Susanville United Methodist Church Weekly Messages
Different Ways to Pray – Many Verses!
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Think of prayer as communication with the Divine Creator of the universe. You may find that concept equally terrifying and exciting. The great news is that God wants to communicate with us because, as an expression of His love for humanity, God wants to have a deeply personal, intimate relationship with each of us. With all of that in mind, any sincere prayer is a good prayer. Prayer is NOT a performance to be graded; it is a genuine point of connection.
Read MoreMatthew 5:1-12 – Peace with Justice Sunday
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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.
Read MoreDon’t Just Stand There, Do Something! – Acts 1:1-14
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Each of us has our own experience of God’s presence in our lives. Each of us has our own story to tell. Our faith journeys are as unique as we are.
Like the gospel writers, when we share our faith stories, we give other people the opportunity to say, “Hey, I had the same experience!” OR people might say, “Wow, I never noticed God in that way; you’ve given me a new way to look for or understand God in my life.” OR even, “I’ve never thought about my faith like that; I’ll have to ponder that.”
Any of those are great. This is how we, as a community of believers, grow our faith and continue on our faith journeys rather than getting complacent or stuck and staring up at the clouds saying halfheartedly, “OK God, what next?”
Read MoreA Radical Change of Thought and Life – Luke 24:28-53
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In Luke’s story, Jesus tells us what He wants us to do in 24:47: “a radical change of thought and life should be proclaimed, and that in His name the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed…”. But what does it means to proclaim in the sense of sharing our faith and/or faith experiences with others? People of ALL ages can proclaim their faith in numerous ways, perhaps most importantly in how we treat others.
And just what are we supposed to be proclaiming? The Voice translation offers us wording that beautifully conveys what repentance means: “a radical change of thought and life.” What radical changes in your life can you proclaim with joy?
Read MorePeace and Forgiveness – John 20:19-31
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Forgiveness is the path that gets us to wholeness… to shalom (peace with God, ourselves, and others). In these handful of verses, Jesus lays out both the power we have and the opportunity at our fingertips to create peace… or not.
If we can do the culturally hard work of embracing the forgiveness that God so freely offers us and encourages us to share with others, we will naturally be happier, healthier people who will, as a consequence, naturally bring joy and peace to others. Forgiveness is a critical way we expand the Kingdom of God and bring life-giving change into our homes and our community. Isn’t it worth the effort?
Read MoreMay I Have Your Attention? – Mark 16:9-19
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So WHY did Mark’s editors include these five incredible claims: cast out demons, speak in new languages, handle snakes, drink poison, and heal the sick? As Nef put it: for shock value. ALL of these miraculous signs had one goal: to get people’s attention so that you could then tell them about God’s even MORE incredible love.
If we create a culture where we look forward to moments when we can spontaneously and joyfully share God’s love with others – and then celebrate those moments together – we will continue to expand the Kingdom of God and shock our community with our faith.
Read MoreGo! I Will Always Be With You – Matthew 28:8-10, 16-20
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Several questions are worth pondering as we seek to be better disciples of our faith’s beliefs and values.
Who are we following – both religious and non-religious – and what are we learning from them?
Who are we leading and what are we teaching them?
How can we be better students and teachers of the Good News of God’s love?
Much like Jesus’ disciples, the Kingdom of God is filled with people from all backgrounds. Let’s work on inviting others to walk with us in this unique and amazing community as we all learn and grow together.
Read MoreEaster – The Promise of New Life – Luke 24:1-12
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Butterflies have become my favorite symbol of our faith in the miraculous, a symbol of our hope for beautiful transformation, the necessity of having to patiently wait for the transformation to develop, AND the necessity of living into our potential and our limits.
Our celebration of Easter begs the questions, “What’s YOUR story of transformation? Where are you IN your story of transformation?”
As we dig into and wrestle with these questions, we will often find God creating new life within us. And like the butterfly, we begin to realize that we are not who we once were – individually or as a community of faith. We have become new creations with new abilities so that we can embrace the new opportunities God puts before us.
Palm Sunday – Our Faith in Dark Days
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The legendary stories of Jesus’ birth and death serve as mirrored bookends to Jesus’ unique life. Jesus’ birth story challenges us to look for God’s presence in unexpected places and people. Jesus’ death story reminds us that we are imperfect creatures, prone to fear and putting our own safety and comfort first.
May we always be open to God’s presence, and may we develop a faith so bold that the stones don’t have to shout praises to God.
Read MoreLetting God’s Spirit Soak In – Matthew 26:26-28 and John 6:35
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God loves us so much, in such a personal and intimate way, that His Spirit saturates us so that His presence completely merges with and nurtures our presence – not just during communion, but every day – a shared experience with our Creator. God wants the Holy Spirit and our spirit to be living, breathing, growing, exploring, and working together – as one. A shared existence.
When we realize that God’s Spirit is living inside us AND inside everyone we meet, we are more likely to be at peace with ourselves and others. We’re more likely to be able to love ourselves and love others. And in doing so, we are more likely to welcome more people into this universal community of faith we call the Kingdom of God.
Read MoreCurating Our Faith – Luke 9:23-25, 28-36 and John 21:24-25
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Think about how you are curating your faith and your lives. Looking back, what have you embraced and rejected? Is it time for some spring cleaning and redecorating? Is it time to enhance your curated collection of treasured beliefs, behaviors, and people so that you can love God, love yourself, and love others more than ever before? If we curate our faith and our lives with intentionality, we can shape our lives, our homes, and our communities to look, sound, and feel more like the world God desires. And that will be Good News, Great News, for the people around us!
