Posts Tagged ‘methodist’
April 10, 2013
Sunset on Canyon Lake last summer. Looking forward to this summer.
John 21:15-19
Jesus and Peter
15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16 He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. 18 Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” 19 (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”
There is a lot of speculation around what Jesus is actually trying to get across to Peter. I am going to bottom line it for you according to what I think. Jesus wants us to love God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit. Then He wants us to follow His example. Loving the Holy Trinity is not an option. Living a life that does not show love for your neighbor is not an option. Not necessarily the meaning of asking three times but who knows? What we do know is that Jesus exampled His love for the Father in Heaven to His disciples and us. He fed the children physically and spiritually. He tended to His disciples and He fed them as well. Could He mean communion, The Last Supper or teaching and preaching. Perhaps all? Maybe Jesus was helping Peter forgive himself for denying Christ three times. Psychology 101?
Lots of questions and lots of answers. Theologians have plenty of thoughts but I am more interested in what you think. What are some answers you can come up with after a little meditation on the Word?
Let me know what you think by commenting below…and have a blessed day.
Pastor Randy
Tags:breakfast, fish, Jesus, john, Lectionary, love, meditation, methodist, Peter, preach, question, teach, united
Posted in Pastor's Ponderings, Wesley United Methodist Church | 56 Comments »
April 3, 2013
Our new roof. Looks good, huh! You can see the difference in the home page picture. No doubters around here about the work we had done. See my thoughts about a biblical doubter below.
Have you really ever thought about Thomas or his doubt. Maybe we need to look closer at who Thomas was and really what his faith was.
When Jesus turned his face toward Jerusalem the disciples thought that it would be certain death for all of them. Surprisingly, it was Thomas who said: “Then let us go so that we may die with him.” It was a courageous statement, yet we don’t remember him for that. We also fail to point out that in this story of Thomas’ doubt we have the one place in the all the Gospels where the Divinity of Christ is bluntly and unequivocally stated. It is interesting, is it not, that the story that gives Thomas his infamous nickname, is the same story that has Thomas making an earth shattering confession of faith? Look at his confession, “My Lord, and my God.” Not teacher. Not Lord. Not Messiah. But God! It is the only place where Jesus is called God without qualification of any kind. It is uttered with conviction as if Thomas was simply recognizing a fact, just as 2 + 2 = 4, and the sun is in the sky. You are my Lord and my God! These are certainly not the words of a doubter. These words exclaim his true belief. Just like Thomas don’t we often have doubts even though we still believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. When faced with tragedy don’t we look for proof that Jesus is still alive and with us.
Thomas got his proof. Have you gotten yours? Reach out to Jesus and see if He is still alive in your heart. Jesus is there with you and all you have to do is accept Him as your savior. Do it today! You will be one of those blessed because they have believed and even though they have not seen Him. Amen
Pastor Randy
Tags:doubt, faith, heart, Jesus, methodist, personal, relationship, roof, Thomas, united, Wesley
Posted in Pastor's Ponderings, Wesley United Methodist Church | 2 Comments »
March 28, 2013
Another interesting look at Holy Week and how we deal with it or not!!
The Tomb Is Easier than the Cross
In just a matter of days Holy Week takes us from the mountain of festive palms to the mountain of Golgatha’s despair. And that is why we resist it so. I mean, do we really need the emotional rollercoaster of Holy Week? What’s so wrong with just jumping from one parade to the next and skipping all the sacrifice and death stuff? What’s wrong with simply moving on to the joy of Easter, with its white bonnets, Easter eggs, family, friends, big ham dinner, and of course the empty tomb.
Well, I think we know the answer to that. For starters, an empty tomb, at face value, is a lot easier to deal with than a dying, bleeding Savior on a cross. Add to that all the pain and suffering that comes with Holy Week, is it any wonder that the human tendency is to try and ignore the events of the week and simply move on to the Easter celebration? But as much as we’d like to skip Holy Week we know that the only way to Easter is through the cross. We know where the parade of Palm Sunday leads and we also know that we’re part of that parade. That is to say, we know this intellectually. Our hearts are another story. Our hearts may be more in sync with the disciples and the fear and disbelief that led them to run away. It would seem that 2000 years later Jesus’ disciples are still running away.
