Grace for All

Advent 2023Week 2 - Joy

Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. (Matthew 5: 11-12 KJV)

This familiar passage that concludes the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount is a difficult message wrapped in the beautiful cadences of the King James Version of the Bible.

Being persecuted is not an easy thing. Being talked about and lied about is not something that we enjoy. This is especially true when it comes to our faith, the thing we believe most fervently. When these things happen, we have trouble staying calm and holding our tempter. We want to defend ourselves or go on the attack. We want to make those who are persecuting us sorry. We want to make them wish they had never been born.

But Jesus says we we should react very differently. We should rejoice when these things happen. We should be joyful.

Like so many of Christ’s teachings, the reaction he demands goes against just about everything life has taught us. Don’t get mad, get even – or so we are taught.

Christ says, don’t get mad, be joyful. The rewards for developing a joyful spirit are greater than anything the world has to offer.

Prayer

Our Father, help us to take these words to heart. Help us to recognize that when we encounter life’s difficulties, being joyful is the only reaction possible for those who follow you. Amen.

This devotional was written and read by Jim Stovall.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected].

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Advent 2023Week 2 - Joy

So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. John 16:22 (NIV)

A number of years ago, my wife’s brother died suddenly. His funeral was delayed because one of his sons was at sea. The day after the funeral, my wife’s father entered the hospital. A couple of days later, her grandmother entered the hospital. Within the week, her grandmother died and then her father died the next day. It was a time of great sorrow. To this day sometimes tears come to my eyes when I remember.

However, when I think back there were also moments of joy during this time and the time following. While my wife was with her mother to help, I stayed behind for several days until I could join her. In the meantime, we were overwhelmed with support from others, some expected and some unexpected. My mother-in-law’s church and friends along with family all stepped in.

Members of our church called me daily and brought food while we were separated. They also called my wife to check on her. I will never forget that the Sunday before I was to join my wife, our Sunday School Class held a group hug and prayer for us.

So, even in this time of sorrow and the times that followed, there was joy experienced in the support we received, the shared memories, and the deepening relationships that followed.

Prayer

Lord, help us to remember that you are always with us and provide needed support through those around us. Help us to provide your support to those around us.

This devotional was written by Alvin Jenkins and read by Amy Large.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected].

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Advent 2023Week 2 - Joy

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.(Luke 2: 13-14)

When I think of the songs of Christmas, it's not just one particular song that stands out. My mind and heart go to one particular song at one particular place at one particular time. In years past, the cantata service in our church has begun with Angels We Have Heard On High. 

When that happens, I always try to get up to the balcony. From there, the confluence of choir and orchestra and organ and 600 voices make for a "joyful noise" that is simply overwhelming to me. In those instances, I can't even sing along; all I can do is stand and listen as "the mountains in reply, echo their joyous strains". If the angels sounded anything like this, it's no wonder that the shepherds ran to Bethlehem to see this thing that had come to pass. 

While I love the lullabies of Christmas like Away in a Manger and Silent Night, it's the celebration songs that touch me the most and this one in particular. While we don't want to wake the baby, we can always go to the hills and sing with the angels.

So, if the perfect storm of song and place and time happens again and the balcony dwellers see me slip in, just go on singing. I'm just there to here angels rejoice.

Prayer

Lord, help me to add my voice to the celebrations of the angels and sing “Joy to the World”! Amen.

This devotional was written by Charlie Barton and read by Sally Stovall.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected].

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Advent 2023Week 2 - Joy

Mary said, "With all my heart I glorify the Lord! In the depths of who I am I rejoice in God my savior." Luke 1:46-47

One of the great things about the songs of Christmas is how timeless they can be.  More than two-thousand years after the birth of Christ we continue to tell the good news through song.  Some of these songs have been around for centuries, while new Christmas songs are being written every year. 

Whether we are at church, in the stores or listening to the radio, we hear tunes that remind us that Christmas is almost here.  These songs help us reflect on the many joys of the season, our time with family and ultimately God’s greatest gift to us, his only son. 

One favorite song of Christmas, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, didn’t start out as a Christmas hymn at all.  In fact, the tune that accompanied the original lyrics is most associated with Easter, Christ the Lord has Risen Today.

