- Music: Blessed Assurance
- Opening Prayer
- Scripture Readings: 2 Chronicles 9:1-6, Romans 3:21-24,Matthew 8:5-13
- Message
- Closing Prayer
- Music: Nothing But The Blood
Hope, Believe, Trust, Faith :A Christian Journey
Trust: An Examination
Happy Mother's Day!
Although we can not congregate physically, we can celebrate the Fifth Sunday of Easter and worship our Risen Lord together in spirit and profess our love for our Redeemer through electronic communication.
Although we can not congregate physically, we can celebrate the Fifth Sunday of Easter and worship our Risen Lord together in spirit and profess our love for our Redeemer through electronic communication.
- Music: Up From The Grave He Arose
- Opening Prayer
- Scripture Readings: Psalm 37:1-6, Proverbs 3:5-6, John 14:1, 11
- Message
- Closing Prayer
- Music: Only Trust Him
- Benediction
Faith: An Examination
- Music: Love Divine, All Love Excelling
- Opening Prayer
- Scripture Readings:
- 2 Chronicles 20:20
- Isaiah 7:9b
- Acts 2:42-47
- Matthew 9:27-31
- Message
- Closing Prayer
- Music: Victory in Jesus
- Benediction
Leprosy: A Biblical Pandemic?
- Music: Amazing Grace
- Opening Prayer
- Scripture Readings:
- Leviticus 13:1-8, 45-46
- 2 Kings 5:1-14
- Luke 5:12-15
- Message Prayer
- Music: Standing On The Promises
- Benediction
New Chapter at Peniel
In the last year since I've posted on here, two major things have changed:
1) Kent Beckman is the new pastor at Peniel United Methodist Church.
2) The services are starting 15 minutes later.
For those who haven't already heard, after being "retired" but having the honor of still serving as pastor, I recently retired from the ministry. For those of you who did hear, thank you for your prayers and well-wishes. I have glaucoma and am having a hard time reading, as well as some memory troubles, so it had become increasingly difficult to pastor the congregation and prepare a weekly sermon. It's been a pleasure serving as your pastor for a number of years!
Pastor Kent and his wife Kathy are kind people, and it's a blessing that they are taking over. They're from the nearby town of Riley. Thank you for giving them a warm reception and getting to know them. Kent is still the pastor at Bethlehem United Methodist Church in the town of Universal, so we're starting later to give them time to make the drive to Brazil. The leadership felt everyone would be ok with sleeping in 15 more minutes on Sunday mornings. Here are some photographs of our folksyMethodist-style reception lunch.
Judy and I offered to attend another church for a few weeks to help Pastor Kent, but he said that won't be necessary, so we benefited from hearing his first sermon at Peniel, which was titled "We Walk by Faith, Not by Sight." We will be sticking around as congregants in the church, Judy will continue serving in the choir, and we will continue trying to volunteer with the food pantry. Peniel is still our home and we are blessed to call you friends, but Pastor Kent is now in charge of the sermons and the hospice visits. I want to go on record stating that we are giving Kent and Kathy our full support and ask you to do the same!
Here's the official statement statement from the Pastor/Parish Relations Committee, with additional info:
"Peniel United Methodist Church is pleased to announce the appointment of Pastor Kent Beckman. Pastor Kent will begin his service at Peniel on August 5, 2018. We would like you to help us welcome our new Pastor by attending our worship service that Sunday at 11:00 a.m.
Peniel UMC will share Beckman’s service with Bethlehem United Methodist Church in Universal, Indiana. Due to the distance between the two churches, we will be moving our worship time at Peniel from 10:45 to 11:00 a.m. Peniel Sunday School time will also change from 9:45 to 10:00 a.m.
Pastor Kent and his wife, Kathy, have celebrated nearly 39 years of marriage. They have raised three daughters who are now grown with their own families. Pastor Kent and Kathy enjoy five grandchildren.
Besides practicing as a part time pastor for well over a decade, Pastor Kent also carries the experience of thirty-four years in food service management. Kathy is a retired elementary school teacher and is now employed in retail sales.
The Beckman’s reside in nearby Riley and both are native Hoosiers. Kent is an avid bicyclist and rides both for fun and fundraisers. He has participated in many events, including the Miracle Ride at Indianapolis Motor Speedy for Riley’s Children’s Hospital.
We believe that Pastor Kent Beckman will be a positive and effective leader for Peniel United Methodist Church as he continues to answer God’s call of service. Please help us welcome Pastor Kent and Kathy to our community.
Sincerely,
Pastor/Parish Relations Committee
+++ We live by faith, not by sight. ~ 2 Corinthians 5:7 +++"
This statement was prepared with some help from my grandson, who is more tech-savvy than Judy and I are. Lately, neither he, Kate, nor I have had time to update the website. However, Pastor Kent said he would be willing to try updating it, so there may be more sermons posted on here in the future.
Thanks,
Richard
1) Kent Beckman is the new pastor at Peniel United Methodist Church.
