The Lectionary Reading for Holy Week: Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Isaiah 49:1-7

Psalm 71:1-14

1 Corinthians 1:18-31

John 12:20-36

(Readings from New Revised Standard Version of the Holy Bible, copyright 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America)

Holy Week Bible readings for Monday:

Isaiah 42:1-9

Psalm 36:5-11

Hebrews 9:11-15

John 12:1-11

(Readings from New Revised Standard Version of the Holy Bible, copyright 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America)

God calls to us but he does not reveal his message to us until we are ready to listen.  So what is God's message to us?  All throughout the Bible, God has a single message that repeats over and over again, and that is to turn away from our sin and turn back to him.

Jonah 3:1-5,10

Recorded at Hudson UMC on January 21, 2018

We are starting a new series for the season after Epiphany and looking at the Old Testament texts for insight into When God Speaks.  We begin with the story of a young Samuel who was called upon by God to deliver a message to the High Priest, Eli, in a time when Israel was on the cusp of falling into apostasy.  But sometimes we can hear without listening, and so we ask the question, When God Speaks, Are You Listening?

Recorded at Hudson UMC on January 14, 2017

When we pursue an object of our love, be it a person or some other thing, we go after it with everything we have. In the same way, Christ gave everything out of love for us. Why, then, wouldn't we as a church respond in adoration for our Lord?

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on November 19, 2017

We continue looking at "Who We Are" as a church by examining the central message of everything we do: the Gospel (or the Good News).  But many modern Chistians face a dilemna: we don't know how to put the Gospel into words, and some of us don't really know what the Good News is, exactly.  In American society the Gospel has become watered down into a feel-good self-help message that doesn't challenge us out of our comfort zone.  Jesus said the Gospel would be an offense and a stumbling block.  But we are called upon to preach the gospel at all times, and so preaching the gospel as a church is what makes us who we are.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on November 12, 2017

What does it mean to be a Bible-believing, Gospel-preaching, Christ-adoring church?  We will be looking at this question over the next three episodes, beginning with the first part: who are we as a Bible-believing church?  What is the United Methodist stance on the Bible as God's holy word?  And what is the theological foundation of our belief?  We begin looking at Who We Are by first affirming: We Believe the Bible.

1 Thessalonians 2:9-13

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on November 5, 2017

The final sermon in our series commemorating the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. Soli deo gloria means that everything we do is for God's glory alone. He alone is God and worthy of all praise, glory and honor.

Romans 11:33-36

Recorded at Hudson UMC on October 29, 2017

The Church in the time of Luther added the burden of meritorious works and the sale of indulgences to the sufficient work of God's grace, and Luther and the reformers sought to free God's people by dismantling the scaffolding.

Ephesians 2:1-10

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on October 22. 2017

Having established that we are justified through faith alone, the question remains: faith in what, or whom? The Bible tells us that whoever believes in Jesus will be saved. The Reformers restored to Christ's followers the understanding that it is faith alone in Christ alone, and that Christ is our only savior, the only sacrifice, and the only mediator between a holy God and sinful man.

Acts 4:5-13

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on October 15, 2017