Let us pray: Holy and living God, we thank you for the community of faith to which we belong. We thank you for the witness of the saints above, our forefathers and foremothers of the faith whose lives of faith inform our own lives today. We thank you for the saints below: those who live […]
This morning we are going to consider the “Prince of Division.” In the sixth verse of his ninth chapter Isaiah tells us Jesus will be “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. But our Gospel reading quotes Jesus as saying, “I came to bring fire to the earth…. Do you think that I […]
Our epistle reading this morning begins with words written by Paul to Timothy, “There is great gain in godliness combined with contentment.” As I read that, my attention was caught by the word, “contentment,” a word I have given little thought to since I learned what contented meant as a child reading a can of […]
Thanks to modern technology, I have 25 translations of the Holy Bible literally at my fingertips via a keyboard. This enables me to easily compare translations and select those I consider to be most appropriate for each occasion. I read the following from the New King James Version: “Blessed are those servants whom the master, […]
1 Timothy 1:12 -17 Let us pray: Just as we are without one plea, but that your blood was shed for all, and that you bid all to come. O Lamb of God, we come. Just as we are and wanting not to rid our souls of one dark blot, to you whose blood can […]
Jeremiah 2:4-13 Let us pray: Holy and awesome God, your love for us is as vast and as far-reaching as the east is from the west. We confess that we rely too heavily on ourselves and we do not rely nearly as heavily as we ought on you. In times of plenty and in times […]
Luke 14:25-33 Let us pray: “Take up your Cross,” you have said, “if we would your disciples be.” Our hearts leap to be in relationship with you. Then, you continue, “deny yourselves, the world forsake, and humbly follow after me.” You call us into a rich, deep relationship. We confess that we have created […]
Our gospel reading today is a quotation of Jesus, and it conveys a lot within a limited amount of text. To me Jesus’ words of peace are among his most meaningful messages, both in general and in the context of today’s discussion. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do […]
Although there are exceptions, most of our worship services in the Methodist and other Christian traditions include a sermon – perhaps designated as a message, homily, commentary, or meditation. The idea is that a pastor or other preacher or speaker will draw from prayer and scriptures ideas that he or she shares with a congregation. […]
Our life experience has taught us that there are at least two ways to approach a project, a task, a problem, or anything we want to accomplish. The best or better way is to obtain as much relevant knowledge as possible, give the matter an appropriate amount of thought, make any preparations that may be […]