This week we continue our sermon series on “How to Be a Christian in 7 Easy Steps.” Over the course of these remaining weeks, we will explore the core of our faith in what I hope will be an empowering, uplifting, and inclusive way of looking at our Christian theology. As a congregation that is both theologically and socially progressive, this will be an exploration that seeks to broaden our understanding of God’s unending love rather than restricting our ideology to a select few.
One of the things I love about The United Methodist Church is our “connectional” nature. We understand that we are not on this faith journey alone, and we do all we can in collaboration and cooperation while still leaving room for a diversity of backgrounds and ideations.
A colleague of mine once described The United Methodist Church as the largest multi-site church in the world. I like it! We can do more together than we can when we are alone, and I believe this highlights a significant way that we can observe and understand God’s powerful presence and work in this world.
John 1:1-15
1In the beginning was the Word
and the Word was with God
and the Word was God.2The Word was with God in the beginning.
3Everything came into being through the Word,
and without the Word
nothing came into being.What came into being
4through the Word was life,
and the life was the light for all people.5The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness doesn’t extinguish the light.6A man named John was sent from God. 7He came as a witness to testify concerning the light, so that through him everyone would believe in the light. 8He himself wasn’t the light, but his mission was to testify concerning the light.
9The true light that shines on all people
was coming into the world.10The light was in the world,
and the world came into being through the light,
but the world didn’t recognize the light.11The light came to his own people,
and his own people didn’t welcome him.12But those who did welcome him,
those who believed in his name,
he authorized to become God’s children,
13born not from blood
nor from human desire or passion,
but born from God.14The Word became flesh
and made his home among us.We have seen his glory,
glory like that of a father’s only son,
full of grace and truth.15John testified about him, crying out, “This is the one of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is greater than me because he existed before me.’”
Consider these questions:
- Have you ever seen God’s work happening before your eyes?
- In your experience, how does God most often work in the world?
- Have you ever known God to work through you? What was it like?
Post-Sermon Update on Jan. 31
If you were able to be present in worship this past Sunday, you were able to experience our message in musical form. Sadly, a technical failure prevents us from sharing the sermon audio this week. A walk-through of the message is available here.
After hearing this musical message or reading through the walk-through, how can you be more open to God’s work in different ways?
How can you be open to God’s voice in different ways? How can you be open to God’s inspiration in different ways?
How can you receive and rely on God’s strength to work beyond your own means?
