“I do.” When in your life have you said those words? When testifying before a court, perhaps? At the wedding altar? For me, it was for my ordination. In each of these instances, we are making a promise about our actions. But that action or the failure to do that action, directly impacts someone else. The two aren’t separable - my action and the impact on your life.

This week as we conclude our 21 Days to a New Spiritual You sermon series, we will look at 7 more of John Wesley’s 21 Questions for the original Holy Club. On first glance, these questions appear to be inward focused…asking such things as “Are you irritable, critical, etc.” and “Do I think of myself more highly than others?” But the truth of these questions and life in general is that what we do as individuals impacts both how we see others and how we treat others. For example, consider the Pharisee and the tax collector in our Gospel Lesson (Luke 18:9-14). It also impacts our relationship with God. As one of our other Scriptures so directly puts it, “Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker, but those who are kind to the needy honor him.” (Proverbs 14:29-32). So read over the passages for this sermon, and ask yourself the important question, “When might I find myself in this story / saying?" Then read our epistle lesson (Romans 12:9-13), and ponder when you exercise these practices and what it does to you, those around you, and your relationship with God?

God asks hard questions of us because God is always inviting us to grow in our relationship with God's self and all our neighbors. Come to this sermon as we explore ways to do just that!

Five reasons why you can be a Children's Sunday School teacher or helper!

Have you ever felt the need to stop something so you could “focus on myself?” In a world of high demands, this is a real and important call at various times in life.

With this sermon, as we continue in our series 21 Days to a New Spiritual You, we are going to look at 7 of Wesley’s 21 Historic questions that focus us inward, looking at our own habits and thought processes. Specifically, we will consider the prying question, “Am I self-conscious, self-pitying, or self-justifying?” In preparation for this sermon, I ask that you read over the two different but, in my opinion, complimentary stories of human creation.

The first is told in Genesis 1:26-31 and the second in Genesis 2:4-3:12. What is similar about the first human, and what is different in each story? I ask because these two “Adams” make up our ”selves” and can guide us in healthy vs. distracting or destructive self-focus. For ultimately, the goal of focusing on self is to find God’s image in us and live into that.

We hope you had a wonderful Christmas with loved ones. Now with the New Year here, you may be considering some New Year’s Resolutions.

Are you sick and tired of all the weight loss commercials and gym membership deals you are seeing advertised, promising you a new and improved you for 2019? I know that I am!

But how about all the advertisements for a new and improved Spiritual You for the New Year? Not too many of those, are there? Well, that is the invitation we would like to offer you.

Over the next three weeks, we are offering (free of charge), a new sermon series and at-home prayer guide that promise a new and improved spiritual you! This series is based on John Wesley’s 21 questions developed to support Christians in their faith journey.

The first seven questions guide us to look upward, toward God, to help grow in our relationship with God. That will be the focus of our Scriptures and this sermon. In the following sermon, we look inward, at our selves; and for the sermon after that, we look outward, toward our neighbors. Each week, we will focus on seven questions that will direct our attention through prayer to help us grow in our spiritual walk with God.

What is under your tree?!

When you were a kid, did you stare at the presents and try to imagine what wond’rous gift might be inside? Simeon, the singer of our final canticle in the book of Luke and focus for this sermon, did the same thing - only not with gifts, but people. He went to the Temple every day, looking at each baby to see if he could get a glimpse of the Messiah. He had been told by the prophets that he would see the Messiah, his Savior, before he died. Believing the prophets, every day he looked for this promise to be fulfilled.

Do we believe God’s promise that God will come down to us and that the Spirit of Christ can occupy any of us humans at any moment? As we head toward Christmas Day with family, friends, and extended community, can we take on the posture of Simeon and look for God in each person we encounter? Can we see that, thanks to Jesus, they too can be about God’s saving work on earth. That goes for our annoying uncle and problematic sibling. Can we look at them as wrapped presents with some wonder’ous gift inside we just can’t see yet? Can we see ourselves similarly? This may seem simple or Pollyannish but I’m not writing about ideals. I’m suggesting that, through incarnation, God has made it so, and we are to join in this song of salvation for all of us. And this truth turns our world and the way it is “supposed to work” upside down. There’s so much more to Simeon’s song and the Prophecy it is based on, that we will explore in this sermon.

For this sermon, we hear the song that flows from Zechariah when his period of waiting has ended. An old priest, God had shocked him by promising a son to he and his wife who were way past child-bearing years. He questions the promise, and God insists Zachariah be silent as he waits - probably so he can take in every bit of this holy mystery. Nine months later, when his son arrives, Zechariah does not simply speak, but breaks out in song. Make sure to read that passage from Luke.

Notice how Zechariah names the miraculous powers of God to “save us from our enemies” and “bring the dawn from on high” to earth. Waiting has helped him watch for and recognize God’s awesome work and prepare for the Holy King who will come and turn what we often prioritize upside down. In preparation for this sermon, hum the words with Zechariah and which line stands out to you and why. Then, wait for God to speak to you through the the Scripture and the sermon!

Here we are invited to pray, reflect, cry, or just be as we reflect on “Isolated Isaiah” and “Mary, the Mother with a Pierced Heart.”

"Hail, Mary, full of grace…." Did you know that this Catholic prayer comes directly from Scripture’s Christmas story? It’s an older translation of Luke 1:28, "And Gabriel came to Mary and said, 'Greetings, you who are full of grace, the Lord is with you!'"

As we begin Advent, the season meant to prepare us to receive Christ afresh, I want to ask you a question:

What are you full of?

Grace? Judgment? Hopes? Fears? Dreams? Doubts? Regrets? Anxieties? Something else?

Thankfully, Advent is a time to intentionally let God empty us of anything that blocks grace. Christ comes so he can turn us and our world upside down and shake out all the stuff that blocks hope, love, joy, and peace and then fill us with these realities.

Ever thought it was funny that we call the darkest day ever, the day Jesus died, "Good" Friday and the most superficial, consumeristic day, "Black" Friday? I do, and so I did some research.

The history of "Black Friday's" name origin is unclear, but many think it’s named for the day when retailers all over the country went from the "red" in their annual sales to the "black," now breaking even for the year. Whether you are one who likes to fight the crowds in the mall or prefer staying as far away as possible, remember that God’s "good"ness is most clearly revealed when everything is stripped away rather than when things are accumulated. We are "blessed" by Christ’s courage in the passion to release his earthly possessions and human power in exchange for God’s heavenly reign.

That brings me to this sermon. You may come to it surprised to hear us read a gospel passage about the day Jesus died. Why It’s a special church holiday, Christ the King Sunday, which marks the end of the church year and properly prepares us for the one to come. Read the Scriptures for this sermon and ask yourself, "What God is teaching us about true majesty, power, and reign through both the passion and the birth of Jesus?"