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Once you realize that you have crossed over into the miraculous, there is no economy of scale. It does not matter what stands between us and God's promise, a mouse, a bear, a lion, a giant, or even a mountain; none can stand against the God whose shoulders touch the sky. We all know the story, David faces Goliath armed only with a sling and some stones. What we may not know is that years before, God had anointed David and used his time tending sheep to prepare him for one of the greatest battles in history.

Moses gets a lot of press. Unlike some of the other heroes we have talked about, Moses is not unknown. There are movies, series, books, and songs about Moses.  Even though he is well known, what we may not know is how unlikely it was that Moses became the deliverer of the Hebrews from Egypt.He was an outcast, a murderer, and living a quiet, forgotten life far away from the palace where he grew up. 

What happens when God calls you by name? While Gideon was hiding in a winepress, afraid of the armies that oppressed them, trying to eke out an existence and survive the winter, God comes to him and calls him "Mighty Warrior".Where Gideon only saw oppression, lack of resources, and an army that was outnumbered 100 to 1, God saw the redemption and restoration of a people that had been drawn away from Him by the culture and the idols of the world that oppressed them.

We begin our series about Unlikely Heroes of the Bible with a unique story in the old testament. Rahab was a woman, a gentile, a prostitute from a broken family living in an evil and Godless nation yet, somehow she not only heard about the God of Israel but came to understand and believe that He is the true God. While others around her "melted" in fear, she put action to her belief and helped Israel conquer the land God had promised to them.

Our discussion about Love in chapter 13 of 1 Corinthians couldn't be contained in just one podcast. Join us for part two.

There are several themes that come up in all of the new testament discussions about spiritual gifts; unity, working together, diversity, maturity, and...love. In every instance that Paul talks about spiritual gifts, he ends it by emphasizing the importance of love. Any discussion about the spiritual gifts without a deep dive into a discussion about love would not only be incomplete but spiritually irresponsible. 

Leaders...LEAD.Encouragers...Encourage.Teachers...Teach.Givers...Give.What God has put in you and how the Holy Spirit has empowered you is revealed in action.

This week we begin a new series that will lead us to Pentecost. Together we are going to take four weeks to look into the unity and diversity of the Gifts of the Spirit.We encourage everyone who calls MUMC home to take this spiritual gifts assessment by using this link:https://spiritualgiftstest.com/embed-2/church-id/9CA121/?launch=trueAnd then join us as we come together to work together in His kingdom.

We conclude our series this week where we have been talking about "Stuff Jesus Didn"t Say" with one that I'm sure we have all been guilty of:"God Will Never Give You More Than You Can Handle"Join the discussion as we look at this from several angles and find that not only does God usually give us more than we can handle, but he always goes through the situation with us to the other side. 

The heart is a funny thing. It is the center of our desire, passion, and often the compass that Disney, Hallmark and Hobby Lobby are encouraging us to follow. We hear it so much that it would be understandable if we assumed that it came straight from the mouth of Jesus. But it didn't. We can get so wrapped up in trying to figure out what "feels" right and what our heart is saying, that we can completely miss what Jesus is clearly telling us to do. 

This week we begin a new series where we will look at "Stuff Jesus Didn't Say". In the first week we dig into "Jesus just wants me to be happy". This brings up a lot of questions about what it means to be happy, what Jesus desires for our lives and what it means to take up our cross daily.The Christian life is more than fleeting happiness and getting everything we ask for.

As we have walked through the gospel of Mark this Lenten season through to the cross, we have been struck by how much of the interpretation of the story of Jesus is left to us, the reader. Just like those in the story, the disciples, Pilate, the Roman guards, the followers of Jesus, the robbers crucified with him, and the crowds that followed and mocked him; we all are confronted with his death. 

We have reached the last part of the road to the cross. As we have walked with Jesus we have heard Him speak of the kingdom of God and now, as we approach Jerusalem, we will see it unfold. 

As we turn the corner on the last leg of our journey through the gospel of Mark, Jesus has gathered with His disciples to celebrate Passover. Even though Judas has already agreed to betray Christ, he sits at the table and eats right along with him and listens to Jesus talk about what is to come. 

