Transformed by Faith

TRANSFORMED BY FAITH TODAY by Rev. Jennifer Fenner of Epworth United Methodist Church of Gaithersburg Maryland.  LENT: The meaning of the cross and the resurrection Episode 17 February 2021 Have your own limitations ever scared you? Have you ever cried out like the writer of Psalm 119:25 - My soul clings to the dust; revive me according to your word. Have you ever absolutely known you needed...

TRANSFORMED BY FAITH TODAY by Rev. Jennifer Fenner of Epworth United Methodist Church of Gaithersburg Maryland  REST AND RENEWAL IN THE WORD OF THE LORD Episode 26 January 2021 Can you find a place to just sit and listen today, even if for a few minutes? For me, I hear best on the shores of Lake Michigan - the place - in my grandmother's presence - where I would just go to BE and TO LISTEN. M...

TRANSFORMED BY FAITH TODAY REST AND RENEWAL IN THE WORD OF THE LORD Episode 25 January  2021 Do you go to sleep in peace, content with what  you have? Can you see the light in the night sky or are you blinded by all your restless searching? Gratefulness for what is and contentment with where we are- are fundamental to living in peace. Proverbs 23:4-5 offers the following counsel: Do not...

TRANSFORMED BY FAITH TODAY by Rev. Jennifer Fenner of Epworth United Methodist Church Gaithersburg MD REST AND RENEWAL IN THE WORD OF THE LORD EPISODE 22 January 2021 God has carved out  boundaries for the rivers and  lines for the mountain peaks against the clearest sky. Do you have boundaries in your life? Do you have boundaries which according to Psalm 16:5 create pleasant places? Res...

TRANSFORMED BY FAITH TODAY by Rev. Jennifer Fenner of Epworth United Methodist Church Gaithersburg MD  REST AND RENEWAL IN THE WORD OF THE LORD EPISODE 21 January 2021 What burden is so big, it's blocked your ability to see? What weight is so heavy you’ve lost the joy of life? Renewal, rest, re-creation give us a lighter heart and the joy of being carried -like on river waters or on eagle win...

TRANSFORMED BY FAITH TODAY by Rev. Jennifer Fenner of Epworth United Methodist Church of Gaithersburg MD REST and RENEWAL IN THE WORD OF THE LORD Episode 20 January 2021 Have you ever felt something was too far gone to be repaired? Has your life been in too many pieces for God to bring wholeness? Rest and renewal in the Word of the Lord can restore ALL THINGS! Ezekiel 37 is the powerful chapter of...

TRANSFORMED BY FAITH TODAY by Rev. Jennifer Fenner of Epworth United Methodist Church of Gaithersburg MD  REST AND RENEWAL IN THE WORD OF THE LORD EPISODE 19 January 2021 Have you ever tried to rush your process of rest or renewal? Have you ever desired renewal or healing to happen in one day because you think that’s all the time you can spend? Not surprising -God doesn’t often work this way....

TRANSFORMED BY FAITH TODAY by Rev. Jennifer Fenner of Epworth United Methodist Church of Gaithersburg MD REST AND RENEWAL IN THE WORD OF THE LORD 18 January 2021 God offers us home  and belonging. And rest that comes from the being held in the arms of one who loves us just because. Sometimes rest needs to be the belonging of home. Galatians 4:6 -7 Because you are his children, God, sent the S...

TRANSFORMED BY FAITH TODAY Did you know God offers us rest as a loving gift? What other -only God- gifts have you experienced? Does it soften your heart to know God gives to you as an intimate expression of love? Do we receive Gods gifts given? Listen to @Epworth United Methodist Church Gaithersburg Maryland podcast Psalm 127 verse 2 Says God gives rest Will you receive the gift today?

TRANSFORMED BY FAITH TODAY by Rev. Jennifer Fenner of Epworth United Methodist Church Gaithersburg Maryland What are you standing on today? PSALM 62:5-6 Find rest, oh my soul, in God alone: my hope comes from God. God alone is my rock and my salvation: God is my fortress, I will not be shaken. What a beautiful thought that God can be a rock upon which we stand. A place that cannot be moved or shak...

TRANSFORMED BY FAITH TODAY Podcast by Rev. Jennifer Fenner of Epworth United Methodist Church Gaithersburg Maryland DO YOU HAVE A PLACE WHERE YOU DRAW STRENGTH FOR EACH DAY? And if not, how can you possibly make the long journey?? Psalm 1: 2-3 says Blessed is the one who delights in the word of the Lord and on God’s word meditates day and night. This person is like a tree planted by streams of wat...

TRANSFORMED BY FAITH TODAY by Rev. Jennifer Fenner of Epworth United Methodist Church of Gaithersburg What sustains you daily? Philippians 4:13 is known for emphasizing ALL THINGS we can do through Christ who strengthens us But starting the verse before enriches even further. Philippians 4:12 is Paul laying out the daily strength he has found in God. He says - I have learned to be content or rest...

