Blissfield Emmanuel UMC

Join us this Christmas season as we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus!

Sunday, Dec. 15 at 10:15am – “A Classic Christmas” with Children’s Pageant

Wednesday, Dec. 18 at 6:00pm – “Soup and Study” Christmas Party

Friday, Dec. 20 from 4pm-8pm – “Drop and Shop” Drop off your elementary age children for a time of food, fun, and activities while you get some last-minute shopping done or take some much needed downtime.  Preregistration is required; just email us at EmmanuelUMC@live.com.

Sunday, Dec. 22 at 10:15am – Christmas Sunday Service

Tuesday, Dec. 24 at 8:00pm – Christmas Eve Service with Candle Lighting

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” – Isaiah 9:6

It’s hard to believe we’re already in the season of Advent.  Of course, we started seeing Christmas decorations alongside Halloween decorations in the stores months ago, but now December is finally here.  As we rush through the next few weeks – buying gifts, planning family gatherings, cooking, eating, and frantically fulfilling our materialistic desires – take time to breathe, reflect, and rejoice.

Remember, Christmas is not your birthday (unless, of course, it is and you were one of those unhappy children who got hung out to dry every year).  And Christmas is not so much about presents as it is about presence.

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given” (Isaiah 9:6a).  “The time has come… The kingdom of God has come near.  Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15).  Jesus is born!  God is present!  The Son of God put skin on and stepped out into this grubby, broken, beautiful world to be with you and me.

Take time to enjoy God’s presence.  Take time to enjoy the presence of loved ones.  Take time to remember the loved ones who are no longer with us, rejoicing in the fact that those who believe in Jesus and follow him here and now will continue to walk with him in eternity.

Our “Classic Christmas” event will be Sunday, December 15^th, at 10:15am.  A Christmas Eve service will be offered at 8:00pm on December 24^th.  I truly hope you are able to worship with us on one or both of these festive occasions.

This season, breathe in God’s Spirit, reflect on all that God has done for you, and rejoice – for God is with us!

In Christ,

Pastor Zack

Brothers, Sisters, Friends,

This is one of my absolute favorite times of the year!  I will forever associate

November not only with Thanksgiving, but with deer hunting.  And, as most hunters will tell you, it’s not necessarily all about bringing home a buck.  Sure, every hunter hopes to get a deer or two, but hunting is really about the camaraderie.  It’s about getting together with other people and getting away from it all, spending time in God’s good creation.

This November – in addition to our regular Sunday school, morning worship, and Wednesday night activities – we have several special opportunities to get together and focus on God. 

November 3^rd is Charge Conference, our church’s annual meeting.  This is a chance not only to “take care of business”, but to celebrate all that God is doing in our midst.  Join us in the sanctuary this Sunday at 4:15pm.

On November 10^th, Emmanuel UMC commemorates 150 years of ministry in Blissfield.  Invite your friends and neighbors out to morning worship at 10:15am, followed by a time of open sharing.  Refreshments will be served, and all are sure to have a great time reflecting on what God has done and enjoying that which God continues to do in us and through us.

This year, we have the joy of hosting Blissfield’s Community Thanksgiving Service.  Friends and members from many area churches will be gathering here at Emmanuel to give God thanks on Sunday, November 22^nd, at 6:00pm.

One more great opportunity: Go ahead and take a couple of minutes to pray right now,

thanking God for who He is and what He does.

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” – 1 Chronicles 16:34

Looking forward to all that God has in store,

Pastor Zack

Brothers, Sisters, Friends,

What an exciting start for The Story!  I hope you’ve enjoyed the first few weeks of worship and study, and I look forward to journeying with you as God’s story continues to unfold.

September laid the foundation for what is to come.  This month, we’ll be covering what is arguably the most pivotal story in the Old Testament: God’s delivering of the Hebrew people from slavery in Egypt.

Here, we see God’s awesome power unleashed in ways unseen since creation.  And, after all the plagues are done, here’s what Pharaoh finally says to Moses and Aaron in Exodus 12:31-32,

“Up!  Leave my people, you and the Israelites!  Go, worship the LORD as you have requested.  Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go.  And also bless me.”

I’ve read this story a million times.  I’ve heard sermons preached on it.  Heck, I even saw DreamWorks’ “The Prince of Egypt”!  But I never noticed that last bit before.  Pharaoh, the ruler of the mightiest kingdom on earth, a man worshiped as a god, asked Moses and Aaron to bless him.  God’s miraculous power astounded Pharaoh.  It brought him to his knees, and it seems there was something in him that finally realized that this God – the LORD – is far greater than anything Pharaoh could ever pretend to be.

I trust that we will continue to discover new things in God’s Word.  I hope that God speaks to us afresh.  And, more than anything else, I pray that God might make himself known through us in a powerful way, so that those around us might see God’s wonders and seek his blessing.

