Grace for All

Matthew 5:44-46, New International Version 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? In the years between 2010-2019, a young woman in Tennessee beg...

Joshua 1:9 (NLT) “This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go. This verse is perhaps one of the most comforting verses I lean on. I have recently shared this verse with two very dear friends who are facing serious medical issues. After all, knowing that God is with us wherever we should go, whatever we might face,...

1 Corinthians 13:4–7 (CEB) Love is patient, love is kind, it isn’t jealous, it doesn’t brag, it isn’t arrogant, it isn’t rude, it doesn’t seek its own advantage, it isn’t irritable, it doesn’t keep a record of complaints, it isn’t happy with injustice, but it is happy with the truth. Love puts up with all things, trusts in all things, hopes for all things, endures all things. You've probably heard...

Romans 8:38-39 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. I would venture a guess that just about everyone has had a time in their lives when they have felt the sting of rejection. Whet...

Ephesians 3:18 (NIV) And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ. Maybe as a child you, like I, learned the song Deep and Wide in Sunday School, which teaches about God’s unconditional love and grace. The words are simple and repetitive: “Deep and wide, deep a...

Colossians 3:12-14 Therefore as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues, put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Compassion, kindness, humility, ge...

Welcome to the Saturday episode of the Grace for All podcast. Thank you for joining us today. Saturday is a special time when we take a few moments to review the scriptures that we have cited in the episodes this week. If you missed any of those episodes, you might want to consider listening to them today. And even if you heard them all, there may be one that you might want to listen to again. We...

Luke 11:9–10 (NIV) So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. The eleventh chapter of Luke opens with a simple request. Jesus has been praying, and when he finishes, one of his disciples says, “Lord, teach us to pray,...

Matthew 11:28 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. The Catholic World Youth Sunday convened in early August of 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal. Organizers bragged that it was the most diverse World Youth Day since the Catholic Church began the event in 1985. Eighty-six-year-old Pope Francis attended. In a wheelchair, he was the oldest pope to ever preside over a World...

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable; it keeps no record of wrongs; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Like a pebble thrown into a pond, we go through life making a small...

Matthew 22:37-39 (NRSV) “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” On May 1, 1969, a Senate subcommittee met to decide whether public television would get $20 million or half of that. The Nixon administration wanted the smaller...

1 John 4:18–19 (CEB) There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear expects punishment. The person who is afraid has not been made perfect in love. We love because God first loved us. When we're children, we often obey our parents because we're afraid of what will happen if we don't. We follow the rules to avoid punishment. That's probably where learning to do the right t...

Here is a story about loving boldly. We find it in Mark 10:17–22 As Jesus began his journey, a man ran up, knelt before him, and asked, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus replied, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: Do not murder, commit adultery, steal, give false testimony, or defraud; honor your father and mother.” “Te...

You are listening to Grace for All, a daily devotional podcast produced by the people of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. This is Scripture Saturday, a time when we pause and reflect on the scriptures we have read throughout the week. If you missed any of our devotionals on these passages, you can find them on our website at 1stChurch.org or wherever you get your podcasts. No...

Matthew 7:16-18 (NIV) By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. We spend a great deal of energy on what we call ourselves. Titles, labels, professions of faith, the names we choose for our...

Luke 2:8-11 (NIV) And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you;...

Isaiah 55:1-3 "Hear, everyone who thirsts; come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread and your earnings for that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so...

Philippians 4:8–9 (NIV) Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. The world gives us a great deal...

James 3:18 (NRSV) And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. When I was in college, I performed the role of one of the fathers in the musical “The Fantasticks.” That show is all about a young couple who falls in love against what they understand to be their parents’ wishes. The fathers are both farmers, and they sing a duet about the advantages of gardening over paren...

Romans 5: 3-5 We even take pride in our problems, because we know that trouble produces endurance, 4 endurance produces character, and character produces hope. 5 This hope doesn’t put us to shame, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. Common English Translation One of my favorite Christmas stories is O’Henry’s The Gift of the M...

Welcome to the Saturday episode of the Grace for All podcast. Thank you for joining us today. Saturday is a special time when we take a few moments to review the scriptures that we have cited in the episodes this week. If you missed any of those episodes, you might want to consider listening to them today. And even if you heard them all, there may be one that you might want to listen to again. We...

Matthew 9:35-38 (NIV) Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of...

2 Corinthians 9:6-15 (NIV) Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abou...

In 1991, I reached the magical age of 55 years. I was now eligible for early retirement. My Air National Guard commander at that time considered that 55 was required retirement. Early one morning, I was driving to Nashville to appeal my case with the Adjunct General; I stopped at a Hardee’s. As I sat to eat, I thought the lady had undercharged me, so I looked at the receipt on my tray. I discovere...

Colossians 1: 9-10 ...We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God... A grandmother friend complained that one of her grands did not send thank you cards. Not our Audrey. Du...