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Sermon – March 20, 2016

March 20, 2016 By Leave a Comment

Leap of Faith“Leap of Faith: To Welcome or To Distance“, by Rev. Mike Holly

Palm Sunday falls on the Sunday before Easter. We commemorate Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in all four Gospels.

On Palm Sunday, we begin our service with a procession lead by the children of our church carrying palms, representing the palm branches the crowd scattered in front of Jesus as he rode into Jerusalem. This marks the beginning of Holy Week.

The Word

Luke 23:13-25

Pilate then called together the chief priests, the leaders, and the people, and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was perverting the people; and here I have examined him in your presence and have not found this man guilty of any of your charges against him. Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us. Indeed, he has done nothing to deserve death. I will therefore have him flogged and release him.”

Then they all shouted out together, “Away with this fellow! Release Barabbas for us!” (This was a man who had been put in prison for an insurrection that had taken place in the city, and for murder.) Pilate, wanting to release Jesus, addressed them again; but they kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!” A third time he said to them, “Why, what evil has he done? I have found in him no ground for the sentence of death; I will therefore have him flogged and then release him.” But they kept urgently demanding with loud shouts that he should be crucified; and their voices prevailed. So Pilate gave his verdict that their demand should be granted. He released the man they asked for, the one who had been put in prison for insurrection and murder, and he handed Jesus over as they wished.

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Sermon – March 13, 2016

March 13, 2016 By Leave a Comment

Leap of Faith“Leap of Faith: From Curiosity to Discovery“, by Rev. Mike Holly

Have you ever encountered someone who was very confident in his or her accomplishments? There’s an old Saturday Night Live sketch from NBC where a family of three is having a very quiet and pleasant meal together in their suburban home when a tremendous fight breaks out over dinner. Everyone is shouting and suddenly the father begins to shout at the top of his lungs: “I am a division manager! That is very important!” They resume a now tense, but still quiet dinner until again another shouting match erupts. Everyone begins shouting again and the father begins yelling yet again: “I am a division manager in charge of twenty-nine people! I drive a Dodge Stratus!”

It’s one thing to be thankful for the ways in which we have been helpful and useful with the skills God has given to us. It is certainly another thing when we begin to boast about our accolades in order to lift ourselves up over others. In today’s Scripture reading, Paul mentions the gains that he could use to boast in front of others. However, he counts all of those gains as nothing compared to the gift of Jesus Christ. The righteousness that God offers to us is worth striving towards as Paul describes. It is worth giving up all of those other things that the world claims is important and focusing instead on what is the best thing ever offered to us all. During this season of Lent, let us all press on towards the goal together!

~Mike Holly

The Word

Philippians 3:4b-14

If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.

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Sermon – March 6, 2016

March 6, 2016 By Leave a Comment

Leap of Faith“Leap of Faith: God Doesn’t Recognize Walls“, by Rev. Tom Duley

There is an old Christian rock song by Randy Matthews that you can still listen to on YouTube. Isn’t everything still on YouTube? The name of the song is “It Took a Carpenter.” The line that gets repeated throughout says, “It took a Carpenter to tear down my walls. It took a better man than me.” There’s a good deal in that little line. Perhaps that’s why I still remember it all these years later. Of course, the carpenter is Jesus and the songwriter is astute in recognizing that Jesus is a wall destroyer. There are so many ways that we separate ourselves from God, from each other, even from ourselves sometimes. Jesus takes down those walls.

The line also recognizes that there is someone who knows us better than we know ourselves. There is someone who is better than we are; someone who is constantly working to get us to stretch beyond that which feels safe and makes us comfortable to our better selves. Of course that man is Jesus and one way he helps us to become our better selves is by moving us beyond the walls we build. Jesus helps us to realize that God doesn’t recognize walls…
God recognizes people.

~Tom Duley

The Word

Luke 15:1-7

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 not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

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Sermon – February 28, 2016

February 28, 2016 By Leave a Comment

Leap of Faith“Leap of Faith: Lost in Babylon“, by Rev. Angela Martin

Have you ever been lost? It is not a pleasant feeling when we find ourselves beyond the boundaries of what’s familiar. Fear of the unknown and not knowing our way back can send us into a panic. And yet, in her book, An Altar in the World, Barbara Brown Taylor says that being lost can be a good thing. She even goes as far as saying it can be a spiritual practice; that we might even consider intentionally getting lost by getting off the familiar paths we normally take because it awakens us to new possibilities and the adventure of getting back to the way that is familiar can be of value.

