Scottsburg United Methodist Church

Starting in July, we will be moving to a combined service with Conesus United Methodist Church! Our meeting time will change to 10am over the summer. Each Sunday in July, we shall meet outside for service at Scottsburg United Methodist Church. Each Sunday in August, we shall meet outside for service at Conesus United Methodist Church. We will return to normal locations and times in September. Contact Pastor Michael Whitcomb-Tavey if you have any questions regarding this. God Bless!

Due to the preparation and occurrence of VBS for Conesus United Methodist Church, I will not be having Office Hours this week or next. But will resume having office hours again on July 7. Thank you for understanding. Contact me if you have any questions. God Bless!

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb for each household. If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join its closest neighbor in obtaining one; the lamb shall be divided in proportion to the number of people who eat of it. Your ...lamb shall be without blemish, a year-old male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight. They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted over the fire, with its head, legs, and inner organs. You shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the passover of the Lord. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. --Ex. 12:1-13

This upcoming Sunday, the Eucharist series continues. I will be preaching from Luke 22:7-20 and 1 Cor. 11:23-26. It is a simple scene but the words of Christ have powerful significance and reality for the life of the Christian. It will forever change the focus of Passover and how it is conducted in the life of the Church. In 10 simple words: This is my body, do this in remembrance of me. I will be specifically focusing on the phrase, "do this in remembrance of me." More sp...ecifically, on the single word "remembrance." What does remembrance mean in that phrase? Surprisingly, it does not mean memorial. Instead, it points to the Real presence of Christ's sacrifice within the Eucharist. I hope you can make it to Church if you can as we explore that answer in more depth and learn how the Eucharist brings us closer to God and how we experience the forgiveness and Grace of God in the Eucharist. You can prepare by reading Luke 22:7-20 and 1 Cor. 11:23-26 We will also be having a Dad's and Grad's ceremony. We will be praying over the Dads in honor of Father's day, and we will be anointing and praying for the High School (and college) Grads who are graduating this year. So please come to Sunday service on 6-20-2021 if you are able. For the fellowship. For the singing. For the prayer. For the hearing of the Word. For the Eucharist. For the worship of God. If you come regularly, welcome! If it has been a while since you attended...please come. Welcome! If you are looking for a new congregation with whom to worship. Please worship with us. Welcome! If you are just in the area looking to get fed on Sunday. Please come. Welcome! All are welcome. Service time begins at 0915am Scottsburg UMC. We are currently maintaining social distancing and asking that all non-vaccinated individuals to please wear masks in the building. God Bless and hope to see you there!

"The child grew, and was weaned; and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, playing with her son Isaac. So she said to Abraham, Cast out this slave woman with her son; for the son of this slave woman shall not inherit along with my son Isaac. The matter was very distressing to Abraham on account of his son. But God said to Abraham, Do not be distressed because of the boy and b...ecause of your slave woman; whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for it is through Isaac that offspring shall be named for you. As for the son of the slave woman, I will make a nation of him also, because he is your offspring. So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered about in the wilderness of Beer-sheba. When the water in the skin was gone, she cast the child under one of the bushes. Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot; for she said, Do not let me look on the death of the child. And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept. And God heard the voice of the boy; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, and said to her, What troubles you, Hagar? Do not be afraid; for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. Come, lift up the boy and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make a great nation of him. Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. She went, and filled the skin with water, and gave the boy a drink. God was with the boy..." --Gen. 21: 8-20

Why does every branch in Christianity, by default, throughout the centuries use Bread and Wine/Juice at the Eucharistic Table? What makes Bread and Wine/Juice the preferred and best method, in most (not all) cultures to convey the Presence and Person of Christ within the elements? Why, for example, are Oreos and Coke considered an affront to God and an insult to Christ when used at the Table, but not Bread and Wine? How can weekly communion increase our spiritual and Christi...an life? How can it draw us closer to God? Why do many Churches believe in the importance and the power of weekly Communion? Those questions shall be addressed this upcoming Sunday, as I continue my sermon series on the Eucharist. Conesus and Scottsburg is moving toward weekly communion, and in doing so, they eat upon the "Bread of Life" every week. It is to that reality that my sermon is based. Jesus tells us He is the "Bread of Life." What does that mean and how does that reality change us, both at the table and in life? I invite you to come and experience the Answer this upcoming Sunday. You can prepare by reading John 6:22-59 So please come to Sunday service on 6-13-2021 if you are able. For the fellowship. For the singing. For the prayer. For the hearing of the Word. For the Eucharist. For the worship of God. If you come regularly, welcome! If it has been a while since you attended...please come. Welcome! If you are looking for a new congregation with whom to worship. Please worship with us. Welcome! If you are just in the area looking to get fed on Sunday. Please come. Welcome! All are welcome. Service time begins at 0915. We are currently maintaining social distancing and asking that all non-vaccinated individuals to please wear masks in the building. God Bless and hope to see you there!

