Quick-Step Guide (PDF) for setting up your account and making your first donation.

 

Thank you for giving to McCormick United Methodist Church. Your gifts enable us to fulfill our mission of “Reaching Up and Reaching Out”.

 

from Rev. C. Nels Ledwell

 

I am continuing with my articles on the basic creeds and the theology of our Church as Wesleyan Methodists. This Week I will address the subject of Christology.

 

The Creed from Chalcedon

 

We, then, following the holy fathers, all with one consent teach men to confess one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the same perfect in Godhead and also perfect in manhood; truly God and truly man, of a rational soul and body;

 

Note: The Chalcedonian Definition is a declaration of Christ’s nature, adopted at the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451. Chalcedon was an early centre of Christianity located in Asia Minor. The council was the fourth of the Ecumenical Councils that are accepted by Chalcedonian churches which include the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, the Anglican Communion and most Protestant churches. It was the first council not to be recognised by any Oriental Orthodox church; for this reason these churches may be classified as Non-Chalcedonian.Now, more than ever, we need to face the question, “Who is the real Jesus?” Is the Christ of faith the Jesus of history? What is the truth about Jesus? What can we believe? We turn to the Apostles’ Creed which has given the church’s answer for 2,000 years.

 

John R Brokoff, explains the debate and the result of the Council of Chalcedon well.

 

There were different positions

 

It is not strange that the most popular question of our time is, “Who is Jesus?” Was this question not answered in Matthew 16:16 when Peter said to Jesus at Caesarea Philippi: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God”? In Jesus’ day, too, there were different opinions about Jesus. When on a retreat with his disciples, he asked them what people were saying about him. The public was divided: Jesus was considered to be John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. What more of an answer do we need than the answer of Peter? Jesus accepted his answer as the truth, for he said, “Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven” (Matthew 16:17). Yet, after twenty centuries, we do not believe what Peter said about the identity of Jesus. According to a Gallup poll, 42 percent of Americans agreed with the statement: “Jesus is the Son of God.” A recent report from Germany indicated that only one out of every four believe in Jesus Christ. Throughout Christian history down to the present, there are different views of Jesus. Now let us look at some of them.

 

1. The All-Human Jesus

 

Human

 

According to this position, Jesus is 100 percent human. It was held as early as the first centuries of Christianity by the Ebionites. They denied that Jesus was divine. He was only a teacher, prophet, miracle-man, and one with an outstanding character. But he was not divine, the Son of God. Today this view is held by many, including atheists, agnostics, Unitarians, Jews, Moslems, and other non-Christian religions.

 

2. The All-Divine Jesus

 

Divine

 

Opposite the Ebionites, Docetists held that Jesus was entirely divine. He was not at all human. This view was originally taught by Eutychus, a monk in a monastery near Constantinople. In the fourth century, Appolonarius, bishop of Laodicea, popularized the teaching. It was known as Docetism, from the Latin word docere meaning “to seem.” It just seemed that Jesus was human. It was based on the idea that the physical and material were inherently evil. The human body therefore was sinful. Jesus therefore was not human, for God could not be identified with sin. Docetists held that Jesus’ human nature was swallowed up by the divine. This denied the Incarnation, the biblical teaching that “the Word became flesh.”

 

3. The Half And Half Jesus

 

Human/Divine

 

Nestorians took the view that Jesus was half human and half divine. It was taught by Nestorius, bishop of Constantinople, in the fifth century. To this day it is a very popular understanding of Jesus. When we see Jesus hungry, thirsty, and tired, we say it was because he was human. When he struggles in prayer and on the cross cries out, “My God, why …?” we see the human Jesus. On the other hand, Jesus is God when he walks on water, feeds 5,000, raises the dead, heals lepers, and rises from the grave. The problem with this view is that we have a divided Jesus — two persons in one body.

 

4. The Adopted Jesus

 

Divine

 

Human

 

This is known as adoptionism. According to this position, Jesus came into the world as a human. Because of his moral excellence, his perfect obedience to God, his wisdom, his compassion for people, and his willing sacrifice of himself on the cross, the Father adopted him as his son at his baptism. This adoption was confirmed by the resurrection and the ascension. Jesus then became a deified man.

 

5. The Both And Jesus

 

Human & Divine

 

The above different positions concerning Jesus caused great concern, for the gospel was at stake. If Jesus were only human, then he was just a martyr on the cross and not the Lamb that took away the sin of the world. If he were only human, the resurrection was a fairy tale. His promises of forgiveness and eternal life were meaningless. His claims to know God and to be one with God would then be the words of a religious fanatic who was deluded into thinking he was the Son of God.

 

On the other hand, if Jesus were only divine and not human, humanity would be the loser. Because he was human, he became one of us. As a human, he fulfilled the law for us. Through his humanity we could see the nature of God. Above all, he became sin for us so that sin, through him, could go out of the world. As a human Jesus knows our human condition. Like all of us he was tempted and he showed that by the power of God we can overcome temptation to sin.

