Pastor’s Message
A disciple is a follower or student of a teacher, leader, or philosopher (or their held ideologies). A disciple of whole eating doesn’t swing through McDonalds; a disciple of resource conservation doesn’t litter or use non-renewable products including foodstuffs. In Jesus’ day, a Rabbi called disciples not only to learn information or tenets of an ideology; disciples fully expected that they are learning a lifestyle.  

My invitation at the beginning of this still-new year was to be honest and intentional about the lifestyle we are leading as those who say we follow Jesus. Do you look and sound like Jesus when you are at home? At work? With your family and friends? Alone?
 
The following are the four areas I suggested that we attend to on a regular basis. These questions and suggestions can help us grow in our discipleship, individually and together:

Prayer/meditation: 
1.   Jesus tells us to pray for our enemies. Do you? Don’t have enemies? Think: those who get on my nerves or those who I prefer not to be around. Pray for them.
2.   Jesus tells us to love our neighbors the way we love ourselves. Do you pray for your neighbors? We may not know challenges or celebrations by name; we may not even know our neighbors by name. That doesn’t have to keep us from bringing them to mind and offering them up to God in prayer.
3.   A conversation requires both speaking and listening. Give God a little extra time to talk … you just listen.

Study of scripture:
1.   What new verse/passage have you discovered since the beginning of the year?
2.   What familiar verse/passage have you committed to memory since the beginning of the year?
3.   Instead of trusting a guide of some kind (devotional book, study notes in a Bible, etc. – good as they are), trust yourself to work through a familiar verse. What new or additional meaning did you draw from that practice?

Service:
1.   Try your hand at doing an anonymous act of kindness every day for a whole week; you might even choose a stranger when you’re out of the house.
2.   How might you ramp up your participation in mission at the church level? (From bringing food on collection Sunday to helping deliver that food to the SALT pantry storage; bring special goodies for Compassionate Hands guests or spend the night with them; from providing Easter Eggs for the Egg Hunt to helping us invite and welcome neighbors to our “house.”

Worship:
1.   Spend the moments during the opening music praying for the Spirit to move.
2.   Sing with more enthusiasm than you usually do.
3.   Set aside time to worship at home three times one week. (Use all the features that help worship meaningful on a Sunday: music, candle lighting, speaking aloud, praying to oneself, etc.)

Praying for us to know the companionship of God’s Spirit as we grow!
Sandra
Youth and Sunday Night Bible Study
Sunday, February 3, 2019
Will NOT meet on Sunday, February 3, 2019. Youth will resume on Wednesday, February 6th at 6:00 pm and please join us for the next Sunday Night Bible Study on February 13th (now being held in the Library).   
Trustees Team
Meeting
Monday, February 4 th
7:00 pm
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United Methodist
Women
Tuesday, February 5 th
10:00 am
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Cook’s Mission Team
Become a part of this exciting ministry. Join us for our monthly meeting Tuesday, February 5 th at 6:30 pm Room 107
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JOIN EDUCATION TEAM!
Passion for learning? Passion for teaching? For mentoring a younger Christian? Or being mentored? Join the Education Team meeting in the library at 4:15 on Wednesday, February 6 th . For more information see Sandy Phillips