TRANSFORMED BY FAITH TODAY by Rev. Jennifer Fenner of Epworth United Methodist Church in Gaithersburg Maryland Where are you headed this year? When Jesus was tempted by Satan He reminded us all that we cannot live on physical bread alone -we must be fed by the word of God When Elijah is pursued on every side God reminds him -that God is found not in the wind that breaks mountains into rocks. Not i...

TRANSFORMED BY FAITH TODAY from @Epworth United Methodist Church of Gaitherburg and the Rev. Jennifer Fenner New Beginnings: Episode 8 January 2021 Revelation 21:1-3 The newness of the new year already does not seem like enough, right? Ready for a do-over for 2021? The truth is the passing of one calendar year to the next never will be our fulfillment. God is the newness we need. Revelation 21 - t...

TRANSFORMED BY FAITH TODAY with the Rev. Jen Fenner of @Epworth United Methodist Church of Gaithersburg   New Beginning Episode 7 Jan 2021 Lamentations 3:22-23 If there has ever been a day to begin anew in this nation it is today. Did yesterday’s events leave you feeling consumed? Because of the Lords compassion we are not consumed. God’s steadfast love is our foundation. Great is God’s...

TRANSFORMED BY FAITH TODAY New Beginnings Episode 6 January 2021 - Epiphany and All Things New Isaiah 43:18-19 Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. Do you believe that new things are possible? Or do the former things - the things you have experien...

TRANSFORMED BY FAITH TODAY PSALM 121: New Beginnings New Years resolutions can feel like a hopeful fresh page on January 1 and quickly become another burden to carry by January 3rd God promises to be the shade at our right hand as we cross deserts of open road. The newness of a new year is only sustained by the God that constantly and consistently makes all things new. Are you taking God up on the...

Transformed by Faith Today with Epworth United Methodist Church of Gaithersburg Maryland and the Rev. Jennifer Fenner There is a new year ahead of us and we are grateful. But new year rarely bring newness if there is not an internal change. 2 Corinthians 5:17 speaks of the ways in which faith brings new creation - new beginnings. The foundation of faith is the possibility that God's grace in Chris...

MARY DID YOU KNOW? sung by Floyd Jones TRANSFORMED BY FAITH TODAY with 30 Days of reflections on Advent and Christmas Songs Is there something God has told you that you JUST KNOW? No circumstances or conversations with others can take away the certainty of what God has given you? Claim it! and Hold on to it! God is faithful. Mary, had that kind of knowing, when it came to the nature of her son. Ma...

O TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN sung here by Floyd Jones TRANSFORMED BY FAITH TODAY from Rev. Jennifer Fenner of Epworth United Methodist Church Gaithersburg Maryland Have you stood in a thin place - where God reached from the heavens to the mountain top you were standing upon? Do you have a story to tell and a witness to hope for someone today? The Christmas Song Go Tell It on the Mountain was publishe...

Joy to the World! After this year - WHO ISNT LOOKING FOR JOY!?! But where do we find deep true lifting joy? Has 2020 left you reeling from the pain of human sin - whether lies, selfishness, or death? Do you long for a world in which systemic racism, concentrations of power, and the misallocation of resources would be overcome by compassion and truth and grace? Do you just simply wish that even in...

The Hallelujah Chorus composed by Handel was originally part of an Easter oratorio. Gradually the Hallelujah Chorus found its way into Christmas celebrations. That is in part because there is no one season to worship God. Praising is what we do. Taken from Revelation 19:6-7 it describes the beauty of God's glory and reign. Scripture says:  Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great m...

I HEARD THE BELLS ON CHRISTMAS DAY TRANSFORMED BY FAITH TODAY 30 Days of Reflections on Advent and Christmas Songs Has the fanfare of Christmas ever just felt like too much? Have the bells of Christendom rung so much their sound has become hollow and commercial? Have you ever just had enough?! That was how Henry Wadsworth Longfellow felt as he grappled with national racism, deep personal grief, an...

Do you need real peace? How about deep rest? Like the kind you find by a mountain lake or in a silent night? The narrative of God breaking into the world is beautiful in its raw display of love. But it was hardly perfect or sublime.  The people of Israel had long been oppressed by Rome. Travel for a Roman census was not easy or always safe. Mary was young and unknown. Jesus was jostling in th...

It is easy to give into a life that is structured by other peoples expectations, needs, demands. But the star in the East points to One whose priorities are different. What do you need to leave behind this week, in order to get up and follow? Maybe they are voices in your head? Demands that are not truly the top priorities in a life following after Christ? In Luke's gospel not only the shepherds a...