First United Methodist Church DeSoto

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Elizabeth Reed’s family showed up to celebrate her 93rd birthday. Happy Birthday, Elizabeth!

First United Methodist Church DeSoto's cover photo

UMU Soup Lunch was a big success with tasty food and a nice love offering for their mission projects!

Thanks to all of the ladies who helped and all who ate!

If you are not attending the dinner tonight but you could help SERVE I could use a couple of waitstaff. I have one. Two more would be terrific. I don’t need help cooking, just serving. Call me.

We appreciate our Scouts and their leaders and their participation in Scout Sunday!

The Conley family and the whole congregation celebrated new baby Madalynn Conley!

Join us this Sunday as members of our Boy Scout and Girl Scout Troops help lead in worship.

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[02/03/20]   UPDATE FROM KEVIN:
For any who might be concerned about the shootings that occurred this morning at TAMU Commerce, Brian Dierolf is safe.

Pray for him as he counsels students.

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Today is UN International Holocaust Remembrance Day. It marks the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
Let us remember the 8 million Jews who died.
Let us pledge to fight racism in all its forms and, today, especially the new rise in Anti-Semitism.

A Holocaust Prayer
by Philip Hall.

Lord God and Father,

We remember before you all those who bear the inner and outer scars of the Holocaust and of subsequent acts of genocide.

Let them not be overwhelmed by the horrors that engulfed them.
Be close to them.

Help them to see that you suffer with those who suffer,
and that no wickedness can ever extinguish your infinite love.

Restrain those who are filled with hatred and use violence to pursue their ends.
Change their hearts.

May remembrance make us alert to the reality of evil and its deceptive allure.

Help us to recognise our own capacity for evil and allow your Spirit to purge it from our beings.

Help us also to stand up against evil and oppression, even if that means we have to suffer ourselves.

Enable us to defend those who are not strong enough to defend themselves, and to be ready to bring the light of your truth into the dark areas of human
experience.

Deepen our respect for everything you have made, and help us to share in securing the maximum good of every person who is alive in your world.

We ask this in the Name of your Son Jesus Christ,
who died for our sins,
carries our sorrows,
heals our wounds,
and is risen for our freedom.

Amen

#lestweforget
#neveragain

UMW Sunday was TERRIFIC!

Looking for a good excuse to break that new years resolution? Wanting to help the animals in Australia? Just feeling generous? Come by on January 26th to join us for service and buy some baked goods from the FUMC DeSoto youth! All proceeds will go to help animals in Australia who have been hurt or who’s homes have been destroyed. Bring a smile and an appetite! 💛♥️

CALLING ALL WOMEN!

Next Sunday is
UNTIED METHODIST WOMEN SUNDAY
and we have a seat in the CHOIR LOFT for YOU!

We want to fill the loft with women of all ages – young and not-so-young!

Come and join us in the CHOIR ROOM Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m. for a brief rehearsal.

We’ll be singing
“They’ll Know We are Christians By Our Love”.
You know it! You can DO it! JOIN US!

No robes – wear RED

Larry

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THE BAPTISM OF JESUS SUNDAY - January 12

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130 Lines from Hymns to Encourage You

https://barnabaspiper.com/2018/01/130-lines-from-hymns-to-encourage-you.html

barnabaspiper.com To start this year I asked my social media followers what one line from a hymn offered them singular encouragement heading into 2018. And, well, if you need encouragement here is a mountain of it &…

A New Year's Prayer

Lord, You make all things new.
You bring hope alive in our hearts,
And cause our spirits to be born again.
Thank You for this new year.
For all the potential it holds.
Come and kindle in us
A mighty flame
So that in our time
Many will see the wonders of God
And live forever to praise Your glorious name.

Amen

5 Reasons You Need to Make Church a Weekly Commitment

A great New Year's resolution for 2020!

ibelieve.com At every stage of life, there are reasons we can give for not attending church regularly. Here's why it's worth laying aside the excuses and making regular church attendance part of your week.

Service and Dinner

Service and Dinner

You won't want to miss the meaningful Covenant Renewal Service and Communion on this last Sunday of 2019.
See you tomorrow!

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Welcome to the 12 Days of Christmas - the Days between Christmas Eve and Epiphany Sunday. Let the celebration continue!

See you tonight at 6:00 p.m.!

Day 17 - The Love of Christ

If asked for a definition of LOVE, a well-trained disciple may offer the response, "God is love" (1 John 4:8), but in our final two days of this four-week journey, let us look at that definition completely and see how earnestly God has been seeking to display His LOVE to us throughout creation’s story.

From before time began, God’s plan for eternity was a created place in which the sons and daughters of Adam would live in perfect communion with Him. Every need was met in the Garden of Eden, but man betrayed that relationship and was banished. Generations later, God birthed the nation of Israel, a chosen people that would live in a land of promise with God as their King, but man betrayed that relationship and was banished.

When all other attempts were corrupted by sin, God Himself came to redeem us and bring us back home. He, the uncreated One, was born as a baby, a Servant to salvation’s plan.

