Jesus is in the house! Did you know that? If we claim to follow him, Jesus is in our household of faith, the Church, and in our households of family and friends, however they are composed. So then, how are we to live within our households if Jesus is there? This is the fundamental question that Paul addresses in his first letter to the Corinthians. He makes some bold claims that sound as radical today as they did then! In fact, maybe our worlds aren’t all that far apart. Join us as we launch this new sermon series and bring someone with you who needs to know that Jesus can be in their house as well!

John and Lisa Hamilton are the One Mission Society (OMS) team leaders for Uruguay. After serving 10 years in various pastoral and team roles in Bogotá and Medellín, Colombia, John and Lisa moved to Montevideo in early 2003. The OMS team in Uruguay currently works in partnership with Christ Church, an interdenominational church in Carrasco, an eastern suburb of Montevideo. In addition to leading the OMS team, John serves as lead pastor for Christ Church. Lisa participates in counseling, children’s ministries, women’s discipleship, and mentoring emerging leaders in the church community.

Pastor Dan preached at all 3 services. On Easter we heard about the first witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus, and how they told others about what they saw and experienced. What have you seen and experienced about Jesus? Did you know we’re all being called to the witness stand? We will hear a witness from someone in the addiction recovery community and how Jesus has helped them in that journey, and consider how Jesus is calling each of us to be witnesses to his grace and activity in our lives. A video of this sermon from the Common Ground service is available on PenderUMC.org

Of course it is no surprise that this Sunday is EASTER! And we all know there will be flowers and brass and triumphant music and favorite hymns and excited children and dressed-up adults and both Alleluias and Hallelujahs and even rumors of an empty grave and eternal life . . . and there will be a story that reminds us of what we are celebrating. And just because it is no surprise to you, doesn’t mean there is not someone in your circle of acquaintances for whom our Easter Celebration might be a wonderful new thing to experience! Remember that part of the story? – when Mary saw the empty tomb, she ran to tell her friends Peter and John. Let’s do the same and have a great Easter together. The sermon is entitled, “The Most Important Word of Easter!”, based on John 20: 1-18.

Pastor Dan preached at all 3 services. As Palm Sunday approaches, the old cheer comes to mind: “What do we want?” “Change/Victory/Whatever!” “When do we want it?” “Now!” That mindset of the masses was prevalent as Jesus rode into Jerusalem, and it’s still prevalent today. We want what WE want and we want it NOW. We are eager for the quick fix… and in three easy steps we can have it, so hucksters will tell us. But is that ever reality? Join us for a new look at an old story from John 12:12-19. A video of this sermon from the Common Ground service is available on PenderUMC.org

Pastor Jay preached at all 3 services on March 18, 2018. Our names are important to us. We do not like for them to be mispronounced, misspelled, forgotten, or used as a launching pad for making a joke about us. For many of us, there is behind our name a story, or an ethnicity, or a nationality, or a significant historic connection, or all of these! Behind the name Lazarus, there is a well-known story about dying and being raised, entombed and walking out, being all wrapped up and then unwrapped. And then there is Jesus – quite a name, quite a story . . . and he has a “last name,” too. Jesus is still leading . . . but be careful, Jesus, danger ahead! “Leading from Despair to Possibility” (John 11:1-44) A video of this sermon from the Common Ground service is available on PenderUMC.org

What do we choose to see? Have you ever thought of that? If you wander through an art museum you often find several people looking at the same painting yet choosing to see different aspects from each other. Children often pass the time on summer days by lying down, looking at the clouds, and seeing different animals in the different shapes of the clouds. There is great freedom in these ways of seeing. Yet, there are times when the ways we choose to see reveal how stuck we are, for we cannot, or choose not, to see otherwise. Though we may have the physical ability to see, we find ourselves blind to aspects of seeing fully. Does Jesus help with this? Can he clarify our ways of seeing freely, rather than with blinders?

Pastor Jay preached at all 3 services on March 4, 2018. Given the multiplicity of water fountains, coffee shops, healthy drink options, and fancy drink containers, we probably find ourselves hydrated all the day long. In fact, the concept of “thirst” is lost on us, because if we are ever thirsty, the remedy is easily within reach. Jesus knows that we thirst at a whole different level than our physical thirst, so when he met a woman at Jacob’s well, they shared their physical thirst, but so much more. One of the paradoxes of our faith is that God gifts us with what we most need but have never requested! This 3rd Sunday in Lent, we journey closer to Jerusalem, following Jesus our Savior, who is “Leading from Emptiness to Wholeness” (John 4: 1-42). A video of this sermon from the Common Ground service is available on PenderUMC.org

