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Tifton, GA Permit No. 77

Good News! June 24, 2020: Issue 169 Rev. Chip Grantham, Senior Pastor / Rev. Robby Paulk, Associate Pastor

First United Methodist Church 107 12th Street W.

Tifton, Georgia 31794

Tifton First United Methodist Church

OUR CHURCH STAFF Rev. Chip Grantham, Senior Pastor Rev. Robby Paulk, Associate Pastor Dr. Pat Bennett, Music Director seniorpastor@tiftonfumc.org associatepastor@tiftonfumc.org musicdirector@tiftonfumc.org MaraDare Day, Recreation Director Annie Paulk, Children’s Director/Education Aaron McCalvin, Youth Director recreationdirector@tiftonfumc.org childrendirector@tiftonfumc.org youthdirector@tiftonfumc.org Lauren Fresh, Preschool Director Sissy Martin, Church Hostess Harris Tucker, Media Director preschooldirector@tiftonfumc.org Kendra Gannaway, Church Pianist Becky Rogers, Church Organist Debbie Minton, Church Secretary Melanie Raines, Financial Secretary churchsecretary@tiftonfumc.org financialsecretary@tiftonfumc.org

If you need a pastor, please call:

Chip Grantham (cell) (706) 570-3330

(Home) 388-0646

Robby Paulk (cell) (229) 251-8609

Church Office Contact Info: (Email) churchsecretary@tiftonfumc.org (Phone) (229) 382-6100 (Fax) (229) 382-4092

Web Page: tiftonfumc.org Activity Center: 382-4644 or 5582 Dial-A-Prayer: 382-2484 Church Office Hours: Closed Until Further Notice

MEMBERS: Louise Hetzel, Keith Kightlinger, Butch Davis, Denny Sommers, Cindy Wright (healthcare worker), William Byrd, Ron Evans, Sunny Pflug, Janet Conner, Peggy Royce, Ann Garrett, George Lindstedt. LONG-TERM PRAYER: Hazel Lawson, Charlie Griffin, Sara Davis, Betty Douglas, Arlette Mouat, Roger Hobgood

(Lavonia’s son), Hoyt Vance, Christine Kennedy, Kent Taylor. SHUT-IN: Gerald “Jake” Herring, George Fricks,

Billie Tucker. TIFTON HEALTH/REHABILITATION CENTER: CYPRESS POND: Diane Jackson, Louise Kent, Wyolene Walker

MAPLE COURT: Hannah Kent, Mary John Reinhardt. LEGACY VILLAGE: Harry Barrineau, Virginia Gudal. SOUTHERN

OAKS: John Mallory. MAGNOLIA MANOR: PRUITT HEALTH-MAGNOLIA MANOR: Frances Harris. THE LEGACY: Henrietta

Heyerdahl AUTUMN LEAVES OF SUGARLOAF: Jane Blasingame. MILITARY: Danny Stabak (deployed to Afghanistan) George

& Tiffany Alexion’s brother-in-law, Aubrey Collins (deploying to Afghanistan). FRIENDS & FAMILY: Leslie Peabody (relative of Denny & Betty Sommers), Billy Hurt (Debra Moorman’s Brother), Clark Dickens (Lisa Reinhardt & Michelle Shaw’s father), Brandon Brown (Sue Minter’s friend), Thelma Etheredge (Scott Monfort’s Mother), Dennis Lehmann (Ruth Lee’s brother), Amy Taylor ( Carloyn Kightlinger’s friend), Carol Grasser (Steve Pearman’s sister), Rev. William Jerdan (Bonnie Sayles’ brother), Elena Kang (Carolyn Kightlinger’s great niece), Jan Bailey Sheppard (Judy Herring’s sister), Tommy Burton (Richard Burton’s brother), Frances Hutto (Kevin

Hutto’s mother), Sandra Stone (Hope Vance’s mother). PLEASE REMEMBER to call the church office with an update on those you’ve placed on the prayer list OR if you are admitted to the hospital so we are aware of your hospitalization and to keep our prayer list accurate.

New Starts

The truth is, every moment in life is a chance for a new start. But there are moments in life where you are literally making a new start, and can set the reset button for things that you want to do differently. When you change schools, when you graduate, when you get married, when you have children, when you change jobs, those are all great opportunities to make changes you need or want to make in your life; in how you do things; in how you approach things. Like it or not, we have been given one of those opportunities for a new start. With the COVID-19 outbreak, and the shelter-in-place orders, church is different. We went 14 weeks without being together, and as we come back together, things are different. This has been a really difficult time, in so many different ways. But the truth is, as we come back, we get to make a fresh start, a new start.

Robby and I are both starting another year here. Sunday will be the moving pastors’ first Sundays in their new appointments. In light of all of that, I want to start a 6 week series this week, in the traditional service that looks at these opportunities, and how we take advantage of them. I’ll start Sunday, talking about a New Start. Then, building on the imagery of building a highway, I want us to look at how we are called to build highways into peoples’ lives for Christ, what exactly does that require of us? And how do we get beyond the barriers in our life to grow in our own relationship with God.