Jeffrey K. London
Tags:church, easter celebration, human tendency, jesus disciples, methodist, religion, theology, united
Posted in Pastor's Ponderings, Wesley United Methodist Church | Leave a Comment »
March 26, 2013
If I Can Be the Donkey…
Corrie Ten Boom was a famous Christian whose testimony of suffering in Nazi concentration camps and God’s grace through it all touched millions of lives. A few years ago, in a press conference following a ceremony in which Corrie Ten Boom was given an honorary degree, one of the reporters asked her if it was difficult remaining humble while hearing so much acclaim. She replied immediately, “Young man, when Jesus Christ rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday on the back of a donkey, and everyone was waving palm branches and throwing garments in the road and singing praises, do you think that for one moment it ever entered the head of that donkey that any of that was for him?” She continued, “If I can be the donkey on which Jesus Christ rides in his glory, I give him all the praise and all the honor.”
About the Donkey
People often speak of donkeys in belittling terms. You may have heard the expression, “I’m just someone who has to do all the donkey work.” Or “So-and-so is as stubborn as a mule” (a mule is part donkey).
These sayings overlook the contributions of a truly valuable animal. Donkeys have served the human race for thousands of years. They were once prized as symbols of humility, gentleness, and peace.
In Bible days, donkeys that had never been ridden were regarded as especially suitable for religious purposes. So it was most fitting that Jesus sent for a colt to perform the royal task of carrying Him into Jerusalem. How enviable was that donkey’s mission! How like our mission as Jesus’ followers!
A missionary in China calls herself “the Lord’s donkey.” She’s a humble believer, “carrying” her Lord faithfully into town after town and training others to do likewise. The Lord has need of many such “donkeys” in today’s world, humble people who will carry Him into their Jerusalem and make Him known.
The donkey had to be untied before Jesus could use it. We too must be released from worldly attachments if we are to serve Christ. Are we willing to be the Lord’s donkey?
Tags:donkey work, Jesus, methodist, nazi concentration camps, religion, stubborn as a mule, theology, united
Posted in Pastor's Ponderings, Wesley United Methodist Church | Leave a Comment »
March 25, 2013
We will have the Church open Monday through Friday from 11am to 1pm and from 5pm to 7pm for anyone who would wish to come by and spend some time in prayer and meditation. We will also have a Maundy Thursday service on Thursday the 29th at 7pm. Please see our prayer request link for those that this church is praying for.
We here at Wesley United Methodist Church hope you all have a good Holy Week and that God will bless you in your time of prayer and meditation.
Pastor Randy
Tags:church, expectation, Holy Week, meditation, methodist, Prayer, united, Wesley
Posted in News, Wesley United Methodist Church | Leave a Comment »
March 25, 2013
I ran across this article or lead in to a sermon and found it really does apply to so many of us. Read it and meditate on it. Ask yourself what it is that Jesus Christ will save you from when you call on His Name?
Pastor Randy
Save Us
When we wave our palms and boldly cry out, “Hosanna,” do we dare imagine what we really want God to save us from? Save me from anger. Save me from cancer. Save me from depression. Save me from debt. Save me from the strife in my family. Save me from boredom. Save me from getting sent back to Iraq. Save me from the endless cycle of violence. Save me from humiliation. Save me from staring at the ceiling at three a.m. wondering why I exist. Save me from bitterness. Save me from arrogance. Save me from loneliness. Save me, God, save me from my fears.
In viewing Palm Sunday from that angle, we can begin to see the potential for some real depth in this celebration, for embedded in our quaint pageantry is an appeal to God that originates in the most vulnerable places inside of us; and it bubbles, almost beyond our control, to the surface. “Hosanna.” “Save us.” Please God take the broken places that will tear us apart and make them whole. We beseech you, God, jump into the water and drag our almost-drowned selves to shore. “Save us.” “Hosanna.”
Scott Black Johnston, Save Us
Tags:church, Common, devotional, God, Jesus, light, Lord's, love, methodist, Spiritual growth, united
Posted in Pastor's Ponderings, Wesley United Methodist Church | Leave a Comment »
February 10, 2013
If you read these scriptures on what the Church calls Transfiguration Sunday you can get a sense of what our Church has been teaching for so many centuries. As we allow God to work within our hearts and minds we become transformed. For so many of us that transformation takes moments and for others it takes years. For so many of us we fall back into our human habits and ways and then feel God’s work within our hearts and minds and turn back to Him. This transformation experience for us as Christians means we grow in love for all the humanity that God has placed us in and we do it in our own times and way. We go through our daily lives living each moment making choices. Will He lead us or will our human will lead us? The more we practice following God’s will as taught in the New Testament we will grow in our thoughts, habits and practices of living a life of love for all of our brothers and sisters in this world.
