Tag: Washout

[Beyond Sunday] Washed by Grace 4

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Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing… Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach…He said to them, “Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish…

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.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.”  A second time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.”  He said to him the third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt hurt 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.

-John 21:1-19 (selected)

Jesus is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.  Our need for Christ, and for a community, remains the same age to age. But the world keeps changing at an ever quicker pace and how we share the God’s grace has to change from time to time too.  The good news is God is always ready to do a new thing and call His children home.   [hear sermon audio]

 

This week, take some time to go deeper.  Ponder your own baptism, or what being baptized could mean for your life.  Read and reflect on these scriptures and questions.

Texts to read:

  • Isaiah 43:1-3, 8-14, 18-19
  • Matthew 28:16-20

Questions to ponder:

  • Who first invited you to church?
  • What difference has being a part of a church made in your life?
  • Who in your circle might need to be invited?

Do and share:

  • Invite someone to church.  Offer to pick them up or meet them at the door; to sit with them; and take them to brunch or lunch afterwards.
  • Pray about who you might intentionally mentor over the next year.

 

[Beyond Sunday] Washed by Grace 3

kewalkerLeave a comment

Right then, Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead to the other side of the lake while he dismissed the crowds. When he sent them away, he went up onto a mountain by himself to pray. Evening came and he was alone. Meanwhile, the boat, fighting a strong headwind, was being battered by the waves and was already far away from land. Very early in the morning he came to his disciples, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified and said, “It’s a ghost!” They were so frightened they screamed.

Just then Jesus spoke to them, “Be encouraged! It’s me. Don’t be afraid.”

Peter replied, “Lord, if it’s you, order me to come to you on the water.”

And Jesus said, “Come.”

Then Peter got out of the boat and was walking on the water toward Jesus. But when Peter saw the strong wind, he became frightened. As he began to sink, he shouted, “Lord, rescue me!”

Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him, saying, “You man of weak faith! Why did you begin to have doubts?” When they got into the boat, the wind settled down.

Then those in the boat worshipped Jesus and said, “You must be God’s Son!”

-Matthew 14:22-32

In the midst of our storms, God always shows up.  But sometimes we have trouble recognizing the Spirit at work.  We might be too focused on our own faith and feelings; or we might be looking for a bigger miracle than God has planned.  Yet if we reach out, Christ is still there, waiting to catch hold and bring us to safety.  [hear sermon audio]

This week, take some time to go deeper.  Ponder your own baptism, or what being baptized could mean for your life.  Read and reflect on these scriptures and questions.

Texts to read:

  • 1 Kings 19: 11-13
  • Romans 8:26-39

Questions to ponder:

  • What storms are raging in your life right now?
  • How have you asked God to be present?
  • Taking a hard look, where might God have already shown up?

Do and share:

  • The news is full of weather related stories right now.  Share a story about God showing up in affected communities to our twitter: @dpumc.
  • Is God calling you to be present for someone else in turmoil?  Tell us about it on our Facebook page (dpumctx)

 

[Beyond Sunday] Washed by Grace 2

kewalkerLeave a comment

image from the Jesus Mafa Collection

A Samaritan woman came to the well to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me some water to drink.” His disciples had gone into the city to buy him some food.
The Samaritan woman asked, “Why do you, a Jewish man, ask for something to drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” (Jews and Samaritans didn’t associate with each other.)
Jesus responded, “If you recognized God’s gift and who is saying to you, ‘Give me some water to drink,’ you would be asking him and he would give you living water.”
The woman said to him, “Sir, you don’t have a bucket and the well is deep. Where would you get this living water? You aren’t greater than our father Jacob, are you? He gave this well to us, and he drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.”
Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks from the water that I will give will never be thirsty again. The water that I give will become in those who drink it a spring of water that bubbles up into eternal life.”

-John 4:7-14

Check out a modern presentation of the story by Gingamsburg Church

In Jesus’s interaction with a Samaritan woman at the well we learn four things about our own baptism:  the grace of baptism is offered by Christ; it transgresses the lines of status and station society creates; it offers forgiveness that is grounded in compassion (not judgement); it calls us to share the good news of what God has done.   [hear sermon audio]

This week, take some time to go deeper.  Ponder your own baptism, or what being baptized could mean for your life.  Read and reflect on these scriptures and questions.

Texts to read:

  • Galatians 6:14-16
  • 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Questions to ponder:

  • What social boundaries do you find in your community?  generations?  churched/unchurched? race? income?
  • If baptism makes us one family of God, how should we engage those boundaries?
  • What is one story of something God has done in your life?
  • Who might need to hear it?

Do and share:

  • Find a picture from your baptism and share it to us at @dpumc.
  • Make some time to volunteer in a community different than your own.  Tell us about it on our Facebook page (dpumctx)

 

[Beyond Sunday] Washed by Grace

kewalkerLeave a comment

At that time Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan River so that John would baptize him. John tried to stop him and said, “I need to be baptized by you, yet you come to me?”
Jesus answered, “Allow me to be baptized now. This is necessary to fulfill all righteousness.”
So John agreed to baptize Jesus. When Jesus was baptized, he immediately came up out of the water. Heaven was opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God coming down like a dove and resting on him. A voice from heaven said, “This is my Son whom I dearly love; I find happiness in him.”

-Matthew 3:13-17

It may be strange for a church so near Houston to talk about baptism so soon after Hurricane Harvey.  But the waters of baptism are not the waters of destruction.  They are the waters that bring life and transformation and hope.  And hope might be the one thing we need more than Mold Armor.   [hear sermon audio]

This week, take some time to go deeper.  Ponder your own baptism, or what being baptized could mean for your life.  Read and reflect on these scriptures and questions.

Texts to read:

  • Mark 1:9–11
  • Luke 3:21–22
  • John 1:29–34

Questions to ponder:

  • If you soul were a house, what room needs renovation?
  • What changes need to be made?  What stands in your way?
  • Look around you; where are hope and transformation needed?

Do and share:

  • Tag @dpumc on twitter with one sentence describing where you see a transformation happen this week.
  • Get to know someone affected by Hurricane Harvey.  Commit to chronicling their transformation.  In 6 months share an album of pictures or a short post about how God was active in their story with #harveyhope