Elizabeth Snader, Director of Children and Youth Ministries continued the Love Rebooted series. Her topic was United in Christ based on Scriptures Ephesians 4:1-7 and Ephesians 4:11-16. This week Elizabeth preached on a portion of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians where he focuses on unity. Paul reminds us all of our call from God and that we are one through Christ and that because of our very nature of being created by God, we are called to be united.

Rev. Dr. Catharine Guest preached on Loving All based on Exodus 20:12-17 and Matthew 22:39-40. The Ten Commandments - all about relationship - the first four - about our relationship with God - the last six about our relationship with the rest of the world. We try to obey the last six just as much as we try to obey the first four - and are so proud when we can check off boxes of our own law keeping - we've got this thing nailed! And even if we slip, surely our minor infractions are so much less than the things other people do! How often do we focus on the sins of others as greater than our own? How often do we try to keep judgment out there so that no one will judge us? And Christ says "love your neighbor as you love yourself' that is the second commandment! Do we love all? What does that even mean? Video of the Common Ground service is also available.

This Sunday, February 3rd, we welcomed our guest preacher, Rev. Drew Ensz, who preached on "What the World Needs Now." The scriptures were 1 Corinthians 13:1-7 and 1 Corinthians 13:8-13 Drew is the Ministry Director of Arise Campus Ministry which is the United Methodist campus ministry at George Mason University. Drew grew up around the Baltimore area. He graduated from Virginia Tech in 2006 with a major in Sociology and a minor in Religious Studies. He attended Eastern Mennonite Seminary and graduated in 2014. He has worked as a youth director for eight years in northern Virginia. He was ordained in 2018 in the United Methodist Church. In 2009 he met his lovely wife, Catie. They have three children, Josiah, Benjamin and Anna. Video of the Common Ground service is also available.

Rule of law - traffic laws - all kinds of rules and regulations! What good are they - just seems everyone wants to steal our joy. More often than not rules get expanded with corollaries and amendments and personality preference - so expanded and changed that the original intent gets lost in the shuffle - so......with all the rules in the scripture - and with some seeming so bizarre - how do we know what is true law - and what makes them important ... or not ... to us today?

Rev. Dr. Catharine Guest preached on Love Rebooted: In the Beginning…..and the New Beginning based on scriptures Genesis 1:26-31, Jeremiah 31:3, and John 3:16-17. in the beginning - God's intended creation of humankind for loving relationship with the creator and with each other was pronounced very good.....but then....things changed - and creation needed a reboot - and Christ came to live among us to show us how to live - seems we need another reboot - what do you think?

Epiphany - the day we celebrate the divine revelation of Christ to those beyond the Jewish nation. We think of Epiphany as the day we remember the coming of the wise men to worship the Christ child and we think immediately of camels, the star, and strange gifts - but is that all there is to the account? Of course not! There is so much more - join us Sunday as we consider how the movers and shakers in the 1st century CE responded to the heavenly sign of the presence of the Son of God among us. How would we respond? How DO we respond?

Rev. Dr. Catharine Guest preached on Missed Opportunity based on scriptures Luke 2:4-7 and Isaiah 55:6-12

Joseph is such an underrated person in the life of Christ - but Joseph sacrificed it all to guard the light that is Christ in a world at war with itself - all that he had, all that he was - all given to the Lord of Lord's and King of Kings - what does Joseph have to say to us this Advent season?

Mary, the one chosen to carry the Son of God, the Light of the world. What implications did saying 'yes' to the angel of God have on her life? So often it seems that it was such an easy thing to be the vessel of light in the world, but was it?

Darkness and Light - the prevailing theme of Advent. Always been interesting to me how oftentimes just a bit of light in a dark room - even the pinpoint of a cell phone screen can help me to see in the middle of the darkest night as I get my bearings if I need to get up and check out the sounds that go bump in the night. Without light to lessen the darkness we are immobilized because we don't want to run into anything - don't want to trip over anything. Advent is all about the coming of the Light - the Light that gives light to the world - a light that is to be carried into the world by the torch bearers - know of any torch bearers.....ever been a torch bearer?  

Sin is troubling - either being the one doing the sinning or the one sinned against. Forgiveness is necessary - but hard. Yet, even when we are forgiven do we receive the gift? Even when we forgive, do we release the gift - to truly forgive is a God thing.....with God-sized outcomes..... The scriptures were Nehemiah 2:17-18, 6:15-16, 8:1 and Nehemiah 8:2-3, 5-12.

What happens when it all comes together? When we come to that place when our lives become an offering? All that we have - all that we are - what happens then? The scriptures were Exodus 39:32-43 and Exodus 40:16-34.

We all are willing to sacrifice in order to get something that is important to us. We all are willing to sacrifice everything for those we love. So when it comes to our Lord are we willing to sacrifice in order to serve Him?

Any God sightings in your daily living? Where have you seen God lately? AND have you shared these experiences with others - what’s your witness like? It matters! The scriptures were Acts 3:1-10 and Acts 3:11-16. A video of this sermon from the Common Ground service is available on PenderUMC.org

Sticks and stones can break our bones but words can never hurt us - the rhyme of childhood which is incredibly misleading! We live in a culture of warring words that leave hurts and scars far more painful than any stick or stone we might be able to throw - how can we be better stewards of the words we use?