Read MoreVirtue #8 – Flourishing Churches Work Well with Others – 8 Short Verses
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Working well with others is part of what gives people, organizations, and entire communities the resilience needed to get through tough times. Lord knows we’ve all needed extra resilience these past two years. Locally, we’ve endured massive wildfires, prolonged power outages, and a prison closing. Nationally, we’ve dealt with bitter politics, Covid’s persistence, and now a war involving a nuclear super-power.
We need each other to survive and thrive in every aspect of our lives – mentally, physically, socially, and spiritually. We need to worship together, serve together, eat and drink together, laugh and cry together – just like Jesus did with His friends and His enemies. As we aspire to be a church that flourishes in our community, we must continue working well with others. And by doing so, we will demonstrate and experience what it means to be part of the Kingdom of God.
Read MoreVirtue #7 – Ask Questions & Love Skeptics – 8 Short Verses
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Curiosity and skepticism are closely related. God is fine with skepticism in the sense of genuine, sincere questioning.
Here’s the great news: God is fine with skepticism in the sense of genuine, sincere questioning. When Thomas doubted Jesus was really back from the dead, Jesus neither rejected nor berated Thomas. Instead, Jesus said intimately welcomed him, “Thomas, I understand why you have doubts. Put your hands in my wounds (wow!) so your experience with Me will transform your relationship with Me in a way that you can never doubt.” God welcomes our wonders and our worries and invites us into life-changing, faith-changing experiences.
Read MoreVirtue #5 – Giving Generously – 10 Short Scripture Readings
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As Christians, we commit to “faithfully participate in the ministries of the Church by our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, and our witness, that in everything God may be glorified” (Methodist membership vows).
Elevating the practice of giving means we live into the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1–12): We will give our time, our talents, and our treasures so that the hungry will have food, the naked will have clothes, the homeless will have shelter, the lonely will have friends, the sick will have care, and so on.
As we co-labor with God to love and serve others, let’s keep asking, “How can we elevate our giving – in all its many forms – so that more people can experience the joy, the peace, and the excitement of God’s Kingdom?”
Read MoreVirtue #4 – Reaching Out to Others – 4 Scripture Readings
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The fourth virtue is that flourishing churches relentlessly work to connect with and welcome others into their church families. They do this, not to benefit themselves, but as an effort to love God by loving others. Flourishing churches have rediscovered what’s great about the Good News of God’s love. Their personal experiences of that Good News in their own lives drives them, compels them to share their faith, hope, and love with others and invite others to experience God’s love for themselves.
When we reach out to others with sympathy rather than lectures... with empathy rather than judgement... with compassion rather than referrals... that’s when hearts and conversational doors open, and we can most effectively share the joy of having a personal, loving relationship with God. When we share the Good News, the GREAT News of God’s love in such a compassionate, personal way, people will feel genuinely welcomed into the Kingdom of God, a place of rest, healing, growth, and peace... a place of shalom.
Read MoreVirtue #6: Teamwork – 4 Scripture Readings
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If you need me – or any of our members, especially our Church Council members – to stop being “productive” and start being compassionate, from now on, all you have to do is tell me or text me, “Charles, I need 40 seconds.” And I will do the same with many of you when I need a moment of compassion for myself. Why? Because life happens and we ALL need to hear and feel God’s love.
Yes, the “business operations” of our church are important. But we, each one of us, are more important than any activity, event, decoration, song, or well-researched Sunday message. We, all of us, ARE the organic, living, “Body of Christ,” the love of God made real to ourselves and to each other. Compassion is what holds us together in the Kingdom of God. And compassion is how we, working together as a selfless, coordinated team will transform individuals, families, and organizations throughout our community.
Read MoreVirtue #2: Flourishing Churches Integrate New People – Ruth 1:16–17 and Matt. 4:18–22, 25:31-40
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Virtue #2 is integration. Flourishing churches quickly integrate new people into the life of the church. Churches flourish when they are personal – when they have a genuine interest in and compassion for each other.
Integrating people into the LIFE of our church family means welcoming them into our family, ensuring they feel welcomed, and finding places where their talents and interests become interwoven with our church life. Integrating people means we flourish together. We include others by loving them. We include others as an expression of how each of us feels loved by God. And we include others as an act of worship by letting God’s love, grace, and mercy for them flow through us.
The Good News of God’s love for us is that all of us – with our great diversity of talents, interests, and wisdom – we are ALL welcomed into and needed in the Kingdom of God. THAT is Good News the world needs to hear.
Read MoreIsaiah 9:2, 6-7 and Luke 2:1-20 – Christmas Eve: Peace
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The story of Christmas, the message of Christmas IS the Good News that God loves us SO MUCH that God would make Himself into flesh so that God could walk and talk and eat and laugh and cry with us... that Christmas story and that Good News continues throughout the year when we allow God’s Spirit to fill us, to lead us, and to act through us.
Christmas has become a season obsessed with gift-giving. This year, I encourage you to look beyond the ribbons, and bows, and wrapping paper... celebrate the moments and spaces of peace in your life. And look for opportunities to share peace with your family and friends. When we do so, we will live into the beautiful lyrics, “Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.”
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