First United Methodist Church - DeRidder, LA

The imagery of Christ at the Last Supper with his disciples, lowering himself to wash their feet in spite of protests that they should wash his feet, not the other way around, is crucial to understanding that serving God and serving others is the essence of the Christian tradition and the life of a disciple. We discover in 1 Peter that serving the community of faith and the world as a whole reflects not only our role in the community of faith but God's role in designing us for serving in and through the community of faith.

"That's the MAIN thing going on at that church - just watch. They want your money and will talk about it all the time and browbeat you until you pony up." A sentiment that is heard rather frequently, to speak these words is to miss a great deal of Christ's teaching, because Christ openly and unapologetically discussed how people look at and use money is a direct reflection of their faith. In some of Paul's words to Timothy, we discover what may be some uncomfortable yet essential understandings about the role of money and giving as a reflection of our faith, our trust in God, and our understanding about how our giving is, like it or not, a statement of our priorities.

"Does it really matter if I skip out this week? After all, God knows my heart, and, besides there are plenty of other people so no one will miss me that much..." Making a vow to be present in the life of the church, the second vow one makes when joining a United Methodist congregation, very specifically answers that line of thinking, for we understand that being present is not about you, but about God. By the words found in Psalm 100, we discover that being present in the faith community speaks volumes about our understanding of God's grace and goodness, as well as our presence in creation.

(NOTE: OUR APOLOGIES FOR THE SLIGHT FEEDBACK IN THE RECORDING. WE ARE WORKING TO ENSURE THIS IS RECTIFIED BEFORE NEXT SUNDAY.)

The very first vow a person makes when joining a United Methodist congregation is to support their church with their prayers. What is it about the role of prayer in the life of the disciple that would lead the church to make this the first vow of membership? Through some of Jesus' words found in the Sermon on the Mount, we will discover that a disciple's prayer makes some definitive and distinctive statements about their faith and their view of God's role in life.

We begin our A Disciple's Path season by coming to a common understanding of what is a disciple and how the path of a disciple's life is defined. Drawing from Luke's gospel, we come to realize A Disciple's Path has four distinct characteristics that bring challenge and comfort to any individual disciple as well as a community of disciples.

DISCLAIMER: This week's podcast is an edited recreation of Sunday's message due to an issue with the original recording.

In the final installment of our Goin' Old School series, we look at John Wesley's third rule for the Methodist societies, which can be roughly translated into STAY IN LOVE WITH GOD. Through a few verses in James, we see some distinct characteristics that mark one who is pursuing God with all they have.

In the middle installment of our Goin' Old School worship series looking at John Wesley's three rules for the Methodists, we discover a rule that is kind of a, "No Brainer." Do Good. Drawing upon the words recorded in James' epistle, we see that doing good is maybe a little harder than we might otherwise think, especially when it comes to how we speak.

We are taking a three-week worship journey into our roots as the latest generation of the people called Methodist by looking at three simple rules our founder, John Wesley, had for his United Societies. In this first installment, we explore rule #1 - DO NO HARM - by wading through some wise words from the tenth chapter of Hebrews that challenge us in our desire to be faithful to Christ and His Church.

In the last installment of our, "It's Academic," worship series, we explore a few verses in the sixth chapter of Paul's letter to the Ephesians, wherein we discover Christians are to have a standard dress in which they live their lives, and are challenged to look at the parallels between a college football pre-game tailgate and our devotion (or lack thereof) to Christ.

We draw from the wisdom of the Proverbs this Sunday to be reminded of the basic essential of the faith that God is always going ahead of us to prepare a place for our success as disciples of Christ. Also, we are confronted with the truth that discipleship requires 'growing up' into the life of restoration, redemption, reconciliation, and wholeness that is found in Christ alone.