FEBRUARY, 2010

Messenger The

Church 620-492-6850

Parsonage 620-492-2495

F I R S T U N I T E D M E T H O D I S T C H U R C H 2 0 2 S . N I P P S T . , J O H N S O N , K S 6 7 8 5 5

“ O U R M I S S I O N I S T O B R I N G G O D T O P E O P L E , A N D P E O P L E T O G O D ”

Inside this issue:

From The Pastor 2

Celebrations; Prayer List;

Ash Wednesday; Souper

Bowl of Caring; Super Bowl

Party; Acceptance

3

Youth News; Fundraising

Dinner; Preschool News

4

Wednesday Night Study;

UMW News; Sonshine Kids/

Choir; Kid’s Page

5

Recipes, Staff 6

Insert: February Calendar

Kids Following Christ Methodist

Youth Fundraising Dinner.

Proceeds will go towards

summer mission trip to

Denver, Co.

MENU:

Beef Brisket

Twice Baked Potatoes

Green Beans

Salad & Roll

Chocolate or Vanilla

Cupcake

Valentine’s Day DinnerValentine’s Day Dinner

5:30—6:30 p.m. February 14, 2010

Tickets: $15.00 / Adults; $ 7.50 / Child

(child fee for 5th graders and under and includes child

care for pre-K and under during the meal)

Ticket s availab le f rom any yout h o r t he church o f f ice, 492-6850

FREE Valentine’s MovieFREE Valentine’s Movie

“A Vow To Cherish” Copyright ©2010 World Wide Pictures, Inc., and Billy Graham Evan-

gelistic Association

Movie will be in

the Sanctuary,

following the

Youth

Valentine’s

Dinner

Sermon Series for

February

Feb. 7

Exodus 12:21-31

“Passover”

Feb. 14

1 Corinthians 12:31b-13:13

“True Love”

Feb. 17 Ash Wednesday

John 9:35-41 “Spiritual

Sight or Spiritual Blindness”

Feb. 21

Luke 5:1-11

“When The Truth Hits Home”

Feb. 28 Pulpit Exchange

F I R S T U N I T E D M E T H O D I S T C H U R C H

WHO ARE THE SAINTS?

Page 2

As the Super Bowl approaches and the New Or-

leans Saints have won the right to represent the

NFC, some may ask who are the Saints? And there will be discussions of Drew Brees and

Reggie Bush and other premier athletes. And

though the song, “When the Saints Come March-

ing In” may seem to belong to the city of New Or-leans, the song and the true meaning of the word

saint lies elsewhere.

Biblically speaking a saint is a sinner redeemed

by grace, one for whom Jesus Christ died, one

who calls on Jesus by faith as Savior. At some

point the Roman Catholic Church began to canon-ize heroes of the faith, giving them the title Saint.

Such is the case of St. Peter, St. Paul, St. John,

St. Luke, St. Mary, and so on and so on. This

however has only really served to hide from us the very important Biblical reality that is claimed for all

followers of Jesus Christ. It confuses people. Is a

Saint someone who has lived an especially holy

life, and who has worked miracles? Or are all fol-lowers of Jesus Christ, saints? I believe and pro-

claim the latter to be true.

Permit me to explain myself and to present

some Biblical evidence. In Paul‟s letters, for exam-

ple Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:2, and 2 Corin-

thians 1:1, Paul addresses the recipients of his letters as “holy ones.” “Holy ones” equals saints.

These are persons who profess Jesus as their

Savior and Lord. It implies that they have experi-

enced the second birth by the Holy Spirit that they have been made holy by the righteousness of Je-

sus.

This does not mean that the person never sins. Rather, it means that they have by faith received

the gift of God‟s grace (see Ephesians 2:8) and

are saved from their sins. God forgives them and

considers them righteous (see Romans 5:1-3, 9-11).

God changes sinners into saints. He finds us where we are, alone and separated from him. He

is not blind to the lack of our holiness. But he

loves us through his Son Jesus. He gives Jesus

as the sacrifice to atone for our sins. This means that where the just punishment for our sins is

death, God himself takes our punishment by send-

ing his Son to die on the cross in our place. Then

God offers to everyone the opportunity to be for-

given, to have the punishment remitted (laid

aside). All we have to do is to receive Christ, to confess our sins to him and ask him to save us.

We choose then to follow him and live for him.

Doing so, God makes us saints—his holy ones.

The Holy Spirit enters us, and we begin to grow

spiritually as God‟s children.

This then is what it means to be a saint. It is to

grow in Christ, to become more and more like him.

We call this growing process: sanctification. To grow in sanctification is to have our character

changed. We begin as people accustomed to liv-

ing life our own way. We move toward being

those who look for God‟s way and seek to live that way.

