Sunday Morning Worship Times:

8:30 Casual & Informal - Family Life Center

11:00 Traditional - Sanctuary

Sunday School: 9:45 

"The Gathering"

meets the Last Saturday of every month

from 5pm to 6pm in our Family Life Center.

Our Mission:

To make new disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

A MESSAGE FROM PASTOR JASON:

                   “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him?” (Matthew 7:7-11 – ESV) My kids ask me for stuff all the time. That’s what they do. And that’s okay. I really don’t mind most of the time. That’s just sort of the nature of our relationship at this stage. They’re my children, and they still live in the household that their mother and I run. So, in large measure, we provide, and they receive. Although, thankfully, they’ve reached ages where they’ve begun to contribute through various chores and duties. One of them is even learning how to drive, and I’m looking forward to how that’s going to help on the next family road trip. It’s not like I give them everything they ask for, however. Sometimes their mother and I say “no” to their requests, and it’s usually based on one of two criteria: 1. We don’t have the means to provide for what they are asking, or 2. It’s not going to be good for them. There are occasionally other factors like timing or that there’s another plan in place, and whatever they’re asking for doesn’t fit the plan, but even that could be considered a variation of the key criteria. From the perspective of the child, it doesn’t always seem like mom and dad, or grandma and grandpa, the teachers, or some other adult provider, has those interests in mind. From a kid’s viewpoint, sometimes it just seems like the grown-up just doesn’t want to let the kid have any fun. But as any parent knows, it feels good to be able to provide a blessing for our children. Granted, there are some unusually mean or dysfunctional parents out there that seem to delight in denying their children, but most of us parents enjoy giving our children good things. Jesus pointed out that this is true, even though we are evil (sinners who need God’s grace). Despite the fact that there is evil in our hearts, we have been wired with the desire to do good things for our kids. How much more, Jesus continues, does our perfectly good Father in heaven desire to give us good things. We just need to ask. Of course, sometimes, like little kids, the things we would ask for might actually harm us, but it’s not like God has to live on a limited budget. He has the ability to provide for his children anything they ask, provided it’s something good that fits within his plan. Having just completed the Healthy Church Initiative weekend consultation process, we at First United Methodist Church of Burnet are facing a challenging time ahead. The recommendations that we’re supposed to prayerfully consider this month will stretch us and move us outside of our comfort-zones. Some of them may require significant financial commitments. I’ve already heard lots of questions and concerns, including the ever-familiar, “How are we going to pay for it?” At this point, no-one can line out every detail of how things are going to play out, particularly, since much of what we are going to do is ask ourselves questions for which we do not yet have the answers. We won’t know until we really get in and start taking a look at things. It’s a process that will, over time, reveal the next steps forward. In the meantime, we could paralyze ourselves with the “what-if’s” or lose sight of the big picture in the forest of details. There’s a more important question we need to ask: Is this where God wants us to go? or Is this what God wants us to do? In other words, is this a good thing? If the journey upon which we are about to embark is a God-directed journey, and we don’t have what we need in order to get there, why wouldn’t we ask for God to provide? If we’re asking our heavenly Father for something good, why would we expect Him to hand us a rock or a snake? Personally, I am convinced that God is leading us in this new direction, and that God wants to provide good things, but I also believe He wants us to turn to Him and ask for him to provide bread for the journey. So, please join me in asking God to provide, and if God is calling you to be the answer to prayer in some way, please don’t obstruct his will. In Jesus’ name, Amen.