Cokesbury United Methodist Church of Houston, TX
10030 Scarsdale Blvd., 281-484-9243

Cokesbury UMC's Mission: Learning to serve God and humankind in Jesus' name.

cumchouston.org

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Last update on:
Aug 12, 08

methodist cross Welcome to the home page for Cokesbury United Methodist Church (CUMC) of Houston, Texas. Our Church is located on the southeast edge of Houston (near the Scarsdale and Green Tee subdivisions). We invite you and your family to visit Cokesbury UMC. We have a number of ministries in place to meet your spiritual needs. Please join us!

You may use the navigation buttons on the left or at the bottom of each page to browse our site and view the information contained here. Please start by reading a word of welcome from our Pastor.

Highlights (Weekly Update of Happenings):

MYF Focus
-- Posted by Darrel Raines on 09 Aug 08 14:03 CDT

Our web site will be bringing more information about youth activities in the coming months. To get things started, our new Youth Director, Christie Burnette has put together some words of greeting to introduce folks to our youth group via the web site. Please take a look. If you are not currently active in the MYF, please consider joining us.

Opinions (Words of Faith from Fellow Christians):

Covering the Situation
-- Posted by Anne Adams on 27 Jun 08 06:44 CDT

George fidgeted in the psychiatrist's office. "I just don't understand what's happening, Doc! I can't take it much more."

Dr. Wampas folded his hands on his desk and carefully regarded his new patient. "Well, let's see what we can do. Did you say you kept having a strange dream?"

"Yes, but actually it's two dreams. In one I'm a teepee, and the next one I've become a wigwam. Or it's the other way around - first I'm a wigwam and then a teepee. You've got to help me, Doc!"

Drm Wampas nodded slowly. "Now that I know what you're dreaming I can help you. Your problem is that you're two tents."

Whether it's an occasional nervousness or a constant sense of anxiety, tension is something we'd love to lose. Yet perhaps it's most frustrating when it affects our spiritual walk, because if we're anxious or worried then we can't concentrate on following or serving God. Of course our tension may originate from several areas, one major cause may be because we're fearful about the future. It could be either fear of the next few days or the far future, but no matter what it is we tend to be anxious
because we're not in control and that can be scary. So uncertainty breeds anxiety. So how do you handle it? I got my answer to this problem when I was browsing in a Christian gift shop and came across an interesting and reassuring sign. "Do not fear tomorrow," it said, "God is already there." And that's the answer. For if we don't know the future then he does and he's in control. So while it isn't always easy, I try to replace the tension and fear with faith. As the old staying goes, "When fear knocked, faith answered and there was nothing there!"
Rest of article...

Coping With Confinement
-- Posted by Anne Adams on 08 Jun 08 07:32 CDT

Marvo the Magnificant was a talented magician but to bring variety to his act, he decided to become an escape artist. He practiced freeing himself from a variety of confinements such as the traditional straitjacket and even locked cabinets. After he'd learned enough he arranged to introduce his new act by escaping from a locked cell in a supposedly inescapable jail and to have it broadcast on national TV.

The jail personnel searched him for hidden keys, then manacled him with handcuffs and shut the door if the cell. So Marvo could perform his feat in secrecy a large curtain was pulled across the front of the cell as the TV cameras recorded it all and the crowds there and around the country waited. Marvo soon escaped the manacles and began working on the lock to the cell, yet even with all his previous planning it was useless. He simply couldn't open it. He had to do something quickly or his audience would grow suspicious and the tension of that knowledge only added to his effort as he tried again and again to open the lock. Finally, he gave up, dropping his hands to his sides and slumping against the
cell door in frustration. Then he jerked back upright as the barred door slowly began to swing out and open. Despite his surprise he quickly remembered his audience and charged through the open door, flung aside the curtain and received the expected applause. Only later did Marvo discover that when the jail personnel had shut him in the cell they had neglected to lock the door.

Though I've never tried to escape from a jail cell I've experienced the same sense of frustration and anxiety when I have challenges on my spiritual journey. It happens most often when I try to solve a troubling situation on my own and encounter only failure. Eventually I have to stop struggling and realize that I'm totally helpless and need
the solution only God can provide. Yet if I'm powerless then God certainly is not and once I've surrendered to him he begins his work on the solution.

