Two Sundays ago was Easter Sunday. I hope you were here because it was an especially beautiful service as we gathered to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. The entire service, the sermon, the music, the prayers – proclaimed to all the world our faith that Christ has risen from the dead, and that the fact…
These past few years have been such an odd season in all of our lives. I don’t think we have ever been more concerned with purity and sanitation – and with good reason! Throughout this pandemic, there have been some humorous memes going around Facebook to try to add some needed levity to the seriousness…
There is an old story about a man in a foreign country who wanted to learn to read and write the English language. A visiting missionary offered to teach him, using the Bible as his textbook. The man learned rapidly, and soon had read much of the scriptures. The missionary had to continue on his…
Every time a pastor is appointed to a new church, he or she inherits certain traditions and customs started by their predecessor – programs that may be wonderful, but ones that the new pastor probably would not have begun if it had been up to him or her. I know that has been true for…
Our second lesson this morning is taken from the fourth chapter of John (vs. 13-15): Jesus replied (to the woman), “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” …
When I was a little boy – maybe 6 or 7 years old, one of my earliest Christmas memories was the year our family was going to be traveling on December 24th to spend Christmas with relatives in another town. I was all upset, because we wouldn’t be home on Christmas Eve when Santa came…
We have two readings this morning. Our second lesson is a portion of the story of the Woman at the Well (from the 4th chapter of John): 25 The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” 26 Then Jesus told her, “I…
On this second Sunday in the Season of Advent, we are continuing our reflections, inspired by that familiar Christmas song, “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.” As I was listening to that song, I was struck by how each phrase of the song might echo a theme we find during the Advent season, as we…
Today we are concluding our series of sermons on “Living as a Disciple.” Throughout the past couple of months, we have considered the seven essential spiritual practices all true disciples of Jesus engage in. Those practices we have learned about are Prayer, Meditating on Scripture, Corporate Worship, Small Group Accountability, Financial Generosity, and Serving Out…
Two weeks ago, we completed a sermon series that went “Back to Basics” as we considered the Path of Salvation that John Wesley, Methodism’s founder, outlined. It was all based on the grace of God that is at work all throughout our lives, leading us into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ – beginning…