Canton United Methodist Church

Welcome back to the Cut for Time Podcast! This week Eric and Pastor Clay caught up to talk about Sunday's message for Pentecost Sunday and why there was a difference between the scriptures Pastor Clay picked earlier in the week and what we actually read together on Sunday. What is the connection between Ezekiel's vision of the dry bones and Peter's message on Pentecost? Connect with the Canton UMC...

Scripture: Acts 2:1-21 On the day of Pentecost, the Church remembers the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and Peter's first sermon for the crowd that misunderstood what was happening. Pulling inspiration from Joel 2, he proclaims the saving love of Jesus, and 3,000 people respond to his preaching. The Church burst onto the scene on Pentecost, and the world has never been the same. How does the Holy S...

Scripture: Acts 1:1-11 Series: Resurrection How does Jesus' ascension connect to his resurrection and connect to us? In the resurrection, Jesus defeated death, but his ascension in the sight of his disciples proved it was possible and further strengthened our hope in our own resurrection following our deaths. In the meantime, Jesus has given us a charge: to be witnesses. How do you witness to your...

Welcome to another episode of the Cut for Time Podcast! After a very busy Sunday and a very short sermon, Pastor Clay and Eric met up to add some more context to the message and the life of Saul who turned into Paul. This was a turning point in his life. We all come to those turning point moments. Pastor Clay will share one of his; as he does, consider your own turning points and give thanks to Go...

Scripture: Acts 9:1-9 Series: Resurrection The Apostle Paul called himself at one point in scripture "one who was born at the wrong time" since he missed out on being with the Sanhedrin during the time of Jesus' ministry. But that did not stop the Risen Jesus from getting his attention on the road to Damascus. We are born way after Jesus and the Apostle Paul, but God still gets our attention throu...

Scripture: John 21:15-19 Series: Resurrection After the resurrection, Simon Peter thought he might have to answer for all the mistakes he made leading to Jesus' death. Fortunately, Jesus is more concerned with how Simon Peter is going to move forward. As we also make mistakes, Jesus' concern remains the same. How do we move past our biggest mistakes to find Jesus' purpose for us? Connect with the...

On Sunday, we celebrated Camp Sunday and welcomed Rev. Nicole Anderson from Lake Poinsett to join us. Now, in between cooking breakfast and cleaning the retreat center, Pastor Nicole sat down with Pastor Clay to tell us how she came to Poinsett, what camp means to her, and what she's looking forward to this summer. We hope you enjoy our conversation! Learn more about Dakotas Conference Camping! Co...

Scripture: Luke 15:11-32 Rev. Nicole Anderson from Lake Poinsett Camp & Living Waters Retreat Center was with us in worship to celebrate Camp and Retreat Ministries Sunday! Using our "Linked by Love" curriculum, she proclaimed a message about Jesus' parable of the prodigal son, linking to all the prodigal people in the story. How have you experienced the prodigal love of God? Connect the Dakot...

Welcome to another episode of the Cut for Time Podcast! Eric and Pastor Clay met up to discuss Sunday's message about Mary Magdalene. So little is actually known about her, so it gets hard to separate fact from legend. The guys will discuss Mary's identity and her role in our faith. How does Jesus overcoming Mary's darkness give us hope about the darkness in our lives? Connect with the Canton UMC!

Scripture: Luke 8:1-3 & John 20:1-2, 11-28 Series: Resurrection Mary Magdalene is a woman in scripture whose identity is a bit murky. There's quite a bit of legend of who she was before Jesus, and none of it is good. It is clear that her life was completely changed by Jesus. Would it change back after the death of Jesus? Could this be why she was so deeply impacted by the death of Christ? This...

Pastor Clay and Eric sat down to talk about Sunday's message and the start of our new message series on the people who were deeply affected by the Resurrection. The first person was Thomas, who received what he needed to believe in the Risen Jesus. What do you need in order to be brought to deeper faith? Connect with the Canton UMC!

Scripture: John 20:19-28 Series: Resurrection Stories Thomas is famous for one thing: doubting. Thomas doubted one thing, and we have labeled anyone who ever doubted anything ever as "Doubting Thomas." Is that fair? All Thomas wanted was to experience Jesus in the same way as the disciples had. The good news is that Jesus shows up for Thomas and gives him what he needs to believe. How do you need...

