrick’s Day! And no, before you ask……….we won’t be changing the paraments in the Sanctuary from purple to green!!!!!  But feel to wear it! Or not. St. Patrick’s special day is one of those days that is of great importance to some and little or none to others! I know a guy who gathers with his friends every year without fail for food and green beer at their traditional table at the Irish Pub here in town. My niece lives in Savannah and always shares on Facebook the morning mass they attend, the parade news, the pictures of her house filled with guests (it looks like so much fun)! I never had fun like that. But I do remember as a child being told I had to wear green so I wouldn’t get pinched. St. Patrick is cool! It is said he got rid of all the snakes in Ireland. Not sure that’s true, but it is not something just anyone can put on a resume!

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The Third Day: Emmaus

Pastoral Prayer – by Rev. Martha Dye (Edited Version) (An unedited version can be found in the “Church Members Only” section of this website)

 

Reading of Scripture – Luke 24:13-32 – by Mr. Jim Dye

 

The Third Day: Emmaus – Sermon by Rev. Martha Dye

 

[Luke 24:13-32 NIV] 13 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16 but they were kept from recognizing him. 17 He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?” They stood still, their faces downcast. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” 19 “What things?” he asked. “About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people.

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SIMPLY BEING PRESENT IN YOUR OWN LIFE

Good Friday Morning!

I hope you are all well and are discovering the surprises that this season of Lent can bring when we simply let ourselves be and walk with Jesus each day. Along with “The Sanctuary for Lent”, which is the little devotional book that we all were given a few Sundays ago, I am reading a book called “A Different Kind of Fast”, by Christine Valters Paintner. Instead of inviting me to fast from some of the things I possess (or eat/drink!), she invites me to fast from some of the things I do……usually things that really are not that good for me. For example, for the third week of Lent she has invited me to fast from speed and rushing, and to instead embrace slowness and pausing.

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The Third Day: Thomas

Pastoral Prayer – by Rev. Martha Dye (Edited Version) (An unedited version can be found in the “Church Members Only” section of this website)

 

Reading of Scripture – John 20:19-31 – by Mrs. Beth DeStasio

 

The Third Day: Thomas – Sermon by Rev. Martha Dye

 

[John 20:19-31] 19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” 24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin ), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.
 

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MY, OH MY! WHAT A DIFFERENCE THAT WOULD MAKE!

Good Morning, My Friends!

I hope this email finds you safe and dry and warm and full of the knowledge of the deep, deep love that God has for you. As we live in this world that is filled with controversy and anger and violence and division, that lovely fact is one we simply cannot afford to forget. I have spent the morning trying to help a homeless man find a place to sleep tonight. No easy task! Realizing that he is only one – only one out of the millions who are homeless or poor or hungry or in the midst of warfare that has destroyed their homes and their cities, or migrants who are seeking a safe place to live and raise their families……. The list can go on and on. Well, it’s enough to make you want to cry.

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The Third Day: Simon Peter

Pastoral Prayer – by Rev. Martha Dye

 

Reading of Scripture – John 21:3-19 – by Mrs. Diane Nicholson

 

The Third Day: Simon Peter – Sermon by Rev. Martha Dye

 

[John 21:3-19 NIV] 3 “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. 4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. 5 He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” “No,” they answered. 6 He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. 7 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water.

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The Third Day: Mary Magdalene

We apologize… due to technical issues, we do not have the “Pastoral Prayer – by Rev. Martha Dye” this week.

 

Reading of Scripture – John 20:1-18 – by Mrs. Sandy Chambers

 

The Third Day: Mary Magdalene – Sermon by Rev. Martha Dye

 

[John 20:1-18 NKJV] 1 Now on the first [day] of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw [that] the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.” 3 Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. 4 So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first.

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We can’t get to Easter without first going through Lent.

Morning Everyone!

Burrrr!!!!  It is cold outside! The wind is blowing and it is (at least right now) a dreary looking day out there. We are still wiping the ashes off our foreheads, knowing that the season in the church called Lent has begun. As I remember, what I told you the other night at the Ash Wednesday service is that we can’t get to Easter without first going through Lent. In order to really, really, really appreciate the gift of Christ, we have to do some serious thinking and some authentic prayer about what had to happen before the empty tomb. If you didn’t get one on Wednesday night, there is a little Lenten Devotional Book waiting for you at the church. I hope you will use it each of the 40 days of Lent to help in your following Jesus to the cross. It is a deep and beautiful journey!

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Ash Wednesday Service

Reading of Scripture – Joel 2:1-2 / 12-17 – by Rev. Darryl Hessel

 

Epistle Reading – 2 Corinthians 5:20-21 / 6:1-10 – by Mr. Jim Dye

 

Reading of the Gospel – Matthew 6:1-4 / 6:16-18 – by Mrs. Bev Bynum

 

Pastor’s Meditation – by Rev. Martha Dye

 

Invitation for the imposition of Ashes – by Rev. Martha Dye

 

[Joel 2:1-2 NIV] 1 Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming. It is close at hand– 2 a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness. Like dawn spreading across the mountains a large and mighty army comes, such as never was in ancient times nor ever will be in ages to come.

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Mountain Trips

Pastoral Prayer – by Rev. Martha Dye

 

Reading of Scripture – Mark 9:2-9 – by Mr. Jim Dye

 

Mountain Trips – Sermon by Rev. Martha Dye

 

[Mark 9:2-9 NIV] 2 After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. 3 His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. 4 And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus. 5 Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters–one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 6 (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.)

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Remember Who You Are!

Pastoral Prayer – by Rev. Martha Dye

 

Reading of Scripture – Isaiah 40:21-31 – by Mrs. Bev Bynum

 

Remember Who You Are! – Sermon by Rev. Martha Dye

 

[Isaiah 40:21-31 ESV] 21 Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? 22 It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in; 23 who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness. 24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows on them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble. 25 To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One.

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