Genesis 1  &  Mark 1  --  We begin a series centered on discipleship.  For week one of the FOLLOW ME series we come to the baptism of our Lord.

We come to this annual focus with the events of our nation's Capitol fresh on our minds.  We are all hurting and still in shock about the horrific events incited by our nation's leader which led to a mob storming the Capitol building causing death, bloodshed, vandalism, fear, and confusion.  The darkness is very real in our world.

As we kick off Epiphany (the season of light) we providentially come to the story of God's great light piercing the darkness...of the very presence of God "with us" Tearing Apart the Heavens.  Oh, how we need the Light!

Let us begin at the beginning to recommit ourselves as citizens of the Kingdom of God first and foremost...

as disciples of Jesus Christ alone...

as a people committed to responding to the world around us as our Triune God does... with LOVE.

Are you ready for the work of the Spirit in your own heart and mind?

Are you ready to BE the church?

If you'd like to discuss baptism, please visit sellersburgumc.com, email: [email protected], or call: (812) 246-2502

John 1 --- We explore the beautiful "prologue" to our 4th Gospel (we call it "John") to hear the invitation extended to the world through "The Word becoming flesh."  This same invitation comes to the reader of the Gospel narrative.  It comes to us all.

Are we open to where this invitation might take us...what it might reveal...how it might change how we understand ourselves and the world around us?

Are we open to seeing everything in a different light?

2 Samuel 7  &  Luke 1 -- We come to the Magnificat and all of the joy it brings.  Let's walk with this incredible song and all that it has meant across the years it has been sung to encounter the joy which can walk amidst the pain of life.

We are invited into Joy.

Are we ready for Christmas?

Isaiah 61  &  John 1  --  In Advent we receive the invitation for something new to be born within us.  We tell the story of the new work of God in the birth of Christ as a holy echo to the work still being done today in the very body of Christ--the church.

We long for the day when things will be set right.

The truth of the Gospel is that they great day (of the Lord) began in the body of Mary as she nurtured God in utero.

We hear today of the work of John (the first human character mentioned in the 4th Gospel bearing the same name) to offer this new and revolutionary understanding of life to the people Israel.

Are they ready?

Are we?

Isaiah 40  &  Mark 1  --  Life seems easier when things are going well.  When we are comfortable, we can maintain a certain kind of focus.  But when things get upended and the unexpected confronts us, we find it unnerving and unsettling.  In these moments, we can lose the right kind of focus in exchange for the wrong kind of focus...and chaos often ensues.

In Advent we spend time considering and contemplating the past story of Jesus' birth while also looking forward to Christ's return...while anticipating for the birth of Christ within us all right here and now.  One our best days, we can be fully present with gratitude in the work of God among us and through us.  But then...COVID, elections, threats, disagreements, and many other things come which send us spinning.

In Advent we pause from the chaos to receive the HOPE of God which gives us the PEACE we long for.

In this PEACE we find ourselves centering on God and nothing else...which reveals the folly of our pining for security and political victory.

Are we looking for the PEACE that is right in front of us?

Are we ready to receive it anew?

We enter into the season of tension and anticipation once more.  We have the opportunity to consider the meaning of the story of Jesus' coming (past, present, and future) in our lives.

Are you ready for Advent?

We continue our 3-week series following John Wesley's sermon: The Use of Money.

Part 2: Save All You Can

Luke 16:1-13 -- We follow the call of this parable through the words and wisdom of John Wesley.  Wesley's sermon, "The Use of Money," gives us three rules for faithful and clever/shrewd stewardship in finances: 1. GAIN all you can, 2. SAVE all you can, 3. GIVE all you can.

Let's revisit this sermon and bring our own stewardship into conversation with our faithfulness in God.

Are you ready to trust God in your financial stewardship?

For Wesley's full sermon, visit: https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/articles/the-use-of-money-by-john-wesley

Revelation 7:9-17  --  We visit a vision in the book of Revelation to receive a great message of HOPE from the seer, who calls himself John.

As we remember our saints, we look forward to the day we join them in the very presence of God.  We celebrate God's victory in Jesus Christ now as we celebrate our saints who have received that victory.

May we follow in their footsteps as we press on toward our Hope in Jesus Christ.

May we fix our eyes on that hope alone.