Sunday, May 20th, is Pentecost Sunday: the Sunday when we remember and celebrate the birth of the Christian Church. The story of the Church’s formation is recorded in the Bible in Acts, chapter 2. Prior to his Crucifixion and Resurrection, Jesus had promised the disciples that after he was gone, God would send the Holy Spirit to be with them and continue teaching them. So, Acts 2 opens with the disciples and other followers experiencing the fulfillment of Christ’s promise that God would send the Holy Spirit. The first Christians experienced the Holy Spirit as a “tongue of fire” coming upon each of them. They began to laugh and shout and speak with great joy.

Scripture: Acts 2: 43-47

Instead of reflecting on the reality of sin as a rupturing of relationships, we will examine a story of forgiveness, reconciliation, and healing.  This is the story of the woman who anoints Christ with precious oil.  All four Gospels include this story, but we will focus on Luke’s account, which has a different emphasis than the other Gospels.

To summarize, Simon has failed miserably at being a good host for Jesus, while the woman has exemplified excellent hospitality to Jesus, the guest of honor at the banquet. Referring to the woman, Jesus continues:  This woman’s “sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love.  But the one to whom little is forgiven loves little.”  Then, Jesus tells the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.”

Therefore, we seek to forgive—as well as to be forgiven—in order to repair the relationship. 

Excerpts from Richard Randolph's Blog ( https://richardorandolphonfaithmatters.blogspot.com/)

Scripture: Luke 7: 26-50

The story of David and Bathsheba found in 2 Samuel 11 & 12 has many different interpretations, Pastor Beth Menhusen challenges the scripture, relating it to the #MeToo Movement and the Harvey Weinstein scandal. In this sermon she talks about exploitation by those in power and how it is a sin.

If the scripture reading or sermon triggers memories of victimization in your own life, Voices of Hope is a local Lincoln resource for those suffering from sexual assault or victimization. You can reach their 24-Hour Crisis Line at (402) 475-7273, and a comprehensive list of their services at www.voicesofhopelincoln.org.

Scripture: Selections from 2 Samuel 11 & 12

Whenever Richard reads the story of Ananias and Sapphira, he finds it very easy to get sidetracked by their sudden deaths at the feet of Peter. What sort of power did Peter wield over the early church? Were Ananias and Sapphira just so overcome by guilt and fear that they simply collapsed and died? While it is easy to get sidetracked by their deaths, he believes that it is important to set aside the how of their deaths occurred and focus on what the story of Ananias and Sapphira can tell us about sin and discipleship.

Remembering that we have defined sin as the rupturing and damaging of various relationships, Ananias and Sapphira damaged two different relationships when they held back some of the money from their land sale. First, the couple were greedy. As we observed above, greed is sinful because it subverts the common good in our relationships with others. We are greedy when we decide to privilege our desires and pleasures over the legitimate needs of other persons. As noted above, from a Christian perspective each of us has a responsibility to insure that others have a fair share of resources and opportunities so that they can flourish. When we hoard money and possessions, after our own basic needs have been met, then we are greedy. This is exactly what Ananias and Sapphira did, when they held back some of the sale proceeds from the community. In so doing, they fractured their relationship with other members of the church, and this was sinful.

During the Season of Lent, the sermons and worship themes will focus on “Reclaiming Sin: A Biblical Guide.” Sin destroys relationships with others, with Creation, and with God. However, we don’t hear much about sin anymore. Popular culture has largely abandoned the concept of sin. Instead, we refuse to take responsibility for our sinful actions. Or, we try to explain sin away as not really our fault. In this series, we will reflect upon stories of persons in the Bible who sinned, the consequences of that sin, and whether they received forgiveness and reconciliation with God. We will discover that recognizing and acknowledging sin is a first and essential step towards achieving healing and forgiveness. 

Richard takes a look on Original Sin through the story of Adam and Eve and the Serpent and how it relates to the overall image of sin.

VERSE: Genesis 3 Selections

As we began 2018, our worship focus at Christ United Methodist Church will be on “Finding God in Everyday Life.” The spiritual basis for this exploration is a claim that the Divine is always present in our lives, even in the everyday routines which we all have. However, many of us rarely experience God in our everyday lives, although we do experience the Divine in worship or in those life altering moments, such as the birth of a child or death of a parent. Why is that?

Ending our series we focuses on “Finding God through Adversity".

Verse: 2 Corinthians 12: 7a-10

Sunday, February 4th, Richard resumed focus on “Finding God in Everyday Life.” He believes that we sometimes have difficulty experiencing the Divine in everyday life because we are not actively seeking God’s presence in the ordinary. Over the past few weeks, we have been exploring the ways in which we can become more open and sensitive to God’s presence in our everyday lives. This podcast our focus shifts somewhat as we explore Finding God in Doubt.  In these circumstances, we may be actually searching for God—or, at least seeking some fleeting evidence of God’s existence. Yet, despite our best intentions, God seems aloof or—perhaps—absent altogether. 

We begin to doubt God’s existence. Or, we encounter the hypocrisy, greed, and sinfulness of God’s Church and the self-proclaimed faithful who call themselves “Christians.” Under these circumstances we begin to question whether or not a God of love and peace would tolerate such apostasy. Since God seems to tolerate specifically anti-Christian attitudes and behaviors in the Church, we question whether there really is a “God.” 

Verse: Isiah 6: 6-8