Imagebearer’s Weblog

A New Year for Church Council

The following is a message from our new Church Council Chair, Oliver McBride. We as a leadership team are excited about the ministry that is happening in and through Hillsville First United Methodist Church.

Ronnie

The first meeting of the 2010 First United Methodist Church Council is Monday night, January 11 at 7:00 in the Upper Room classroom at the church.  As we gather on Monday, it is the beginning of a new year and the beginning of our opportunity to serve together this year in our community where “We are called to be and make disciples for Jesus Christ”.  The unique talents and gifts that each of you have been given are needed to make our work together complete.

Please come – bring your gifts, your talents, your willingness, your encouragement, your support, your service – all are needed as we begin our journey through 2010.  Please be in prayer for our church, our staff, our ministry areas, our council, and each of us as we seek to discover what it is God would have us do this year.

See you Monday night!!!
Oliver

January 7, 2010 Posted by imagebearer | Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

Hope for the Children of Sudan

The New Year is always a time to set goals to sort of reboot your life and start over. As we move into 2010 I wanted to share with you my plans for Running the Myrtle Beach Marathon for the Children of Sudan. I have several running events on my calendar starting with the Myrtle Beach Marathon in February and then three other Marathons throughout 2010. I also have a  goal is to run no less than 20 miles each week in 2010. So as New Years Resolutions go, pray for me that I will stick to them.

I want to thank you for supporting me last year. I am still overwhelmed by the fact that I received support from so many people in and outside of Holston Conference. This just goes to show that we can all work together for the cause of Jesus Christ. Hunger and Homelessness knows no boundaries. Even people I have never met have supported my Atlanta Marathon in 2009.

Thank you for your continued support of a great cause, “Hope For The Children Of Sudan.

May God Bless us in our 2010 goals!

Ronnie

Myrtle Beach Marathon February 13th, 2010.

I am running in honor and support of Children in Southern Sudan.

Holston Conference is planning an Orphanage and we can help by raising support to get the job done!

Maybe your family could send your gift to the children of Sudan in honor of each other!

If you would like to support, send your check to 1st Hillsville United Methodist Church, C/O Ronnie G Collins PO Box 356 Hillsville Virginia 24343. Make the check to Holston Conference and on the remit line “Hope for the children of Sudan”.

Why not do something you love and help others at the same time?

Together we can change the world!

Here is how it will work. I will travel to Myrtle Beach in February and run the 26.2 mile Marathon on February 13th Day in honor of and support of The Children of Sudan Africa, “Hope for the Children”.

Every gift that is given will go to support the children of Sudan, “Hope for the Children”.

I have a Goal of $2620.00 that is $100.00 per mile.

Help me meet the goal but more importantly help the children of Sudan.

There are several ways that you can support.

# 1 is in your prayers

26 people (Churches, Youth Groups, UMW, UMM, any group)could donate $100 and I would reach the goal.

Donate $1 for every mile = 26 dollars

Donate $5 for every mile = 130 dollars

Donate $10 for every mile = 260 dollars

Donate $20 for every mile = 520 dollars

Donate $100 for every mile = 2600 dollars

or simply Donate Any $ Amount

My goal is simply to raise as much money as possible and have fun doing it. I am inviting people (Runners) who would like to help raise money for the children of Sudan to join me in the run. You can sign up to run at

http://www.mbmarathon.com/site3.aspx

Make your checks payable to: The Holston Conference of The United Methodist Church or The Holston UMC

Designate your Check “Hope for the Children of Sudan”

Mail to: Ronnie G Collins, PO Box 356, Hillsville Virginia 24343

I will compile the checks and get them to Holston Conference on behalf of the children. You will receive a letter from me to signify when the gift is received.

I am excited to see just what Miracle the Lord will do.

Ronnie

Hope for the
Children of Sudan

January 7, 2010 Posted by imagebearer | Uncategorized | 2 Comments

This Day In The Life Of Your Pastor-January 6th, 2010

2. Lord I have nothing to fear, you are bigger than any giant I will ever face. about 11 hours ago from TwitterBerry

3. Lord, all words have power. Help mine to have a positive charge. about 11 hours ago from TwitterBerry

4. Our words are like elevators. They’re either going to lift people up or bring them down. about 11 hours ago from TwitterBerry

5. Approximately 60 @ Out Of The Box Tonight about 12 hours ago from TwitterBerry

6. Out Of The Box “Follow Me” Jesus said it, not me about 13 hours ago from web

7. God is at work in Hillsville! about 16 hours ago from web

8. grabbing a quick dinner and headed back to Out Of The Box, good leadership team meeting, outstanding really! about 16 hours ago from web

9. headed to a meeting at the church campus, leadership team about 18 hours ago from web

10. follow me, Tonight @ Out of the Box http://imagebearer.wordpress.com/2010/01/06/follow-me-out-of-the-box-tonight-630pm-come-hang-with-us/ about 18 hours ago from web

11. Latest on Holston Conf http://imagebearer.wordpress.com/2010/01/06/latest-information-on-holston-evangelism-conference-and-50-golden-days/ about 18 hours ago from web

12. 2 roads to choose from http://imagebearer.wordpress.com/2010/01/06/two-roads-to-choose-from/ about 18 hours ago from web

13. spiritual leprosy http://imagebearer.wordpress.com/2010/01/04/snl-january-10th-2009-spiritual-leprosy/ about 18 hours ago from web

14. just talked 2 Samuel on the phone, he has had 2 shots this week & a 3rd one tomorrow for the ear infection. I wish I could take them for him about 19 hours ago from web