From the very beginning, Jesus taught us that the Kingdom of God is about sharing.We always remember the "Great Commission" given by Jesus at the end of his time on earth but, that wasn't the only time that he commissioned and sent disciples and followers out. Early in their discipleship with Jesus, he sent them into the surrounding cities to share the gospel.

As Jesus began His ministry, he went to Capernaum. There he taught in the synagog but he also healed and cast out demons. One interesting feature of the story is that Jesus didn't go out of his way to heal all the sick, broken, and hurting people. Instead, he healed everyone in Capernaum because each of them had someone who brought them to Jesus. 

This week we are on the second stop on our road to Easter where we find Jesus calling some unlikely men to be his disciples. These were not the star students or what would be considered conventional choices, but men who were going about their jobs...fishing.He wasn't as concerned what they WERE but what they would BECOME.

This Lenten season we will travel through the gospel of Mark. From John the Baptist preparing the way for the ministry of Jesus, along the road and through to the cross, we will walk with Jesus.In its first few words, Mark lets us know that this story is only the beginning. This road that leads from the wilderness to the cross is being traveled still by those of us who have taken up the journey and continue it today.

This week, we conclude our study of some of the short, personal letters of the New Testament with a deep dive into Jude. In this short letter, Jude lays out a stern warning against those who view grace as a means to further their own agenda. Even though this was written during the early history of the church, the descriptions and warnings that Jude lays out could have been written this week.

Philemon is a unique letter in the New Testament. If you haven't spent time studying it, this is a letter that Paul is writing to accompany a run away slave (Onesimus) as he is returning to the household that he has fled. In its few verses, Paul lays down an argument for what it means to be a part of the family of believers and just how deeply the transformation of salvation changes our very identity.

This week we begin a new series where we will look at some of the smaller letters that we find towards the end of the New Testament. It's easy to pass these by; taking up less than a page in some bibles. But these personal letters offer insight not only to the struggles of the early church but the same struggles that we face today.

In Hebrews we are told to build each other up. This goes further than just "being nice" or even being encouraging, it is a command to edify each other. "Edify" is a word that we might not use outside of church, but it means to "instruct or improve (someone) morally or intellectually."We not only get unstuck when we build up another person, but we help them get unstuck as well.

Unforgiveness and Pride conspire to mire us in the past. As we talk about how to get our lives "Unstuck" and moving in the right direction again, this week we take a look at the attitudes and situations that we are holding onto that are sticking us to the place we are. 

Although it isn't a popular concept, the bible has a LOT to say about controlling the words that come out of our mouth. This week we will talk about the CONTROL part of Control+Alt+Delete and reboot our life by reigning our tongue.

Don't you wish sometimes that life had a restart button? That you could just CTRL+ALT+DEL and unstick everything. As we begin the year, we are going to dive into some of the wisdom of Proverbs and the book of James and find the plans that God lays out for us to change our self, illuminate our path and change the world around us.

This week we will look at a Psalm that we might not usually associate with Advent. Psalm 24 not only talks about the arrival of the Emmanuel, but also sets the foundation for the reason and the season of His coming. He is the King of Glory!

While in chains, Paul writes a letter to the church at Philippi. From his prison cell, Paul writes perhaps his most joyful letter. He reminds us that the Joy of the Lord isn't determined by our circumstances or our comfort, but in the nearness of Jesus and the joyful way we can view life when we are seeing it through the point of view that His nearness provieds.

The angel comes to Zechariah and informs him that he and his wife Elizabeth are going to have a child. This comes as quite a shock because not only are they much too old to have children, the child that they are going to bear will be the prophet that will prepare the way for the Messiah. Once again God chooses the miraculous to bring His peace to the world. 

This week is Confirmation Sunday and we will be talking about what it means to be a new creation. The transformation that happens when we follow Christ, transforms us into a new creations, old things are passed away and everything becomes new.

He will dry every tear and death will be swallowed up in victory. It is our hope that awakens us and the freedom of His promise that propels us into the future of His promise.

