Camden First United Methodist Church

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.

This week we will look at the timing of God's Covenants with humanity. We operate in chronological time but God operates in "kairos" time. What does that mean?

The fourth covenant God made was with the unlikely king of Israel, King David. Today, we explore what God created kings to do versus what God expected kings to end up doing and God was right. Power corrupts even those near to the heart of God. 

Today our Redemption Story moves to Moses and the covenant God made with the Hebrew people at Sinai.

God began God's plan of redemption with one man, Noah, but now God moves to one family - headed by a man named Abram.

Today we look at the Noah story through the lens of redemption and covenant.

Today we celebrate Baptism of the Lord's Sunday and Holy Communion. Isaiah 43:1-7 reminds of to remember who we are.

Today as we celebrate Epiphany, we come to the end of Paul's letter to the church at Philippi and discover that Paul has had his own epiphany!

Today we learn why Paul was writing this letter to the church but it is a minor point compared to his encouragement to lead a life worthy of the gospel and to be joyful!

In the third chapter of Philippians, Paul provides his credentials. If our salvation depended upon our credentials, Paul would be at the head of the line. Credentials provide certainty, not faith. Paul had to let go of certainty to create space to grow spiritually. We do, too.

In the second chapter of Philippians, Paul reminds us who we follow. We follow a God who humbled himself, took on human flesh, and lived among us. As he came to live humbly among us, so we should live humbly with each other. After all, we are all being refined.

This morning we begin a new series with Paul's letter to the church at Philippi. This is a love letter to this church and today offers hope for us all.

Every sermon series on Leviticus should conclude with a sermon on Jubilee, found in the 25th Chapter of Leviticus. We do not have evidence that this command was practiced but if it had been, it would have been revolutionary. This idea of God making everything right every fifty years was not abandoned. It evolved into a eschatological promise that we call the Day of the Lord or the Second Coming of...