Episodes
Tuesday Sep 28, 2021
S6E22: Pure Fellowship (Purity of the Body pt. 5)
Tuesday Sep 28, 2021
Tuesday Sep 28, 2021
Sermon #302
We conclude our series in James by looking at what it means to be present in the church. Our presence together is powerful. One Christian on his or her own praying alone is a powerful thing but when we gather together by two or three or a few or many, that power in the Spirit of God grows exponentially. The question we have been looking at throughout this series has been this: As members of this congregation, will you faithfully participate in its ministries by your prayers, your presence, your gifts, your service, and your witness? Today our focus is on our presence and how it brings healing to us, to our church, and to our community.
Text: James 5:13-20
Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on September 30, 2018 (Originally published November 28, 2018)
S.D.G.
Monday Sep 27, 2021
S9E07: A Kingdom Established (Prophets & Kings pt. 5)
Monday Sep 27, 2021
Monday Sep 27, 2021
Sermon #452
On the day in which we celebrate our independence here in America (this message was recorded July 4, 2021), we reflect on the foundation of Israel as a united kingdom under David after the death of Saul and the conquest of Jerusalem. There are some parallels to our formation as a nation and Israel's. For one thing, the entire nation assented to David's kingship. In the same way, General George Washington was unanimously (69-0) elected our nation's first president. Both nations were established with the understanding that all things come from God. We see the three reasons that David was chosen as king - that he is one of the Israelites' brethren, a descendent of Abraham; that he is a warrior strong in battle; and that God chose him to be king. But it is this last reason that ought to be the first - and only - reason given.
2 Samuel 5:1-5,9-10
Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on July 4, 2021
S.D.G.
Sunday Sep 26, 2021
Sunday Sep 26, 2021
September 26, 2021
Old Testament: Esther 7:1-6,9-10; 9:20-22
Psalter: Psalm 124
Epistle Lesson: James 5:13-20
Gospel Lesson: Mark 9:38-50
Scripture quotations from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
S.D.G.
Monday Sep 20, 2021
S6E21: Pure Prayer (Purity of the Body pt. 4)
Monday Sep 20, 2021
Monday Sep 20, 2021
Sermon #301
So often Christians lose their connection to God in prayer, and why do we think this is? Many Christians lose hope in prayer because they feel as though their prayers are not being answered, that they pray and pray and God ignores their pleas. In today's reading from the book of James, we look at purity in prayer, and why it is that some prayers are answered to our liking, and some are not. What can we do to continue our prayer life with God? How can we keep the lines of communication open? James says that it begins with us and the way that we pray.
Text: James 3:12-4:8
Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on September 23, 2018 (Originally published November 27, 2018)
S.D.G.
Sunday Sep 19, 2021
Sunday Sep 19, 2021
September 19, 2021
Old Testament: Proverbs 31:10-31
Psalter: Psalm 1
Epistle Lesson: James 3:13-4:4,7-8a
Gospel Lesson: Mark 9:30-37
Scripture quotations from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
S.D.G.
Tuesday Sep 14, 2021
S3E13: Thus Far the Lord Has Helped Us (Ebenezer‘s 225th Anniversary)
Tuesday Sep 14, 2021
Tuesday Sep 14, 2021
Sermon #131
We take a brief break from our Summer series, Deep Questions, to celebrate a milestone at Ebenezer United Methodist Church. Back in 1790, the first Methodist Bishop, Francis Asbury, stirred the hearts of local people in Salem County, and his words became the springboard for a new church established by Oldmans Creek. 225 years later, Ebenezer is still changing hearts and making disciples. It is my privilege to serve this historic congregation as its shepherd, and we know that we are still living up to our name, as the stone of help in Auburn community. So grab your Bible, turn it to 1 Samuel chapter 7, and prepare your heart and mind as we proclaim, thus far the Lord has helped us.
1 Samuel 7:1-14
Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on September 13, 2015 (Originally published October 28, 2015)
S.D.G.
Monday Sep 13, 2021
S6E20: Pure Speech (Purity of the Body pt. 3)
Monday Sep 13, 2021
Monday Sep 13, 2021
Sermon #300
Everything we as Christians say and do is part of our witness to the world. So what does our speech say about our faith in Christ? Do the things we talk about give glory to God or do we profane our faith by acting one way in church and another in the world? These are convicting questions and they are set before us by James in his epistle. In the United Methodist Church, we promise to faithfully participate in its ministries by our witness. Today we take a look at what that means for us in a practical sense.
Text: James 3:1-12
Recorded at Hudson UMC on Septebmer 16, 2018 (Originally published October 30, 2021)
S.D.G.
Sunday Sep 12, 2021
Lectionary Readings for Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 19), Year B
Sunday Sep 12, 2021
Sunday Sep 12, 2021
September 12, 2021
Old Testament: Proverbs 1:20-33
Psalter: Psalm 19
Epistle Lesson: James 3:1-12
Gospel Lesson: Mark 8:27-38
Scripture quotations from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
S.D.G.
Wednesday Sep 08, 2021
S3E12: The BIG Question (Deep Questions pt. 11)
Wednesday Sep 08, 2021
Wednesday Sep 08, 2021
Sermon #130
As we continue our Deep Questions series, the question this week deals with a topic that has been on the forefront of the media and in the minds of the church quite a bit in the past year, but it's also something that the church has dealt with for all two thousand years of its existence. Homosexuality has become such a hot-button topic that many loving Christians will shy away from it, to the point where they will affirm the sin rather than condemn the practice. But is there somewhere in the middle where Christ meets us, where we can acknowledge the sin and still be compassionate toward those caught in its grip? It's a difficult question, and one that demands an answer. So grab your Bible, turn it to John chapter 8, and prepare your heart and mind as we address the BIG question.
John 8:2-11
Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on September 6, 2015 (Originally published October 26, 2015)
S.D.G.
Tuesday Sep 07, 2021
S6E19: Pure Love (Purity of the Body pt. 2)
Tuesday Sep 07, 2021
Tuesday Sep 07, 2021
Sermon #299
Throughout the history of the Christian church there has been this tension between works and faith. Martin Luther struggled with the notion of works of salvation because he had found no joy in doing these works when he was a Catholic monk. Where Luther found his joy was in the simple proclamation that "the just shall live by faith." He called the book of James "an epistle of straw," and said that its emphasis on works contradicted Paul's emphasis on salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. But as we see in today's lesson, James' epistle doesn't contradict, but rather complements Paul's writings. We are saved through faith, true, but we are saved FOR good works, and our faith is demonstrated BY our works. "Will you faithfully participate in the ministries of the local church by your service?" This is our focus today in James' epistle.
Text: James 2:1-17
Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on September 9, 2018 (Originally published October 24, 2018)
S.D.G.