May you and yours be blessed, and may you find others to invite along on the journey.

Pastor Zack

Sisters, Brothers, Friends,

I’m so glad it’s September!  This has been a fantastic summer, but I’m so excited for what God has in store this fall.  Just this month, we’ll be taking pictures for our new photo directory (Sept. 10^th), inviting our friends and neighbors to a Fall Kickoff Barbecue (Sept. 18^th), and beginning our year-long journey through The Story, exploring the Bible as one continuing narrative of God and His people.

We read that the Scriptures are powerful (Matt 22:29), God-breathed (2 Tim 3:16), and meant to be fulfilled (Mark 14:49).  And we have experienced the power of the Word of God at work in our own lives, as we read it and do what it says.  Scripture is meant to be opened and explained (Luke 24:27-32), but Scripture is also meant to be applied and lived out.

In Luke 24, two men were traveling to the village of Emmaus, and Jesus himself came up and walked along with them.  Beginning with the first books of the Old Testament, Jesus explained to them everything that the Scriptures said about him, and how it had all been fulfilled in his life, death, and resurrection.  For a while, the travelers did not recognize Jesus, but when they did, they asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

Something amazing happened on that walk to Emmaus.  These two travelers not only heard about the story, they became a part of the story.  They realized that God’s story was their story, and that from Moses to Jesus and on into the present day, God is at work redeeming, restoring, and re-creating.

God’s story is our story because our God is the great I AM!  He is not confined to the pages of history, nor is he waiting to reveal himself in the future.  God has been, God is going to be, and God is here now.

My prayer is that you may encounter God more deeply this year, and be shaped by the experience.

Love, peace, and holy discomfort,

Pastor Zack

Brothers and Sisters,

August is here and, believe it or not, it’s time to start preparing for our Fall kickoff!  Many thanks to everyone who joined in to make VBS a great success.  All of the kids had a blast and I trust that God has done an amazing work in them and in us.

This year, we as a church will be going through The Story.   Together, we’ll be looking at the Bible as one sweeping narrative from Genesis through Revelation.  The 31-week journey will begin on September 22^nd.  I’m excited for the potential this has as an outreach opportunity, as well as the discipleship that will take place. When people gather together and study God’s Word, amazing things happen!

During the coming school year, children, youth, and adults will all have the opportunity to   engage the same 31 stories through Sunday morning worship, Sunday school, and Bible studies.  Jesus said in Matthew 4:4, “People can’t live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

As we study the Word of God together, I pray that we will come to more fully realize that God’s story is our story, and that the same God who formed the mountains, spoke through the prophets, and took on flesh in Jesus Christ is alive and at work in us today.

May you be blessed as you enjoy the rest of the summer, and as we look forward to all that God has in store.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Zack

Brothers, Sisters, Friends,

July is a very exciting time here at Emmanuel!  On Sunday, July 7^th, we will celebrate together the confirmation of RJ Keller and Benji Kato.  This is a chance for all of us to reflect on our own vows of Baptism and Membership, remembering and reaffirming our commitment to love God and neighbor through our prayers, our presence, our gifts, and our service.

You may have noticed some improvements in and around the church.  Thank you to Eileen Eisenmann and Bruce Loar for beautifying the landscaping at the building entrance.  Thank you also to the community garden students who have taken the time to clean up our memorial garden.  We are moving forward with the audio/visual improvements, and should have everything up and running by our Fall kick-off.

There are a lot of events this month: EUMC will be having a rummage sale on Saturday, July 6^th, from 10am-4pm.  Donations and volunteers are needed.  The following Saturday, July 13^th, we will be in the parade for the River Raisin Festival.  We will also have a booth in the Kids’ Corner of the Festival this year.

Speaking of kids, VBS is also right around the corner!  As you well know, this is one of the single biggest ministry events of the year at Emmanuel.  Donate, volunteer, and, above all, pray.  Pray that God would already be working in the hearts of the children and students who will be a part of this year’s VBS.  Pray that God would use this time to strengthen their faith and draw them ever closer to Christ.  Pray that God might use us over and above what we can do on our own.

This month, we’ll be kicking off a new sermon series, “A Day at the Movies.”  Each week, we’ll glean Biblical wisdom from a different movie clip.  It’s amazing how many glimpses of God’s truth we can see even in the most unlikely places.  Truly, as Isaiah 6:3 proclaims, “the whole earth is full of His glory!”

In the weeks to come, I encourage you to look for God in the everyday.  Cultivate a sense of his closeness as you work, eat, play, and rest.  Know that God is with you, and that God will use you for good as you open yourself to His leading.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Zack

Tonight at 7:00pm, Emmanuel UMC is hosting a community-wide service for the National Day of Prayer. The service will feature several guest speakers from various areas of our community as well as some very special music.

Please join us for this amazing time of worship as we pray together for our community and our nation.