From The Pulpit Of Dumc

The writer of Hebrews (12:18-29) reminds us that, in Christ, we’ve come to the very heart of God where Jesus the Christ mediates a new covenant, written not in stone but on our hearts. The new covenant in Christ is a moment of crisis that reorients our lives in the direction of God’s kingdom of mercy, justice, and love. Our awareness of this reorientation should strengthen us in running the race and should lead us to joy, gratitude, and worship. Building on this idea, the healing story we encounter in this week’s gospel reading (Luke 13:10-17) is a vivid reminder that to worship God is to love and adore God and all that God has made, including our neighbor. In other words, to worship God is to love neighbor, and to love neighbor is to worship the God in whose image our neighbors are made.

This week’s reading locates us within the Letter to the Hebrews (11:29-12:2). Hebrews is written to a church that has grown weary in keeping the faith. They are worn down and worn out and are on the verge of giving up hope. Given the challenges facing our world and the church, we may at times feel the same. To those weary Christians the writer of Hebrews has a simple and direct word of encouragement: “Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished the race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish of a glorious life in and with God—for the sake of this joy he endured the disgrace and shame of the cross, disregarding its shame.” So, if you are feeling tired, disheartened, or wanting to simply walk away from faith, Hebrews says, keep your eyes on Jesus. See what he endured for the world’s sake, see how much he loves you and the world that despised him, and learn from him the shape of your life. His love is more than enough to sust

This week the passage we will be explore is Luke 12:32-40. In this passage we will hear about not being afraid, selling our possessions, being dressed for action, and having our lamps lit. We will hear the story about the homeowner and thief. You may recall the Scripture says, if the homeowner would have known when the thief was coming then the house wouldn’t have been broken into. And finally the Scripture says, “you also must be ready.” We will explore what it means for us as Christians to be ready. What are we getting ready for? How do we get ready?

It shouldn’t be surprising that Jesus talked a lot about money. After all, our misplaced understanding and love of money can often make it the biggest idol in our lives. Sometimes Jesus discussed money simply because people asked him specifically about it, and he was compelled to respond. This is the case in Sunday’s scripture from Luke 12: 13-21, when a man approached Jesus and said: “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” Jesus responded with one of his most well-known parables, what we often call the “parable of the rich fool.” Living in the U.S. in the 21st century, surely we can affirm that we’re “rich” in comparison to vast populations across the world and throughout history. Even those of us going paycheck-to-paycheck are living at a standard that millions around the globe can only dream of. Jesus’ parable can help us remember not to be foolish with the blessings of our lives, and to truly give thanks for how “rich” we are.

It is an old story and yet a very contemporary one. We often doubt God’s providential care, we fail to trust God with our lives, believing we can secure our own future. We often fail to nurture the most essential and important relationship we have and the failure to trust God with our lives and to nurture the most important relationship we have leads to bondage and death. As Israel would discover over and over, when we neglect or take for granted our relationship with God, things don’t go well, life becomes off balance, and the hardships and struggles that life surely brings our way become all the more difficult to navigate. The prophet Hosea knew this and called Israel to give themselves wholeheartedly to God. To a people who had turned to idols and toxic politics for their survival and security, Hosea speaks the words of a broken-hearted God who loves his people and longs to be in relationship in spite of and perhaps even because of their infidelity.

This week’s gospel reading from Luke relates the story of Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-42). Mary is prayerfully focused on Jesus. Martha is “distracted by many things.” My guess is that many of us can relate to Martha. Our lives are busy, crowded, and distracted, and prayerful focus on Jesus seems like a luxury. And yet, as Richard Foster has suggested what the world and the Church needs is not more intelligent people, not more gifted people, and certainly not more busy people. Rather, what the Church, what the world desperately needs is deep people. What the world needs is people like Mary who are spending time regularly sitting at Jesus’ feet, people investing in time alone listening to God. The world needs us to be a people whose lives are bathed in prayer and whose discipleship, whose faithful busyness, is rooted in a life lived in communion with Christ.

