A publication of :

First United Methodist Church

With Campuses at Caddo and Durant

5400 W. Main

Durant, Oklahoma 74701

(580-924-4670) (580-367-2415) Caddo

firstumc@durantumc.org www.durantumc.org

Rev. John Breon—Senior Pastor Tim Ford—Associate Pastor & Youth Kim Vincent — Director of Children’s Ministries Nancy Breon—Director of Traditional Music Ivan Matthews-Director of Contemporary Music Dakota Marcy—Worship Technology Director Dalton Marcy– Sound Technician Lindy Hanson– Administrative Assistant

“Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:30-31).

This is the purpose statement of the Gospel of John. The phrase “may believe” could be translated “may continue to believe.” The Gospel writer wants his readers to know who Jesus is and to be in relationship with the Lord through faith. This Gospel introduces us to Jesus the Messiah and Son of God, and it helps us grow in our knowledge of the Lord.

As we begin 2019, I want us to get reacquainted with the Gospel of John and, more importantly, the Lord who speaks to us through the Gospel. I’ll start preaching through John’s Gospel. We’ll hear familiar words and sayings. We’ll explore themes like life, light, love, glory, and others that John uses to tell about Jesus.

I encourage you to read through the Gospel of John between New Year and Easter. That’s about eight verses a day. The Book of Common Prayer includes this prayer about John:

Shed upon your Church, O Lord, the brightness of your light, that we, being illumined by the teaching of your apostle and evangelist John, may so walk in the light of your truth, that at length we may attain to the fullness of eternal life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Pastor John

We want to express

special thanks to the Chancel Choir and the Cross and Flame Bell Choir for providing music during the

Christmas season. The cantata was

especially inspiring. We truly appreciate the talent shared by so many and we want to highlight Marylin Smith’s beautiful accompaniment. The children and youth

added joy to our Christmas music and celebration with the God Squad Players’ production of Miracle at the Christmas Café and the girls quartet and Natalie Mendez in the cantata, The Glory of Christmas.

Nancy Breon, Music Director

Chancel Choir rehearsal will

resume at 6:00 on Wednesday, January 2.

Bell Choir rehearsal will

resume at 7:15 on Wednesday, January 9.

If you’re interested in joining one or both of these wonderful groups, you are always

welcome.

Sunday Happenings

9am Worship

10am Sunday School

11am Worship

11:30am Worship Caddo

5-7pm UMY

January Birthdays:

1st— Tom Kimball, Glen Burke, Larry Marcy, James Vincent, Huck Nelson

2nd— Dakota Marcy

3rd—Jennifer Swearengin

4th—Jace Jackson

5th—Emma Carey

6th—Case Grover

7th—Jane Bondurant, Jenny Tuttle

9th— Lana Lee, Tim Ford, James Midgley

10th—Jeff Hiller

11th—Mary Kimball, Ellen Marcy

12th— Mike Simpson, Kay Chappa,

Courtney Grover

14th—Chris Pierce

17th—Sue Winch

20th— Marti Phillips, Anna Carey,

George Collier

21st— Janet Moyer, Jerry Currence

26th— Madison Gordon, Jo Ellen Jones

28th—John Williams, Wayne Cotton

30th— Rick Long

31st— Colt Dill

Michael Karney—joined Sun., December 16, 2018.

and

The Mealor family, Brad, Melody, Bristol and Brock. They also joined Sun. Dec. 16th 2018.

We are blessed to have you join us!

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. John 13:34

Candlelight Christmas Eve services 5pm -Contemporary, 7pm– Traditional 11pm– Caddo service. Come and join us!

Thank you for providing Poinsettias to beautifully decorate our church during the Christmas season! Poinsettias may be taken home after the 7pm Christmas Eve service.

The Care Team will meet Wed., January 16th at 2pm in Rm 200.

Join us for Coffee and donuts at

8:15am Sunday mornings with 9am

Worship, S. School at 10am, 11am

Worship.

We are in need of a

microwave for the

church kitchen. If

anybody has a new or

used one to donate

please contact the

Church office or Kay Eggleton.

Thank you!

Putting the Church in your

Will helps the work of the

Lord to continue on. Will

you consider it?

January Sermons

6th- “A Witness to the Light” John 1:19-34

13th - “Come and See and Stay” John 1:35-51

20th- “New Life for Everyone” John 2:1-3: 21

27th - “Never Thirst Again” John 4:1-42

Sermons can be heard at durantumc.org We welcome you to any of our three services Durant 9am and 11am and Caddo 11:30am

We have the best

volunteers around!

Thank you for

helping us out all

year long!! You are the best!!

Let’s keep our Soldiers in our prayers!

