Month: April,2023

THE LORD WILL FILL HIS TEMPLE WITH GLORY

April 28, 2023 By dwayman

 “THE LORD WILL FILL HIS TEMPLE WITH GLORY”

KENNY MARTIN – at LifeWay FMC in Indianapolis 

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE: HAGGAI 2:1-9

Pastor Kenny Martin is a candidate for bishop.  Click here for his introductory video.

Pastor Kenny Martin is interviewed here.

THE COMING GLORY OF GOD’S HOUSE

2 1“IN THE SEVENTH MONTH, ON THE TWENTY-FIRST OF THE MONTH, THE WORD OF THE LORD CAME BY HAGGAI THE PROPHET, SAYING: 2“SPEAK NOW TO ZE-RUB-BA-BEL THE SON OF SHE-AL-TI-EL, GOVERNOR OF JUDAH, AND TO JOSHUA THE SON OF JE-HO-ZA-DEK, THE HIGH PRIEST, AND TO THE REMNANT OF THE PEOPLE, SAYING: 3‘WHO IS LEFT AMONG YOU WHO SAW THIS TEMPLE IN ITS FORMER GLORY? AND HOW DO YOU SEE IT NOW? IN COMPARISON WITH IT, IS THIS NOT IN YOUR EYES AS NOTHING? 4YET NOW BE STRONG, ZE-RUB-BA-BEL,’ SAYS THE LORD; ‘AND BE STRONG, JOSHUA, SON OF JE-HO-ZA-DEK, THE HIGH PRIEST; AND BE STRONG, ALL YOU PEOPLE OF THE LAND,’ SAYS THE LORD,’ AND WORK; FOR I AM WITH YOU,’ SAYS THE LORD OF HOSTS. 5‘ACCORDING TO THE WORD THAT I COVENANTED WITH YOU WHE YOU CAME OUT OF EGYPT, SO MY SPIRIT REMAINS AMONG YOU; DO NOT FEAR!’ 6“FOR THUS SAYS THE LORD OF HOSTS: ‘ONCE MORE (IT IS A LITTLE WHILE) I WILL SHAKE HEAVEN AND EARTH, THE SEA AND DRY LAND;

TWO OBSTACLES OF EASTER

April 25, 2023 By dwayman

Two Obstacles of Easter

Benjamin Wayman, St. Paul’s Free Methodist Church

Year A – Easter; 9 April 2023
Acts 10:34-43; Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24; Colossians 3:1-4; John 20:1-18

Today Mary helps us see the Lord. And I’m so grateful she does. In John’s Gospel, Mary appears
only twice, but her appearances are at the climax of the story. Her first appearance is at the
foot of the cross, standing with Jesus’s mother, bearing with her the pain of Jesus’s torture and
death. Her second and final appearance is narrated in our reading today: she’s confused by an
empty tomb and greeted by Jesus, whom she mistook to be the gardener.

I wonder how she mistook him. It is not that she didn’t know Jesus. What kept her from seeing
her resurrected Lord? And what is it today that causes us not to see the resurrected Lord?
On this Easter Sunday, I’d like to explore two obstacles that obstruct our seeing and believing
the gospel. My hunch is that one of these obstacles is more substantial for you than the other,
and today we hear stories of how each are overcome by the earliest Christians.

The first obstacle that obstructs our seeing and believing the gospel is death. The second is
resurrection. These two obstacles, the cross and the empty tomb, are what Christians call “the
mystery of Easter.” I’d like to suggest that these two obstacles – the cross and the empty tomb –

THE SIGN OF IMMANUEL

April 21, 2023 By dwayman

“The Sign of Immanuel”
Isaiah 7:10-17
April 16, 2023
Rev. Colleen Hurley-Bates
Free Methodist Church of Santa Barbara

Our passage this week in Isaiah 7 brought to mind a parable Jesus told found in Luke 11. It is about persistence in prayer. Here is the main gist: You have a friend who has arrived at midnight and you have no food to give them. So you go to another friend’s home and knock on the door, telling them of your dilemma. This friend, whom you have ostensibly awakened says, “Don’t bother me. I am in bed, my whole household is in bed, and I can’t help you.” Jesus then says, “I tell you the truth, if you are persistent, your friend will get out of bed and give you what you need.” Then, Jesus tells us to ask because it will be given to us, search and we will find, knock and the door will be opened to us. If your child asks you for something good, would you give them something to harm them? No. How much more will your heavenly father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask. (notice it doesn’t say, God will give you what you want. It says you will receive THE SPIRIT.)

This parable is an interesting one. When we read it, it often troubles us how this is about never giving up on prayer,

FOUR CHRISTIAN VIEWS ON SEXUALITY

April 2, 2023 By dwayman

In an attempt to provide clarity in the discussion on Christian responses to same-sex attracted individuals, Josh Proctor provides a nomenclature of Four Christian Views on Sexuality.  These views are stated simply providing resources in support of each view, while emphasizing the SIDE B position.

Proctor notes that this is not a grid for understanding transexual persons, and then says:

“When it comes to Christian understanding of sexuality, there is a wide spectrum of beliefs and perspectives. Today, one of the main systems which has emerged to categorize these perspectives is the “Sides” terminology which is predominantly encompassed by four Sides: Side A, Side B, Side Y, and Side X. No system of belief categorization is perfect, but it can help us better communicate nuances within the conversation.

Before delving into the detailed differences of the Sides, here are quick definitions for each one:

Side A – God intentionally created queer people to have sexual attractions to members of the same sex and blesses sex between members of the same sex within certain boundaries.

Side B – God intended sex to be reserved for the lifelong covenant of marriage between one man and one woman. Therefore, God calls all believers (queer and straight alike) to the vocation of celibacy within community or to a monogamous marriage with a member of the opposite sex. Still this does not erasure sexual orientation. Therefore queer identity is a healthy way of communicating one’s experience and desires.