Pastor’s Page | May 28th, 2026
Sermon Prep (Read Ezekeil 6-7)
Some of the best lessons we learn in life are through life’s experiences. The best teachers are often the consequences of our own actions. For example, I learned the hard way that you are not to touch the back of an exposed fuse box when the floor is wet in your mom’s house because you want to install a ceiling fan to impress your mom even though you have no idea what you are doing. Yes…it still hurts even to this day. I also learned the hard way that you don’t laugh when your dad is giving your brother a whooping because of something you both did but you didn’t get caught. (Just FYI ... .the whooping for disrespect is much worse than the whooping for misbehaving). In both cases, I learned important lessons, because I learned from my consequences.
When Ezekiel is finally able to speak and begin preaching to the people in Exile in Babylon, the message he has to give is not a nice one. The people were still expecting things to get better back in Jerusalem, but God tells them through Ezekiel that He is going to teach them a lesson they shall not forget. Prophet after prophet had warned the people of their idolatrous ways, but it always fell on deaf ears. God wanted to love them, but they kept turning away from him and following other gods. They were acting unjustly, behaving badly, and worshipping other gods. What would it take to get these people to listen? How would they know how good God is and how much He truly did love them? What would it take to get them to turn back to God? Sadly, it will take the judgment of God to wake them up to the grace of God.
Let me give you another example from my dad. My dad was a tough man who sometimes allowed us to make our own mistakes and then would not only allow us to suffer the consequences of those mistakes but would exacerbate them with his discipline. When I was in high school, my twin brother and I were both leaving for the military just a few weeks apart from each other and my parents threw us a going-away party. We then asked my dad if it would be okay if once that party was over, if we had our own party, and with his permission could we have some alcohol. My dad said some wise words about responsibility, moderation, and stupidity (as teenage boys, we had an abundance of stupidity). Afterwards, he said if that is what you really want, then so be it, but then he put some boundaries for us. That night, we were very stupid. My dad had warned us about the consequences of how we would feel the next day and sure enough, he was right. What my dad did to exasperate the feeling was that he woke me and my brother up and sunup and made us go do some farm work for a relative and then go volunteer carrying chairs at my grandparent’s church. I learned more about responsibility, moderation, and stupidity from that lesson than a thousand textbooks or sermons could ever tell me.
The exile was a wake-up call for the people of Israel and Judah. They would not listen until they experienced the consequences of their idolatry. Jerusalem would be destroyed, people would perish, they would be taken captive and held in Babylon for 70 years. Yet, you know what happened during that time? Revival. The people became more committed to God and to their Jewish heritage and traditions than they had before. It took the judgment of God and losing everything for them to wake up to their need for God. God speaks through our calamities, even if they are of our own making. As you read through Ezekiel 6 and 7, notice how many times God says, “Then you will know that I am God”. This is all a wake-up call for the people. Notice how even in the midst of all this tragic news of what is to come, there is still a glimmer of hope. How has God used the consequences of your past actions and the threat of judgment to get you to wake-up to your need for Him?
March Sermon Series
“Crazy Times and a Steady God”
05/31 - Preaching through Calamity - Ezekiel 6-7
Devotional Daily Reading Plan
Updates, Thoughts and More
We are getting excited about our upcoming Vacation Bible School on June 15 th to 18 th from 10 am to 12:30 pm. This is going to be a great time and we are going to need lots of help. Please see the sign-up sheet in the Lobby for more information.
Unfortunately, our Men’s Appreciation luncheon has been cancelled. Thank you for your understanding.
Acton Celebrates America is going to be bigger and better then ever this year. We are celebrating the 250 th birthday of America and it is going to be a celebration at Acton Methodist! We will have promotional materials available for you to distribute in the coming weeks.
I am a big movie fan and I recently saw one of the best movies I have even watched in my entire life. It is called “Sheep Detective” and it is one of the cutest and most powerful movies I have seen. There are so many great lessons in it without being preachy (you know how preachers hate preachy things) and doesn’t have any politics in it whatsoever (Yay!). I recommend you go and watch this movie.
I am hoping and praying that this Spurs-Thunder series goes to 7 games. I haven’t been this engaged with the NBA since Jordan. I am a huge Wemby fan. He is just a freak of nature.
What’s Going On This Week
Sunday (05/31)
Combined Worship — 10:00am
Monday (06/01)
Stitching Angels — 1:30pm
Tuesday (6/02)
Men’s Prayer Breakfast — 7:30am
Wednesday (6/03)
Prayer Warriors — 9:00am
Sip And Share — 10:00am
Youth and Kids — 5:00pm
Choir — 7:00pm
Friday (06/05)
Railroader Baseball Game — 7:00pm
Joke of the Week
A little boy was acting up in church, so his dad whispered, “Son, you better straighten up or there’ll be consequences.”
The boy whispered back, “What kind of consequences?”
Dad said, “The kind where your mother gives me that look all the way home.”
The boy sat perfectly still the rest of the service.
Memory Verse of the Week
“And they will know that I am the LORD; I did not threaten in vain to bring this calamity to them.
~Ezekiel 6:10 (NIV84)
Quote of the Week
“God’s wrath and justice are not opposed to His love. They are part of it. A God who did not hate evil would not be a good God.”
~C.S. Lewis