For example the Bible commands us to forgive others as we have been forgiven (Colossians

3:13). Learning to forgive others is growth in holi-

ness. It is growth in grace, something God works

in us.

As a child I sang in The Cherub Choir at First

Unite Methodist Church in Dodge City. One of my favorite songs was “We Are Climbing Jacob‟s Lad-

der.” One of the verses says, “Every round goes

higher, higher…soldiers of the cross.” Well as a

child I could understand certain things, and not others. I understood we were talking about climb-

ing higher and higher. I knew instinctively, this

was about getting closer to God. I also knew we

were singing about soldiers of the cross. I knew this meant that I was in God‟s army and Jesus

was the Commander. What I didn‟t know, but

have since learned is that Jacob‟s Ladder is a

metaphor for Jesus Christ and his cross. And our

climbing is our growing to be more and more like Jesus, becoming more and more holy. And the

soldiers of the cross are the saints of God, those

who follow and serve Jesus.

So, who are the saints?

You and I are saints, if we have given our lives to

Jesus Christ. If he is at work in us, already we are

saints—his holy ones.

—Don Hasty

Our youth will hold soup

pots at church doors on

Souper Bowl of Caring

Sunday,

February 7, 2010. They

will join young people in

churches across the country to collect money for those

who are hungry and hurting. In 2009, over 13,000

groups participated in the Souper Bowl of Caring

generating over $10 million. All of the money collected

is donated to a charity selected by the participant.

Please support the youth of our church in this effort to

“love our neighbors” by dropping your dollar in the

soup pot on February 7th. †

T H E M E S S E N G E R

Feb. 7 Daryl & Sally Daniels

Feb. 14 Doug & Diana Daniels

Feb. 21 Ken Darrough

Feb. 28 Jason, Camille, Whitney & Samuel

Davidson

Birthdays: 1 Darrell Cockrum, Amy Peterson 2 Roger Hurst 3 Becky Schweitzer 5 Mearl Morris 6 Stephanie Dickson, Colton Adams 7 Amy Rorabaugh 8 Earl Arnold, Tina Wright, Ryan Hoskinson 11 Charlene Walker 13 Chad Floyd 14 Aidan Kullot 16 Wayne Snell 19 Eileen Cockrum, Ira Kullot, Steve Brooks 20 Bill Seyb, Chris Nicholas,

Page 3

CHURCH FAMILY

PRAYER LIST FEBRUARY CELEBRATIONS

Jerry Morris 22 Penny Tucker 23 Wanita Martin, JC Chapman, Melvin Garey 24 Justin Hasty, Noah Morris, Jim Garrison 25 Chesney Peterson 26 Matt Canny 27 Mitchell Cartwright 28 Carly Kullot Anniversaries: 12 Carlos & Carol Limon 14 David & Angela Black, Vance & Becky Whittington Russ & Denise Smith 15 Harold & Pat Crawford 17 Ron & Mary Cockrum

SUNDAY

FEB. 7

5:00 p.m.

* BINGO * PING PONG

* PRIZES FOR “MOST

SPIRITED DRESSED SPORTS FAN”

* BRING A SNACK &

YOUR COMFY

GAME-WATCHING CHAIR

* WE‟LL BE MAKING

VALENTINE‟S FOR LTCU COME JOIN THE FUN

Service on

February 17

6:30 p.m.

ACC EPT AN CE

Whatever you send me, Lord, I will accept. My re-

sponse may be clumsy, or even inept. But I know you

want only the best for me, too. So with your help, I‟ll do

what you want me to do. ~Peggy Ferrell

Page 4 T H E U N I T E D M E T H O D I S T C H U R C H

January was wonderful in the preschool! The students learned about

Dinosaurs and Daniel in the Lion‟s Den for letter „D‟; wore pajamas, had

pillowcase races, ate pancakes, and made pizzas for letter „P‟‟; and studied the

Bible, bubbles, and balloons for „B‟. The afternoon students reached 70 days of

school. They are counting towards 100 days for our 100-day party! February

will bring our study of animals and the start of Nursery Rhymes. Each student is

making such progress. It is very rewarding to watch them learn so quickly! †

PRESCHOOL NEWS B Y C H E R Y L B E R E N S , D I R E C T O R

Kids Following Christ has a busy February planned, starting on

February 7. The Fun and Fellowship Committee is hosting a Super

Bowl Party where the youth are invited to attend in lieu of Youth

Group.

The following week on Sunday, February 14, is the KFC Valentine‟s

Day Dinner. The dinner will be served between 5:30pm and 6:30pm.

The menu includes beef brisket, twice baked potatoes, green beans,

salad, rolls and cupcakes. The money raised will be used to fund a

mission trip this summer to Denver, CO. Tickets are $15 for adults,

$7.50 for children 5th grade and under and can be purchased from

participating KFC members or the church office at 492-6850.

