Posts by Bob Rhodes (Page 6)

In the weeks after Christmas, we are in the season of Epiphany. This begins with the arrival of the Magi which we consider the first glimpse of God’s incarnation to the world. This week concludes this series as we enter into the season of Lent. This week is Transfiguration Sunday. This is an important time in Jesus’ ministry as he—as the saying goes—turns his face to Jerusalem. Jesus begins to focus his time and energy on his final teachings and…

In the weeks after Christmas, we are in the season of Epiphany. This begins with the arrival of the Magi which we consider the first glimpse of God’s incarnation to the world. As we continue the Sermon on the Mount from the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus pushes even more overtly against the common cultural practices—practices that remain today. He reminds us that our very thoughts are worthy of our consideration and evaluation. I suggest that what Jesus is getting at…

In the weeks after Christmas, we are in the season of Epiphany. This begins with the arrival of the Magi which we consider the first glimpse of God’s incarnation to the world. As we continue our series, we move from Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth to Matthew’s Gospel, the Sermon on the Mount, and (as it’s commonly known) the Beatitudes. In his sermon, Jesus pushes against the common wisdom of both the past and present in naming those…

In the weeks after Christmas, we are in the season of Epiphany. This begins with the arrival of the Magi which we consider the first glimpse of God’s incarnation to the world. As we continue this series, we move from Paul’s beautiful affirmation of the church community in Corinth and into his gentle reminder that they still have work to do. Even in naming that these faithful Christians have all the gifts necessary to do the work of the church,…

In the weeks after Christmas, we are in the season of Epiphany. This begins with the arrival of the Magi which we consider the first glimpse of God’s incarnation to the world. Paul’s opening to his first letter to the church in Corinth begins with effusive affirmation. Paul reminds the faithful members of the community that they are good enough, smart enough, and worthy (and our SNL fans will see a fun reference here). As the church, we too may…

In the weeks after Christmas, we are in the season of Epiphany. This begins with the arrival of the Magi which we consider the first glimpse of God’s incarnation to the world. This first week of our series feels like the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry. John the Baptist has been proclaiming the forgiveness of sins in baptism, and Jesus arrives to be baptized as well. This baptismal tradition continues today, and in the United Methodist tradition we consider this…

This Advent season, we prepare our hearts for Christmas with a series guided by Dr. Amy-Jill Levine’s Light of the World: A Beginner’s Guide to Advent. This week concludes our Advent series and looks forward to our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services. Please invite family, neighbors, and friends to join in any and all of our vibrant Worship services! As we look forward to these, we continue the story of Advent with a change. The previous three weeks have…

This Advent season, we prepare our hearts for Christmas with a series guided by Dr. Amy-Jill Levine’s Light of the World: A Beginner’s Guide to Advent. We place a great deal of value on traditions. We discussed this some in this series’ opening message on Elizabeth and Zechariah. Very often there is good reason for tradition! And sometimes it’s helpful to remember what is tradition and what may be behind a tradition. This is not to dishonor a tradition, but…

This Thanksgiving Sunday begins our Advent season as we prepare our hearts for Christmas and remember the light of Christ in our lives. We begin with Elizabeth and Zechariah, and an angel making an unexpected prediction. The story is familiar to us as we remember telling upon telling of this story, as we remember Christmas after Christmas. The tradition of storytelling is ancient. We all have family stories and Christmas traditions. Perhaps there’s a family recipe or a special gathering…

In these last few weeks of the liturgical year, we journey through Luke’s Gospel and seek the face of Jesus. This is the last Sunday of the Liturgical Year and we will celebrate Christ the King Sunday. What does it mean to speak of the Christ who reigns, or Christ the king? I believe that Jesus redefines what it means to be king. The one who reigns over us is the one who was tried as a criminal, who was…

In these last few weeks of the liturgical year, we journey through Luke’s Gospel and seek the face of Jesus. What are you distracted by? That’s a question underlying our text this week. What is it that draws your attention away from your call to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world? This is not to say that followers of Jesus aren’t allowed to enjoy the beauty and wonder that this world has to offer. Indeed,…

In these last few weeks of the liturgical year, we journey through Luke’s Gospel and seek the face of Jesus. This week’s reading may be familiar as a group of religious leaders come to Jesus with a question about resurrection. They come with their own beliefs (or in this case non-beliefs) about resurrection, and we might imagine the difficulty of how to appropriately respond. This feels like an adversarial conversation; at least from one side of it. But perhaps one…