Grace for All

You are listening to Grace for All, a daily devotional podcast produced by the people of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee.

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 1stChurch.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/.

Have you ever thought about how strange it would be for someone to call the police because a  neighbor was too patient or too kind? Yes, people complain about anything, but imagine a  phone call like this: “Officer, come quick—she’s showing way too much gentleness!” Such a call wouldn’t elicit sirens. But Paul’s line, “There is no law against things like this,” almost invites that kind of absurd image. Laws are written to restrain what harms, not to regulate what heals. 

Think about a typical homeowners’ association. They churn out pages of rules—don’t park here,  don’t paint that, keep your grass at exactly 3 inches—all in an attempt to create  “neighborliness.” But rules can’t make people love one another. At best, they can keep things  neat; at worst, they breed resentment and loophole-seeking. 

I grew up in a small town that didn’t need HOAs. People looked out for each other because  that’s simply what you did. Someone’s fence fell? Neighbors just showed up with hammers.  Nobody wrote that down. It was lived. 

When I read these verses, I always think of Mickey Berney, a member of Lincoln Park United  Methodist Church in Knoxville for over 85 years. She wasn’t perfect—none of us are—but she  spent 100 years and 3 weeks leaning into these Spirit-born qualities, nurturing them in herself and encouraging them in her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and even great-great grandchildren. She often requested sermons on those verses. Mickey didn’t try to force fruit; she cultivated it. 

That’s the key: the Spirit grows what rules never can. Laws can only say Don’t do this. The Spirit  whispers, become this. 

Thank you, Father, for your Holy Spirit. Grow your fruit in me. Let love, joy, peace, patience,  kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control become so real in me that no law  could ever be needed. In Jesus name, Amen.

This devotional was written and read by Donn King.

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/.

Everyone has, from time to time, picked up an earworm.  It's one of those songs that plays over and over in your head that you just can't seem to get rid of.  In those situations, you long for a new song to replace this tune that just won't go away.

A few years back, I had a series of arguments that played over and over in my head with various people, some of whom I was very close to but with whom I had significant differences of opinion on a variety of topics.  I honed these arguments to a razor's edge and waited for just one of these folks to say something and I was ready to jump in with the speech I had practiced over and over to really nail them.  These mental arguments became for me vile ear worms with no melody.  At some point I realized a couple of truths: first, because I cared about these folks, I was probably never going to jump into a debate from which we could probably never fully recover; and second, harboring these noxious arguments in my head was robbing me of my peace and making it difficult to have civil if not loving interactions with those folks who were the targets of my internal battles. 

So, I decided for one Lent to give up the arguments in my head. However, it was not enough to just decide to stop the ear worm of these internal debates. That's not how ear worms work. They had to be replaced with something different, a new song if you will.  I found that it's difficult to have a raging internal battle with someone if you reflect on what, instead, brings you together.  It's also difficult to pursue these virtual arguments if you pray for the folks who were the targets of those debates. These can be the new songs that return peace to your own heart and restore a loving outlook towards those who have been the targets of your internal wrath. 

The good news is that these new songs can be sung by any of us; they are not limited to the 144,000 from the book of Revelation. Any of us can learn to sing a new song of love and compassion to replace those nasty earworms that plague us. 

Dear Father, create in me a clean heart; teach me a new song; help me to be more loving in my internal musings as well as my external words and actions. Amen

This devotion was written by Charlie Barton 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/.

Mentioned in this episode:

This month on Grace for All, we are replaying some of our most listened to episodes. If you are enjoying these devotions and would like to have them in written form, our first six months of content is now available in print. You can find it by searching Grace for All, a book of daily devotions, by Jim Stovall on Amazon. As always, thank you for joining us, and we pray that you will be blessed.

I tend to worry a lot.  I tend to worry about things that haven’t even happened.  I worry about how I am going to play in my next baseball game, for example, or about what people will think of me, even people I haven’t met yet! 