Pastor Dan preached at all 3 services. John 3:16 is probably the most well known verse of the Bible. We see it on signs and car decals. Athletes write it on their uniform in some way. It’s one of the first verses we teach to our children. Yet, we cannot take these words out of their context. Someone comes to Jesus under cover of darkness, and Jesus ends the conversation by speaking of light. How does God loving the world and sending his only Son fit into that? And what difference does it make for us in our journey through Lent? A video of this sermon from the Common Ground service is available on PenderUMC.org

Pastor Jay preached at all 3 services on February 18, 2018. “I’m just sure you can do this . . .” is the beginning of a conversation about our doing something that we already know how to do. So not surprisingly, Jesus was asked to perform a miracle, for he was known for his miracles. Jesus heard the request as temptation . . . he said “No,” not once but three times. What can Jesus teach us about freeing ourselves from temptation? Our Lenten sermons begin with Jesus in the desert, “Leading from Temptation to Deliverance” A video of this sermon is available on PenderUMC.org

Pastor Jay preached at all 3 services on February 11, 2018. The topic was Up the Foggy Mountain. Our integrity is put to the test every day, in virtually every situation. We are being watched closely to see how we will respond. The choice of our walk matching our talk, our behavior matching our beliefs, our character matching our confession is left to us. What will we do? We begin to wrap up this part of our series, Follow The Leader, as we look at Jesus’ teaching from Matthew 7:15-23. A video of this sermon is available on PenderUMC.org

Our integrity is put to the test every day, in virtually every situation. We are being watched closely to see how we will respond. The choice of our walk matching our talk, our behavior matching our beliefs, our character matching our confession is left to us. What will we do? We begin to wrap up this part of our series, Follow The Leader, as we look at Jesus’ teaching from Matthew 7:15-23.

Pastor Jay preached at all 3 services on January 28, 2018. The topic was When Relationships are Broken. For many reasons, ours is a “throw away” society. When things break . . . we throw them away . . . and then we look around for a replacement. So what do we do when the “thing” that breaks is a relationship? Relationships are so valuable and yet so difficult to repair. A really good leader would give us some help with broken relationships. Our sermon series (“Follow the Leader) continues to ask hard questions . . . like will we let Jesus be our Leader in the healing of broken relationships? The Scripture was Matthew 5: 21-30 

Pastor Jay preached at all 3 services on January 21, 2018. The topic was When the Cultural Driver is Greed. Jesus asks his listeners, “Why are you worried about your clothing? . . . Why are you worried about what you can gather into your barn?” Our retort may well be, “Of course we worry . . . who doesn’t?” What if we don’t have the right outfit for the right occasion? What if we go to the barn and it is empty? What if . . . we followed a leader who has a different understanding of life’s essentials. Our sermon series, Follow the Leader: Do We Want to Play? continues with the challenge of a very familiar Jesus teaching: Matthew 6:25-33. So, search your “walk-in”, and try to find something suitable to wear as we praise God on Sunday!!

Pastor Dan preached at all 3 services . In Monopoly, we know we’re doing well when we have lots of money, houses, and hotels. In Checkers, we know we’re doing well when we have more of our opponent's pieces than they have of ours. And when we play Follow the Leader, we know we’re doing well when we do what they do and go where they go. How do we know we’re doing well in real life, though? Is it by how much money and property we have? Is it how much we’re defeating our opponents? Or is it when we do what our leaders do, and go where they go? And what does that look like if we claim to follow Jesus Christ? Our message series, “Follow the Leader: Will We Play?” continues this Sunday by looking at Jesus’ measures of success in Matthew 5:1-12.  A video of this sermon is available on PenderUMC.org in the Common Ground archives

Pastor Dan preached at all 3 services . Leading is hard, whether in our home, our workplace, or whatever our sphere of influence may be. What does that look like? Who’s in charge anyway? We naturally look to others for these and other answers, when really the solution might be found within. Join us as we wrestle with these questions from Matthew 3:13-17.  Scripture: Matthew 3:13-17.  A video of this sermon is available on PenderUMC.org in the Common Ground archives

Pastor Jay preached at all 3 services on December 31, 2017. The topic was "Endings and Beginnings" based on the Scripture from Luke 2:22-38.