Charles Wesley penned the lyrics to the song in 1738. The original hymn started with “Hark, how all the welkin rings.” Welkin refers to the “vault of heaven.”  Later, evangelist George Whitfield changed the first lines of the song, to “Hark the herald angels sing.” 

Charles Wesley is said to have resented Whitfield’s actions and refused to sing it. Eventually, more changes were made to the song in the mid 1800s and the version we have come to know and love has become a staple of the holiday season.   

Can you imagine the season without hearing this triumphant telling of Christ’s birth in the little town of Bethlehem?

Hark the herald angels sing

"Glory to the newborn King!

Peace on earth and mercy mild

God and sinners reconciled"

Joyful, all ye nations rise

Join the triumph of the skies

With the angelic host proclaim:

"Christ is born in Bethlehem"

Hark! The herald angels sing

"Glory to the newborn King!"

Christ by highest heav'n adored

Christ the everlasting Lord!

Late in time behold Him come

Offspring of a Virgin's womb

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see

Hail the incarnate Deity

Pleased as man with man to dwell

Jesus, our Emmanuel

Hark! The herald angels sing

"Glory to the newborn King!"

Hail the heav'n-born Prince of Peace!

Hail the Son of Righteousness!

Light and life to all He brings

Ris'n with healing in His wings

Mild He lays His glory by

Born that man no more may die

Born to raise the sons of earth

Born to give them second birth

Hark! The herald angels sing

"Glory to the newborn King!"

Treasure those songs of Christmas.  You never know what happened along the road to them becoming one of your favorites. 

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you now and always for the beautiful music that you have given us 

to celebrate the birth of Christ. Amen.

This devotional was written by Clayton Hensley and read by Owen Ragland.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected].

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Advent 2023Week 2 - JoyFor this is what the Lord says: “To those who keep my Sabbath, and choose what pleases me, and hold firmly to my covenant, to them, I will give my house, and within my walls, a memorial, and the name better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name, which will not be eliminated. Also the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord to attend his service, and to love the name of the Lord, to be his servant, everyone who keeps the sabbath, so as not to profane it, and hold firmly to my covenant; even those I will bring to my holy mountain and make them joyful in my House of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all peoples. (Isaiah 56:4-7)

A popular television series in the 1980s was titled “Cheers“ and was set in a bar in Boston. It was a small place with a regular clientele. It was self-described as a place “where everybody knows your name.“ You could go there and not have to introduce yourself. You did not have to worry about being accepted. There were several different characters who regularly appeared in that bar. They did not necessarily like one another, but they all accepted each other despite their differences. That setting and those characters consequently made for some hilarious television comedy.

In this verse of scripture, God is promising his people such a place. The “foreigners“ that are referred to here could just be those folks who are not exactly like us. They may be people with whom we disagree or with whom our differences are obvious.

But God tells us that this is a house of joy where everyone who accepts God‘s grace is also accepted in this place. Joy has many meanings: peace, mirth, laughter, serenity, reflection, and so on. All of these qualities are found in God’s house of joy. It is indeed a place where God and everybody else knows your name.

Where today can we find God’s house of joy? Where is that place of peace, happiness, and acceptance? How can we make that place a reality in our lives?

Our prayer

Dear Lord, help us find that place where you and everyone else know our name. And help us to offer that same acceptance to all of your children that we have received from you. Amen.

This devotional was written and read by Jim Stovall.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected].

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Advent 2023 Week 1 - Hope

This is Scripture Saturday, a time when we pause and reflect on the scriptures we have read throughout the week. 

If you missed any of our devotionals on these passages, you can find them on our website at firstchurch.org, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Now we invite you to listen and receive grace. Welcome and thank you for joining us.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected].

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Advent 2023Week 1 - Hope

Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. (Ephesians 2:12-13)

On December 17, 1927, the United States Submarine S-4 was surfacing from a submerged run over the measured-mile off Cape Cod near Provincetown, Massachusetts, when she was accidentally rammed and sunk by the Coast Guard destroyer Paulding. The Paulding stopped and lowered lifeboats, but searchers found only a few oil and air bubbles.

