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The devotion for today, Monday, September 30, 2024 was written by Carole Anne Sarah and is narrated by Gordon Markley. Today's Words of Inspiration come from Hebrews 11:1 NRSV: Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.  Support the show

This podcast is being recorded for the 2nd Sunday in Lent, March 5, 2023. I'm preaching through the book of Romans this spring. “By Grace Through Faith” is my series title, and today is Part Two, looking at Romans 3-4. Here Paul articulates his proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ, that we are justified by grace, through faith, apart from works of the law. To this day, this is a radical and liberating message, one that because it sounds too good to be true, most folks, including well-meaning Christians, attempt to misuse God's law and limit God's grace. And like Martin Luther did 500 years ago, it is up to the Lutherans today to call for reformation, to submit to the word alone, and let God be God. We begin, as always, by reading the Bible, listening to what it says, then we'll try to figure out what it means, and what it means for us today. Romans 3:19-31 (NRSV)Now we know that, whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For no human will be justified before him by deeds prescribed by the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.21 But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed and is attested by the Law and the Prophets, 22 the righteousness of God through the faith of Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, 23 since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; 24 they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a [sacrifice of atonement] by his blood, [effective] through faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed; 26 it was to demonstrate at the present time his own righteousness, so that he is righteous and he justifies the one who has the faith of Jesus.27 Then what becomes of boasting? It is excluded. Through what kind of law? That of works? No, rather through the law of faith. 28 For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of gentiles also? Yes, of gentiles also, 30 since God is one, and he will justify the circumcised on the ground of faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. 31 Do we then overthrow the law through this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.Support the show

So they set out from the mount of the Lord three days journey with the ark of the covenant of the Lord going before them three days journey, to seek out a resting place for them, the cloud of the Lord being over them by day when they set out from camp. Numbers 10:33-34 (NRSV) Now when the people complained in the hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes, the Lord heard it and his anger was kindled. Numbers 11: 1 (NRSV) Bondage to Freedom Anxiety to Rest Cravings to Nourishment Scarcity to Abundance Free But Not Formed Free But Not Informed Free But Not Grateful Free But Not Trusting

You are listened to. You are heard. Your voice is important to God. Let's pray together with that in mind and heart. He is listening... This is Ordinary Time, Proper 17, in the Church Calendar. Our general order comes from the Book of Common Prayer (1979) Daily Office and Scripture readings from the Revised Common Lectionary. We'll sing “Always Amazing” written by me throughout today's time of prayer. We'll read Psalm 15 followed by the Gloria Patri. Our Lesson is Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23. We'll say the Apostles' Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Collect of the Day. We'll then have a time of prompted prayer. If you have a prayer request please submit it at https://benwardmusic.com/prayerrequest. If you'd like to be on the email list visit https://benwardmusic.com/email. Visit https://patreon.com/morningprayer to give and support Morning Prayer monthly. Go to https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=LUAEY98ADT8UG to give a one-time gift. Photo by me in Chamblee, GA :). Always Amazing Ben Ward Always amazing Always glorious Always awesome in power Make Your ways known to us Always forgiving Always setting free Offering new life And faith to believe I'm always praising 'Cause You're always amazing Always amazing Even when it hurts When I don't understand When the blessing feels a curse Always creating Even when I don't see Offering me peace When I'm bound and don't feel free You can always change me You're always amazing I don't have the words to describe You I can only say what I see The rhythm and the wonder of Your lightning and Your thunder Go on and on What came before The here and now Forevermore Always amazing How You never leave How you lead me down the path Where I can't see Always patient When I complain You must laugh at how I can't seem to trust Unless someone explains How You always save me - when I'm lost You're always amazing Prayer of Confession Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen. Psalm 15 1 Lord, who may dwell in your tabernacle? * who may abide upon your holy hill? 2 Whoever leads a blameless life and does what is right, * who speaks the truth from his heart. 3 There is no guile upon his tongue; he does no evil to his friend; * he does not heap contempt upon his neighbor. 4 In his sight the wicked is rejected, * but he honors those who fear the Lord. 5 He has sworn to do no wrong * and does not take back his word. 6 He does not give his money in hope of gain, * nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. 7 Whoever does these things * shall never be overthrown. Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 (NRSV) Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus, they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.) So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” He said to them, “Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.' You abandon the commandment of --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/prayerandworship/message