A question for all of us to continually ask ourselves is:
Is God transforming me into the person Jesus Christ teaches us to be? Do one good deed today, say one kind word today, pray one selfless prayer today in the name of Jesus Christ and the answer will be a resounding yes!
Have a blessed new week in the name of Jesus Christ
Randy
Tags:church, growth, humanity, Jesus, love, methodist, spiritual, sunday, Transfiguration, united, Wesley
Posted in Pastor's Ponderings, Wesley United Methodist Church | Leave a Comment »
December 12, 2012
My granddaughter is one pretty girl says a proud Pawpaw. One of the ways I see God’s blessings in this world is through grandchildren. We have a total of four with one on the way. Georgia Ann is the youngest but also the one that lives 4.5 hours away from us. We get to see the others in person a lot and we get to facetime with Georgia a good bit too. Grandchildren really do find a special place in our hearts and we always want them to be safe, healthy and well cared for as they grow up. Ours are going to have that opportunity because their parents as well as Jane and I will make sure that they are well cared for. That is a parents/grandparents job. Evidently it was God’s job as a parent to make sure that His Son was well cared for too. He provided good parents who loved and nurtured the Christ Child Jesus. He provided wealth and safety for His Child also. A good example for us to follow when it is our own children/grandchildren but also a reminder for us to put the welfare of all children as a priority throughout our lives. There are many opportunities to help those who are less fortunate than us. Many children throughout the world who will not get a gift much less have enough to eat.
God gave us the gift of a Savior and He gave us the example of how big a blessing children can be if they are raised in a good and wholesome environment. It is our job as parents, grandparents and most of all as Christians to provide for all of God’s children a safe, happy, wholesome place to grow up and be able to carry on the message of God’s love for this world.
If you are not providing a positive example for a child today, perhaps today is the day you look deep into your heart to help make a change in some childs life. Whether it is a gift or just some time. Let a child know that they are cared for and loved because “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him will have everlasting life.
Pastor Randy
Tags:children, Christmas, human-rights, methodist, motherhood, united
Posted in Pastor's Ponderings, Wesley United Methodist Church | 2 Comments »
November 30, 2012
Pastor John Jewell tells about a young boy a few years ago who at one of their Christmas Eve candlelight services expressed his excitement. Immediately after the benediction, this four year old broke out at the top of his lungs with, “Hooray! Hooray! Hooray! Jesus is born! Jesus is born! Let’s get going!”
It seems the boy’s parents had told the lad that he could not open his gifts until after the church service. Waiting was difficult for him, so just as soon as the service was over, he was thrilled that he could get on to the things that mattered most to him. (2) That lad didn’t understand the true meaning of Christmas, but he certainly caught its excitement. “Hooray! Hooray! Hooray! Jesus is born! Jesus is born! Let’s get going!”
So what do we do to generate excitement in our own lives around Christmas. You know that some of us will get depressed this Christmas because there might not be enough money to buy the presents we want to give to those we love. There will be some in our community who will go out and steal so that they can give others presents. There will be some who will be angry or depressed over lost loved ones during this time of year. There will be some who will go out and spend more than they have (plastic money) so that they can give to those they love or want to impress or perhaps are afraid of someone else being loved more. I have listed just a few of the many negative circumstances/emotions people will experience during this time of year and I am sure that this is not what Jesus would be encouraging us to do. So how do we deal with our own good or bad, negative or positive attitudes toward Christmas and how we build expectations and excitement during Advent.
First of all we need to think about what Christmas is all about. It is meant to be a celebration of the birth of Jesus and Advent (derived from the Latin word Adventus which means “coming”) is about building excitement towards the day we celebrate His birth. First of all keeping our God and Jesus involved in our Advent is important. How about as we are thinking about what we will give we include God in our thoughts. We could pray for the person we want to give a gift to. We could pray about the gift we should give. We could pray over the gift God helps us choose. We could pray each day that our excitement would grow because we are truly thankful that whatever our gifts to others may be, we know that God really does bless those gifts and the person they are given to when we include Him in the process. So much effort is going to remove Christ from our celebration that it is very important to let everyone know the reason we celebrate the season and that our celebration gives all glory and honor to our God and His Son, Jesus the Christ. Amen
Pastor Randy
Tags:America, church, God, Jesus, Jesus Matthew Peter Spiritual growth, love, methodist, Scripture, united
Posted in Pastor's Ponderings | Leave a Comment »
Sunset on Canyon Lake last summer. Looking forward to this summer.
Wesley United Methodist Church, Orange TX 