The United Methodist Church at Absecon

This Sunday is VBS Eve...the day before VBS begins. We want the whole church to be involved in learning how to become heroes for God. Last week we talked about two of the VBS topics, and this week we will discuss the other three. God's heroes work together to bring peace!  

This week, get out your green and red to celebrate Christmas in July! Without the craziness of December, let's take a look at the real meaning of Christmas and how it matters to us in July and all year long. Merry Christmas in July!

It's Easter in July! Ok, that might not really be a thing, but as we celebrate our nation's freedom this week, it's a great opportunity to look at our freedom from sin. Easter is a busy time of year. There are family gatherings, extra church services, Easter Egg hunts. It can be hard to really focus on the message of Easter. So, let's do it away from all of the business. We're celebrating freedom...

The Church in Corinth was really good at bragging about God and what God was doing through the Church. Do you brag about God? Do you brag about your Church? Paul teaches us in this week's scripture that bragging about God leads to generosity, and generosity leads to people giving thanks to God. Telling the stories of God is attractive, it is transformative and it is life changing. Bragging about G...

This week as we celebrate Father's Day, we take a look at a generous man in the Bible. This person and this act of generosity are mentioned often, but pretty briefly. Most often they are mentioned only as part of a larger, bigger story. After Jesus' death, Joseph of Arimathea gave him a very generous gift; his own brand new tomb. What generous gifts have you received from an important man in your...

It's Youth Sunday! For the first time in years, our Youth Group will be leading both worship services. We will hear what they have been up to, how their faith has grown and how the Church and faith in Jesus Christ is important to them. It is also a chance for us to show them how proud we are of them. Let's have a great celebration!

This week we've got baptisms at our 11:00 Traditional Worship Service! Paul talks about the "Priesthood of all Believers". In this theology, all believers are given a call to ministry and baptism is their ordination. If you are baptized, you are ordained; blessed for the work of the Church. Pastoral ministry isn't the only option a call to ministry comes in. There are certain things you are called...

If you have been a church going person for many years, you have likely heard the story of Pentecost from Acts 2 many times. That's what Pentecost looked like in the first century. This year, we ask: what does the coming of the Holy Spirit look like today? The Holy Spirit comes in perfectly balanced ways that are both different and the same. Let's explore what that looks like in your life.

Do you like to party? The ancestors of our faith certainly did. And God likes it when we party too! To celebrate all of the things God has done, Exodus 23 mentions three different festivals; three parties! These festivals help us celebrate the forgiveness of our sins, the incredible gift of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. On the same day as our Sunday School festival, let's learn ho...

Do you know any women who were willing to risk social and physical discomfort to follow Christ? Those women make an impact, don't they? They are the women who have nurtured us, loved us, in some cases raised us, and helped us become the people we are today. This Mother's Day, let's give thanks to God for all of the women in our lives who taught us how to follow Christ no matter the cost.

It's a Communion Sunday! Our communion isn't complete without you! Whether you are near or far, we hope that you join us for worship this week either in-person or online. Rev. Brian Roberts will be preaching a message about walking with Jesus. The scripture tells the story of the walk to Emmaus. How do we walk with Jesus, and make sure that we create and support ministries that help others do the...

The love and forgiveness of God is what enables us to rise above our mistakes and become more faithful disciples. God's prevenient grace comes to us even before we ask for it. This prevenient grace came to Peter on the shore, and it comes to us where we are too! How will we respond to it?

When you are in a season of doubt, how does that affect your relationship with God? In your season of doubt, does God become distant? Well, God certainly didn't become distant for Thomas. While the focus of this familiar story is usually put on Thomas and his doubt, the real actor in the story is God. Even though he doubts, through Christ, God reaches out to Thomas. God didn't leave Thomas; God ca...

This Lent, we have been searching for Jesus in the Psalms. Have you found him yet? On Easter, it will become more clear than ever before that Jesus is the Messiah prophesied in the Psalms. Easter is the hope that gets us through hard times. The time period between Good Friday and Easter gives us a choice of how to live our lives. Will we allow hard times and despair to overcome us? Or, will we loo...

Jesus is our rejected cornerstone. The stone that the pharisees thought they could throw away has become the most important part of the whole structure. Jesus is the cornerstone of the church. Is he the cornerstone of your life? Have you let him be? Let's discuss what it looks like when the expectation is the opposite of the reality.

Have you ever felt weak; like you just can't come up with the strength you need to get something done? This week's scripture from Psalm 69 prompts me to ask "what is weakness, and what is strength". If we are relying on our own strength, we will often come up short. But if we rely on the strength Jesus provides, then we can do anything. Let's talk about what that might look like!

When you sit down for dinner, is there a seating chart? Is one spot better than another? Were there arguments over who got to sit where? If you answered yes, then you can relate to the disciples. They often bickered about who was the best and who would sit in the seat of honor. In Jewish culture, that is the seat to the right of the host. In Heaven, that seat of honor is occupied by Jesus. Who sit...

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want". Can you fill in the rest from Psalm 23? Many know it by heart, and for many these words are as familiar as the Lord's Prayer or a favorite hymn. While we may be familiar with the words, are we as familiar with their meaning? Familiar words or not, what exactly does it mean to call Jesus our shepherd? Let's talk about it!

Have you ever been in a hard place? Financial troubles, relationships failing, declining physical, mental or emotional health? The Psalms promise "our help is in the name of the Lord'. The Gospels recall Jesus promising peace, companionship and eternal life to those who believe. This week, we're talking about finding Jesus in our hard places. We hope you can join us for this theme.

The season of Lent is here, and our journey to the cross with Jesus has begun. While he was on the cross, Jesus was reciting scripture. God's Word was important to Jesus; in fact, he IS God's Word. So, even when we go into the Old Testament, we can still find Jesus there. Why do we seek Jesus in the Old Testament? What might we learn about him there? Let's explore that together.

Mountains are important in our faith. Stories of Moses, Noah and Jesus capture our imagination. What is it about mountains that bring us closer to God? Is it just their physical height? Or is it something more than that? Can we achieve that closeness to God without a physical mountain? Let's talk about it!

Our relationships matter to God. It matters how we treat God's creations. John Wesley said there is no holiness but social holiness. We can't be holy if we have hate, resentment and anger in our hearts. Jesus said we can't even fully serve and worship God with that negativity in our hearts. So, let's work on our relationships. Let's work on our social health. Let's put all sin behind us to serve a...

Have you ever been told to go light on the salt? Well, not today! Ok, I'm not a doctor or nutritionist, so I have to admit I'm not talking about dietary guidelines. I'm talking about Jesus' words in this week's scripture. Jesus said you are the salt of the world. Salt that loses it's taste is useless. So go heavy on your salt! Jesus also said you are the light of the world. Let your light shine be...

Blessed are who? Jesus' sermon on the mount sets the tone for his whole ministry. He didn't come to lift up the rich and powerful even higher than they already were. He came to lift up those who were disadvantaged, those who were down and those who have been told they're not good enough for one reason or another. This message comes with a two sided realization. Yes, no matter what, YOU are blessed...

What time is it? You don't need to look at a clock to answer that question in this case,  When you want something to happen, do you want it in your time, or in God's time? Are we willing to wait patiently for it to be God's time? If we are, we can be sure that blessings are multiplied and God's will is done when things are done in God's time.