Pastor Jay preached at all 3 services . December 24th , the fourth Sunday of Advent – the last of a three part sermon series entitled “The Redemption of Scrooge”. “A Christmas Carol” moves through dramatic shifts and turns, murky darkness and hoped for light. How will it end? Our journey to Christmas Day has its own shifts and turns, and as we near the finish line, we too ask, “How will it end?” Let us resolve with Ebenezer Scrooge to end well, seeing clearly the gift that God has chosen for us. Scripture: Matthew 1:18-25

PastorDan preached at all 3 services . December 17th , the third Sunday of Advent – the second of a three part sermon series entitled “The Redemption of Scrooge”. Scrooge meets with the Ghost of Christmas Present, and is shown an alternative way of seeing reality that is normally hidden under the ways of the world. Upon learning that she is to bear God’s Son, Mary’s soul is opened to this way of seeing God’s reality, as we’ll read in Luke 1:46-55. It’s easy to view the world through miserly eyes like Scrooge. What does it take to view it through the eyes of Mary, indeed, through the eyes of God? Scripture: Luke 1:46-55 A video of this sermon is available on PenderUMC.org

Pastor Jay preached at all 3 services . December 10th , the second Sunday of Advent – the first of a three part sermon series entitled “The Redemption of Scrooge”. Can it be that the novelist Charles Dickens has important insights into our preparation for the Christ Child? Scrooge is visited by the “spirit of Christmas past”, and his life begins to change. The sermon looks at Scrooge, Isaiah, and Jesus, asking “What Shall We Count?” Scripture: Isaiah 63:15-64:1. Gospel: Matthew 20:1-16. A video of this sermon is available on PenderUMC.org

"That's great, it starts with an earthquake Birds and snakes, and aeroplanes And Lenny Bruce is not afraid…” What on earth are we talking about? The end of the world as we know it, of course! Many have tried predicting when it will happen, and yet we’re still here. Theories of how it will come about tantalize our imaginations, at least for some. For others, we’d rather just keep our heads down and not think about it. Yet, Jesus talked about it. As we prepare to conclude another trip around the sun, it will be good to hear again the Good News in a world that seems to be getting worse and worse.

Pastor Jay preached at all 3 services . As we move together into our national observance of Thanksgiving Day, we will look to the scriptures to guide us in our distinctive understanding of being thankful, of fleshing out a life-style of gratitude. Our scripture focus will be Psalm 65, one of the many psalms of praise, and Jesus’ parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector (Luke 18: 9-14). It turns out that gratitude is quite a spiritual challenge. The written transcript will be available soon. A video of this sermon is available on PenderUMC.org

Pastor Jay preached at all 3 services and concluded the three week series on the three simple rules of our founder John Wesley. These are rules which call forth the best in each of us, and challenge us to be Jesus’ disciples every day. The key to our success is in the third rule: Stay in Love with God. (Mark 12:28-34). Early Methodists boiled the essence of following Jesus down into three simple rules: Do no harm, do good, and stay in love with God. These are good rules to apply to our lives, but especially when it comes to managing our money. What might that look like? Join us and discover together.

Pastor Dan preached at all 3 services and began a message series on Three Simple Rules for Money", This week's sermon was entitled "Do Good" (Galatians 6:7-10). Early Methodists boiled the essence of following Jesus down into three simple rules: Do no harm, do good, and stay in love with God. These are good rules to apply to our lives, but especially when it comes to managing our money. What might that look like? Join us and discover together.

Pastor Dan preached at all 3 services and began a message series on Three Simple Rules for Money, This week's sermon was entitled "Do No Harm" (Galatians 5:13-15). Early Methodists boiled the essence of following Jesus down into three simple rules: Do no harm, do good, and stay in love with God. These are good rules to apply to our lives, but especially when it comes to managing our money. What might that look like? Join us and discover together. A video of this sermon is available on PenderUMC.org

Our Pender Supported Missionary, Rick Yorgey, was our guest speaker. Rick has been serving on the pastoral staff team of Dominion Church in Washington, DC, and has personally been involved in work of racial reconciliation. Rick will be sharing God's Word with us in light of recent events in Charlottesville, Ferguson, Baltimore, and continued racial tension in America, and how God might be calling us to respond.

Pastor Dan preached at all 3 services and continued his sermon series based on our church-wide study, "Solve: Finding God's Solutions in a World of Problems." This week's sermon was entitled "The Beauty of Name-Dropping" (Nehemiah 3:1-5). A video of this sermon is available on PenderUMC.org

Pastor Dan preached at all 3 services and continued his sermon series based on our church-wide study, "Solve: Finding God's Solutions in a World of Problems." This week's sermon was entitled "Oppositionists" (Nehemiah 4:1-15). A video of this sermon is available on PenderUMC.org in the Common Ground archives.

Pastor Dan preached at all 3 services and continued his sermon series based on our church-wide study, "Solve: Finding God's Solutions in a World of Problems." This week's sermon was entitled "Food Network Solutions" (Nehemiah 5:1-19). A video of this sermon is available on PenderUMC.org under Common Ground sermons

Pastor Dan continued the sermon series based on our church-wide study, "Solve: Finding God's Solutions in a World of Problems" and the second sermon in the series is entitled "Let’s Do This!" based on Nehemiah 2:11-16.