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Announcements Plus Devotional Aids

HAPPY 250TH BIRTHDAY, USA! Thanks be to God!

Let's Learn a Bible Verse!

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God."
--2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NIV)

November Newsletter is now online.

calendar icon Link to Ebenezer UMC's Calendar of Events

Click on calendar icon to link to Ebenezer's Google calendar.

 

 

Contents

Announcements

EMW Country Store, Nov. 14th

Our women's group is having their annual Country Store sale with breakfast biscuits and hamburgers and hotdogs for sale, too on Saturday, November 14th, 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Come, eat, and find a gently used item that is still useful including household goods, home decor, books, toys, and crafts, and much more. There will also be baked goods for sale for your holiday meals this year or anytime.

Veterans Day Dinner, Nov. 7th

We will be serving a free meal, 5-7:00 p.m. to our local veterans and their spouses in honor of their service fo our country. There will be a brief program honoring our veterans during the meal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trunk 'R Treat, Oct. 31, 5-7 PM

Let your friends and family know that their children can enjoy a safe Halloween at our Trunk 'R Treat this Saturday, October 31st, 5-7:00 p.m. Our members will be giving out free candy from their car trunks and truck beds decorated with all kinds of fall season and spooky things. You can also have a free hot dog with all the fixings, brownies, cookies, and beverage included.

Sleep that extra hour on Sunday morning as time is moved back one hour. Then join us at our worship service at 9:00 a.m. and Sunday school at 10:15 a.m. God's love to all.

 

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Quote to Ponder

It is only by believing in God that we can criticize the Government. Once abolish God, and the Government becomes God. The truth is that irreligion is the opium of the people. Wherever the people do not believe in something beyond the world, they will worship the world. But, above all, they worship the strongest thing in the world.

--G. K. Chesterton. Christendom In Dublin

 

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For Meditation

"Many of us live in a media-inspired, AI/hi-tech, feelings-culture that has led to the gradual closing of the mind in the 21st century. For many, especially atheists and happy-clappy, kumbaya Christians, the world revolves around the Self and what feels good. And as for some people who call themselves Christian but err on dogma, I’ll leave the last words to St Augustine of Hippo. He said: “If you believe what you like in the Gospel, and reject what you don’t like, it is not the Gospel you believe in, but yourself.”

Kenneth Francis.

https://mindmatters.ai/2026/05/understanding-the-atheists-mind/

 

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Mini-Bible Lesson #106: Amen, Amen

Source: Bible Made Simple: The Word “Amen” – the truth most people missed (on Youtube).

A simple looking word, but full of meaning you may have missed despite using it throughout your life. This word is not an English word. It is a Hebrew word that was never translated, because it carries meaning that no word in any other language can carry fully. It comes from the Hebrew root AMAN which means to be firm, to be established, to be sure, to be reliable, to be faithful. It affirms something that does not shift or waver. It is something that you can put your full weight on and it will hold. From the same root, the Hebrew word EMUNAH is translated as FAITH.

Faith in the Hebrew mind was not a feeling or spiritual sensation. “It was a settled confidence in something that was proven to be reliable.” God’s record is consistent throughout history. The Hebrews, later Israelites, use it to affirm their belief in God’s reliability, actually in their experience that he was reliable, consistent, and true. It is a covenant word that affirms God’s character and the person’s willingness to rely upon God’s promises and remain true to God.

The first occurrence in the Old Testament is in Numbers 5:11-31 where it is used in a legal ceremony. A man accuses his wife of unfaithfulness. A priest speaks a curse over her, and the women uses the word, “Amen” to affirm that the curse will come to pass if she is lying about being faithful (vs. 19-22). Her double “Amen” sometimes translated as “Amen. So be it” is not redundancy, but intensity. She is saying that it is established by God and will surely come to pass if she is lying. The next occurrence is in Deuteronomy 27:9-26 where Moses reads off a list of curses that will fall on anyone who breaks God’s commandments, and the whole nation, in unity, shows their agreement and resolve to obey God’s laws by saying, “Amen” at the end of each curse. This is covenant and legally binding language. Double “Amens” are used at the end of Psalms 41, 72, 89, and 106 to affirm statements about the LORD, the God of Israel. It appears across the whole Old Testament. It is not just a formula or ritual word. It anchors, declares, and affirms that “this is true.”