15. update Holston Evan Conf http://bit.ly/75VLJk about 20 hours ago from web

16. headed out to do some visits with Donna @ the resthome about 21 hours ago from web

17. Prepare your minds 4 action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.1 Peter 1:13 about 22 hours ago from web

18. “You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.” about 22 hours ago from web

19. He gave me life, how could I not give it away freely and follow Jesus into the world about 20 hours ago from TwitterBerry

20. Heading to Out of the Box to finish up tonights challenge to the teens about 21 hours ago from TwitterBerry

21. Making breakfast for the family about 21 hours ago from TwitterBerry

22. Lord help my attitude to depend on no one’s but Yours. about 22 hours ago from TwitterBerry

23. In God’s Kingdom, each soul has value, Remember that when you go among people today about 22 hours ago from web

24. reading Matt 18-20, reading the NT every 90 days http://imagebearer.wordpress.com/2010/01/06/day-6-90-days-to-read-the-new-testament-tniv/ about 22 hours ago from web

25. Go sign up invite your friends to do the same. God is at work. http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=226898974663 about 23 hours ago from web

January 7, 2010 Posted by imagebearer | Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

Day 7-90 Days to read the New Testament (TNIV)

Matthew 21

Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King

¹ As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, ² saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. ³ If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

⁴ This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

⁵ “Say to Daughter Zion,
‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ” ^[a]

⁶ The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. ⁸ A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
“Hosanna ^[b] to the Son of David!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” ^[c]
“Hosanna ^[d] in the highest heaven!”

¹⁰ When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

¹¹ The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Jesus at the Temple

¹² Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. ¹³ “It is written,” he said to them, ” ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ ^[e] but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’ ^[f]

“¹⁴ The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. ¹⁵ But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant.

¹⁶ “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him.
“Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read,
” ‘From the lips of children and infants
you have ordained praise’ ^[g]?”

¹⁷ And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.

Jesus Curses a Fig Tree

¹⁸ Early in the morning, as he was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. ¹⁹ Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.

²⁰ When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked.

²¹ Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. ²² If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

The Authority of Jesus Questioned

²³ Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?”

²⁴ Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. ²⁵ John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?”

They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”

²⁷ So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”
Then he said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

The Parable of the Two Sons

²⁸ “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’

²⁹ ” ‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.

³⁰ “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.

³¹ “Which of the two did what his father wanted?”
“The first,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. ³² For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.

The Parable of the Tenants

³³ “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. ³⁴ When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.

³⁵ “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. ³⁶ Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. ³⁷ Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.

³⁸ “But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ ³⁹ So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

⁴⁰ “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”

⁴¹ “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”

⁴² Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
” ‘The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’ ^[h]?

⁴³ “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. ⁴⁴ Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.” ^[i]

⁴⁵ When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. ⁴⁶ They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.

Matthew 22

The Parable of the Wedding Banquet

¹ Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: ² “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. ³ He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.

⁴ “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’

⁵ “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. ⁶ The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. ⁷ The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

⁸ “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. ⁹ Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ ¹⁰ So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

¹¹ “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. ¹² ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless.

¹³ “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

¹⁴ “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”

Paying the Imperial Tax to Caesar

¹⁵ Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. ¹⁶ They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are. ¹⁷ Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax ^[j] to Caesar or not?”

¹⁸ But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? ¹⁹ Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, ²⁰ and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”

²¹ “Caesar’s,” they replied.
Then he said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

²² When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.

Marriage at the Resurrection

²³ That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. ²⁴ “Teacher,” they said, “Moses told us that if a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for him. ²⁵ Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother. ²⁶ The same thing happened to the second and third brother, right on down to the seventh. ²⁷ Finally, the woman died. ²⁸ Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her?”

²⁹ Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. ³⁰ At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. ³¹ But about the resurrection of the dead—have you not read what God said to you, ³² ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’ ^[k]? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”

³³ When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching.

The Greatest Commandment

³⁴ Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. ³⁵ One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: ³⁶ “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

³⁷ Jesus replied: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ ^{[l] 38} This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ^{[m] 40} All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Whose Son Is the Messiah?

⁴¹ While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, ⁴² “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”
“The son of David,” they replied.

⁴³ He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says,

⁴⁴ ” ‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies
under your feet.” ‘ ^[n]

⁴⁵ If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” ⁴⁶ No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Matthew 23

A Warning Against Hypocrisy

¹ Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: ² “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. ³ So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. ⁴ They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.

⁵ “Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries ^[o] wide and the tassels on their garments long; ⁶ they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; ⁷ they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to have people call them ‘Rabbi.’

⁸ “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. ⁹ And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. ¹⁰ Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one Teacher, the Messiah. ¹¹ The greatest among you will be your servant. ¹² For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

Seven Woes on the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees

^13-14 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.

¹⁵ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and then you make that convert twice as much a child of hell as you are.

¹⁶ “Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple is bound by the oath.’ ¹⁷ You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? ¹⁸ You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but whoever swears by the gift on the altar is bound by the oath.’ ¹⁹ You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? ²⁰ Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. ²¹ And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. ²² And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.

²³ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. ²⁴ You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

²⁵ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. ²⁶ Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

²⁷ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. ²⁸ In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

²⁹ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. ³⁰ And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ ³¹ So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. ³² Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your ancestors!

³³ “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? ³⁴ Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. ³⁵ And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. ³⁶ Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation.

³⁷ “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. ³⁸ Look, your house is left to you desolate. ³⁹ For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’ ^[p]“

January 7, 2010 Posted by imagebearer | Uncategorized | Leave a Comment