Preparing for Sunday
I must admit that I’ve been thinking about politics recently - and the rulers of nations, states, and towns. About dictators, presidents, senators, congressmen, governors, legislators, and county commissioners. And the theology of politics.
In God’s word, Romans 13, the Apostle Paul writes: “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.” (There is more, which this link allows you to read. )
Paul was writing to instruct Christians to accept that even in the Roman Empire, God was giving people the rulers that God, in God’s wisdom, thought the people needed at that time. This applies today, as much as then, except that we have input into that choice of rulers through our voting. In very many ways, we (collectively - not necessarily as individuals) receive the rulers we deserve, for they reflect the values we’ve decided to prioritize when we vote. And elections are coming up soon.
Each time we vote, we make a decision. Sometimes we give a great deal of thought over many months; sometimes we take only a second or two to think about our decision. But our choices often come down to how much we prioritize questions of policy, character, likability, trust, and adherence to a party. People who study these things tell us that physical appearance makes a difference - for many years, the taller of two candidates almost always won the election. “Better looking” candidates have had an advantage since television has become the primary campaign medium.
At the local and state level, the candidate that we have heard of has an advantage over the candidate that we have not heard of. And then, there is our evaluation of the negative campaign ads - do we believe them? Or do we use them to determine that the team developing those ads are liars and have poor character?
Many decisions come down to policy versus character. The candidate who has the policies we like has poor character, while the candidate with great character has policy positions we dislike. And so we need to consider which is more important for the office - policy or character?
Consider corruption. Corrupt politicians usually come from areas with corrupt societies. Consider Russia - we’ve long known that bribery and theft are common in that country. Corrupt politicians are often a symptom of the disease of greed among the people, who overlook the corruption for years as long as the politicians give the people a share of the spoils. And the same thing goes with other character issues. The people overlook character issues that they overlook in their own lives, issues that are accepted among their society.
And then, there is the party effect. How much do we focus upon a particular candidate, and how much do we simply ask which party they belong to? A critical question: Do we want a candidate that is more or less an independent thinker, or do we want a reliable, even lockstep vote for a particular party? Another way of saying this is: Are we voting for a person because we think they are a wise decision maker, or are we voting for a person because we are sure they will always follow the party line?
And how much balance do we want in our government between the two parties, as well as the truly independents?
In all of these things, we make decisions, even if we are not conscious of these effects upon our decisions. The votes are added up, and then a decision is made. And through the subtle influence of the Holy Spirit and world events, God adjusts our collective decision to ensure that we are getting the rulers we deserve. There is a credible argument that says that God led us to our democratic republic form of government to make it easier for us to get the rulers we deserve, for our choice of rulers in a democracy largely depends upon our wisdom and our character as much or more than the candidates’ wisdom and character. We must make wise decisions if we are to get wise rulers.
Personal
Saundra is home and getting healthy again. She simply rested most of the week after her hospital stay last week. I rested also, for Holy Week requires a great deal of preparation and then Easter Sunday saw four services.
Our Bible Discussion group on Wednesday 7 pm discussed the first three chapter of the Book of Esther. A key theme we noticed was the weakness of King Xerxes, who was constrained by both the customs of his court and the advice of his counselors. This, from the man who invaded Greece and attacked the Spartans at Thermopylae, which was made famous in the movie 300. He ruled over the entire Middle East from Afghanistan, through Turkey, and down through Egypt, even into Sudan. Yet he was threatened by assassination and unable to make decisions upon his own in his court. Join us next Wednesday at 7 pm for the next two or three chapters of Esther.
We traveled to Morgantown Friday for an eye appointment for Saundra, hitting some sleet on the way home.
Naturally, a lot of attention this week on the slow moving flood. Brooks and Patty’s home is surrounded by water - they had to use a boat to get to Patty’s hospital appointment Friday morning. Brooks tells me that the neighbors’ animals decided his lot was a great place to come to because it is the highest ground in the area. Four pigs, some peacocks and turkeys decided to spend Thursday night at his place. But the water dropped three feet over Friday night, so he could walk out this morning.
Check on your neighbors who live in low-lying areas to see if they need anything. We hear there are still a lot of trees down in Wirt County. Prayers for those in southern WV who lost power and with that, lost food.
What a blessing to see bright sunlight again!
Weekly Schedule
· Sundays, 9:00 AM – Worship at Vaught Chapel with Facebook Live. Sunday School follows
· Sundays, 9:00 AM – Radio broadcast of previous week’s sermon, WVVV-FM 96.9 FM. Also available on Tune-in App and in emailed podcast.
· Sundays, 9:30 AM – Sunday School at Cedar Grove UMC
· Sundays, 10:30 AM – Worship at Cedar Grove UMC with Facebook Live.
· Sundays, 2:00 PM – Worship at Cedar Grove Assisted Living (Except 3rd Sundays)
· Sundays, 6:00 PM - Questions and Answers with light meal in Fellowship Hall
· Mondays, 7:00 PM - Help & Hope - Support Group for parents of addicts at Cedar Grove UMC
· Wednesdays, 7:00 PM – Bible Study and Discussion at Cedar Grove UMC
Monthly Meetings
· 1st Tuesday, 9:00 AM – Breakfast at Cheryl’s, all welcome
· 1st Tuesday, 7:00 PM – Amateur Radio Club Meeting, Cedar Grove UMC
· 2nd Thursdays, 12:30 PM – United Methodist Women, Cedar Grove UMC
· 3rd Mondays, 10:00 AM – CEOS Service Group, Cedar Grove UMC
· 3rd Thursdays, 6:00 PM – CEOS Group, Vaught Chapel
· 4th Monday, 7:00 PM, Odd -numbered months – Administrative Council, Vaught Chapel
· Last Tuesday, 6:30 PM – Finance Committee, Cedar Grove
· Last Tuesday, 7:00 PM – Administrative Council, Cedar Grove
· 4th Thursday, - Gideon’s, Cedar Grove – See Brooks Layman for details
Special Upcoming Events
Vaught Chapel Women’s Retreat – April 13, 10 am to 2 pm, Saundra Speaking
Vaught Chapel Community Dinner - April 20.
Cedar Grove Spring Sale – May 2nd & 3rd, Fellowship Hall
Mother’s Day – May 10
Pentecost Sunday, May 19
Annual Conference, Buckhannon, June 6-9
Sermon
“The Unity of the Early Church” is this week’s sermon. Thomas wasn’t present on Easter, but he joined them once more a week later - and the disciples were united.
Readings
First Reading – Acts 4:32-35 - The Early Church in Unity
Psalm – Psalm 133 - The goodness of unity
Epistle – 1 John 1:1-2:2 - Fellowship with each other and God
Gospel – John 20:19-31 - Jesus appears to the disciples
Songs
Warmup Song “We All Bow Down” SCREEN
Vaught – “Breathe on me Breath of God” UMH 420
Praise Song: – “I Will Follow” SCREEN
Hymn: “My Hope is built on Nothing Less” UMH 368
Vaught – “The Church’s One Foundation” UMH 545
Hymn: “Blest Be the Tie that Binds” UMH 557
Hymn 616 Come , Sinners, to the Gospel Feast
620 One Bread, One Body
Closing Hymn – “They’ll Know We are Christians by our Love” TFWS 2223
Vaught – “Living for Jesus” Green 259