West End UMC Podcast Audio Podcast

Going on to Perfection – Today through specific liturgy and acts we remember and reaffirm our own baptisms. We also continue with scripture from Matthew as we work through the New Testament in the coming months. In today’s passage Jesus says that he has come to fulfill, rather than to abolish, the law and the prophets. He challenges his listeners to love their enemies and ends by telling them to “...

Beginning with Blessing – Today is Epiphany Sunday, the day we traditionally celebrate the story of the birth of the messiah being revealed to the magi. But, as we’ve begun our trip through the New Testament, our scripture for today is from Matthew and is the first part of the Sermon on the Mount Jesus delivered to the crowds. This first part is the very familiar “Beatitudes,” such as “Blessed are...

Awakening in Our Dreams – Today is the first Sunday after our celebration of the birth of Jesus. Delivering the sermon is Chris Dean, and it is based on the story in Matthew 2 of an angel appearing to Joseph in a dream, telling him to take Mary and Jesus and go to Egypt because of the threat of Herod. Then, further in that passage, an angel appears to Joseph in another dream, telling him to take M...

Today’s Advent Podcast is led by Chris Dean and Sheyla Soriano, two members of West End’s Spiritual Formation team. ...

Redirecting Obedience – Today is the fourth Sunday of Advent, and the third Advent candle symbolizes love. The Rev. Will McLeane, our Pastor of Spiritual Formation is delivering the sermon, and the text from Matthew about the revelation to Joseph that his pregnant fiancé, Mary would bear a son conceived by the Holy Spirit. Rev. Will points out that this is certainly the season for decisions, such...

Today’s Advent Podcast is led by Kay Gray and Allen Patton, two members of West End UMC’s “Seasoned Seniors,” an Older Adult fellowship and connection group. ...

Today’s Advent Podcast is led by Mackenzie Rice and Lu Johns-De La Garza, two undergraduate students at Vanderbilt and participants in Vanderbilt Wesley. ...

All in the Family – Today is the second Sunday of Advent, and, as the first Sunday of the month, it is also Communion Sunday. We are not only in Advent, awaiting the birth of the Christ child, but we are also beginning a study of the New Testament, and today’s reading is from the first verses of the first Gospel, Matthew, verses that give the genealogy of Jesus back to Abraham, as the writer of th...

The Day Is Coming – Today is the first Sunday of Advent, the Christian season of waiting. Carol asks us to ponder what we, personally, are waiting for. She gives some examples of things people are waiting for, both as individuals and as groups, and says that waiting can be difficult. And we now not only await the celebration of the birth of Jesus, but we also await the second coming of Jesus. We h...

Investing in Hope – Today is “Reign of Christ Sunday” when we acknowledge and celebrate the centrality of God and Jesus as the overarching focus of our faith. Also today we are ending our series of readings and sermons based on the Book of Jeremiah. Today’s passage from Jeremiah is quite odd and surprising. Jerusalem is about to be conquered by the Babylonians, and they know that’s coming because...

Bloom Where You Are Planted – Today is “College Sunday” when we celebrate the college students worshipping among us. As part of that, college students are taking part in much of the service, and Daniel Cantrell, a graduate student at Belmont University, is preaching. We have been in a series of Sundays during which we are exploring the Book of Jeremiah, and in today’s passage, the Lord, through Je...

Even in Exile – In an exchange of preachers, today the Rev. Sam McGlothlin, the senior pastor at Belle Meade United Methodist Church, is preaching for us, while Rev. Dr. Carol Cavin-Dillon is preaching there. We have been in a series of Sundays during which we are exploring the Book of Jeremiah, and to prepare us for today’s passage, Rev. McGlothlin reviewed the Book of Jeremiah we have explored t...

Living by Heart – Today is All Saints Sunday, an annual celebration of the lives of those who have gone before us, whether they be in the faith, in the history of our church, among our own families and friends, but, especially, honoring the lives of those West End UMC members who have died since last year’s All Saints Sunday. Their names are printed on the bulletin covers, and, as part of the Pray...

