Episodes
Wednesday Feb 26, 2020
S1E15: Beauty from Ashes (Ash Wednesday 2014)
Wednesday Feb 26, 2020
Wednesday Feb 26, 2020
Ash Wednesday is a solemn observance that leads into a period of fasting, abstinence and penitence. These forty days remind us of the period of fasting that our Lord observed in the Judean wilderness. Today as we receive the ashes we are reminded that we come from dust, and to dust we shall return. So grab your Bible, open it to Matthew Chapter 6, and join us as we look at "Beauty from Ashes."
Matthew 6:1-6,16-18
Recorded at Hudson UMC on March 5, 2014 (First published April 4, 2014)
S.D.G.
Monday Feb 24, 2020
S7E20: Listen to Him (Transfiguration Sunday 2020)
Monday Feb 24, 2020
Monday Feb 24, 2020
On the church calendar, Transfiguration Sunday is a transition from the Odinary Time after the Epiphany into the season of Lent (which begins Ash Wednesday). This familiar story, told in all three synoptic gospel accounts and alluded to in John's gospel, is an apt bridge from Jesus' earthly ministry to his journey to the cross. Today we focus on God's command to the disciples, who wanted to busy themselves with mundane things. God told them to listen to Jesus. How often in our walk with God are we too busy to listen to him? Or how many times do we throw up arrow prayers and then close the connection with "inJesusnameAmen"? Today we take time. Today we embrace the silence and listen to God's gentle urging. We quiet ourselves and say to God, "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening."
Matthew 17:1-9
Recorded at Hudson UMC on February 23, 2020
S.D.G.
Tuesday Feb 18, 2020
S7E19: God Gives the Growth (Somos del Senor pt. 5)
Tuesday Feb 18, 2020
Tuesday Feb 18, 2020
Ultimately, when we identify more with the church we belong to than the God that we worship, we are missing the point. Paul calls such people immature in their faith, and insists that he cannot feed them spiritual meat but that as infants in Christ they are still being fed spiritual milk. It's a harsh rebuke for the church in Corinth, but also a stern reminder for us all. What makes us one is our identity in Christ, not the church of denomination we belong to. Ultimately, the church we belong to is where we come to meet the risen Lord. We belong to Christ.
1 Corinthians 3:1-9
Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on February 16, 2020
S.D.G.
Wednesday Feb 12, 2020
S7E18: With a Demonstration (Somos del Senor pt 4)
Wednesday Feb 12, 2020
Wednesday Feb 12, 2020
We often use churchy words that Christians understand in our evangelism, without ever considering that these words are completely foreign to our audience. When Paul first went to Corinth, it was a pagan city and ignorant of Judaism or the theology of one true and living God. So he had a certain way of preaching to these unbelievers, keeping the message simple so that they could understand. To the now-growing church of disciples in Corinth, he speaks with the wosdom of God, but initially he brought these unbelievers to Christ by simply preaching Christ, and him crucified. We would do well to remember to keep it simple in our evangelistic endeavors, as well.
1 Corinthians 2:1-16
Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on February 2, 2020
S.D.G.
Monday Feb 10, 2020
S7E17: Consider Your Call (Somos del Senor pt. 3)
Monday Feb 10, 2020
Monday Feb 10, 2020
Keeping it green. It's a phrase used in 12-step programs to remind recovering addicts and alcoholics to remember where they came from, so that they wouldn't be tempted to go back there. It's something that we as Christians ought to do, as well. After all, we all have a time before and after we came to Christ, and we can often see a marked change from one to the other, a transformation if you will. In today's reading, Paul is calling on the church in Corinth to consider their call, and to remember that all of our efforts must be bathed in prayer or ultimately fail. It's not our wisdom that wins souls to Christ, but the wisdom of God.
1 Corinthians 1:18-31
Recorded at Hudson UMC on February 2, 2020
S.D.G.
Tuesday Feb 04, 2020
S7E16: Same Mind & Same Purpose (Somos del Senor pt 2)
Tuesday Feb 04, 2020
Tuesday Feb 04, 2020
After Paul's greeting and praise for the church in Corinth, he immediately moves into a situation which had been reported to him that needed addressing. Some of the Christians in Corinth were dividing themselves according to the person they followed, and Paul said that this must not be, that they must be of the same mind and same purpose - that of preaching the gospel of Christ. These words could easily have been written to the church today, and with the same call to faith - we, too, though fractured by denominationalism, must be of the same mind and same purpose to win souls for Christ.
1 Corinthians 1:10-18
Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on January 26, 2020
S.D.G.