Posts from February 2012

Our worship series, Broken Open, continues this Sunday with Agape (Dave Scherer) joining us to lead worship.  Dave will share his prophetic music and help us to reflect on how God breaks us open into costly discipleship.  Join us Sunday at 10:30 am in the Sanctuary of Central UMC (5265 H Street | Sacramento, CA  95819).

We will hear some of Mother Theresa’s story in worship on Sunday, February 26.  Mother Theresa experienced a “dark night of the soul” as she rooted her life in Grace.  She was both broken open by experiences of God’s absence in her life.  The experiences of God’s absence were formational to her growing in faith. Mother Theresa followed Jesus to the cross and found a life of absolute generosity to those in need. Mother Theresa found both challenge and comfort in the…

  Lent is a season of preparation and accompaniment as we journey with Jesus toward the cross.  Our Lenten series is called Broken Open.  Jesus felt God’s absence on the cross. He cried out in agony, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  It may be tempting to turn away, but we will courageously embrace the reality of forsakenness on the cross through our worship series.  We will stand in the tragic gap with Jesus where he is…

Jesus felt God’s absence on the cross. He cried out in agony, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” We will journey with Jesus toward the cross this Lent.  It may be tempting to turn away, but we will courageously embrace the reality of forsakenness on the cross through our worship series. We will stand in the tragic gap with Jesus. A new series at The Table begins on Ash Wednesday, February 22 7-8 p.m. Broken Open.  Sundays, February…

Will you come and follow me if I but call your name?   Will you go where you don’t know and never be the same? Will you let my love be shown?  Will you let my name be known? Will you let my life be grown in you and you in me? (From the song “The Summons” by John Bell)

We conclude our four-week worship series, Leadership | Follow Me, this Sunday. The series has invited reflection on the current cultural focus on Leadership and the call of Christians to Followership. We will focus this week on the Jesus paradox, “Christians lead by following” as we return to the Gospel of Mark and read a passage in which Jesus heals a man with leprosy.  You may read the passage here: Mark 1. 40-45 “The man’s ailment likely required him to…

Paul went out of his way to ensure the Good News of Jesus could be heard by all people.  He did not want his own “politics” and “personality” to prevent others from dancing with Jesus.   Take a few moments to think about this:  When you go dancing where do you go and who do you, if anyone, take with you?  Are you part of a Square Dancing Club?  Do your prefer Faces in Midtown? Do you stick with school dances?  Maybe…

We continue our four-week worship series, Leadership | Follow Me, this Sunday. The series invites reflection on the current cultural focus on leadership and the call of Christians to follow. This week we focus on what it means to “Follow Followers.”  You may want to view the video we have been seeing in worship.  This week pay special attention to the final few moments when you see the crowds join the dance. Here is a link to the video (Leadership…

Twitter only knows two categories: who are you following, and who are your followers. Twitter’s categorical imperative is one of followership, not leadership. Jesus’ category is “leader.” My fundamental category is “follower.” Even when Jesus calls me up to the front of the line, I still lead “from behind.” For the last fifty years the church has made a fetish of a word that is hard to find even once in the New Testament (“leader”) and has ignored a word…