Posts from November 2013

Advent comes.

The Advent of God is upon us,  the season of preparing for  the mystery of Christmas when God comes into our world.  We invite you on to journey the way of Advent with us as we pause to: Walk, turn, imagine, love.   We begin tomorrow.

Give Thanks.

“To those who have hunger, give bread.  To those who have bread, give hunger for justice.”

Reaching In Love

We will join thousands of people tomorrow as we reach in love to feed others.  The yearly Run To Feed the Hungry in Sacramento is the largest in the nation according to a piece we heard on NPR this week.  Close to 30,000 will run, walk, stroll and dance by The Table at Central UMC on Thanksgiving morning.  If you would like to join our team you may still sign up here.  Meet at the church by 8 a.m.  If…

Walk

In a blog post commentary on our Isaiah text this week, Anathea Portier-Young writes: Light is life (Job 17:1; 18:5, 18; 33:28, 30), goodness (Job 30:26), joy (Psalm 97:11), revelation and truth (Job 12:22; Psalm 43:3). It is linked with justice and righteousness (Isaiah 59:9) and the promise of salvation (Isaiah 49:6) and healing (Isaiah 58:8). Light is also what makes it possible to follow a path…What a simple summons then, to walk in the Lord’s light, in divine glory,…

Toward Sunday

We begin a four-week worship series this Sunday called The Advent Way.  Our worship series will invite reflection on how the Advent way prepares us for the beauty and mystery of Christmas. Worship will be rooted in the book of Isaiah and Matthew’s Gospel. A note on Advent from A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God by Norman Shawchuck & Rueben P Job:  Advent marks the beginning of the church year and lays before us the pathway of…

All Means All

Central United Methodist Church began in 1850 as just the fourth church to form in Sacramento. The historic congregation had declined and was on the brink of closure in 2009 when a few young families began to imagine how God might be calling us to be church differently. The Table at Central UMC was born as a few folks returned to the roots of our Wesleyan tradition by gathering in small groups, called Kitchen Tables, to watch over one another…

Toward Sunday

This week we wrap up our worship series on the Gospel of Luke.  We reflected on the significance of the cross in a worship series called Cross Purposes (March/April of 2011). In preparation for this week’s worship, you might want to listen to some of the messages from our series on Cross Purposes (find and listen to our podcast here). We will highlight these passages in worship: Week 1  November 10:  Luke 4.14-9.50  Overview.  The Jesus of the Gospel of Luke. Week 2 …

The Jesus in Luke

Frederick Buechner writing about the Gospel of Luke: “…there’s the parable of the Prodigal Son, the account of the whore who washed Jesus’s feet and dried them with her hair, and the scrap of conversation Jesus had with one of the two crooks who was crucified with him.  Smelling of pig and cheap gin, the prodigal comes home bleary-eyed and dead broke, but his father’s so glad to see him anyway that he almost falls on his face.  Jesus tells…

Toward Sunday

 This week we continue our worship series on the Gospel of Luke as we consider the ministry of Jesus.    “The Jesus of Luke is an enormously powerful figure…he comes on the scene as a prophet straight out of the Hebrew Bible. At his first appearance in his hometown synagogue he quotes the prophet Isaiah and it’s the passage that talks about freeing those who are oppressed and letting those who are blind see. Jesus is a powerful figure and…

Toward Sunday

This week we begin a new 3 week worship series on the Gospel of Luke.  During this series we will give a brief overview of the Gospel of Luke and wonder together about the implications of the Gospel for the times and circumstances in which we live. “Each of the Gospels presents the story of Jesus in a different way, and much of their richness is lost if one tries to harmonize them into one consistent account….The Lukan Jesus is…

How Deep?

  Tomorrow morning we gather to make our Deep Commitments to God and one another for the coming year.  We make, remember and renew these each year.  By completing the Deep Card and setting goals for ourselves in each of the areas, we renew our commitment to God and one another to go deeper in our faith and life together. How do you hope to root your life in Grace in the coming year? Consider setting a specific goal, or…

How Deep do we long to go?

How Deep do we long to go?  The waters ahead are not easy to navigate.  Even Jesus spent time trying to stay in love with God through this struggle.  Read for yourself.  And then consider the words of the Poet below.  How Deep? Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, “If you…
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