 

Consequently, the church had to take a stand on the question of Jesus. Is he only human, only divine, or half and half? In 451 A.D. the church held a council at Chalcedon to decide the issue. The church decided that it was not a matter of Jesus being fully God or fully human, or half and half, but it was a matter of both, both fully human and fully divine. To this day the church holds to this truth stated at Chalcedon:

 

We confess one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, perfect in manhood, truly God and truly man, or a rational soul and a body, of one substance with the Father with respect to the Godhead, and of one substance with us in respect of the manhood, like us in everything but sin …

 

This is to say that Jesus is fully God and fully man. These two natures are blended into one integrated personality. He is not a split personality, nor does he suffer from schizophrenia. It is like a blender in your kitchen. Suppose you put apples, peaches, and pears in it and pushed the “on” button for a minute. Now what do you have — apples, peaches, and pears? Yes, you do, but can you tell which is which? They have become one fruit, one substance. Also, it is like homogenized milk. When the raw milk comes from the farm, a dairy runs it through a homogenizer. As the milk runs through the machine, pistons compact the milk so that the cream and skim milk are made one. As a result you cannot take cream off the milk. In the same way, the human and divine natures of Jesus are compacted into one integrated person.

 

This means that the Father and the Son are one. When Jesus prays, God also prays. When the human Jesus suffers and dies on a cross, God is in Jesus enduring the cross. “God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself” (2 Corinthians 5:19). When the human Jesus speaks, it is also God who speaks. When Jesus weeps, God weeps. This truth makes us realize the seriousness of the cross. It was not only a human on the cross, but God was there in Jesus. Good Friday is the day God died in Jesus. Indeed, the murderers did not know what they were doing; they did not know they were killing God! As the spiritual says, “Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.”

 

As Wesleyan Methodist, we believe Jesus was fully human and fully divine.

 

See you in Church or online this Sunday.

 

Your Pastor,
Nels

 

Fourth Sunday After Pentecost

Scripture Lesson: Romans 6: 1b-11

Reference Texts: Matthew 10: 26-32, 39

 

Jessica delivered her friend John Mark McQuown’s prayer quilt to him on Saturday, June 17. Before going to John Mark, the quilt spent a little time at the Burton Center where John Mark’s friends and staff there had the chance to tie knots and pray for him. His sisters, Mary Margaret and Kathleen, expressed their appreciation to our Church Family, and especially to the Prayers & Squares Small Group, for this beautiful expression of love and support. The frogs and music notes on the quilt were most appropriate as John Mark’s grandmother had quite an assortment of frog collectibles – and music notes represent his more than 35 years in the choir at First Presbyterian Church in Greenwood! They appreciate your continued prayers for John Mark and his family!

 

 

The Girl Scout troop that meets in our facilities left this wonderful “Thank You” banner in our fellowship hall.

 

Kindness that is passed on to others is like sharing God’s Love with one another – as the song says: “we want to pass it on!” That is just what Lindy Stahlman did this week when she received the message below from Tom Urban. She shared it! And, as a result, we get to hear a powerful contemporary Christian song by New Song entitled Defining Moment. Like me, I think you will be excited to know that Lindy hopes to incorporate this song into our summer worship services – Yay!!!

 

Tom’s Message to Lindy is as follows: Hi Lindy, I sense you like contemporary Christian music. So, a story – I raised my 4 children across the river in a community called Plantation Point in Lincolnton, GA. Every year, I would take my children and youth from our church to Winter Jam in Augusta hosted by New Song. There were usually about 5 bands and the “headliners” were groups like Toby Mac who I did not care for but the children loved. Anyway – generation gap. But I loved New Song. Their instrumentational talent was phenomenal. Thank you, Tom and Lindy! To listen to the inspiring words of Defining Moment, please click the link below. In case you prefer to read the beautiful lyrics, you will find them printed below also.

 

 

 

 

 

CHORUS
When you believe He’s all you need, that will be your defining moment.
As you live your life walking in His light, trusting Him completely,
that will be, that will be your defining moment.

 

All I have, all I am, is resting in his promise-the promise that he’ll make me everything that I should be.
I will live, I will die, for the cause he set before me- to take this love inside my heart for all the world to see.
All of heaven celebrates when they hear someone say-“I am yours, Lord, take my hand and lead the way” (Chorus)

 

 

Praise God for our “defining moment” in His Son Jesus who keeps us aware of His grace and mercy through examples like this week’s Kindness entry: We were unloading our very full cart in the grocery parking lot, when a young woman came up and asked if she could help. Since there was a case of 24 cans of coconut water in the bottom of the cart we gratefully accepted her offer. She then asked if there was anything else which we refused and thanked her. As soon as she was gone, I remarked that we should be ashamed of ourselves. We had seen this girl earlier and remarked not very kindly about all the piercings on her face. “Judge not, or you too will be judged.” Matthew 7:1 Lesson learned!