God puts broken things back together, and makes dead things live again. He does it in his own time, and in his own way. But he really does it. And just like in the beginning of creation and just like in Ezekiel's day, God does it through his Word and through his Spirit.

In Ephesians Paul says:"Wake up, sleeper,    rise from the dead,    and Christ will shine on you.”What does it mean that Christ is shining on us? 

As we continue our series about loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, we look today at what it means to love God with all our strength. Strength is more than just our fortitude or endurance, but it encompasses all of our abilities, capabilities and talents.

When Jesus says that we're supposed to love God with all of our mind, he has a lot more in mind (see what I did there?) than just your intellect. What about your inner voices, your motivations, mental talents, what about all your thoughts, and all the conversations you have with yourself? Do you love God there? 

What is the greatest commandment? The answer to this question is as fundamental to christianity and the Kingdom of God as we can get.

It's easy to look down on the older brother from the parable of the Prodigal Son but, it is just as easy to fall into the same attitude and feelings of entitlement. 

From afar off, the father sees his son and is filled with compassion and runs to meet him. The son tries to get his prepared speech out about how unworthy he is but the father is having none of it. He inturrupts him to let him know that whatever has happened in the past he is still his son and that is worth celebrating.

In the 15th chapter of Luke Jesus is having a meal with a group that is described by the Pharisees as "tax collectors and sinners. " These are the lowest of the low. In response to the grumbling of the Pharisees Jesus tells three stories. The first is about a shepherd who leaves 99 sheep behind to find one lost lamb, the second is about a woman who looses a coin and tears her house apart until she finds it, the third is a story that we call the "Prodigal Son."Over the next few weeks we will take apart these stories and look deeply into what Jesus is saying about those who are lost and those who are searching.

Paul writes that "all scripture is God-Breathed." It is this breath of God that not only infuses His life into scripture but also into us, into the church and into the Word that created the world. 

Do you love me more than these?From the beginning of our history with God, this has been the central question. In this week's story about an altar, we find God asking Abraham to lay Isaac upon the altar. Isaac, the "impossible son" that God miraculously provided. 

When we find Jacob in chapter 35 of Genesis, he has come through quite a bit. There has been deception, murder, conflict, and betrayal; but God has prepared a place of promise and he calls Jacob to build an altar, purify and consecrate himself and go up to the place that He has promised.

When God calls Abraham to go, he goes. Even though he does not have a clear picture of how God is going to fulfill His promise, he trusts God. The altar that he builds when he arrives, is a monument to the God whose promises are sure and steadfast.What He has promised, He will fulfill.

When Noah stepped out of the ark, his first act on this newly recreated world was to build an altar. It was a sign of thankfulness, of consecration, of dedication and rememberance. 

Through storms and adversity, God brings hope.  The life that springs from the past creates hope for a new future that surpasses what was before. 

By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us—set us right with him, make us fit for him—we have it all together with God because of Jesus. And that's not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God's grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.

This Father's Day we finish our "You Belong" series by looking at the fifth chapter of Ephesians where we find a call to live an open, transparent, authentic life that reflects the light of Christ. His light illuminates not only our life but it causes us to radiate His light to others."Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you!"

Because God has brought us together into His family, we are connected to the power of His spirit to grasp how wide, and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.He can do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine because it is according to his power that is at work within us.

If you look for it, you will always be able to find differences and characteristics that separate us. In the world Jesus lived in, there was no greater divide than between Jew and Gentile. Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, calls this barrier between those who belong and those who will never belong "hostility." This week we are discussing how Jesus put this hostility to death on the cross and brought us all together by making something entirely new.

At some point each month we try to highlight ministries of our church. Our new sermon series "You Belong" gave us the perfect opportunity to sit down with our Youth, Children's and Preschool directors to talk about how they work to create programs, events and ministries where youth and children are not only invited, but are welcomed.

 In a world full of disconnection, the church - our church - is called to be a place where people belong. But it doesn't actually start at a human level; it starts at God's level. Because before we get into the rest, you need to know above all, no matter what, you belong to God. 

God's grace continues even on the other side of death. For those who have been saved by grace, we will at once be what Christ is.Grace has changed us, is changing us and will ultimately change us into the perfect image of Christ.