The Upside Down The Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man Although this parable is set in the afterlife, it’s about the here and now. The Kingdom of God is an upside down kind of place where the wealthy and powerful find themselves at the bottom of the heap and the lowly are lifted up and blessed. Read Luke 16:19-31 in…
Who Can Be Trusted? One of Jesus’ strangest parables – The Dishonest Manager – might raise more questions than it answers. In a world that praises shrewd (and even conniving) business, what does it mean to live in God’s Kingdom? In whom and in what do we place our faith? Read Luke 16:1-13 in preparation for Sunday’s sermon Who Can…
The Lost and Found Sheep get lost. Coins get lost. We get lost. Being lost in a store or in a new city can be unsettling enough. Being lost in our life – feeling unsure about how we got here, or where we should go – can be a crisis. But it’s also a normal part of the human experience,…
Can You Believe It? (The Faithfulness of Authentic Questions) Scripture is filled with stories that stretch our imagination and challenge our understanding. What do we make of miraculous stories? Do we just accept them? Is it dangerous to question them? What does it mean to be faithful when it comes to questions about the Bible? Read Mark 4: 35-41 in…
Can We (Really) Talk? Having Authentic Conversations Connecting on the surface is easy: “How are you? Did you see the game? Man, it’s been hot, hasn’t it?” But, because Christ invites us to be an authentic community, we have to be willing to engage in real talk and conflict resolution. But, we can trust the work of God’s Spirit in…
Honest to God (The Importance of Authentic Witness) What does it mean to be a witness for Christ? What does it mean to bear witness to the Gospel? Are we supposed to knock on neighbors’ doors and invite them to worship? Or is there a deeper way that our lives demonstrate that a new world – one rooted in love…
How to Build an Authentic Community There are all kinds of gatherings, organizations, and groups to which we belong. But what marks authentic Christian community? How do we build the kind of community that is transformative for those who are in it, and for the common good of all? Read Romans 12:3-21 in preparation for this Sunday’s sermon, “How to…
What’s the Plan? Luke 12:13-21 is a slightly less well-known story, and a parable about the futility of planning for our own future. Does Jesus really want us to never think about the future, or to save some of our resources for tomorrow? Read Luke 12:13-21 in preparation for this Sunday’s sermon, “What’s the Plan?” Join us at 9:30 on…
How Should We Pray? Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray, and we’ve been praying those familiar words in the 20 centuries since. But there’s more in this passage, and some interesting questions about the nature and purpose of prayer. Read Luke 11:1-13 in preparation for this Sunday’s sermon, “How Should We Pray?” Join us at 9:30 on Sunday…
What Should We Do? During the month of July, we’ll explore some questions raised by familiar stories from Luke’s Gospel. I’m looking forward to worshiping with you, friends! ~Pastor Clay Read Luke 10:25-37 in preparation for this Sunday’s sermon, “What Should We Do?” The story of the Good Samaritan asks us to reconsider what faithfulness looks like. What does it…
A Moveable Feast This Sunday we welcome Pastor Clay to LOUMC in a big way! We are excited to show him all that we have to offer here at LOUMC! We will begin worship in the Fellowship Hall, at 9:30am, with music by the Praise Band and special music (by Camden Cook) followed by an interview of Pastor Clay. Then,…