After a whirlwind week with so many powerful worship opportunities, Pastor Clay and Eric sit down to talk about the week that was, the week that is coming, and just what exactly we are supposed to do with the strange ending of Mark's Gospel. Have you gone back to read any of the alternate endings of Mark's Gospel? Connect with the Canton UMC!

Scripture: Mark 16:1-8, GNT What is your favorite television show that is no longer on the air/releasing new episodes? How did you feel about the finale? Sometimes bad finales can tarnish our entire view of a show, even a show in which we have invested so much time. Mark's Gospel seems to end in a way that is unsatisfying, but actually the end invites us to embrace the unfinished nature of the Gos...

Pastor Clay and Eric are back together for this week's episode to talk more about the crowds that were present throughout Holy Week. How could they turn so fast on Jesus? How could they be that wishy-washy? The reality is that we are susceptible to this same fleeting interest. How can the events of Holy Week ground us in our identity in Christ? Connect with the Canton UMC!

Scripture: Psalm 118 & Mark 11 Series: Pause - Lent with the Psalms On Palm Sunday, we commemorate a parade that happened a long time ago as Jesus entered Jerusalem. A large crowd gathered and cried out to God by crying out to Jesus, but did everyone understand what was going on? How does Jesus' triumphant entry make us more thankful for his ministry? As we learn more about Jesus, may it make...

Easter is coming, and we just can't wait. But yet the calendar tells us that we are not quite there yet. So, we have to wait. The good news is that God is with us in our waiting and has lessons to teach us in the meantime. Pastor Clay is here to help us think about the purpose of waiting and walk us through the events of Holy Week at the Canton UMC! Connect with the Canton UMC!

Scripture: Psalm 130 Series: Pause - Lent with the Psalms How do you do with waiting? In a lot of ways, Lent is a lot about waiting as we are awaiting the joy of Easter, so much so that we are tempted to skip to the end rather than waiting it out. Is it possible that our Lenten waiting has something to teach us about our faith in God? Let's explore further in Pastor Clay's message on this 5th Sund...

Scripture: Psalm 23 Series: Pause - Lent with the Psalms Is it even a sermon series about the Psalms without talking about Psalm 23? David's words are beloved to so many people for so many reasons. It is easy for us to find familiarity in his words and comfort from God's reassurance. As we focus in on the table David describes near the end of the psalm, where do we find the good news?  Connect wit...

Scripture: Psalm 63:1-8 Series: Pause - Lent with the Psalms What does it mean to be blessed? Is it something you can define or do you just know it when you see it? When we meet David in this psalm, he is running for his life, away from Jerusalem, separated from his own people. Yet he remains confident in God's blessings. What? If faced with the same conditions, how would you respond?  Connect wit...

The past few years have certainly been a weird time, right? As Pastor Clay and Eric talk about the importance of seeking God's face, they harken back to a time when we did odd things to seek each other's faces. They also discuss people in their lives that have been a beacon of God's presence. Check it all out in this week's episode of the Cut for Time Podcast! Connect with the Canton UMC!

Scripture: Psalm 27:1-6, 13-14 Series: Pause - Lent with the Psalms Lent is a season with its own heaviness, with the reminder of our mortality and insistence on penitence. When you add that to the heaviness of normal life, it can add up to the point that we don't know where to turn. David, the great king of Israel, found himself in the same situation at several different points in his life, and e...

The season of Lent is upon us! We are spending this season in the Book of Psalms exploring the range of emotion and language we use to connect with God. Today on the podcast, Pastor Clay sat down with Pastor Amber Laffey from the Alexandria (SD) UMC who is also walking through the Book of Psalms during Lent. Together, they recap the start of the Lenten Season and Sunday's message about following i...

Scripture: Psalm 25:1-10 Series: Pause - Lent with the Psalms The Season of Lent is upon us. During the season of Lent we are focused on the Psalms' invitation to pause, rest, and reevaluate our path in life as we prepare for the power of the Resurrection. When we feel lost, David shows us that all we need to do is cry out to God, and God will give us the navigational assistance we need. Connect w...

Scripture: Psalm 51:1-17 Series: Pause: Lent with the Psalms We begin the season of Lent with Psalm 51, David's great psalm in the aftermath of his affair with Bathsheba. He wants a fresh start and cries to the God who is able to grant him one. During this Lenten season, what does it mean for God to give you a clear heart? Connect with the Canton UMC!