Gifts! Can we talk about this? We investigated the norm of life today and our understanding of how things are valued and just where God fits into the picture. The scriptures were Ecclesiastes 5:10 and Luke 12:15

What do you find joy in doing? In what things do you excel? These are the things defined as our God-given talents - the skills God has blessed us with as we go about our lives in the world. Once we have identified those talents, the question becomes WHY has God given us these talents? For ourselves and our own pleasure....or for something more? The 'something more' is the place of risk - what does that risk entail? ....... 

Time – a vanishing commodity – we never seem to have enough of it – and we more often than not have little to show for the time we have. Our priorities are constantly shifting, and we always seem to be playing catch up – trying to live into our plans – trying to make the best of our time……and suddenly, it’s gone – vanished. What if we could press a pause button – and allowed God to order our time – what would life look like then?

God has called us to so many things - so many opportunities to serve - so many opportunities to share the truth of Christ with all others - and we want to do just that - it's exciting - show us how, Lord! But the reaction from others is often - we're just people....these opportunities are too much for us to tackle! Such different responses to Christ's words to GO - how do we respond .... and what is the basis for our response.....?

We do so many things for God’s glory - and serving God gives us such joy in so many ways - but what if God calls us into new opportunities in new places - are we flexible enough to go? Are we ready to serve whenever and wherever? The scripture was James 2:14-26 A video of this sermon from the Common Ground service is available on PenderUMC.org

We will be looking at the story of the woman who touched Jesus’ robe and how her courageous faith can be an inspiration to us as we are living lives of faith. Do we have times in our lives when we must step out in faith even if it is uncomfortable or different? How can we as a community of faith be courageous in our faith?

When you think of the mission of the church, what is the first thing you think of? Which people, which place? Our first mission field may surprise you – it is closer than you might think! The amazing thing is, that if we are in mission to this particular group, the impact we can make for God in the world is overwhelming! It takes all of us lovingly serving together – not just some of us – but all of us in order for this transformation to take place – want to know who, what, when and where?

When you think of the mission of the church, what is the first thing you think of? Which people, which place? Our first mission field may surprise you – it is closer than you might think! The amazing thing is, that if we are in mission to this particular group, the impact we can make for God in the world is overwhelming! It takes all of us lovingly serving together – not just some of us – but all of us in order for this transformation to take place – want to know who, what, when and where?

By following Jesus and reaching out to others, we seek God’s transformation of ourselves and our world. This is our vision statement at Pender – but where do we each fit in? How can God use us as part of this vision – what is our mission as individuals and as the Body called for God’s purpose in the sharing of our gifts for the transformation of the world…..we may not think we have much to offer – we may not think we have many gifts – we may not think that we are worthy of being used by God in any significant way – that was THEN perhaps – in the time before today – indeed perhaps in the time leading right up to today…..but let me remind you of Simon Peter, that disciple on whose faith Christ would build His church. Peter knows EXACTLY how such thinking caught up in who we were and how we lived THEN can threaten to define us – but what about NOW? Peter came to his own answer – an answer we, too, should hear and appropriate for our own lives.

Ever feel that you have been trying so hard to live a life of blessing in the midst of hardship and sadness – so hard to answer God’s call on your life no matter what obstacles arise and things – but you just never seem to get a break? Hard not to check out isn’t it? Hard not to go back to the way things used to be– life seemed so easy then (even when we know it wasn’t!) How do we respond in the midst of the profound challenges and griefs of life? Do we give up or hear the call to joy in spite of it all? We can learn a lot from Moses and Miriam and their responses to the overwhelming challenges to their lives lived in God’s call. Hope you can join us on Sunday as we spend time in God’s word together – and just a hint…..never let them steal your JOY!

When people are preparing to die to their lives in this world, they often speak their most important words and often take very significant actions – all those things they want us to remember when they are no longer with them. That night in the upper room as Christ and His disciples ate their last meal together this side of the cross, John 13 reminds us of this observation – “Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.” How did He love them? We know that it was by instituting a new covenant through the bread of life and the cup of salvation – but something most profound came even before this. Something Christ wanted His followers to remember and do? Know what it was? What implication does this act have on our lives if we are true followers of the One true Lord? A video of this sermon from the Common Ground service is available on PenderUMC.org

Courage is not the absence of fear, it is the ability to act in the presence of fear.’ Sometimes we are called by God in ways that might make us afraid – call us to change our mind – from the fear we have of what will happen when others find out we are wrong about something we were so sure of, to the fear of what will happen to us if we unreasonably put ourselves in a place of danger just because we sense that God is calling us to GO. When has God called you to do something, to go somewhere, and it just rocked your world with fear? In those times, the only thing to be sure of is the love of God that will go with you. After all, perfect love casts out all fear and our Lord’s love is just that - perfect!    Listen as we considered the lives of two men who had the courage to overcome their fear and serve God in mighty ways! The scripture was Acts 9:1-19

Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) was a prominent Protestant pastor who emerged as an outspoken public foe of Adolf Hitler and spent the last seven years of Nazi rule in concentration camps. His most memorable quote is a good reflection point as we consider the call to stand as spelled out in this week’s sermon from the book of Esther.   First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—  Because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—  Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.   Where is God calling us to stand? The scripture was Esther 4:1-14

The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you;I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran.   He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there." The scripture was Genesis 12:1-5

Did you know that even though God calls us each to different opportunities within our lives, each and every one of us is initially born to live out the ‘first call.’ It is a call that is sorely needed in our world – now like never before. It is a call that was ‘in the beginning’ and continues on today and into the future. What is this first call? How are we answering this call in the living of our lives? Come and join us for worship as we consider the ‘first call’ – the grounding of our legacy of the past and the framework of our hope for the future.