Author: scottsburgunitedmethodistchurch

Sermon-6th Sunday in Easter

Loving Worship Series: SENT

UR1321 Becoming Who God Wants You to Be

SERIES OVERVIEW

Easter is more than just a day. It is a 50-day season that marks the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the ways we live into that reality, just as Jesus’ disciples did. The season of Easter has long been a time when newcomers to Christianity and those already on the Christian journey revisit the foundations of the faith. In other words, this is a time when people examine basic doctrines, providing, as Laurence Hull Stookey writes, “a time for both discovery and reconsideration.” [1] As a result, our resources will culminate in two four-week series–“Living” and “Loving”–that will focus upon the gospel narratives and ways to integrate these doctrinal pieces into daily Christian living.

This second series focuses upon the action of God upon those who believe in and into Jesus and the action stirred among those who believe, thus creating a flow of divine energy from God to the church to the world. All the themes for this series could be subtitled, “by a Loving God”—marked by a loving God, sent by a loving God, and so on. In the first week, Jesus offers a new commandment to love one another and be known as Jesus’ disciples. This “marking” is the way we are known and has direct connections with our baptism into Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. The second week presents a Trinitarian model in which Jesus and the Spirit are sent by God the Father in a self-giving action. The love that comes from God extends from God to the world. Notice in the Scripture for week three that Jesus says, “I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them” (John 17:26). This is Jesus’ indication that his presence will continue as the body of Christ in the world, and those who join in the body of Christ will know the love given from God. On the Day of Pentecost, the church is born to empower people to go forth and proclaim the love of God throughout the world, in languages far and wide.

Loving, then, becomes the natural response and embodiment of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. We live into the reality that Jesus is alive, and we love as a result of it.

Women’s Bible Study to begin June 2!

Women’s Bible Study to begin June 2!

A New Women’s Bible Study Class will begin on Sunday, June 2 at the Scottsburg United Methodist Church from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m.  The materials used for this twelve-session study will be “Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World,” by Joanna Weaver.

With nearly a million copies sold, Joanna Weaver’s popular book shows women how to blend intimacy with Jesus and service for Him.  

An invitation for every woman who feels she isn’t godly enough… isn’t loving enough… isn’t doing enough. The life of a woman today isn’t really all that different from that of Mary and Martha in the New Testament. Like Mary, you long to sit at the Lord’s feet… but the daily demands of a busy world just won’t leave you alone. Like Martha, you love Jesus and really want to serve him… yet you struggle with weariness, resentment, and feelings of inadequacy.

Then comes Jesus, right into the midst of your busy Mary/Martha life-and he extends the same invitation he issued long ago to the two sisters of Bethany. Tenderly he invites you to choose “the better part”-a joyful life of “living-room” intimacy with him that flows naturally into “kitchen service” for him.

How can you make that choice? With her fresh approach to the familiar Bible story and its creative, practical strategies, Joanna shows how all of us -Marys and Marthas alike- can draw closer to our Lord, deepening our devotion, strengthening our service, and doing both with less stress and greater joy.

If you would like to be a part of this bible study please call or email the church office to register by Sunday May 26.  Each participant that registers will receive a book and study guide on the night of the first lesson.  A donation of $20.00 per participant to cover the cost of the book and study guide will be appreciated but not required.  When registering please include your name, cell phone number, & email address.  Contact the SUMC church office by phone: 812-752-3545 or email: bmaloney.sumc@gmail.com.