This week Luke relates the story of Jesus’ encounter with an expert in the Jewish Law. Jesus replies to the young lawyer’s questions with questions of his own, and by telling the story of a Samaritan, and a man beaten and left for dead. What Jesus wanted the young man, and us, to see is that the greatest commandment is not to be right, but to be in love. Anyone can memorize correct responses to a few theological questions. What matters is that the right answers lead to righteous and faithful living. What matters is the fruit of the Spirit born out of our belief and faith in God. Faithfulness means loving like Jesus and recognizing that everyone is our neighbor, and all, all deserve the kindness and gentleness of God.

On this Sunday, July 3, we are all undoubtedly thinking about the foundation that our country was built upon, the freedoms and independence we enjoy, and the hope of prosperity and flourishing. We want to celebrate these things in our hearts, until we begin to consider how far we’ve drifted from this foundation, as our country truly struggles to find her soul. This brings disappointment to our spirits. Our scripture for today provides a word of comfort in the midst of this disappointment, which gives us a reason to rejoice. It reminds us of the loving, nurturing, care of God that can bring us the peace that we are longing for. It also casts a vision of a different kind of kingdom, that we are invited to participate in that offers restoration, hope, and new life.

Following Jesus isn’t a program of self-help, by which we gain greater control over our lives in order that we might achieve the success and happiness for which we long. As we learn from this week’s reading from Luke (Luke 9:51-62), following Jesus is about giving up our lives, surrendering our lives, and learning to take up the life of Christ. Jesus says, if you want the life that really is life, if you want to be your truest and best self, your God created self, if you want to be free, then you must let the old, self-centered, control oriented life go, and take up your cross, and follow in his way. Discipleship is a long-obedience in the same direction in which we learn to let go of all that distracts and preoccupies us in order that we might walk in the way that Christ has opened before us, so that we might experience the expansive vision that God has for our lives.

This week we will be reflecting on the passage from Galatians 3:23-29. In this passage we hear the well known verses that in our baptism we have clothed ourselves with Christ (27), as well as, that we are all one in Christ Jesus (28). We will reflect on what this means for us today and how we can embody these verses.

In the liturgical year, the Sunday following Pentecost is Trinity Sunday. The doctrine of the Trinity states that God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – all are God and God is One. The doctrine of the Trinity is not some philosophical formula to be interpreted, or some kind of higher math to be solved, rather it is the way we name who God is, and how God is at work to heal and save us. To say that God is Trinity, three in one or Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is simply another way of saying that the God we worship and love, the God who created all there is, who came to us in Jesus the Word made flesh, and who is with us through the power of the Holy Spirit, is a God of relationship. Trinity means that God is a community of love. By and for love, God reaches out and invites us into the divine relationship, to participate in the holy communion, the friendship that exists between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And so, sharing in the divine life, or the fellowship of the Trinity, is what it means to be saved.

This week, we gather to celebrate God’s breathing the Church into existence by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2) Pentecost is about our being filled with the presence and power of the resurrected Christ that we might continue the mission of Christ to heal and save the world. It’s about having Christ’s Spirit flow in and through us. It is not so much about our feelings. And it’s not about being overcome with emotion, having a nice religious high, raising our hands in praise and then returning home, back to life as usual as if nothing significant had happened at all. No, being filled with the Spirit of the living Christ means having our lives consumed by Christ. It means having our hearts set on fire with love for God and love for the world for which Christ came. It means that we come to look and sound like Jesus, until as Paul says, “…it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me….” (Galatians 2:20a) Pentecost is a celebration, pointing us to the potential implanted within and

According to Acts 1: 1-11, the resurrected Jesus spent 40 days with his disciples, teaching them about the kingdom of God before ascending to heaven. So on the church calendar, we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord each year on the 40th day of the season of Easter (this year, May 26). Throughout Christian history, the Ascension of the Lord has been a celebrated, honored holiday and feast day -- though good luck finding any “Ascension Day” cards at the Hallmark store today. We tend to gloss over the story of Christ’s ascension these days, which is unfortunate. So this Ascension Sunday, we will seek to determine what Jesus’ ascension means for us today, particularly in the midst of tragedies and difficult times our country currently faces. (Parents, please note that this Sunday’s sermon will discuss the recent shooting in Texas).

