Pastor’s Page | August 20th, 2026
Sermon Prep (Read Matthew 6:12-15)
There are a few things that gets a man more excited than when he gets a new mower. Men take pride in their lawn maintenance and when my dad bought a new push mower for our house, he was on cloud nine. This wasn’t just any mower. This was brand new. This was coming out of the box from a store, not a yard sale. This was a brand new mower. It was nice. Not John Deere nice, but Walmart-end-of-season-clearance nice. Of course, my dad had two teenage boys to push the mower and do the work, but still…it was his. This was big. You see, for the previous 3 months, we had to borrow my papaw’s mower, which was both a hassle and embarrassing (he reminded my dad each time that a man should have his own mower).
Here is where I am going with this. We had a stump in our yard that was small and close to the ground. When I used my papaw’s mower, I would go over this stump each time with no problem. It was never an issue. Once a week (sometimes two because in Kentucky it actually rains during the summer), I would push that mower over that stump with no problem.
So let me set the scene. It is a warm but comfortable afternoon, in late summer. My Dad unpacked and put together his push mower. It is gassed up, oiled, and ready to go. Not only is my dad there ready to get this yard mowed, but my papaw was watching and so are the other men who lived on our street (not much happened around Paddy Court in Elizabethtown, KY). Of course, my dad took the first two laps around the yard to break the mower in. My brother then took the next few laps around the yard, and then it was my turn. I was ready for this. With everyone watching I made the first lap with no issue. Then it came time to go over the stump. That stump that I had always just pushed the mower over with no issue. No one explained to me that not every mower is set at the same height. I pushed the mower over the stump and there was a loud clanking noise. Everyone held their breath. The engine was going but the blades were stuck. Smoke came from the mower and so I panicked. I just stood there. My dad ran over to check on his mower, and when we shut it off we had to tweak it out of the stump. When we got it off, the blade was a mangled mess. My dad’s new beautiful mower was ruined. My Papaw shook his head and laughed in a sarcastic way. My brother feared for my life. I was shaking. If I knew that my dad, brother, and Papaw weren’t watching, I would have cried. Not just because of what happened, but because I knew how much this mower meant to my dad.
My dad looked at the mower and simply said, “It’s going to be fine. We will take care of it.” And just like that, I knew that my dad 1) wasn’t going to kill me 2) that he still loved me and 3) that I was forgiven. In fact, once we got the mower fixed, guess who was allowed to push the mower AROUND the stump? Yes, me.
In the Lord’s Prayer, this week we will be addressing that most difficult petition for many. “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” The first part we may not have too much difficulty with, though you would be amazed how many people struggle with accepting God’s forgiveness. That second part is what sticks in our throats. It sounds easy, until as C.S. Lewis so wisely said, “until you have something to forgive.” This Sunday, we will be looking at our need for forgiveness and why we struggle to forgive. We tend to misunderstand what forgiveness is and what it is not. This Sunday, we will look at what biblical forgiveness is and how we can become a church who live as forgiven people. Some verses to look at in addition to our primary text include the story of Joseph and his brothers in Genesis 37, 42-46, the parable of the unmerciful servant in Matthew 18:21-35, and the story of Peter’s reinstatement in John 21:15-25.
June Sermon Series
Teach Me To Pray
08/23 - Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors - Matthew 6:9-14
08/30 - Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil - Matthew 6:9-14
Updates, Thoughts and More
Table Talk. Table Talk is up and going again. Yay!!! We meet in E101 every Wednesday at 5 pm. We are doing a series on discovering, developing, and deploying your spiritual gifts. We just started and we would love to have you join us.
New Intern. This Sunday, you will be seeing a new face hanging around the church. His name is Nolan and he is a student at Liberty university. He is preparing for ministry, and he will be interning with us this semester. He comes from a Cumberland Presbyterian background, and he is excited to be involved in learning more about what goes on here at Acton Methodist. Let’s make him feel welcome and do our part to help prepare him for his future ministry.
Combined Worship. On August 30th we will be having our combined worship service. Now, I am going to get on my soapbox. Some of you don’t like the contemporary music, and some of you don’t like the traditional music. I get it. But I hope you don’t come to church simply to listen to music. You come to worship. Also, we come together on these 5th Sundays so that we can know those who go to the other worship service. If you are staying home because you don’t like the music, you are missing the point of worship and the joy of getting to meet your church family.
What’s Going On This Week
Sunday (08/23)
Worship Services — 9:00am & 10:30am
Monday (08/24)
Stitching Angels — 1:30pm
Tuesday (08/25)
Men’s Bible Study & Breakfast — 7:30am
Wednesday (08/26)
Prayer Warriors — 9:00am
Sip And Share — 10:00am
Table Talk (Spiritual Gifts) — 5:00pm
JAM Youth — 5:00pm
Bell Choir Practice — 6:00pm
Choir Practice — 7:00pm
Thursday (08/20)
Kenya Team Leaves — 7:30am
Important Upcoming Dates
8/30 — 10am — Combined Worship Service and Promotion Sunday
8/30 — 12pm — Discipleship Ministries Kickoff
9/8 — 10am — Bassett Bible Study
9/17 — 9am — Davelyn’s Bible Study
10/10 — Mexican Fiesta
11/14 — Lord’s Acre
Joke of the Week
When he is a third of the way through the sermon, he says, "Raise your hand if you are now willing to forgive your enemies." Half of the people in the church raise their hands, so the priest continues the sermon. When he is two thirds of the way through the sermon, he says, "Raise your hand if you are now willing to forgive your enemies." Three quarters of the people in the church raise their hands, so the priest continues the sermon. When he has completely finished the sermon, he says, "Raise your hand if you are now willing to forgive your enemies." All the people in the church raise their hands, except one little old lady. The priest goes to the old lady and asks, "Why are you still unwilling to forgive your enemies?" "Simple," the old lady replies. "I have no enemies." "How old are you?" "96." "And you have no enemies?" "None at all." The priest is amazed. "Come up to the front with me!" So the priest and the old lady go up to the front of the church. The priest says, "Please explain to my entire congregation how it is possible that you have no enemies!" "Simple," says the old lady. "I outlived them all."
Memory Verse of the Week
But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
~Matthew 6:15 (NIV84)
Quote of the Week
“To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.”
~ C.S. Lewis | The Weight of Glory