This manifestation of God, Himself – JESUS! – was LOVE on full display! He had compassion for people (Matthew 14, Mark 6), cited LOVE as the greatest two commandments (Matthew 22), and modeled it as an expectation of those who would call themselves His disciples (John 13).

Jesus loves me, this I know!
TONIGHT, He comes to prove it!

Day 16 – My Favorite Things

In 1965, Julie Andrews danced into film history with the blockbuster movie adaption of The Sound of Music. One of the many memorable songs from her performance is a tune titled “My Favorite Things” in which she shares happy memories and anecdotes to nervous children during a storm. The film has aired on either ABC or NBC every Christmas season since 1979, making it a quirky holiday movie despite its lack of a Christmas plot.
The LOVE week, with its beautiful passages throughout the New Testament, has always been my favorite week of Advent as a worshiper. These verses are often separated from the Christmas narrative, but point to God’s limitless LOVE for mankind just the same. Over the next few days, allow me to share with you a few of my favorite things!
Today’s favorite passage comes from Paul’s letter to the Romans. In the eighth chapter of Paul’s masterpiece on sin and grace, we find a passionate discourse toward the life we live in Christ. To fully comprehend the argument Paul is making here, more context is required and I hope you will consider reading the entire chapter. Still, one of my favorite things about this brief passage is how passionately and, yet, simply Paul lays out the compelling truth of God’s LOVE. The crescendo of his zeal is felt right up to his final, emphatic statement: “Indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the LOVE of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord!” LET US REJOICE!

How deep the Father’s LOVE for us, how vast beyond all measure
Read: Romans 8:31-39

Day 15 – Nunc Dimittis

My favorite New Testament character is Peter. I love Peter’s cavalier faith that is reckless, but innocent and perfect. His testimonies of Who Jesus is are among the most profound in Scripture and his reinstatement at the end of John’s Gospel after crushing failure is overwhelming, humbling, and perfectly illustrates the love and grace of Jesus.

My second favorite character is Simeon.
Simeon’s story is only found in Luke and the biographer is scant on the details of his life. We know that Simeon was a holy man who was often found at the temple, but he is not identified by Luke as a priest or as anyone who holds office. Nonetheless, “it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ” (Luke 2:27).

And so it occurred that, on a day random to Simeon, but divinely designed by God, he came to see the Baby Jesus. Eight days after the birth of Christ, Mary and Joseph obediently presented their Child at the temple according to Jewish law and there encountered Simeon.

I can only imagine the moment that Simeon looked into the face of God and realized the Truth recorded in his beautiful parting song. The greatest JOY in all of creation was Simeon’s to hold and that Light is known to us, as well!
LET US REJOICE!

Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see, Hail the Incarnate Deity!
Read: Luke 2:29-32

CONGRATULATIONS to our own Larry Doran!

The Midlothian High School Band was recognized by the National Band Association Programs of Excellence Blue Ribbon Award- Southern Division!
They were also named a national winner. They will be presented a plaque next semester at a concert.

We so appreciate all he contributes to our Music Ministry!

Day 14 – Gloria

Today’s celebration of JOY is perhaps the most relevant to us, the twenty-first century Church of Jews and Gentiles. For today, we celebrate the JOY of the angels and the news they brought to simple shepherds in a field outside of Bethlehem.

This portion of the story from the second chapter of Luke is so familiar to the modern-day church that the danger is in allowing these great tidings to lose their significance to you and me. The decision to bring the news of Messiah’s birth to the lowest of peoples should not simply be a part of our Christmas celebration – rather it should be our entire JOY! In the words of Charlie Brown’s best buddy, Linus, “This is what Christmas is all about!”

The news of Emmanuel, God with us, was not proclaimed to Roman emperors or Jewish leaders; invitations were not sent to the wealthy or powerful. No, instead, the great news of the angels went to the poor and the weak. His star shined in eastern provinces and brought the wise men. His Gospel, indeed His JOY, has come to you and me these thousands of years later as Gentiles living outside of the Holy Land! Rejoice!

Today’s reading focuses on the single-verse canticle found in Luke 2:14, the third such song recorded in Luke’s Gospel, but take special note of the angel’s words in verse 10: these tidings of great JOY are for “all people”! LET US REJOICE!

This Gift of God, we’ll cherish well that ever JOY our hearts shall fill!
Read: Luke 2:14

Day 13 – Magnificat

The angel Gabriel’s earthly tour left Judea and headed to the small town of Nazareth in Galilee to deliver the greatest news the world had ever heard: “You will conceive and give birth to a Son and you are to call Him Jesus!”

This news fell on the ears of a young Hebrew girl named Mary who was soon to be wed to her betrothed husband, Joseph. Mary marveled at the words of the angel as she, a virgin, had not yet been with her husband. Unlike the disbelief of Zechariah, however, who doubted Gabriel’s message and asked the angel to prove his claims, Mary’s response was one of amazement that God could accomplish something so astonishing outside of the normal laws of nature. “How can this be?” she wondered. As such, Mary was afforded a response that Zechariah was not: the Holy Spirit and the power of the Most High God would accomplish it!