In the series, I’ll be sharing about a season in which I felt like there was a wall between me and God. I still knew He was there. I still heard the voice, but I wasn’t experiencing the intimacy I had. I wasn’t content to stay in that situation, and I told God that. I asked Him to help me tear down the wall. All of our spiritual walks are like roller coaster rides – there are all kinds of ups and downs. What we want is for the ups to outweigh the downs, and the trend to be, that we are growing closer to God. If you are in one of those downhill stretches in your relationship, or you just feel like you are coasting along on a level rail, ask God to help you use this time as a new start in your life, and help you start growing in that relationship with Him again!

In Christ, Chip

WORSHIP SCHEDULE - SUNDAY, JUNE 28, 2020

11:00am: Traditional Worship Rev. Chip Grantham

10:50am: Contemporary Worship Rev. Robby Paulk

(Service will be Live Streamed on the Church Webpage, Facebook and Youtube)

Text to Give TFUMC Give $(any dollar

amount) to 73256 Standard text message rates do

apply.

Ways to Give

Give Online At

www.tiftonfumc.org/giving

Mail a check to Tifton First United Methodist

Church 107 12th Street W. Tifton, GA 31794

Christian Love and Sympathy is extended to:

Tryon and Sandra Spearman and family in the death of his niece, Carmie Bush of Smyrna, GA. Tryon and Sandra Spearman and family in the death of his aunt, Jimmie Lee Morris, of Ames, Iowa.

Peggy Royce in the death of her son, Francis “Art” Royce, Jr. and John & Debbie Ehlers in the death of her step-brother and Wes & Erica Ehlers and Keith & Jennifer (Ehlers) Gosse in the death of their uncle.

ALTAR FLOWERS: The flowers on the altar are placed in loving memory of my brother, J. Hugh Gordon, and my mother, Melba S. Gordon, for the occasion of their birthdays on June 27 and June 29 by Jane Gordon Lucker.

Day 1: Look in The Mirror (Read Amos 1:3-2:16)

“Judgement against Damascus? Good, we don’t like them. Gaza and Tyre are worse. Edomites, Ammonites, and Moabites all stink too and they deserve what they get because they were cruel to us. Judah? Those self-righteous Southerners are going to get it too. Yeah, you go God! Judge those awful nations. What’s that? There’s another nation on your list and it’s Israel? Your going to judge us too? Uh-oh!”

If you were to follow Amos’ list of nations on a map with your finger tip. It would circle around in a descending spiral that ends right at Israel. Amos’ home and the audience of his prophecies. They were doing great. They had won some wars. The economy was up. They had some political stability. They had some really nice temples with really awesome worship services. Why was God so angry?

If you look at the list of all those other nations that are being judged you will see their crimes are for violence during and after war. They pushed their military conquests just a little too far. Judah and Israel are different. They are the two kingdoms that remained after the split of the nation during the reign of Rehoboam, Solomon’s son. Judah rejected the law of God. Israel had fallen into gross immorality, rejected God, rejected his prophets, and were oppressing the poor which God viewed as worse than the war crimes of all the other nations. The way this list is set up is that it takes Israel around the map, slowly building up their self-righteous pride, and then blows it up in their face right on their doorstep. They think they are really awesome, but God is about slap them in the face with how not awesome they are. He is about to force them into some serious self-critique.

It makes me wonder, do we realize that any righteousness we might have is not our own? I’m not saying in any way that we are as bad as the sins in this list of nations, but do we also recognize that we are sinners. If it were not for grace and the righteousness of Jesus we would have no innocence to claim before the judgement throne. Do we take the time to pray as we were taught to pray, “forgive us our trespasses…?” The Israelite people of Amos’ day were unwilling to admit that they had drifted so far from God that their religion was unrecognizable to Him. Confession protects us from getting that far. It not only makes us aware of where we are drifting from the narrow path of righteousness, but it also turns our attention back to the God of grace who sanctifies us. If you don’t already, begin adding confession and repentance to your daily prayer life.

Day 2: You Can’t Claim Ignorance (Read Amos 3:1-8)

Israel was not the same as all the other nations. They had a great calling that no other nation had. God specifically picked them to shine His glory into the world and to be the messengers that taught the world of the redemption plan God was working out. This special calling came with the major responsibility. They were the caretakers of God’s word. They were to be the priests who interceded on behalf of the nations, taught the nations, and led in worship. This was something every generation since Abraham was aware of and something they took pride in. God had appointed kings, priests, and prophets for Israel to lead them in this great calling. That’s why God called them out in this passage, basically saying, “You can’t claim you didn’t know.”

