Pastor Dee Edwards’ sermon from May 1.

Last words always seem to be important.

In our relationships, last words are one of those “for better or worse” things. They will always be important. We experience grief at its worst when our last words are cause for regret. On the other hand, the right last words can be a source of rich blessings. When we hear Jesus’ last words to his disciples they are inexpressibly powerful in bringing meaning to life.

About a month ago, Pastor Dee Edwards sent over an article about St. Patrick. “Cool,” I said — then promptly forgot about it.

With apologies to the good reverend, then, here is a (very late) history of St. Patrick. Enjoy!

Don’t you just cringe at the commercialization of St. Patrick’s Day? Probably not. Though a reasonable person <wink> might have the same complaint about St. Patrick celebrations as are held about Christmas!

Patrick was born in Britain in the year 387 and even though his grandfather was a priest, Patrick by the age of 16 was still resisting the faith. He was captured by Irish raiders and forced to work as a herdsman for Milchu, an Irish clan chief. Through this hardship Patrick started to recall the lessons of his childhood and faith became vital for his life. He became a deeply spiritual lover of God familiar with mystical experience.

Don Crowson, a Parkview Methodist member, wrote the following poem about the early days of Methodist “circuit riders” in Arkansas.

The poem won the honorable mention last year in the Sybil Nash Abrams Award presented by the Poet’s Roundtable of Arkansas. So, congratulations, Don! As for me, I’d like to thank Don for sending this poem my way so it can be shared with those of you who visit this blog.

So, click the “read more” link below and enjoy!

The following Sunrise devotional was delivered this morning by a cat-nervous Ethan C. Nobles — a member of Parkview United Methodist Church and the administrator for this blog. Pastor Dee Edwards’ Easter sermon will be posted here when it’s made available. Happy Easter and remember the good news — He is risen!

Back when I was a student at Hendrix College, I wound up taking a lot of religion classes. Through those I was fortune enough to come in contact with Dr. Francis Christie, a former dean of the college, religion/philosophy professor and all around good guy. He introduced a concept back than that has stuck with me for the past couple of decades. Dr. Christie observed that the Bible can be viewed as a mirror that reflects back on itself. In Genesis, man is unified with God and, at the end of Revelation, man and God are again unified.

Rejoice it up, folks! Easter is upon us and Pastor Dee Edwards sends his greetings for the holiday:

Dear Friends,

Is it any surprise that Easter is the most important day in the Christian year? Interesting enough the Jewish festival of Passover likewise is the most important day observed by Jews.

We will remember that Passover remembers the liberation of the Hebrews from Egypt. Throughout the Old Testament we see over and over the phrase, “the God who led you out Egypt.” Without Passover and the Exodus that followed, the covenant made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would have been lost, bogged down in slavery in Egypt.

The following sermon was delivered by Pastor Dee Edwards on March 11. Every Christian has heard the parable of the Prodigal Son more than a few times, but the good Pastor certainly offered an insightful take on it.

In our church we have a number of musicians who arrange their worship selections to complement the scripture lesson for the day. Others have been contemplating the scripture during the week. The most interesting thing this week was the number of persons who mentioned that they were anticipating The Prodigal Son (TPS), but not in a positive way.

“Patience is not passive; on the contrary, it is active; it is concentrated strength.” ~ Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton

Patience is a multipurpose thread sewn into the fabric of our lives. It makes us strong— and yet soft. It holds us together and gives us the ability to cover others.

The weaving of patience is intricate and sometimes difficult. The needle pricks and stings. But in the end we will enjoy the masterpiece it has made of our lives.

Yes, indeed — it’s revival time at Parkview United Methodist Church.

If you’re in Benton (or not far away), come on by and see us at 514 North Border and join the fun. The revival started on March 7 but continues on March 8-9 at 6:30 p.m. every night.

John Miles, pastor of First United Methodist Church in Jonesboro, is preaching at the Spring Revivial.

I believe there are things that we should never be content with, such as personal growth and seeking ways to improve the well being of others. But for me it stops there.

Contentment with gratitude is the recipe for peace, and strong relationships. I’m not saying that it is wrong to be ambitious or to seek success, however, if that “reach” into the future is robbing you and those you love of today, of the present, then it becomes a problem.

Yes, that’s right — all posts that appear on this blog will also appear on Pastor Dee Edwards’ Facebook account.

Exciting, no? For those keeping score at home, the Parkview United Methodist Church blog is almost two weeks old and we’re adding functionality (how’s that for a buzzword?) and what-not as we go. The Facebook integration is just the latest things, but look for more updates (improvements?) in the future.

More to come…