Of course ideally I should have let him handle it from the beginning and saved myself frustration but sometimes I have to learn from experience. And the lesson? That God's solutions are perfect, and once I let him, he's waiting to provide them.
Rest of article...

Site News (Recent Changes to the Web Site):

Changes Are Coming

-- Posted by Darrel Raines on 30 Jul 08 08:05 CDT

A new version of the church web site is on the way! All of the site code is being modified to allow easier changes and even more flexibility for our church members. The focus for this set of changes will be on site usability.

The update will happen over the next two weeks. You will begin to see small changes in the site starting immediately. An announcement will be made in worship when the changes are complete. Get ready for an even more web savvy church experience.

Recent Newsletters:

August 22 Courier Is Now Available

August 8 Courier Now Available

Current Opinion Poll:

We realize that Christians are not perfect. We all sin and fall short of the example of Jesus. We are attempting to become better Christians each week. How far do you have to go?

All things considered, I sin about once or twice a week.

I don't do anything really bad, but I am still failing to be like Jesus about 3 to 5 times a week.

I am in need of grace! I usually commit a sinful act 6 to 10 times a week.

When you consider all the little things like gossip, I have a long way to go. I fail God and myself 11 or more times a week.

It isn't the number of times I fail each week, it is the magnitude of my sin. I am in considerable need of God's grace!

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. [ Results ]

Marketing Web Site:

The Cokesbury Marketing team has put together the following web site to help advertise our church.

Web Site

Verse of the day:

“Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” - John 6:29

Cokesbury's Weekly Calendar of Events:

Thursday, August 28: • 10:00 am -2:00 pm : Friendly Folks
• 7:00 pm -10:00 pm : Contemporary Worship Rehearsal
• 7:00 pm -9:00 pm : 12-Step Program
Sunday, August 31: • 8:30 am -9:30 am : Early Worship Service
• 9:45 am -10:45 am : Contemporary Service
• 11:00 am -12:00 pm : Late Worship Service
Tuesday, September 2: • 9:30 am -11:30 am : Busy Bees
• 7:00 pm -9:00 pm : Friends of AA
Wednesday, September 3: • 6:15 pm -7:00 pm : Handbell Choir Rehearsal
• 7:00 pm -7:30 pm : Men's Chorale Rehearsal
• 7:30 pm -9:00 pm : Chancel Choir Rehearsal

View Calendar

False Freedom

Read Luke 15:1-10.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God-- what is good and acceptable and perfect.
-Romans 12:12 (NRSV)

GROWING up, I had attended church with a frequency that caused a friend of mine to quip, "I always thought your family lived at church." But I stopped going to church while in college because it was an inconvenience. I wanted to sleep in, but mostly I wanted to exercise my newfound freedom from my parents.

Fellowship with God had given me a continuous flow of energy, sustenance, and hope. Why did I turn my back on it? The lifestyle I chose was typical of many young adults, one that encouraged freedom, independence, and self-reliance. I would have been reluctant to admit it, but with each step toward that way of life I distanced myself from God and suppressed the inner workings of the Holy Spirit. At one of my low points I remember remarking to my parents, "God has forgotten me."

When I returned to church eight years ago, it was like coming home. I felt welcomed, not just by the congregation but by God as well. By human reason, I should have been past the point where God offers forgiveness. Yet God reached down in infinite love and grace and rescued me from the ruin I had made on my own. God gave me a new life, one worth waking up to.

By Carol P. Nyborg (North Carolina, U.S.A.)

Prayer: O God, thank you for showing us the path to true freedom through the life, death, and resurrection of your son. Amen.

Thought for the Day: God offers each of us a life worth waking up to.

Prayer Focus: Young adults

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This page was created for the use of Cokesbury UMC members. Please contact Darrel Raines to report any problems or errors.

Cokesbury United Methodist Church of Houston, TX 10030 Scarsdale Blvd., 281-484-9243 Cokesbury UMC's Mission: Learning to serve God and humankind in Jesus' name.