the plum line · · 2020-06-07the plum line purchase line united methodist church 17107 route 286...
TRANSCRIPT
JUNE 2020
The PLUM Line Purchase Line United Methodist Church
17107 Route 286 Hwy E. Commodore, PA 15729 (724) 254-1350 / [email protected]
One of the things we have all had a lot more of lately is free
time. In the past we have all probably wished we had a little
more free time, but speaking for myself, this is not how I wanted
to gain that free time. Personally, I can’t wait to be busy again,
because it means I’ll be doing a lot of the things I really enjoy
doing. The problem we have in this time is we want free time to
do the things we enjoy doing, but unfortunately those are the
things we haven’t been “allowed” to do. So what have you
been doing with your new found free time?
There is an expression that goes, “when life gives you lemons,
make lemonade.” Well life has handed everyone one big
lemon. How are you making lemonade? Hopefully you’ve
made the most of this difficult time and hopefully it’s coming to
an end. I love lemonade, but I’m ready for something else to
drink, maybe some iced tea.
Jesus said, in John 16:32, “But a time is coming, and has come,
when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will
leave Me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for My Father is with
Me.” Obviously Jesus wasn’t talking about any kind of
lockdown, He was talking about what would happen to His
disciples when He left, but nonetheless, we have been
scattered to our own homes, but we are not alone. Our
Heavenly Father is with us.
He follows that up in verse 33 with one of my favorite verses, “I
have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace.
In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have
overcome the world.” Trouble is unavoidable. How you handle
the trouble is totally up to you. Jesus’ advice is to take heart,
He has overcome the world. My advice is very similar...take
heart, Jesus has taken care of it.
Blessings,
Pastor Raymond
Upcoming Events
Wednesdays at PLUM
Prayer Meeting 7PM
June 7th
Graduate Sunday
Important
Announcements
The combined Church Council and
Ministry Planning Meeting will be on
Monday, June 1st at 7PM.
Community Kitchen will be
postponed until further notice.
Election Day is Tuesday, June 2nd.
The Election Day Dinner has been
canceled for June. We hope to
resume this ministry in November.
Worship with PLUM Church on Sundays
at 9:30AM. Tune in to 87.9FM within a
mile radius of the church (parking lot
drive-ins are welcome!) The sermon
will also be available on Facebook,
YouTube and the church website
@ plumchurch.com.
Clayton Clair Coble, son of Scot and Chastity Coble, will graduate from
Marion Center Area High School where he is a primary honor student. School
activities include National Honor Society, Future Business Leaders of America, PJAS
Enviroquest competitions, Project Earth. He was crowned Marion Center’s
Homecoming King this past fall. Clayton was very involved in sports, excelling
especially in baseball and football. As an outfielder, he was baseball team captain
and selected for the 2019 All Gazette Baseball team. He was also co-captain of
MC’s football team where he played linebacker. He received several scholar
athlete awards and all conference and Top area 25 player recognitions.
Clayton became a member of PLUM Church in 2018. He likes to go fishing, play
Scrabble and hang out with his friends. He plans to attend IUP in the fall to major in
business/sports management. Now he is employed at Tate’s Supermarket in Clymer.
Benjamin Garrett Smith, son of Kevin and Lee Smith is a 2020 graduate of Purchase
Line. Ben is active in school, helping to run Mr. Scott’s coffee cart and baking
yummy treats for teachers and staff. He enjoys their fishing trips and has worked
for Goodwill and several area nursing homes.
Ben is a former boy scout and is a long-time Miracle League baseball player. He
had hoped to have a great track and field season with the Special Olympics but
that will have to wait until next year.
Ben raises chickens to support his cheesy egg breakfast addiction. He enjoys
dressing up and dancing at the “Starlit Night” prom and is a big fan of 80’s and
country music. He is a great help at Smiths Auto Service and assists anyone who
needs help with many odd-jobs. Congratulations & God bless, Ben!
Joshua Grell from Mars Area High School, son of Mandy “Brocious” & Mike
Grell. Grandson of Kay and Chuck Brocious. Hopefully will start college at Kent
State University this fall.
Kyle McCormick son of Scott and Terri McCormick. Grandson of Gene and
Sharon Stewart. Graduating from Eastern York High School, Kyle has been
an avid hockey player from the age of five. He has been a member for 13
years in the York Hockey Club. He was a member of both York and Hershey
Bears for 1 year. Kyle will be pursuing a career in Physical Therapy.
• National Day of Prayer, May 2nd
• Mother’s Day, May 12th
• Armed Forces Day, May 18th
• Memorial Day, May 27th
• Ascension, May 30th
+CHRISTIAN SYMBOL+
SPECIAL DATES
• Trinity Sunday, June 7
• Flag Day, June 14
• First day of summer, June 20
• Father’s Day, June 21
SPECIAL DATES
WHAT’S HAPPENING?
EVERY TUESDAY
Did you know that Taking Off
Pounds Sensibly (TOPS) meets
Monday evenings in the
PLUM basement? If you want
help working off any
quarantine weight gain, new
attendees are welcome.
Weigh in is from 5:30-6:30PM.
Meetings at 6:30PM.
