Nowata Methodists Podcast

Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John to be baptized by him. But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he permitted Him. And after being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon Him, and behold, there was a voice out of the heavens saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.” - Matthew 3:13-17This week we explore the baptism of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew.

Psalm 72

O God, give the king Your judgments,And Your righteousness to the king’s son.2 [a]May [b]he render judgment to Your people with righteousnessAnd Your [c]afflicted with justice.3 Let the mountains lift up [d]peace to the people,And the hills, in righteousness.4 [e]May he give justice to the [f]afflicted of the people,Save the children of the needy,And crush the oppressor.

5 [g]Let them fear You while the sun endures,And [h]as long as the moon, from generation to all generations.6 [i]May he come down like rain upon the mown grass,Like showers that water the earth.7 [j]May the righteous flourish in his days,And abundance of peace until the moon is no more.

8 May he also have dominion from sea to seaAnd from the River to the ends of the earth.9 [k]Let the desert creatures kneel before him,And his enemies lick the dust.10 [l]Let the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands bring a present;The kings of Sheba and Seba offer tribute.11 [m]And let all kings bow down to him,All nations serve him.

This last Sunday was Epiphany Sunday and the first sermon from our new pastor Tylar Lee. Here is the sermon portion of the worship service from that service, enjoy!

And when they had come to him, he said to them,

“You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews; how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house, solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And now, behold, bound by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that chains and afflictions await me. But I do not make my life of any account nor dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God. - Acts 20:18-24

This is Pastor Jeffrey’s last sermon at Nowata Methodist Church. He wrapped up our study of the Book of Acts with chapter 20.

Pray for the Rickman family as they make their move to Yazoo City Mississippi and join the congregation at First Methodist of Yazoo City!d

So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to Cyprus. And when they reached Salamis, they began to proclaim the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews, and they also had John as their helper. And when they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a magician, a Jewish false prophet whose name was Bar-Jesus, who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. But Elymas the magician (for so his name is translated) was opposing them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. But Saul, who was also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze on him, and said, “You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord? Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and not see the sun for a time.” And immediately a mist and a darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking those who would lead him by the hand. Then the proconsul believed when he saw what had happened, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord. - Acts 13:4-12

Hope everyone had a great Christmas. This week we covered the end of chapter 12 and the first half of chapter 13.

And behold, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter’s side and woke him up, saying, “Rise up quickly.” And his chains fell off his hands. And the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and put on your sandals.” And he did so. And he said to him, “Wrap your garment around yourself and follow me.” And he went out and continued to follow, and he did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but was thinking he was seeing a vision. And when they had passed the first and second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened for them by itself; and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now truly I know that the Lord has sent His angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.” - Acts 12: 7- 11

This week we finished up chapter 11 of the book of acts and start chapter 12.

“And I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise up, Peter; slaughter and eat.’ But I said, ‘By no means, Lord, for nothing defiled or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ But a voice from heaven answered a second time, ‘What God has cleansed, no longer consider defiled.’ And this happened three times, and everything was drawn back up into heaven.” - Acts 11:7-10

This week we finished the majority of chapter 11 of the Book of Acts.

“You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. And we are witnesses of all the things He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also put Him to death by hanging Him on a tree. God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He appear, not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. And He commanded us to preach to the people, and solemnly to bear witness that this is the One who has been designated by God as Judge of the living and the dead. Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.” - Acts 10:28-48

This week we explore chapter 10 of the book of Acts.

36 Now in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which translated is called [p]Dorcas). This woman was full of good works and charity which she continually did. 37 And it happened [q]at that time that she fell sick and died; and when they had washed her body, they laid it in an upper room. 38 Now since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, having heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him, pleading with him, “Do not delay in coming to us.” 39 So Peter arose and went with them. When he arrived, they brought him into the upper room; and all the widows stood beside him, crying and showing all the [r]tunics and garments that Dorcas used to make while she was with them. 40 But Peter sent them all out and knelt down and prayed, and turning to the body, he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. 41 And he gave her his hand and raised her up. And calling the [s]saints and widows, he presented her alive. 42 And it became known all over Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. - Acts 9:36-42 (LSB)

This week we finish up chapter 9 of the Book of Acts.

But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name.” So Ananias departed and entered the house. And he laid his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord sent me—that is Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming—so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight, and he rose up and was baptized; and he took food and was strengthened. - Acts 9:15-19 (LSB)

This week we start chapter 9 of the Book of Acts. In it we see the conversion of Saul (Paul) and his baptism.

Now when Simon saw that the Spirit had been bestowed through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, saying, “Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you supposed you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray earnestly to the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of unrighteousness.” But Simon answered and said, “Pray earnestly to the Lord for me yourselves, so that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.” - Acts 8:18-24 (LSB)

This week we continue our way through chapter 8 of the Book of Acts.