We had a beautiful Christmas Eve Service. We took turns reading the scriptures leading up to and surrounding the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We also sang Christmas Hymns with piano, organ and acoustic guitar. 

The candle light ending was the most beautiful as we sang Silent Night and remembered how an innocent baby came to save us all. 

God is almighty!

Last week our church family joined together to decorate for the upcoming Christmas season, ina yearly tradition that we call the "Hanging of the Greens."

Today, we were able to join together and appreciate the beauty of these decorations, and begin the joyous beginning of the Advent season.

"Our Advent journey begins with rules of the road. We are on the way to where God would have us be, and we're not there yet. But how shall we go? We shall go together, as one body, livong and trusting in one another. We shall go as this community of faith, working side by side, and leaning into the grace of God every step of the way. We shall go in peace....
Isaiah says that in days to come, the nations shall stream to the mountain of the Lord, and there we will beat swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks; there we will learn war no more. God will teach us peace.

Today we light this first candle to burn as sign of peace among all people.

​Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, that God may teach us the ways of peace.

Come, Oh Come, Emmanuel."

Yesterday our young children spent time in children's church learning about manners.

We role played a number of scenarios and how to handle them with Christ-like manners--
~Borrowing an Item from Someone
~Taking cuts in line
~Introducing ourselves to new people
~Sharing our thoughts when someone else is talking
~and more!

We also took the time to discuss proper manners at the table, what a proper table setting looks like, and being our *best* selves at the table.

Most importantly, we shared about how our best manners are about thinking of others and being *KIND.*

What do you plan to do to use YOUR best manners today?

With worship outside, this obviously meant some outdoor enjoyment for the kiddos, too!

Due to elements out of our control, worship in the building has to be cancelled today, August 26, 2018. We apologize for the inconvenience and ask for your grace as we get this situation fixed. 

BUT GOD IS FLEXIBLE and can meet us where ever we are. Back when John Wesley and other believers started the Methodist movement they often held worship in homes. So today we remember our roots and worship from home. 

Let's Start Worship!

1. Music
Come, let us sing praise to the Lord!
    Let us shout praises to the Rock who saves us.
2 Come and worship him with songs of thanks.
    Let us sing happy songs of praise to him. - Psalms 95: 1-2

The Bible is filled with poems and lyrics. Music has always been a part of connecting with the Holy Spirit. Start with your favorite hymn, praise song, camp song, or poem. If you are worried about your singing skills in front of each other then it is ok to play a song from the internet. The good news is that musical skill is not the important part. We need no trained opera skills. Just "make a joyful noise unto the Lord." (Psalm 100)

2. Prayer
There is no right or wrong way to pray as long as it comes from the heart. Casey was kind enough to show us five parts to a prayer to cover a multitude of concerns of the human heart: Adoration of God, Confession of our sins, Thanksgiving of our blessings and God's greatness through all things, Prayer for others, and Prayers for self.
However, you are welcome to pray whatever is on your heart. If you have a group of people you can take turns. End with the Lord's Prayer:

Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13, Luke 11:2-4)
Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name;
Thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive our tresspasses as we forgive tresspasses against us.
And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom. the power and the glory. forever. Amen
​
3. Scripture
Please read Galatians 5:13-26 

4. Devotional

Galatians 5:13-26 is a common scripture. The fruits of the spirit are often listed on plaques and home decor. Your parents may have even reminded you of it when you fought with your siblings. Thanks Mom and Dad! Isn't it funny how we find ourselves repeating our parents' tactics with our own kids?

Sometimes when we hear something often it becomes stagnant. We become unaffected to its message as it becomes background routine. Driving is a great example. We spend the first year of driving with the best intentions. We remain focused on the road thinking about when to brake, when to switch lanes, when to turn on blinkers. Now it all happens habitually. Unless we come across somebody who drives poorly or traffic that makes us wait, we really don't think about getting home. It is second nature. 

Today, let's think about this Galatians 5:13-26 and how we can apply it to our lives. Meditate on it a while. Think about it throughout the day. Which part is God reminding you to be practicing in daily living?  Maybe he is asking you to be more patient. Maybe he is asking you to find something to be joyous about. Then try to be intentional in practicing that fruit of the spirit this week. 

4. Close in Prayer

Lord, we thank you for your many gifts you give us. As we go forth this week, show us how we can be more like you. Teach us to practice the fruits of the spirit so that we can reflect your love to others as well as grow deeper in you. Amen.

Just as we have done for the past couple of years, we enjoyed another service partnered with Davisburg UMC at the fairgrounds during the Oakland County Fair. With our new pastor, Leah Caron, we enjoyed a lovely day of fellowship as we remembered that "All You Need Is Love."

This evening Mt Bethel presented our annual live nativity barn service at the Oakland County fairgrounds. Church and community members joined together in the Ellis Barn to celebrate the joy of Jesus' birth, sing Christmas carols, enjoy fellowship, and - of course - enjoy some cookies and hot cocoa. What a wonderful reminder of the reason behind this season!

We hope that you were able to join us this evening, but if you weren't, please know we would love to have you at one of our Christmas Eve services- 11am service or 9pm candlelight service (or any other Sunday of the year, of course!).

Merry CHRISTmas and God Bless!