2) The services are starting 15 minutes later.
For those who haven't already heard, after being "retired" but having the honor of still serving as pastor, I recently retired from the ministry. For those of you who did hear, thank you for your prayers and well-wishes. I have glaucoma and am having a hard time reading, as well as some memory troubles, so it had become increasingly difficult to pastor the congregation and prepare a weekly sermon. It's been a pleasure serving as your pastor for a number of years!
Pastor Kent and his wife Kathy are kind people, and it's a blessing that they are taking over. They're from the nearby town of Riley. Thank you for giving them a warm reception and getting to know them. Kent is still the pastor at Bethlehem United Methodist Church in the town of Universal, so we're starting later to give them time to make the drive to Brazil. The leadership felt everyone would be ok with sleeping in 15 more minutes on Sunday mornings. Here are some photographs of our folksyMethodist-style reception lunch.
Judy and I offered to attend another church for a few weeks to help Pastor Kent, but he said that won't be necessary, so we benefited from hearing his first sermon at Peniel, which was titled "We Walk by Faith, Not by Sight." We will be sticking around as congregants in the church, Judy will continue serving in the choir, and we will continue trying to volunteer with the food pantry. Peniel is still our home and we are blessed to call you friends, but Pastor Kent is now in charge of the sermons and the hospice visits. I want to go on record stating that we are giving Kent and Kathy our full support and ask you to do the same!
Here's the official statement statement from the Pastor/Parish Relations Committee, with additional info:
"Peniel United Methodist Church is pleased to announce the appointment of Pastor Kent Beckman. Pastor Kent will begin his service at Peniel on August 5, 2018. We would like you to help us welcome our new Pastor by attending our worship service that Sunday at 11:00 a.m.
Peniel UMC will share Beckman’s service with Bethlehem United Methodist Church in Universal, Indiana. Due to the distance between the two churches, we will be moving our worship time at Peniel from 10:45 to 11:00 a.m. Peniel Sunday School time will also change from 9:45 to 10:00 a.m.
Pastor Kent and his wife, Kathy, have celebrated nearly 39 years of marriage. They have raised three daughters who are now grown with their own families. Pastor Kent and Kathy enjoy five grandchildren.
Besides practicing as a part time pastor for well over a decade, Pastor Kent also carries the experience of thirty-four years in food service management. Kathy is a retired elementary school teacher and is now employed in retail sales.
The Beckman’s reside in nearby Riley and both are native Hoosiers. Kent is an avid bicyclist and rides both for fun and fundraisers. He has participated in many events, including the Miracle Ride at Indianapolis Motor Speedy for Riley’s Children’s Hospital.
We believe that Pastor Kent Beckman will be a positive and effective leader for Peniel United Methodist Church as he continues to answer God’s call of service. Please help us welcome Pastor Kent and Kathy to our community.
Sincerely,
Pastor/Parish Relations Committee
+++ We live by faith, not by sight. ~ 2 Corinthians 5:7 +++"
This statement was prepared with some help from my grandson, who is more tech-savvy than Judy and I are. Lately, neither he, Kate, nor I have had time to update the website. However, Pastor Kent said he would be willing to try updating it, so there may be more sermons posted on here in the future.
Thanks,
Richard
What's Been Happening
I'm preaching again. Thank you to all who called, asked how things were going, and supported me and Judy as I had eye surgery. My eyes still aren't what they once were and I've been having trouble with typing. (My daughter Rene is helping with this.)
I've been preaching and received positive feedback on the sermons without notes; still, we can see from the Google stats that many of you are reading this when you can't make a week or if you don't live in Brazil. My grandson is looking into solutions to get videos online, including possibly videotaping the sermons and posting them to YouTube. But he's in Wisconsin and us old folk would have to get it uploaded somehow. Please bear with us as we work on a solution to sharing the good news up on here again.
In the meanwhile, check out the new photos in the revamped photo gallery. Most of them were taken by Kate.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor P
I've been preaching and received positive feedback on the sermons without notes; still, we can see from the Google stats that many of you are reading this when you can't make a week or if you don't live in Brazil. My grandson is looking into solutions to get videos online, including possibly videotaping the sermons and posting them to YouTube. But he's in Wisconsin and us old folk would have to get it uploaded somehow. Please bear with us as we work on a solution to sharing the good news up on here again.
In the meanwhile, check out the new photos in the revamped photo gallery. Most of them were taken by Kate.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor P
Abiding with Jesus
3rd Sunday in Lent
Scripture: St. John 4:5-26
In James 1:25 we are made aware not to forget what we have heard, but to do it, and there will be a blessing for what we have done. We set in church hearing an inspiring plea to do something special for Christ. We tell ourselves “I’m going to do that.” As we exit the church service it totally slips from our heart and mind. Jesus has set many examples of getting with people who are not in fellowship with His abiding love and grace.
