From The Pulpit of DUMC

This week we find ourselves by the river Jordan where John the Baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming an opportunity to experience forgiveness, reconciliation, and renewal. People came to John from Judea and Jerusalem and, as they confessed their sins, they were baptized and immersed into a new life. We also meet Jesus there, with John by the river, as he also comes to be baptized by Joh...

This Sunday is Epiphany Sunday. We will read the story of King Herod and the wise men from the East. We will explore more of the Christmas story and hear about what the wise men did and where they traveled. The scripture this week says that "they left for their own country by another road" (Matthew 2:12). As we begin a new year we will reflect on the roads that we may be traveling this year, so as...

In Sunday’s reading from Matthew 1:18-25 we meet Joseph, Mary’s husband, and watch as Joseph is confronted by the news that Mary will have a son. It’s hard to imagine how frightened, disappointed, and even angry Joseph must have been. And yet, anxious and upset as he was, Joseph says “yes” to Mary, to Jesus, and to God. Joseph is able to say yes because of love. In some way, it seems that Joseph g...

The Christmas gospel, the message that God has come among us, has invaded our world to reclaim it and make it new is to some a threat and to others a welcome promise. It is to all a message about how God has turned the world upside down, has upset both the power structures of this world, and the assumption of how things ought to be. It is the story, the announcement about how God in Christ is dram...

The word advent means “coming” or “to come” and Advent is that season of the Christian year when we prepare our hearts and minds to celebrate Christ’s coming at Christmas and Christ’s coming again in glory.  We acknowledge that in some sense we are living in between those two appearances of Christ.  We are waiting – celebrating and giving thanks for what God has already done in the birth, death an...

The Christian year revolves around the life of Jesus, beginning with his promised coming and birth in the seasons of Advent and Christmas, moving toward his passion, death, and resurrection marked by the seasons of Lent and Easter, turning towards the birth of the Church at Pentecost, and then to a long reflection on the life and witness of his followers in the months following Pentecost, througho...

Bishop Kenneth H. Carter, Jr. will be at Davidson UMC on Sunday, November 13 for all three services. His sermon, The Peaceable Kingdom will be the text from Isaiah. Bishop Carter is the resident bishop of the Western North Carolina Conference. He earned degrees from Columbus College, Duke Divinity School, the University of Virginia, and Princeton Theological Seminary. He has served as president of...

Last Sunday, we heard a story about gratitude. A story about how the world, the landscape of our lives is changed when Jesus and the Kingdom draw near. The story of the 10 lepers points to the transformation and renewal that Christ brings, and how the corresponding awareness that all of life is a windfall should move us to a life of joy and thanksgiving This week that theme continues as we hear th...

Henri Nouwen wrote, “Gratitude… claims the truth that all of life is a pure gift. In the past I always thought of gratitude as a spontaneous response to the awareness of gifts received, but now I realize that gratitude can also be lived as a discipline. The discipline of gratitude is the explicit effort to acknowledge that all I am and have is given to me as a gift of love, a gift to be celebrated...

This week we conclude our study of Mike Slaughter’s Dare to Dream, by reflecting upon what Slaughter calls, “a no-quit perseverance.” He suggests that the way we persevere in pursuing God’s dream for our lives is not by mustering up some superhuman strength, it is by maintaining our focus on the mission. This is what Jesus means when he says, “The eye is the lamp of the body. Therefore, if your ey...

As we continue our study this week of Mike Slaughter's Dare to Dream, we are encouraged to see our lives not simply with our own eyes, but with God's vision for us. What are the gifts of my head and my hands, and what is the passion of my heart? These are questions we should ask ourselves as we try to determine God's purpose for our lives. We continue this Sunday to look at the life of Moses and h...

This week, we continue in our Church-Wide Study of the book Dare to Dream written by Mike Slaughter. We'll be looking at Chapter four, which discusses the barriers to discerning and answering God’s call. We'll continue examining Exodus 3- the Story of Moses' calling, as we look at the excuses he makes, as he questions God's call to bring the Israelites out of Egypt. God reminds him in this passage...

