The Beacon
Blue Mound UMC August 2022
“I’ll be back” –the classic Arnold line… you know you’ve said it before, everyone loves doing his voice… This is a catchphrase associated with Arnold Schwarzenegger, which he first used in his role as the title character from the 1984 science fiction thriller film: The Terminator. In the original shooting script, the line was written as “I’ll come back”. He did come back in this movie and stirred things up. In 2005, this line was chosen as #37 on the American Film Institute list, AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Movie Quotes. Schwarzenegger is an Austrian and American, former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. He served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011.
“I Shall Return” – During World War II, Douglas MacArthur was recalled to active duty in 1941 as commander of U.S. Army Forces Far East. A series of disasters followed, starting with the destruction of his air force on 8 December 1941, and the invasion of the Philippines by the Japanese. MacArthur’s forces were soon compelled to withdraw to Bataan. On March 11, 1942 Lt. Gen. Douglas MacArthur leaves the Philippine Islands. At the time MacArthur vows “I shall return.”
For his defense of the Philippines, MacArthur was awarded the Medal of Honor. After more than two years of fighting in the Pacific, he fulfilled a promise to return to the Philippines. He officially accepted Japan’s surrender on 2 September 1945.
“I will come again” – Christian churches world-wide have told the story of the birth of Jesus, his ministry, his arrest, his trial, his death and his resurrection. So, what’s next? From television and movies, we have an image of God in our minds. He must sound like Morgan Freeman and we see a clearly unique image of Jesus portrayed by Jim Caviezel in The Passion of the Christ. When you read the Bible, we see Jesus has a classic line, a vow that he presents over and over. The vow or promise of His return!
“And if I go and prepare a place for you. I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am you, there you will be also.” John 14:3
“Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.” Revelation 3:11
Who Is God the Holy Spirit? (Part one)
When John Wesley wandered into a small fellowship meeting in Aldersgate, London, on May 24, 1738, he believed in the reality of the Holy Spirit, but he had only a second-hand notion of what it was to experience the Holy Spirit. When he left, he knew for the first time in his life what it was like to feel the inner working of the Holy Spirit in his own heart and soul. This was the beginning of a spiritual and theological revolution that continues to rattle around the Christian world, much to the consternation of many Christians even today. As a result of this experience of the Spirit, Wesley knew deep down that he was accepted and loved by God. He described this in biblical terms as the experience of the inner witness of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:15-17).
The Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the three-personal God. The power and work of the Holy Spirit are at the center of what it means to be a Wesleyan. Jesus returned to God the Father after the Resurrection, but we are not alone in our lives as Christians. Rather, God is with us in the Person and work of the Holy Spirit.
As a people of faith, our first prayer together must be, “Come, Holy Spirit!” Why is this prayer so important? It is through the Holy Spirit that we are inspired and enabled to live as God would have us live. The Holy Spirit teaches us the ways of truth and is the source of continued life and love. In other words, God, through the Holy Spirit, teaches us and changes us.
The Gospel of John teaches us that the Spirit remains with us as a comforter, advocate, and teacher. Jesus has returned to the Father, but the Holy Spirit is alive and active among those who believe. Jesus calls the Spirit the Spirit of Truth (14:17) who will continue to teach just as Jesus taught (14:26). The Holy Spirit, then, will lead Jesus’ followers to understand his significance and message even more deeply than he led them to while he was among them. The Holy Spirit is a teacher – the most important teacher of all.
We often neglect the work of the Holy Spirit. By the power and work of the Holy Spirit, God creates within us a new heart, a new character. The Apostle Paul talks about an “old self” that we have before we are given over to Christ, a “self” that is replaced by new life in which we live as God would wish (see Romans 6:5-14). Christianity, however, is not about doing good deeds. It is about becoming a new kind of person, a person who lives as God wills, and this happens by the power and work of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit, then, is a teacher and a change agent. The Holy Spirit is also a companion who comforts, sustains, and empowers. When people lose loved ones and we pray that God will comfort, strengthen, and sustain them in their loss, we are praying for the work of the Holy Spirit. And when we pray for strength or wisdom to face a particular task, again we are praying for the work of the Spirit.
Next month we’ll look at part two of Who Is God the Holy Spirit?!
Peace be with you,
Buster
August
Birthdays
06 Rey Trevino
07 Buster Noah
08 J.B. Haisler
09 Sophie Cotton
Tia Hackett
17 Erin Riddle
Katie Klein
18 Danny Schertz
26 Bob Goodman
Barbara Garrison
27 Jacob Cotton
Harley Hutson
Luci Hackett
28 Sam Reynolds
29 Karen Reynolds
Anniversaries
24 Susanne and Caroll Barnett
31 J.B. and Shirley Haisler
Tuesday Prayer Meeting & Bible Study
Special Note from Pastor Buster
Hi Everyone,
We finished our most recent Bible study last week.
Using Zoom was necessary when we were in the worst days of the pandemic and we couldn’t meet in person. That is no longer the case. We can meet in person now, and I’d like for us to figure out a way to do both our Prayer Meeting and Bible Study in person now. We don’t have to meet every week, but we can. We don’t have to meet at church, but we can. We could meet every week, every other week, or once a month. We could meet at church, or at someone’s house, or out in the community. We could meet at different places. We could do both the prayer meeting and Bible study together, or we can keep them separate. We could expand the prayer meeting to have time for me to teach different ways to pray. I’m open to whatever people want to do.
If I’m not mistaken, Labor Day is Monday, September 5th. I’d like to take a summer break from Bible Study until then. Come September, if anybody would like to start hosting us, that would be great. If, come September, different people would like to start hosting us so that we rotate from one place to another, that would be great too! And like I said, we could always meet up at church.
I’m also open to what to study next. So far, we’ve studied 1 and 2 Thessalonians and Hebrews. And I’ve done an extended sermon series on James. So, that leaves a whole lot of other things we can study.
What I really want is the fellowship that comes from being together in person. I love seeing friends on Zoom, but nothing takes the place of being together in person in Christ.
Please let me know what you think. I’m assuming you were doing a Bible Study in person prior to the pandemic, so help me to understand how you were doing it before, and maybe we can just go back to that if it was working well.
Thanks,
Buster
August Calendar
07 Holy Communion
14 Second Sunday Lunch, Noon
27 Family Fellowship Night, 6:00 pm Fun, Games, and Food.
There are so many events during a month’s time that they cannot all be told in this newsletter.
Please check with a friend, the Sunday Bulletins and/or our weekly email updates for more information.
Remember School Starts This Month
PRAY FOR OUR STUDENTS, TEACHERS, and ALL SCHOOL STAFF MEMBERS.
BLUE MOUND UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
8421 N. Interstate 35, Denton, TX 76207-1537 (940) 382-0825
Midway between Denton and Sanger at Exit 473
Sunday School: 9:30 am, Sunday Worship: 10:45 am
Website: www.bluemoundumc.org
Linda Boyer, Newsletter Editor
Need to contact Pastor Buster Noah?
Email: pastor@bluemoundumc.org