Today’s Focus:
Prevenient Grace, How Sweet the Sound!
(Nee'-kos) Biblical Greek Word for "Victory"
Wednesday, March 30, 2022
Monday, March 28, 2022
Sermon (March 27/Lent) by Rev. Robert McDowell
“Disciples are made, not born.” That was the title of a little paperback book that was in my house while growing up. That title has always stayed with me and is the inspiration for our Season of Lent series.
Being made into a disciple of Jesus means that we are always in a learning and growing process. It also implies that some things about being a disciple might seem counter-cultural and not very intuitive.
I think this is why Jesus sought to make disciples by telling stories and parables. Jesus was a master storyteller. He told parables where no matter who you are, you can find yourself in that story somewhere.
Luke, chapter 15 might be one of my top five chapters in the four gospels because this chapter includes three parables that have become known as the Divine Lost & Found. These include the Parable of the Lost Sheep, the Parable of the Lost Coin, and the parable we just heard read for us, the Parable of the Prodigal Son.
In the first parable, the parable of the lost sheep, Jesus says how there were 100 sheep and one of them got lost. Now, on one hand, we might think to ourselves, that we at least still have 99 sheep, so why bother, but Jesus is reminding us that every one of those sheep matter to him.
Can you imagine if some teachers came back to the school after a day long field trip and announced to the parents, “We started out with 100 students but somewhere during the day, we lost one of them. But at least we still have the other 99!”
At one time, Penny and I had three westies. In the blink of an eye, one or more of them would dart out an open door and the two of us would chase them down through someone’s backyard. “Oh, there are the McDowells again! Westies must have gotten loose!”
Jesus follows this up with another short parable about the lost coin. A woman lost a coin and she does everything she can to find it. After sweeping through her house, she finally finds it and she calls out to her neighbors to join her in a celebration party.
Now, if I invited my neighbors every time I found my misplaced cell phone, I would be having a neighborhood party every single day!
By the way, isn’t it a great feeling when you finally find something that you’ve misplaced? I’m sure that I’m not the only one here who has dumped out a bag of garbage in an attempt to find something important that we we might have thrown away. And why is it that this usually happens right after we dump coffee grinds into that same garbage bag? Yuck!
I’ve been known to climb into a dumpster now and then to find something I didn’t mean to throw away. Oh, the things we will do to search out that which is lost.
These first two parables are meant to help us see that this is who God is like. God is like that shepherd who is willing to do whatever it takes to find that one lost sheep. God is like that woman who frantically sweeps through the house in order to find that one lost coin.
And then we have the longest of the three lost and found parables here in Luke, chapter 15, the parable of the Prodigal Son.
Notice that this time, we’re not talking about a lost sheep or a lost coin. We’re talking about a lost son. And not just about a lost son, but about a lost son who was rebellious and who brought shame to the family by squandering his share of the family inheritance.
This son goes off and after recklessly spending the money becomes desperate until he finally comes to his senses and he decides to return home hoping to at least become one of his father’s hired hands.
And the shocker in the story is that when the father seeing his son from a distance, he runs out to meet him and welcomes him back into the family, even before he has a chance to apologize.
All three of these parables here in Luke, chapter 15 offer us a vivid picture of a God who is over the top gracious, forgiving, and loving toward us.
What does it mean for us to be made into disciples of Jesus who seek to be gracious, forgiving, and loving?
John Wesley, the 18th century Anglican Priest and founder of the Methodist movement had a very helpful theological understanding of God’s grace that he taught those early Methodists. He said that God’s grace can be experienced in three very important ways.
These include God’s prevenient grace, God’s justifying grace, and God’s sanctifying grace.
PREVENIENT GRACE
Let’s start with what Wesley meant by God’s prevenient grace. The word, “Prevenient” comes from the Latin word which means to “go before,” that is to say that God’s grace goes before our conscious awareness of it.
Think of it this way. In every single moment, God is reaching out to us, extending grace, mercy, guidance, and comfort. Even before we are even thinking about God, God has already made the first move toward us.
God’s grace is always stirring within us and inviting us to respond in faith. This is why we baptize infants because we believe that God’s claim on our lives comes before our awareness of it. The Sacrament of Baptism is primarily about God’s promise made to us and secondarily about our response to God’s grace in our lives. Both are important, God’s response and our response, but if it wasn’t for God making the first, move, we would be lost in our brokenness and sins.