Neither can we. If your reading this then you probably are not a person who is completely unchurched. You have heard and believed the Gospel. You have presented yourself as a follower of Christ. If you have been baptized, then you have been initiated in the “royal priesthood and holy kingdom.” (1 Peter 2:9) You are now a caretaker of the greatest news every told. You hold the keys to salvation and you are called to use them to open the gates of the kingdom to others. It is not something any of us can claim, we didn’t know. So what are you doing to live into this great call and responsibility? Remember spectator, pew sitter, and dollar-in-the-plate-er are not ways that calling is fulfilled.

Day 3: I Tried... (Read Amos 4:6-12)

God tried really hard to avoid sending judgment on Israel. He sent prophet after prophet which they rejected or killed. He sent calamity after calamity hoping that they would call out to Him so that they would have the opportunity to win their hearts back. After generations of trying, it was time for God to enact the covenant curses.

I’ve bet you’ve heard of the covenant promise. The promise to be our God, to bless and protect us. The covenant also comes with curses. For the Mosaic covenant, the promise was land and blessing. The curse was removal and exile. In the New Covenant, the promise is forgiveness of sin and resurrection to eternal life. The curse is resurrection to judgment and eternal death. (Of course I am oversimplifying the details of both covenants for the sake of space, but you get the idea.)

Israel was living as if since they were the chosen, nothing could happen to them. I think we get that way too. We have a tendency, because we are human, to think that since we’ve been baptized and put our name on the role. Since we pay our offering and show up to worship, that God is now irrevocably and eternally obligated to us. However, the covenant requires more of us. It requires holiness and righteousness. It requires that we be different from the world in our motivations and in the way we interact with every other person in the world. The covenant cannot just be signed onto, but it must be lived into. Failure to do so is a failure to live up to the covenant terms. The covenant comes from the goodness of God, but the goodness of God requires that He hold those who would reject His covenant accountable. The New Testament letters are full of encouragement to actively pursue holiness and righteousness as our response to the gracious covenant that is freely given to us. What are you doing to actively pursue holiness and righteousness in your life?

Day 4: Seek Him, Do Good, And Live (Read Amos 5:4-15, 18-24)

If religious observance was the requirement of salvation, Israel had it. They had large temple complexes at Dan and Bethel. There were also holy sites in places like Beersheba and Gigal. They worshipped the LORD (YHWH) in this places along with pagan gods of fertility, harvest, weather, and stuff like that. They probably worshipped the LORD as the chief god and gave Him His own statue there with all the other idols. We know the true worship of God requires that He be the only God we worship, not just the chief of many gods.

However, even if He is the only God we worship, proper religious practice is not enough. Twice in this chapter of Amos, God says “seek me and live.” Once in the same passage He says, “Seek good...and live.” All through today’s readings He gives example after example of the unholy, unrighteous culture of the day. The poor are oppressed and no one is speaking up for them. Wealth has become the driving force of most people and there is no concern for real justice or righteousness. Here in the original Hebrew, righteousness is talking about being in right relationship with God and others and justice meaning the concrete actions we take to right the wrongs and restore those right relationships. Having life means being in relationship with the Giver of Life and having that relationship motivates us to be in right relationship with others. In other words, seeking life motivates us not only to seek God, but to do good.

We could easily speak this same call to repentance to our own culture today. We could say don’t turn to Washington, Atlanta, or Hollywood, but seek God and live. People of all demographics are oppressed. Wealth reigns without mercy. People live in fear and loneliness. “Seek good and not evil, that you may live...let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” (ESV) List ways that we are seeking the LORD. List the ways we are doing good. Where can we do better?

Day 5: On That Day... (Read Amos 8:7-14, 9:11-15, Mark 15:25-39, Matthew 27:50-53)

On that terrible day of judgement all sin will be remembered and answered for. The sky will turn dark at noon and the earth will quake. The real presence of God will be cut off and the people who were created to be in His presence will hunger and thirst for just a single word from Him. If you know your Bible history then you know that 40 years after Amos the Assyrian empire conquered the Northern kingdom of Israel and those ten tribes would be lost to history. You would also know that between the Old and New Testaments are about 400 years of silence. 400 years of no prophets, signs, or wonders. Not a single word from God.

Then in a little town called Bethlehem probably in the summer of about 2 B.C. by our calendars, a baby was born. The Day of the LORD began. Days with God seem to take a while because on that day, that baby became a man. On that day, the sins of humanity were remembered and judged by execution on a cross. On that day, the sky turned dark at noon and the earth trembled. On that day the house of David was restored as his heir was crowned as King of the Jews. In Him our fortunes were restored. In Him we are planted, never to be uprooted again. Praise to be God that the Day of the LORD is upon us. Rejoice in that today.

The Book of Amos

The prophet Amos is ministering to a wealthy nation that has seem some recent prosperity. They have gotten the idea that all of it was because of their own strength and will power, and they have forgotten they are God’s chosen. His rebukes could apply to most of Western Christian culture. Amos calls on us to remember the source of our blessings and that the appropriate response to blessing. That response is singleness of devotion to our God. It is a response of holiness, justice, and righteousness. Let’s take a few days with Amos and heed His call to “seek the LORD and live.” - Pastor Robby