Camden First United Methodist Church

The Lectionary for the Fourth Sunday in Advent in Year A features King Ahaz and Joseph, the fiance of Mary. The men were both in crisis and both knew the law but they made very different decisions.

Moses was the first prophet but perhaps John the Baptist was the last? John prepared the way for Jesus who changed everything. If you want to know what God is saying, Listen to Jesus. John had a clear message Repent & live lives worthy of the Gospel!

Many of us have never read the parables of the minas found in the Gospel of Luke because we look it over and think it is the same as the parable of the talents found in the 25th chapter of Matthew. Jesus tells this story after he visits Zacchaeus in Jerricho. It is the last parable before he rides into Jerusalem on a donkey. The parable gives despair but Jesus offers hope.  

Luke 18 contains one of my favorite parables - The widow and the bad judge. She persisted even when he refused to care. But we worship a God that does care so if our prayers are not being answered in the timeframe we hope for, do we persist? More importantly, do we believed God is good and cares about our well-being?

Jesus is invited to a Shabbat dinner with local Jewish religious leaders. We are not sure if Luke believed it was a set up but Jesus finally told the Parable of the Great Feast about that great heavenly banquet we talk about whenever we have communion. 

Today we look at Luke 10:25-37 which most of us know as the Parable of the Good Samaritan. In the first century, no Jew would have called a Samaritan "good" which proves once again that God shows up where you least expect it.

God is doing a new thing, creating a new heaven and a new earth. We must have the courage to believe at work towards that new Kingdom.

Everything Isaiah has warned about has now come to reality. God's people are in exile in Assyria and Babylon but now those in Babylon have the opportunity to return home and rebuild. It will be hard but Isaiah has words of encouragement. Isaiah 61:1-11

Today is World Communion Sunday where we celebrate the ties that bind us as a community to Jesus Christ. It is a great day to be reminded of the message of Isaiah 43.

The fourth Servant song is longest and clearest. It many ways it is like a prayer of confession because it exposes what we do not wish to see then reminds us that we are responsible. He was wounded for our transgressions. This Servant song leads to hope and redemption.

Today we are focused on  the third Servant song found in Isaiah 50:4-9. It tells us of a Servant who is more a learner and a teacher but is brutalized. He does not return the violence against him. This represents a new understanding of God's power.

In the second Servant Song, Isaiah 49:1-7, God does something amazing. God decides that the Servant role is greater than just returning Israel and Judah to the Lord. The Servant's message is for all people - and that includes you and me.

There are fourth Servant Songs in the second section of Isaiah. They tell us of a servant and they define what the servant is called to do and how the servant will accomplish the mission. Today we are exploring Isaiah 42:1-9, the first of the Servant Songs.

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.