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An Unconventional, No-Apologies Exposition of God’s Grace from an Evangelical-Methodist Point of View
Episodes
Monday Feb 19, 2024
Monday Feb 19, 2024
Sermon #593
As we continue through the book of Psalms during Lent this year, we come to a psalm of David which he wrote at a time of intense persecution. Though we do not know the context in which it was written, we can see in his prayer that rather than appeal to God on account of his own goodness, he relies instead on the goodness of God - his lovingkindness, or hesed (Hb). This beautiful prayer for deliverance and guidance teaches us today about the lovingkindness of God and instructs us also to seek God's path so that we, too, may be delivered from our adversity.
Psalm 25:1-10
Recorded at Hudson UMC on February 18, 2024
S.D.G.
Sunday Feb 18, 2024
Sunday Feb 18, 2024
Sermon #432
As we begin our journey to the cross we go to the place where Jesus began his journey in Mark's gospel. Before Jesus began his earthly ministry, before he had performed a single miracle as recorded in the Bible, he first was baptized by John in the Jordan river, and then went into the wilderness for forty days to be tempted by Satan. Only then did he begin his earthly ministry - and he began it at home. In this, we as Christians can identify with Christ as we, too, are baptized into the faith, are tempted and face adversity in our new-found faith, and begin our proclamation of the gospel at home - among our family, friends and neighbors.
Mark 1:9-15
Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on February 21, 2021 (Originally published on February 22, 2021)
S.D.G.
Sunday Feb 18, 2024
Sunday Feb 18, 2024
February 18, 2024
Old Testament: Genesis 9:8-17
Psalter: Psalm 25:1-10
Epistle Lesson: 1 Peter 3:18-22
Gospel Lesson: Mark 1:9-15
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.
Thursday Feb 15, 2024
Thursday Feb 15, 2024
Sermon #592
For the season of Lent we will be examining the Psalms, which are songs of praise, lament, supplication, and acknowledgment of the things God has done for his people. On this Ash Wednesday, as we prepare our hearts for the journey of Jesus to the Cross, we also hear the words of David the King as he repents of his sin with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite. Though he had cleverly hid his sin from people, he had not hidden it from God. When confronted by Nathan the Prophet, the weight of David's sin is upon him and out pours this beautiful song of repentance, recorded for us in the hymn book of the Jews. We can learn from this song that because of our sin we need reconciliation and tranformation from God by his Spirit in us.
Psalm 51:1-17
Recorded at Hudson UMC on February 14, 2024
S.D.G.
Wednesday Feb 14, 2024
Wednesday Feb 14, 2024
Sermon #431
This Lenten season we are going to be focused on the cross of Jesus Christ - what it meant to athe First Century Christians and what it means to us today. For many of us, we don't appreciate the horror of the cross and what Jesus endured for our sakes. But it is important to remember that Christ was afflicted for our sakes so that we could be reconciled to the Father. In fact, Christ's sacrifice was a fulfillment of the Levitical laws of atonement that allowed the unclean to enter into God's presence cleansed. This Ash Wednesday we invite you to join us as we begin our journey to the cross.
2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10
Recorded at Hudson UMC on Ash Wednesday, February 17, 2021 (Originally published February 19, 2024)
S.D.G.
Wednesday Feb 14, 2024
Wednesday Feb 14, 2024
February 14, 2024
Old Testament: Joel 2:1-2, 12-17
Psalter: Psalm 51:1-17
Epistle Lesson: 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10
Gospel Lesson: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
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 Feb 12, 2024
Monday Feb 12, 2024
Sermon #591
We conclude our brief Epiphany series on Transfiguration Sunday and we hear the words of God the Father as he declares to the disciples, "This is my beloved son; listen to him." But what does it mean to listen to Christ? Since 2007 there has been a movement among Christians called "Red-letter Christianity," which emphasizes the words that Christ spoke over all else. This declaration might seem to affirm that theology, but in reality, the words of Christ carry the same weight as all the word of God, all 66 books of the Bible, which we understand is inspired (God-breathed) and inerrant (without contradiction or error). Jesus, as the second Person of the Trinity, could not contradict scripture, and so we listen to him AS we listen to the rest of Scripture, because he carries the authority of the word of God in the flesh.
Mark 9:2-9
Recorded at Hudson UMC on February 11, 2024
S.D.G.
Sunday Feb 11, 2024
Sunday Feb 11, 2024
Sermon #430
In the conclusion to our series, God with Us, we are looking at the Transfiguration of Jesus. The Transfiguration marks the end of the season after Epiphany and points to the beginning of Lent which starts this coming Wednesday. This event, which is recorded in three gospels plus Peter's second epistle, and alluded to in John's gospel, left an indellible mark on the three disciples who were there. What we see from Mark's gospel is the point of view of Peter at the Transfiguration, and what we can learn is that when God shows up in the person of Jesus Christ, we must listen to him, and we can know with assurance that what he says is true.
This sermon was recorded in the Hudson UMC parsonage on Valentine's day, 2021, as we in South Jersey had experienced an ice storm and the in-person service was closed.
Mark 9:2-9
Recorded at Hudson Parsonage on February 14, 2021 (Originally published February 15, 2021)
S.D.G.
Sunday Feb 11, 2024
Sunday Feb 11, 2024
February 11, 2024
Old Testament: 2 Kings 2:1-12
Psalter: Psalm 50:1-6
Epistle Lesson: 2 Corinthians 4:3-6
Gospel Lesson: Mark 9:2-9
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.
Thursday Feb 08, 2024
Thursday Feb 08, 2024
Sermon #264
This episode was recorded at Hudson UMC in 2018 but was never published. We apologize for the poor sound quality.
Isaiah prophesied in Judah and Jerusalem at a time when the Northern Kingdom of Israel was conquered and exiled by the Assyrian empire. Isaiah's prophetic vision promised the same fate would befall Judah and Jerusalem if they did not discontinue their idol worship. Ultimately, the southern kingdom of Judah would fall in 586 to the Babylonian empire. Yet even before that occurred, God through Isaiah was promising restoration for those who are faithful to Him. Our faith can be tested by our circumstances, but when we persist in our faith, God will carry us through. God is not like idols made by men; he is powerful to save.
Recorded at Hudson UMC on February 4, 2018 (Previously unpublished)
S.D.G.