Worship: October 6, 2024
Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost
Scripture: Mark 10:2-16
Sermon: “Love One Another”
What do you think about divorce? What does Jesus think about divorce? This Sunday we will see that the way we look at divorce reveals the nature of our heart. How is your heart? If you want to align your heart with Jesus, join us in worship this Sunday at 11:00 am.
Fresh Expressions
“Forget about what’s happened; don’t keep going over old history.
Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new.
It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it? There it is!
I’m making a road through the desert, rivers in the badlands.”
Isaiah 43:18-19 (The Message)
I remember the only touchdown I ever scored. It was a junior varsity game at home in Greenwood. We were facing the Crane Golden Cranes, and I caught a wide-open pass and raced to the end zone. I can remember seeing the defender from Crane trying to close the distance between us; I can feel his fingertips brush the bottom of my cleats as he dove; I can hear the excitement of the fans as I crossed the goal line. In my memory the play went for probably 75 or 80 yards, and I sprinted away from the defense for at least 60 of those yards. As the slogan goes, “The older I get, the better I was.”
It is easy for us to cling to the past. The glory days. Those times in our past that we remember as being the pinnacle. They are memories we can hold onto, memories that help let us recall who we were, memories that help us relive what was, once upon a time. After all, we know what happened, we have already lived it so there isn’t anything for us to be worried about. But always living in the past—especially in our faith—is a detrimental thing for us to do. It can prevent us from moving forward into the new places God is calling us to go.
Don’t misunderstand me on this. It is healthy for us to remember the past, to be able to relate the stories of who we were and where we have come from to those who are coming along behind us. God commanded the Israelites to do the same thing: to remember the stories of their past, the stories of what God had done for them, to pass them from generation to generation. The problem was when they wanted the past to also be their future.
In the passage from Isaiah at the beginning of this article, God is telling the people to forget about what had been—not to wipe it from their minds, but to stop trying to relive it—and to instead begin to look ahead to the new thing God is in the process of doing.
On October 12 we will gather here at St. Mark’s UMC from 9:00 am – 2:30 pm to look toward the future, toward the new things God is in the process of doing. We will learn about what Fresh Expressions of church and of faith God may be calling us to participate in. After all, God is continually creating and renewing, and we are invited to be a part of God’s process. So, I hope you will join us as we look forward to what God is going to do at St. Mark’s and beyond.
Grace and Peace y’all,
Pastor Blake
Worship: September 29, 2024
Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:18-24
Sermon: “Power Play”
Jesus allowed himself to be killed by Jewish leaders and Roman authorities. Where is the wisdom in this? Is he really worth following? Yes! He is! If you want to know why, come to our worship this Sunday. We start at 11:00 am.
Worship: September 15, 2024
Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost
Scripture: James 3:1-12
Sermon: “Say What Now?”
What do the words you speak reveal about your life? What direction are your words taking you? If you seek healing and wholeness, come this Sunday to hear words of life. Worship begins at 11:00 am.
Holy Moments
In the summer of 2001, I took a small group of students to Greely, Colorado, on a mission trip. We had a good week working with Habitat for Humanity and the county food bank. On the last night of the trip, we found ourselves in the dark sanctuary of the church where we were staying. Eventually, one of the students began playing the piano. As we sat there in the dimly lit pews, she began to play one of our main worship songs – “Take Me In.” As she played, I stood to talk to the rest of the students who were there. 20+ years later, I have no memory of what I said to them, but I remember the experience: it was a holy moment, a moment when God showed up and impacted all of us.
That’s what holy moments are. They are those “little, perfect, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moments” that often happen in our everyday lives: Moses and the burning bush, Elijah hearing God’s still, small voice on Mt. Sinai, Isaiah seeing the Lord in the temple, the birth of a child, a wedding day, even sharing the final moments on earth with loved one after a life well lived. Holy moments occur when the Living God meets us where we are, in common places, doing normal things, using ordinary elements.
Holy moments are markers in our spiritual journey, like lights along a path or height marks on a door jamb. They give us strength when we are feeling weak, when our spirit feels dry. They are showers of rain in the desert, springs of water bringing us new life. Holy moments remind us that we are loved, that we are valued by God, and that we are not insignificant to God.
So, my prayer going forward is that we are aware of those holy moments that happen all around us: in stillness and in chaos, on highest mountaintop and in the deepest valleys, in work and in play.
Grace & Peace,
Blake
Image by nonmisvegliate from Pixabay.
Worship: September 1, 2024
Fifteen Sunday after Pentecost
Scripture: Mark 7:1-8
Sermon: “Tradition”
Why do we think certain traditional actions make us better people? How do we decide what is a good tradition and what isn’t? Come, consider Jesus’s words with us this Sunday. Our service begins at 11:00 am.