I would like to welcome you to the Escanaba First United Methodist Church website. We pray that God will bless you richly as you seek Him and His will for your life. We, at The First United Methodist Church, have developed this website to bring glory to God and help you know who we are as a community of believers. I believe that we need to care for the body, soul, and spirit as we minister those people God has brought to the attention of our community. We pray for the physical, mental and emotional as well as spiritual needs of individuals who make known their needs to us. We believe in anointing with oil, when requested by individuals, as directed in the Holy Scriptures (James 5:13-16). If you are looking for a Bible based teaching church, we would love to have you visit us to see if we are the church that can help you in your spiritual development. We have prayer meetings, Bible Studies, Sunday school classes and other growth opportunities available to meet your needs. We have fellowship activities that bring the family of God closer together as we not only worship together but also have fun together. We want to minister to the whole person not just the spiritual portion of an individual. If you would like to have more information about our church, please contact our office. You are important to God and to us. If you are already in a Christian church, we praise God for you! We hope this website inspires you to serve God wherever He has placed you for His glory. Blessing to you all as we journey together! Yours in Christ,

We are already about a third of the way through Lent. Today the sun is shining and it feels nice and warm because the sun is getting higher in the sky. Can Spring be far behind? Before we know it, Easter will be upon us. My question today is, “Are you finding ways to grow closer to the Lord?” Have you made an attempt to change something in your life that keeps you from a full, close relationship with God? Have you been tempted to go back to your old ways? A story came to me via the internet attributed to Lee Griess (from: Taking The Risk Out Of Dying, CSS Publishing Company) titled “Lead Us Not Into Temptation” I recently read a story about a little boy named Bobby who desperately wanted a new bicycle. His plan was to save his nickels, dimes and quarters until he finally had enough to buy a new 10-speed. Each night he asked God to help him save his money. Kneeling beside his bed, he prayed, “Dear Lord, please help me save my money for a new bike, and please, Lord, don’t let the ice cream man come down the street again tomorrow.” Jim Grant in Reader’s Digest told about someone else who faced temptation. An overweight businessman decided it was time to shed some excess pounds. He took his new diet seriously, even changing his driving route to avoid his favorite bakery. One morning, however, he showed up at work with a gigantic coffee cake. Everyone in the office scolded him, but his smile remained nonetheless. “This is a special coffee cake,” he explained. “Iaccidentally drove by the bakery this morning and there in the window was a host of goodies. I felt it was no accident, so I prayed, ‘Lord, if you want me to have one of those delicious coffee cakes, let there be a parking spot open right in front.’ And sure enough, the eighth time around the block, there it was!” He ends by saying: “All of us know what it is to enter the wilderness of temptation. Temptation is part and parcel of the human condition.” I can relate to that story. On “Fat Tuesday,” I was able to behave myself until I needed to pick up some milk from the store. I just could not walk past that egg and fat laden donut with gobs of gooey filling in it!! If I had only stayed out of the store until Ash Wednesday then they would have been gone. I yielded to temptation!! ALAS!! Of course, I can always say that it was not Lent until the next day so it did not interfere with my Lenten plans to watch what I eat. We always seem to have excuses for the way we behave, especially when we know we should not give in to the behavior. It also applies to what we put in our minds and not just what we put in our stomachs. I hope all of us are having success at drawing closer to God as we journey through Lent so that as we enter the Easter Season we might find our celebration sweet and rewarding. It is the highlight of the Christian year as we celebrate the gospel of Jesus Christ – His birth, life, death, resurrection and coming again. Through Christ’s death and resurrection we have life and that more abundantly. May God be with us as we travel the Lenten road!