Matthew 5:1-12 – Peace with Justice Sunday

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Matthew 5:1-12 – Peace with Justice Sunday

Peace with Justice Sunday is one of the six special Sundays designated by the United Methodist Church to bring awareness to special needs in our own communities, our country, and globally. Peace with justice is a faithful expression of shalom in the Bible.

We believe that in loving both God and neighbor, we must pursue God’s command of justice, liberation, and flourishing for all people. We must work for the civil and human rights of every person. By following Jesus’ commandments, we can be His hands and feet in helping to establish Peace with Justice.

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James 3 – The Power of Words

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James 3 – The Power of Words

Rather than fall into the black holes of fear and hopelessness, we can embrace our freedoms and choose to let our faith inspire and direct us to try to be the best people God created us to be. We won’t always get that right, but if we make a consistent effort, we will become better models of heavenly wisdom over time. And that’s progress, and progress is good.

The world wants and needs to hear what we are for more than what we are against. The Good News is that we are for peace; with whom can each of us share some peace? We are for gentleness; with whom can we share some gentleness? We are for humility, not arrogance; how can we model that? And we are for mercy; how can we show mercy, not might, this week?

Let us freely use our words to marvelously remind people that we are ALL precious children of God, created to love and to be loved. This is what it means to be the Kingdom of God – welcoming others, with their flaws AND our flaws, into a community that cares about and wants the best for each other.

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John 11:1-44 – “Lazarus, come out!”

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John 11:1-44 – “Lazarus, come out!”

“Lazarus, come out!” These may be the most powerful words in the entire Bible. In the previous chapter, Jesus described Himself as the Good Shepard who leads His sheep with His voice, a voice the sheep recognize, trust, and obey. Lazarus heard and responded. This story challenges all of us, myself included, to listen for, to trust, and to obey when God calls us to do something.

God desires to be in relationship with humanity which means including us as key participants in God’s healing, restorative, transformational work in the people and the world around us. Of what tombs and bondages do we need to come out?
Do we need to give up a vice – something that is causing harm to ourselves or others? What is holding you back from being all God created you to be?
Do we need to start doing something that is life-giving to ourselves or others?

Who can we invite to join us as we nervously step out of our tombs, lovingly unwrap each other, and joyfully begin living resurrected lives?

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John 9 – Seeing with New Eyes

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John 9 – Seeing with New Eyes

Awaken... It’s an action-oriented word. It’s a word focused on looking forward, not back. It’s a word that calls us to be intentionally mindful of our immediate surroundings. When Jesus healed the blind man, his newfound eyesight awakened him to new realities, new possibilities, and a new understanding of God’s presence and power.
To what is God trying to awaken each of us?

Make no mistake, this whole eye-opening, awakening stuff can feel overwhelming – much like seeing color for the first time. Once God reveals something to us, we can’t unsee it. This is when the power of a faith community is so important. We NEED to discuss what we hear and see (what God “puts on our hearts,” to use churchy language) so that, together, we can better understand the world around us and how we should respond to it.

Consider adding this simple request to your morning prayer, “Lord, help me SEE Your presence around me more clearly today. Help me SEE Your presence in other people. And help me BE Your presence to people who need to hear, see, and feel Your love, Your grace, and Your peace.”

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John 8 – Dignity Instead of Shame

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John 8 – Dignity Instead of Shame

Without naming the crime, Jesus acknowledges the woman’s transgression and immediately offers her God’s love, grace, mercy, and compassion. When I read verses that talk about God judging us, I think about this brief exchange between Jesus and the woman. Today’s story is a powerful reminder of God’s ceaseless, tireless efforts to deliver us out of shame and into dignity, out of despair and into renewal, out of judgement and into blessing. Surely this is how the redemptive Kingdom of God operates. Surely this is the theology, the philosophy... the way of living into which God invites us.

The only question for us today is how can each of us offer the people we meet God’s love, grace, mercy, and compassion? IF each of us sincerely makes an effort to share those aspects of God’s nature with others, we will become better and better at loving God, loving ourselves, and loving others.

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John 6:47-60 – Flesh & Blood, Power & Life

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John 6:47-60 – Flesh & Blood, Power & Life

If our sacred texts – the Hebrew Bible and the Christian New Testament – provide the bones of our faith, and Jesus’ ministry of words and deeds provide the flesh, the Holy Spirit that ran through Jesus and runs through us today is the life-giving blood we all depend upon to live from one moment to the next. The skeleton gives structure; the flesh gives power; the blood give life.

Our Sunday worship services are a spiritual meal shared among friends, a time together meant to be savored and shared, like the steak and wine meal.

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John 4:1-30, 39-42 – The Woman at the Well: A Community Transformed

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John 4:1-30, 39-42 – The Woman at the Well: A Community Transformed

By shining the light of our faith, we too can offer people the hope and courage they need to face the challenges in their lives.
Know that God’s light is and always has been inside you.
Know that the world needs to hear and see God’s light through you.
Know that everyone can share God’s love in some way, shape, or form.
Every person has a role to play in growing the Kingdom of God.

If you and I genuinely want to be a light of God’s love to others, then we must work to achieve what we want to become. Jesus went out of His way, into potentially hostile territory, just so He could shine some light into people’s lives. Can you and I today go out of our ways and out of our comfort zones to share the Good News of God’s love with others? I think we can. And I think people need and want us to do so.

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Mark 7:24-30 – The Power of Persistence and Compassion

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Mark 7:24-30 – The Power of Persistence and Compassion

From the Torah through the Gospels, our faith is rich with stories of an infinitely wise and powerful God who loves us so much that we can argue for mercy and blessings. These stories show, time and again, that our persistence draws out God’s compassion. That’s a powerful connection.

The question to us today is how can each of us invite others into God’s loving, welcoming presence – regardless of their circumstances? Every time we make an effort to be the hands and feet of Jesus, we answer that question – one person at a time. And that, my friends, is how we grow the Kingdom of God!

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Mark 5:21-43 – “Don’t be afraid. Just have faith.”

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Mark 5:21-43 – “Don’t be afraid. Just have faith.”

The beauty of the Good News of God’s love is that Jesus shared it so freely and in so many different ways. The Kingdom of God is not about increasing what we have, not even for the church we love. The Kingdom of God is about being present, with ourselves and with others, and helping others connect with and experience God’s creative, loving, healing presence. When we’re able to create those moments, everyone can celebrate renewed life.

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Reaching Out for Healing – Mark 3:1-6, 31-35

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Reaching Out for Healing – Mark 3:1-6, 31-35

God offers us love, acceptance and healing with no strings attached. All we have to do is respond to the Holy Spirit’s invitations.
When we ask God to lead us, we need to actively listen for God to respond to our prayers. And when God asks us to do something, we need to have faith that God can act in mighty ways through the most routine actions.

Where else is God calling us to step forward and hold out our hands?
Where else is God leading us – individually and as a faith community?
Are we listening? Are we looking? Are we ready and willing to say, “Yes Lord, if You lead us, we’ll follow. We may be a bit nervous, so be patient with us.

As we follow God’s lead, we can take GREAT comfort in Jesus’ final words from today’s reading: “Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

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A House of Prayer – Matthew 21:12-17

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A House of Prayer – Matthew 21:12-17

If we focus on prayer, if we build our individual and collective prayer muscles, I am convinced that God will use our greater strengths to accomplish great works of healing in us and through us.

Let Susanville UMC be called a house of prayer! Let the blind and lame come to us! And let God’s mighty Spirit flow through us as we seek to be the hands and feet of Jesus in our community!

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