From The Pulpit Of Dumc

“New creation has begun, and you are invited to be a part of it.”(NT Wright) This is the good news the women shared with the disciples upon returning from the tomb that first Easter morning.(Luke 24:1-12) In the resurrection of Jesus Christ, God has re-ordered the rhythm of this world, has re-ordered creation, and we are invited to be a part of that new order. Easter is, in a way, God’s magnum opus, God’s symphony, in which all of creation is invited into a new rhythm, a new way of being that is defined, not by cause and effect, but by cross and resurrection. Resurrection means that the beauty, glory, and love of God, incarnate in Christ, now permeates all creation. As an Easter people, a community of new life, we are called to share the good news and live resurrected lives, not only on Easter, but each and every day.

Following Jesus is an extraordinary gift, and it can be costly and demanding. As we draw near to Christ, become members of his body, and follow him more closely we become more generous, loving, and free. In following Jesus, we become a people who are salt and light, a foretaste of the Kingdom of heaven on earth, the very hope of the world. On Sunday we begin our Holy Week journey focusing our attention on Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. The celebratory scene of Jesus riding into the city with crowds waving palm branches to honor him is in stark contrast to where the week ends when the once jubilant crowds cry for blood. Palm Sunday is a day to consider our place in the crowd and what it means for us to follow, not merely to admire or appreciate Jesus, but to answer the call to take up the cross and follow, knowing that to follow someone is to become more like them.

David, Kevin, and Karen are back together again for a Lenten check-in and a look ahead to Holy Week. As usual, there are laughs and an assortment of other conversations.

As we continue to prepare for Easter on this fifth Sunday in Lent, we will be reflecting on the passage from John where Mary anointed Jesus’ feet with costly perfume. We will hear about Judas Iscariot complaining about the cost of the perfume and then we will hear Jesus’ response. You are invited to join us in-person or online as we reflect on this passage together.

In this week’s reading (2 Corinthians 5:16-21) we encounter the Church in Corinth. Corinth was a difficult, often wild, and impenitent place. Paul founded the church there and his relationship with the Corinthian Christians was often difficult and bittersweet. Paul loved them, felt responsible for them as a father in the faith, and often wrote to them giving advice, counsel, and correction. In this section of the letter, Paul reminds the Corinthian Christians of the new creation work that God is doing to reconcile all things, to heal division and restore the relationship between us and God, us and our neighbors, and us and creation. The Church is breathed into life by the Spirit precisely for God’s mission of reconciling, healing, and transforming the world. And so, Paul reminds the Christians in Corinth, that as Church, our vocation is to be not only the gathered people of God, but also sent by God to be ambassadors of God’s new creation work.

Kevin and Karen are joined with two delightful guests - Davidson College student Catie Holshouser and Cindy Turner (yes, Kevin's wife!). Catie is the Campus Ministry Intern and Cindy is the Lay Leader for Campus Ministry. The four have conversations about being a Davidson College student, faith, and Davidson Wesley Group updates. And they tell us who else has been involved in Davidson Wesley and where they are today.

In this week’s gospel reading from Luke (13:1-9), we encounter a world-view shared by many of Jesus’ contemporaries – tragedy, sudden death, illness, and suffering are punishment for sin. Likewise, good health, success, wealth, and prosperity are signs of God’s blessing and favor and are the result of a person’s goodness or righteousness. In his interaction with a crowd, Jesus responds by rejecting the idea that the offer of God’s love and mercy are somehow related to our goodness or lack thereof. He points to a fruitless fig tree and a gardener who is patient and willing to allow the fig tree time to respond to the gardener’s care as a reminder of how we must not define the moral character of others based upon their life circumstances. God’s love transcends our goodness and our sin. And, God’s patient and persistent desire is that all of us might be re-created, renewed, and bear much fruit.

We take a step further in our journey to the cross on this Second Sunday of Lent. Last week, we focused on Jesus’ temptation. This week, we will focus on Jesus’ sorrow. Our scripture comes to us from Luke 13:31-35. It begins with a warning from the Pharisees for Jesus about Herod’s plan to kill him, but it becomes a reflection on the nature of Jesus’ life and mission. It highlights the tragic role played by Jerusalem in the life of Jesus. Jerusalem had a history of rejecting the Messiah, just as it had rejected it’s forerunners. But Jesus’ life and death would not be determined by Herod or the Pharisees. His life was planned and directed by God and His mission would unfold in God’s time and according to God’s plan. This passage invites readers to consider how we have recognized and resisted Jesus’ message and kingdom and the role that we play in Jesus’ continuing ministry.

Our gospel reading for the First Sunday in Lent is Luke 4:1-13, where Luke tells the story of Jesus being tempted. As we enter into the season of Lent, a season of reflection and fasting, a season of preparation for our annual celebration of Easter, what does Jesus being tempted in the wilderness have to do with us? Most of us would probably not claim that Satan or some adversary had come to us and tempted us to engage in this or that behavior, especially temptations like Jesus faced - turning stones into bread, jumping off the roofs of buildings, or inheriting the kingdoms of the world, so what are we to make of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness? And what difference does it make for us if Jesus was tempted? Even more, if Jesus’ temptation does make any difference at all, what does it say to us as we strive to follow Christ, to be more like him, to take up the cross and follow?

