West End UMC Podcast Audio Podcast

One With Christ – We continue our walk through the New Testament and, currently, through the writings of the apostle Paul, with a reading from 1 Corinthians 12. Today is also Communion Sunday. Much of Paul’s letter has to do with gathering around the table, and we will be gathering around the table through this month in reflection of that. Today’s section of 1 Corinthians is the familiar descripti...

A Life Shaped by Grace – This past week was our annual Vacation Bible School, and much of today’s service reflects that, including the Children’s Moment, led by Maggie Jarrell, our Minister with Children and Families. We continue our journey through the writings of Paul with a further look at his Letter to the Romans. Although this is the first of Paul’s letters in the Bible, it was the last one h...

Paul to Rome: Know Your Why – We continue our journey through the writings of Paul with a look at the first part of his Letter to Rome. Carol tells us about an experience of a family that always has a cup of spoons on the dinner table, but nobody in the family knew why that was, even though they had done so for several generations. Then she cites the book, Start with Why by Simon Stinek, in which...

Radiance – This is communion Sunday. In recent weeks we have followed some of the stories of the early Christian movement through the Book of Acts, and today we begin a series of looking at the writings of that most famous apostle, Paul. We also read a translation of Psalm 34. Our guest minister is the Rev. Jeff Chu, a journalist, author, speaker, and preacher visiting from Michigan. Peace, glory,...

Turning the World Upside-Down – Today we continue our readings in the Book of Acts with a story of Paul’s early ministry that will lead us to our summer look at Paul’s letters. It was said about the early Christians that “These people are turning the world upside-down!” Carol tells us a bit about the arrival of Paul and Silas in Philippi that was prior to our reading in Acts today, things they did...

Upon Each of Them – Today is Pentecost Sunday, so, appropriately, the scripture reading is the story of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2, when, in a gathering of Jews from many nations on Pentecost, flames and a wind came, and the Holy Spirit filled them all, and they were heard by a variety of people in their own languages. Peter cited a prophecy from Joel to show that this was a predicted end-time fo...

Conversion Continues – We continue reading in the Book of Acts as the early beginnings of Christianity begin spreading. The story we’re reading today is a long one, and we’re only reading part of it. As background, Simon Peter has been preaching, teaching, and healing. Our reading begins with Cornelius, a Roman centurion, praying to God. He is part of Rome’s occupying army, keeping the Jews in lin...

On the Outward Road – Today is communion Sunday, and our senior pastor, Carol Cavin-Dillon, expresses how our communion is an open invitation to everyone, not just to members of our church or our denomination, but to everyone. Today we start working with the book of Acts and its account of the effect of the invitation of Jesus to everyone, not just to Jews and people of Judah and Galilee, as belie...

Loving Jesus with Our Lives – Today is Confirmation Sunday, when youth who have been participating in the Confirmation Class are confirmed as members of the church. As we have been doing for a few weeks, we are following the Fourth Gospel, and our scripture passage for today is the story from John 21 wherein three times Jesus asks Peter if he loves him. The sermon today is given by the Rev. Maggie...

No Condemnation – As we have been doing for a few weeks, we are following the Fourth Gospel, and our scripture passage for today is the story of the encounter of Jesus with the scribes and Pharisees who have caught a woman in adultery. Senior Minister, Rev. Dr. Carol Cavin-Dillon is preaching, and reminds us that in John this is the second visit of Jesus to Jerusalem, and in his first trip he turn...

Divine Economy of Abundance – As we have been doing for a few weeks, we are following the Fourth Gospel, and our scripture passage for today is the story of the wedding feast where Mary prompts her son, Jesus, to change water into wine when the wine supply has run out. The Rev. Seulbin Lee, our pastoral intern, delivers the sermon today. She is a native of Korea and begins by sharing a memory from...

Grace upon Grace – Today’s scripture is the first eighteen verses of the Fourth Gospel, familiar as, “In the beginning was the word, . . .” This week was the return to earth of Artemis 2 with the four astronauts who circled the moon, and our bulletin cover has an image of the earth taken from that flight. It is a cosmic perspective of humankind, much as the perspective of the first image in John w...