You are listened to. You are heard. Your voice is important to God. Let's pray together with that in mind and heart. He is listening... This is Ordinary Time, Proper 17, in the Church Calendar. Our general order comes from the Book of Common Prayer (1979) Daily Office and Scripture readings from the Revised Common Lectionary. We'll sing “Always Amazing” written by me throughout today's time of prayer. We'll read Psalm 15 followed by the Gloria Patri. Our Lesson is Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23. We'll say the Apostles' Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Collect of the Day. We'll then have a time of prompted prayer. If you have a prayer request please submit it at https://benwardmusic.com/prayerrequest. If you'd like to be on the email list visit https://benwardmusic.com/email. Visit https://patreon.com/morningprayer to give and support Morning Prayer monthly. Go to https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=LUAEY98ADT8UG to give a one-time gift. Photo by me in Chamblee, GA :). Always Amazing Ben Ward Always amazing Always glorious Always awesome in power Make Your ways known to us Always forgiving Always setting free Offering new life And faith to believe I'm always praising 'Cause You're always amazing Always amazing Even when it hurts When I don't understand When the blessing feels a curse Always creating Even when I don't see Offering me peace When I'm bound and don't feel free You can always change me You're always amazing I don't have the words to describe You I can only say what I see The rhythm and the wonder of Your lightning and Your thunder Go on and on What came before The here and now Forevermore Always amazing How You never leave How you lead me down the path Where I can't see Always patient When I complain You must laugh at how I can't seem to trust Unless someone explains How You always save me - when I'm lost You're always amazing Prayer of Confession Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen. Psalm 15 1 Lord, who may dwell in your tabernacle? * who may abide upon your holy hill? 2 Whoever leads a blameless life and does what is right, * who speaks the truth from his heart. 3 There is no guile upon his tongue; he does no evil to his friend; * he does not heap contempt upon his neighbor. 4 In his sight the wicked is rejected, * but he honors those who fear the Lord. 5 He has sworn to do no wrong * and does not take back his word. 6 He does not give his money in hope of gain, * nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. 7 Whoever does these things * shall never be overthrown. Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 (NRSV) Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus, they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.) So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” He said to them, “Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.' You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.” Then he called the crowd again and said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile. For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” The Apostles' Creed I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. The Lord's Prayer Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen. Collect of the Day Proper 17, Rite Two Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things: Graft in our hearts the love of your Name; increase in us true religion; nourish us with all goodness; and bring forth in us the fruit of good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen. (2 Corinthians 13:14)

You are listened to. You are heard. Your voice is important to God. Let's pray together with that in mind and heart. He is listening... This is Ordinary Time, Proper 17, in the Church Calendar. Our general order comes from the Book of Common Prayer (1979) Daily Office and Scripture readings from the Revised Common Lectionary. We'll sing “Always Amazing” written by me throughout today's time of prayer. We'll read Psalm 15 followed by the Gloria Patri. Our Lesson is Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23. We'll say the Apostles' Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Collect of the Day. We'll then have a time of prompted prayer. If you have a prayer request please submit it at http://benwardmusic.com/prayerrequest. If you'd like to be on the email list visit http://benwardmusic.com/email. Visit https://patreon.com/morningprayer to give and support Morning Prayer monthly. Go to https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=LUAEY98ADT8UG to give a one-time gift. Photo by me in Chamblee, GA :). Always Amazing Ben Ward Always amazing Always glorious Always awesome in power Make Your ways known to us Always forgiving Always setting free Offering new life And faith to believe I'm always praising 'Cause You're always amazing Always amazing Even when it hurts When I don't understand When the blessing feels a curse Always creating Even when I don't see Offering me peace When I'm bound and don't feel free You can always change me You're always amazing I don't have the words to describe You I can only say what I see The rhythm and the wonder of Your lightning and Your thunder Go on and on What came before The here and now Forevermore Always amazing How You never leave How you lead me down the path Where I can't see Always patient When I complain You must laugh at how I can't seem to trust Unless someone explains How You always save me - when I'm lost You're always amazing Prayer of Confession Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen. Psalm 15 1 Lord, who may dwell in your tabernacle? * who may abide upon your holy hill? 2 Whoever leads a blameless life and does what is right, * who speaks the truth from his heart. 3 There is no guile upon his tongue; he does no evil to his friend; * he does not heap contempt upon his neighbor. 4 In his sight the wicked is rejected, * but he honors those who fear the Lord. 5 He has sworn to do no wrong * and does not take back his word. 6 He does not give his money in hope of gain, * nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. 7 Whoever does these things * shall never be overthrown. Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 (NRSV) Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus, they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.) So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” He said to them, “Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.' You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.” Then he called the crowd again and said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile. For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” The Apostles' Creed I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. The Lord's Prayer Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen. Collect of the Day Proper 17, Rite Two Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things: Graft in our hearts the love of your Name; increase in us true religion; nourish us with all goodness; and bring forth in us the fruit of good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen. (2 Corinthians 13:14)

Worship Leader: Keva Green Preacher: Caleb Maskell   Luke 10:38-41 NRSV Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. 40 But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; 42 there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”

The devotion for today, Friday, April 23 was written by Carol Anne Sarah and is narrated by Michael Benham. Today's Words of Inspiration come from Hebrews 11:1 NRSV: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

Luke 15:1-7 NRSV: Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So he told them this parable: “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does […] The post People Matter | Factory Reset | Pastor Candace Cortez appeared first on Koinonia Church.

