Belmont United Methodist Church

Episode 41 Easter Sunday

On Tuesday, as part of my Sermon prep, I counted 33 dress shirts in my bedroom closet. That is not counting a few in the laundry room, summer shirts in a big tote in our basement, and an entire wardrobe filled with t-shirts, sweatshirts, sweaters, outdoor and farm wear. If you added in pants, jeans, jackets, and coats I might have enough clothing to line a city block if there was another Palm Sunday Parade.  Is it time to go to Goodwill? 

What if you only had the clothes you were wearing, would you offer your only coat as a saddle or toss your tunic in front of the donkey Jesus rode into Jerusalem?  Would you worry about the donkey’s hooves tearing your coat? In 30 AD day laborers and working class people generally owned one change of clothes. People patched and repaired clothes wearing them every day for years. In Genesis 37, Joseph’s older brothers loathe him for his coat of many colors that his dad gave him. After crucifying Jesus the soldiers gambled for his clothes. Exodus 22 mandated that if you took a neighbor’s coat to secure a loan, you must return it before sunset. The commandment appeals to humanity more than legalism asking: “How will your neighbor keep warm?” And promising that when your cold neighbor cries out, God “will listen, because God is compassionate”.

Senior Pastor Paul Purdue

Episode 38 Everything Between Lost & Found

Episode 37 Everything Between Rest & Growth

Episode 36 Everything Between Faith & Works

Episode 35 Everything Between Stranger & Neighbor

Does it ever feel like things are pressing in around you? Have you put down that phone, which is cleverly engineered to suck us into its interests, and felt a bit anxious, frazzled, or alone? 2,000 before radio, phones, or newspapers, Paul warned us to limit our content: “Finally, siblings, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” (Philippians 4)  We might all benefit from scheduling daily time away from our screens allowing for notification-free prayer, conversation, music or even yard work. Longer thought spans let us day-dream, imagine, and breath. ......

First Corinthians 13 may be my favorite passage in the whole Bible. By Monday I had the beginnings of three good sermons that stretched out 12 pages, one had a great funny opening story. None of them seemed adequate for our national moment that Bishop Tracy S. Malone, President - Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church named as “Deplorably, racist, xenophobic, nationalistic, and anti-migrant. In such moments, we may hesitate to talk about love because love feels like a weak resignation to hate.