United Methodist Chucks

We begin Following God with "Leave the Dark." We often hear about walking in darkness and seeing a great light, but what do we mean? What is the darkness we leave behind? How do we deal with selfish desires? What about failure? We explore what it takes when we are following God. Our scripture readings for today come from Isaiah 9:1-4 and Matthew 4:12-23.

"So It Begins" is the final message in The Story Goes On. We jump forward from an infant Jesus to a grown man. How does Christ begin his ministry? What can it teach us about our own ministry? As long as God is still telling it, the story will go on. Our scripture reading comes from Matthew 3:13-17. I'm on vacation, so I'll be back in two weeks with a 5 part series on following God.

"Strange Visit" is our second message in The Story Goes On. On this Epiphany Sunday we take a look at the visit of the Wise Men. Why is this story in Matthew? What do we know about the visitors? What do we not know? What lessons can we learn from them? Christmas may have passed but the story goes on. Our scripture reading comes from Matthew 2:1-12.

We mark the first Sunday after Christmas with a new series, The Story Goes On. The first message is "Flight for Survival" and looks at a dark part of the Christmas story. What do we make of a story of violent oppression as part of the Christmas story? What does it say about hope? About love? Christmas may have passed, but the story goes on. Our scripture reading comes from Matthew 2:13-23.

Today marks the end of our Advent Journey with the Christmas Eve message about "Living in Love." What does Christmas mean? How do we look at it? How do we love? Merry Christmas to you all! Our scripture readings come from Isaiah 9:2-7 and Luke 2:1-20. The transcript can also be found here.

"Learning to Trust" is the message for the final Sunday of Advent, and the next to last message from our Advent Journey. What does trust look like? How do we learn to trust? Why do we trust? We embark on an Advent journey to prepare for the road ahead. Our scripture readings come from Isaiah 7:10-16 and Matthew 1:18-25.

"Seeking Joy" is the 3rd leg of our Advent Journey. It takes us to prison and to looking ahead. How do we find joy when things are bad? Does joy erase sadness? Do we seek joy alone or together? We embark on an Advent journey to prepare for the road ahead. Our scripture readings come from Isaiah 35:1-10 & Matthew 11:2-11.

"Finding Hope" is the second leg of our Advent Journey. How do fear and anxiety distract us from hope? Is hope a flashing neon sign? Is hope ever really gone? e embark on an Advent journey to prepare for the road ahead. Our scripture readings come from Isaiah 11:1-11-7 and Matthew 3:1-12.

We begin our Advent Journey with "Chasing Peace" as we explore the idea of peace. Do we overlook peace? Do we get peace when we give it? Can peace appear in the midst of chaos? We embark on an Advent journey to prepare for the road ahead. Our scripture readings come from Isaiah 2:1-5 and Matthew 24:36-44.

Today's message is more of a personal reflection. As I sit at home sick, unable to be at services today, I reflect upon what it means to be thankful.

"Reading the Word" is a stand alone message about how we read scripture. What is scripture? Does the Bible itself tell us which books are scripture? How should we read the Bible? Is it history? Poetry? Or something more? Our scripture readings come from Joshua 1:7-9 and 2 Timothy 3:14-17.

"Singing Praises" looks at the role music plays in our life of faith. The command to sing is all throughout the Bible. Scripture has many songs woven in. We go and sing at church on Sunday, but what about the rest of the time? Do we sing God's praises? Why is music so important? Why is music so powerful? Our scripture reading comes from Isaiah 12:1-6.

Today's message for All Saints Sunday is "A Life Lived." How do we remember those who competed their journey? How do we live our lives? Are we living a life that will be a good guide for others? What do we leave behind? Let us remember those who have finished their journey in faith. Our scripture reading comes from Ephesians 1:11-23.

"Blessing, Not Reward" is the final entry in Lessons from Job. What happens at the end of Job? If Job isn't rewarded, what happened? What does the book teach us about life? About what we aren't in control of? About what we are? Let us come together in faith to explore the lessons of Job! Our scripture reading comes from Job 42:10-17.

"Contending with God" is the third entry in our Lessons from Job series. Job gets a response from God after his long debate with friends. But is it the response he was expecting? Can we ever understand God completely? What does that mean for us? Let us contemplate the lessons of Job together! Our scripture reading comes from Job 38:1-11, 40:1-14, 42:1-6.

Lessons from Job continues with "You Aren't Helping" as we dive deeper into the book. Job now argues with his friends. Are they helping? Or are they hurting? What should they be doing? How do we handle a crisis? Let us face the lessons of Job together! Our scripture reading comes from Job 11:1-12, 12:1-5, 15:1-9, 16:1-6.

"Facing Adversity" is the first sermon in the latest series Lessons from Job, which will last 4 weeks. Job had many things we can learn, so today we begin with the start of Job. What kind of book is Job? Who causes Job's affliction? What do we learn from this initial encounter? Let us explore the lessons of Job together! Our scripture reading comes from Job 1:1, 2:1-13.

"A Great Sadness" explores Lamentations as the last entry in Difficult Readings. Lamentations ends with a question that is hard: God, where are you? Is God there when things are hard? When we are sad? When we mess up? Can we always turn to God? Let us grow together as we explore these difficult readings! Our scripture reading comes from Lamentations 5:1-22.

"A Love Song" is this week's entry in our Difficult Readings series. Why is the Song of Songs in the Bible? What is the point of a romantic, even erotic, poem? What can it tell us about God? About ourselves? About what it truly means to be human? Let us grow together as we explore these difficult readings! Our scripture reading comes from Song of Songs 3:1-5; 4:10-16.

"Everything is Pointless" is the first message in the three week series Difficult Readings. This series looks at texts that can be hard to read. First up is Ecclesiastes. A repeated idea is that everything is pointless. Is this really true? Is this the main message? What does Ecclesiastes say about human emotion? About our own understanding? Can we really complain this much to God? Let us grow together as we explore these difficult readings! Our scripture reading comes from Ecclesiastes 2:14-26.