We continue, broken, day in and day out, hopelessly applying quick fixes to our worries. We may remember a prayer that grandmamma taught us, or a lesson learned the hard way, or a word from the Word spoken by a sage. We long for relief, we seek it, search for it, yearn for it - relief that can't be purchased or bartered. But we remember that God invites us to drink from His waters and to never thirst again.
God has led us in the past and will continue to lead us in the future. His faithfulness to us does not depend upon our faithfulness to Him. Often we have failed to follow His leadership. We have sown seeds of war, not peace; we have spoken words of anger, not love; we have failed to build bridges with our neighbors when we should reach out to them in Jesus’ name. We repent of these sins and ask forgiveness.
On this first Sunday in Lent, we join Jesus in the wilderness, a place of wild and dangerous things. A place of testing and temptation away from the security of home. As we face our own frailty, we realize that the wilderness is not nearly as dangerous as our choices to prioritize selfish gain and hoarding of power. We find our security in Jesus, who does not waver from the truth.
The Gospel of John relates how Jesus, even while facing death, promised to return for each of us, individually - "I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you" (NRSVUE).
Today, we continue our sermon series "Growing with Grace". As told in Luke, Jesus gives us the parable of the Prodigal Son. One lesson we can learn from this: we…
Today, we at St. Paul's UMC celebrate our 65th year of ministry in Tucson, with a special combined Celebration worship service. We are pleased to welcome the United Methodist Desert…
Jesus tells us "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." We are blessed when we get our inside world - our mind and heart - put right. We strive to not let preoccupation with other matters district us from heeding God's message, from hearing His will, or from doing His work in our day and place. Then we can see God in the outside world.
We take time to reflect, be present, and be aware of God. Generally speaking, we think of God in the quiet place, but God is present everywhere.
Today, we continue our sermon series "Growing with Grace". We focus today on faith, doubt, and the frenetic spirits of our times. Even when the world around us be uncertain,…
We are awestruck by the glory of God's presence. We rejoice at what we can see while we marvel at what we cannot see.