Being A Living Bible

Knowledge puffs you up with pride, but love builds up. (1 Corinthians 8:1)

Knowledge – for the sake of knowledge – is worthless and can easily lead to pride and arrogance.  But knowledge for the sake of love is priceless.  In other words, no one really cares how much you know until they know how much you really care.

Knowledge is powerful and should be used in love and love should always be controlled by knowledge.  God gives us the ability to understand the Bible and then wants us to use its truths to build each other up and meet the needs of others.

A preacher once said, “Some Christians grow.  Others just swell.”  Arrogance and pride are the result of knowledge that is misused.  Knowledge can be a weapon of destruction or a tool of construction.  It all depends on how it is used.  We can know of God and never know God.  We can grow in Bible knowledge but not grow in grace.  We can attend church every time the doors are open but until we actually apply God’s truth to the way we live, something is lost in the way we translate the Good News of Jesus Christ.

There is a story of four Bible scholars who were arguing over the best translation of the Bible.  One said he preferred the King James Version because of its beautiful, eloquent old English.  Another said he preferred the American Standard Bible for its literalism and accurate translation from the original text.  A third man preferred the newer translations because of their practical application.  The fourth scholar listened thoughtfully and then added, “Personally, I prefer my mother’s translation.”  When the other men laughed, he explained, “My mother translates every page of the Bible into her daily life and it is the most convincing translation I have ever seen.”

Do the people in our lives better understand God because of the way we live?  Are our lives a living illustration of God’s love?  Is “Our Translation” of the Bible authentic and real and pleasing to God?  We need to be careful how we live because we may be the only Bible some people ever read.

Pastor Bob

Summer Small Groups

Pastor’s Study & Prayer Group: Sunday mornings 11:30 AM, Room B6. Everyone is welcome to join.  Questions contact Pastor Bob. No Class this week, Sun., May 20th as we are having a Pot Luck Sunday.

Tuesday Women’s Group: Join us in Tuesday’s at 12:45, Disciple Room (B4).  A time of friendship, good food, & great conversation.  Questions or information for summer meetings contact Dottie Brownlow, as these meetings are not always at the church.

Knitting for the Lord: Some gather during the summer.  Contact Lynne Masland for time and place.

These classes will resume in the fall:

Sunday School: Sunday mornings 9:00 AM. Open to all youth pre-k through high school. For questions or more information, please contact Robin Stolarcyk.  Please join us! Sunday School Party June 3rd!

Christian Fellowship Class: Sunday mornings 9:00 AM. Room B6.  Please join us. Leader: Shirley Prentice.

Unity Circle: Ladies Group, 2nd Monday of every month 11:00 AM. All ladies are invited to join. Contact Bev Hamm for more information. Monday, June 11th Luncheon, 12:00 PM, at Apple Hills.

Rachel Circle: Ladies Group, 3rd Tuesday of every month 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM in the Frazer Room (B18). All ladies are invited to join. Contact Marita Root for more information.

WordGirls: Wednesdays 9:15 – 11:15 a.m.  All ladies are welcome to join. Questions contact Amy O’Brien; No meetings when Nursery school is not in session.

Choir: Thursdays 7:00 – 8:00 PM.  Everyone is welcome to join. Contact Carla Fako for more information.

*Note: If you wish to contact any of the leaders listed in the announcements please contact the church office at 648-4339 or email: chenbridgeumc@outlook.com for their contact information.

Rummage Sale: June 9th, 8 AM – 1 PM.  Volunteers are needed to help set up on 6/8 at 9:00 am until ? Contact Jill Lyon to help. Save your items to drop off. We welcome clothing, tools, books, small household items, toys, etc. Please no large  furniture, CRT (fat) TV sets, exercise equipment or outdated computers. Contact Jill Lyon with any questions. You may drop off items this week, Monday June 4th – Friday, June 8th. Save your items to drop off. 

