Thumb Church Directory 2019

THUMB CHURCH

Directory

Your Guide to Local Places of Worship & Services

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Lighthouse Assembly of God 8960 Section Line Road Harbor Beach, MI 48441 989-479-9146

Simplicity W

office@hblighthouse.org Pastor Al Titus Sunday School for all ages: 9:15am Worship Service: 10:30am www.hblighthouse.org

First Presbyterian Church-Kinde 4956 Diem St. Kinde, MI 48445 989-874-4636 Worship Service: 9am

Holy Name of Mary Parish

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“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.”

1 Timothy 6:6-8 NIV

hen reduced to its bare elements, life is really quite simple, and yet we often make it complicated. We need food and water to live, and not much more, other than perhaps a roof over our head and a few items of clothing. Have you ever looked around your house and asked of everything there whether you could live without it? Most of us could probably get rid of ninety percent of the stuff in our house and be just fine without it. In fact, we might find a huge burden lifted from us by giving it all away. As Mother Teresa said, “The less we have, the more we can give. The more we have, the less we give. There are no

complications, and yet we complicate our lives so much, by so many additions.” Likewise, in the ethical and spiritual realm, we tend to complicate things, when it’s really quite simple: love God and love your neighbor.

We sometimes use the word “simple” pejoratively, suggesting that someone who is simple is a bit dull, but perhaps we fail to realize that even the “simplest” among us can fulfill the requirements of being a good and godly person. And it may be that there is a special place in God’s heart for these simple souls.

- Christopher Simon

Our Lady of Lake Huron Church 405 S. First Street Harbor Beach & St. Anthony Church 8239 Helena Road, Harbor Beach 989-479-3393 Fr. George Amos

First Baptist Church of Bad Axe Pastor Ken MacGillivray 120 N. Outer Dr Bad Axe, MI 48413 989-269-7519 office@fbcbadaxe.org

Bad Axe First United Methodist Church Making Disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

216 East Woodworth • Bad Axe, MI 48413 • Phone: (989) 269-7671

SUNDAY SCHEDULE

Sunday School: 10am

Worship: 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. Services Sunday School: 9:00 a.m. (4-year old thru 8th grade classes) Youth Group: 5:00 p.m. – 7 p.m. (9th thru 12th grade)

Worship Service: 11am

Follow us on Facebook. www.badaxefumc.org We are on the radio every Sunday on WLEW 1340 AM for the 10:00 service.

Pastor Phil Tousley, pastorphil@live.com

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Matthew 6:21 NIV

Where Is Your Heart?

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f your heart and mind are focused on worldly matters, you will not hear the word of God. The things of this world are noisy and glaring, and will deafen and blind you to the soft and subtle urgings of the spirit.

God rarely shouts, but rather speaks in a whisper, and His voice is easily drowned out by worldly concerns. Put aside those worldly concerns, at least temporarily each day, and take some quiet time to simply commune with God in silence. While doing this, try to quiet your mind, and stop thinking about anything. Just be there, alone with God. When you are done with this meditative silence, try to take it with you back into the world.

You may have to be in the world and attend to worldly affairs—all of us have bills to pay and things to do—but you can be in the world and attend to your affairs with a heart that is given to God. In this way, our interactions with others will express a heart devoted to God. It will come through in your smile, and in your eyes, and in your gentle way of being in the world.

– Christopher Simon

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The God Within Us

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e are sometimes capable of doing things that, realistically, we shouldn’t be able to do. Stories of people lifting cars off of people trapped underneath, or otherwise going beyond the limits of human ability or endurance are welldocumented. The phenomenon of “second wind” is known to every endurance athlete, where seemingly out of nowhere, an untapped reserve of energy becomes available, and the athlete who was slowing down now has a burst of energy. There are also times when it just feels as if we are possessed by some external (or perhaps internal) force.