Luke 15:1-7 NRSV: Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So he told them this parable: “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does […] The post People Matter | Factory Reset | Pastor Candace Cortez appeared first on Koinonia Church.

John 3:1-17 (NRSV)Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. 2 He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. 6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ 8 The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” 9 Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? 11 “Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen, yet you do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14 And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. 17 “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

“Matthew 3 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)The Proclamation of John the Baptist3 In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”[a] 3 This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’”4 Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, 6 and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.7 But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit worthy of repentance. 9 Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 10 Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.11 “I baptize you with[b] water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with[c] the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”The Baptism of Jesus13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. 14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16 And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved,[d] with whom I am well pleased.”Footnotes:Matthew 3:2 Or is at handMatthew 3:11 Or inMatthew 3:11 Or inMatthew 3:17 Or my beloved Son” — Matthew 3 NRSV Now this story – this story comes from a long, long time ago. Before cars that could parallel park themselves, before Google – my children were astonished to learn I was older than Google. No, we have to go further back than rotary dial phones, before telephones at all. Back when grain was ground by hand and grapes were squished with feet and water was carried a good long way. For this story, we also have to travel, halfway around the world – yes, it was a long time ago in a Galilee far, far away. It was a time of oppression and suppression. A time when the religious and political elites held tremendous power over the people, squeezing them of more and more of their freedom and finances, lining their own pockets and behaving quite badly indeed – I know, difficult to imagine. * Ok, there’s this guy – oh boy. You and I, we have seen some characters in our time, but this guy – he’s one for the books. His hair: long, curly, matted, wild – accented with bits of the forest floor where he slept. A wild man of the woods whose garments were as thick and rough as the skin of his hands! And he almost never came out of the woods, so I don’t know what he was eating in there – I heard it was bugs and honey but I just don’t know who to believe anymore these days. Anyway, this wild man of the woods starts hanging around the outskirts of town, watching – thinking. Then, a couple of days of this, and he gets to grabbing people as they are just going about their business, grabbing them and insisting that they need to change their lives – poor Sarah up the block nearly had a heart attack after her first encounter with him. So each day he gets a little bolder, a little louder, comes a little bit closer into town, and at first people sort of wrote him off…ok John, sure, we’ll make sure to change our lives…yup, God’s Kingdom is here..uh huh. But then, we start to wonder, hey wait a minute, this is like what the Prophet Isaiah was saying…sort of. Like, we’ve been waiting for a long time…for a voice…a voice from the wilderness – but John? I mean, Isaiah told us this voice would tell us when God was coming back, bringing comfort and rescue – a time of hope, forgiveness, of healing…So then we start kind of whispering to one another. John is saying that time is…now? So, then people start to get a bit freaked out – what if he is right? What if God is coming? What if God is here? Well, I’m not ready! So, they start listening to him – gathering all around, down by the river – and start, well, getting ready! Ready to really change their lives: to clear away all of the old, the bad, the ugly, and begin again on the right path. And, man, once things started to flow, WOW, then people just came in droves! They were coming from all around – they came to get ready; they came for change; they came for baptism. John was plunging them in to water of the Jordan and they were coming out, I don’t know, ready, eager for God. And let me tell you, it was just chaos – men, women, children, animals: shouts, laughter, cries, the braying of donkeys, the creaking of carts; the smell of fire and food on the beach. It was a wild and unruly scene, a cacophony of sound, and it was joyful. But then, along come the Pharisees and Sadducees – and everyone sort of backs up – what are they going to do? Shut this down? Arrest him? No! Turns out they were there to be baptized too! So they get to the lakeshore, and John sees them, and he stops, the and look in his eyes changes – like to steel. And his face begins to contort into anger, and he explodes at them, screaming, “you brood of snakes! How dare you slither down here to the river? Do you think a little water on your snakeskins is going to make any difference? It’s your life that must change, not your skin!” (3:7-10, MSG) Then he turns to all of us and says, “I’m baptizing you here in the river, turning your old life in for a kingdom of God life. But the real action comes next: The main character in this story—compared to him I’m a nobody— he will ignite the kingdom life within you, a fire within you, the Holy Spirit within you, changing you from the inside out.” (3:11-12, MSG) And he lifted up both of his arms like this, and we followed his gaze to a man walking from the direction of Galilee – was this him? We stood in silence as he walked down to the river’s edge and asked John to baptize him. John looked just as shocked