Matthew 4:12-23 --- As we finish our series, we bring it all back to where it begins... with a calling.

Our PURSUIT of God begins by being called.  We are all called to "Change our hearts and lives, for here comes the Kingdom!"

We struggle to begin our journey because we have to give up OUR journey in order to accept the journey of faith through Jesus Christ.

We have to get out of the boat.  We have to let go of what we think we will find.  We have to let go of who we think Jesus Christ is.  We have to let go of what we think the work of God is all about.  We have to leave EVERYTHING behind.

Are you ready to live a life of DEVOTION?

Isaiah 49:1-7  &  John 1:29-42  ---  On this Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Sunday we celebrate the gift of the prophets and our struggle to understand their message.

Biblical prophecy was not about telling the future.  Rather, it was about seeing the past and present with a fuller clarity--unveiled.  From this clear perception of reality, our prophets could understand where we were headed.  When Israel's kings were not obeying the leading of God, the prophets could see it and boldly spoke truth about where such disobedience would lead both the king and his people.  The prophet Isaiah understood God's plan for Israel with such clarity that he proclaimed the hope and truth for a people who had been decimated by war and exile.

Jesus came and proclaimed to a war-bent Israel about the certain destruction awaiting them if they did not turn around and live by God's Reign (kingdom).

But...sadly...people often resist prophets.  When others see something we do not, we struggle to open our eyes--especially if "our" way of seeing things benefits us.

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. proclaimed a bold truth about the reality of the 20th century and race relations.  Many people would not hear it.  Many more were left "undecided" or "moderate" in their stance.

Let us remember the message of the prophets so that we might understand that a life of faith is about the Holy Spirit entering into our heart of hearts to begin the RECALIBRATION of our lives.  We've all gotten off track.  We're human--that's just the struggle we face.  We MUST allow God to RECALIBRATE our hearts to how they were meant to function and exist.

Will you fully open up your heart to God in such a way?

Matthew 3:13-17 -- On this 2nd Sunday of Epiphany we celebrate the baptism of our Lord, Jesus Christ.  The unique way our first Gospel author lays out the scene is powerful--if you understand what the author is bringing together.

In our PURSUIT of the will of God as a way of life requires submission.  We'll spend time with this word, as it is often misunderstood and used to directly oppose the very order into which God has called us all (every human being).  Then we will reveal how our Gospel writer shows that Jesus is the author of full submission to God as a means of showing us the way and redeeming us all at once.

Let us remember the baptism of our Lord and remember our own as well.

Are you ready for SUBMISSION?

Matthew 2:1-12 -- Wise men/magicians/Kings show up to find the King of the Jews, but this is problematic for everyone in Jerusalem...especially for the King of the Jews, Herod.  They are looking for a newborn king who is THE King of God.  This is not what anyone expected.

In fact, the Gentile Kings are not what anyone expected.

Jesus is not what anyone expected either.

God's revelation in the story are of the unexpected.  God's revelation in our lives is often the unexpected.  This leads to us being troubled, ...just like Herod and all of Jerusalem.  We often let our expectation dictate what we are willing to see from God.

But we need to live a life in PURSUIT of God's work rather than asking God to fit into our own framework.

Are we ready for the unexpected?

Are we ready to live a faith of PURSUIT?

Tony Goforth offers a personal testimony and proclamation on one of the most difficult Psalms of our canonical collection: Psalm 88.

Psalm 30:1-5, 11-12 --  The gift of joy is one we have to make room for.  On our final Sunday of our Advent series, we consider the joy extended to us in the good news of the birth of Jesus Christ the Son of God.

Let us go all-in for the joy of God this Christmas season.

1 Peter 1:3-5  --  Peter calls his church to be a people of HOPE.  We receive that call today--to be a church of altogether hope rather than one of almost hope.  We are so easily distracted and allow ourselves to be pulled into the way of the world around us rather than being a light to that world for Christ and the new Kingdom which is being birthed right here and now.

Are we ready to go all-in to the HOPE of God given through Jesus Christ and experienced through the Holy Spirit?

As we begin our Advent series "Almost Christmas: A Wesleyan Advent Experience," based off of a sermon John Wesley gave in the 18th Century "An Altogether Christian," we hear from a Wesleyan expert portraying Rev. John Wesley.

Weaving in history and the elements of Wesley's preaching, Rev. Bert Kite (a retired pastor who served SUMC in the 1980's) offers us a message about being and Altogether Christian (and All-In Christian) vs. an Almost Christian.

Colossians 3.1-17 -- Paul writes to the church in Colossae to remind them of their new life in Jesus Christ.  When we remember the source of true life and the true gift that it is to us all we are able to grasp and hold onto gratitude as a way of life.  When we remain thankful and rooted in our identity in Christ, we find that all of life can be a source of joy for us.  Even amidst confusing times of joys, sorrows, tragedies, loss, change, and the unexpected.  When we hang onto the larger story of this world and this life we can endure with songs of praise and gratitude.

Are we ready to remember?

Are we willing to focus on the gift that is Jesus Christ?

Will we let a life of giving thanks guide is into a life of faith based upon love and hope?