As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have come to fullness in him, w...ho is the head of every ruler and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a spiritual circumcision, by putting off the body of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ; when you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. And when you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses, erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it. --Col. 2:6-15

This upcoming Sunday is the first day of the month! That means it is Communion Sunday. It is my favorite week in the month, for on that sacred Sunday, we partake in the Eucharist. There is much confusion about the Eucharist in Christian circles. This confusion stems from misunderstandings and misinterpretations of Scripture. As a result, some may believe that the Eucharist is merely eating bread and drinking wine. But I assure you, it is much more than that. The Eucharist is ...a Biblically instituted ritual, whereby we engage a sacrament. In experiencing this sacrament, we encounter the Living Christ and we experience wholeness and Life. More than merely a sign and symbol of His death, it communicates the Resurrected Life of Christ into our own lives. More than a mere outward sign and symbol of an inward Grace, it communicates Grace into our lives. As John Wesley stated: "As our bodies are strengthened by bread and wine, so are our souls by the body and blood of Christ." Since Communion is so important for the Christian, we are going to be transitioning into partaking of this great meal every week. Once a month is good, but once a week is better! To help kick this new stage in our sacramental life, I will be preaching a six week sermon series on Communion. This upcoming Sunday, we will explore what is a sacrament and how Communion is a sacrament. You can prepare by reading Mark 5:21-29 So please come to Sunday service on 6-6-2021 if you are able. For the fellowship. For the singing. For the prayer. For the hearing of the Word. For the Eucharist. For the worship of God. If you come regularly, welcome! If it has been a while since you attended...please come. Welcome! If you are looking for a new congregation with whom to worship. Please worship with us. Welcome! If you are just in the area looking to get fed on Sunday. Please come. Welcome! All are welcome. Service time begins at 0915am. We are currently maintaining social distancing and asking that all non-vaccinated individuals to please wear masks in the building. God Bless and hope to see you there!

This upcoming Memorial day, if you are a US citizen, it is not a time to eat, drink, and be merry without atleast recognizing the sacrifice service member's have given while in service to the USA. Many have given their lives with the intention of defending the USA from what they believed to be threats to the precepts of the Constitution and the freedoms enjoyed in the USA because of the Constitution. One can argue against many things, but one cannot argue against the intentio...ns of the heart. I am thankful for the intentions of their heart and their willingness to sacrifice their lives. Furthermore, as a pacifist, my heart breaks to think that so many died because of the cycle of war and violence in this world and in this country. Most of those who died in service to the USA did so simply following orders believing they were making the world a better place. I long for the day where there is peace and justice in the world. A day in which people do not die in senseless war and violence. And although I no longer serve and although I oppose war in all aspects, I will endeavor to live a life that does not see their sacrifice given in vain. For right or wrong, their intentions were to protect people and to make this world a better place. I shall strive toward that same principle, always being thankful for them. So this Memorial day, let us all give thanks for those who have died in service to the USA, pray for a day without war, and strive to make the world better.

This upcoming Sunday, service will focus on the Great God. The Only God. God who is Mystery, and beyond our ability to comprehend. It is a day that the Church has traditionally set aside to celebrate God as Monotheistic-Triune. Known as Trinity Sunday, it is a time in which the Christian doctrine of the Trinity is upheld, declared, and celebrated. Celebrated not because of it being doctrine on paper, but rather because it bespeaks to the very nature of God. On that day, the g...reatness, wonder, and beauty of God is declared, and God is worshipped rightfully as Mystery and beyond the comprehension of our ignorant minds. This upcoming Sunday, I invite you to join us if you are able to attend. To come, setting aside all arrogance and pretentiousness. To embrace ignorance and humility, admitting and submitting to God. On that day, come and Worship G--D. So please come to Sunday service on 5-30-2021 if you are able. For the fellowship. For the singing. For the prayer. For the hearing of the Word. For the worship of God. If you come regularly, welcome! If it has been a while since you attended...please come. Welcome! If you are looking for a new congregation with whom to worship. Please worship with us. Welcome! If you are just in the area looking to get fed on Sunday. Please come. Welcome. All are welcome. You can prepare by reading Matt. 28:19 Service time begins at 0915am. We are currently maintaining social distancing and asking that all non-vaccinated individuals to please wear masks in the building. God Bless and hope to see you there!