 

 

1) Be a blessing to others by sharing your Act of Kindness (no names please) on our website, or use this link! Then check back each week to learn how others are passing on acts of kindness! The link is https://www.mccormickmc.org/acts-of-kindness

 

2) There is a Kindness box in the library on the window sill, along with paper and pencil. Share your God-Wink, perhaps someone else will be inspired!

 

If you are experiencing any type of difficulty and you need someone to listen to you, with whom you can share your feelings and receive acceptance and Christian love, please consider being in a relationship with a Stephen Minister at MUMC.

 

If you would like to take advantage of the ‘presence’ of a Stephen Minister, start by calling Pastor Nels or one of the Stephen Leaders thru the church office at (864) 852-2394.

 

Plenty of room for volunteers to host! You can ask a partner to join you as host. Goodies do not have to be home-made, store-bought are just fine! There is a sign-up sheet in the Fellowship Hall, Also, if you have not done it before, Carol Myers would be happy to work with you!

 

The Congregational Care Committee wants you to know they are there to help you if you ever need transportation, meals or a visitor! Please contact Kim Jackson if you or someone you know needs help or if you would like to be added to the list of volunteers.

 

 

 

Plans are underway for our yearly Craft Show and Cookie Factory to be held on Saturday, Oct 7 (9am to 2pm).

 

There will be a steering committee meeting on Tuesday, June 20 at 6:30pm and everyone is invited!

 

We will discuss what needs to be done and “divvy up” the jobs. We’d love to have more join the steering committee, so if you are interested, please come to the meeting on June 20! If you are interested in being on the committee, but cannot attend the meeting or you have any questions, please contact Barb Shelley.

 

 

“The Chosen” Bible Study began on Monday. It is not too late to join us!

 

We will gather together for dinner each Monday during the study, then view an episode of The Chosen. After each episode we will break into small groups and study the scripture from that particular episode. All are welcome to attend! The study begins June 5th and runs until July 31st. We will not meet on July 3rd.

 

For those who haven’t seen season 1 yet, a link to the series is provided below. It’s free to watch and you’re encouraged to “Binge Jesus” although, you don’t have to have watched season 1 to attend the study but we’re sure you’ll go back to watch it after you’ve seen season 2!

 

Sign up sheets will be in Fellowship Hall at the church or you can email Kim Jackson.

 

The Chosen – click this link for The Chosen then select season 1 from the drop down menu.

 

Fabulous Fun Sisters in Faith Retreat—1st EVER/Education Committee & Maxine Dunn

 

Our retreat foundation is based on Mark 6:31 “Let us go off by ourselves to some place where we will be alone, and you can rest a while”. Well, ok Hickory Knob isn’t in the wilderness, it’s just across the street, but how many of us take the time to relax and just enjoy ourselves with our Christian sisters? Thinking it would be fun to re-group and get to know one another…let the fun begin!!

 

The retreat (details forthcoming in another BLAST) will be Friday night August 4th and Saturday August 5th. The rooms are for one night only and are double occupancy, so grab a roomy or just sign up and be surprised!

 

What you need to do now is check your calendar, if you’re available write a commitment check to McCormick United Methodist Church for $25 and put EDUCATION COMMITTEE on it. This is holding your half of a room, the park is crowded in the summer and if we don’t fill the rooms we’ll need to give them back.

 

Activities will be Friday night and Saturday morning through lunch. Details will be worked out as we find out how many women will be involved.

 

Those women who would like to join us for Saturday morning activities only please call one of us and let us know you’re interested so we can plan. All are welcome and you can be a part of the program, or a participant! Let the Holy Spirit direct you!!!

 

Questions? Please call Maxine Dunn, or Kim Jackson or Wendy Kvale.

 

Alpha is an 8 week course designed to create a space for honest conversation around some of life’s biggest questions. It is designed to provide guests, churched and unchurched, an opportunity to connect with one another while providing the opportunity to share thoughts, ideas, and opinions in a safe and caring environment. Alpha helps bring people together while providing the chance to encounter Jesus.

 

Each week consists of a meal together, viewing a video taped talk and then breaking into small discussion groups. You will hear more about the program in the weeks to come. Please start to think and pray for those you would like to invite who may not yet know Jesus. Both Rich and Kim Jackson attended the Alpha Course in 2010, feel free to ask them any questions you may have.

 

The Alpha Course will be offered to our church and community beginning September 10, 2023 at 5:30 pm.

 

Sign up sheets will be in Fellowship Hall.

 

 

 

Mark your calendars… Sept 24 at 10am.. service, followed by picnic at Baker Creek!

 

More details when we get closer.