"The next day [John the Baptist] saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, "Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" - John 1:29
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"[F]or in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind--just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you--so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ." - 1 Corinthians 1:5-7
Our lessons for this Sunday all have something to tell us about witnessing. Our lessons have a message for us about our role in telling others about what our relationship with Jesus has done for us. In our reading from John, we will learn more John the Baptist, and his role as the first witness to Jesus Christ. In our reading from First Corinthians, we will hear an introduction to Paul's letter in which we explains how much we have been given as followers of Christ. The gifts needed to witness and be the church have already been given to us. The readings for this Sunday are:
- Isaiah 49:1-7
- 1 Corinthians 1:1-9
- John 1:29-42
During our morning worship services, we will also be taking the opportunity to recognize our organists and music directors that play a crucial role in the music ministries of our church. We will pray for them and bless them in their ministries this year.
January 16th is also one of six special offerings during the year through the United Methodist Church. This Sunday is Human Relations Day. From the United Methodist Church website:
Human Relations Day is one of the opportunities for United Methodist Churches to celebrate our connectional work. This day of social action and raising awareness aims to heal social ills at the national level. It supports Community Developers, United Methodist Voluntary Service (UMVS), and theYouth Offender Rehabilitation Program. The first two programs are administered through the General Board of Global Ministries.
In The United Methodist Church calendar, Human Relations Day happens the Sunday immediately following the observance of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday. The juxtaposition of these two very special days is not a coincidence. The United Methodist Book of Discipline describes the purpose of Human Relations Day as a call to "the Church to recognize the right of all God's children in realizing their potential as human beings in relationship with each other."
There will be envelopes available in your bulletin if you would like to make a donation.
Evening Service
Our evening service at Oakfield UMC will be starting at 6:00PM. The focus of our service will be on the question: Why do bad things happen to good people? This is the first is series of services that will address difficult questions for Christians. Services after this one will revolve around questions submitted by members of the congregation As always, Communion will be taken at these evening services. We hope to see you there!