Travis Dill– stateside

David Dill– stateside

Tim Hanson– Germany

Micah Hanson-South Korea

Isaiah Hanson– N. Guard

Mason East– Ft. Polk

Jebraun Abello– Ft. Bragg

Camaron Smith-Deployed

Trey Hill– Deployed

Mark Long– Deployed

Aaron McKinney– Tinker AFB

If you know someone who needs to be on this list con-tact the Church office. 580-924-4670

END OF YEAR GIVING

If you are making contributions in December and want them to count toward charitable contributions for 2018, please be sure they are in the church office no later than Sunday, December 30

th. They will be entered on Monday Dec. 31.

Your 2018 contribution statements will be mailed to you sometime the first 2 weeks of January. Be sure to keep them for tax purposes

If you are making a contribution on December 30th

that you want credited to your 2019 pledge, be sure to note this on your check or envelope, otherwise it will be assumed to be for your 2018 giving. Thank you for your contributions to your church.

Kay Eggleton, Financial Secretary

FUMC First kids News

Do you make News Year’s resolutions? I challenge each family this year to make a family News Years

resolution to pray together every day. Even if it is just for a few minutes starting out, take those few moments to slow down, focus on God and pray!

Thank you so much to all who came and enjoyed our annual Christmas program ‘Miracle at the Christmas Café’. The children did an amazing job! A huge Thank You to Nancy

Breon, Geri Mendez and Jennifer Swearengin for all of your hard work getting those kiddos ready for action, you ladies did a marvelous job. That was many hours well spent! Thank you to all who brought yummy treats to share at the party afterwards. We had a

full table of goodness to share. God Squad- wonderful job, see you next year!

JAM Time is our children’s Wednesday night

Program. It starts back up January 9th. Please come join us and the Deep Blue Kids as we dive deeper in Jesus’ Family. We have such a

great time of lesson, movies, music, games, crafts and more. Then stick around and join the Children’s Choir and Bell Choir. GPS is 6-7 with choir practice being 7:00-7:15. If you have any questions please ask

Kim.

VBS is coming!!

I know we just celebrated Christmas, but VBS will be here before you

know it. This year we will soar into outer space to ‘Explore Where

God’s Power Can Take You’ as we travel To Mars and

Beyond. If you would like to help in any way please let Kim know. Also

please start to be in prayer for this wonderful week of

outreach! Thank you!

Sundays: Sunday School @ 10am

Wednesdays: JAM @ 5:30pm

Our Future and Our Hope.

The New Year always brings us the excitement for a fresh start. For some, when Christmas or the holidays roll around, while it’s supposed to bring hope, love, joy and peace, it brings sadness, loneliness, and hardships.

I have seen it first hand, especially in my ladies from a Bible Study I do at the Featherstone Assisted Living. Christmas is always hard for them especially when all they want is to be with their family. Holidays are supposed to bring families together, but for many of these ladies they experience this deep sadness, and this loneliness. Many of these residents have lost their spouses, their friends, their families and they are the only ones that remain. It’s sad but true.

Every year, I’ll take a break during Christmas for a just few weeks and then when I come back I wonder who has passed. It’s so hard to develop these relationships and then come back after the holidays to find out that one of these beautiful ladies has passed away. If you have ever lost someone then you understand the pain. When I look at these beautiful ladies, I believe their loneliness is a reason for many of them who have passed away. In fact, in the past five years, I have lost about 8 of my ladies from Featherstone during the holidays.

You know, it’s hard to lose those you love. I lost my daughter, my mother-in-law, and many of those from Featherstone. Where is the hope, the love, the joy, the peace in those painful valleys? In those times of loss, pain, and sadness. This is hard. So, let me share with you some wisdom. It’s in these times we have to trust God in the unknown. In the pain. In the sadness. In the loneliness. It’s in these times we have to draw closer to God.

I guess that’s the real question, do I really trust God? Do I trust God in everything or in only a few somethings? Do I trust God when things get tough? Do I trust God in both the good times and in those bad times? Listen to what the Lord tells us in Psalm 50:14 (TLB), “…I want you to trust me in your times of trouble, so I can rescue you…”

You know, God knows what we are going through. He knows the pain. He knows what we are struggling with. And even when we don’t have all the answers, and we don’t know the whys, he is with us. He doesn’t abandon us. He draws closer to you.

You see this hope, this love, this joy, this peace isn’t just something we celebrate during Christmas. It’s so much more. It’s this deep understanding, this deep knowledge, resonating in our soul that Jesus coming to be with us means we have been rescued. It’s knowing we can make it in the here and now. It’s knowing our future is secure, protected and in God’s hands.