One example is at Jacob’s well. He is resting at Jacob’s well, its high noon and He is thirsty. A Samaritan woman approaches the well. He asks her for a drink of cool water. She responds in astonishment. “Why do you ask me to give you a drink for Jews have no use for us Samaritans’, and you have nothing to put the water in?” Jesus then replies, “If you knew who I am and ask me, I would give you living water that would fill you up, flowing through your whole body”. She replies, “Give me this living water that I won’t need to come to the well daily. Jesus tells her to go and tell her husband. She replies, I don’t have a husband. Jesus replies that she speaks the truth, for she has had 4 husbands and the man she now lives with is not your husband. She says, “I believe you are a Prophet.” Now Jesus has traveled out of His way to be at Jacob’s well where He confronts the woman. Do you remember the last time you went out of your way to offer someone the Living Water for their life?
Another example is John 5,where we see Jesus at the Healing Pool. Jesus has traveled from Jacob’s well to Jerusalem near the sheep gate, to be with this person who believes the water has healing powers if they are the 1st in. There an invalid man waited a long time to be the first one in the healing waters. We are told that the 1st one in the healing water will be healed. He tells Jesus when the water shakes he is not fast enough to be the first one in. The invalid tells Jesus that he has no one to help him get in the pool. Jesus tells the man to “Get up, Pick up your mat and walk.” The man did just that! It was the Sabbath and one church leader condemned Jesus for healing on the Sabbath.
The great lesson from this scripture is if we want to be an agent of God, we need to get out of the church and be with the people who need spiritual and physical healing.
I remember responding to a request of a man in the parish I once served in. He asked me to go with him to see a friend and co-worker who was slowly dying with cancer. Arriving at the man’s home, we were welcomed in. I asked Him if he knew the Lord and Savior. He began to give excuse after excuse of why he was not a child of God. After listening to him, I finally told him all His reasons were only excuses that we build up on our lives. Before we left his earthly home, he accepted Christ as his Savior. Less than 4 or 6 weeks later, I had his funeral.
We have to help one another to tear down the brick walls that we build that block out the Living Water of Christ that is offered freely. To all who confess and believe that Jesus is the Son of God who offers all of us freedom from sin and death. We need to pick up ourselves, walk out of the church and invite all to have eternal life with the Lord of love and grace.
Let us pray.
Scripture: St. John 4:5-26
In James 1:25 we are made aware not to forget what we have heard, but to do it, and there will be a blessing for what we have done. We set in church hearing an inspiring plea to do something special for Christ. We tell ourselves “I’m going to do that.” As we exit the church service it totally slips from our heart and mind. Jesus has set many examples of getting with people who are not in fellowship with His abiding love and grace.
One example is at Jacob’s well. He is resting at Jacob’s well, its high noon and He is thirsty. A Samaritan woman approaches the well. He asks her for a drink of cool water. She responds in astonishment. “Why do you ask me to give you a drink for Jews have no use for us Samaritans’, and you have nothing to put the water in?” Jesus then replies, “If you knew who I am and ask me, I would give you living water that would fill you up, flowing through your whole body”. She replies, “Give me this living water that I won’t need to come to the well daily. Jesus tells her to go and tell her husband. She replies, I don’t have a husband. Jesus replies that she speaks the truth, for she has had 4 husbands and the man she now lives with is not your husband. She says, “I believe you are a Prophet.” Now Jesus has traveled out of His way to be at Jacob’s well where He confronts the woman. Do you remember the last time you went out of your way to offer someone the Living Water for their life?
Another example is John 5,where we see Jesus at the Healing Pool. Jesus has traveled from Jacob’s well to Jerusalem near the sheep gate, to be with this person who believes the water has healing powers if they are the 1st in. There an invalid man waited a long time to be the first one in the healing waters. We are told that the 1st one in the healing water will be healed. He tells Jesus when the water shakes he is not fast enough to be the first one in. The invalid tells Jesus that he has no one to help him get in the pool. Jesus tells the man to “Get up, Pick up your mat and walk.” The man did just that! It was the Sabbath and one church leader condemned Jesus for healing on the Sabbath.
The great lesson from this scripture is if we want to be an agent of God, we need to get out of the church and be with the people who need spiritual and physical healing.
I remember responding to a request of a man in the parish I once served in. He asked me to go with him to see a friend and co-worker who was slowly dying with cancer. Arriving at the man’s home, we were welcomed in. I asked Him if he knew the Lord and Savior. He began to give excuse after excuse of why he was not a child of God. After listening to him, I finally told him all His reasons were only excuses that we build up on our lives. Before we left his earthly home, he accepted Christ as his Savior. Less than 4 or 6 weeks later, I had his funeral.
We have to help one another to tear down the brick walls that we build that block out the Living Water of Christ that is offered freely. To all who confess and believe that Jesus is the Son of God who offers all of us freedom from sin and death. We need to pick up ourselves, walk out of the church and invite all to have eternal life with the Lord of love and grace.
Let us pray.