Tag: expectations

[Beyond Sunday] We Had Hoped…

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image: Emmaus Door

Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.” Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.
As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread

-Luke 24:13-34

Worry, doubt, shame and grief can all rob us of our hope.  On the road to Emmaus, two disciples find themselves unable to rationalize all that has happened.  But then a strange encounter with a teacher opens there eyes to the new thing God is about.  When hope fails in our lives, how might God show up in unexpected ways to renew our hearts?    [hear sermon audio]

 

This week, take some time to go deeper.  Use these scriptures and questions to reflect in your devotion time.

Texts to read:

Questions to ponder:

  • Have you ever hoped for something that did not happen?  How did it make you feel?
  • How might small habits help us regain our hope in difficult times?
  • What habits are you currently cultivating in your life?

Do and share:

  • Take a short video of yourself describing a time when hope was difficult and what helped you see God at work. Share it with us on Facebook or Twitter.
  • Share your hopeful prayer request on Facebook or Twitter (@dpumc).

 

[Beyond Sunday] There’s So Much To Worry About

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image: Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink,[j] or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?[k] 28 And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32 For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But strive first for the kingdom of God[l] and his[m]righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

34 “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

-Matthew 6:25-34

We all carry weights like doubt, shame, and grief.  These can get in the way of our relationship with God and with one another.  Fear and anxiety feel like the order of our day.  But Christ reminds us that worry only puts the burden of our life on us, rather than on God, who is eager to provide.  In learning to focus on God, rather than ourselves, we are relieved of stress and worry.    [hear sermon audio]

 

This week, take some time to go deeper.  Use these scriptures and questions to reflect in your devotion time.

Texts to read:

Questions to ponder:

  • What do you worry about most?
  • What might that worry be trying to tell you?
  • How do you spend your mental energy?  Thinking more about yourself or others?

Do and share:

  • Name something that causes you anxiety.  Lift it in prayer this week and make a plan.  Ask God for the strength to commit to your plan and see it through.  Every time you feel yourself start to worry, remind yourself there is a plan and you’ve given it to God.
  • Share your worry prayer request on Facebook or Twitter (@dpumc).

 

[Beyond Sunday] If You Really Knew Me

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image: Detail from Sistine Chapel 

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
    Wonderful are your works;
that I know very well.

-Psalm 139: 14

We all carry weights like doubt, shame, and grief.  These can get in the way of our relationship with God and with one another.  But in Christ’s resurrection, we are all made new creations.  We have only to set down the burdens we carry and step into the life God has for us.  Psalm 139 reminds us that we are beloved creations of God.  Nothing we do or believe we are could ever separate us from God.  [hear sermon audio]

 

This week, take some time to go deeper.  Use these scriptures and questions to reflect in your devotion time.

Texts to read:

Questions to ponder:

  • How do you understand the difference between guilt and shame?
  • How is guilt helpful in teachings how to live?
  • Why is shame unhelpful?
  • What shame do you need to release to God?

Do and share:

  • Find art images that depict shame.  Journal about what you see in them.  Are their similarities?  What in the images you chose resonates with you?
  • Share your prayer request on Facebook or Twitter (@dpumc).

 

[Beyond Sunday] Easter

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image: Resurrection 1,  Solomon Raj

Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her.

-John 20:15-18

John 19:30 says it is finished.  Indeed, the reign of death is done; the great work of salvation is put in motion; the final battle is won.  But the story isn’t yet complete.  Easter marks the dawn of a new day and calls us into God’s ongoing project of resurrection.  [hear sermon audio]

 

This week, take some time to go deeper.  Explore how each of the gospels recounts the story of Easter.  And how their understanding shapes our faith.

Texts to read:

Questions to ponder:

  • Who comes to the tomb first and why?
  • What is their first response?
  • What does Jesus say to them?
  • What do they do when they leave?

Do and share:

  • After you have read all four stories and answered the questions for each, consider your own response to the resurrection.  Who are you most like?  How do you respond each year to the news that Christ is risen?
  • Share why Jesus matters for your life with someone you know.  Tell us the story on Facebook or Twitter (@dpumc).

 

[Beyond Sunday] Palm Sunday

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image: Entry of Christ into Jerusalem,  Wilhelm Morgner

Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields. Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting,

“Hosanna!

Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!

Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David!

Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

Then he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple; and when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.

-Mark 11:8-11

Mark’s telling of the entrance into Jerusalem, Jesus asks his disciples to commit larceny, tramples a lot of perfectly good cloaks, has a rather awkward scheduling conflict with Pilot’s Passover procession, sticks his head in the temple for a hot second and then goes straight back to Bethany– where he started in the first place.   There is a lot more happening in this story than a simple parade.  As usual, the work God is about is so much greater than we expect.  But there are no shortcuts to the Kindom. [hear sermon audio]

 

This week, take some time to go deeper.  Use these scriptures and questions in your own devotion time this week.

Texts to read:

Questions to ponder:

  • When has a friend or family member acted differently than you expected?
  • How did you respond?  What, if anything did you learn about yourself?
  • What expectations do you have of God?
  • How do your expectations support your faith?
  • What might they blind you too?

