EL BUEN PASTOR UNITED METHODIST CHURCH—EDINBURG, TEXAS October 2019 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 Choir Practice 7PM 2 Rev’s Bible Class 6:00 Bible Study 7:00 PM 3 Coffee With the Pastor Bible Study 10:00 AM 4 5 6 10:00 am Super Sunday 11:00 am Worship Service Communion FINANCE MEETING 7 UMM/UMW MEETING @ 6:00 PM 8 Choir Practice 7PM 9 Rev’s Bible Class 6:00 Bible Study 7:00 PM 10 Coffee With the Pastor Bible Study 10:00 AM 11 12 13 10:00 am Super Sunday 11:00 am Worship Service 14 UMM/UMW MEETING @ 6:00 PM 15* Choir Practice 7PM 16 Rev’s Bible Class 6:00 Bible Study 7:00 PM 17 Coffee With the Pastor Bible Study 10:00 AM 18 19 20 10:00 am Super Sunday 11:00 am Worship Service 21 UMM/UMW MEETING @ 6:00 PM 22 Choir Practice 7PM 23 Rev’s Bible Class 6:00 Fields of Faith 6:30 24 Coffee With the Pastor Bible Study 10:00 AM 25 26 Church Reserved 2-6 p.m. 27* 10:00 am Super Sunday 11:00 am Worship Service 28 UMM/UMW MEETING @ 6:00 PM 29 Choir Practice 7PM 30 Rev’s Bible Class 6:00 Bible Study 7:00 PM 31 EBP’s Fall Festival 5:00 p.m.- 8:30 PM *Rev. Piña and Priscilla Patterson will be meeting with the Board of Ordained Ministries in San Antonio on October 15th. *Culto Unido will be held on October 27th at La Trinidad in Pharr at 6:00 p.m. 705 E. University Dr. Edinburg, Texas 78539 Phone: 956-383-2515 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] rosarodriguez217.rr @gmail.com CONTACT US EL BUEN PASTOR UMC We’re on the Web! Www.elbuenpastorumc.com/ OFFICE HOURS: Monday thru Friday 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Extended Hours on Tues., Wed., & Friday 2:00 - 6:00 p.m. Thursday 12:00 - 4:00 p.m. Secretary Hours: Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. SUNDAY: Sunday School 10:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. Worship 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon WEDNESDAY: 6:00 & 7:00 p.m. For Newsletter Article: Contact: Pastor Norma On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see whether perhaps he would find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it. And when evening came, Jesus and his disciples went out of the city. In the morning as they passed by, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. Mark 11:12–14, 19-20 Jesus was hungry and saw a fig tree in the distance. The tree was easy to spot since it was covered in leaves. Jesus approached the tree expecting to find fruit but He found none and cursed it. The next morning, as they were passing by the same tree, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. This incident causes some problems to its readers and raises many questions. One of the questions is, why did Jesus expect to find fruit if it’s not season? While some translations (NET) present a Jesus looking for fruit when it was not the season others say, “It was too early in the season for fruit.” (NLT). Looking at the context we find that chapter 11 starts with Jesus's triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Then in chapter 14, Jesus is being anointed for His burial. By looking at these two events we can place the fig tree story to have happened just a few days before the crucifixion of Jesus. Now, we know that Jesus was crucified on the day of Passover when the lamb was sacrificed for the sins of the people. Looking at the Biblical calendar we can say, that it was during the Spring when these events occurred and a fig tree should have immature fruit on it during that season. They would be immature dry figs; nevertheless, they would have the taste of figs. As we can see, the fig tree had leaves so fruit was expected, even immature fruit, anything. Lets not forget what 2 Timothy 4:2, says, “Preach the word; be diligent in season, out of season.” (KJ 2000). I say Jesus was correct by demanding fruit from the tree even if the fruit was small. But He was standing before an unproductive tree. A self-serving tree. A tree that was consuming the nutrients from the soil but it was not producing anything. How do we apply this incident to our lives? Just like Christ did with the barren fig tree, He comes to us and looks for fruit in us. Will He find fruit in us or will it just be leaves? Rev. Isidro Piña A WORD FROM OUR PASTOR The Shepherd Newsletter El Buen Pastor United Methodist Church Edinburg, Texas Our Mission is to “Make Disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.” Our Vision is to “Embrace all with the light of faith, hope, love, and life.” OCTOBER 2019 In This Issue: PASTOR APPRECIATION EBP CHOIR EBP KIDZ CHOIR 2 UMW 5TH ANNUAL MEETING 3 FALL FOR JESUS FALL FESTIVAL 4 GIRL SCOUT TROOP 1049 EBP PRAYER VIGIL FIELD OF FAITH 5 FINANCE REPORT EASY WAYS TO GIVE WOMEN’S HOSPITALITY CORNER 6 OCTOBER BIRTHDAYS OCTOBER ANNIVERSARIES 7 OCTOBER CALENDAR 8