A walking (or sitting) meditation that you can use to pray and give God thanks for your pet

The Potter’s Hands – We are in a series of Sundays during which we are exploring the Book of Jeremiah, and in today’s scripture, God tells Jeremiah to go to a potter’s house where he witnesses the potter re-working a clay vessel whose clay had spoiled. God uses this to illustrate to Jeremiah God’s intent to re-work Israel, possibly destroying it if Israel doesn’t listen to his word and turn from i...

First, the Bad News – We are in a series of Sundays during which we are exploring the Book of Jeremiah. Last week the scripture and sermon were about the call of Jeremiah to be a prophet when he was but a child. This week the reading is from a section in Jeremiah 2 wherein God’s word delivered by Jeremiah denounces the idolatry and faithlessness of God’s people, thus giving the bad news before giv...

Stop Making Excuses – Today we welcome Toi King, lead pastor at Clark Memorial UMC, as our guest preacher. We are beginning a series on the prophet, Jeremiah, and today’s scripture is the first part of the book wherein Jeremiah receives a call from God. Rev. King begins by asking if we’ve made excuses when someone asks us to do something we don’t want to do, or when someone asks us to do something...

Jesus Beyond the Border – Today is World Communion Sunday, and the scripture is the story in Luke of Jesus traveling, and, on his way, healing ten lepers, only one of whom returns to praise God and thank Jesus, and that fellow was a Samaritan. Carol told of an experience she had some years ago visiting a children’s hospital in Israel where staff members were from various countries and the patients...

Lost and Found – Today’s scripture involves the familiar parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin, but of critical importance is the setting for them. Jesus is having dinner with tax collectors and “sinners,” but the Pharisees and scribes were not happy that he was gathering with such people. The parables challenge their objections and demonstrate God’s willingness to seek out any who are lost...

Today’s scripture is a scene from Luke wherein Jesus tells his disciples a story about a rich man and another man named Lazarus who is covered in sores and frequently lies on the steps of the rich man’s house, hoping for food scraps. But the rich man pays no attention to Lazarus, failing to see him as a human sibling. Jesus frequently in parables and in the beatitudes, for example, calls on people...

A Shrewd Investment – Today’s scripture is a scene from Luke wherein Jesus tells his disciples a parable about a rich man who finds out that his manager has been squandering his property and confronts that manager, This parable can evoke questions and can be confusing because the manager, to save himself, does some things we might have expected from someone who is conniving and not honest. It can...

Scripture Reflections – Today is Children’s Sabbath, and children are leading many parts of the service, including the sermon. Emilia Fazio and Caroline Thompson deliver the sermon consisting of reflections on the very familiar Parable of the Mustard Seed in Luke 13. Small things can make big differences, so they encourage us to do kind deeds every day that can grow into amazing things. One exampl...

From Big Fan to True Disciple – Today’s scripture is a scene from Luke where Jesus is addressing the crowds and challenges them in a number of ways, some of which seem very harsh. Carol begins by talking about Taylor Swift and the hordes of her fans. This story in Luke has Jesus surrounded by hordes of people, fans, who travel with Jesus. In the Gospel of Luke there are concentric circles of peopl...

Lifted – Today’s scripture is a story about Jesus healing a crippled woman, a story that is found only in the Gospel of Luke. There is little detail about the scene in the text, so Carol asks us to imagine what it must have involved. According to the writer of the gospel, Jesus frequently taught in the synagogue, and this crippled woman came in late on this day. Some probably knew her and were use...

For the Sake of the Joy – Today’s scripture is from the letter to the Hebrews, and the Rev. Will McLeane, our Pastor of Spiritual Formation, is preaching. He begins by asking us to recall times when we were in the midst of something and suddenly wondered why we are doing what we’re doing, and what’s the end of all of it? The writer of Hebrews is addressing a community that is experiencing that kin...