Athletes and actors can be so lost in their performance that they are scarcely aware of what they are doing, just as writers sometimes say they feel that some outside force is directing their thoughts. The word “enthusiasm” is interesting in this regard; its origin is the Greek word “entheos,” meaning possessed, or literally, having

220 N. Main Street

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Elkton, MI

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989-375-2597

Sunday School 9:45 a.m. - classes for all ages

Morning Worship a god within us. When we are enthusiastic, it is as if there is a god or spirit within us. Most religions have some notion that God has breathed His spirit into us. Christianity makes much of this notion, and it is worth reflecting on the myriad ways in which the God within us affects our lives, allowing us to do things which we would otherwise be incapable of, or in our conscience, which is the voice of God within us, or simply by inspiring us to live a more spirit-filled life.

– Christopher Simon

10:45 a.m.

Awana Kids Program Sunday Nights: 5:30 p.m.

Adult Study Sunday Nights: 5:30 p.m.

Prayer Meeting Wednesday Night: 7:00 p.m.

Youth Group Thursday Night 6:00 p.m.

Men’s Breakfast and study 7:30 a.m. first Saturday of each month (call church to confirm)

Our Natural Home

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he British naturalist and journalist Michael McCarthy writes about environmental issues, reminding us that nature is, in many ways, our true home.The natural world sparks joy and evokes awe in us, and he argues that we can’t be fully human apart from nature.

To paraphrase him, we may have left the natural world, but the natural world hasn’t left us. His recent book, The Moth Snowstorm, warns that a great thinning has taken place in nature. In many places, the number of animals has been cut in half or more, particularly insects and birds, and he worries that our very survival may be imperiled if we kill off too many insects, which form the base of the food chain. He is an advocate for environmentally friendly agricultural practices and advises us to experience the joy of the natural world but also to push our leaders to advance more sustainable forms of development.

“But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you.”

—Job 12:7-8 NIV

Human beings arguably have the greatest impact of any species on the environment, for good or ill, and this creates the responsibility for us to be good stewards of the natural world, which is truly a gift from God. – Christopher Simon

Calvary Baptist ChurCh of Caseville serviCe sChedule

SundayS

Sunday School 10 am Morning Service 11 am Evening Service 6 pm youth Group 6 pm

WEdnESdayS

adult Bible Saturday 6 pm King’s Kids K-6th grade 6 pm

On WCTP Radio 88.5 FM 6 pm on Tuesdays

pastor Mike Goforth | Cell 989-551-6718 6718 prospect street, Caseville | 989-856-2145 | www.cbcofcaseville.org

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WEEKEND, SEPTEMBER 21, 2019

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Better Living Through Humor “A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.”

Proverbs 15:13 NIV

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e all know that laughter lightens a heavy heart, and sometimes when the world has us down, we just need to laugh instead of cry. The switch that flips us from crying to laughing demonstrates that things can always be taken in more than one way. One way of looking at the situation is tragic and makes us cry while another way is comic and makes us laugh. It isn’t always possible, or wise, to turn tragedy into comedy. Trying to offer comic relief at a funeral may be inappropriate, although many eulogies contain some humor. Those of us who love a good joke or a funny turn of phrase probably won’t mind if there is some laughing at our funerals. In fact, we might insist on it. While there aren’t a lot of jokes in the Bible, there are lots of examples

of humorous situations, or funny turns of phrase. One of the first instances of laughter in the Bible occurs when Abraham and Sarah (who is ninety years old) are told that Sarah will bear a child. They both laugh, but when their child is born, they name him Isaac, which means “he will laugh” in Hebrew. Many of the Proverbs contain witty turns of phrase: “As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly.” (Proverbs 26:11 NIV) And many of the Proverbs are straightforward prescriptions to lighten up: “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” (Proverbs 17:22 NIV) Make an effort to smile and laugh more, and if you’re feeling down, do something that will make you laugh.

–Christopher Simon

St. John’s Lutheran Church is a family of professing Christians who have been in ministry to serve the Lord Jesus Christ since 1876. We are a community formed by Jesus in Baptism, and gathered by Him around Scripture, Prayer, and the Eucharist. Through the Church, Jesus seeks to draw all people to Himself, forgiving their sins by His death on the cross, and sanctifying them for a life of love for God and service to their neighbors. We have a great past! Join us for our great future!

We are a congregation that wants to know Jesus more.