JUSTIFYING GRACE
Which leads me to the second type of grace which is God’s justifying grace. This is the grace where we are awakened to what God has done for us through Jesus Christ. It’s when we have that “aha” moment and realize that through Jesus Christ, our sins are forgiven and we belong to Christ. Some might refer to this as when we personally accept Jesus Christ into our lives.
If you don’t remember a particular “aha” moment in your life where you made a conscientious decision to accept Jesus as your Savior, that’s OK because maybe you had several of these moments and to pick one would be really difficult.
For me, there were a couple of early memorable “aha” moments in my life where the light bulb came on and I realized just how much God loves me. The first time that I remembered becoming conscious of God’s love for me was when I was in elementary school during recess. I was waiting my turn in the tether ball line when a friend of mine asked me if I knew that I was going to go to heaven. Oh, the conversations that happen during recess!
I asked him what he meant and he told me how wonderful heaven is going to be. Looking back on this memory, I think he had probably heard a sermon about this at his Baptist Church and he wanted to share it with me.
He then told me that all I needed to do was to extend my arms and ask Jesus to come into my heart. And so very dramatically, there on the playground, I opened my arms wide and I said out-loud, “Jesus, come into my heart.” I still remember that moment even to this day.
Another time that I can remember having an “aha” moment was when I was in middle school and I went on a summer weekend youth retreat and felt God’s love in a very real way. It was another moment where I received God’s grace into my life in a very personal way.
To tell you the truth, I can’t tell for sure if there was just one moment or experience over the others that I can point to and say that this is when I received God’s justifying grace. I think that this happened many times for me, because I grew up in a very loving and nurturing church. The important thing was that God’s prevenient grace prepared me to receive God’s justifying grace where I wanted to be a disciple of Jesus.
SANCTIFYING GRACE
And this leads us to the third understanding of God’s grace, God’s sanctifying grace. This is the grace that continues to reach out to us even after God’s prevenient and justifying grace has led us to receive God’s gift of salvation.
Sanctifying grace comes from another Latin word, “sanctus” which means to be made holy. God’s ultimate desire for us is that we become more and more gracious, loving, and forgiving like God, and this is a life-long process.
Another way to describe these three aspects of God’s grace is to use the image of a beautiful house. Think of the front porch of that grand house as God’s prevenient grace. God’s grace invites us to draw closer to God and so we walk onto that front porch but we’re still not inside the house. That’s God’s prevenient grace that has led us to that space.
And once on the porch, we walk to the front door and we’re so amazed by the grandeur of this house that we can’t wait to go inside so we ring the door bell. The front door opens and we enter that wonderful house. That is God’s justifying grace. We have responded to God’s invitation to come inside the house. We’re now standing there in the foyer with our eyes wide open taking in the beauty of this home. We are feeling so grateful and thankful to be in such a beautiful place.
Once inside this magnificent house, we can’t believe how beautiful it is but we know that there is more to see. God’s sanctifying grace is when we are led to walk into each room of that house, taking in all of the splendor, feeling at home, and making it our home. And this is what we get to explore and enjoy for the rest of our lives, this place we can call home.
So in summary…
God’s grace is prevenient – it leads us to the front porch. It is justifying – it opens the front door so that we can enter the house. It is sanctifying – it then leads us to explore each and every room where we feel at home and we continue to make it our home for the rest of our lives.
To be made into a disciple of Jesus is to know and love the God who is gracious and always seeking out the lost and who loves to throw parties for those who have been found. So come on in. The door is open. Make yourself at home. Welcome to the party.
The Making of a Disciple: Grace-Filled
Sermon Discussion Questions
Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
March 27, 2022
During the Season of Lent, we are focusing on the theme, “The Making of a Disciple” and 8 vital aspects of what it means to be Jesus’ disciples. These include being hope-filled (March 6), being generous (March 13), being worshipful (March 20), and this week our focus is on being “grace-filled.”
Review the first three weeks of this series. Share some ways that are helping you to be more intentional in being a hope-filled, generous, and worshipful disciple of Jesus. Share what you have been discovering with the people in your small group.
This week’s focus is on being grace-filled. This is based on one of the more familiar stories in the entire bible, the story of The Prodigal Son (Luke 15.) Even after the youngest son rudely demands his share of the inheritance and then squanders it in loose living, the father is still willing to receive him with open arms and throw a party for him!
