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Episodes
Weekly sermons from Concord United Methodist's Traditional and Contemporary Services.
Episodes
Tuesday Oct 04, 2022
Tuesday Oct 04, 2022
Jesus was a powerful preacher and teacher, using examples for everyday life to convey deeper truths about the coming kingdom. But he also modeled the power of relationships as a way to draw people into his message of grace and hope. The story of the Samaritan woman at the well is archetypal as a way to enter into someone’s life and invite them into a new life in Christ. He models deep intuition, active listening, and a non-judgmental response. Disciples live a life of deeper meaning when relationships take on an eternal dimension.
Scripture - John 4:1-42
Tuesday Sep 27, 2022
Tuesday Sep 27, 2022
Scriptures: Matthew 5:43-45; Psalm 130
The passage from Matthew tells us that Jesus presumed that there was evil and suffering in the world – “God makes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust”. God’s provision is present even while acknowledging that the world isn’t perfect. What Jesus tells us to do when people are hurting us, and God seems far away is to react with love. Psalm 130 reminds us that the proper response for people of faith is to continue reaching out to God in the midst of suffering even though it seems we’re in the deepest depths. What we do when experiencing personal suffering is hold to whatever slim thread of faith there is, continue to communicate with God, and to respond with whatever love we can muster. More importantly, when times are good, when God seems close, our responsibility is to be Christ to those who aren’t seeing Christ. We are to be light in darkness, agents of peace for someone’s turmoil, and to point to Christ by being his hands and feet when we see chaos and suffering happening to others.
Tuesday Sep 27, 2022
Tuesday Sep 27, 2022
Scriptures: Matthew 5:43-45; Psalm 130
The passage from Matthew tells us that Jesus presumed that there was evil and suffering in the world – “God makes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust”. God’s provision is present even while acknowledging that the world isn’t perfect. What Jesus tells us to do when people are hurting us, and God seems far away is to react with love. Psalm 130 reminds us that the proper response for people of faith is to continue reaching out to God in the midst of suffering even though it seems we’re in the deepest depths. What we do when experiencing personal suffering is hold to whatever slim thread of faith there is, continue to communicate with God, and to respond with whatever love we can muster. More importantly, when times are good, when God seems close, our responsibility is to be Christ to those who aren’t seeing Christ. We are to be light in darkness, agents of peace for someone’s turmoil, and to point to Christ by being his hands and feet when we see chaos and suffering happening to others.
Tuesday Sep 20, 2022
Tuesday Sep 20, 2022
Tuesday Sep 13, 2022
Tuesday Sep 13, 2022
There is no good answer to this question. Whatever answer we can come up with falls short of being helpful and can even be hurtful. To say that God had a plan for the Holocaust or for terrorists to fly planes into buildings makes it appear that God is a terrible planner, and diminishes the lives lost and the pain of survivors. Most of the time, human sin is the reason for pain and suffering. God gave humanity free will, and to quote a friend of mine, “God values free will so highly that God is willing to watch us hurt ourselves to protect it.” But sometimes, as in the tower of Siloam, things happen in nature that are beyond the body’s ability to withstand. The same natural laws (like gravity) that benefit us can also cause harm. Sometimes an errant cell will begin a series of divisions that manifest in cancer. It appears that there are no good answers for why such things happen. The only solace is that God ultimately holds our eternal life and security despite the mystery of tragedy in this physical life.
Tuesday Sep 13, 2022
Tuesday Sep 13, 2022
There is no good answer to this question. Whatever answer we can come up with falls short of being helpful and can even be hurtful. To say that God had a plan for the Holocaust or for terrorists to fly planes into buildings makes it appear that God is a terrible planner, and diminishes the lives lost and the pain of survivors. Most of the time, human sin is the reason for pain and suffering. God gave humanity free will, and to quote a friend of mine, “God values free will so highly that God is willing to watch us hurt ourselves to protect it.” But sometimes, as in the tower of Siloam, things happen in nature that are beyond the body’s ability to withstand. The same natural laws (like gravity) that benefit us can also cause harm. Sometimes an errant cell will begin a series of divisions that manifest in cancer. It appears that there are no good answers for why such things happen. The only solace is that God ultimately holds our eternal life and security despite the mystery of tragedy in this physical life.
Sunday Sep 04, 2022
Sunday Sep 04, 2022
Sunday Sep 04, 2022
Sunday Sep 04, 2022
Tuesday Aug 30, 2022
Tuesday Aug 30, 2022
We spend a lot of time worrying about relationships. Some of us worry every time someone isn’t pleased with us. Some of us worry even when everything seems to be going okay. Jesus always had people mad at him. People devoted to him. And everything in between. He taught us that when we really treat others as we want to be treated we can have peace no matter the external circumstances of the relationships. This means learning to put ourselves in their shoes and unlearning the ways we manipulate and use people.
"Why Worry About Relationships" - Rev. Brooke Hartman
Scripture - Matthew 7:12