Rescue and salvage operations were started but were severely hampered by bad weather. As the sub sank, six members of the crew made their way toward the front torpedo room, where they communicated with rescue divers by tapping out Morse code messages on the hull.

As the trapped men used the last of available oxygen in the sub, one of the divers placed his helmeted ear to the side of the vessel and listened as the taps spelled out, “Is ... there ... any ... hope?” Sadly, the answer to the question was no, and all six men perished.

Our world reminds me of the S-4. We were created perfectly, but we were rammed by sin, causing us to sink in an ocean of despair. I don’t know if we’ve hit the bottom yet, but I do wonder how much farther we can go. Just like those trapped men, mankind is trapped by sin, and there are many people who are nearing their breaking points and asking anyone who will listen, “Is there any hope?” 

As followers of Jesus Christ, we know the answer to that question. Think about it for a second.

The men trapped in the sub were separated from the one who could save them by a couple of inches of steel, but it may as well have been a couple of miles of steel. They were separated from their savior without the slightest hope of rescue because it was physically impossible to break through the barrier.

We were born separated from God by a distance even greater than that. On our own we have about as much hope as those crew members did. Imagine, though, if a diver could have reached through that steel hull and pulled all those men out and carried them to safety. That would neatly qualify as a miracle. It is no more a miracle than what God did when reached down to us through His son Jesus Christ. He became one of us, and physically crossed a physically un-crossable gap and rescued all of us from the death that comes from sin—instantly—once and for all.

God lived with man here in this world in the person of Jesus Christ for 33 years. On the night before, He did what He came to do—die on a cross for my sins and yours—Jesus shared a meal with those who were closest to Him. During the meal, He told them what was going to happen, and He explained that there would be a new relationship with God the Father as a result of it. He illustrated by using the meal. He gave thanks for the bread, broke it, and said, “Take, eat – this is my body.” Then he took the cup, gave thanks for it, and said, “Drink this, all of you. This is my blood.”

He told them that from then on, he would not be physically with them, he would live inside them. Jesus wants to live inside all of us, and when He does, it is impossible not to have hope inside us because Jesus doesn’t provide hope. He IS hope.

Prayer

Father, thank you for the undying and sustaining hope we have through your grace and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. May we not only rest in that hope but reflect it to those who have not heard it.

Amen.

Today’s devotional was written by Cliff McCartney and read by Joey Smith.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected].

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Advent 2023Week 1 - Hope The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:5)

A few years ago, I learned the story of St. Lucy, a girl who was martyred in the 4th century.

Lucy, or “the light,” was offered in marriage to a nobleman at the age of 13, but she refused, having consecrated herself to Christ with the intention of giving away her dowry to the poor.

Her sentence for disobedience was to work in a brothel, but reportedly, when her captors came for her, she could not be carried away.  She was given a second sentence, to be burned at the stake, but her accusers could not accomplish this either. Ultimately, she was killed by the sword.

Tradition teaches that Lucy, a follower of Christ, carried food to other early Christians who were hiding in the catacombs. She wore a wreath crown lit with candles on her head to light her way. It is said that she devised the wreath with the candles atop because she did not want to waste the capacity of her arms and hands. Instead of using a hand to carry a lantern or torch into the caves and tunnels, she would wear the wreath and deliver as much nourishment as she could with each trip, filling her arms with food.

She carried the light of love. And now, she is venerated and celebrated around the world as a symbol of hope. Her feast day is December 13. 

Since I learned her story, I think about St. Lucy every Advent season. She inspires me—inspires us all—to be a harbinger of light. Isn’t it a beautiful image to envision walking around with candles aflame, lighting the darkness, even as both hands are free to do the busy work of serving?

That is the desire of my heart—to be like St. Lucy—even as I feel pressed on all sides, and even though it requires the repeated and continual surrender of my flesh, my earthly body, and selfish desires. Because when I feel pressed, crushed, threatened, my natural desire is to conserve, withdraw, and hide, to protect what is “mine,” to hold on tightly. Instead, God calls me to let go, to free my hands, to use them to carry more and more grace into the darkness.

