Susanville United Methodist Church Weekly Messages
Different Ways to Pray – Many Verses!
/
Think of prayer as communication with the Divine Creator of the universe. You may find that concept equally terrifying and exciting. The great news is that God wants to communicate with us because, as an expression of His love for humanity, God wants to have a deeply personal, intimate relationship with each of us. With all of that in mind, any sincere prayer is a good prayer. Prayer is NOT a performance to be graded; it is a genuine point of connection.
Read MoreMatthew 5:1-12 – Peace with Justice Sunday
/
Peace with Justice Sunday is one of the six special Sundays designated by the United Methodist Church to bring awareness to special needs in our own communities, our country, and globally. Peace with justice is a faithful expression of shalom in the Bible.
We believe that in loving both God and neighbor, we must pursue God’s command of justice, liberation, and flourishing for all people. We must work for the civil and human rights of every person. By following Jesus’ commandments, we can be His hands and feet in helping to establish Peace with Justice.
Read MoreJames 5 – Prayer Matters
/
The many forms and styles of prayer – which we’ll talk about soon – help us create and nurture healthy, life-giving relationships with God, with ourselves, and with others. When we choose to engage with this powerful tool, the Kingdom of Heaven is filled with the energy of Divinity Itself. That energy, that power has transformed communities and lives for millennia; and prayer can do the same for us today. Let’s embrace this power and open our lives to God’s transforming Spirit.
Read MoreJames 4 – Let’s draw near to God
/
James 4:8 says, “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.” What a beautiful, interactive image. Imagine how you feel when you are naturally drawn to a beloved person or pet. Think about that desire you have to share time, touch, conversation. This is the kind of intimate relationship God wants with us. Notice that there is no qualification or “entry fee” to connect with God – if we simply make the effort, God is always ready and anxious to connect with us.
No matter who you are, what you have or have not done, what you have or have not achieved… none of that matters. The Kingdom of Heaven’s doors are open to all. Let’s draw near to God, together.
Read MoreJames 3 – The Power of Words
/
Rather than fall into the black holes of fear and hopelessness, we can embrace our freedoms and choose to let our faith inspire and direct us to try to be the best people God created us to be. We won’t always get that right, but if we make a consistent effort, we will become better models of heavenly wisdom over time. And that’s progress, and progress is good.
The world wants and needs to hear what we are for more than what we are against. The Good News is that we are for peace; with whom can each of us share some peace? We are for gentleness; with whom can we share some gentleness? We are for humility, not arrogance; how can we model that? And we are for mercy; how can we show mercy, not might, this week?
Let us freely use our words to marvelously remind people that we are ALL precious children of God, created to love and to be loved. This is what it means to be the Kingdom of God – welcoming others, with their flaws AND our flaws, into a community that cares about and wants the best for each other.
Read MoreJames 2 – Favoritism and Faith in Action
/
In today’s reading, James addresses what it means to reflect the personal, caring relationship God wants with every person. To offer extra grace or mercy to someone because of their higher socio-economic status implies that God’s grace and mercy are limited and only available to the highest bidders. But that’s not how the Kingdom of God is supposed to operate. Our doors should be open to ALL people, equally.
Our Christian faith proclaims that the Good News of God’s Love is for everyone so we shouldn’t get distracted by the superficial. I would love nothing more than for our town to describe us as “the church that will take anyone, it doesn’t matter who you are; if you want to love God, love yourself and love others… that’s all they seem to care about.” Let’s make that dream a reality.
Read MoreJames 1 – Slow to Speak, Slow to Anger
/
The key to fully appreciating James’ urge for us to be slow to anger is being able to first recognize our emotions and the emotions around us and then understand how everyone’s feelings are responses to our environment. Wrapping that in prayerful conversations with God can lead us to managing our anger (and other emotions) so that we’re motivated in a positive way to fulfill what James calls the purest definition of religion: caring for the most vulnerable people in our society (in his case, widows and orphans).
How can our anger at social injustices motivate us to be quick to listen to the needs of our community, to the cries of the vulnerable? How can we then speak out for their needs?
By listening quickly, speaking slowly, and acting with great compassion, we can be God’s loving, transformative presence for our community.
Read MorePentecost, God Within and Among Us – Acts 2:1-12
/
Pentecost is about seeing God’s presence in our lives. As you start each day, ask God to help you notice the Holy Spirit in and around you. If it helps, ask God to help you see the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). And when you think you’ve seen, heard, or felt God, tell someone so we can celebrate with you!
By recognizing Pentecost-type moments in our lives, we open ourselves to experiencing a deeper personal relationship with God. And the fruit of that will be more love, more joy, and more peace in ourselves, in our homes, and in our community.
Read MoreDon’t Just Stand There, Do Something! – Acts 1:1-14
/
Each of us has our own experience of God’s presence in our lives. Each of us has our own story to tell. Our faith journeys are as unique as we are.
Like the gospel writers, when we share our faith stories, we give other people the opportunity to say, “Hey, I had the same experience!” OR people might say, “Wow, I never noticed God in that way; you’ve given me a new way to look for or understand God in my life.” OR even, “I’ve never thought about my faith like that; I’ll have to ponder that.”
Any of those are great. This is how we, as a community of believers, grow our faith and continue on our faith journeys rather than getting complacent or stuck and staring up at the clouds saying halfheartedly, “OK God, what next?”