St. John’s is a member of the Lutheran Church- Missouri Synod Worship Schedule --- Sundays at 10:00 am Service of the Word --- 1st and 3rd Sundays Holy Eucharist --- 2nd, 4th, and 5th Sundays Sunday School and Adult Bible Class at 11:15 am Midweek Bible Class Wednesdays at 7:00 pm Join us for our annual Ham Dinner on November 3, 2019 after worship!

Check out our Facebook page!

St. John’s Lutheran Church - Kilmanagh 9476 Kilmanagh Road Sebewaing, MI 48759 Church office phone –989-883-9050 Website –www.stjohnskilmanagh.com

Pastor Thom Garrison Pastor’s cell phone – 989-977-1044 email – thomgarrison@aol.com

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Who Is Jesus?

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“But what about you?” he [Jesus] asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Matthew 16:15 NIV

t is possible to read the Gospels carefully and still be at a loss about what Jesus was really like.

While the Gospels give us theout line of his life, where he was born and some details about his mission, his preaching, and his death and resurrection, very little is actually said about his character and personality, or even his appearance.

We are largely left to fill these important details in ourselves, which we inevitably do, but it is interesting how easy it is to come to radically different portraits of Jesus. And perhaps this shouldn’t surprise us, as even in Jesus’ time this was apparently the case, as his disciples believed he was at the very least a prophet, or perhaps even the messiah, while important

and powerful men among the Jewish leadership thought he was a dangerous and false prophet who was leading the people astray. In modern times, philosophers and theologians have continued to try to “paint” a portrait of Jesus, with radically different pictures emerging. Comparing the Jesus of Albert Schweitzer with that of Friedrich Nietzsche, for instance, might lead you to wonder if Schweitzer and Nietzsche were even reading the same Gospels. But perhaps there is divine wisdom in this, insofar as we are all able to make Jesus our own, seeing in Him the particular Lord and Savior that each of us needs.

- Christopher Simon

WEEKEND, SEPTEMBER 21, 2019

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Listen Well

O “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.”

—James 1:19-20 NIV

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ne of the greatest gifts that we can give to others is the gift of listening. Most of us think we know how to listen, but consider how often we find ourselves growing bored while listening or chomping at the bit to get a word in, or misunderstanding others. The psychologist Carl Rogers diagnosed the problem with our listening skills as being primarily a problem of us wanting to judge or evaluate the other person and suggested the following exercise. During a dispute, each person can state his own case only after restating the other person’s position accurately and to the satisfaction of the other person. This will ensure that you have heard the other

person’s position and may require the other person to reiterate their position more clearly, and in any case, it allows both parties to a dispute to go away with a better understanding of both sides of the issue. Another way to improve our listening skills is to resist the urge to give advice.

This can be nearly impossible to do when we think we know exactly what the other person should do, but it is often better to let the other person come to his or her own conclusions, and by letting them talk, you are letting them think through their problem or issue. To listen well, you usually don’t need to say a word.

– Christopher Simon

YOU’RE INVITED!

At Calvary, we’re passionate about Jesus and the exciting new life he gives.

Consider joining us this Sunday to experience uplifting music, a friendly atmosphere, and preaching that is relevant to your life.

Childcare will be provided, refreshments will be served, and the service will last about an hour.

LET’S CONNECT SUNDAYS AT 9:30 AM

989.963.9391

301 N. CHANNEL DRIVE, PORT AUSTIN, MI

CBCPORTAUSTIN.ORG

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CALVARY BAPTIST CHURCH

YOU MATTER TO JESUS. YOU MATTER TO US.

How Long Can You Go? “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8 NIV

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ave you ever tried to see how long you can go without sinning, without a single bad or unkind word, action, or thought? Even if you can control your tongue and your actions, you will probably find it impossible to control your thoughts. Our thoughts naturally turn toward sin, as we are apt to think unkind things about the very people we live and work with. And even if we can keep from thinking unkind or hostile thoughts about others, how long before lascivious thoughts pop into our heads. Most of us count it as a moral victory when we simply refrain from acting on our sinful thoughts and desires.