as we did. The fire had drained from his face, his whole person softened and he stood, mouth agape, staring at him. His head began to move side to side, No, he said, no, “I am the one who needs to be baptized, not you! But Jesus insisted. “Do it. God’s work of putting things right through all these centuries, is coming together right now in this baptism.” So John did it.” (3:14-15, MSG) And in that moment when he was underwater, it was like time stopped – no one took a breath, the hairs on my arms stood right up, it was complete silence. And as John brought him up out of the water, it was like the veil between heaven and earth was pulled away, like we were in heaven but on the earth – then all of a sudden, like fire, like a dove, like…I don’t know! Like, the Spirit of God came in from all around and landed on this Man. Then booming into the silence came a clap of thunder from all sides – a voice - “This is my Son, chosen and marked by my love.” (3: 17, MSG). BIG BREATH And then, just like that, we began to breathe once again, the sounds of the birds, the donkeys, the children, it was all there once more. And the man walked out of the river, past us all, and out into the wilderness. * As many of you know, the other church I serve is Weird Church in Cumberland, and at Weird Church this month our focus is the theme, resting in the moment. At our discussion group on Tuesday, we collectively agreed that mindfulness, being present in the moment, was a relinquishment of regret over the past and a letting go of anxieties for the future. And that being present was, in fact, desirable, though tremendously challenging. Not only because we exist in a culture that demands we keep moving, striving for more achievement, more productivity, more wealth: more! Better! Faster! But because resting in the moment – really being present in each MOMENT – brings us face to face with ourselves. Face to face with God. There is nothing to distract us. There is no to-do, there is no news story, no gossip. This is beautiful and terrifying, for some of us. Because some of us have spent a good long while not being willing or able to see ourselves clearly. This is the moment that John spoke into all those years ago. It had been generations since Isaiah had told of the coming of the Messiah, the one who would usher in God’s Kingdom on earth. Generations. Generations of “get ready, any day now.” Generations of waiting and…(shrug) nothing. Perhaps after a bit these preparations, this readiness seems a little less urgent. And along with that softening of urgency, maybe, like us, the folks hearing John’s voice from the wilderness had been busy. And stubborn, and maybe reluctant or even scared to do that important work of looking at the ways lives had gotten off track, sharing about it with God and one another, and being ready to move forward in a new way. Their urgency was perhaps…diminished. Perhaps our urgency is…diminished. At the risk of sounding crazy, hear me now, “The Kingdom of God is here!” God is present in this moment, in each moment. Are we ready? John called for folks to repent, to confess their sins – not as an exercise in shame and humiliation, but that they would reject the political and social commitments that kept them from living their lives as the people of God. John makes this same call to us today – and we have this example, a template from John and Jesus on how to recognize the presence of God and enter fully into it. We first share our sins – we confess, we recognize, we acknowledge all in ourselves that is objectionable. We look at our part in our past hurts and harms and take responsibility, take ownership. Not because God wants us grovelling, knees bleeding at their feet. But because it is God’s greatest desire to release us from the bonds of our own shame, that fear from the past that weighs us down, keeps us separated. Every time we turn toward God with humility, we discover that God has already turned to us. That is the first part of what John and Jesus taught us: acknowledging and offering to God our past and present brokenness. The next teaching is about offering God our future. On our own, we fret about what is to come: war, climate change, money, food, family – a hundred things. But God’s got this. As we plunge into the water, we are released from the past, and as we emerge, we are placing our hope in God. This scene of Jesus’ baptism is, in all four Gospels, in all four accounts of Jesus life, the start of his ministry. It is the place of shift for his life, and it is the place of shift for our lives. A release from a destructive way of being and an aligning or realigning with God’s will for us.Baptism marks a fork in the road where one path is chosen and another is rejected. An acknowledgement of the love God is already heaping on us. It is our surrender to God’s way – a way that is not merely individual moral conduct but rather a turn towards relationships restored, deep healing, and a love beyond our understanding. It is a trust that there is something much bigger and more beautiful going on than we can even imagine.So, the act of baptism – or the remembrance of our baptism – is a releasing of the past and an embracing of God’s hope for the future. It is also us claiming our true identity as beloved and precious children of God. And I wish I could tell you that as the heavenly hand has signed our adoption papers our suffering will end, our questions will be answered and things will be pure bliss from here on out, but that simply isn’t the way this works. Because friends, the story just isn’t over yet. But we are a part of the story. We are a part of the story that started long before Jesus, a story that only makes sense with Jesus, and a story that continues today as we live our lives as disciples of Jesus. It is in the act of baptism that we honour and recognize what God has already done – God has named, claimed, and called us. God has replaced every title we have ever borne with the only one that matters: child of God. May we proudly claim it, humbly wear it, and let our very lives be driven by it. Amen.

God equips us to serve others humbly. John 13:1-5 NRSV Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him.

