West End Umc Video Podcast Audio Podcast

This is the fifth Sunday in Lent, and our theme for Lent is “I Will: Living Our Baptismal Vows.” Today’s reading is from the Gospel of John, the scene where Jesus washes the feet of the disciples and teaches them to love one another. Baptisms are moments of great joy in the congregation as we welcome a new child, but it is also a commitment during which the congregation makes a vow to nurture one another in the Christian faith and life and include this person in our care. We’re called to welcome and include the new, to open our hearts and minds to the new ones. It is a radical inclusion, demonstrated by Jesus’ washing the feet of those disciples. What happened when Jesus got to Judas Iscariot in that foot washing?

This is the fourth Sunday in Lent, and our theme for Lent is “I Will: Living Our Baptismal Vows.” Today we’re looking at the fourth baptismal vow, “Do you promise to serve him as your Lord in union with the church which Christ has opened to people of all ages, nations, and races?” The focus is on the question of “union,” knowing that historically Christians have differed on matters of policy, belief, understanding of the Bible, and have, through history, split into widely varying denominations. Given that reality, how can we be in union? Today’s reading from John 17 gives us clues when Jesus prays to God that his followers will be one, just as he and God are one, resulting in their knowing that God loves them, just as God loves Jesus. Perhaps we can understand that Christians can differ but be in union with that love.

This is the third Sunday in Lent, and our theme for Lent is “I Will: Living Our Baptismal Vows.” Today’s reading is Luke’s account of Zacchaeus, the short tax collector who, as a tax collector, had gotten rich off the backs of his fellow Jews. He wanted to catch a glimpse of this Jesus and climbed a tree to be able to see. But Jesus called him down and befriended him, and, as a result, Zacchaeus changed his outlook and direction. It is an illustration of what it is to be befriended by Jesus and, in response, to confess Jesus as Lord, put our trust in him, and serve him, which is the third of our baptismal vows.

This is the second Sunday in Lent, and our theme for Lent is “I Will: Living Our Baptismal Vows.” Today’s reading is Luke’s account of Jesus throwing the money lenders out of the temple, and then, later, the authorities questioning his authority to do such things as teaching and preaching. Rev. Stacey Harwell-Dye, preaching today, says that Jesus was not against Judaism or temple worship at all, or against selling animals for sacrifices because many people who came to the temple had travelled very long distances and could not have brought the proper unblemished animals for sacrificing. What he was against were the sellers who took advantage and charged exorbitant prices. To critique something properly you must love it dearly, and that is what Jesus was doing. We, too, are called by our baptismal vows to accept the freedom God gives us to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves.

This is the first Sunday in Lent, and our theme for Lent is “I Will: Living Our Baptismal Vows.” Today’s reading is Luke’s account of the time Jesus spent in the wilderness being tempted, immediately following his baptism. Although this can be a shocking first step in a baptismal ceremony, to cite what we are turning away from lays groundwork for our faith. Jesus, himself, as soon as he was baptized, was reported to have gone into the wilderness for 40 days of fasting and temptation. The temptations Jesus faced can be interpreted as our own temptations: first, to trust ourselves rather than God; second, to rely on worldly power instead of on God; and third, to put on a show. It is a fitting beginning to this season of Lent.

(NOTE: This edition is from the evening service where Katie also used a Children's Moment) This is our annual Ash Wednesday Service of the Imposition of Ashes as we begin the season of Lent. Katie Minnis delivers the homily, beginning with how angry she had recently become at someone she doesn’t know who posted something she disagreed with on social media. She cites Paul’s directions to the Corinthians writing that things that have the potential to divide us also can unite us. Paul’s list of hardships are reminiscent of things we have endured in the recent pandemic. Ash Wednesday is a day for recognizing our human frailty through ashes. Seeing our own ashes is a way to realize our deep need for grace as well as an aid to identify the needs of others.

– This is our annual Ash Wednesday Service of the Imposition of Ashes as we begin the season of Lent. Katie Minnis delivers the homily, beginning with how angry she had recently become at someone she doesn’t know who posted something she disagreed with on social media. She cites Paul’s directions to the Corinthians writing that things that have the potential to divide us also can unite us. Paul’s list of hardships are reminiscent of things we have endured in the recent pandemic. Ash Wednesday is a day for recognizing our human frailty through ashes. Seeing our own ashes is a way to identify the needs of others.

This is our annual Shrove Tuesday celebration before Lent begins tomorrow. The text is the story from the Gospel of John where Jesus turns water into wine at a wedding when the wine has run out. In his sermon, Brandon Baxter leads us to remember our own parties, and how and why we love those kinds of celebrations. He identifies several hints in this story that while Jesus is a party person, he is also a serious person who has come to turn things around. But it begins with a party, and Brandon encourages us to keep the party going through Lent to celebrate our relationship with God and with each other.

This is the seventh and final sermon in a series based on 1 Corinthians 13’s treatise on love and titled, “Love, Always.” Today’s reading is from Romans wherein Paul describes the bond of God’s love in no uncertain terms. Current events we are witnessing in Ukraine press us to wonder if there are times when love doesn’t work. How do we reconcile that with Paul’s insistence that nothing can separate us from God’s love and love never fails? Perhaps we need to examine the example of Jesus and what that might call us to do. Is love involved when he enters the Temple and turns over the tables of the moneychangers?

This is the sixth in a sermon series based on 1 Corinthians 13’s treatise on love and titled, “Love, Always.” Today’s reading is the familiar story of the Prodigal Son, and the Rev. Brandon Baxter reviews a number of perspectives on the story but directs us to treat it ultimately as a human story, one that is instructive for us. We make mistakes in judgment, misdirections in our lives, and we often find ourselves depressed and/or grieving. But this story reminds us of the all-embracing love of people close to us, as well as God’s unconditional love. From 1 Corinthians 13, “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things,” all of which are demonstrated in this story.