Do and share:

  • There are no shortcuts to Easter.  This Holy Week, commit to walking through the whole week.
    • Read at least one of the appointed readings each day.  You can find them at this page from the Vanderbilt library . They also have prayers and art.
    • Join us at DPUMC for Holy Thursday and Good Friday services.  Or find Holy Week services in your area.

 

 

[Beyond Sunday] The Way We Thrive

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Thus says the Lord,
    who makes a way in the sea,
    a path in the mighty waters,
17 who brings out chariot and horse,
    army and warrior;
they lie down, they cannot rise,
    they are extinguished, quenched like a wick:
18 Do not remember the former things,
    or consider the things of old.
19 I am about to do a new thing;
    now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
    and rivers in the desert.
20 The wild animals will honor me,
    the jackals and the ostriches;
for I give water in the wilderness,
    rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people,
21     the people whom I formed for myself
so that they might declare my praise.

-Isaiah 43:16-21

The language of Isaiah 43 all indicates God’s ongoing action of salvation and renewal.  We are a part of a long story of being made new.  Even if we seem to be in the wilderness now, God is always ready with the next thing; ready to bring life into places we thought dry.  Celebrate what God is doing right now. [hear sermon audio]

This week, take some time to go deeper.  Use these scriptures and questions to reflect on where God is leading you.

Texts to read:

Questions to ponder:

  • When has God been active in your life in a way you didn’t immediately recognize?
  • What practices help you discern how God is moving when you need direction?
  • What of the past do you need to forget in order to embrace a new way forward?

Do and share:

  • Do a 20 min journal exercise.  On one page, spend 10 minutes listing the questions you are wrestling with right now.  On the next page, spend 10 minutes listing the way’s you’ve seen God at work in the last few months.  Compare the two lists to see if they overlap anywhere.
  • How do you want Deer Park to be different because of this church?  Share your answer on our Facebook or tweet @dpumc with #Wayfinding

 

 

[Beyond Sunday] The Way We Thrive

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Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.  When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.  And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

-Matthew 28:16-20

Even in the times of greatest turbulence, God remains the same.  Though means and methods might change, our call as believers and churches remains constant as well.  We thrive by making disciples of Jesus Christ.  Because where disciples are made, lives are changed. [hear sermon audio]

This week, take some time to go deeper.  Use these scriptures and questions to reflect on where God is leading you.

Texts to read:

Questions to ponder:

  • How focused is our church on making disciples?
  • What have you done so far this year to make disciples of Jesus Christ?
  • How could lives in our community be changed if we made 10 new disciples this year?

Do and share:

  • Consider how you could help someone else become a disciple of Jesus Christ.  Write a challenge to yourself, seal it in an envelope and put away and work on it till the end of the year.  Open it on New Year’s Eve and see how you did.
  • Tell us the story of how discipleship has changed your life.  Share on our Facebook or tweet @dpumc with #Wayfinding

 

 

[Beyond Sunday] The Way We Grow

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By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another.

Gal 5:22-26

When we find ourselves disoriented or unsure where God is leading next, we need to pause, assess and read the signs to find our own way forward. It is to easy to get caught up in the latest trend or recommendation for finding your best life now.  We get tempted into treating discipleship like a path to self-improvement.  Discipleship is not a method for curating a perfect life; it is the hard work or tending our garden so that God might bear good fruit through us.  [hear sermon audio]

This week, take some time to go deeper.  Use these scriptures and questions to reflect on where God is leading you.

Texts to read:

Questions to ponder:

  • What fruits come most easily for you?
  • What fruits seem like a struggle?
  • How might God be calling you to grow as a disciple?

Do and share:

  • Make a list of 3 people who you look up to for their discipleship.  Make a list of 3 people who might look up to you.  Ask God how these relationships can help you grow.
  • What kind of sacrifice are you prepared to make to further the work of DPUMC?  Share on our Facebook or tweet @dpumc with #Wayfinding

 

 

[Beyond Sunday] The Way of Expectations

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My spirit abides among you; do not fear. 6 For thus says the Lord of hosts: Once again, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land; 7 and I will shake all the nations, so that the treasure of all nations shall come, and I will fill this house with splendor, says the Lord of hosts. 8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the Lord of hosts. 9 The latter splendor of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts; and in this place I will give prosperity, says the Lord of hosts.

Haggai 2: 5b-9

Wayfinding refers to a class of ancient arts that allowed our ancestors to navigate seemingly impossible expanses.  Today, when we find ourselves disoriented or unsure where God is leading next, we too can pause, assess and read the signs to find our own way forward. Sometimes the biggest obstacle we face is ourselves.  As individual and communities, we go the way of our expectations.  God has promised great things; are we prepared to embrace them? [hear sermon audio]

This week, take some time to go deeper.  Use these scriptures and questions to reflect on where God is leading you.

Texts to read:

Questions to ponder:

  • What do you expect of God?
  • What do you think God expects of you?
  • How are you investing in God’s kingdom right now?

Do and share:

  • Track how you spend your time for a week.  What do you do that provides for basic necessities?  What is about leaving a legacy?  What of your time reflects your faith?
  • What do you hope for our church over the next 5 years?  Share on our Facebook or tweet @dpumc with #Wayfinding

 

Bonus:  Check out this graphical overview of the book of Haggai

haggai-chart