Why do you think Jesus told this parable? What led this father to be so grace-filled toward his son who had disowned his family by taking his share of the inheritance and squandering it?
Pastor Robert shared the three parts of John Wesley’s theological understanding of God’s grace. John Wesley was the founder of Methodism and he taught the early Methodists to think of grace in three important dimensions. Prevenient Grace: God’s grace which goes before us reaching out to us to get our attention. Justifying Grace: God’s grace which leads us to consciously respond to God’s offer of forgiveness and salvation. Sanctifying Grace: God’s grace that continually invites us to become more like God for the rest of our lives.
How does this 3-dimensional view of God’s grace (prevenient/justifying/sanctifying) provide a deeper understanding of how much God loves us?
During the sermon, we were invited to think of this 3 dimensional understanding of God’s grace with a house metaphor. Prevenient Grace is when we are on the front porch. Justifying Grace is when we actually walk inside the house. Sanctifying Grace is when we explore the different rooms of the house for the rest of our lives and make it our home.
Prevenient Grace - Share how God has reached out to you before you were even aware of God’s grace.
Justifying Grace - Share a time when you became aware of God’s grace and you responded by receiving it.
Sanctifying Grace - Share a time when you experienced a greater degree of faithfulness and growth in your relationship with Christ.
Close with this prayer:
Merciful and gracious God, you seek the lost sheep of your pasture. You call out to all who have strayed. As the father welcomed his prodigal son home, receive us back into your loving arms. Your steadfast love, O God, is never ending. Your loving embrace is always there for us. Lead us to be more like you; more forgiving, more loving, and more grace-filled. Thank you for always welcoming us home! Amen.
Sunday, March 27, 2022
Online Worship (March 27) Athens First UMC
Welcome to our
March 27
(4th Sunday In Lent)
online worship service!
Athens First UMC
2 S. College St., Athens, OH 45701
[Live-Stream Begins @ 10:25 AM]
Wednesday, March 23, 2022
Monday, March 21, 2022
Sermon (March 20/Lent) by Rev. Robert McDowell
During this 40 day season of Lent, we are focusing on the theme, “The Making of a Disciple” and looking at eight essential aspects in what it means to be followers of Jesus.
These include being hope-filled, being generous, and today, our focus is on being worshipful. While all of the eight aspects are essential in being followers of Jesus, I would have to say that being worshipful is the foundational block from which all the others are based.
Why is being worshipful so important in what it means to be a disciple of Jesus? Here’s the short answer, even though this will not effect the length of today’s sermon. We become what we worship. We become what we worship. And I define worship as that which we give our highest allegiance.
If our jobs are the most important thing in our lives, than that is what we worship. If sports are the most important thing in our lives, than that is what we worship. If shopping is the most important thing in our lives, than that is what we worship. If power and prestige are the most important things in our lives, than that is what we worship.
Notice that I didn’t say that any of those things are not important, just that they should not be the most important things in our lives compared to our worship of God. We are told from the very beginning of the Bible that we were created in God’s image. Part of what it means to be created in God’s image is that we worship the one who has created us.
And the One who has created us is the Triune God, one God known in three persons; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Father refers to God as a loving heavenly parent. The Son refers to Jesus who was the embodiment of God who lived, died, and who rose again for our sake. And the Holy Spirit is the presence of the Risen Son who empowers us to be disciples of Jesus.
This is who we worship when we gather together on Sunday mornings; a creating, redeeming, and sustaining God. This is why worship is the foundation of all of the other aspects in what it means to be a follower of Jesus.
There are two important aspects of worship, communal and personal. First of all, worship is meant to be communal because God calls us to be a community of faith. We worship on Sundays because Jesus was risen on a Sunday. The early Christians referred to Sunday as a little Easter to remind us that every time we gather for worship, we are an Easter people.
In Jesus’ day, Sunday represented the first day of the work week like Mondays are for us today. Imagine those early Christians gathering every Sunday morning, on the first workday of the week.
They would have had to worship early in the morning before they would then go to work for the day. Just imagine how those who weren’t Christians would have found this to be a strange thing to do, but this is what those early Christians did. They woke up early on that first day of the work week to remember that they were an Easter people and to worship the triune God. This is the tradition that we continue to this day.
Communal worship includes this basic pattern of four components. These include 1) Gathering 2) Proclamation and Response 3) Thanksgiving and Communion, and 4) Sending Forth
Here at Athens First, our gathering includes everything from people greeting people as they enter the building, our opening gathering music, our responsive call to worship, our opening hymn, and our opening prayer of confession. That’s what is part of The Gathering.