We don’t need to worry about that stuff, because tomorrow is not promised.  All we can count on is today. That makes me think of another verse, Galatians 6:9:  Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.  Basically, this means that we have to be patient and not worry about what is happening in the future. Instead, we must rely on God, and keep doing the right thing in the present.  If the thing we want doesn’t happen, it’s either not the right thing or not the right time.  The Lord will create a path for each of us, and sometimes failing is part of the plan that will make you who you are supposed to be. 

Sometimes things don’t work out the way you wanted them to.  When that happens, it’s hard to understand, and easy to worry.  Two years ago, I didn’t make my middle school baseball team, and then I got cut from the team I was on.   Even though that was really hard at the time, now I can look back and see how it helped me become the player I am today—a better player.  It taught me to keep working and not give up.  It taught me to have faith in God, who helped me through. 

And faith is better than worry any day. 

Dear Lord, please help me to not worry about tomorrow, and instead live in the present, and trust in You.  In Jesus’ name I pray.  Amen.

This devotional was written and read by Ryan 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/.

Mentioned in this episode:

Thank you for joining us for Grace for All. This month, we are repeating some of our most loved episodes. We hope they will inspire and encourage you on your faith journey. Welcome.

My dad was almost certainly tone deaf. I mean, literally. He could not carry a tune at all, and I really don’t think he realized it. In other words, he could not hear the variations in pitch that other people could hear.

I am guessing at that, because I could never ask him directly. Sitting next to him in church at an early age, I noticed that what came out of his mouth had absolutely no resemblance to what came from everyone else. I developed some musical ability early, and could “hear” natural major, minor, minor seventh, etc., chords and relationships, so Dad’s atonality grated on me.

But one day in the car as I rode in the back seat on the way home from church, I said something to Dad about how he couldn’t carry a tune. He said, “What?” and looked puzzled. Mom shot me that look that could scorch paint off the side of a barn, and I quickly shut up and never mentioned it again.

In retrospect, I see the kindness of my mother at that moment. I knew Dad couldn’t carry a tune. She knew it. Everyone for six pews around us knew it. But I don’t think Dad knew it. All he knew was how much he enjoyed music. He would listen to old 45s and 78s on the home stereo for hours—Patsy Cline, Dean Martin, Conway Twitty. I don’t know what his experience was like, but I know he loved music. And he loved singing in church.

The Psalmist said, “Sing to the Lord a new song! Sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing to the Lord! Bless his name! Share the news of his saving work every single day! Declare God’s glory among the nations; declare his wondrous works among all people because the Lord is great and so worthy of praise.” He didn’t say to sing so that others would admire you.

Dad wasn’t singing for me or for the surrounding people. With all his gusto, he sang to the Lord. Had I managed to, in my arrogance, communicate to Dad how he sounded to others, he may have lapsed into silence. It would have robbed him of something precious. It would have robbed the people around him as well. They may not have enjoyed his dissonance, but I know how much people looked up to him. I am certain that his joyful noise uplifted hearts—his own, and those around us.

Dear Lord, thank you for the wisdom you shared through my mother to keep my mouth shut and my dad’s voice open. Grant to us unselfconscious, joyful participation together in singing to you! Amen.

This devotional was written and recorded by Donn King.

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/.

Mentioned in this episode:

This month on Grace for All, we are replaying some of our most listened to episodes. If you are enjoying these devotions and would like to have them in written form, our first six months of content is now available in print. You can find it by searching Grace for All, a book of daily devotions, by Jim Stovall on Amazon. As always, thank you for joining us, and we pray that you will be blessed.

In the opening of the book of Acts, the apostles are waiting in Jerusalem as they have been instructed, gathered in one place. Suddenly, like a mighty wind the whole house is filled with the power of the Holy Spirit and the believers begin to testify. The sound is so powerful that it attracts the attention of a host of people who have come to Jerusalem, and they form a crowd around the apostles. Remarkably, though these people speak different languages, each hears the message in their native tongue. They had come to Jerusalem from different places. Still, they were united in that moment because they all heard the same message. 