The pair of characters ended their meeting with closing remarks that so fittingly encapsulate their previous dialogue. Gabriel concluded his message of God’s power with the promise that “with God, nothing will be impossible” and it was answered in Mary’s simple statement of faith, “Let it be to me according to your word.”

Jesus is coming soon! LET US REJOICE!

I’ll hold You in the beginning, You will hold me in the end
Make my heart Your Bethlehem: be born in me!
Read: Luke 1:46-55

What will you be doing between yesterday and Jan 25? Christmas celebrations? New year starts?

75 years ago (starting yesterday), U.S. troops battled during this "merry" time in what has become known as the Battle of the Bulge.

Gracious Lord, call to our memory all those who will serve and suffer during this celebration time of year. Teach us to learn from the lessons of the past so that the prophets' vision of swords into plowshares may come to pass at the birth of your son. Amen.

Day 12 – Benedictus

Last week, we discussed at length the ministry of John the Baptist and, on Day 6, we explored the dramatic means by which this child’s birth was foretold after centuries of divine silence. Today, we recall the JOY of his father, Zechariah, at the birth of his only son, John.

On the night he first heard the news that he and his wife, Elizabeth, would have a son, Zechariah had been chosen by sacred lot to burn incense in the Temple. This duty was assigned from among the tens of thousands of priests that served during the time of Christ’s birth. Many priests were never chosen for this high honor and the likelihood that Zechariah would ever be chosen again was unimaginable. By every definition of the overused phrase, this was a once in a lifetime experience!

You can imagine the intentional thoughts Zechariah was having as he entered the temple that night – and then an angel showed up! Is this how it always happened?
Zechariah spent the entirety of his wife’s pregnancy in silence because He did not believe the angel’s words, but when John was born, his father spoke over him a beautiful song of JOY. As you read Zechariah’s song in today’s Scripture passage, remember the HOPE of Israel that we discussed in week one. Remember the Covenant! Imagine the PEACE that Zechariah and all of Israel longed for … and LET US REJOICE!

Saints before the altar bending, watching long in hope and fear
Read: Luke 1:68-79

Don't miss this Sunday - the last Sunday of Advent - as we light the Candle of LOVE.

Day 11 – Gaudete!

Finally we arrive at the week of JOY in our Advent season! The shadow of penance that has defined the season thus far is now lifted as we celebrate the wonder of this story and the greatest Gift in which we could ever hope to delight!
The Gospel according to Luke specifically includes the reactions from four different individuals at hearing the incredible news of Messiah’s birth. These four canticles are a fitting match to our Advent season as they beautifully embrace the ideals of HOPE and PEACE and illustrate the JOY that was celebrated by these first Christmas revelers. For the remainder of the week, our study will partner with these New Testament characters as our Christmas JOY couples with theirs.

For now, I wonder what JOY means to you. Perhaps it is an ambiguous mood toward a carefree existence or an experience you have with friends or family. Maybe JOY, for you, is relative to nostalgia where youthful Christmas memories at Grandma’s house come flooding back in adulthood.

For many Advent worshipers, this week is referred to as “Gaudete” which is Latin for “Rejoice!” Rejoice! Suddenly, it seems that we should recognize something more specific than an abstract mood or feeling. Rejoice! It’s an exclamation that begs to be complete: “Rejoice…for what?” Let us, Christians, not revel in vague emotion this Christmas. Rather, LET US REJOICE!

Good Christian men, rejoice with heart and soul and voice!
Read: Isaiah 35:1-10

Day 10 – Peace in Bethlehem

On April 11, 2009, viewers in England watched a confident and sassy Susan Boyle prance onto the stage of Britain’s Got Talent with a dream to become a professional singer. Susan did not win the audience’s trust! She was an awkward forty-seven years old (give or take ten years). Her hair was arguably untouched before coming out on camera, and her matter-of-fact Scottish accent seemed naïve on the big stage. She was everyone’s grandmother, but no one’s Adele. Then she sang and proved all of her doubters wrong! She shocked everyone!

In the region of Judea laid a small town named Bethlehem. Bethlehem was of little note to Israel. It had not factored prominently into any of the Jewish histories, and, yet, the prophet Micah spoke of her proudly: “But you, Bethlehem, though you are small … out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel.” With the fulfillment of this prophecy at the birth of Christ, Bethlehem would become one of the most recognizable names in all of Palestine!

Of course, there was that one story in the Old Testament that involved Bethlehem. In the eleventh century BC, Samuel traveled to the hill country of Judea in search of Israel’s next king. There, he met the sons of Jesse – strong young men, each a worthy candidate. But they were not who God had chosen.

The youngest son of Jesse, a shepherd boy named David from the tiny town of Bethlehem, was God’s unlikely next king and from this young man would come the Messiah!

O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie
Read: I Samuel 16:1-13