Sunday
February 10 th
Finance Team 3:00 pm
Church Council 4:00 pm
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Kids Movie Night
Friday, February 15 th
Cook’s Friendship Hall
5:30 – 7:45 pm
Pizza, Popcorn & Drinks served
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United
Methodist
Men
United Methodist Men’s Club Breakfast is scheduled for Sunday, February 17 th at 8:15 am in Cook’s Friendship Hall.
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Cook’s Book Club has chosen John Grisham’s The Reckoning for our February read. We gather on the third Tuesdays in the Cook’s UMC Library. We hope you’ll read with us and join us on Tuesday, February 19 at 11:30am. Feel free to bring lunch with you. Our facilitator for this read is Mrs. Carolyn Ricketts. We look forward to seeing you there.  
Historian’s Corner
Welcome to Cook’s UMC Bicentennial Year!  As colonial life dawned in Tennessee, Methodist itinerants were riding the trails, eager to plant the gospel in hungry souls.  A Methodist Circuit Rider stopped on our windy hill in the early 1800’s, and was moved by the Holy Spirit to invite the first worshippers here.  Tradition tells us that the Cook family provided land about 1819 to provide a gathering place for the people.  In 2019, we are planning many ways to celebrate and rediscover our roots while we look to the future with renewed love for our community.
Don’t miss our February Celebration Event!
Historic Dance Day and Brunswick Stew Dinner
Sunday, February 24, 2019
Friendship Hall
Noon Dinner – Brunswick stew and drinks provided.
Congregation bring breads and desserts to share.
Story Telling, Traditional Music and Historic Dance Demonstration.
Childcare Provided.
Compassionate Hands
Van Drivers Needed
To pick up guests at 3 locations in Lebanon. 1 st pick-up 5:15pm. Drivers take guests to dinner at Cross Style Church. Leaving at 6:30 for host churches in Lebanon / Mt. Juliet. Morning drivers - 7am at host churches and deliver to original pick-up sites. No special driver’s license needed (14-passenger vans).  
Wednesday Nights “Life Lessons from the Book of Acts” presented by Bob Johnson at 6:15 pm in Room 105 (Faith Searchers Classroom). 
Childcare is provided.

Sunday Nights “Epic of Eden” series offered in the Library at 6:40 pm on Sundays. Gives you the tools needed to make sense of the whole history of God’s redeeming grace starting with Adam and Eve. Childcare is provided.  
Cook’s 2019 Officer Listing -- copies are on the shelf in the central hallway. 

November & December 2018 Financials -- can be found on the shelf in the central hallway. Please take a copy to review. If you have any questions please see Monica Cox, Debbi Hooper or Sharonda Hampton.

Pictures Directories -- are still available in the church office. Donations of $5.00 help cover the cost of printing.
Thank you all so much for your love and generosity this Christmas! I feel extremely blessed to be a part of such a loving and supportive church family. Thank you for helping make this Christmas such a special time for my boys and me as we continue to settle into our new home. A portion of your gift was used to purchase beds for Jude and Canaan. Thank you for making this possible! Please know that you are loved and appreciated beyond words. 
Thank You! Jordan Littrel l
College Student
of the Month
Madison Storey
Maddie is a Junior at
Belmont University
1430 Brighton Circle
Old Hickory TN 37138
A year ago I was invited to join a group of pastors who had a dream of gathering all pastors in Wilson County for the purpose of prayer, encouragement, and living into the unity that the Spirit brings. Since that time, clergy – in growing numbers – gather monthly for the same action, but we are dreaming together of the impact of such. Everyone’s Wilson is the fruit of a year of praying, discerning, and planning. We have determined our common priorities to be these:

1.   Everyone fed. 
2.   Everyone free.
3.   Everyone safe.
4.   Everyone ready.

In essence, as the Body of Christ, we will have the opportunity to join our brothers and sisters in working toward the eradication of hunger, of crime (particularly juvenile crime), addiction, and lags in education.

Our kickoff event is scheduled for Wednesday, May 1 from 6-8pm at Charlie Daniels Park. We’ll have many more exciting details to share about this family event as we grow closer to the date. We hope that you’ll put it on your calendar and be praying with us for the Spirit to move among us and make us ready for an extraordinary manifestation of God’s power toward the healing of our community.
Sandra
Wednesday Night Fellowship Meals
Cost $5.00 per adult, $2.00 for ages 5-11, ages under 5 years eat free. Please pre-order and pay for your meals using the envelopes in the sanctuary pews or on the shelf in the main hall. Place the envelopes with money in the offering plate or turn into the church office no later than noon the Tuesday before. There will be a limited amount of food for those that don't pre-pay. 

