Early Methodism & Colonial American History

Here's a very informative article regarding the beginnings of Methodism in America and our influence upon the formation of our nation's history.

The reporter emphasizes one of the key reasons for the success of Methodism especially in the formative years when we became an official denomination here in America in 1784.

The key? We highlighted two aspects of the good news of the faith in our preaching and witnessing:

1) God's free gift of grace extended to every single person (as opposed to a theology which states that God's grace is available to some and not to others.)

2) Human free will in which God invites us to receive or not receive God's free gift of grace made possible by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (as opposed to a theology that says people have no role in receiving or not receiving God's grace.)

As a personal reflection on this article, when I was in the 6th grade, my home pastor took our confirmation class to Lovely Lane Chapel in Baltimore, Maryland, the place where we became an official denomination on Christmas Eve, 1784.

Baptism of the Lord Prayer (Week of January 10)

Baptism of the Lord Prayer:

Living God, when the Spirit descended on Jesus at his baptism in Jordan’s water you revealed him as your own beloved Son. You anointed him with the Holy Spirit. Grant that all who are baptized into his name may keep the covenant they have made, and boldly confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior now and forever. Amen.

Happy Epiphany Day! (January 6) & Preparing for What's Next

This stretch of the church calendar journey (post Epiphany to Lent) often gets unnoticed, but it is a time in which we can grow in our relationship with Jesus Christ. Here are some key aspects of this liturgical stretch we are about to enter:

• Epiphany is a day and not a season (Jan. 6) even though we celebrated it this past Sunday because of the closest Sunday.
• Baptism of the Lord Sunday (this Sunday, Jan. 10) is the celebration of the beginning of Jesus' public ministry as marked by his baptism. It's also a time to reflect on the meaning of baptism and to give an opportunity for people to renew their baptismal vows.
• Following this Sunday (Baptism of the Lord) we enter into a new season called "Ordinary Time" which will take us all the way to February 7 (the Sunday prior to "Transfiguration Sunday.")
• There are two "Ordinary Time" seasons on the church calendar, this one and the one that begins around June and goes through the End of November. Ordinary Time literally means "ordinal" or "counted time." Far from being "ordinary," this season of the church year is a time for us to reflect on Jesus' teachings and to go through a steady growth in our faith. Green is the color associated with Ordinary Time since this is a season of growth.
• Ordinary Time is another reason why I appreciate how the liturgical calendar can help us find a rhythm of growth in our faith. Think about it. In addition to the big celebration "feast days/seasons" like Christmas, Easter, etc., that are filled with great joy, we also have times of steady growth (Ordinary Time,) and times of contemplation/confession (Advent & Lent.) In other words, the church season gives us the permission to experience our faith from a variety of human emotions and experiences and connects this all with our relationship with God. How much more relevant can the scriptures and the liturgical calendar be?

Collect of the Day: The Epiphany

O God, by the leading of a star you manifested your only Son to the Peoples of the earth: Lead us, who know you now by faith, to your presence, where we may see your glory face to face; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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Baptism - Renewal, Cleansing, & Transformation

This upcoming Sunday, January 10, is known on the church calendar as "Baptism of Our Lord" Sunday. It's a Sunday in which we remember when Jesus was baptised by John the Baptist and began his public ministry.

I can't think of any topic in the Christian faith that has caused more divisions in Christendom than the theology of baptism. With that being said, here are some thoughts on the meaning of baptism from my United Methodist/sacramental perspective.