June Mission

You are invited to attend:

A Baby Shower for Life Choices Center

Hosted by Choconut Center United Methodist Church. Monday, June 18 at 6 PM – 8 PM; 5 Lewis Rd, Binghamton, New York 13905

Life Choices Center helps men and women before, during, and after an unplanned pregnancy. The main focus is our smart choices program which is & group classes with basic parenting classes and then one on one mentoring. The classes are free and each participant receives a “paycheck” for points. These points can be used in our baby store to purchase a variety of baby items at no cost.

This is where we need help from our generous supporters like you. In the baby store we have clothing sizes nb-5t, diapers, wipes, bottles, toys, cribs and more! Everything we have comes from donations from churches and individuals in the community. We go through diapers frequently especially in sizes 4, 5, and 6 but we appreciate them in all sizes! A few of our bigger needs are NEW car seats (many of the items we receive are in new or gently used condition but due to safety reasons there are a few items like car seats which can’t be used), cribs, diaper bags, bassinets, pack n plays, and a recent request, highchairs. Thank you for all of your support!

Monetary donations to the Baby Shower are welcome. Checks should be made out to Life Choices Center.

Donations of Baby items may be left in the container marked Baby Shower Items in the back of the church. Joyce Neumann & Karen Hojsik will attend the baby shower at Choconut Center UMC Church & will take both the baby items & the monetary donations.

All items & monetary donations must be turned into the church by June 17th.

Sight and Sound Theater Trip to Lancaster, PA; “Jesus”: Wednesday, September 19th: Coordinated by Dorothy Trout (692-4262) of The Castle Creek UMC. Reservation due by June 24th. Call Dorothy to reserve your seats. Cost $180.00 includes theater ticket, bus and lunch at Miller’s smorgasbord. Go to sign up forms for registration form: here

Wi-Fi Access at Church: If you would like access to wireless at the church please contact Mike Howard at: cbfumc@hotmail.com. Thank you

Volunteers requested: We will be providing dinners for the Men’s  Rescue Mission at 5 PM every 4th Wednesday.  Please join us as we cook and serve!   Questions?  contact Karen and Wes MacKenzie (contact the church office 648-4339 for Karen’s contact information).

12th Annual United Methodist Night at the Ball Game: Thursday, June 28th; 6:35 pm; $9.00 Adults; $6.00 Children. Please contact Pam Wasley to purchase tickets (contact the church office for Pam’s contact information).

Shipwrecked Vacation Bible School, Endwell UMC :July 8th-12th 6-9pm; preschool 6-8pm. Registration forms now available.  Register Early! Registration forms are in back of the Sanctuary, on the church web site www.endwellumc.org and at the church office. If you would like to help with prepping crafts or Volunteer during this life changing week Contact Lynne: lynnekimplandclc@gmail.com

Trustees Project Board in the back of the Narthex for those of you that may want to sign up for projects or may wish to contribute to a project. Please contact Hudda Aswad if you have any questions. Thank you.

Liturgists Needed: If you would like to volunteer to be a liturgist please contact Pam Wasley or the church office 648-4339. If you cannot do a month at a time, that is fine. We will fill in the weeks around what you can do.

Audio & Video Volunteers are Needed: Training will be provided. Please contact the church office; 648-4339 or Mike Howard (contact the church office for Mike’s contact information)  if you would be able to help.

Fund Raiser for First United Methodist Church of Chenango Bridge.     Present this advertistment (below) and 10% of all work done will be donated to the church. For all questions and appointments please contact Quality Steam Cleaning. (You may also find this coupon in the back of the church or contact the church office.

Reminder: Maines Food & Party Warehouse – GiveBack Program. 1^st United Methodist Church of Chenango Bridge/Maines GiveBack Program: “Chenango Bridge UMC” endowment current totals 50% members as of February 1, 2018. FUMC’s goal is 90% membership by the end of 2018. Important: Upon receipt of your membership card application Maines will turn around the application in (2) weeks). Maines account is “Chenango Bridge UMC” in order to receive the proper credit. Obtain your application of a Maines membership card from David Lewis or the church secretary Monday – Thursday 8 AM – 1 PM. For every twenty (20) dollars spent, God’s church receives $1.00.