  FEBRUARY MENU:
6 th Chicken & Dumplins, Green Beans, Rolls and Dessert
13 th BBQ, Baked Beans, Cole Slaw and Dessert
20 th Spaghetti & Meatballs, Salad, Garlic Bread and Dessert
27 th Chicken Casserole, Green Beans, Rolls and Dessert

Samaritan Fund
Cook’s Samaritan Fund is part of our Missions Program. The dollars in this fund are used to help those in our community with immediate needs (utility bills, medication, gas or rent). Each applicant is required to present photo identification and a copy of the bill they are requesting assistance with to the church office on Wednesdays and Thursdays between 11:00-1:00 pm. The money used to fund this account comes for the dollars left at the altar rail during communion.  
Sympathy
Our deepest sympathy goes out to Jordan Littrell and his family in the death of his grandmother, Irene Littrell. Ms. Irene was from Lawrenceburg, Tennessee.   And Jim Webster and his family in the passing of Mary Elizabeth. Mary Elizabeth was a long-time member at Cook’s. 
Homebound
Dick Estes
Martha Gatlin
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of him. 1 John 5:14

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. Mark 11:24

The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. 
Psalm 145:18

These words of Truth are the reason 16 of us have dared to step into a season of prayer on behalf of our neighbors and their experience of God’s love. AWAKEN NASHVILLE is a prayer effort that will cover every household in the greater Nashville area – including Wilson County.  Between January 27 and February 24, we will be praying daily over 240 households; God only knows how many children and adults will be the subject of brothers and sisters petitioning God on their behalf. What a privilege it is to pray … and you can join us! Would you pray daily for us to be faithful in our commitment and for our neighbors to be open to the moving of the Holy Spirit? By the way, if you are a Wilson County resident, your household is on someone’s list. That means, someone is praying over you today! May every one of our neighbors come, like us, to the conviction that God is for us and that God’s love abounds.
Cook’s Inclement
W eather Policy
If Wilson County schools are closed due to inclement weather all activities at church will be cancelled for that day. If Wilson County schools close early due to inclement weather all church activities will be cancelled for the remainder of that day. Sunday worship schedules will depend on the weather / road conditions on those mornings. A decision will be made as quickly as possible on those days and will be posted on Facebook as well as email communication sent. Please use your own discretion on those days.
Electronic Giving Available
Electronic giving helps you stay current with your planned giving especially when on vacation or traveling. All records are locked in the church office, increasing confidentiality, while paper checks (which contain the same information) are part of the weekly counting process with rotating money counters. Contributions continue to be reflected on your year-end contribution statement, and contributions can be canceled or altered (such as the amount or change the bank account) at any time by simply contacting the church office. If you are interested in this easy and convenient way of giving please contact the church office.
Are You on Facebook?
You can help us spread Cook's news! It's easy: first, be sure to "Like" Cook's Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/cooksumc/). Then keep your eye out for announcements, inspiration and invitations to worship. When they show up in your FB feed, "Like" or "Share" the posts. The more who do, the more people see it, even if they're not yet members and/or don't “Like” the CUMC page. Have photos from a church event or something you want to promote on social media? Send info/photos to Alison Nash or to the church office.
February Meetings / Activities
Sanctuary Reserved – Sat, Feb. 2 nd 1:00 – 4:00 pm
Trustees Meeting – Monday, February 4 th 7:00 pm
United Methodist Women – Tuesday, February 5 th 10:00 am
Missions Team Meeting – Tuesday, February 5 th 6:30 pm
Adult Education Team Meeting – Wed, February 6 th 4:15 pm
Finance Team Meeting – Sunday, February 10 th 3:00 pm
Church Council – Sunday, February 10 th 4:00 pm
M.O.M.S. Bible Study – Tuesday, February 12 th 9:30 am
Kids Movie Night – Friday, February 15 th 5:30 – 7:45 pm
Men’s Club Breakfast – Sunday, February 17 th 8:15 am
Friendship Hall & Kitchen reserved – Sunday, February 17 th 3:00 pm
Bicentennial Event – Sunday, February 24 th Noon
M.O.M.S. Bible Study – Tuesday, February 26 th 9:30 am
Stewardship Team Meeting – Thursday, February 28 th 6:30 pm
If there is a meeting/activity not listed, please notify the church office.
7919 Lebanon Road
Mt. Juliet TN 37122
615/449-2573
www.cooksumc.org
Sunday Schedule
9:30 am Traditional Worship
(in our Sanctuary)
10:45 am Sunday School Hour
5:30 pm Acoustic Worship
(in our Sanctuary)