Very Important News!

1.) There will be NO church service this Sunday instead, there is going to be an outdoor church parking lot picnic. There will be food, cotton candy, games, music, and car show. Brad Joiner is cooking along with other volunteers. Everyone is invited to participate. Those interested in helping with the event can dress casually, come to the 9:00 Contemporary Service at Immanuel Methodist and then help set up and or man a table or booth at the event. 

2.) PCF service schedule is changing for the summer. Starting in June, Pastor Jackie and I have decided to share the 9:00AM service time. PCF will meet and lead worship on the 2nd and 4th Sundays and Immanuel will lead worship on the 1st and 3rd Sundays! This way there will be church every Sunday at 9:00AM. Pastor Jackie and I hope the 2 congregations will get to know one another better and that we can do some wonderful things with this arrangement. This will be the first time since we have started PCF that we are going to have regular morning worship times! We thank Immanuel Methodist Leadership for this opportunity!

3.) Ryan Stunkel gives the keynote talk for the Alton Kiwanis at Lewis and Clark Community College.  
The breakfast will be held at the Lewis and Clark Community Commons on Tuesday May 19th and will begin at 7:30a.m. with the presentation of the colors by VFW Post 1308. The ceremony will end at 9:30a.m.  For more information you can call club secretary John McDaniels at 466-3819 or Jerry Gibson at 466-0158.

4.) Sunday, May 24th, I will be addressing some of our changes that we are initiating. Please come to find out about the possibilities that lay before us! Good things are happening!

Jeremiah 29:11-1311 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

See you soon! Love, pastor kent

Monopoly!

When I was young, a long time ago, my friend Danny and I would play Monopoly in the summer. We would swim until we were exhausted and then we would go up to our basement and start these ongoing Monopoly games. Ongoing because there were times when we would play the same game for days. Building our properties with houses and hotels. We would play until someone would go bankrupt and then start all over. But we did something one summer that eventually ruined our appetite for the game. We changed the rules. Instead of doling out the amount of money that the games rules stated, we would start the game with twice as much money or sometimes three times as much. Although this was very exciting at first, we found out that the game was no longer as fun and challenging and as I recall that was the last time Danny and I ever played the game again. True story!

Christianity is not a game. We change, society changes, our lives change in many ways, but the bible says this about Jesus:

Hebrews 13:88 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

There are going to be some changes to our service soon. But the reason for our service, Jesus, will remain the same. A real person who came to earth to make changes in our relationship with God. He will be the focus and the reason for our worship!

REMINDER!  NO CHURCH this Sunday due to Immanuel Methodist parking lot party! There will be food, games, music, car show. All are welcome to attend.

See you soon! Love, pastor kent

Prayers

Sad news for one of our members Mark Allen who's mother just passed away Monday from a stroke. Mark and Jill have been with us for several years. Mark recently was at our church taking photos to update our webpage. Mark and Jill are Kerry and Jenny Baugher's brother and sister-in-law, Jenny and Jill are sisters. Please lift up Mark and his family in prayer for comfort and peace.

The visitation will be at the Kutis funeral home in Lemay Ferry tomorrow from 4:00-8:00 and the funeral will be Thursday at noon.

Sincerely, pastor kent

Yesterday's Sermon

Yesterday I used John 2:1-10 as my text. Jesus turns water into wine. A highlight in that text is when Marry says to the the servants, "What ever He says to you, do it!"

I commented that Jesus takes our ordinary, our lack and our emptiness, and by obedience, can turn them into a celebration, a party, a blessing! Do what Jesus taught and watch your life turn from the ordinary into the extraordinary! Here is what the bible says:

John 14:23 

Jesus replied, "Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Next Sunday there is NO SERVICE! Immanuel Methodist is having their annual summer picnic. We will resume the following week on the 24th. Please help get the word out to those who may not be on the blog! Thank you. We are all invited to attend their festivities.

Immanuel Methodist wants to know if any one has a set of "washers" or "lawn darts" they could borrow for their parking lot party? If so please contact Rhonda Grammar at 618-444-4871. Thank you.

Stay tuned into the Blog for announcements about this summers schedule! See you in a couple of weeks!  Board meeting this Thursday at 6:30 in the church basement, all are welcome to attend!

Love, pastor kent

Mother's day Service

Tomorrow we will gather and take a look at a famous Mother and her relationship with her children. I hope you will bring your mother and join us at 12:00 noon.

Mothers day:
"If evolution really works, how come mothers still have only two hands?"  Milton Berle

"The Phrase "working mother" is redundant!"  Jane Sellman

Church is a time to focus on God and all He has done in your life. It is also a time to reconnect with the Holy Spirit. Come be filled. See you tomorrow!

Love, pastor kent

Are you Happy?

An interesting simple survey was recently completed. Interesting because the original survey was conducted in 1938 in Britain. The question: "What is Happiness?"

The 226 respondents were then asked to rank what 10 factors made them happy in order of importance.
The top 3:
1.) Security made the top spot!
2.) Knowledge made the number 2 spot!
3.) Religion made the number three spot!

Now 76 years later in 2015 the same question was asked and 489 people responded. The new top 3: Leisure, Good humor, and Security. The report did not list the order but it did say that religion has fallen to, you guessed it….number 10, last on the list!

The study is definitely not a real scientific study. For one thing, it depends on how people define religion. I would probably list "religion" at the bottom of the list too.

But one thing for sure, church, however you define that, is definitely not a priority for many today. Again I can see why. But let me give you a thought. God is a relational God. He wants to be in a full blown, intimate relationship with us. We have the Holy Spirit within us. He made all of us to be in a relationship with one another. A loving, caring, sharing, helping, forgiving, come to the rescue relationship with one another. Can that happen outside the church? Absolutely, but the church offers something that no other gathering does, God as the focus. It is once a week we come together with God as our focus! Sure we can go to our friends house and go on vacations, and meet people for dinner, and for meetings but church is the place where we come and meet and focus on God and our broken relationship with Him!

The reason for Church is to connect with God with other like minded people who agree that there is something "NOT Right" about us and the world and our relationship with God. It is at church where we struggle and sing, and question, and pray, and seek, and HOPE, that God will meet us at our brokenness! It's all we have.

Hope to see you this Sunday, Mothers day, at church! 12:00 noon 800 North Main Edwardsville, Immanuel Methodist Church.

Love, Pastor Kent

This Sunday

We will have some very special guests joining us this Sunday. Krista Kell will be bringing a van of the Beverly Farm residents to join us in our service. We will be celebrating with communion, song and message.

For those of you who are new to our church, I have a son Ben who lives at Beverly farm in Godfrey Illinois. Through the years we have adopted the residents of Beverly Farm as part of our Praise Fellowship Family. Two of our Praise team singers, Krista Kell and Lori Rodgers are employed there. Beverly Farm is located on Humbert Road in Godfrey Illinois and is the home to approximately 380 residents. Beverly farm is a small community located on approximately 240 acres where people with mental and physical handicaps live ad enjoy life. You can find out more about Beverly Farm Here.

This Sunday's sermon topic, What's The Big Deal?

Reminder: On the first Sunday of each month we collect non perishable food items and personal care items for Glen-Ed Pantry.  Thank you.

See you Sunday, 12:00 noon 800 North Main, Edwardsville in the Immanuel Methodist Church!

Love, pastor kent