Posts by Bob Rhodes (Page 5)

Each year, we consider the overarching stewardship–the ways we are spiritually inspired caretakers–of this church and this faith community. We are guided in this conversation over the month of October by the United Methodist membership vows: to support the ministries of the Church with our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, and our witness. We continue with presence and I invite you to notice that we’re heading into the second week of our stewardship series and haven’t yet asked for your…

Each year, we consider the overarching stewardship–the ways we are spiritually inspired caretakers–of this church and this faith community. We are guided in this conversation over the month of October by the United Methodist membership vows: to support the ministries of the Church with our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, and our witness. We begin with prayer because there can be no Stewardship without first being in conversation with God. Prayer can be a quiet and personal thing, and prayer…

This is the last week of our worship series “Inspired” based on the book Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again by Rachel Held Evans. Those who wish may purchase the book, and it’s also available in the LJUMC library. The letters from the Apostle Paul are our earliest glimpses into the early Christian church. Far from the narratives of the Gospels and Acts, these letters are directed to various faith communities who had expanded and…

We are nearing the end of our worship series “Inspired” based on the book Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again by Rachel Held Evans. Those who wish may purchase the book, and it’s also available in the LJUMC library. Some of the loudest critiques from our non-theist friends about sacred Christian texts have to do with the more extraordinary and and even super-natural stories. Did Moses really save diverse wildlife in an enormous ark during…

We are nearing the end of our worship series “Inspired” based on the book Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again by Rachel Held Evans. Those who wish may purchase the book, and it’s also available in the LJUMC library. As United Methodists and Christians, I think it’s a safe assumption that the Gospel stories hold particular significance for us. This is the Gospel, the Good News! In these stories are the proclamations that we are…

We continue our new worship series “Inspired” based on the book Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again by Rachel Held Evans. Those who wish may purchase the book, and it’s also available in the LJUMC library. It is my hope that people of faith regularly read from our sacred texts. We have shared various approaches to regular reading as a part of this congregation, and some of the resources can be found here. For any…

This week we continue our new worship series “Inspired” based on the book Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again by Rachel Held Evans. Those who wish may purchase the book, and it’s also available in the LJUMC library. It is surely safe to say that we all wish for deliverance from something. For some of us we may wish for deliverance from the temptation of sweets or carb-heavy foods. Others may wish for deliverance from…

This week we conclude our Worship series on the Apostle’s Creed called “We Believe.” During this time, we have been exploring one of the most common affirmations of faith, originating from some of the earliest Christians. This week as we conclude our Worship series, we end by claiming what we believe when our life in this world comes to an end. Surely every person has moments in their lives when they wonder what happens next. Whether we are Christians who…

This week we move into the second half of our Worship series on the Apostle’s Creed called “We Believe.” During this time, we have been exploring one of the most common affirmations of faith, originating from some of the earliest Christians. The “communion of saints” uses language that may seem unfamiliar to many ears, certainly those who have not been a part of a church tradition for most of their lives. We might understand this as an expression of community,…

This week we continue our Worship series on the Apostle’s Creed called “We Believe.” During this time, we explore one of the most common affirmations of faith, originating from some of the earliest Christians. This third week we consider God’s Holy Spirit. The words in Hebrew and Greek for spirit (ruach and pneuma respectively) generally have more than one additional meaning including breath, air, and wind. Consider, then, that it is God’s Spirit that is close enough to be the…

This week we continue our Worship series on the Apostle’s Creed called “We Believe.” During this time, we explore one of the most common affirmations of faith, originating from some of the earliest Christians. Our second week jumps into the absolute core of Christianity in the exploration of the history and personhood of Jesus of Nazareth. The creed makes a litany of statements that highlight classic Christian theology. It should be noted that the portrayal of Jesus in the Gospels…

This week we begin a new sermon series on the Apostle’s Creed called “We Believe.” During this time, we will explore one of the most common affirmations of faith, originating from some of the earliest Christians. Our first week focuses appropriately on God, named in the Apostle’s Creed as The Father Almighty and as the creator of Heaven and Earth. In these few words, we encompass not just the Christian almighty, but the same God of our Jewish and Muslim…