He saved us two-thousand years ago, when he sent his son Jesus, and he continues to save us today. The love he has for us is unconditional and regardless of what the world throws at us, or the pain we are going through, we can trust in him. Why? It’s because our hope and our future is already secured in his unfailing love. It’s not in what this world promises us but it’s in his promise that has been proven by his love. If God was willing to send his son to die for us, to defeat all the sins of the world, and then raise him from the grave, then you can be sure he can handle all our problems. We just have to trust that “God’s got this,” even when we just don’t understand. And our hope, our love, our joy, and our peace are found in Christ alone.

As we welcome in the New Year, maybe a fresh start begins when you turn to God and just trust him in the unknown. For me, I don’t know if I will lose another beautiful lady until I get back after the holidays but what I do know is that I will see them again. Jesus came to give us life in the here and now but that life also extends into our future.

Maybe this should be our prayer, “God, I am not sure what this New Year brings but I want to just give it over to you. I give you all my struggles, my pain, my hurts, my failures, and my losses. Lord I give you everything, so please help me to trust you today and all of my tomorrows.”

So, whether this coming year is good or bad, it doesn’t matter. He is with us. And He will never leave us and that’s a promise we can trust and hold onto. He is our hope, and he holds our future in his hands. For he is faithful yesterday, today and tomorrow. Power House After-school Ministry (Caddo): Starting Tuesday Jan 8th, 3 to 6pm Youth Bible Study (Durant): Starting Wednesday Jan 9th, 6 to 8pm Youth Worship (Grades 6-12th): Starting Sunday January 13, 5 to 7pm

Pastor Tim Ford

Overview of the Gospel of John Emphases: Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God; in his incarnation and the crucifixion, he both revealed God’s love and redeemed humanity; discipleship means to “remain in the vine” (Jesus) and to bear fruit (to love as he loved); the Holy Spirit will be given to his people to continue his work (Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible Book by Book)

1:1-18 Prologue: The Word and the Witness 1:19-12:50 The “Book of Signs” 13-20 The “Book of Glory” 21 Epilogue: Disciples Re-commissioned

7 Signs 2:1-11—Turning water into wine 4:46-54—Healing a nobleman’s son 5:2-9—Healing an invalid at the pool 6:1-14—Feeding the 5000 6:16-21—Walking on the water 9:1-7—Healing a man who was born blind 11:1-44—Raising Lazarus from the dead

“I Am” Sayings The Bread of Life (6:35) The Light of the World (8:12; 9:5) “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am” (8:28; also see 13:19) “Before Abraham was, I am” (8:58) The Gate (10:7) The Good Shepherd (10:11) The Resurrection and the Life (11:25) The Way, the Truth and the Life (14:6) The True Vine (15:1)

“Farewell Discourse”—chs. 13-17 13—Last Supper, washing disciples’ feet, new command to love as Jesus loves Five Paraclete (Advocate, Helper, Comforter) Sayings 14:15-21—the Spirit of truth 14:25-26—the Holy Spirit teaches 15:26-27—the Spirit testifies (so do disciples) 16:7-10—the Spirit convicts the world 16:12-15—the Spirit guides, speaks and brings glory to Jesus 17—Jesus Prays for Himself, for Disciples and for all Believers

Jesus’ Arrest, Trial, Crucifixion, Resurrection—chs. 18-20

Jesus is “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (1:29) and the one who baptiz-es with the Holy Spirit (1:33). At the cross, a soldier pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, “bringing a sudden flow of blood and water” (19:34). Blood—sacrifice, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” Water—living water, the Holy Spirit (see 7:38-39), “the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.”

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First United Methodist Church

PO Box 518

Durant, Oklahoma 74702

Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage

Durant, Oklahoma Permit No. 151

Volume 23 January 2019 No. 1

Remember In Prayer Military Personnel Mason East– Ft. Polk

Jebraun Abello– Ft. Bragg

Camaron Smith-deployed

Trey Hill– home

Tim Hanson-Germany Micah Hanson –Ft Sam Houston

Isaiah Hanson– Oklahoma N. Guard

Mark Long– deployed Travis Dill-stateside

David Dill –stateside

Aaron McKinney– Tinker AFB

Special Needs Steve Kirven Anna Grace Herrig– granddaughter of Steve & JoAnn West Tony Pollock Sue Morris Leroy Watson

Special Needs

Judy Starbuck

Agnes Easterling

Irene Michael

Jo Ann Howard

Patty and Dan Wells

Elsie Menzel

Mildred Coleman

Nursing Care Helen Eggleton Jim Jones Myra Lester Mahala Wright

Assisted Living Odessa McKinney Janet Tompkins Robert Rhoden Ann Endebrock

Home Bound Christine Tillett Jack & Johnnye McBee

TOWER DELIVERY

If you would like to get your Tower online please do the following: Send an e-mail request to the church office: firstumc@durantumc.org

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