That is what stands out here. That when the Holy Spirit is given, the people are moved to proclaim the gospel. And when the gospel is proclaimed, it doesn’t matter that we come from different places or speak different languages. It is, as Luke observes, bewildering, and amazing and astonishing and yet somehow true, that the good news of God’s redeeming love and grace transcends our differences, crosses barriers, unites us as one in the Holy Spirit, and breathes life into the universal church. 

When the gospel is proclaimed, the kingdom of God expands. That is the story of the book of Acts, it is ultimately the story of the proclamation of the gospel resulting in the expansion of God’s kingdom, to include more people and more peoples, and more and more.

When God says, “go,” it is to expand God’s kingdom, to enlarge God’s family. Where do we have an opportunity to grow the family of God? Who else needs to be included?

Holy Spirit, move us to bear witness to the Good News of your redeeming love and grace, so that all might come to know the heart of Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.

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/.

Mentioned in this episode:

Thank you for joining us for Grace for All. This month, we are repeating some of our most loved episodes. We hope they will inspire and encourage you on your faith journey. Welcome.

In reading this verse alone, without the context of the surrounding verses, I am at first reminded of the time, later in Luke (Chapter 10), where Jesus is questioned by a lawyer about the greatest of all commandments. Jesus asks the lawyer what he thinks. Love God and love your neighbor as yourself. Correct, says Jesus. But then the lawyer asks, “But who is my neighbor?” That question provides Jesus with the opportunity to relate possibly his most beautiful parable, the Good Samaritan.

In this passage, no one asks, “Who is my enemy?”

We don’t have to ask. Many times in our lives, enemies surround us. We have no trouble identifying them. And therein lies the problem. We can, indeed, identify our enemies.

Jesus calls us not only to action but to “listen” and think deeply about what he is saying. If we do that, we may discover a hidden but essential truth. The person we love, because we love that person, can no longer be our enemy. We cannot identify that person as an enemy.

Yes, there may be those who “hate us.” But we are not responsible for the feelings of another person. We are responsible for our own feelings and actions. If we follow this divine command, we will have no enemies.

Loving God, show us how to follow your example, to love those who might hate us, to show love to those we might consider enemies.  Let us be transformed in Christ, that we might become friends to all the world.  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/.

Mentioned in this episode:

This month on Grace for All, we are replaying some of our most listened to episodes. If you are enjoying these devotions and would like to have them in written form, our first six months of content is now available in print. You can find it by searching Grace for All, a book of daily devotions, by Jim Stovall on Amazon. As always, thank you for joining us, and we pray that you will be blessed.

As a young boy growing up, I was influenced by those with whom I was around. This included mostly family, church and school. I never heard any bad talk or cursing in my family or certainly in church. As I grew into my teen years, I like others looked up to older boys as to how to act, talk bigger than we were.

However, I do recall my dad on occasion saying, “well the hay o.” When I was in the third grade, I said the same thing on one occasion. My teacher, Miss Flossie Winborne, took me out into the hall and told we should not say such things. I think it was at Boy Scout camp of all places that I heard older boys in my tent after taps say words I had never heard before. However, I had been taught that we did not use such words at home, church or anywhere else where we might be heard by a disapproving adult.

When I entered Virginia Tech and later the army, it was an entirely different story. Obscenities were very common, and it almost seemed that the guy who could tell the dirty joke that brought on the most laughs was looked up to. I recall that on television when someone said an inappropriate word, it was bleeped out. It happens now on occasion, but not as often as it should.

I personally do not watch or give any credence to programs that use profanity as part of their script. Social media is certainly full of it. We should always remember that little pitchers have big ears. I recall hearing of a mother who occasionally used a four- letter word around her three- year-old. It wasn’t long before the three-year-old was using that same word. We should all try to speak as Jesus did with words of thanks, affirmation, and praise.