CAT camp is cancelled for
this summer, along with
many of the other large-
scale camp weeks. Some
smaller camps will still be
held later in the season, but
only if the county that a
given camp is in has been
moved to the green zone.
OUR FATHER You sum up the whole of New Testament
religion if you describe it as the knowledge of
God as one’s holy Father. If you want to
judge how well a person understands
Christianity, find out how much he makes of
the thought of being God’s child, and
having God as his Father. If this is not the
thought that prompts and controls his
worship and prayers and his whole outlook
on life, it means that he does not understand
Christianity very well at all.
―J.I. Packer, Knowing God
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TOO GREAT TO GRASP For more than three decades, St. Augustine of Hippo
toiled over the mind-boggling doctrine of the Trinity.
According to legend, one day the church father was
strolling along a shore, wrestling with this puzzle. He
saw a boy running back and forth, using a seashell to
pour water from the ocean into a hole he’d dug in
the sand. When Augustine asked what he was doing,
the boy proclaimed, “I’m going to pour the entire
ocean into this hole!”
“That’s impossible,” replied Augustine. “The sea is so
great, and the shell and the hole are so little.”
“That’s true,” the boy said. “But it would be easier to
draw all the water out of the sea and fit it into this
hole than for you to fit the mystery of the Trinity and
His divinity into your little intellect.”
Indeed, only through faith can we accept the infinite
nature of our Three-in-One God; for our finite human
minds, it’s simply too great to grasp.
HIGHLY ESTEEMED After returning from a lengthy mission trip
overseas, John Huffman and his fellow
passengers were held up in customs for two
hours. When he finally made it to the
packed airport lobby, Huffman realized it
might take a while to find his family. But
suddenly his 3-year-old daughter ran toward
him yelling, “Daddy! Daddy! That’s my
daddy!” and launched into his arms.
“What a welcome,” he writes. “I have never
felt so loved and acknowledged in my life.”
Perhaps that’s how God feels when we call
on His name in worship and prayer,
acknowledging Him as our heavenly Father
— and honoring Him above all else.
WELCOMING THE HOLY Abraham and Sarah welcomed three
strangers who turned out to be the Lord. Jesus
said, “If anyone gives even a cup of cold
water to one of these little ones who is my
disciple,” the giver will be rewarded
(Matthew 10:42, NIV). An ancient Jewish
proverb asserts: “Hospitality is one form of
worship.” A Russian Orthodox monk is said to
have told a younger one, “Sometimes I see a
stranger coming up the road and I say, ‘Oh,
Jesus Christ, is it you again?’” And an old
Gaelic poem declares, “Often, often, often,
goes the Christ in the stranger’s guise.”
Sometimes we think we must do something
big to serve God. Today, when you smile at
someone on the street, take time to entertain
a child’s question, bring cookies to a new
neighbor, thank a server or clerk … know that
you are serving Jesus, that you are worshiping
God. —Heidi Mann
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+CHRISTIAN SYMBOL+
Olive
The olive branch is a symbol of peace, harmony
and healing. Olive trees provide shelter, as well as
oil used for ointment and consecration. The olive
branch also represents deliverance from
hardships and anxiety because a dove brought
an olive leaf back to Noah’s ark after the flood
ended (Genesis 8:11).
A KINDLED FIRE “I can worship outside among nature just as
well as I can inside a church building.” That
claim is especially common during the
summer, when church attendance tends to
decline.
Certainly it’s possible to worship and talk to
God among His creation. In fact, George
Washington Carver called nature “an
unlimited broadcasting station, through
which God speaks to us every hour, if we will
only tune in.” And Martin Luther said, “God
writes the Gospel not in the Bible alone, but
also on trees, and in the flowers and clouds
and stars.”
Yet corporate, or church, worship is still vital.
Luther also noted: “At home, in my own
house, there is no warmth or vigor in me, but
in the church when the multitude is
gathered together, a fire is kindled in my
heart and it breaks its way through.” When
we’re away from God’s house, we miss
blessings and opportunities including
communion, fellowship and support. So this
summer, spend time in nature but don’t
neglect “to meet together” (see Hebrews
10:25)!
AN INVITATION TO REST Summer calls to mind a slower pace, time off from
school and work. But many still face daily demands
this time of year: farmers work long hours; teachers
may take seasonal work to make ends meet; parents
with kids now home all day may catch up on work late
at night. Still, may the longer days and warmer
weather beckon you into a bit of free time this season.
Listen:
“When you take time to replenish your spirit, it allows
you to serve others from the overflow. You cannot
serve from an empty vessel.” —Eleanor Brownn (public
speaker and educator)
“Rest time is not waste time; it is economy to gather
fresh strength. … In the long run, we shall do more by
sometimes doing less.” —Charles Spurgeon
“Come to me, all you that are weary … and I will give
you rest. … For my yoke is easy, and my burden is
light.” —Jesus (Matthew 11:28-30)
SEEING STARS The stars shine over the mountains,
the stars shine over the sea,
The stars look up to the mighty God,
the stars look down on me;
The stars shall last for a million years,
a million years and a day,
But God and I will live and love,
when the stars have passed away.
—Robert Louis Stevenson
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