Welcome to the third Sunday of Easter. We continue our series “We Are Witnesses” which looks at what it means to be a witness to the love of Christ in our calling to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Our scriptures today are: Revelation 5:11-14 Psalm 30 John 21:1-19 Acts 9:1-20 The focus scripture this week is Acts 9:1-20. It tells the story of Saul of Tarsus and...

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What does it mean to be a witness? That is the question asked in today’s sermon. This second Sunday of Easter typically brings up “doubting Thomas.” But was Thomas truly a doubter? He was the first to declare that Jesus was God and he is credited with taking the Good News to the Indian sub continent. The post We Are Witnesses appeared first on McFarland UMC.

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It was early in the morning on that first Easter Sunday. The sun had just come up and the women who followed Jesus were coming to the tomb to finish preparing his body for burial, a task that they had no time to complete on the day of his crucifixion. It had only been a few days, but it seemed like an eternity. As they approached the tomb, they realized that something was wrong.

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Good Friday. What is so good about it? It is the day that we recall Jesus “crucified, dead and buried,” as we remember from the Apostle’s Creed. Some say that the term Good Friday is a corruption of the Old English “God’s Friday.” This service, The Proclamation of the Passion: A Service of Contemplative Worship for Good Friday,” has roots going back to at least the Ninth Century...

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The Sunday before Easter is traditionally referred to as “Palm Sunday.” We celebrate the triumphant entry into Jerusalem with palm branches and shouts of “hosanna!” In recent years, it has become more common to also remember the Passion of Jesus. By doing so, we walk with Jesus through all of Holy Week and end at the tomb. This gives us a real picture of the heights and depths of what occurred in...

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We continue our Lenten series, “Character and Calling.” Our focus is on faith as we look at the scripture for this morning, Philippians 3:4b-14. In this passage, Paul begins by listing his resume. As a pious Jew of the day, he has it made. However, he calls it all rubbish when compared with what Christ has accomplished in his life. His message is that you can have it all, but if you don’t have...

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Welcome to the third Sunday in Lent. Our scriptures today are: Isaiah 55:1-9 Psalm 63 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 Luke 13:1-9 Our focus is on holy living. That’s why I chose this title that will make all of the English teachers in the congregation cringe. Because when we focus on the Holy, when we put our trust, our focus, and our faith in God, then we begin to reflect the image of God that lives within...

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Welcome to the second Sunday in Lent. We continue this series on Character and Calling with a focus this week on Discipline. Lent provides a good opportunity for us to emphasize and practice the spiritual disciplines that serve to draw us closer to God and closer to each other. Our text is Philippians 3:17-4:1. The post Character & Calling: Discipline appeared first on McFarland UMC.

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Welcome to the First Sunday in Lent. We begin a new sermon series that will primarily draw on the themes found in the Epistle lessons from the Revised Common Lectionary, Year C. It seems appropriate that we would begin with the topic of Belief on this first Sunday of a new series that will lead us up to Holy Week and the Resurrection. What do we believe? Why do we believe it? And why is is so...

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The world is in a dark place as we gather for worship this morning. Russia is invading Ukraine because Vladimir Putin is consumed with power and the desire to recreate the Soviet Union no matter the cost. Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy. Lord have mercy. Our Gospel lesson is Luke 9:28-36. It is the story of the transfiguration of Jesus, a moment of transformation that was seen by some of the...

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