Preachers tend to have favorite passages and topics for preaching and teaching. If you don’t preach from the Revised Common Lectionary each week, it can be easy to fall into predictable patterns that limit your congregation’s exposure to the full range of God’s Word. We all have blind spots, and it’s worth asking where we might be missing the opportunity
“I do not always understand the mystery of prayer, but I know its power.”
On my office shelf is a 200-year-old brick from Bethel Academy, the first Methodist school in the United States west of the Appalachian Mountains, established by circuit riding Methodist preacher Francis Asbury in 1790. From those roots sprang Asbury College in 1890 and Asbury Theological Seminary in 1923. You might look at that brick on my shelf and think it’s
Today’s reading is from Acts 27: 13-38: When a moderate south wind began to blow, they thought they could achieve their purpose; so they weighed anchor and began to sail past Crete, close to the shore. But soon a violent wind, called the northeaster, rushed down from Crete. Since the ship was caught and could not be turned head-on into the wind,
“Nehemiah is faced with the news that the walls and gates of Jerusalem have been destroyed, leaving the city’s inhabitants vulnerable. What are some things in your life that need to be rebuilt? Are you ready to ask God to show you something that is in need of repair?”
“I’ve discovered that there is a tremendous difference between easiness and simplicity.”
“More than just building a tower, the people of Babel wanted to build a reputation for themselves. They wanted others to recognize their intelligence and skill and to admire them. Abraham, on the other hand, didn’t seem that interested in making a name for himself. He was happy to follow God, to obey God’s calling, and to entrust his reputation
God fulfills his promises. We know this. But we often struggle to see how. Because the promises God makes and the promises we would like aren’t always the same. His wisdom is not ours.
“God’s strength becomes available to us when we are rooted and established in his love. In what other things are you tempted to root yourself? What in your life makes you feel secure and established?”
“This is the second difficulty of praying ‘Thy will be done’ – that God’s will for one moment will become our idol in the next.”
Wesleyan Accent is pleased to share an introductory interview with Rev. Dr. Rob Haynes, World Methodist Evangelism’s new Associate Director of Education and Leadership Development.
And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.
If the church as a whole is not working together to live out the truth of the gospel, then the warrior of God will become emaciated.
I truly love the book of Psalms. They are so honest, capturing the joy of faith, the struggle of pain, anger, everything. I love Psalms. Today’s readings have us in Psalm 106. And I think there’s something very important for us to hear. Listen to what we are told in Psalm 106: 12-15: Then they believed his words and sang him
Now that the heat sparked from the light shed on Vice President Mike Pence’s personal rules of not attending cocktail parties without his wife and of not dining alone with women has dwindled, let’s take a few moments to reflect more evenly on the practice of personal rules and boundaries in opposite-sex professional relationships in the pastoral context. I do
Prayer is asking. It is a request. But here is the difficult truth: all prayer is answered but not all requests are granted.
This has led me to wrestle through the following notion – the times when the first two rules of Methodism – “do no harm” and “do good” seem to be at odds.
The dynamics of trust and obedience define the relational and personal dimensions of faith. We tend to treasure what we trust and trust what we treasure.
At its most basic level, Christian faith is a centered, personal, relational response involving trust and obedience.
Whether you’re reading this at home or at work, let me ask you a question. What sort of signal do you give your neighbors? Do you extend welcoming hospitality or have you constructed walls for your personal safe haven? Go Home Ranch My wife and I once hired a handyman to build a lattice fence that would enclose a giant
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