Hyde Park United Methodist

Our generosity begins with the generosity of God, who calls us to be in a special relationship together, for the benefit of the world. This is the basis of the important biblical concept of covenant, seen most vividly in the call of Abraham. And just as Abraham gave a tenth of his belongings as a response to God’s covenant, we are called to be generous as a response to God’s goodness.  HydeParkUMC...

As we recognize and celebrate of missions partners this week, we are reminded of the Great Commission. As followers of Jesus, we are charged with bringing the scriptural truth to all the world. HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps Reflection Questions: 1. What comes to mind when you think of the word ‘missions’? 2. In what way is God calling you to be a light that shines for others? 3. What missions partners...

Jesus calls us to forgive, no questions asked, or excuses accepted. It is a requirement of all those who would choose to call themselves Christian. HydeParkUMC.org/GoodandFaithful HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps Reflection Questions: 1. What do you think is the relationship between 1) God’s forgiveness of us, and 2) our forgiveness of others?   2. What for you is the most difficult aspect of forgiveness...

Love is the chief distinguishing feature of a follower of Jesus. It is one whom, in Wesley’s words, the “love of God has been shed abroad in their hearts.” The Great Commandment (attested in each of the synoptic gospels) is a vivid expression of this call to love. HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps HydeParkUMC.org/GoodandFaithful Reflection Questions: 1. How does the way you love a person change as your re...

God calls us to seek the way of justice, which is a central norm of the Hebrew scriptures and an integral part of Jesus’ vision for the kingdom. HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps HydeParkUMC.org/GoodandFaithful Reflection Questions: 1. What is your understanding of justice? What new things did you discover about justice that are helpful? 2. How will you live a just life, in the way God intends you to live...

We are called by God to contribute to the flourishing of all human beings, because every person is of sacred worth. HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps HydeParkUMC.org/GoodandFaithful Reflection Questions:  1. How do you understand the sacredness of life to be an essential part of Christian character and ethics?     2. When have you ever felt “out of tune” with God’s image in you? When have you felt “in tun...

We live in a world where adherence to agreed notions of truth is elusive. We are more prone to seeing deceit, delusion, and distraction rather than truth. Good and faithful Christians claim the truth of God, even if it is uncomfortable and inconvenient. HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps HydeParkUMC.org/GoodandFaithful Reflection Questions: 1. In what ways do you see a need for more truthfulness in our wor...

God has made us to be a spectacle “theatron” of the world, so we should model the kind of holy life to which we have been called. HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps HydeParkUMC.org/GoodandFaithful Reflection Questions: 1. What do you think constitutes good character? 2. Which of the five qualities do you emulate best, and which do you have to work on? 3. What would it mean for you to be a “light of the wor...

Jesus calls us to love our enemies, those who are hardest to love, despite what they might have done to us. HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps Reflection Questions: 1. Who are the enemies in your life? 2. What does Jesus mean when he says, “pray for those who persecute you”? 3. How can you pray for your enemies this week?

Jesus calls us to a selfless love, which regards the dignity and worth of others, regardless of our differences. HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps Reflection Questions: 1. Which character(s) in the Good Samaritan story do you most identify with?   2. When have you been helped by a person who is different from you in some way?   3. What next step will you take to love others across our differences?

Jesus calls us to love God with the entirety of our lives: heart, soul, mind, and strength. HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps Reflection Questions: 1. What is your experience each day in trying to figure out what to wear? 2. Who in the church has been a spiritual influence in your life? 3. How will you be more actively engaged in worship?

There may be many causes of fear in our lives, but in many cases, the greatest and most reliable antidote is the love of God, for “perfect love casts out fear.” HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps Reflection Questions: 1. What would your life look like if you more fully abided in God’s love? How would your family, community, co-workers, church, people in the community know? 2. Where do you have fear? How ca...