Then comes Jesus who uses the word in a way no scribe, rabbi, or prophet ever did. He begins some of his most radical declarations with “Amen. Amen.” This is translated as “Verily, Verily” or “Truly, I say to you.” Before “Amen” was always a response or confirmation of a statement. But Jesus was saying that what he was about to say was already confirmed—because he was the confirmation! Jesus points to himself as the authority. This is why people were astonished by his teaching. “Before Abraham was I AM.” He was affirming that he is God.

In Revelation in his letter to the church of Laodicea, Christ introduces himself as the “Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation.” (Rev. 3:14) The one that this word, “Amen,” has always been pointing to is Christ who is always faithful and true.

For no matter how many promises God made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.  –2 Corinthians 1:20.

When we say “Amen,” we are agreeing with everything Christ said and did (including what God has said in the Old Testament). We are standing firm on the ground of his promises, his faithfulness, his truthfulness. All God’s promises are fulfilled in Christ from Genesis 1:1 to what has been predicted after he returns to set all things right.

When a congregation says “Amen” they are affirming what was said about God for God by the speaker. When you pray and say “Amen,” pause and consider what that word means. It is your declaration that you affirm that God will act even though you cannot see the end result yet. You are agreeing that God is true and faithful and can be trusted. It is not a statement about yourself, but an affirmation that God is who he is and his promises hold and are true, firm, faithful, and established. Amen and Amen.

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Special Resources

The picture below is our new Resource Room with books, dvds, videos, and a TV screen (not shown in photo). Individuals are encouraged to take resources home for Bible study or reading; and classes can use the room to show videos related to their studies. We would appreciate donations of books or dvds, especially for young children for this collection.

 

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Ongoing Collections - Updated - 8/5/2025

CCC & TI Food Pantry Collection - Yearly in April

Throughout the month of April, we will be collecting single serve, microwaveable or ready-to-eat items for students at Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute. Suggested items: single serve Ramen Noodles, macaroni and cheese, crackers with cheese or peanut butter, cookies, single serve canned meats, etc.

Oakhill Backpack Ministry

We are beginning to collect single serve, easy to microwave or use food items to send home with needy children, such as, fruit cups, mac and cheese, snacks, noodles, etc. The children will receive a backpack of these items to take home on the weekends, and use for themselves and their families. Put the items in the old fellowship hall. We thank you for helping.

Local Schools Supply Closet

We continue to collect items for our local teachers.This ministry provides items for teachers and their students that they cannot obtain through the regular budget.

They include the following: Clorox wipes, hand sanitizer, hand soap, paper towels, facial tissues, sharpies, dry board markers highlighters, black/blue/red ink pens, colored pencils, glue sticks, composition books and notebook paper (wide and college ruled), crayons, scissors (children's type), index cards, construction paper, pencil sharpeners, sheet protectors, file folders, large and small legal pads, white out, paper clips, staples, pencil pouches, markers, rulers, ring binders, card stock white/assorted, 3 ring note books, large and small pencil top erasers, and post it notes.

South Caldwell Christian Ministries

August is our month to help resupply the SCCM Food Pantry. Canned meats and vegetables, rice and cereral, canned beans, soups, canned fruits, Instant Variety Packs of oatmeal or grits, peanut butter, crackers, and other non-perishable items.

We are collecting non-perishable food and clean used clothing in good condition that will be taken to South Caldwell Christian Ministries. You may leave the items at the church on Sundays or during normal office hours (8:30 to 1:00 p.m., Monday-Friday).

We thank you for helping us to minister to the needs of our community.

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Contact Information: 828-396-2214 or emcdudleyshoals@yahoo.com;
4948 Burns Rd., Granite Falls NC 28630