United Methodist Church of Kent Sermon Podcast

We can thrive in times of trial when we send down the roots of faith and draw upon the waters of God’s renewing grace.

“True fasting” is a commitment of the heart to do God’s will, which enables us to share in the wonderful things God can do among us.

God brings about forgiveness and spiritual renewal within us as we turn to God in faith.

Isaiah invites us to “seek the Lord while he may be found and call upon him while he is near,” with the assurance that as we do so we will experience God’s freely given blessing. Both Isaiah and Ezekiel use the image of abundant waters to speak of how God will answer the thirsting of our soul, and both envision all creation joining in glorifying God.

God raises people of out the depths of despair and out of death itself, and brings us into life.

“Beulah Land” is the land we have never seen but for which we long. It is the not yet realized bright future that God has in store for us. The term originally described the restored homeland to which God was bringing the exiles, but it describes far more the future we have in Christ. Isaiah speaks of how we can arrive there.

Although we may mess up in life, God never gives up on us. Though we may wander off from God, God keeps searching for us and cares for us like a shepherd. God persists, in spite of the world’s forgetfulness, to bring about God’s aims for good.

Many of the key servants of God in the Bible – Moses, Ezekiel, and ultimately Jesus – met enormous opposition and did not look like they would succeed. They kept on anyway. Rather than being discouraged by defeats, we can keep on in faith, knowing that God is at work.

The closest Biblical parallel to our pandemic experience is the Exile, when the people of Judah were separated from their temple, their homeland, and their way of life. Exile is a time for self-reflection and above all for remembering who we are called to be as God’s people.

The shepherds and the wise men were “outsiders” in their day, not fully accepted by the most righteous Jews. But now, as it is said in Ephesians 2:13, “You who were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” Through Christ we, though unworthy, are welcomed into the community of faith.

Jesus is the gift who lasts forever. He is the gift that saturates our lives, bodies, and souls.

This has been a rough year in many respects. But the Christmas story is precisely about God entering into the rough places and transforming human lives, giving us purpose, guidance, empowerment, and hope.

Although we are chosen for blessing, we often hit difficult times. In such times we need to be attentive to God, so as to be receptive to what God will do.

God chooses us in Christ to have a wondrous destiny. We need to respond to God’s choice and enter into the eternal destiny God has for us.

Mary, like the whole people of Israel before her, was chosen not because she merited choice but simply because God chose her in grace. God likewise chooses to save and bless us out of pure grace.

Abraham was chosen by God, and the ultimate “chosen one” is Jesus. (“Here is my servant . . . my chosen” Isaiah 42:1) They are chosen however not merely to enjoy God’s blessing but principally to bring blessing to others. We are chosen to be instruments of God’s blessing to the world.

We give thanks to God for leading us through the challenges of these days.

The real battles we are to fight are spiritual ones – with the aim of overcoming our sinful inclinations to achieve God’s vision of shalom, for ourselves, our church, and our world.

In the aftermath of the election, we have a call to come together to work for God’s purposes and build a better world.

The real victors in the Biblical view are those who win the spiritual battles of love over hate, righteousness over evil, and life over death.

Christ wins the ultimate victory through self-sacrificial love.

We are called to trust in how God is at work.

God will empower us for the great spiritual struggles that we face.

We like to think of ourselves as the good guys and our enemies as the bad guys; but rather than imagining that God is on our side, we need to get ourselves on God’s side!

As we enter the “voting season”, let us mark our ballots with our faith in God at the forefront. Remember, politics must not shape our faith, faith must shape our politics.