Bible verses for Meditation: 1 Thessalonians 5:1-5 NABRE 1 Concerning times and seasons, brothers, you have no need for anything to be written to you. 2 For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief at night.  3 When people are saying, “Peace and security,” then sudden disaster comes upon them, like labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 4 But you, brothers, are not in darkness, for that day to overtake you like a thief.  5 For all of you are children of the light and children of the day. We are not of the night or of darkness.    NRSV Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anything written to you.  2 For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.  3 When they say, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape!  4 But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief;  5 for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness.   FIND ME ON: Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Android App Store: Recenter with Christ Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: jared@christianmeditationpodcast.com Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/ChristianMeditationPodcast Youtube.com/ChristianMeditaitonPodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod      

  146 For You Are Children of Light A Guided Christian Meditation on 1 Thessalonians 5:1-5 I’m Chaplain Jared and I work as a hospice chaplain and an ICU chaplain, my purpose in making this podcast is to help you find more peace in your life and to be more open for your heart to be changed by the Spirit of God. By using centuries old form of Christian Meditation named Lectio Divina: Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization. Get into a place where you can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tensing or unrelaxing. If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes. Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation: Breathe and direct your thoughts to contacting God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate, deflate. Bible verses for Meditation: 1 Thessalonians 5:1-5 NABRE 1 Concerning times and seasons, brothers, you have no need for anything to be written to you. 2 For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief at night. 3 When people are saying, “Peace and security,” then sudden disaster comes upon them, like labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 4 But you, brothers, are not in darkness, for that day to overtake you like a thief. 5 For all of you are children of the light and children of the day. We are not of the night or of darkness. NRSV Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anything written to you. 2 For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 When they say, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape! 4 But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; 5 for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness. Meditation on Scripture: This weekend I had a chance to go on a camping trip with my Son’s scout troop. He is special needs and he the best son in the world. On the drive up we talked about life. He told me about some of his worries about the future. This was my favorite part of the whole trip. I love that he trusted me enough to tell me how he felt. Many people I have talked to over the years have had similar worries about the future. In fact, fear is a huge part of anxiety which plagues so many people. I find this scripture to be interesting and special because it does two things at once. It pronounces words which could cause fear but then directly defuses them. It says that destruction will come upon those who are not prepared. Many people fear this kind of fire and brimstone idea but Paul immediately comforts us against that fear. If you are listening to this and you accept and follow Jesus, then you are a child of God, a child of light. Your struggle is not against the full weight of your lack of preparation to enter into the presence of God. You struggle is to trust God and receive the change he is willing to put into your life. You are children of Light, not children of darkness. When you are looking back on this life and this moment in a million years from now during the infinity of eternity you will see yourself enveloped by the love of Jesus going through the same struggles you have now but you will see how it ends up. Many times when I counsel with people and they arrive at a place of peace, I ask them what they would say to themselves as a child. Inside of yourself you have the same child you once were. What you would you say to yourself if you could go back? My hope is that you can get to a place where you could say something along the lines of “Everything is going to be OK in the end.” When the infinite future arrives, I suspect that this is the message that we would want to send back to ourselves now. It is the message that God has been whispering to you for a long time now. He wrote it in many forms in the scriptures for us. You are a child of God. Jesus loves you and me that he would lay down his life for us because he KNEW, that in the end everything would be OK. He also knows you well enough that you can trust Him by telling him exactly how you feel today. Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling being patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Updates: Final Question: What are things, if any, that we should be unwilling to receive from God. Final Thought:   FIND ME ON: Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Android App Store: Recenter with Christ Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: jared@christianmeditationpodcast.com Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/ChristianMeditationPodcast Youtube.com/ChristianMeditaitonPodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod    

www.ucclittlecompton.org | Donate to Our Ministry During this season of Lent, we have been exploring "habits of joy." This week, we are examining the relationship between listening to God and the joy of purpose and fulfillment. Many of our kids and youth helped lead this week's service, sharing some the things they have been learning in Sunday School the last several weeks. Together with them, we will explore the story of Jesus' visit to Mary and Martha on his way to Jerusalem. This week's sermon is a "guest preacher" - Alex Floyd Marshall, our Director of Children and Youth Ministries. Our journey begins with a dramatization of the story of Mary and Martha-- written by our Sunday School students-- which sets the story in today's world. Scripture Reading: Luke 10:38-42 (NRSV) Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.’ But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.’ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/sunday-on-the-commons/message

