FirstChurch Message of the Week

Sometimes we become so focused on moving forward and “getting it done,” that we completely miss opportunities to love, serve, and lead. We miss chances to help those in need, to spur on meaningful change, and protect those who can’t protect themselves. Do our neighbors really experience love from us in all circumstances?  In this week’s Message of the Week, we worship a God who calls us to follow...

The beatitudes say a great deal, in very few words. How are we leading, teaching, and faithfully following God not just with our own words, but with all that we do or are, as well? The depth of what God wants us to hear in this passage comes in just a few words, with profound challenge. Perhaps there is a blessedness in there for all of us as we try to take in this radical message that doesn’t see...

There comes a time in everyone’s life when bold choices need to be made. From deeply personal actions to communal ones, there are times when we need to lead and invite others to follow… and times when we need to be willing followers. In today’s Gospel reading, we are invited to consider how the bold actions the disciples took might teach us about following God’s lead in our lives today.  In this w...

Sometimes we encounter rules that often feel like rules… for the sake of rules. Yet when we look closer, it is not difficult to see that they are designed to help us better care for one another as a part of community. That’s exactly what today’s “rules” found in Matthew 5 are about: they invite us to live into the gifts of forgiveness and grace as we care for one another, and remember that God cal...

The faithful curiosity of the disciples left them wanting to know more about Jesus: who he was, what he was doing, how they might learn from him. We are all curious about different things in our life – and that curiosity changes us and the world around us. What we do with that curiosity, and how we learn from it, is up to us. The example of the disciples invites us to use our curiosity as a tool t...

What does it mean for us to see and accept unexpected gifts? Is there even such a thing as freely given gifts, in which we don’t feel some kind of obligation to return a gift, or fulfill other (related or unrelated) expectations? Today we will explore the gifts brought by the magi who give not within any expectations or even hopes, but so faithfully, freely, and generously that today it might leav...

As we enter this new year, we are invited to reflect on what has been… and how we can build on that in our future. As we build on our Christmas themes of expectations… what does it look like to expect, hope for, and commit to seeing and experiencing the presence of God in our lives? This weeks message of the week comes from Pastor Bryce Blank who shares from Isaiah 63, highlights the faithfulness...

When we think of our savior coming, and the whole world depending on this savior… we don’t think of a child. Yet the gift here, is that this is the opposite of what our culture tells us to expect. It isn’t the champion, the biggest and strongest, the most combative or articulate, or wealthiest. On the contrary, scripture tells us that in our weakness, we find God: so let us look in other unexpecte...

In Mary’s song, she explores what it means to recognize that a Savior coming… The savior fills the hungry, and sends the rich away empty. What does this mean for us in 2022 (2,000 years later) to have a Savior who stands for the very things our world and culture teaches against?  In this weeks Message of the Week, we hear from Pastor Jen Tyler who challenges us to " Expect A Savior " with...

Too often, our world is not merciful yet Christmas is the opposite of this. It is a time for those who live in the shadows. It is a time for the unexpected. If mercy is about God’s welcoming and caring and walking with us when we’re down on our luck or even just having an off day/season… then what does it look like to have that be a centering point/gift in our lives? It looks like casting light in...

Too often in our lives, we don’t expect kindness, let alone Good News. Yet here we are, invited to not only know there is Good News around us – but invited to claim it for ourselves. What does this Good news mean for us, and what are we to do with it? In this weeks Message of the Week, we hear from Pastor Jen Tyler who teaches from Luke chapter 3. This scripture not only challenges us to Expect Go...

This is a season of expectation in which the whole world joins in observing. But it isn’t the kind of expectation the world has set before us of a sweet, innocent little baby coming into the world. Rather, it is an invitation of Good news that is greater than that, and more complicated than that. It is an invitation to expect more – and to expect a miracle . It is an expectation that God is doing...

