Lansing First UMC

In today's gospel reading (Mark 8: 31-38) Jesus tells his followers that he will be rejected and killed before being resurrected. He then tells them that if they want to follow him, they too will need to pick up their cross? What does this Messiah who brings salvation through suffering have to say to his followers today?

We reflect on the story of Jesus' wandering in the wilderness (Mark 1:9-15) to think about how we have been wandering in the wilderness as we prepare for God's new future.

For the final Sunday before Lent we look at the story of the transfiguration (Mark 9:2-9) to ask what it means for us to have "fear of the Lord" and how we can hold that alongside the idea that God is Love.

We pick back up the story of Jesus' ministry in Mark's gospel (1:29-39) and see how prayer can lead us into new futures as long as we're willing to let go of some things form the past.

We look at a spiritual battle that plays out between Jesus and an unclean spirit (Mark 1: 21-28) in order to see how this struggle faces each of us every day.

Pastor Robert addresses the attack on the nation's capital through the lens of baptismal fidelity. (Mark 1: 4-11)

We skipped ahead a few days this morning to take a look at the epiphany story and the consequences of following Jesus. (Matthew 2: 1-12)

On this first Sunday in Christmas we look at how Jesus brings new life through bringing out the best in us. (Luke 2: 21-40)

For this special Christmas Eve episode we think about what it means for the Church to be the living Body of Christ

For the last week of Advent we look at the Annunciation (Luke 1: 26-38) through the lens of 'The Heliand' (an Anglo-Saxon version of the Gospel) in order to shine more light on the good news that it contains.