I must admit that I strive very hard to not say a bad word when I hit my finger with a hammer. It is hard to be thankful in that situation.

Dear God, help us to only use words that would please you. Words of thanks, praise and affirmation. Words that we might hear Jesus say. Help us realize that our words can have a significant impact on others. Make us more aware of the words we speak. Amen.

This devotion was written by Emmit Rawls 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/. 

Mentioned in this episode:

Thank you for joining us for Grace for All. This month, we are repeating some of our most loved episodes. We hope they will inspire and encourage you on your faith journey. Welcome.

We know, from the last chapters of the book of Genesis, which immediately precede this passage, that Joseph had saved the Egyptian nation from starvation. He was honored among the people and revered by the pharaohs.

The family of Joseph had come to Egypt. They had settled in, and as far as we know, from this account, they were industrious and unoffending. After a couple of generations, however, Joseph and what he had done for the nation had been forgotten. The children of Jacob had become numerous among the Egyptians. But they were different. They had different habits and rituals. They worshiped a different God.

What might’ve happened had the leaders of the Egyptian nation looked upon these people and said, “Let’s make these folks are friends.“? Unfortunately for everyone, they took a very different path. They let their suspicions, their ignorance, and their fears overcome their better natures. These people were different. If war comes, they will betray us. Let us oppressed them now while we have the chance.

And so they did. Can we draw any conclusions from that ancient story about our world today? Do we allow the fact that some people are different to dominate our thinking, to arouse our suspicions, to lead us into believing they need to be oppressed or put down?

This passage calls us to examine our own attitudes and actions toward people who are not like us. Despite our enlightenment from the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament, too often we react like the Egyptians of old.

Today we should call upon God to help us formulate attitudes of love, caring, and compassion that will replace our attitudes of suspicion and fear.

The Egyptian leaders, in trying to protect their nation, gave in to their hate and fear. In doing so, they ultimately brought plagues, tragedies, and destruction to their land.

What if they had chosen love instead of hate?

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/.

Mentioned in this episode:

This month on Grace for All, we are replaying some of our most listened to episodes. If you are enjoying these devotions and would like to have them in written form, our first six months of content is now available in print. You can find it by searching Grace for All, a book of daily devotions, by Jim Stovall on Amazon. As always, thank you for joining us, and we pray that you will be blessed.

Our Bible verse for today is Col. 3:16 - New International Version says: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.”

I am not a very good singer.  I have a loud voice, but sometimes I tease that I think God forgot to tune it.  And while I may frequently sing off key, I can definitely make a joyful noise to the Lord, with gratitude in my heart.  

I am happy that singing on key is not our assignment from Colossians Chapter 3.  Let’s consider a few more verses from this Chapter for a broader look at our important assignment.

Now we have clarification of our assignment!  We need to dress ourselves properly, with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience - then “put on LOVE,” like a cloak which will bind all these together.  With such beautiful garments binding us, we can joyfully sing praises to God – no matter the key in which we sing!

The Word of Christ is His Message, His Teaching, His Advice.  And he gives lots of advice during His time on Earth.  He gives advice to friends and enemies, to those who love Him and those who hate Him.  But all this advice can be summed up in his answer to the question – “Lord, what is the greatest commandment?”  To which he replied (and I paraphrase) – “LOVE GOD, LOVE OTHERS.”

So, clothed in LOVE, with gratitude in our hearts, let’s sing His praises…

Hallelujah!  Hallelujah!  Hallelujah!  Hallelujah!  Hallelujah!  Amen!

Today’s podcast was written and read by Bernice Howard.

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/.

Mentioned in this episode:

This month on Grace for All, we are replaying some of our most listened to episodes. If you are enjoying these devotions and would like to have them in written form, our first six months of content is now available in print. You can find it by searching Grace for All, a book of daily devotions, by Jim Stovall on Amazon. As always, thank you for joining us, and we pray that you will be blessed.