Resurrection Re-membered – Today is Easter Sunday. Through Lent we have been reading the stories in the Gospel of Luke leading up to Holy Week and now Easter. In those stories we have noted a number of times when people, even those close to Jesus, had become discouraged and failed him, as, for example, Peter and Judas, but others as well. In her sermon Carol recounts a time when she was on a walk...

Jesus, the Love at the Heart of Everything – Today is Good Friday when we remember the crucifixion of Jesus and his hours on the cross. The Good Friday Meditation is given by the Rev. Will McLean, our Pastor of Spiritual Formation, and the scripture is the account of the crucifixion and hours on the cross as recorded in Luke 23. Will begins by noting how unsettling it is to be in this service with...

Sobremesa – This is the Maundy Thursday service in remembrance of the Last Supper. The scripture is the account of that event in the Fourth Gospel where Jesus washes the feet of the disciples gathered for supper. The Communion Meditation is given by the Rev. Aimee Baxter, our Pastor of Young Adults. She explains that from her experiences traveling to Brazil and Guatemala, there is much to enjoy, i...

Take a moment today on Maundy Thursday of Holy Week to ground yourself in scripture and prayer as we navigate the last week of Jesus' life here on earth to prepare for Easter Sunday.

A Disappointing Response – Today is the fifth Sunday of Lent, and through these 40 days we move toward the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus and Easter. The scripture from Luke for today is a scene where Jesus is brought before Pilate, then before Herod. In each case, Jesus does not really respond to their questions. Our Pastor of Spiritual Formation, the Rev. Will McLeane, delivers the sermon...

Peter’s Denial – Today is the third Sunday of Lent, and through these 40 days we move toward the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus and Easter. The scripture for today from Luke is the familiar story of Peter denying any knowledge of or association with Jesus. Carol cites something many of us recall from our youth, watching Road Runner cartoons with the bird constantly trying to escape Wile E....

Communion Meditation – Today is the second Sunday of Lent, and it is also Youth Sunday. The scripture is from Paul’s letter to the Romans, and it wrestles with one’s works compared to one’s faith. Three youth (Sam Wilson, Robert Harrell, and Peter Bigelow) deliver the Meditation, and each cites his history with our church and with various experiences in his years growing up here. Their message is...

The Trial Begins – Today is the first Sunday of Lent, and through these 40 days we move toward the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus and Easter. The scripture for today is from Luke and is a scene after the last Passover meal Jesus had with his disciples, and he has gone to the Mount of Olives to pray. Knowing what was to come (trial, conviction, crucifixion), he was in fear, and he prayed tha...

Their Faith – Today we continue moving through the New Testament having begun with the gospel of Mark, and today’s story is one of crowds gathering to hear Jesus inside and outside a home. Some friends bring a paralyzed man to Jesus to be healed, but the crowd is so massive they can’t get into the building, so they remove the roof and lower the paralytic. Rev. Carol Cavin-Dillon relates some perso...

Seeing as Healing – Today we continue moving through the New Testament with a scene from the gospel of Mark wherein Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho and a blind beggar, Bartimaeus, called out to him loudly and repeatedly and told Jesus that he wanted Jesus to let him see again. Jesus healed him, restoring his eyesight. Delivering the sermon today is Rea Green, a ministry intern at our...

Jesus the Healer – This week Nashville suffered a devastating ice storm, and several other congregations whose churches are without power have joined us for this one service, our monthly communion service. The Children’s Moment is delivered by Tyler Merritt, a storyteller, author, and actor, who did a presentation in our theatre before this service. As we work through the New Testament, today’s sc...

A Foundation of Grace – Due to a severe winter storm, church services were cancelled for Sunday, and this service was recorded Thursday evening so that it could be streamed on Sunday. We continue moving through the Gospel of Matthew, and the scripture is the last portion of the Sermon on the Mount wherein Jesus cautions those hearing him that they will not all end up with him, and he compares thei...

Let Us Pray – Today we continue moving through the Gospel of Matthew and the Sermon on the Mount with the very familiar passage in which Jesus teaches the people to pray and from which we have “The Lord’s Prayer.” Carol begins by citing a minister, Bishop Robert Spain, who heavily influenced her through her youth and mentored her in her own ministry. However, he once shocked her by saying from the...