On this special episode, David, Kevin, and Karen have the opportunity to talk with Pastor Jozef Bartos, from Metodysci w Krakowie, and Kate Werner who both live in Krakow, Poland. They discuss the current situation with Ukraine and Russia and how it is affecting life and people in their area. DUMC choirs traveled to Krakow in 2015 and performed at Pastor Bartos' church.

This week we conclude our series on Jesus’ parable of the father who had two lost sons. We’ve noted who was gathered that day listening to Jesus teach – both people of questionable reputation, people on the margins of faith and life, and the Pharisees and religion scholars, and everyone in between. We saw how Jesus directed much of what he had to say at those who were considered the good, moral, religious people of the day. We noted that, while it doesn’t appear in the story, the word prodigal means recklessly extravagant, which means that what Jesus is doing in this story is telling two very different groups of people a story about God, and how “God’s reckless, extravagant, prodigal love is our greatest hope.” (Keller, XV) We listened in as Jesus redefined sin as missing the mark of the father’s love, rather than a simplistic list of do’s and don’ts, and what Jesus hopes we’ll see, is that both sons are caught in their own sin and brokenness, all of us are. The elder brother is just as lost as the young

Next week is Ash Wednesday and David, Kevin, and Karen discuss the meaning behind it and how you can prepare to keep a holy Lent. Kevin shares a new prop for 2022 and they also recap the recent youth episode and talk bananas.

This week we progress in our study of The Prodigal God by Tim Keller based on Luke 15. We have encountered two different spiritual paths in the older and younger brother’s examples. Now, we will look at the character who was left out of the story. This person provides an example that is radically different than either of the other two. This week, we discover the unique path that our true elder brother, Jesus, offers us. As we discover the way that Jesus provides for us, we will find our way home, at last.

This week we continue our series on the parable of the father who had two sons found in Luke 15. We’ll focus our attention more closely on the elder brother and his response to the gracious welcome his younger, wayward brother receives from the father. Here Jesus wants us to consider what it means to be spiritually lost. It’s clear to those listening in that little brother is lost, but Jesus suggests that both sons are far from the father’s love; both sons aren’t truly home. So, how is that the older brother remained under his father’s roof his whole life, and yet, he is just as far from home as little brother? Keller invites all of us older siblings to come to terms with this question in light of God’s prodigal love. It is, after all, God’s prodigal love that is the source of the hope and joy for which we all long.

On Sunday we continue our exploration of the parable of the father who had two sons, paying particular attention to Luke 15:11-18, 25-29a. Here Jesus depicts the sin of both sons, not only the younger, wayward brother. Of course, the younger brother’s alienation from his father seems obvious. And yet, what Jesus hopes we’ll see is that both sons are caught in their own sin and brokenness and the elder brother is equally lost, only in a different. And so, the story is about a father who lost two sons whom he longed to shower with his prodigal love and grace. And therein lies our hope.

What happens when Kevin and Karen are replaced by their daughters on the show? Find out on this special episode of This Thing Called Church when David sits down with Anna Liz Turner and Sarah Payne. They discuss what it's like being a youth at DUMC and how they would like others to see their perspective of being a teenager and a Christian.

This week we begin our series focusing on the parable Jesus tells in Luke 15:1-3, 11-32. We’re, of course, using Tim Keller’s book, The Prodigal God, as our reference. I commend the book to you and hope you’ll read along as it really is a kind of primer on the Christian faith. So, over the next five weeks we’ll explore how in this parable, Jesus is doing so much more than merely interpreting the dynamics of an ancient family. In fact, the story helps us understand what it means to be lost and in need, what it means to be saved and made whole, and how God longs to welcome all God’s children to the feast. Of course, the parable is often referred to as the parable of the prodigal son. The word prodigal, however, doesn’t actually appear in the parable and is often misused to refer only to the younger brother. In reality, prodigal means recklessly extravagant, luxuriant, recklessly spendthrift. Which means that what Jesus is doing here is telling two very different groups of people, the Pharisees and scrib

Because of Jesus, who is the embodiment of the reign and will of God, the Kingdom is already among us, it is already here, today. Christ makes this claim in this week’s gospel (Luke 4:14-21), drawing on Isaiah 61. It’s hard to ignore and we should probably pay attention. The promise of freedom, of good news for the poor, of the ability to see as God sees, and of liberation for all who are oppressed is fulfilled, in Jesus, TODAY. And yet, there is also a distance, a gap, between what already is true and what is yet to be. The fullness of God’s Kingdom, God’s reign over all of Creation, and God’s will coming upon the earth, is both present in Christ and yet, it is also out there on the horizon, waiting to be. Our holy vocation is to follow Jesus, to draw near to him and become like him, and to be a living embodiment of Isaiah’s beautiful vision, today.

David, Kevin, and Karen are back and kick off 2022 with a new episode! On today's episode the three recap the holidays and then discuss the new churchwide book study that is starting at the end of the month. The book is called The Prodigal God and it's not too late to get a copy, join a small group, or follow along on your own. A book study is a great to start your new year!

This Sunday in worship we will read John 2: 1-11, the story of Jesus turning water into wine at a wedding in Cana of Galilee. This is one of the most well-known narratives of the Bible, to be sure. And because it's such a familiar story, perhaps we've never asked ourselves: Why would Jesus do such an odd thing? We're accustomed to reading about Jesus' healings and other miraculous deeds, but turning water into wine seems like a very different kind of miracle, does it not? Perhaps there's something deeper and more significant going on that John, the gospel writer, wants us to discover. We hope you can join us Sunday morning.