Sermons on Acts
The Language of God Is Multi-Ethnic
Today is Pentecost Sunday, a day that is recognized as the birthday of the church! Today we discuss the ways God breaks the binary, otherness, in which language, nationality, gender, sexuality, race, culture, ability no longer hold us back from understanding one another, and unites us so that we can be one in the Holy Spirit. This is the birth of a new church. A celebration in oneness.
Next Steps
Today is Ascension Sunday, a day that is not particularly recognized or highly anticipated in our culture at large. I doubt anyone woke up this morning saying, “Yay! It’s Ascension Sunday!” But, despite that fact, it’s a day that is special…significant in the life of the church. Luke writes about the ascension of Jesus into heaven, his return back to God, both at the end of the gospel of Luke and at the beginning of Acts. Curiously, these accounts are somewhat different.
What Is to Prevent Me?
n today’s scripture passage from Acts, the Ethiopian eunuch was reading precisely these words from Isaiah when the Spirit instructed Philip to approach his chariot and engage him in conversation. The full name of this book is The Acts of the Apostles but it contains so much more than just that! In fact, the Philip in this story is not Philip the apostle, but rather Philip the evangelist, one of seven Greek speaking Jewish Christians who were appointed to tend to the needs of others, especially to the widows in the Greek speaking portion of the Christian community. This wonderful, Spirit-driven encounter reminds us of the ever-widening circle of inclusion that has always been at the heart of the gospel, way back when and all the way up to our here and now.
With Great Power
Today we share in a pre-recorded service by the California-Pacific Annual Conference. Rev. Kristie Grimaud reflects on God’s power at work in the early church and its effect on the first believers.
Pentecost Work: The Inspiration of the Holy Spirit
This Sunday is Pentecost! Not only is it sometimes celebrated as the birthday of the Christian church, but its also a time to remember the early signs of inspiration in receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit! In this troubled time in our country, what is the Pentecost work we are called to?
Sabbath
In a conference-wide service, Bishop Grant Hagiya reflects on the current pandemic, grieving our losses but also asking how our slower pace and focus on simplicity can inform and enrich the “new normal” that is to come.
Great Power and Great Grace
This Sunday’s text invites us to dream about possibilities and what can happen when we come together fully and completely in Christian community. None of us are alone on this journey of faith. When we come together as the body of Christ, we can do all things through the power of the One who gives us strength.
The Blessing of Giving
As Paul is departing Ephesus, he tells the leaders of that faith community that it is more blessed to give than to receive. This week, we will hear from PB UMC member Mavi Barrena as she shares how she has been blessed…
We Believe: The Holy Spirit
Sometimes people are excluded from communities of faith. We continue to see that in The United Methodist Church. What can we learn from the Spirit’s unexpected inclusivity in the early church?
We Believe: The Church
Continuing through the Apostles’ Creed, we explore what it means to be the church. It’s not just about showing up in worship every once in a while…