God loved us so much that God gave us Jesus (John 3:16). We are called to love one another, as an expression of the love of God (1 John 3:16) HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps Reflection Questions: 1. What does it mean to ‘lay down’ one’s life for a friend?  Can you give an example of that? 2. What are some ways you see our church loving ‘in deed and truth?’ 3. Where is Jesus standing in front of you, inv...

The light of God’s love convicts us of our sins, especially in the ways that we mistreat each other and cause harm.   HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps https://www.barna.com/research/christians-more-like-jesus-or-pharisees/ Reflection Questions: 1. What do you think it means to be a follower of Jesus?  2. How do your answers to the Barna survey make you more like Jesus? More like the Pharisees?  3. What c...

Just as the sun is the source of life and energy for all creation, so is Jesus the source of love and goodness for all humanity. HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps Reflection Questions: 1. What animal terrifies you? 2. What in your life needs the Light? How are you blocking the Light? 3. How do you confess and when was the last time? 4.  In what ways will you walk in the Light this week?

In Christ we are never alone. We are connected to God, to each other, and in ministry to the world. HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps  Reflection Questions: 1. To stay connected to Jesus who is the vine, what spiritual practices do you observe?   2. In your life, what might the ‘keeper of the vineyard’ need to prune?   3. What does it mean to ‘bear fruit’ in your life?

The way of Jesus gives us the clearest, most direct path toward living life as God intends. HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps Reflection Questions: 1. Would it make a difference in your life if you heard Jesus’ “Follow Me” as a command rather than an invitation? 2. What trouble is in your heart that you need God to help you deal with? 3. What are you doing to care for creation to honor Jesus as the Co-Cre...

In Christ, death is never the last word, just as Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps REFLECTION QUESTIONS:  1. What does it mean to follow Jesus, the one who invites us into the fullness of life and death?  2. What tomb are you being invited to exit? To come out of?  3. Where do you see new life in your midst?   4. Imagine Jesus in front of you, asking, ‘do you believe th...

Jesus cares for us, preserving and protecting us from the power of sin. We must learn to listen for Jesus’ voice, and follow where he leads us. HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps Reflection Questions: 1. In what way are you in need of a “Good Shepherd” today?   2. How do you best hear the voice of Jesus in your life?   3. How will you be less like a cow that needs to be pushed, and more like a sheep that i...

Jesus is the means through which we can experience the fullness of God’s presence and enjoy a full relationship with God. HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps Reflection Questions: 1. What would you say are the “thieves” in your life?   2. What noises in your life compete with your ability to hear Jesus?   3. How will you learn to better listen to the voice of Jesus?

Jesus meets us in our blindness and gives us the ability to see God’s grace and love, just as he cured the blind man. HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps Reflection Questions: 1. In what ways are you like the Pharisees in these stories? How do you need the light of Jesus?  2. How are you like the woman and the man in both stories? How do you need the light of Jesus?  3. How will you shine the light of Jesus...

Jesus satisfies our deepest hungers, just as he fed the multitudes. HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps Reflection Questions: 1. What favorite memory do you have of communion?   2. What difference do anamnesis and prolepsis make in your appreciation of communion?   3. How will you be the body of Christ for people this week?

The arrival of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost enables the church to be a community of love that embraces diversity and inclusion. HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps Reflection Questions 1. When have you experienced the presence and power of the Holy Spirit with others?   2. How is God calling you to do the work of Tikkun Olam, “repairing the world”?   3. What excites you about being a part of the future of t...

Faithful love chooses to see reality through the “long view,” and never loses hope, regardless of how bad things might look now. HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps Reflection Questions: 1. What is a part of your childhood that you miss?   2. Who are those who loved you into being?   3. What do you think it means for love to be the greatest thing, greater than faith and hope?

A love that forgives actively repairs broken relationships by “turning down the temperature” of heated conflict, and seeking to move forward, rather than live in the past. HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps Reflection Questions: 1. Is it more difficult to forgive others or yourself? 2. Why do you think Jesus commands forgiveness? 3. How might you love others this week?