07/02/25/2023 Service

Sources of Information for Today's Online Service
This page has links to information used or encountered in preparing this online service.
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Topics for Today

John Wesley's 320th Birthday
this lists several items relating to John Wesley,
who was born on June 28, 1703 (June 20,1703 OT)

July 4th Weekend
this lists the extensive resources borrowed
from the online service on July 5,2020

Added in 2021 are wikipedia articles for:
Independence Hall
Liberty Bell
Betsy Ross
Betsy Ross Flag
Betsy Ross House

and from July 3,2021 Tallahassee Democrat,
Candace McKibben's column:
July 4th a reminder to extend ideals of liberty for all
and related items:
from Wikipedia
from AmericanRhetoric.org
and from USA Today

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Bethel Worship Planning Documents
2023 Monthly Worship Calendar
2023 RCL 2 page Summary
Bethel Weekly Worship Planning worksheet
2023 Annual Program Planning worksheet
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Guidance from UMC Discipleship Ministries
Weekly Worship Planning Series

Note: This material from UDM is not the basis for today's message
but is provided here for your personal study and reflection.

Click here for suggestions about how to use this material.

Worship Theme: "The Path of the Disciple"
from umcdiscipleship.org

During this lengthy Ordinary Time of the year, the UDM has chosen an overall theme: The Path of the Disciple for the "season" with several worship series of 2 or more weeks with a separate theme for each series.

A disciple is a follower. That means there must be someone to follow and that someone wants followers. Considering that, in the gospel accounts, Jesus said “follow me” more often than he said, “believe in me,” we can be confident that there is a call to follow laid upon anyone and everyone who seeks to draw closer to Christ. Yet even a cursory reading of the gospels will reveal that Jesus never undersold this call. He never tried to convince us that following was an easy or a simple thing to do.

Worship Series: "Learning to Grow"
from umcdiscipleship.org

Having accepted the call to become a disciple and to help others become disciples, we now begin to understand what we don’t know. Or rather we embrace what we have to learn. Sometimes we get the impression that the end of faith is that initial yes to Jesus. As important as that confession is, it is only the beginning of the path to becoming a disciple. So, let us consider together what it means to be a disciple. Let’s embrace the truth, even when it is difficult and takes effort, even when we learn of the commitment that is involved in following Jesus. Because we also discover the joy in serving and loving and working for justice. It may be hard, and we may mess up at times, or lose focus, but we’re learning and we’re growing. Becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ isn’t an instantaneous event, but a lifelong process. Wesley called it sanctification, this process of becoming more like Christ, and acknowledged that it is a journey. But we’re on the way, or as Wesley claimed, moving on to perfection in love. There’s a lot to learn as we grow.

This is the Second service of a 3 service Worship Series from the Discipleship Ministries.
The graphics at the top of this page list the topics for the services of the Series.
(Click on another graphic to see that session's resource page)

This Service's Theme: "Quenching a Thirst"
Liturgical Resources

We’re about hospitality this week. That sounds like a casual, or maybe even an extra kind of thing. “It’s not something essential,” we might think. It’s part of the social niceties that make us look good. But, in fact, we would be wrong, if that was our position. Jesus sees hospitality as central to our discipleship.

Worship Planning Notes
Preaching Notes

Lectionary Scriptures:
Genesis 22:1-14; Psalm 13; Romans 6:12-23; Matthew 10:40-42;

Sources of Music for the following hymns are:

- UMH CD.....UDM - DM Accompaniment..... MM/DD/YY - Recorded Service

Hymns Considered For this week: