Camden First United Methodist Church

Our faith is dependent on our memory. The 6th century BCE Isaiah is speaking to a community in exile and he is offering an opportunity to remember. We are offered that opportunity as well. It is remember who is our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer.

This morning we begin chapter 40 of Isaiah which is the first chapter of what scholars refer to as Second or Deutero-Isaiah. First Isaiah contained the oracles of the eighth century and God's judgment and called for repentance. Now we are in the sixth century and the unthinkable has happen. Judgment has been served and God's people are in exile. Now begins the promise of redemption and the gift of...

Today, we are taking a little break from Isaiah to talk about mustard seeds and yeast. It is also a retelling of the history of God's call to our church and what God has done through our faithfulness. 

Hezekiah was considered an almost faithful king. Learn why.

Today we are in the portion of First Isaiah that is called a mini-apocalypse. It goes from Chapter 24-35. We will be exploring the prophetic word found in Isaiah 28:14-22.

In Chapters 13-23, Isaiah calls out those nations that have conspired against Judah, including Israel and Aram. Israel forgot who is the rock of their salvation.

One man's lack of faith resulted in disaster for three nations. God sent Isaiah to speak to him and God promised him directly. He did not listen.

The calling of Isaiah has helped many of us understand the pattern of worship but we usually stop at verse 8. This week, we will go through the reminder of the chapter and discover that God was calling Isaiah to a ministry of failure. But what looked like failure then turned out to be a promise to keep hope alive.

Jesus used vineyards as the setting for many of his parables so it should not be a surprise to see Isaiah using the setting of a vineyard for one of his early oracles. Rotten grapes betrays God. How should we respond as Christians if we find ourselves in a surrounding of bad fruit?

Today we look at Chapter two of Isaiah, a chapter promoting peace. It contains the famous line, " Then they will beat their swords into iron plows and their spears into pruning tools." Peacemaking is not just between nations. Nations are made up of people. Our pride musr be subdued if we wish to make peace with our neighbors.

Apollo 13 launched on April 11, 1970 in hopes of making a lunar landing but two days into the mission, an oxygen tanks exploded, disabling the electric system and life support system in the main capsule. Apollo 13 Commander addressed this issue with NASA with the opening line of, "Houston, we have a problem." That has become a key phrase to use whenever a problem crops up. It is the calling of the...

Today we start a new series on the book of Isaiah. We will begin by understanding the role and responsibility of the prophet.

This is our last Sunday in the Epistles of John and we are looking at the third letter where John the Elder is writing to Gaius. In the brief letter, he defines three men by one trait - truth.

What we do is driven by where our faith lies. In the 5th Chapter of John's first letter, John said our victory is possible through our faith in Christ - not our faith in systems or family or even our country. They are powerful but often flawed. Our faith in Jesus never fails.

God is love and we are called to love one another. So why are Christians marketing fear?

We know that Jesus was the ultimate example of self-giving and self-sacrificial love but what does that means for us?

I John is to the Gospel of John as Acts is to Luke. Luke and John tells us about Jesus' ministry, his death, and his resurrection. Acts and I John helps us understand why that has made a difference in our world and in our lives. Today we begin our series on 1 John and the call to knowing yourself.

Jesus Said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life." Do you understand what this means? The disciples were busy asking lots of questions but they will eventually discover that Jesus was giving the all the answers in that one sentence. You just have to understand Jesus to know what it means.

This Easter sunday we are exploring the I AM saying from the 11th chapter of John where Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. Jesus tells Mary and Martha, "I am the Resurrection and the life." What does he mean by "the life." Let's explore where Jesus appears to the disciples.

"I am the true Vine." This is the fifth of Jesus' I Am saying in the gospel of John. Jesus' first sign in John is creating wine out of water at a wedding in Cana. Like many of the other saying, it has toos in the Old Testament.

This is the fourth sunday in Lent and the fourth sunday in our Sermon Series, " I Am." Today, we look at the 10th Chapter of John once again for the second I Am saying - I Am the Good Shepherd. What is a good shepherd compared to a bad shepherd? Ezekiel 34 makes it clear.

Today we explore Jesus' saying, "I am the gate." Do you know that gates are mentioned over 400 times in the Bible? The vulnerability and strength of a fortress is found in the gate.

Jesus declares in Chapter Eight of the Gospel of John, "I am the Light of the World." How important is light? We also look at one of his seven signs where he brings light to a blind man's eyes.

On this first Sunday of Lent, we begin a new series on the seven I Am sayings of Jesus and the seven signs of Jesus. Today, we look at John 6 which contains the "I am bread of life," and the feeding of the five thousand.

Alll the previous covenant led us to this new Covenant. It was not made with words, it was made with flesh and blood. His name is Jesus and he is fully human and fully divine, God's word incarnate. He is the ultimate self-revelation of God. Redemption is not possible for us all.