Have you ever felt spiritually lost? Stuck in the wilderness? Sometimes we lose our way spiritually. Life happens and we feel thrust into the wilderness. Sometimes it’s a matter of not paying attention; we lose focus and stop doing those things which keep us spiritually fit and on the disciple’s path like studying scripture or praying daily or coming to worship. It is never because God abandons us. Perhaps we should take Brown’s advice in those times. Maybe in those times of feeling spiritually lost, we can lean in toward God and ask that he awaken us to new possibilities and can grow us in the process. God is always calling us out of our lost-ness. And his promise to us as we return? We “will go out in joy and be led forth in peace”. (Isaiah 55:12)

~Angela Martin

The Word

Isaiah 55:6-12

Seek the Lord while he may be found,
call upon him while he is near;
let the wicked forsake their way,
and the unrighteous their thoughts;
let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
and do not return there until they have watered the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

For you shall go out in joy,
and be led back in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
shall burst into song,
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

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Sermon – February 21, 2016

February 21, 2016 By Leave a Comment

Leap of Faith“Leap of Faith: Let Your Heart Hold Fast“, by Rev. Mike Holly

During the season of Lent (which started on February 10th), we as a church family are seeking to deepen our faith and our understanding during this Leap of Faith series. We join together in intentional practices and disciplines that have the potential to change our lives. One verse in today’s reading stood out to me and I believe it is important for us to reflect upon this Sunday. Verse 16 says “Only let us hold fast to what we have attained.”

During the Lenten season, we give things up or we take things on to help us understand how broken we are and how much God loves us. Once Easter arrives, we often give these practices up. However, we need to take verse 16 to heart. We should hold fast to what we have attained. We must continue to grow in faith and understanding. We must continue to love our neighbor and serve our community. We must do these things because it is what God asks of us. We must do these things because they have the potential to transform our lives, our neighbors and our community!

Stand firm on your intentional decision to grow this Lent. If you miss a day or two, don’t give up. Recommit and continue on!

~Mike Holly

The Word

Philippians 3:14 – 4:1

I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us then who are mature be of the same mind; and if you think differently about anything, this too God will reveal to you. Only let us hold fast to what we have attained.

Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us. For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears. Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.

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Sermon – February 14, 2016

February 14, 2016 By Leave a Comment

Leap of Faith“Leap of Faith: Falling In Love“, by Rev. Mike Holly

As we begin this season of Lent, we gather together as the people of God and we are all challenged to take the journey through Lent with a deep sense of purpose. Where we are traveling to at the end of these forty days is of cosmic significance. And yet, the journey there is just as significant. For in this season we are called to unveil the reality of our own brokenness, our need for God and the reality that God paves a way forward for us in Jesus Christ.

In order to assist you in this journey we have created the Leap of Faith Prayer Journal and accompanying spiritual formation plan. These packets are available today in the Narthex. You only have to register. If we run out of copies we will order more and contact you when they are ready.

Notice in the Gospel reading for today: Jesus departs into the Wilderness to pray and to prepare. He took his own spiritual life seriously and models for us a pattern for how to develop our own lives through a rich relationship with God. May God bless you through this forty day journey as you make an intentional commitment to take a Leap of Faith.

~Mike Holly

The Word

Luke 4:1-13

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’”
Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered him, “It is written,

‘Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.’”

Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written,

‘He will command his angels concerning you,
to protect you,’

and

‘On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’”

Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.

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Leap Of Faith

February 5, 2016 By

Leap of Faith Prayer JournalMake an Intentional Commitment to Follow Jesus This Fall

In Matthew 16, Jesus turns to his disciples and says to them: “If anyone wants to follow me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” He goes on to say that if we want to keep our life, we have to learn to lose our life…for His sake.

During the fall season, we are continuing the practice of daily scripture reading and prayer we began during Lent. Bluff Park UMC invites every member of our congregation to take a Leap of Faith…for His sake. Pick up a copy of the Fall Leap of Faith Prayer Journal from the church office. Or, you can download a PDF version of the book. Then, make a commitment to set aside a small amount of time for scripture and prayer each day. The first entry in the Prayer Journal Reading Plan is September 14th.

When we follow Jesus in the United Methodist Church, it means living out the vows of discipleship that we make when we join the church.  Throughout the summer, we will learn about and practice these vows together:

  • Prayer -while still praying daily, ask your friends, co-workers and neighbors to give you regular prayer requests so that you may pray for them and their concerns.
  • Presence -while still regularly attending worship and a small group, join a LIFE group or a Bible study this fall.
  • Gifts -increase your giving to the church while also giving regularly to a mission or outreach of the church.
  • Service -choose a local mission project to invest your time and energy into regularly.
  • Witness – Invite others to a Sunday worship service, Vacation Bible School, or another church event.

May the peace and love of Jesus Christ work in all of our hearts and prepare us as we continue this journey and leap together!

 

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