Hyde Park United Methodist

John Wesley wrote a book called Primitive Physick, or an Easy and Natural method of Curing Most Diseases. It included his cures for 40 different ailments. While parts of it are devoid of modern medical wisdom, it does reinforce ideas that we know to be true: the importance of a healthy diet, exercise, and maintenance of good daily rhythms.   

Reflection Questions:
1. Paul reframes the question from "How do I feel about my body?" to "How does God see my body?” Where in your life is the old question still running the show, and what would change today if you actually believed the new one?
2. Wesley didn't chase health because he worshiped the body. He chased it because a well-stewarded body freed him to love God and serve his neighbor. What's one way your care of your body is currently shaping your capacity to show up for other people?
3. What scar are you still hiding, and who might God be inviting to speak a truer word over it? Or who might you be called to speak that word to?

Find out more at HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps

This week Mat sits down with Justin LaRosa for a deeply personal conversation about faith, health, and our bodies. Justin had already planned this sermon on caring for the body when he was diagnosed with cancer, giving his words about health and vulnerability a meaning he could never have anticipated. They talk about what it means to care for our bodies, listen to what they’re telling us, and hold both our physical health and our faith with honesty and grace.

Find out more at HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps

In his sermon “On Family Religion,” Wesley said this about the education of children: “Instruct them early in the morning. Speak to them plainly. Observe the few ideas they have and graft what you say upon them. Teach them frequently. Persevere.” He likely learned these principles from the way his mother Susannah instructed him and his siblings, and it translated into a lifelong commitment to improving the educational systems throughout England. It is part of our legacy and ongoing work as United Methodists. 

Questions for reflection:
1. Name someone who grafted some important aspects of faith onto your heart.
2. If education is "a lifelong spiritual practice," what is something new you are learning in recent days?
3. How is what you are learning shaping your character?

Find out more at HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps

In week one of Well Rounded, Mat sits down with Sally Campbell-Evans to talk about what it means to keep growing in faith—and what that growth looks like when we're raising the next generation. Drawing from Proverbs and John Wesley’s understanding of discipleship, they explore how following God engages both our heads and our hearts, why we never truly graduate from learning, and how raising faithful kids can become part of our own journey of faith. Because teaching children what we believe also invites us to keep asking questions, growing, and living out that faith ourselves.

Find out more at HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps

Hosea 12:1-4 gives us insight into this famous story of Jacob wrestling with God. Jacob not only fought with the angel; he also wept as he entreated God. This gives us permission to feel our emotions, even amid the toughest, most existential struggles we have with our faith. But we should always maintain a readiness to “return to God, with loyalty, justice, and hope.” For all his trickster manipulations, Jacob models for us a tenacity that enables us to wrestle with our faith and maintain our faithfulness to God.   

Reflection Questions:
1. What inner struggle might God be using to reshape your identity?
2. When have your deepest questions become opportunities for spiritual growth?
3. What false version of yourself is God inviting you to release?

Find out more at HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps

This week Mat and Magrey wrap up the Holy Struggle series by exploring Jacob's famous wrestling match and the life-changing name he receives afterward. Together they discuss why struggle is a normal part of faith, how our deepest growth often begins beneath the surface, and what it means to wrestle with questions of identity, purpose, and God. They also reflect on the surprising role of the subconscious, why moments of silence can bring clarity, and how our greatest struggles can become part of the story that shapes who we become.

Find out more at HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps

Jacob fell in love with Rachel, but he was tricked into marrying Leah instead, and he had to work seven more years for Laban before he earned the right to marry Rachel. The context of this story may seem antiquated to our modern sensibilities, but it does convey the need for patience and endurance when what we long for in life seems out of reach. And there is redemption here for Leah as well. Though she was never Jacob’s first choice, she became the mother of ten of the twelve sons whose tribes would constitute the nation of Israel. That includes Judah, whose line would bring us King David, and eventually, Jesus.   

Reflection Questions: 
1. Where are you being invited to love someone beyond your idealized expectations?
2. What "Leah" within yourself might God be inviting you to accept with grace?
3. How can you praise God, even amid disappointment and fear? 

Find out more at HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps

This week Sally Campbell-Evans joins Magrey Devega for a special episode of Beyond the Sermon as they unpack one of the Bible's strangest family stories. Together they explore the surprising lesson hidden within Jacob, Leah, and Rachel—that every person carries both strengths and flaws, and real love learns to embrace both. They also reflect on Leah's unexpected redemption, what it means to find your worth in God rather than others, and why this ancient story still speaks powerfully to our relationships today.

Find out more at HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps

The vision of a gateway to Heaven at Penuel is an important moment in Jacob’s life, and it invites us to think about the “thin spaces” in our lives where we feel close to God. His statement, “Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it,” can also invite us to be attentive to the serendipitous experiences of God that we might miss if we are not open to them.   

Reflection Questions:
1. Can you remember a time or place when you felt especially close to God? What made that experience meaningful?
2. How does Jacob’s story remind you that God’s grace is present even in seasons of fear, failure, or uncertainty?
3. Where might God be inviting you to recognize a “thin space” in your everyday life this week?

Find out more at HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps

This week Mat sits down with Pastor Bernie Lieving to explore Jacob's famous dream of the ladder to heaven and the powerful reminder that God is always moving toward us. They unpack the idea of "thin places"—moments when God's presence feels especially close—through stories of unexpected encouragement, meaningful relationships, and everyday "God incidences." Together they discuss why silence matters, how God often speaks through ordinary people, and what it looks like to recognize that God may already be closer than we realize.

Find out more at HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps