Hyde Park United Methodist

Mat and Justin talk about the legacy of Howard Thurman and how we can direct our beliefs into actions for justice in the community.

Howard Thurman was one of the greatest preachers, writers, and mystics of the 20th century. His book “Jesus and the Disinherited” was a landmark work that invited us to see Jesus on the side of the oppressed, and inspired us to work through non-violent means to bring justice and social change. Every day, Thurman read Psalm 139, as a source of strength and courage, and verses 13-18 capture the intimate relationship he sought to have with God. 

HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps

Reflection Questions:
1. What group or person is it most difficult for you? How might you practice seeing the divine in them?

2. How have you or will you build a relationship with the disinherited?

3. How can you dismantle discrimination? Specifically, what action will you take? 

 

Mat and Magrey dive deeper into Mother Teresa's story, paying particular attention to her own struggles with doubt, faith, and God's perceived absence. We talk about what we can learn from that today and how we can manage our own anxieties and fears.

Resources:
"The Questions Jesus Asked"
Magrey deVega
https://a.co/d/05e3zfA1

"Come Be My Light"
Mother Teresa
https://a.co/d/02AQBil8

Mother Theresa of Calcutta was the greatest charitable force in our lifetimes. She inspired us to give of ourselves humbly and obediently for the sake of the poor and needy, regardless of the cost. Hers was a living embodiment of the psalmist’s words, to “raise the poor out of dust, and the needy out of the ash heap.” Her life and witness is captured in her quote, based on Psalm 113: “Joy is prayer; joy is strength: joy is love; joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls.” 

HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps

Reflection Questions:
1. What is “Your Own Calcutta?” How will you practice and compassion and mercy to others?
 
2. In what ways can you be more persistent in doing the work Jesus calls you to do?
 
3. What lessons can you learn from Mother Teresa in how she named and dealt with doubt?

Mat and Magrey sit down to discuss the impact Dietrich Bonhoeffer had on Magrey's calling to ministry and the conflict between our inner and outer selves.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was one of the most significant martyrs of the 20th century, whose courageous stance against the Hitler and Christian Nationalism continues to inspire us. In his famous book “The Cost of Discipleship,” he calls the church to remember that when God calls people to follow him, he “calls them to come and die.” 

HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps

Reflection Questions:
1. Who have been the significant “voices of inspiration” in your own spiritual journey?
 
2. What is something new you learned about the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer?
 
3. How will you follow Jesus more closely this week?

Prayer is the lifeblood of the disciple of Jesus. In his final days with the disciples, Mark told the disciples in Mark that their faith would allow them to pray with such conviction and confidence that whatever they asked for would be granted to them by God. But that belief carries an important precaution. Prayer is not a cosmic vending machine, that demands God to act on our own terms. Prayer is an act of vulnerability and obedience, in which we declare our dependence on God, and our willingness to decenter our own needs and desires.  

HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps

Reflection Questions:
1. What is the mountain you’d like to move?

2. How has the power of prayer changed you? The world? 

3. Who do you need to forgive?

For many, the existence of suffering and evil in the world is the greatest hurdle to full faith and belief in God. It seems irreconcilable that a God who is all-powerful and all-loving could allow the presence of pain and hardship. It is a dilemma that preacher and biblical scholar Tom Long called “the impossible chess match,” in which there is no clear and clean outcome. But faith allows us to trust where there are no easy answers, and follow God when we ask our hardest questions. 

HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps

Reflection Questions:
1. When have you wrestled with God’s relationship to human suffering?
 
2. What has given you strength during times of hardship? Where do you think God was?
 
3. How have you experienced God transforming your suffering into something positive?

The early church theologian Anselm defined God as “a being than which nothing greater can be conceived.” This central premise led to the classic “omni” qualities of God: Omnipresence (God is everywhere), omnipotence (God is all powerful), and omnipresent (God is all knowing). These qualities have occasionally been problematic for us due to the presence of suffering and evil in the world. By reframing these qualities and incorporating God’s “omnibenevolence” (God’s all-lovingness), we can discover who God is in a deeper, more uplifting way.  

HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps

Reflection Questions:
1. Who are people who have embodied a quality of God for you?
 
2. Which attribute of God do you have the hardest time understanding or accepting?
 
3. When have you experienced the omnibenevolence of God?

The dual nature of Jesus is central to Christian belief. We believe Jesus was 100% human and 100% divine. It is as difficult to understand this concept empirically (1+1=1) as it is to believe in the trinity (1+1+1=1). But claiming the full humanity and divinity of Jesus allows us to have a full relationship with God, who through Christ is both greater than us and is deeply connected to us.  

HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps

Reflection Questions:
1. Do you tend to have a “high” or “low” image of Jesus?
 
2. What significance does the full divinity and humanity of Jesus have for you?
 
3. How will you deepen your love and appreciation for Jesus this week?