October 7, 2018 Serve Like Jesus
What does serving like Jesus look like?
My granddaughter Annie has a servant's heart. She's four years old and always wants to make sure that everyone around her is okay. I've never noticed her washing her little brother's feet, but I think she wouldn't hesitant if asked.
In John's gospel account of Jesus washing his disciple's feet, Jesus doesn't hesitate to serve Peter by washing his feet. While the disciples are still stunned and confused, Jesus instructs them that this is not just an isolated incident, a gimmick, or an attention-getting action. Serving each other is a practice that they are to adopt as a rule in their new faith community.
The world is filled with people for whom a servant's heart comes naturally. I'm not sure why some people seem to have a servant's heart from the moment they are born, nor why some are so disinterested in caring for the needs of the people around them.
But I do know this. Everything I read in the Gospel accounts (including this Sunday's passage from John 13:1-17), reminds me that I must have a servant's heart if I'm going to be a disciple of Jesus .
Perhaps you are one of those for whom serving doesn't come naturally. You've never had that impulse and pull to put others first. You've found it hard to sacrifice time and energy to serve victims of natural disasters. You don't really like the inconvenience of holding a door open for someone as they enter a store; or mowing the grass for the elderly couple next door; or helping your spouse out by taking over their chores for awhile.
But Jesus can help you. His Spirit, the Spirit he promises to all who trust in him, is a Spirit of service. Through His Spirit he will teach you and lead you into the joy of serving others, a joy that comes not out of recognition or rewards, but because you feel Christ's presence every time you serve.
Grace and peace, Pastor Bob
John 13:1-17
- Oct 7, 2018Serve Like Jesus
Serve Like Jesus
October 7, 2018 Serve Like Jesus
What does serving like Jesus look like?
My granddaughter Annie has a servant's heart. She's four years old and always wants to make sure that everyone around her is okay. I've never noticed her washing her little brother's feet, but I think she wouldn't hesitant if asked.
In John's gospel account of Jesus washing his disciple's feet, Jesus doesn't hesitate to serve Peter by washing his feet. While the disciples are still stunned and confused, Jesus instructs them that this is not just an isolated incident, a gimmick, or an attention-getting action. Serving each other is a practice that they are to adopt as a rule in their new faith community.
The world is filled with people for whom a servant's heart comes naturally. I'm not sure why some people seem to have a servant's heart from the moment they are born, nor why some are so disinterested in caring for the needs of the people around them.
But I do know this. Everything I read in the Gospel accounts (including this Sunday's passage from John 13:1-17), reminds me that I must have a servant's heart if I'm going to be a disciple of Jesus .
Perhaps you are one of those for whom serving doesn't come naturally. You've never had that impulse and pull to put others first. You've found it hard to sacrifice time and energy to serve victims of natural disasters. You don't really like the inconvenience of holding a door open for someone as they enter a store; or mowing the grass for the elderly couple next door; or helping your spouse out by taking over their chores for awhile.
But Jesus can help you. His Spirit, the Spirit he promises to all who trust in him, is a Spirit of service. Through His Spirit he will teach you and lead you into the joy of serving others, a joy that comes not out of recognition or rewards, but because you feel Christ's presence every time you serve.
Grace and peace, Pastor Bob
John 13:1-17
- Sep 30, 2018How Much Is Your Life Worth?
How Much Is Your Life Worth?
September 30, 2018 How Much Is Your Life Worth?
How Much Is My Life Worth?
As I prepare for this Sunday's sermon, I am reminded of how easy it is to wander away from life's fundamental truths as taught by Jesus. Take the teachings of Jesus concerning the worship of stuff. You know... stuff. The things that seem so important when we first purchase them but now lie buried in the basement with little hope of resurrection. The job that was a dream until it turned into a nightmare. The money we set aside for those rainy days that never came. The investments and savings that are created more out of our fears and insecurities than reality.
