Posts from September 2011

Toward Sunday

Our worship this Sunday will be rooted in 2 Corinthians 8.1-15. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians in chapter 8 was not a scolding, but a joyful vision of God’s abundant love and an invitation into our freedom to be generous.  According to the opening lines in this chapter, the churches in Macedonia were growing deeply in faith and giving generously in response to God’s love. As part of our series on growing more deeply in faith, we are inviting you to…

Goals for Rooting Our Lives in Grace

In worship tomorrow morning we will be invited to set some goals for ourselves regarding rooting our lives more deeply in Grace. What goals could you imagine setting for yourself for the coming year?   Example:  As a person who seeks to be rooted in Grace, I want to (goal) so that (reason).

Wideness in God’s Mercy

We will reflect this week in worship on how we might root our lives more deeply in Grace.  We’ll sing together one of the historic hymns of our church, There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy. Here are the lyrics to the three verses we’ll be singing: United Methodist Hymnal #121 Words by Frederick W. Faber, 1854 Music by Lizzie S. Tourjee, 1877 There’s a wideness in God’s mercy like the wideness of the sea; there’s a kindness in God’s justice, which…

The Christ Hymn

Carol Howard Merritt writes, Philippians 2 reminds us in beautiful poetry that Jesus took the form of a servant. In his humanity and humility, he walked beside us, even to the point of death. Because of this, we know that nothing can separate us from that divine love in Jesus Christ.  Followers of Jesus have often called this selection from Philippians “the Christ hymn,” on the supposition that Paul is quoting at least in part a very early hymn from the…

Toward Sunday

Listen to last Sunday’s message on our podcast here.  Our worship this Sunday will be rooted in Philippians 2.1-13.  As a community of faith, we seek to root our lives in this Grace in the following ways: public worship of God ministry of the Word (preaching or witnessing) holy communion family and private prayer searching the Scriptures fasting and abstinence Which practices are most meaningful for you at this point in your journey?  Is there a practice you would like…

Toward Sunday

  Our worship this Sunday on Measuring Depth will be rooted in Matthew 20.1-16.   A parable is essentially an elaborate allegory. We are invited to see ourselves in the parables, and then apply them to ourselves.  I wonder where you see yourself in the parable of the laborers in the vineyard?     Our worship series will invite us to reflect on growing deeper in our faith lives.  Matt’s message will focus this Sunday on how we measure growth in the…

Toward Sunday

Our worship this Sunday, September 4, will be rooted in the celebration of our Vocations in recognition of Labor Day.  We’ll return to the donut plans we reflected upon a few months ago in worship.  Antonio Garza (a local farmer) and Greg Eddy (union organizer and activist for California educators) will witness to their faith as they reflect on their vocations. Follow this link to learn more about the United Methodist Church view on Labor and Labor Unions. Consider these questions as you prepare…
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