All of this might lead us to wonder if the human race isn’t totally depraved. The psalmist

cries to God for mercy, saying “Do not bring your servant into judgment, for no one living is righteous before you.” (Psalm 143:2 NIV) What gives us hope is that God is merciful and loving and his patience and forgiveness knows no bounds.

The apostle Paul suggests that the law was given that we might be conscious of our depravity, and that God’s mercy might save us: “For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.” (Romans 11:32 NIV) So what are we to do?

We cannot just give in to sin, but must continue to fight the good fight, struggling every day to live lives of purity and righteousness, hoping that we can do a little better every day.

–Christopher Simon

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The Joy of the Lord Is the Antidote to Fear “Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

Psalm 37:3-4 NIV

Bad Axe Free Methodist Church “To Know Christ And To Make Him Known”

SUNDAY SCHEDULE

Worship Service - 8:30 a.m.

Sunday School - 10:00 a.m.

Worship Service - 11:00 a.m.

Pre-Teen Group (5th thru 7th Grade • Begins on November 3rd) - 12:15 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Youth Group (8th thru 12th Grade) - 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

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ear and anxiety sap us of our power and drain our confidence. Joy makes us strong and gives us the positive feeling that we can overcome the inevitable struggles we all face. Those who love God should banish fear and anxiety from their life and strive to radiate joy and happiness. Fear and anxiety may at times come from a psychological or even a physiological disposition. Anxiety disorders run in families and are strongly heritable. But so too does one very powerful antidote to anxiety, which is religiosity and its attendant trust in the Lord. Religiosity runs in families and is strongly heritable, in addition to the fact that religious

WEEKEND, SEPTEMBER 21, 2019

families usually share the same culture of worship. Going to church, synagogue, or mosque, and praying and reading sacred texts is a great antidote to the fear and anxiety that grips much of our world. Trust in the Lord and cultivate the holy joy which is the sign of that trust.

– Christopher Simon

Why We Suffer “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”

Psalm 34:8 NIV

WEDNESDAY SCHEDULE

Kids Activities (3 years old thru 7th grade) - 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Adult Bible Studies - 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

165 Pigeon Road - Bad Axe, MI 48413 | (989) 269-8664 Website: bafreemethodist.org | Follow us on Facebook

Pigeon First United Methodist Church Worship: 10:30 am Adult Sunday School: 9:30 am

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hy we suffer is complicated and doesn’t have a simple answer. The Book of Job is one response to this question, with Job,an admittedly good and upright man, asking God to explain why he is suffering so much misfortune Job’s friends put the blame on Job, suggesting that he is being punished for something he did. This is a natural response. When we see someone suffering from cancer or heart disease, we often wonder if their lifestyle led to their disease. While it is often true that we have contributed to our own problems, we should resist the urge to blame people’s suffering on themselves. Sometimes suffering is the result of natural forces (viruses, hurricanes, earthquakes, and the like). While these “acts of God” are often blamed on God, or at least suggest a God who is indifferent to our welfare, these events often bring out the best in humanity. When natural disasters occur, noticing those who help is often what redeems our faith in God and man alike Finally, there is

Children’s Sunday School: During worship ••• Special Events Coming Soon Youth Essay Contest, “The True Meaning of Christmas.” Registration opens 10/1/19; essay deadline 11/16/19. Prizes in two age groups: $200 scholarships to any Bay Shore Camp program in 2020. a significant amount of suffering that is caused by our moral failures. Man’s inhumanity to man is perhaps the greatest indictment of our humanity.

Couldn’t God have created us to be kinder and less prone to evil? But to blame God for the evil that we do is to forget that God gave us free will.

Our human nature is usually inclined to pro-social behavior but can easily go awry. In the end, our response to why we suffer is highly personal and reflects how we think about God and the nature of the cosmos.

–Christopher Simon

Christmas for Kids, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2 pm, at Pigeon District Library – a celebration of Jesus’ birthday!

7102 E. Michigan Ave., PO Box 377 • Pigeon, MI 48755

989-453-2475 •••

Email: pigeonfirstumc@gmail.com Facebook: facebook.com/pigeonfirst Website: firstumcpigeon.org

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WEEKEND, SEPTEMBER 21, 2019

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