Evangelical Rev. Mark Schaefer Foundry United Methodist Church May 6, 2018 2 Samuel 4:5–12; Matthew 11:2–6   2 Samuel 4:5–12 NRSV • Now the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, set out, and about the heat of the day they came to the house of Ishbaal, while he was taking his noonday rest. They came inside the house as though to take wheat, and they struck him in the stomach; then Rechab and his brother Baanah escaped. Now they had come into the house while he was lying on his couch in his bedchamber; they attacked him, killed him, and beheaded him. Then they took his head and traveled by way of the Arabah all night long. They brought the head of Ishbaal to David at Hebron and said to the king, “Here is the head of Ishbaal, son of Saul, your enemy, who sought your life; the LORD has avenged my lord the king this day on Saul and on his offspring.” David answered Rechab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, “As the LORD lives, who has redeemed my life out of every adversity, when the one who told me, ‘See, Saul is dead,’ thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and killed him at Ziklag—this was the reward I gave him for his news. How much more then, when wicked men have killed a righteous man on his bed in his own house! And now shall I not require his blood at your hand, and destroy you from the earth?” So David commanded the young men, and they killed them; they cut off their hands and feet, and hung their bodies beside the pool at Hebron. But the head of Ishbaal they took and buried in the tomb of Abner at Hebron.   Matthew 11:2–6 NRSV • When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”    I.        BEGINNING Friends, I am here to talk to you about Jesus.  The only Son of God, our Lord!  He came to us from heaven, lived among us and died for our sins on the cross!  Can I get a hallelujah?  But the story did not end there, friends, no, it didn’t.  Because he ROSE again.  He came back from the dead so that ALL would know that God has given us a gift of life from the dead, of eternal life through the blood of his precious son, Jesus Christ!  Can I get an amen? I don’t know how long I can keep that up. That gets kind of exhausting for a Methodist from Upstate New York. But I am willing to bet that something close to that kind of religiosity is what many of you think when you hear the word “evangelical.” Something about loud, emotional preaching. Charismatic religious leaders with huge congregations or tent revival meetings and altar calls, people weeping in the aisles. Lots of jumping up and shouting “Hallelujah!” Or maybe your mind goes less to the worship style and more to the implicit theology: exclusivist claims to salvation, an emphasis on individual—often sexual—sin rather than systemic sins like poverty and racism, a preoccupation with whether you’re in or you’re out. A lot of asking, “When were you saved?” (My favorite answer to that question is: “2,000 years ago on a hill outside Jerusalem.” Feel free to borrow that one.) Or maybe it’s the particular set of political beliefs that tend to come with the Evangelical theology: social conservatism, lack of inclusion toward the LGBTQ community, a strong support for law-and-order justice, a strong military, and other traditionally conservative political positions. However it’s understood, for many Christians who do not so identify, the word evangelical has left something of a bad taste in people’s mouths for a while. In fact, fifty years ago, when the Methodist Church merged with the Evangelical United Brethren to form our current denomination, they didn’t choose to be called the sensible combination of their names—the Evangelical Methodist Church or the Methodist Evangelical Church—they instead dropped the word evangelical and opted to carry over united, instead. (As an aside, this is why it’s preferred to refer to us as United Methodists—so that we honor the EUB churches who joined with the Methodists five decades ago.) But all of this is to say, that there is a lot of discomfort around the word evangelical. But what does it mean for us, really? Is there a sense of the word that those of us on the other side of the theological aisle can embrace? Despite all of the connotations that we perceive when we hear it, what does the word actually mean? II.     EVANGELICAL On a basic level, Evangelical means “Gospel based.” It comes from the Greek word euangelion meaning “good news” or gospel. Now, at first, this word was meant to be in contrast to those Christians who based their doctrine on things other than the scriptures, specifically, the Catholic Church which derived much of its doctrine from its accumulated theological tradition rather than directly from the scriptures themselves. Thus, Evangelical was a term that meant something like “according to the gospel” as opposed to “according to the church.” In Germany, for example, the word Evangelisch simply means “Protestant.” (By the way, when I typed that word into the Google translation software to double-check, I still had my translation set to Latin and the site rendered Evangelisch as haereticus “heretic”—so, it appears that the Vatican may still have some lingering feelings about the Reformation, or at least those writing in Latin, anyway.) To this day, the Lutheran Church in German is simply the Evangelische Kirche and its sister church in the US is the ELCA—The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Now, in America, from the 18th century onward, the term evangelical referred to those who affirmed the importance of a personal experience of salvation, known in the heart. This experience of salvation was seen as a central and essential element of Christian faith. And during the heyday of what was known as the “Evangelical consensus,” there was an agreement that this affirmation of the experience of God was accompanied by a commitment to outward expression of faith, frequently in acts of “piety” and “mercy”—which we would call “worship, devotion, service, and justice.” This was particularly the case among those Christians whose traditions emphasized the assurance of salvation, the new birth in the believer as a result of one’s justification and pardon of sin, and the gradual sanctification of the believer under the power of God’s grace. And especially those traditions