Read MoreA Radical Change of Thought and Life – Luke 24:28-53
/
In Luke’s story, Jesus tells us what He wants us to do in 24:47: “a radical change of thought and life should be proclaimed, and that in His name the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed…”. But what does it means to proclaim in the sense of sharing our faith and/or faith experiences with others? People of ALL ages can proclaim their faith in numerous ways, perhaps most importantly in how we treat others.
And just what are we supposed to be proclaiming? The Voice translation offers us wording that beautifully conveys what repentance means: “a radical change of thought and life.” What radical changes in your life can you proclaim with joy?
Read MorePeace and Forgiveness – John 20:19-31
/
Forgiveness is the path that gets us to wholeness… to shalom (peace with God, ourselves, and others). In these handful of verses, Jesus lays out both the power we have and the opportunity at our fingertips to create peace… or not.
If we can do the culturally hard work of embracing the forgiveness that God so freely offers us and encourages us to share with others, we will naturally be happier, healthier people who will, as a consequence, naturally bring joy and peace to others. Forgiveness is a critical way we expand the Kingdom of God and bring life-giving change into our homes and our community. Isn’t it worth the effort?
Read MoreMay I Have Your Attention? – Mark 16:9-19
/
So WHY did Mark’s editors include these five incredible claims: cast out demons, speak in new languages, handle snakes, drink poison, and heal the sick? As Nef put it: for shock value. ALL of these miraculous signs had one goal: to get people’s attention so that you could then tell them about God’s even MORE incredible love.
If we create a culture where we look forward to moments when we can spontaneously and joyfully share God’s love with others – and then celebrate those moments together – we will continue to expand the Kingdom of God and shock our community with our faith.
Read MoreGo! I Will Always Be With You – Matthew 28:8-10, 16-20
/
Several questions are worth pondering as we seek to be better disciples of our faith’s beliefs and values.
Who are we following – both religious and non-religious – and what are we learning from them?
Who are we leading and what are we teaching them?
How can we be better students and teachers of the Good News of God’s love?
Much like Jesus’ disciples, the Kingdom of God is filled with people from all backgrounds. Let’s work on inviting others to walk with us in this unique and amazing community as we all learn and grow together.
Read MoreEaster – The Promise of New Life – Luke 24:1-12
/
Butterflies have become my favorite symbol of our faith in the miraculous, a symbol of our hope for beautiful transformation, the necessity of having to patiently wait for the transformation to develop, AND the necessity of living into our potential and our limits.
Our celebration of Easter begs the questions, “What’s YOUR story of transformation? Where are you IN your story of transformation?”
As we dig into and wrestle with these questions, we will often find God creating new life within us. And like the butterfly, we begin to realize that we are not who we once were – individually or as a community of faith. We have become new creations with new abilities so that we can embrace the new opportunities God puts before us.
Palm Sunday – Our Faith in Dark Days
/
The legendary stories of Jesus’ birth and death serve as mirrored bookends to Jesus’ unique life. Jesus’ birth story challenges us to look for God’s presence in unexpected places and people. Jesus’ death story reminds us that we are imperfect creatures, prone to fear and putting our own safety and comfort first.
May we always be open to God’s presence, and may we develop a faith so bold that the stones don’t have to shout praises to God.
Read MoreLetting God’s Spirit Soak In – Matthew 26:26-28 and John 6:35
/
God loves us so much, in such a personal and intimate way, that His Spirit saturates us so that His presence completely merges with and nurtures our presence – not just during communion, but every day – a shared experience with our Creator. God wants the Holy Spirit and our spirit to be living, breathing, growing, exploring, and working together – as one. A shared existence.
When we realize that God’s Spirit is living inside us AND inside everyone we meet, we are more likely to be at peace with ourselves and others. We’re more likely to be able to love ourselves and love others. And in doing so, we are more likely to welcome more people into this universal community of faith we call the Kingdom of God.
Read MoreCurating Our Faith – Luke 9:23-25, 28-36 and John 21:24-25
/
Think about how you are curating your faith and your lives. Looking back, what have you embraced and rejected? Is it time for some spring cleaning and redecorating? Is it time to enhance your curated collection of treasured beliefs, behaviors, and people so that you can love God, love yourself, and love others more than ever before? If we curate our faith and our lives with intentionality, we can shape our lives, our homes, and our communities to look, sound, and feel more like the world God desires. And that will be Good News, Great News, for the people around us!
Read MoreVirtue #8 – Flourishing Churches Work Well with Others – 8 Short Verses
/
Working well with others is part of what gives people, organizations, and entire communities the resilience needed to get through tough times. Lord knows we’ve all needed extra resilience these past two years. Locally, we’ve endured massive wildfires, prolonged power outages, and a prison closing. Nationally, we’ve dealt with bitter politics, Covid’s persistence, and now a war involving a nuclear super-power.
We need each other to survive and thrive in every aspect of our lives – mentally, physically, socially, and spiritually. We need to worship together, serve together, eat and drink together, laugh and cry together – just like Jesus did with His friends and His enemies. As we aspire to be a church that flourishes in our community, we must continue working well with others. And by doing so, we will demonstrate and experience what it means to be part of the Kingdom of God.
Read More