Our Proclamation and Response includes our scripture readings, the sermon, and our ministry of music.
Our Thanksgiving and Communion includes the pastoral prayer, the Lord’s Prayer, the offering, the doxology, and the Sacrament of Holy Communion which we observe on the 1st Sunday of each month. This is all in response to the Proclamation and Response portion of worship.
Our Sending Forth includes the closing hymn, the closing benediction, and the closing music.
Think of our weekly Sunday worship like the function of a person’s lungs. We inhale by being gathered to worship as God’s people and we exhale by being sent forth to live out our faith during the week. This is our weekly cycle. Inhaling and exhaling. Being drawn together to worship as God’s people and exhaling by being sent by God into the world to be Jesus’ disciples.
To summarize, weekly Sunday worship invites us to gather, to praise God, to confess our sins and receive God’s forgiveness, to hear the scriptures read and proclaimed, to respond to God’s Word through prayer and the offering of our gifts, and then to receive God’s blessing as we are sent forth into our community to live out our faith.
And if we are faithful in participating in weekly Sunday worship, we end up following the life and ministry of Jesus for the entire year. This is known as the church or liturgical calendar.
The church year begins with the four weeks of Advent in preparing for the birth of Jesus as well as his 2nd coming when he will return to set up God’s kingdom here on earth. This leads to the Christmas season, also known as the twelve days of Christmas that begins with Jesus birth and concludes with Epiphany Sunday when the Wise Men come to offer gifts to the Christ Child.
Following the Christmas season, we enter into several weeks of Ordinary Time where the focus is on Jesus’ teachings and healings.
This leads to the 40 day season of Lent beginning in late winter which we are observing now. During the six weeks of Lent, we follow Jesus to Jerusalem where he will share in the Last Supper with the disciples, die on a cross and then be placed in a tomb.
And of course, this leads to Easter Sunday and the Season of Easter also known as the Great Fifty Days in which we focus on when the Risen Jesus spends time with the disciples before he ascends to his heavenly throne. Pentecost Sunday is the last day of the Easter season when God sends the Holy Spirit upon the disciples and the early church.
We then celebrate Trinity Sunday in which all of the church year is tied together as we explore the mystery of the holy trinity; God known as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
And this begins the longest of the church seasons known as Ordinary Time which will last through the summer and into late November. During this long stretch, the focus is on Jesus’ teaching and healing ministry and that steady growth in what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.
This is the cycle of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection that we repeat year after year based on appointed scripture readings for each Sunday that is known as the lectionary. These scriptures are meant to keep us centered on these important seasons of the church year.
This is why weekly communal worship is so important. It helps us to follow the life of Jesus for the entire year and it provides us with a holy rhythm.
I was thinking of a pastor friend of mine who served as a spiritual mentor to me during my early years of pastoral ministry. He told me the story of how he went to High School in Philadelphia and was on the crew team where Jack Kelly, father of the famous actress and princess, Grace Kelly was the coach.
He said how Jack Kelly was a very demanding coach and how he required them to practice as a team even on Sunday mornings. My friend said that he knew that there was no way that his very faithful Methodist parents were going to allow him to miss church on Sunday mornings to go to crew practices. So, he went to Coach Kelly and said, “Coach, I won’t be able to practice on Sunday mornings because I can’t miss church.”
And Coach Kelly, not backing down said, “It’s not an option, Teller. You have to come to practice Sundays or you can’t be on the crew team.”
And my friend said, “Then I’ll just have to quit the team, coach because I am not allowed to miss church on Sundays.”
And Coach Kelly, surprised that he was getting this push back and looking out at his entire crew team said in a gruff voice, “Alright then, since Teller can’t make Sunday practices, we won’t practice on Sundays.”
That’s a great story about the importance of worship. But the other side note to this story is that my friend said that he actually danced with the coach’s daughter, Grace Kelly thee Grace Kelly at a school dance. I don’t know which story is better! But for our purposes today, let’s go with the first one about the importance of worship.
So much more can be said about communal worship and how it can help us to grow in what it means to be disciples of Jesus, but there is only so much time.
In addition to communal worship, there is also what I would call personal worship. Personal worship is the daily time that we spend alone with God. There are many ways to do this but it usually includes a time during each day where we can pray and read scripture. This spiritual discipline of personal worship is also known as daily devotions.
