The United Methodist Church at Absecon

In his final appearance before ascending into heaven, Jesus gives Peter one last important message about what discipleship looks like. It's about action! In a series of "if, then" situations, Jesus tells Peter "if you love me, then you will take care of the things I love". Discipleship is about action; actions of love that take care of the things that Jesus loves; people...all people! The same mes...

After appearing at the empty tomb, on the road to Emmaus and in the Upper Room, Jesus next appeared to 7 disciples on the Sea of Galilee. After some traumatic events, have they gone back to what they knew before they met Jesus? When they first met Jesus, they were fishing in the Sea of Galilee. Now, they are back to fishing in the Sea of Galilee. Then, Jesus provided fish. Now, Jesus provides fish...

In the evening on the day of resurrection, Jesus appeared to 10 of the 11 remaining disciples. Thomas was not there when Jesus came. He said he would only believe it if we saw it for himself. Like Mary and the two followers walking to Emmaus, Thomas had a transformative experience with the risen Christ a week later. He was once a man who was hesitant and had faith only after his own conditions for...

After appearing to Mary Magdalene at the empty tomb, Jesus appeared to Cleopas and another one of his followers while they were walking to Emmaus. This wasn't a quick encounter. This encounter with the risen Christ lasted all the way to Emmaus, into the house and through dinner. Like Mary, they didn't recognize him at first. But they would find that the encounter they had with the risen Christ tra...

Up from the grave he arose! And he wasn't done yet. During the 40 days after his resurrection, Jesus appeared to over 500 people in several different times and places. Between Easter and Pentecost, we're going to take a look at those appearances, beginning just moments after the resurrection. Jesus, appearing as a gardener, appeared to Mary Magdalene for an important message!

Christ the Lord is risen today – Alleluia! Raise your joys and triumphs high – Alleluia! Sing, ye heavens, and earth reply – Alleluia!

Holy week was a wild ride for Jesus and the disciples. Today, Palm Sunday, Jesus is greeted with cheers and shouts of Hosanna. The crowd recognizes who he is; he is their promised king. That identity of the king, which was praised on Sunday, would be used to mock him on Friday. Which part of the crowd will we be? The part of the crowd that became disappointed that he didn't meet their expectations...

After having a Passover meal, being betrayed by one of his disciples and being arrested while praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was found guilty. But the Jewish leaders couldn't sentence a man to death at Passover. They sent him to Pilate, but Pilate didn't want to kill him. Trying to avoid responsibility for innocent blood, Pilate sent him to Herod. Herod didn't want his innocent blood o...

Jesus had a Passover meal with his friends, and then one of them left the table to go and betray him. Jesus and the remaining disciples went to Gethsemane to pray. While he was there, Judas and the guards came to arrest him. He was bound, beaten and made fun of all the way to the house of Caiaphas. Eventually, the 71 members of the Sanhedrin decided his crime was worthy of death. But they couldn't...

Jesus had a Passover meal with his disciples, and then went into the Garden to Pray while 3 of his closest friends were asked to be with him. Then, the betrayal was completed. Judas arrived with a group of men to arrest Jesus. The suffering of Christ began many hours before he ever got to the cross. As he was arrested and brought to the High Priest, Caiaphas, he was beaten, mocked and spit on. Chr...

From the Passover Seder, Jesus and 11 of his disciples go out into the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. Did you ever notice how rarely Jesus did something alone? Jesus knew the importance of support, love and company. He knew the importance of friends. Now, as his hours dwindle to a precious few, he asks his 3 closest friends to come and be with him while he fully feels his feelings. Peter, James and...

It's Thursday; a day that would eventually be known as Holy Thursday. It's evening; maybe around 7pm. Jesus is gathering around a table with his disciples in the Upper Room to enjoy a Passover Seder; a ritual and ceremonial dinner. They've had this Passover Seder together before. Those who grew up Jewish would have had this same exact ritual dinner every year of their lives. They thought they knew...

Lent is just one week away. As we journey through Lent, we will hear a lot about repentance. But before that, this week is a good opportunity to discuss what it means to repent. Have you ever seen someone apologize, and then do it again right after? That's not repentance. Repentance is not temporary. Repentance is a permanent turning around of your life and never going back. In what ways do you ne...

Last week we talked about how to lead. This week, we will discuss how to follow and who to follow. Doing so requires wisdom that comes from God. Our ability to make these decisions will increase as we increase our faith lives, our relationship with God and our knowledge of God's Word. If we resource ourselves with heavenly things instead of earthly things, we will be better prepared for these diff...

How to Lead. Have you ever interacted with a great leader? What was it about them that made them such a great and effective leader? Although it may seem like they were born that way, the truth is leadership is developed over time. Leadership is about identifying and then working on the gifts that God has given us. What gift has God given you, and how can you use that gift to lead others to a life...

How to Be Present. Did you ever feel like someone was "with you" but in their mind, they were somewhere else? When we are in the same space as a brother or sister in Christ, how can we be truly present there with them? It requires our full attention, it requires that we fully listen to them and it requires the loving offering of our time and ourselves. It's what our neighbors deserve, and it's wha...

How to serve! Even Jesus said he came to serve and not to be served. Then, he lived up to those words. He visited the sick and healed them, he prayed with those who were at a disadvantage and he got down on his knees and washed the disciples' feet. Jesus taught us that serving is about putting others before ourselves, it's about noticing when people struggle and it's about addressing the needs of...

How is your prayer life? At times in your life, you may have been nervous about praying. What do we pray for? How long do we pray? Jesus some things to say about prayer, and none of them focused on the length or fancy wording of it. To become more comfortable with praying, we have to first understand what prayer is and why we do it. This week, we ask God to teach us how to pray and why we pray.

When becoming a member of the United Methodist Church, we make promises to God, to ourselves, and to our brothers and sisters in Christ at the local church we are joining. Among the most important of those promises is that we will "support the ministries of the church by our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service and our witness". Of those 5 things, witness tends to be the most confusing an...

This time of year is filled with newness. The new year begins January 1st. The new church liturgical year began just a handful of weeks ago on the first Sunday of Advent. Some people like to make New Years resolutions, promising others, themselves and God that they will make changes in their lives that they feel need to be made. That's hard to do. Not because we don't want to, but because the past...

The Fourth Sunday of Advent. The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness can never extinguish it. You are the light of the world! People in darkness can still see God's light today, and they can see it in you. God's light can never be extinguished; it shines in the darkness and guides people toward it. How can we spread God's light in t...

The Second Sunday of Advent. Last week we talked about our coming King. Today, we talk about our coming Savior. Savior is one of the most recognizable descriptions and names given to Jesus. Yes, Jesus is our Savior. But what does Jesus save us from? Our own sins for sure. But Adam Hamilton helps us see that Jesus saved us from even more than that!

The Third Sunday of Advent. Jesus is Emmanuel. That means God is with us. “Is” ... that means present tense; Jesus IS God with us right here and right now. On our Advent Wreath, we will be lighting the pink candle of joy. Joy is different from happiness. Happiness is environmental; it comes and it goes, sometimes very quickly. But joy is more permanent. Happiness can't endure bad times, but joy ca...

The First Sunday of Advent! This year we will be discussing Adam Hamilton's "Incarnation". Our Bible Studies will go in depth, and in worship we all will engage in the same topic. We will be looking at a world that was anticipating a coming King. What did the Jews expect that King to be like? Some of their expectations were right, some expectations were wrong, and some expectations were exceeded!