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Luke 2:6-7 “6 While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him i...

Wednesday, April 22, 2020

Note to the Congregation During the Pandemic: Remember to Walk in Love

Ephesians 5:1-2

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

Christ came into this world not only to provide us with a path of Salvation but also to provide us with an example of how we are to live our lives; how we are to relate to other people, people that we love and people that are hard to love.  Our dominant motivator in life is to be love.  Love is to be the driving force in our lives.  

Are we walking in love today as Christ loved us, or are we walking in fear, or anger, or apathy?  Reach out to someone each day and share the love of Christ with them.  

May the Love of Christ be with you,
Rev. Eric Lanier,
Interim Pastor, Memorial United Methodist Church

Wednesday, April 15, 2020

Note to the Congregation During the Pandemic: Remember to Look for God's Guiding Hand

Leviticus 23: 40-43
“40 On the first day you are to take branches from luxuriant trees—from palms, willows and other leafy trees—and rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. 41 Celebrate this as a festival to the Lord for seven days each year. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come; celebrate it in the seventh month. 42 Live in temporary shelters for seven days: All native-born Israelites are to live in such shelters 43 so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in temporary shelters when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.”


The Israelites had a festival they called The Festival of Booths.   It was a time in which they remembered when they wandered in the wilderness and had no permanent home.  The 40 years that they wandered in the wilderness was a time of extreme hardship and danger. Yet they wanted to remember this time.


They wanted to remember it so that they could celebrate God’s deliverance of them.  God eventually led them to the promised land. And this is what they celebrated.


Hopefully we will look back on this time and see God’s hand, leading and guiding us through the hardships and the dangers.  And we will celebrate our deliverance.

Monday, April 6, 2020

Note to the Congregation During the Pandemic: Remember to Care for Your Spirit


Matthew 15: 1-9
1Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands before they eat.” 3 He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must surely die.’ 5 But you say that whoever tells father or mother, ‘Whatever support you might have had from me is given to God,’ then that person need not honor the father. 6 So, for the sake of your tradition, you make void the word of God. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied rightly about you when he said:


8 ‘This people honors me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me;
9 in vain do they worship me,
    teaching human precepts as doctrines.’”

Lately we have all been reminded,several times a day, to wash our hands.  According to health officials, this simple thing is very important in keeping us healthy.  But we must also remember to keep our soul healthy.  

Jesus’ disciples were guilty of not ritually cleansing their hands before they ate.  On the other hand, the Pharisees were guilty of having dirty hearts. Jesus accused them of putting the rituals of religion over the things of the spirit (such as mercy, kindness and grace).

Let us all do those things that are necessary to stay healthy, like washing our hands.  But let’s also do those things that keep us strong spiritually