Lives of Hope and Faith, Part Three:  The Tax Collector and the Pharisee Luke 19:9-14 In our scripture this week, we look at a tough lesson from Jesus Christ, our one true teacher.  Our Lord reminds us that when we take pride in our own righteousness, we inevitably looked down upon others; we puff ourselves… Read more

This Sunday is Laity Sunday.  On this special day, throughout the United Methodist Church, we celebrate the vital role of lay people—the everyday people who live out their faith and serve in local churches and communities. On this day, we honor the faithfulness, leadership, and service of laypersons who help build and sustain the life… Read more

Lives of Hope and Faith Part Two:  Ten Lepers Luke 17: 11-19 This week we hear a familiar but glorious story from the Gospel of Luke.  Ten lepers, outcasts living in the borderlands between Samaria and Galilee call out to Jesus for healing and he graciously obliges.  However, only one, a Samaritan returns to give… Read more

Lives of Prayer and Faith, Part One: The Mustard Seed Luke 17:5-10 This Sunday is World Communion Sunday. Each year, United Methodists join Christians of different traditions throughout the world to celebrate this special day on the first Sunday in October. This commemoration began in 1936 as a way to recognize our oneness in Christ… Read more

This week, Pastor John will be leading our worship service, but he won’t be preaching the sermon.  Instead, along with the rest of the congregation of Black Creek UMC, he will be doing one of the most important things we can do as followers of Jesus Christ, raising up another Christian.  Lay Servant Donna Burgess… Read more

Lament and Hope, Part Two:  Trust God Psalm 79 This week, our two-week sermon series focusing on Psalms of Lament continues.  We use a powerful scripture, Psalm 79, to try to sort out the emotions that maybe we have been feeling over the last few chaotic weeks in our troubled world. We also find some… Read more

Lament and Hope, Part One:  God Wins Psalm 14 This week, we begin a short sermon series on the Book of Psalms, the Bible’s Songbook.  We examine Psalm 14, a Psalm of Lament written by King David when he was at a difficult point in his life; a time when he looked around and he… Read more

Hidden Gems, Part Two:  The Book of Philemon This week, we continue our occasional communion week series on some of the lesser-known scriptures in our Bible, the Hidden Gems so to speak.  In this installment, we look at the entirety of the Book of Philemon, the shortest Epistle written by the Apostle Paul.  In this… Read more

The Race Marked Out for Us, The Book of Hebrews: Part Four – Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow Hebrews 13:1-8 and 15-16 This week, we conclude our monthlong study of the anonymous letter that we today know as the Book of Hebrews. In our scripture today, this nearly 2000-year-old sermon ends the way that all messages… Read more

The Book of Hebrews: The Race Marked Out for Us , Part Three – Two Mountains Hebrews 12:18-29 This week, we continue our study of the Book of Hebrews, and we use God’s Holy Word to answer some big questions about the nature of the church and what it means to call ourselves Christians in… Read more