Mount Olivet UMC

While the brass, guest conductor, Easter lilies, and pomp and circumstance of Easter Sunday are gone, we continue our celebration of Christ’s victory over death. Peter’s letter opens with a blessing to God for our living hope through Christ’s resurrection, even amid difficult circumstances and surroundings. While life’s difficulties never seem to cease, the same is true of the Church’s Easter proc...

We have journeyed through the wilderness of the Season of Lent for 40 days. Together we have explored themes of racial justice, healing, reconciling, hope, and liberation. Like the redemptive work of the cross, our journey is not complete but just beginning. We enter into this new Easter season full of hope in the power of transformation and wholeness.

We celebrate the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. With the crowd, we shout our hosannas and wave our palms. We transition to the passion of Christ, foreshadowing the somber Holy Work that is before us as we anticipate the glory of the resurrection.

As we move towards the events of Palm Sunday and Easter we take the time to ask about Hope. Walking through a classic but difficult story, we as the people of God, are invited to speak challenging truths in our own lives and in the life of our communities. At times it can be hard to see any hope in the on-going struggle for racial justice in our nation. But we believe that the story of Job speaks...

We cannot carry the message of God's reconciling work apart from God. All of us, every single person on this planet, whether they or we like it or not, are in Christ Jesus. It has been that way since we were formed in the image of God, and it remains that way when we finish the race and rest in Christ.

The Oxford Dictionary says to be reconciled to another is to have "friendly relations" restored. As we know it, reconciliation can feel to be a human act, between feuding individuals or communities. But the Apostle Paul has another take on reconciliation. In our scripture reading he writes that "God was in Christ reconciling the world to Godself," meaning, that if we truly want to be reconciled to...

We focus on repentance today, of turning away from sin and in the words of Isaiah “learning to do good and seek justice.” We repent of our collective and individual complicity and perpetuation of racial injustice in our spheres of influence. May God challenge and comfort us in our wilderness sojourn.

Today is the first Sunday in our forty-day journey toward Easter. We trade the Alleluia's of worship for purple linens throughout the sanctuary. We trade the bright light of Epiphany for fasting and repentance. Today is also the first Sunday in our congregational study, examining racism in our lives, in the life of our congregation, and beyond. In the words of Jemar Tisby, today we begin to open a...

As Jesus was transfigured before his disciples, the church (yesterday, today, and tomorrow) is transformed, transfigured by God’s grace, being made new in Christ Jesus.

We live in an exhausting world, but Jesus has –and is –the antidote. From The Message, Matthew 11:28-30, “Are you tired?  Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me   and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me –watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting...

The light we bear is not our own; thus, our effectiveness is not entirely up to us.

As we continue to explore Epiphany together, we find Jesus today preaching to those who have begun to follow him. The sermon includes the beatitudes, the reminders that the peacemakers, the justice seekers, the meek are the ones who are blessed. Jesus gives us an idea of his priorities, revealing that his is a teacher as well as an active agent of God’s justice and kin-dom building in the world.

What does it look like to follow the call of God in 2023? Will we say yes to new opportunities? Will we take on new challenges? And will we do it with a sense of adventure?

The funny thing about our scriptures is the lessons do not stand in isolation, as the Holy Scriptures tell us a larger story than what often appears in a few verses. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. This is indeed Good News for all creation, but time and time again, we question whether our individual sin or the sin of another person has been taken away. Today’s scriptu...

Go into the world, enjoying your “belovedness” so much that it causes people to stop, stare, and wonder what is happening.

Merry Christmas! Jesus has been born to us this day. We find that in Jesus the Word of God is made flesh to live and dwell among us. The light has come to shine in the deep, velvety darkness of mystery and creation. We come to celebrate this birth and this new hope in our world!

Angels have been the deliverers of God's news for generations; delivering instructions, guidance, or warning. This morning we will explore the multitude of angels announcing the news of Jesus’ birth to the shepherds. In what surprising ways is God up to new things among us? How would we respond to angels            announcing something so amaz...

Journey through seven lessons and carols, led by Mount Olivet choirs.

What did Mary say when an angel told her she would change the world? That her life would be turned upside down with the birth of a Savior? Let it be.

Today, we welcome the season of Advent. We are telling our stories of anticipation and preparation through the scriptural encounters with angels. These messengers of God, reveal stories of the anticipation of Jesus’ birth. Today’s angelic story, is that of Zechariah finding his voice to speak to the good news of God’s work in his life through the birth of his son John.

When we talk about Christ the King, we affirm that Jesus IS the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is Lord... and nothing else matters.

Christian Nationalism attempts to use  Jesus as cover its political agenda, using the message of Jesus for political propaganda and the church as the handmaiden and cheerleader of the state. This is not a red or blue political issue. Christian Nationalism is a theological heresy that the church must address.

Today is a day to remember that it is Jesus who makes us saints, and thus is a day to remember all the saints in our lives – those we study scripture alongside, those sharing a pew, and those we fail to greet as we move through our daily routines. “Saintliness” is not something we earn or achieve – in this life or the next.

Jesus heals ten men, but only one returns to say thank you. The man was a Samaritan (this is the gospel’s way of telling us he was outside of God’s covenant with Israel). But Jesus tells the man his faith has made him well. The man was moved by the gracious act of Jesus to a posture of generosity and sent on his way to live a life of faith. Practicing gratitude changes individuals and communities....

Jesus instructs us on generous forgiveness. In response, they ask for more faith. This is valid. It is trite to say that we live in a consumeristic, always wanting more, bigger is better culture. This isn’t a new thing. This is the American way. Even in asking for more of a good thing like faith or love or courage, Jesus reminds us that we have and, in fact, are more than enough.