On my knees Laid low I am nothing I am but dust and ashes I am the stuff of the earth And yet somewhere in me there is a spark. A spark that dares A spark that yearns When Abraham dared to seek You, Oh Lord God Almighty was he really humble Or did he…
Kenotic Words
worship, sermons, lectionary
I Am dust and ashes
Landon Whitsitt had a thoughtful post about how we engage with Lenten disciplines today: Giving up chocolate and beer for Lent is not what Jesus had in mind. In it, he reminds us about the basics of spiritual practices surrounding Lent: prayer, fasting, almsgiving. He reminds us that it is not about us at all.…
Shine Like Stars
Imagine No Malaria Guest Sermon – Advent 2 When we lit our advent candles just a few minutes ago, we were reminded that not everything in our scriptures is full of sunshine and roses. Luke’s vision of the coming Messiah includes terrible signs and distress among the peoples. As the Message translation of these…
Following Jesus isn't easy…
This morning in my devotion time I read from Matthew 21… the cleansing of the temple. I have been using the daily reading book from The Message and there are always good questions that pull you into the stories and make me think. This morning, I realized that following Jesus can give a person whiplash.…
Willing to Yield
I want to start out this morning with a testimony… and I think it is very important that you understand this is not me preaching about what you should go out tomorrow and do… I am simply sharing what my experience of God was this past year. That is an important qualification, because I’m going…
Ships, Horses and Tongues
Jesus and the disciples were traveling along the road when he asked them a question: Who do you say that I am? We heard how Peter spoke out, “You are the Christ!” … but we also heard how merely moments later, Peter began to speak again. He was wavering in his faith, resisting the reality…
Things you can't plan…
This Sunday, I wanted to share with the children that the gifts we have are meant to be shared. I invited them to imagine what would happen if they were given a dollar, or found a dollar on the ground. I held out four quarters in my hand. “What can you do with a dollar?”…
Mercy Trumps Judgment
The UnitedMethodistChurch has a mission. We have been called by God to make disciples of Jesus Christ FOR THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE WORLD. That last piece… for the transformation of the world… is a recent addition to our mission, but it speaks volumes about who we believe God has called us to be. We believe…