KFC will be at the regular time of 5pm on Sundays for the remaining Sundays of the month: February 21 and

28.

Future plans for the KFC include a lock-in at the church on March 12 and the upcoming Mission Trip July 28

thru August 1. KFC is for all youth in middle school and high school. †

For

The Storehouse (Thrift Shop)

Sunday, February 7

11:30 a.m.—1:30 p.m.

@ Sr. Center

and

Silent Auction

Sonshine Kids are meeting for this

spring semester on Wednesday‟s, from

3:45pm to 5pm, with the church van

providing transportation from school to

the church and from the church to the

kids‟ homes. For the spring semester,

the Sonshine Kids are learning about

heroes of the Old Testament, with

snacks, Bible lessons and games. If you

are a kindergartener to 5th grader you

are welcome to attend! Sonshine Kids will not meet on Wednesday, Feb-

ruary 17th due to no school on that day.

Also, the Sonshine Kids can use a volunteer to assist in riding in the

church van to the school and delivering the kids home. You will not be

required to drive, but only to ride in the van from 3:30pm to 4:00pm and

from 5:00pm to 5:20pm. If you are interested, please call the church at

492-6850. †

UMW NEWS C H E R Y L A D A M S , P R E S I D E N T

The United Methodist Women meet the 2nd Thursday, September

through May at 12:00 noon. A meal is served and is open to all women

of the church.

The February 11th meeting will be at the Sr. Center, followed by our

program with Life Support. Please make plans to come eat with us and

enjoy the fellowship!

We have placed the UMW New Baby Basket in the Foyer of the church

for those wishing to give a gift to Adalia Kenyon, new daughter born to

Associate Pastor Will & Aimee Kenyon.

The Quilt for 2010 Bazaar is started! If you are interested in helping put

blocks together, please contact Diane Floyd, 492-1478. †

Wednesday Evening Bible Studies are meeting

once more this spring. They meet on Wednesday

evenings with a meal at 6pm and the studies are

from 6:30pm to 7:30pm. This semester, the studies

are directly from the Bible with Pastor Don

teaching on the book of Genesis and Pastor Will

teaching from the Letter of 1 Corinthians. If you

have missed the first few classes and still want to

participate, room is available in both studies.

Come and enjoy studying the Bible! The Bible

studies will not meet on February 17th due to the Ash Wednesday

Service on that evening. †

DO YOU HAVE A RECIPE

TO SHARE IN THE

NEWSLETTER? Please

email it to: jumc@pld.com

or drop it in the mail to:

First UMC, Box 179,

Johnson, KS 67855

202 S. Nipp St.

P.O. Box 179

Johnson, KS 67855

F I R S T U N I T E D M E T H O D I S T C H U R C H

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

UMW

CENTENNIAL

COOKBOOKS are still

available to purchase!

$15.00 each; or $20.00 (if

mailed-includes postage.

Contact the church office,

620-492-6850. †

First UMC Staff: Pastor: Don Hasty

Associate Pastor: Will Kenyon

Secretary: Shari Wiens

Treasurer: Mandy Shirk

Custodian: Victoria Garcia

Music Coordinator: Vicky Neely

Nursery: Wendi Adams

Preschool Teacher: Cheryl Berens

Youth Coordinator: Will Kenyon

Community Developer: Jose` Olivas

Sausage Stuffed Jalapeno Poppers

2—12 oz. pkg. ground sausage

2—8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened

30 jalapeno chili peppers

1 lb. sliced bacon, cut in half

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Place ground sausage in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain sausage and place in a medium bowl. Mix with the cream cheese. Cut jalapenos in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds. Stuff each jalapeno half with equal portions of the sausage and cream cheese mixture. Wrap with half slices of bacon. Secure bacon with toothpicks.

Arrange wrapped jalapenos in a large, shallow baking dish. Bake in the pre-

heated oven 20 minutes, or until the bacon is evenly brown.

BLT Dip

1 lb. bacon 1 c. sour cream

1 c. mayonnaise 1 tomato, peeled, seeded and diced

Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain on paper towels.

In a medium bowl, combine mayonnaise and sour cream. Crumble bacon

into the sour cream and mayonnaise mixture. Mix in tomatoes just before

serving.

Pizza Roll-Ups

1/2 lb. ground beef 1/2 tsp. dried oregano

8 oz. can tomato sauce 2—8 oz. cans refrigerated crescent rolls

1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

In a skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Remove

from the heat. Add tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and oregano; mix well.

Separate crescent dough into eight rectangles, pinching seams together.

Place about 3 tablespoons of meat mixture along one long side of each rec-

tangle. Roll up, jelly-roll style, starting with a long side. Cut each roll into

three pieces. Place, seam side down, 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

SUPER BOWL PARTY RECIPE IDEAS