Hope is never earned or claimed or grasped. Hope cannot be found by holding on tightly. It can only be received by letting go, by opening to what might be rather than clinging to what is.   

Prayer

Light of the world, place your light on our heads and in our hearts, and empty our hands that we may carry and share more and more of your love and grace. Amen.

Today’s devotional was written by Greta Smith and read by Sally Stovall.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected].

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Advent 2023We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not abandoned, struck down but not destroyed.  We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may be revealed in our body.  For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. (2 Corinthians 4:8-10)

 

The thing I love most of all about the Christian faith is that it is centred on a redemption story.  No other faith can claim such a message of hope at its very core.  It is impossible to imagine a more hopeful story than the resurrection story. 

The birth, ministry, crucifixion and resurrection of Christ teach that even death cannot stop love.  They turn malice and hatred upside down.  Not only was death powerless to stop love, but the power of love turns murder into salvation.  In no earthly way does such a transformation make sense.  It is a holy mystery. 

Lately, I have felt smothered by the awareness of how “not okay” everything is.  People are weary; moreover, people are angry.  Never in my lifetime has there been a more palpable sense of being pressed on all sides, squeezed from every direction.  I am reminded of one of my favorite movie scenes from childhood. 

It is from Star Wars: A New Hope.  Luke, Han Solo and Chewy have just come to rescue Princess Leia from the clutches of Darth Vader.  Instead, they find themselves in a pit of garbage with the walls closing in on them.  Their deaths appear imminent.  In the final moment, C3PO and R2D2 are able to shut down the trash compactor, saving them.  They are rescued, alive, but covered in filth and with numerous threats and obstacles still in the way of their ultimate escape. 

If that is not a timely metaphor, I don’t know what is.  

 

The weight of this past year, of these past years, is crushing.  Relationships are being crushed, spirits are being crushed.  Hope itself is being crushed.  We have been waiting, and waiting, and waiting for an end to the pressure.  

Here is the hard truth that my soul does not want to accept.  Hope, by its nature, remains unfulfilled.  Hope always exists somewhere between the now and the not yet.  Hope that is fulfilled is no longer hope.  It is certainty.  And in certainty, we do not need hope any longer… 

In Advent, this period of waiting, of longing, of preparation, I am reminded how fitting it is to begin with hope.  In the first week of Advent, we purposely and intentionally place hope in our hearts as a light, because we need it to carry us through this season of darkness.  The longest night is yet to come. 

The thing we have been waiting for, hoping for, will never come as we expected.  More often than not, it arrives unassuming, and we are unaware.  Whilst we keep watch for the king/conqueror riding in on a white steed, dressed in full regalia and accompanied by his army court, a poor baby boy is born in a filthy stable, wrapped in rags and laid in a feeding trough, His exhausted teen mom lies bleeding and crying on the cold hard ground. And we miss our salvation, entirely, in the moment. 

Only in retrospect do we understand that we were looking for the wrong thing. 

Prayer

Lord, we confess that hope does not come easily to us in these dark times.  Place 

your light in our hearts, that we would not lose our way.  In Jesus’ name we pray, amen. 

Today’s devotional was written and read by Greta Smith.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected].

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Advent 2023So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.   (2 Corinthians 4:18 - NIV)

As I was thinking about hope and the advent season, this verse from Second Corinthians stuck with me. In our busy lives, particularly during the holiday season, it is quite easy to focus only on what is seen. Our present activities, circumstances, joys and pains often consume our thoughts as well as our lives.

If we allow ourselves to step away from our busy lives and spend some time with God, we realize that while what we see may be chaotic, disappointing or tragic, what is unseen remains constant—and hope-filled. 

Archbishop Desmond Tutu said, “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all the darkness.” Isn’t that what Christmas is all about? God sent Christ to be the light in our darkness.

My wish for all of us is that Christ’s light will shine for you this advent season. 

PrayerLord, open our eyes to the unseen.  When we become preoccupied with the temporary, busy rush of the season, turn our attention, and fix our hearts on things eternal, that we may find hope and rest in you.  Amen.

Today’s devotion was written by Kathryn King, and read by Amy Large.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected].

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.