Plum Global Methodist Church

During the month of May, we celebrate Memorial Day. It is a time of honoring and remembering the sacrifice made by men and women in service to our great country. Many people take this opportunity to decorate gravesites of departed loved ones as it marks the unofficial start of summer. It’s our way remembering their lives and honoring their memories.

For those who have served (and currently serve) in the military, it requires a certain measure of sacrifice, being willing to put your country’s needs ahead of your own. This sacrifice is shared by everyone who serves. Some give the ultimate sacrifice as they perish in battle. Others are wounded and scarred for life. Others serve in peace time and don’t hace physical scars. Inevitably, everyone knows someone who made some level of sacrifice. Everyone who has served has prepared for the possibility of making that sacrifice. We remember the sacrifice of all, even through they didn’t serve hoping to be remembered. They didn’t serve for the recognition. They served out of a sense of call and duty.

In the church, we are all called to serve in the Kingdom of God. This service will also require sacrifice. Everyone’s sacrifice won’t be the same, but we all need to be willing to sacrifice everything for the Kingdom of God. Jesus made the once and for all atoning sacrifice on the cross, and He has called each of us to follow Him. We do not follow Jesus for recognition. We don not follow Jesus for any earthly reward because there really is no earthly reward. The reward comes when we meet Jesus face to face and He welcomes us into the eternal Kingdom that He is preparing for us in Heaven. How is Jesus calling you to serve? What is He calling you to sacrifice for His Kingdom?

Blessings,

Pastor Raymond

Happy New Year! Every year we say this, and every year we mean it. Then we come to the end of hte year and look back and assess what kind of year it was. Every year we can find high points and low points, things that we enjoyed and things that we want to put behind us and focus on the year ahead. Heading into a new year is a good time to plan for what lies ahead and to refocus on what really matters. Sometimes these things are called New Year’s Resolutions.

As Christians though, we need to do better than just making resolutions. We need to constantly keep our eyes on Jesus. Life is often unpredictable, and we don’t know what 2025 is going to bring, whether it’s jubilation or heartache. But we do know who our Saviour is and what He has done for us. Jesus never changes, no matter what life brings our way. The most important thing that we do is worship YHWH.

As I ponder what 2025 will bring and what we are going to do as a church, I want to encourage you to ask yourself what you can do for the Kingdom this year. We do a lot of things during the year to reach out and bless those around us. Maybe God is calling you to get more involved in what we are doing. Maybe He is calling you to start something new. I know that He is calling all of us to ministry in His Kingdom.

As I mentioned earlier, we are first and foremost a house of worship. We are also a ministry center, where anyone can come and meet Jesus and to know Him as Saviour and Lord. How are you going to use what God has given you to bless the ministry here at Plum? And, how are you going to use what God has given you to go beyond the walls of Plum to draw others into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ?

Let’s truly have a Happy New Year!

Pastor Raymond

There is a Christmas song that contains the line, “Although it’s been said many times, many ways, Merry Christmas to you.” As I get older I am beginning to think that I have said it just about every which way that it can be said. So as I sit trying to come up with yet another way to say Merry Christmas, it dawned on me that we don’t really have to come up with a new way to say it. We just have to keep on saying it and celebrating it.

YHWH came down from Heaven in the form of a baby boy named Jesus, born to a virgin named Mary who was pledged to marry a man named Joseph. This young couple were just minding their own business, preparing to start their lives together and something happened to them that we still talk about. How many people who lived 2000 years ago do we still talk about? We feel like we know them. We certainly know the baby who was born that night.

Jesus came into the world in the most ordinary way possible, the same way that we all came into the world. But His life was different. His calling was different. His purpose was different. The baby in the manger grew up and was eventually the guy on the cross. He went to the cross to lay His life down as the atoning sacrifice for the sin of the world. While His birth was ordinary, His death was not. His resurrection was most extraordinary, as he made a way for us to spend eternity with Him in the presence of YHWH.

Can you think of any better news? We don’t have to come up with new ways to say it. We need to live it and tell others about Him any and every chance that we get.

Merry Chirstmas,

Pastor Raymond