This is the fifth in a sermon series based on 1 Corinthians 13’s treatise on love and titled, “Love, Always.” In today’s reading from Galatians, Paul links love and truth, but we know that truth is often difficult to discern. In Galatians Paul writes about the truth of the gospel, saying that we are all one and criticizing Peter for refusing to sit with the Gentiles, which thus rebuilds walls that Jesus had torn down. It was a moment of confrontation between the two, and we don’t know how or whether their relationship continued from there, but it was an example of Paul’s attempt to re-focus Peter on the basic message of Jesus, founded in love.

This is the fourth in a sermon series based on 1 Corinthians 13’s treatise on love and titled, “Love, Always.” Today’s reading from 1 Corinthians 8 is a bit confusing, in part because it is addressed to a church in a multi-layered society where it was okay to eat meat that had been sacrificed to idols. Although Paul says it is fine to eat that meat and explains why, he also says that it might be harmful to those believers who firmly believe it is not right to do so. In essence, to consider others puts love first.

This is the third in a sermon series based on 1 Corinthians 13’s treatise on love and titled, “Love, Always.” Today’s reading is the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, describing how each prayed in the temple, the Pharisee saying he’s glad he’s not like others. The focus today is on love not being envious, boastful, or arrogant, all of which would be comparing ourselves to others. At times when we compare ourselves to others we experience envy, and at other times we experience pride, and in these cases it is hard to love. Is there a way that comparing can invoke love?

This is the second in a sermon series based on 1 Corinthians 13’s treatise on love and titled, “Love, Always.” Today’s reading is from 1 Cor. 12, Paul’s familiar comparison of the church to the member of the human body. The word, “kindness,” originated from the way one would treat others in one’s family, kin, and thus the sermon title, “KINdness.” Rev. Nancy gives an example of Fr. Greg Boyle whose work in Los Angeles through a number of decades draws in those society often views as dispensable and treats them as valued, as part of the body. Nancy gives other examples of people who extend kindness not just to other people, but to the environment and to things around us, living out a KINdness with people and things around us, reminding us that our health and well-being are connected to the health and well-being of people and things around us.

Is Love Always Patient? – This is the first in a sermon series based on 1 Corinthians 13’s treatise on love and titled, “Love, Always.” Today’s focus from that chapter is “love is Patient.” Just in the last two days at West End, 1 Cor. 13 was read in a memorial service and in a wedding. Originally, it was addressed to a congregation in Corinth that was widely divergent in its membership, Paul emphasizing that love is the foundation upon which a congregation is built. In the Greek of this section the descriptions of love are verbs. But there are times when action is called for rather than patience, and how do we reconcile that? Even Jesus got impatient with the disciples. Maybe our focus should be on the example of God’s patience with us.

This is our annual service to remember our baptism. The reading is Luke’s story of the baptism of Jesus, through which we hear God’s blessing on the freshly baptized Jesus applied to us, “You are my Child, the Beloved: with you I am well pleased.” We are very familiar with the role of water in baptism, but John the Baptist speaks of one who will baptize with spirit/wind and with fire. What would being baptized by spirit and fire mean for us? What would it mean if we were, through baptism, empowered with the Holy Spirit and fire? (NOTE: The video begins with the Children’s Moment, but once it starts you can scroll back to the beginning of the service if you want. The entire service is videoed.)

This is Epiphany Sunday when we remember the journey of the magi following the star to Bethlehem to pay homage to the newborn Jesus. There are two sides of this story: one is the joy of the birth, the star, the visitors, the gifts; the other is the dark side with fear, violence, and hatred, in the face of which Joseph takes the family to Egypt. Where do we see ourselves in this story? The magi, having educated themselves, opened their eyes to see this king born in poverty and displacement, and, out of their joy at meeting the Christ child, they opened their hearts and treasure chests to offer support. Given this example, what is our own role in helping the refugees, the vulnerable?

This is West End’s traditional Christmas Eve service, held late to celebrate the joy of the birth as close to Christmas Day as possible. It is a service of holy communion. The Gospel reading is, of course, the story of that birth, and it is read, as is traditional, from the midst of the people. Although we are grateful to be together, much moreso than this time last year, the world is still not the way it should be. We long to hear the good news and hope that the story of the birth of this baby gives us. We can do that by joining the shepherds on a deep, dark night, a people who were not free but under the rule of Rome. Those shepherds, poor and without any power, were faithfully doing their jobs when a messenger from God came to make an announcement about this birth. We get to be part of the transformation of the world, announced to the shepherds on that night long ago.

This is a service acknowledging the longest night of the year, December 21, and designed to comfort and heal those who are experiencing darkness. The service includes communion, prayer, anointing with oil, and the lighting of candles. Rev. Frances Merritt delivers the message and begins with examples from the Bible of people in repentant and humble postures, contrasting that with our own attitudes that we can handle any situation. Yet, we often find ourselves living with hopelessness. She then cites various scriptures to say that in spite of our hopelessness God is there and is our hope. That hope in the darkness is what we await in this season – the birth of Jesus, our savior and hope, Emmanuel, God with us.

This is the fourth Sunday in Advent. The reading is Luke’s account of Mary’s visit to Elizabeth. There are many details of that story that we’d like to know but simply aren’t there, so many things we wonder about Mary’s thoughts and why and how she went to visit Elizabeth. Perhaps God knew that the two women needed time and each other to process the impending births of their sons and the significance of those births. Both women are blessed by the visit. It is the work of the Holy Spirit and is, in many ways, the first church. What went on in this visit is what goes on in the church.