whose founder himself had come to this theological understanding after years of tutelage by pietist Moravians who emphasized the religion of the heart and who himself had had the experience of his heart being “strangely warmed.” So, yeah, I don’t know how to break this to you all. But Methodists are … Evangelical. Wesley was absolutely convinced of the power of God’s justifying grace to work a change in us that regenerated us or that gave us a new birth. This, in turn, precipitated an assurance of salvation that he believed was every Christian’s birthright. It was these experiences of salvation that was what drove the early Methodists to work for prison reform, seek justice for the poor, establish schools and universities, fight for abolition, and so on. We did these things because we were evangelical, not despite being so. The Social Gospel was an outgrowth of Evangelical Christianity. Now, in the early 20th Century, the Evangelical consensus began to collapse. The progressive social gospel was viewed with suspicion by more conservative elements and there arose a divide between those Christians who saw sin as a primarily personal issue and those who saw it as a societal problem. After the Scopes Monkey Trial about teaching evolution in the public schools took place in the 1920’s the term Evangelical arose as an alternative label for a conservative Christian who wasn’t quite a fundamentalist. And the more progressive, Social Gospel Christians were content to let them have the label. Reeling from the embarrassment of the Scopes Monkey Trial, most evangelicals withdrew from active engagement with public life and opted out of organized participation in politics. This retreat was so great that the language of Evangelical Christianity, disappeared from the collective awareness. Whereas an old Evangelical concept like being “born again”—or as John Wesley would have called it “regeneration” or “new birth”—once made it into Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address as “this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom,” now journalists no less respected than Walter Cronkite had to explain to his viewers that they’d looked into it when Jimmy Carter had claimed to be a “born-again Christian” and discovered that this was fairly common. The mainline traditions that had come out of the evangelical tradition, had not just abandoned the label of evangelical, we’d abandoned the language of evangelical Christianity, such that our sense of being “evangelical” in any way was lost. Evangelical now meant what the conservative Christians had claimed it as: a conservative Christian who wasn’t quite a fundamentalist. But that is a depleted sense of the word. The term evangelical is not just a subset of a subset—it’s meant to encompass us, too. III.   GOOD NEWs What does it mean, then, for us to claim to be evangelical? At its most basic level, to be evangelical is to be rooted in the gospel—in the good news. To share the good news. But what’s the good news? In the TV show Futurama, there’s a running gag wherein Professor Farnsworth, owner of the Planet Express delivery service, will come into the meeting room and make an announcement that always begins with “Good news, everyone!” But the announcements tend to be things like: “Great news, everyone! You’ll be delivering a package to Chapek 9, a world where Humans are killed on sight.” “Good news, everyone. Tomorrow you’ll be making a delivery to Ebola 9, the virus planet.” “Good news, everyone! Today you’ll be delivering a crate of subpoenas to Sicily 8, the Mob Planet!” With Professor Farnsworth there is a disconnect between his assertion that he’s bringing good news and the nature of the news he’s actually bringing. We see something of that in the passage from 2 Samuel that we read earlier. In that passage we read of the aftermath of the dynastic struggle that follows in the wake of David succeeding Saul as king of Israel. Rimmon and Rechab found Ishbaal the son of Saul and slay him while he was taking his noontime rest. They behead him and ride all night to deliver the head of Ishbaal to David, clearly expecting to be rewarded for this. David’s reaction is quite different: “As the LORD lives, who has redeemed my life out of every adversity, when the one who told me, ‘See, Saul is dead,’ thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and killed him at Ziklag—this was the reward I gave him for his news. How much more then, when wicked men have killed a righteous man on his bed in his own house! And now shall I not require his blood at your hand, and destroy you from the earth?” The men who did this and who reported it thought that they were bringing good news to David, just as the one who brought the news of Saul’s death did. But in neither case was this actually good news. David has enough sense to know that the death of these men—a political rival and his innocent son—might have been seen as politically expedient but can hardly be characterized as “good.” It’s important to understand that news that might be advantageous to you is not necessarily synonymous with good news. I think this is the case with so much of what is held out as “good news” in contemporary Christianity, and part of many people’s responses to the word evangelical is because the Gospel that is frequently encountered doesn’t seem to be good news. Somehow, the proclamation of Christ’s victory over death and sin gets translated into an almost Professor Farnsworth version of the Gospel: “Good news, everyone! The overwhelming majority of the human race is condemned to eternal hellfire and damnation!” “Good news, everyone! The key to salvation is intellectual assent to a very specific set of extraordinary propositions that must be believed without any trace of doubt!” “Good news, everyone! It doesn’t matter how loving your Hindu and Muslim neighbors are, because they have not accepted Christ as we do, they can expect an eternity of psychic torment when they die!” Does any of that sound like good news to you? Sure, it’s good news for the people who happen to fit the narrow definition of the faithful, but it’s hardly the kind of thing that would be understood as good news to anyone else. This sounds closer to the “good news” that brought word of the deaths of Saul and Ishbaal. Now, if you’re one who is worried about your own eternal fate and someone were to tell you that you have nothing to fear because you are one of those for whom Christ died, then, yes, that would be good news. But it’s hard to see that proclamation being understood broadly in the same way to people who didn’t have that angst. If I’m an atheist who doesn’t believe in God or life after death, telling me that I’m going to hell unless I adopt a particular creed wouldn’t sound like good news in the slightest. IV.   