Friday, January 30, 2015

Covenant Sunday: No longer my own but Yours

This Sunday is our annual Covenant Service
I am going to be applying the lectionary readings (Deut and Mark) to what it means to covenant with God, in particular what it means to say "I am no longer my own but Yours" and to apply our covenant

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Devotions for Week 2 of Sermon on the Mount: Spiritual Poverty & Holy Mourning

Read my sermon here
 Day 1 Devotions
Is He?

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”
Psalm 46:1

We live in an age that encourages us not only to prepare for every eventuality, but to

Spiritual Poverty and Holy Mourning

This picture sums up what it means to be spiritually poor (pic sourced here)

We begin our series on the Sermon on the Mount at the beginning where Jesus began it. Let us remind ourselves of who it is who is teaching. It is Jesus, the Son of God, it the God the Son who is

Monday, January 19, 2015

What is the Gospel and did Jesus preach it?

and did Jesus preach it ?
Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: ‘Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.’
Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, ‘Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.’ The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth......When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.

This week's texts exemplify Epiphany, the season after Christmas which began with the visit of the Wise Men, the season where our focus is on Jesus, light to all people.  The story of Jonah is relatively well known, even to people who no longer or never have had an interest in the Scriptures. In the week ahead, I invite you to read all of Jonah's 48 verses without being swallowed up by the tale's fishiness. Instead, focus on God's abundant love for all people.

Daily Devotions for Week 1 of Sermon on the Mount

Week 1 Day 1 Devotions
Read my sermon here

He Lives

“I know that my Redeemer lives,

and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.”

Job 19:25


One need look no further than Job in the Old Testament to see someone around

Sermon on the Mount 1 (Introduction)

Matt 7:21-29




Have you noticed that churches are generally full at Christmas and over Easter but not every other Sunday?
Why do you think that is?

Someone has suggested that it is possibly because on those two days we proclaim what we believe.

Monday, January 12, 2015

When God calls

image sourced here

Here are the lectionary readings for this Sunday 18 Jan. My focus will be on Samuel and John, delving into the call of God:

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

AMC's Vision

 A community
                                        

Friday, January 2, 2015

New Year Pastoral Letter: A Call to Service


New Year, 2015

Dear Alberton Methodist and Worldwide Holey, Wholly, Holy Family

Chris and I truly hope that you have had a blessed Christmas season and that 2015 will be a blessed and prosperous (in the true Biblical meaning of that word) year for you and your loved ones.