In times of fear or annoyance, we often find ourselves taking actions that distance us from others. Is it possible that God calls us to take a different course of action? Paul and Silas offer us a Christ-like example of this opposite course of action. Acts 16:16-34 guides us to welcome people into our family, not turn them away. Could our actions mimic these early followers of Christ to make our c...

In a time of trials and being tested, Jesus stands firm in one the greatest, most important truths we know: that we are beloved children of God who are loved, cared for, and invited… not just into the kingdom of God that is yet to come after this life, but here today, as well: for our God, is a God of the living (and the dead). In this weeks Message of the Week, Pastor Jen Tyler shares from Luke c...

As we remember the “saints” that have gone before us, we give thanks for all they have blessed us with today, and for the parts of them that live on within each of us. Though much has changed, much has also stayed the same. How are we living into the fullness of this inheritance and hope they have passed on to us?  In this weeks Message of the Week, we recognize All Saints Day with a message from...

As we have reflected on ways God has been and is with us over the past weeks, we give thanks for the assurance that God is not only leading us into the future – but equipping us to set up future generations for success, as well. As we come together, we celebrate the invitation and opportunity to share our treasures and invest in our present and future mission as a church. Now perhaps more than eve...

Today, we focus on the ‘songs’ of the natural world, as we celebrate the ways all the little things around us come together, in the present, to create a big picture of joy. We will take a moment to celebrate particular individuals, callings, or ministries in our church and celebrate the many expressions of God’s grace. We continue our “Together for Joy” sermon series with a message from Pastor Bry...

Now that we have officially launched into fall (with our prior sermon series, “Ready to Launch”), we’re going to spend some time thinking about and celebrating the goodness of God that is in our midst. We’re going to do this by celebrating the ways God has been, is, and always will be with us on this journey, and how here today, God has brought us “Together for Joy!” Today we begin our annual Stew...

Discourse and conversation were a common theme in the time of Jesus. The same thing was very common during the time of John Wesley, Methodism’s founder. In that discourse, grace became a vital part of conversational life. Despite differences and a plethora of thoughts, grace upon grace was given. What does grace mean? What does it look like? How do we give grace to those we disagree with today? Th...

Whether we’ve been in the church for a long time or are exploring the faith, Jesus sometimes calls us to move in a new direction, even when we think we are already heading in the right direction. Building on our conversation about values last week, what does that mean for our lives, our church, and our world as we refocus on that which God is calling us to?  This weeks message of the week comes fr...

What does it mean to live by God’s Spirit and not our own, to live according to God’s values and not those of the world? Together we’ll explore these questions, utilizing our FirstChurch values to define how we might more fully live into them and truly trust in the Holy Spirit.  This weeks message of the week comes from Pastor Jen Tyler who shares from Galatians 5, and challenges us to live by The...

Our world, the final frontier. This is the witness of Watertown First United Methodist Church. Its daily mission; to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world; to connect, grow, and serve; to boldly shine the light of Jesus, in ways it has never been felt before. This weeks message of the week comes from Pastor Bryce Blank who continues our "Ready to Launch" sermon...

Sometimes a “launch” feels like the end goal; the culmination of hard work and perseverance. But the launch is just the beginning of the journey. Something fresh, something new. A reset. Resetting our lives and preparing for a new season begins with remembering who we are… and whose we are. God is faithful while we prepare for our journeys, embark on them, and remember what brought us to this plac...

There is no place like home. Whether we are sad our travels are ending or excited to get back into a routine, there is often comfort in returning to a place we call home. After stretching our spirits and love to include more of the people and places around us God loved first, our hope is that we would also return with new convictions, able to be more active and loving members of our community/worl...

God is present with us in all times and places – within and beyond our comfort zones. How, then, are we taking time to reflect on how God is at work in the world around us, when we take risks and broaden our experiences beyond our usual perspective? How can pausing for reflection help us think about our own hesitations or reservations, in order to better connect to the world around us… in turn hel...