GO AND TeLL JOHN So, then,  what is good news? How do we know what counts as good news such that we should proclaim it? As in so many things, it is instructive to look to Jesus. After all, Jesus began his ministry in Mark’s gospel by saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” (Mark 1:15 NRSV) Further, we read in our Gospel lesson earlier that John the Baptist’s disciples came to Jesus to relay a message from John asking him if he was the one they were waiting for or should they wait for someone else. Jesus’ response is: Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. There are two things to note about this passage. The first is Jesus’ answer to how it is they can know whether Jesus is the long-awaited messiah: because, among other things, the poor have good news brought to them. “Bringing good news” is connected to the poor. If we’re looking for a test to determine what is “good news,” let me suggest that the good news isn’t news the poor would receive as such, then perhaps it isn’t really good news. Or at least, the kind of Good News that the Christian is to be bringing. Second, all of the verbs are in the present tense: The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. This means that the good news is not about something that happened centuries ago, but something that is happening even now in our midst. If we are to be good-news based, if we are to be sharing the gospel, if we are to be evangelical then let this be our evangelion. Let our Gospel be that God is active in our midst. Let our Gospel be that we are the agents of God’s grace and mercy. Let our Gospel be one that speaks powerfully to the needs of the disadvantaged and the marginalized, to the widow and the orphan, to the immigrant and the poor. Let our actions be an illustration that we truly are bearers of the “Good News.” Let our Evangelicalism be about sharing a message of liberty to the captive, justice to the oppressed, binding up of the brokenhearted. If we claim that as our Good News, there should be no reason to shy away from being evangelical. Nor would we have any reason to shy away from insisting that everyone should have a powerful experience of that kind of salvation, and should know the love and grace of God deeply within their hearts. V.      END For a long time, I have argued that the Evangelical Christians have a lot of fervor but don’t always know what to do with it. And mainline Christians are really busy but we don’t always know why. That needs to end. And, mercifully, it’s starting to. I have worked the last eighteen years on a college campus and have worked alongside a number of different Christian campus ministry communities, including Catholic, mainline Protestant, Evangelical, and Pentecostal. And if there’s one thing that’s been consistent over the years is the growing interest in the Evangelical and Pentecostal communities to engage on matters of justice. Many young Evangelicals are deeply committed to environmental justice, racial justice, anti-colonialism, and economic justice for the poor. One of my chaplains representing InterVarsity was in my office talking about the racial justice work he was doing with his students and was wearing a T-shirt that said, “Love your Muslim Neighbor” in English and Arabic. InterVarsity, folks. InterVarsity. It’s clear that there is a hunger in Evangelical Christianity for the Social Gospel. And at the same time, there is a hunger in mainline Protestantism to connect our concern for justice to some deeper experience of God and of salvation. If you have any doubt about that, look around you: at this very moment you are surrounded by hundreds of people who come here regularly to hear your pastor preach the Good News of Jesus Christ, and then translate that into meaningful social action and sacred resistance to evil, injustice, and oppression. You all know how much Pastor Ginger talks about Jesus—and that only makes your commitment to justice and inclusion here at Foundry stronger. The two sides of contemporary Christian faith need each other. The Evangelicals are reclaiming the outward expression of faith in social justice. And it’s time that those of us on the progressive side, especially us Methodists, reclaim the title Evangelical. For we serve a God no less powerful, we are no less convicted of our need for grace, we have experiences of God’s love no less meaningful, no less personal than that of those more comfortable with the label. It wouldn’t hurt for us to get in the habit of telling people why we were doing the work we were doing, of sharing the good news of God’s liberating power, of being evangelical. Indeed, it is because of that deeply powerful experience of God, it is because we have come to understand the grace of God’s Son Jesus Christ, it is because we believe in the transformation of the self that is possible through love, the “new birth” of a person who has come to know the depths of God’s love, it is because of all these things that we go out to share a word of power, a word of justice, and a word of hope with a broken and hurting world. Can I get an amen?

Matt. 14:13-21 NRSV Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” They replied, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.”  And he said, “Bring them here to me.” Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.  And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full.  And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

What should we do when faced with overwhelming need and insufficient resources? Matthew 14:13-21 (NRSV): Now when Jesus heard [about the death of John the Baptizer], he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” They replied, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.” And he said, “Bring them here to me.” Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.