• Baptism is the initiation of a person into a covenant relationship with Jesus Christ and a particular church family. Baptism is a communal event reminding us that our faith journey is meant to be lived within the community of faith (a local church) rather than in isolation.
• Baptism is primarily about what God has done for us through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Because baptism is more about what God has done and is doing in our lives and less about what we have done or are doing, the age of the person being baptized becomes irrelevant.
• OK. Let me qualify the above point. Since baptism is primarily about what God has done, and less about what we have done, infants and young children are invited to receive baptism, provided that a parent or guardian is willing to affirm Christian vows on behalf of the baby or young child being baptized. If baptism is about an initiation into a covenant relationship with Jesus Christ (see point #1) then a baby or young child will need to rely on a parent or guardian who is living out the Christian faith.
• For people who are against infant baptism because they believe each person should be able to decide to become a Christian or not, here are a couple of thoughts on this. 1) As the baby grows with the support of a Christian parent or guardian and the support of a local church, the hope is that this child will one day profess the Christian faith for himself/herself. 2) Since we live in a highly individualistic culture and the Bible comes out of a highly communal oriented culture, infant baptism makes sense only when we place a high emphasis on the role of the community when it comes to baptism.
• Since baptism is primarily about what God has done and is doing, we believe a person only needs to be baptized once, even if that person was baptized as an infant, or if a person has fallen away from the faith (short of publicly denouncing his/her faith.) If a person would be baptized again, it is like saying that God wasn't faithful in the baptismal covenant. It's not whether or not God has been faithful. It's on whether or not we have been faithful.
• There are many ways to renew our baptismal covenant without being baptized again. 1) For young people, confirmation is a wonderful process for a young person to reaffirm his or her baptism by reflecting on the meaning of the Christian faith and professing membership vows. 2) Every time we receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion, we celebrate what God has done for us in Jesus Christ and offer ourselves in joyful obedience to continue to live out our faith. 3) Every time the church offers baptism in worship, the congregation has an opportunity to renew their baptismal vows. "With you, we renew our vows..." we say from our ritual. 4) Participate in a baptism renewal service which we will be offering this Sunday for "Baptism of our Lord Sunday."
• Since Jesus was baptized, the question is often asked why this was necessary since Jesus was sinless. While it's true that Jesus didn't need cleansing from sins as we do, baptism isn't only about the cleansing of sins, it's also about responding to God's covenant faithfulness and responding in joyful obedience. Jesus' baptism marks the beginning of his public ministry in which he would faithfully live out his mission of being the Savior of the world.

Ah! So much more to say but that's enough for now. Have a blessed "Baptism of Our Lord" Sunday!

Sunday Worship Preview - January 10

January 10 - (8:15 A.M. & 11:00 A.M. Traditional Services & 9:45 A.M. Praise Service) & Wednesday, January 13 (6:30 P.M. Casual Service @ Crossroads, 2095 Fair Avenue)

Sermon - “Faith, Film, & Fiction – ‘Because of Winn-Dixie’”

Features - Baptism of the Lord Sunday

Scripture - II Corinthians 5:16-21 and Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

Theme - Today marks the middle of a three part sermon series on the theme, “Faith, Film, & Fiction.” Today, we take a look at the film, “Because of Winn Dixie” which is a movie about transformation and reconciliation. How does our Christian faith find connections with this touching movie? We’ll explore this together in worship.
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Epiphany Sunday Prayer (For Jan. 6 & Observed on Prior Sunday)

Epiphany Day, the concluding 12th day of Christmas on the church calendar is always celebrated on January 6. To help congregations celebrate Epiphany for Sunday worship, churches tend to do so on the Sunday prior to January 6.

In addition to being the last day of the Christmas season, Epiphany, which means "manifestation" is assosiated with the visitation of the Magi (Wise Men) who came to Bethlehem and offered gifts to the Christ Child.

Collect of the Day: The Epiphany
O God, by the leading of a star you manifested your only Son to the Peoples of the earth: Lead us, who know you now by faith, to your presence, where we may see your glory face to face; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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What's in a Name?

Today (Jan. 1) is always observed on the church calendar as "The Holy Name." Today is the eighth day following Christmas when Jesus would have officially been given the name, Jesus.

For a 1st century Jew, the name "Jesus" would have been heard as a very common name but in the context of the four gospels, people would be thinking of the Hebrew equivalent name, "Joshua." Remember Joshua from the Old Testament? Joshua was the one who picked up where Moses left off to continue to lead the Israelites into the promised land. The name "Joshua" and later "Jesus" both mean, "God saves."

So it's not surprising that there are frequent echoes of the exodus story throughout the gospel accounts in telling us about the life and ministry of Jesus. Just as Joshua led the Israelites from slavery into freedom in the exodus story, so will Jesus lead us from slavery into freedom through his life, death, and resurrection.

The connection of Jesus' name with the exodus story is another indication among many of how both the Old and New Testaments are intertwined and dependent upon each other in telling the good news of God's desire to rescue the world from sin and death.

Collect of the Day: The Holy Name

Eternal Father, who gave to your incarnate Son the holy name of Jesus to be the sign of our salvation: Plant in every heart, we pray, the love of him who is the Savior of the world, our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
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