Matthew 5:1-12 – Peace with Justice Sunday

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Matthew 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.

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Go! I Will Always Be With You – Matthew 28:8-10, 16-20

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Go! 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.

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John 12 – Mary Anoints Jesus (a $40,000 pedicure?!?)

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John 12 – Mary Anoints Jesus (a $40,000 pedicure?!?)

Mary’s actions were her way of honoring God’s presence in her life. Her extra-ordinary generosity celebrated Jesus’ life of extra-ordinary service to others AND symbolically prepared Jesus for His extra-ordinary execution and resurrection.
Two questions for us today should prod us to consider how we utilize the resources we have.

  • In what ways can we sacrificially give as an act of acknowledging and worshiping God’s presence among us?

  • In what ways can we serve those in need while we confront the systems that neglect and oppress others?

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John 6:47-60 – Flesh & Blood, Power & Life

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John 6:47-60 – Flesh & Blood, Power & Life

If our sacred texts – the Hebrew Bible and the Christian New Testament – provide the bones of our faith, and Jesus’ ministry of words and deeds provide the flesh, the Holy Spirit that ran through Jesus and runs through us today is the life-giving blood we all depend upon to live from one moment to the next. The skeleton gives structure; the flesh gives power; the blood give life.

Our Sunday worship services are a spiritual meal shared among friends, a time together meant to be savored and shared, like the steak and wine meal.

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John 5:16-30 – Embracing Eternal Life Here and Now

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John 5:16-30 – Embracing Eternal Life Here and Now

Despite all that’s wrong with the world around us, despite all the ways our bodies and minds ache, despite all of our faults and failings... despite the long list of items we could choose to complain about, the GREAT News Jesus proclaimed is that we have the opportunity here and now to enjoy being in a loving relationship with the Creator of the Universe.

The new life Jesus speaks about is God’s invitation – here and now – to let the living water of God’s love flow, nurturing and growing the Kingdom of God, heaven on earth, by loving God, loving ourselves, and loving others. The questions for us today and every day are this: How can we stir that water within us? What can we say or do to share that water with someone who is wilted or parched? Answering these questions with our words and actions are just one way we can embrace the eternal life Jesus spoke about here and now!

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Mark 8:27-30 – “Who do you say I am?”

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Mark 8:27-30 – “Who do you say I am?”

As modern-day disciples of Jesus continuing 2,000 years of the Christian tradition, our faith calls us to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Once we have our answer – individually and as a church – to Jesus’ question, then our bodies (and our church as the Body of Christ) open ourselves afresh to God’s Spirit moving within us and through us. Once we have our answer, we have the foundation required to survive life’s storms and launch new ministries. Like the disciples, once we have our answer, nothing can stop us from being Jesus’ hands and feet, sharing God’s love with a broken, hurting, waiting world. This is how the Kingdom of Heaven becomes a living, breathing, life-giving reality around us.

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Nurturing Our Childlike Faith – Mark 1:21-39

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Nurturing Our Childlike Faith – Mark 1:21-39

Whatever Jesus preached, He backed up with undeniable demonstrations of His message put into action. Today, our actions of service should reflect our words of faith. As our faith grows deeper, we can expect our actions to grow bolder as we share the Good News that EVERYONE is a precious child of the living God created in God’s loving image, designed to serve as God calls each of us.
Today’s story presents us several challenging questions.

  • First, listen: are we listening for God to speak to us in new ways and, perhaps, through unlikely people?

  • Second, grow: are we open to letting God’s activity in our lives increase our childlike faith – our willingness and capacity to believe in the mysterious?

  • Third, share: when we do experience God’s activity in our lives, are we willing to share that to encourage each other and attract others?

  • Fourth, reconnect: as much as we believe we are called to put our faith into the actions of serving others, are we willing to disconnect from everything so that we can reconnect with God through intentional one-on-one time?

  • Finally, clarify: are we willing to let the lure of God’s Spirit guide our lives rather than the lure of what our culture seeks from us?

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Take Up What Cross?!? – Matthew 16:21-28

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Take Up What Cross?!? – Matthew 16:21-28

“Follow me.” Follow You where?!?
“Follow me as we experience God’s transfiguring power. Follow me as we heal the sick, learn about forgiveness and accountability, discuss money management, confront authority as we seek social justice, and share one last Passover meal together. Follow me.”

When we, individually and as a community of faith, follow Jesus through all of that… then we will have experienced what it means to be the hands and feet of God in the world. And with so much “on the job training,” we will be well-equipped to passionately share our vision of a world that loves God, loves ourselves, and loves others.

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