One of the most gripping stories in all of scripture comes from Exodus 3, when Moses encounters a bush on Mt. Horeb. The bush is ablaze, but not consumed by the fire. When Moses sees this odd occurrence, he draws near to hear God speak, giving him a commission to deliver the Israelite people from their oppression in Egypt. Over the centuries, we have come to speak of "burning bush experiences" to...

This week we continue our journey through Mike Slaughter’s book Dare to Dream, focusing on chapter 2. Here Slaughter reminds us that God is inviting us to an adventure, to live the dream, to live a life that honors God, blesses others, and brings us joy. As we listen for the guidance of the Holy Spirit in prayer, searching the Scriptures, and in the voice of others, we discern where we see the gre...

Have you ever wondered, “What does God want me to do with this life I’ve been given? What difference can I make? How can I live more fully the abundant life Jesus came to bring” If so, you’re asking questions about God’s dream for your life. We all have goals - get an education, make money, spend time with family, travel more - but goals can change with each season. God’s dream, God’s hope for you...

This week we will explore the passage from Luke 14:25-33, which invites us to think about our faith journey and our life as Christians. We will explore and reflect on Jesus saying, "Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple" and "none of you can become my disciples if you do not give up all your possessions." What does this mean for us today? What is our relationship wit...

In this week’s reading from Hebrews (13:1-8, 15-16) the writer rounds out his/her sermon with a set of ethical teachings which function as the “therefore” portion of the sermon. Because we believe this about Christ, “therefore” live in this way. This section offers practices - love, compassion, hospitality, and fidelity - that set the Christian community apart from its broader culture by describin...

The writer of Hebrews (12:18-29) reminds us that, in Christ, we’ve come to the very heart of God where Jesus the Christ mediates a new covenant, written not in stone but on our hearts. The new covenant in Christ is a moment of crisis that reorients our lives in the direction of God’s kingdom of mercy, justice, and love. Our awareness of this reorientation should strengthen us in running the race a...

This week’s reading locates us within the Letter to the Hebrews (11:29-12:2). Hebrews is written to a church that has grown weary in keeping the faith. They are worn down and worn out and are on the verge of giving up hope. Given the challenges facing our world and the church, we may at times feel the same. To those weary Christians the writer of Hebrews has a simple and direct word of encourageme...

This week the passage we will be explore is Luke 12:32-40. In this passage we will hear about not being afraid, selling our possessions, being dressed for action, and having our lamps lit. We will hear the story about the homeowner and thief. You may recall the Scripture says, if the homeowner would have known when the thief was coming then the house wouldn’t have been broken into. And finally the...

It shouldn’t be surprising that Jesus talked a lot about money. After all, our misplaced understanding and love of money can often make it the biggest idol in our lives. Sometimes Jesus discussed money simply because people asked him specifically about it, and he was compelled to respond. This is the case in Sunday’s scripture from Luke 12: 13-21, when a man approached Jesus and said: “Teacher, te...

It is an old story and yet a very contemporary one. We often doubt God’s providential care, we fail to trust God with our lives, believing we can secure our own future. We often fail to nurture the most essential and important relationship we have and the failure to trust God with our lives and to nurture the most important relationship we have leads to bondage and death. As Israel would discover...

This week’s gospel reading from Luke relates the story of Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-42). Mary is prayerfully focused on Jesus. Martha is “distracted by many things.” My guess is that many of us can relate to Martha. Our lives are busy, crowded, and distracted, and prayerful focus on Jesus seems like a luxury. And yet, as Richard Foster has suggested what the world and the Church needs is not mor...

This week Luke relates the story of Jesus’ encounter with an expert in the Jewish Law. Jesus replies to the young lawyer’s questions with questions of his own, and by telling the story of a Samaritan, and a man beaten and left for dead. What Jesus wanted the young man, and us, to see is that the greatest commandment is not to be right, but to be in love. Anyone can memorize correct responses to a...

On this Sunday, July 3, we are all undoubtedly thinking about the foundation that our country was built upon, the freedoms and independence we enjoy, and the hope of prosperity and flourishing. We want to celebrate these things in our hearts, until we begin to consider how far we’ve drifted from this foundation, as our country truly struggles to find her soul. This brings disappointment to our spi...