The Easter message Rev. Dr. Catharine Guest preached on was "What Does This All Mean?" based on Luke 24:1-12 and Acts 10:34-43. In the midst of it all, Christ is Lord. Christ is risen, the Lord is risen indeed!

Rev. Dr. Catharine Guest preached on "Joy and Concern" based on the scriptures Luke 19:29-40 and Luke 19:41-48. Remember the last time you went to a big game - complete with air horns and foam waving hands? You were pumped and ready for the win - it had been a hard but successful season and your team prevailed! Such JOY! .... But then your team lost....now what? CONCERN for the future. So many highs and lows in life - even in the living of our faith - we anticipate joyful victory but what happens when life is brought low - it can cause great concern - now what? The same has been true down through history - consider Palm Sunday a day of JOY leading into a week of great CONCERN.

Rev. Dr. Catharine Guest continued her Lenten Series called Spring Cleaning with a message entitled You’ll Never Know What You’ll Find! based on the scriptures John 12:1-11 and Matthew 13:44-46. During the year, when I am vacuuming my home, I typically don't look under the cushions - but when I do it is a treasure trove sometimes - a lost earring, some loose change - all things I needed but never found where I thought to look. But once I find them - it just makes my day! How often do we forget to look for Christ in our lives - or deny the experience? You never know what you'll find if you would only look!

Rev. Dr. Catharine Guest continued her Lenten Series called Spring Cleaning with a message entitled Fixer Upper based on the scriptures 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 and Matthew 7:24-29 Ever try remodeling a house? Seems so easy at first – so exciting – things are going to be so much better in just a couple of days, right? But then you get started and the more you get into it the more complicated things become – you realize it’s about more than just doing pretty House Beautiful accommodations – there are things lurking in those walls…..things needing repairs you never noticed before…..so much to be done before you get to the pretty and fun. Same is true of our lives when we really seek to be transformed for Christ – in an effort to become more like Christ there are a lot of things in need of repair – lots of things lurking in the shadows of our hearts – a fixer upper of the soul isn’t a weekend project! Video of the entire Common Ground service is also available.

These services were part of the Missions Celebration ??During our MIssions Celebration we welcomed Daniel Su, our Keynote Speaker. Daniel came to know the Lord in a House Church in China. He had an opportunity to come to the U.S. for seminary training and was ordained into full-time Christian ministry in 1993. God opened his eyes to see the strategic opportunity of reaching out to Chinese students and scholars studying in the U.S. That is why he joined the China Outreach Ministries (COM). ??Daniel exclaims, “What a strategic moment we have today when some 400,000 Chinese are studying on our university campuses and are interested in learning about God’s love.” COM serves these men and women by building Christ-like relationships with them. These Chinese intellectuals will impact China’s culture and future. ??Daniel has served with COM as a campus worker, started three new campus ministries, served as an area director and assistant and advisor to the President.

Rev. Dr. Catharine Guest continued her Lenten Series called Spring Cleaning with a message entitled Tidying Up Life based on the scriptures Micah 6:6-8 and Matthew 16:24-26. As we move through our Lenten series on Spring Cleaning, I wonder.....what about our lives sparks joy in God's heart? What about our lives grieves God's heart? If we were to lay it all out before our Lord - what about our lives is worth keeping - what has out lived its usefulness - what is just taking up space? Are you ready to start Tidying Up?

Rev. Dr. Catharine Guest began a new Lenten Series called Spring Cleaning This message is based on the scriptures Titus 3:3-8 and 1 John 1:5-10 ? Lent is a time of spiritual house cleaning. This season of Lent we will be doing just that. When we look within ourselves from the perspective of Christ’s unconditional, sacrificial love for us - where are our hearts, minds, and souls in need of the Spirit’s transformation? This week we will begin opening ourselves to the Spirit’s Spring cleaning as we begin the journey toward Easter.

Rev. Dr. Catharine Guest preached on Who and Whose We Are based on 1 Peter 2:4-10; and John 17:20-26 If someone were to ask you who you are and who do you belong to - what would be your elevator speech about yourself? What is most significant about you? Where is your point of intersection in the lives of others? In the very life of God?

Rev. Dr. Catharine Guest preached on Turnabout is God’s Way based on Luke 6:27-36 and Romans 12:19-21 God calls us to love - even our ‘enemies’ .... but how? Ignore them, tolerate them - that might work - maybe we can co-exist if we just live and let live but is that what God wants......? There is no video this week.

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?