Stuff. We convince ourselves that the more we have, the happier we'll be. We convince ourselves that with the black magic of plastic cards we can afford every impulse of our hearts. We travel to places that will fill the emptiness of our lives. We escape from the boredom of reality in the dim light of a movie theater. We buy boats and cars and houses seeking that fleeting sense of satisfaction that we're just a little bit more successful than our neighbors.
Even entire churches can get caught up in obsessing over buildings and financial security and "one-upping" the churches around them!
Jesus had a lot to say about stuff and the ways in which we trade the gift of life for meaningless pursuits. He asked "What does it profit a man if he gain the whole world but lose his own soul (Mark 8:36)?" Every second of labor, every moment of leisure, every day spent in pointless endeavors - Jesus sees as a deadly danger to our souls.
How much is your life worth? Is your soul worth the price of the pursuits you've chosen? We'll dive into these questions this Sunday morning.
Grace and peace, Pastor Bob
Matthew 19:16-30
- Sep 23, 2018Forgiveness the Jesus Way
Forgiveness the Jesus Way
September 23, 2018 Forgiveness the Jesus Way – Rodney Bussard
The Spirit Within Us
Have you ever thought about the type of spirit that lives within you? Is it a spirit that builds up or tears down? Is it a spirit that is holy in love for others or a spirit of jealousy and spitefulness?
It is so easy to cultivate a judgmental spirit. We assume the worst about others (but not necessarily about ourselves) and we make sure the people around us hear our complaints!
Jesus had an encouraging spirit—just read the Gospel of John and his words of life and hope even as he faces the crucible of judgment and death.
He was frequently targeted by "the destructive spirit of this world” that unfairly judges and condemns the innocent and righteous. Frequently we find in the Gospel accounts that:
If Jesus associated with sinners,
he was condemned as unclean, a glutton, and a drunkard.
If Jesus forgave sins,
he was condemned as a usurper of God’s authority to forgive sins.
If Jesus mercifully healed on the Sabbath,
he was condemned as a lawbreaker.
In I Thessalonians 5:11 we are told to "encourage one another and build each other up.” The next time you are tempted to speak ill of another, consider whether it is the encouraging Spirit of Jesus or the destructive spirit of this world that is controlling your words.
Grace and peace, Pastor Bob
Matthew 18:21-25
- Sep 9, 2018Be Holy the Jesus Way
Be Holy the Jesus Way
September 9, 2018 Be Holy the Jesus Way
This Sunday's sermon "Be Holy the Jesus Way" is the second in our new sermon series on living "The Jesus Way":
All your life you've probably heard that Jesus was perfect. More than likely you assumed his perfection was akin to bowling a perfect 300, the result of some arbitrary exam administered by Satan in which he "knocked all the pins down"?
Or was his perfection far deeper than that - a quality of Spirit that cannot be measured or comprehended by the human mind or soul?
What did Jesus mean when he said that we must be perfect like our Father in Heaven? How does this perfection relate to our salvation?
If you've ever struggled with the guilt of sin and the call to be holy, I hope you'll join us at VUMC this Sunday as we dig into God's Holy Word and the call of Jesus to seek the holiness of God's Kingdom.
Grace and peace, Pastor Bob
Matthew 5:38-48
- Sep 2, 2018Love the Jesus Way
Love the Jesus Way
September 2, 2018 Love the Jesus Way
This Sunday's sermon "Love the Jesus Way" is the first in our new six-week sermon series:I absolutely believe that only Jesus can show us how to love - really love. Love is perhaps the most misused, abused, and overused word in the English language. Too often, as a fallen human being, I love things and I love people only because they serve my unmet needs; make me feel good about myself; help me fill the empty spots in my life.
In other words, my love is almost always a narcissistic self-love.
Jesus, however, taught and demonstrated a love that was selfless. Can I really love as Jesus loved? Come this Sunday morning as we unwrap the keys to loving the Jesus way.
Grace and peace, Pastor Bob
John 15:9-17