Vine Worship at Kingwood Methodist

The Hebrew word for steadfast in Isaiah 26:3 includes the idea of someone leaning on something. Here it is clear what they’re leaning on: YHWH their God. This is the path to “perfect peace” (Hebrew: shalom shalom; repeated for emphasis). Isaiah seems to be speaking of a peace of mind rooted in our hope in God. Calvin brings out Isaiah’s point thus:

There is…an implied contrast between God’s fixed thought and our wandering imaginations; for at almost every moment there springs up something new which drives our thoughts hither and thither, and there is no change, however slight, that does not produce some doubt. We ought therefore to hold this principle, that we do wrong if we judge of God’s unshaken purpose by our fickle imaginations… 

Meister Eckhart and Anabaptist Christians use the German word “Gelassenheit” to describe a sort of inner calm rooted in the security we have in God (Martin Heidegger used the same word to describe a form of detachment involving noticeably less God). 

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Hope is “an anchor for the soul, firm and secure,” says Hebrews. The idea of an anchor conjures both the image of a wild, raging sea and something solid, heavy, and secure. Less dramatically, a wall anchor allows you to reliably hang something heavy on soft, insecure drywall. Anchors provide a sense of steadiness in an unsteady situation. How might this help us understand hope?

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Paul tells us not to worry, but be happy now. But seriously, as we conclude this sermon series, we see the roadmap laid out, starting in Ecclesiastes. The things of this world are fleeting and unfulfilling, but if we root our lives in Jesus, and build our life on the rock, we see that He controls everything around us and we can live a peaceful life, one that has peace from the source. We are joined by another very, very special guest, Scott Watson. Scott is the lay leader and head of Home Team for the Vine Worship, and more importantly, Kimberly’s husband.

When you read the red letters in the Gospels, how do you hear Jesus’s voice? Contempt? Disappointment? Concern? In this conversation we are joined by the Rev. Stacey Sweet. Maybe we hear Jesus’s voice as we might talk to someone we’re frustrated with, but should we instead hear His voice in the kind-heartedness of a father urging his kids to see the better way?

Scripture tells us repeatedly that the Lord is our Rock, then Jesus tells us to build our house, our life, on the Rock, so what does that look like? Chris and Kimberly are joined by our special guest, the infamous KMC youth pastor, Blake de Llacer who is filling in for Ryan this week.

In Matthew 5-7, Jesus teaches a radical way of life that is actually the best way of life. But it only works if we have a radical trust in God. 

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Psalm 1 talks of the blessing that a person planted in Jesus is. To themselves, and those around them. What can we learn from this? And what if we don't like where we are planted?

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The biblical book of Psalms begins with a profound reflection on the good, wise life. The psalmist contrasts the example of the wicked with that of someone whose delight is in God’s law. That person doesn’t walk, stand, or sit with sin. Instead, she is like a “tree planted by streams of water.” Fruitful, prospering, flourishing. We spend so much time comparing ourselves with other people, as if they are the ones we are called to follow. But the wicked are on a road leading to destruction, while God watches over his righteous people. We need to attend very carefully to who it is that we are patterning our lives after. In a world of chaos and uncertainty, make sure your life is firmly planted in the Lord!

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What do we do about the crazy teacher in Ecclesiastes? And what do we lay our foundation on? Let's get talkin'!

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Usually translated “vanity” or “meaningless”, the Hebrew word “hevel” also has the sense of breath or transitoriness or the ephemeral. In the book of Ecclesiastes, Qohelet’s name means “collector”; he’s a collector of money and pleasure and power and experiences and even wise sayings. In the end, he concludes that all his collections amount to nothing but hevel: empty, meaningless, vapid, vanity. Nothing “under the sun” can satisfy. Qoheleth knows this; we can take his word for it, because he’s tried it all! To find something more than vapor in this life, we need to look above the sun, to the Lord God. 

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