Text: Isaiah 6:1-8 I think one of the greatest failures of the church today is that we put God into a very small box. Jesus is our friend and companion. The Holy Spirit holds our hand and brings us comfort in tough times. The Father tenderly calls us to do the right thing. These are…
UMC 101: Our Theological Task and the Quadrilateral
Text: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 Over the last several weeks, we have been exploring what it means to be United Methodist. We’ve talked about some of the core beliefs we affirm, how we came to get our distinctive United Methodist flavor by emphasizing faith and love in action, and both standards for teaching those core beliefs……
UMC 101: A Doctrinal History of Difference and Charity
Text: Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10 The books of Ezra and Nehemiah tell the story of the first wave of exiles who return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple and the walls of the city. But just as important as rebuilding was rediscovering who they were as a people. In our passage from today, Ezra reads…
UMC 101: Doctrine and Discipline in Real Life
Text: Luke 3:7-14; Book of Discipline (p. 55-56, 77-80, 105-146) We continue today by the banks of the Jordan River with John the Baptist and a piece of scripture that we briefly touched during the Advent season. He has been calling people to repentance, asking them to change their hearts and their lives, and suddenly…
Vaccines and General Conference
At the end of last week, I received an email from the Wesleyan Covenant Association about their efforts to vaccinate delegates from Africa, Europe, Eurasia, and the Philippines. The goal is to make it possible for these folks to attend the General Conference currently scheduled for late August 2022. Included in the email is a…
UMC 101: Summon to Grace, Growth, and Love
Text: Luke 3:15-18, 21-22, Book of Discipline pages 47-54 Every time we turn the pages from one calendar year to the next, it feels like a fresh start. A new beginning. A chance to revisit where we have been and where we are going. A few years ago, we took time as a congregation during…
Home By Another Way
Text: Matthew 2:1-12 In the middle of December, Brandon and I were able to get away for an incredible six-day, seven-state, three-national park road trip. Over the prairies… through the mountains… across the desert… through Arches… our target was the Grand Canyon. I had never been before and it had probably been 25 years since…
Sanctuary
Text: Micah 5:2-5a, Luke 1:39-56 I have a kind of strange question to ask… Does this dress look familiar to you? How many of you have noticed or realized that I have worn it every Sunday for the last eight weeks? How many of you have noticed that I have worn this dress… I mean,…