In this week’s reading from the gospel of John (John 14:23-29), Jesus comforts his friends by encouraging them to not be afraid. The phrase “fear not” or “do not be afraid” appears at least 100 times in Scripture. While we may acknowledge that there are things which frighten us, Scripture urges us to not be controlled by fear. Instead, we are called to love, trusting that love casts out fear. Fear narrows the circle of our lives. It constricts, and it can choke the life out of us as individuals and as the church. Jesus was always about widening the circle and loving and inviting others in even when it was risky. The decline we see in the Church in the U.S. is, in part, the result of the Church’s unwillingness to take the risk to love. Instead, our witness is too often motivated by fear – fear of decline, fear that resources are scarce, fear that strangers might change us, fear of the unknown, fear that keeps us planted in the past while Jesus is calling us to follow him into God’s future. A Church mo

Davidson UMC Youth hosts Sarah Payne and Anna Liz Turner talk with graduating high school seniors Shelby Liebler and Mitch Dreffer. The four discuss the importance of being engaged with the church as students, share some of their memories, and also what their plans are for the future. You won't want to miss this fun and insightful episode.

On Sunday, we listen in as Jesus says to his disciples, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”(John 13:34-35) Discipleship is the name we give to the process of our becoming, of how, in spending time with Christ we become more like Christ and reflect Christ’s will and way in the world. As Eugene Peterson points out, “Christian discipleship is a decision to walk in Christ’s way, steadily and firmly, and then finding that Christ’s way integrates all our interests, passions, and gifts, our human needs and eternal aspirations. Discipleship involves our coming to see more clearly the way of life for which we were created, and that way is love. Indeed, the world will know that we belong to Christ by how we love.

In this week’s gospel reading (John 10:22-30) Jesus calls us sheep. It was a reference folks in his context could identify with and understand. Beyond that, I think he did so for a couple of reasons. He knows that we need someone, or something to define the way for us, to lead us, to push us forward, to call us in the way that we should go. He also knows that we have a tendency to wander off. It may not even always be intentional, but sometimes we become absorbed with what’s in front of us, preoccupied with many things, we get distracted and like sheep preoccupied with grazing, we look up and discover that we’ve slipped away and are not as centered in our faith as we might like to be. It’s like the hymn says, “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love.” Jesus called us sheep, because he knew we needed a shepherd. Someone to watch over us, to show us the way, to call us home when we’ve wandered a bit too far, and someone to lead us to green pastures and to help us in the midst of

Sunday will be a beautiful day at Davidson UMC as we celebrate the confirmation of almost 40 youth. For several months they've learned together and journeyed together, growing deeper in their faith. We are grateful for the energy, creativity, and gifts they bring to our life together. They make us a better church. This week we will focus on the Gospel of John and Peter's second call. As we celebrate with our youth and their families, we are reminded that we are all, as Church, called to follow Jesus and love the people he loved. See you on Sunday.

Location. Location. Location. Many of us have heard location is a very important aspect in real estate. This week as we continue in the Easter season we will be looking at the passage from John 20. This passage is the story of Jesus meeting the disciples in the locked home. He offers them peace and they rejoiced. This is also the passage with the well-known story about doubting Thomas, who wants to see the marks of crucifixion on Jesus’ hands and side. Thomas is often the theme of this passage; however, this week we will be exploring where Jesus meets them. We will think about location. We hope you will join us in person or online as we explore the Scripture together.

Davidson UMC Youth, featuring hosts Sarah Payne and Anna Liz Turner, have started a podcast for youth! On this first episode they talk to DUMC's Senior Pastor David Hockett and discuss his calling, what his job is like, and the weirdest thing that has happened to him on the job.