Our church always has Upper Room devotionals which is our denomination’s devotional resource. Each day includes a scripture reading, a short commentary about the scripture written by a layperson, a thought for the day and a closing prayer. These Upper Rooms come out every two months.
We also provide sermon discussion questions from the previous Sunday to use during the week. These can be used as part of your daily time with God and are also used in our small groups just as a way to continue to reflect on the previous Sunday’s worship theme.
I love how today’s Psalmist from Psalm 63 refers to this daily approach to worship by saying, “So I will bless your name as long as I live; I will lift up my hands and call on your name.” The Psalmist is referring to what it means to be worshipful. Being worshipful is simply being aware of God’s presence throughout our day and especially when we gather each Sunday for worship as God’s people.
We become what we worship. This is why being worshipful is at the heart of being a disciple of Jesus.
Anglican Bishop and bible scholar NT Wright says, “worship is the glad shout of praise that arises to God the creator and God the rescuer from the creation that recognizes it’s maker, the creation that acknowledges the triumph of Jesus the Lamb. That is the worship that is going on in heaven, in God’s dimension, all the time. The question we ought to be asking is how best might we join in.”
I think this is a great question to end with today as we seek to be disciples of Jesus. How best might we join with all of heaven, in worship of the one true God known as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?
Disciples of Jesus are worshipful.
The Making of a Disciple: Worshipful
Sermon Discussion Questions
Psalm 63:1-8
March 20, 2022
During this 40 day season of Lent, we are focusing on eight essential aspects of being a disciple of Jesus. So far, we have looked at being hope-filled and generous. This week, our focus is on what it means to be a worshipful disciple of Jesus. Pastor Robert offered this statement: “We become what we worship.” This means that we become whatever is most important in our lives.
What are your thoughts about the statement, “We become what we worship.”
In the creation story found in the Book of Genesis, we are told that God made humankind in his image. This means that we are to reflect this image of God outwardly to others as well as to God in worship. When we worship God, we are worshiping the triune God known as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God known in three persons. If we become what we worship and we worship the triune God this means that we become more caring, loving, forgiving, holy.
In what ways have you become more caring, loving, forgiving, and holy by worshiping God?
Our appointed Psalm reading from Psalm 63, offers two ways for us to worship God. The first way that we worship God is in community. Notice that in verse 2, the Psalmist says, “So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.” This is referring to worshipping God with the congregation in the Temple. Here at Athens First UMC, we offer weekly Sunday worship services. Think of our Sunday worship service as us inhaling and drawing together. At the end of the service we exhale and are sent forth to serve others in the community.
How does this image of weekly congregational worship in which we inhale (come together) and exhale (go forth to serve) help you in your understanding of the importance of Sunday worship together?
Our weekly worship follows the annual seasons of the liturgical calendar based on the life of Jesus that include 1) The Advent Season 2) The Christmas Season 3) Ordinary Time 4) Lent & Holy Week 5) The Great 50 Days of the Easter Season 6) Ordinary Time.
How does following the yearly cycle of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus provide a holy rhythm for your life?
In addition to worship in community, the Psalmist also refers to the personal worship of God. In verse 4, the Psalmist says, “So I will bless you as long as I live, I will lift up my hands and call on your name.” He also refers to thinking about God during the night while in bed. There are a variety of ways that we can worship God in a personal way. Some people take time each day to reflect on the previous Sunday’s worship theme which these weekly sermon discussion questions seek to provide. Others might use the daily United Methodist devotional resource, “The Upper Room” which we have available at the church or you can find online. There are many other ways to spend time each day in prayer and in the scriptures.
What are some ways that you spend time in daily personal worship?
Offer this prayer from this past Sunday’s worship service to remind you of the importance of being worshipful as disciples of Jesus:
O God, we confess that we sometimes go through the motions of worship. We want to be more like the Psalmist whose soul thirsted for you as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. We look upon you in the sanctuary and behold your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, our lips praise you. We bless you as long as we live and we lift our hands and call on your name. Prepare us to be a sanctuary, O Lord. Amen.
Sunday, March 20, 2022
Online Worship (March 20/Lent) Athens First UMC
Welcome to our
March 20
(3rd Sunday In Lent)
online worship service!
Athens First UMC
2 S. College St., Athens, OH 45701
[Live-Stream Begins @ 10:25 AM]
Wednesday, March 16, 2022
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