Randolph Courtland United Methodist Church

Come to rejoice with us.

RUMC December 2nd Advent worship service 

RCUMC worship service 

RCUMC worship service 

PRAYER

God of love: Sometimes you might want us to pay a price for following your Son Jesus. Remind us daily, with the help of this game piece, that in the words of Jesus, there is a cost to following him. We do love you and want to show others how much we love you by the way we live. Give each of us opportunities to look just like Jesus. Amen.

I sing praises to Your name, O Lord, praises to Your name, O Lord, for Your name is great and greatly to be praised; I sing praises to Your name, O Lord, praises to Your name, O Lord, for Your name is great and greatly to be praised.

Prayer: Dear God, thank you for your Word, the Bible. Please help us to understand and follow it. Please help us to follow Jesus. Even when it is difficult, help us, Lord. Thank you for being with us no matter what. Thank you for Jesus and His love. In His name, Amen!

Have you ever been promised something? Did you think you would get it even when you didn’t know what it was? Abraham did a lot of trust that God will take care of him. When is it hard to trust someone? Abraham we a good father, and God made him the Father of Nations.

Prayer: Dear God, thank you for giving us the tools to pray. Help us come to you for all that we need. And remind us to pray at all times. Thank you that Jesus prayed for us. Thank you that you are the One True God – Father – Son – Holy Spirit. Thank you for your love. We love you, God! In Jesus’s name, Amen!

Prayer: Dear God, thank you for sending your spirit. Thank you for the amazing story of Pentecost and for your church. Help us to share the good news. And spread your love to one another. Thank you for your love. We love you, God! In Jesus' name, Amen!Prayer: Dear God, thank you for sending your spirit. Thank you for the amazing story of Pentecost and for your church. Help us to share the good news. And spread your love to one another. Thank you for your love. We love you, God! In Jesus' name, Amen!

ACTS 16:25-34, NEW INTERNATIONAL READER'S VERSION

Paul and Silas Are Thrown into Prison

25About midnight Paul and Silas were praying. They were also singing hymns to God. The other prisoners were listening to them. 26Suddenly there was a powerful earthquake. It shook the prison from top to bottom. All at once the prison doors flew open. Everyone’s chains came loose. 27The jailer woke up. He saw that the prison doors were open. He pulled out his sword and was going to kill himself. He thought the prisoners had escaped. 28“Don’t harm yourself!” Paul shouted. “We are all here!”

29The jailer called out for some lights. He rushed in, shaking with fear. He fell down in front of Paul and Silas. 30Then he brought them out. He asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

31They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus. Then you and everyone living in your house will be saved.” 32They spoke the word of the Lord to him. They also spoke to all the others in his house. 33At that hour of the night, the jailer took Paul and Silas and washed their wounds. Right away he and everyone who lived with him were baptized. 34The jailer brought them into his house. He set a meal in front of them. He and everyone who lived with him were filled with joy. They had become believers in God.

New International Reader's Version (NIRV) Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

ACTS 16:9-15, NEW INTERNATIONAL READER'S VERSION

9 During the night Paul had a vision. He saw a man from Macedonia standing and begging him. “Come over to Macedonia!” the man said. “Help us!” 10 After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia. We decided that God had called us to preach the good news there.

Lydia Becomes a Believer in Philippi

11At Troas we got into a boat. We sailed straight for Samothrace. The next day we went on to Neapolis. 12From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony. It is an important city in that part of Macedonia. We stayed there several days. 13On the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate. We walked down to the river. There we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered together. 14One of the women listening was from the city of Thyatira. Her name was Lydia, and her business was selling purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to accept Paul’s message. 15She and her family were baptized. Then she invited us to her home. “Do you consider me a believer in the Lord?” she asked. “If you do, come and stay at my house.” She succeeded in getting us to go home with her.

New International Reader's Version (NIRV) Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Peter Explains His Actions

11The apostles and the believers all through Judea heard that Gentiles had also received God’s word. 2Peter went up to Jerusalem. There the Jewish believers found fault with him. 3They said, “You went into the house of Gentiles. You ate with them.”

4Starting from the beginning, Peter told them the whole story. 5“I was in the city of Joppa praying,” he said. “There I had a vision. I saw something that looked like a large sheet. It was being let down from heaven by its four corners. It came down to where I was. 6I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth. There were also wild animals, reptiles and birds. 7Then I heard a voice speaking to me. ‘Get up, Peter,’ the voice said. ‘Kill and eat.’

8“I replied, ‘No, Lord! I will not! Nothing that is not pure and “clean” has ever entered my mouth.’

9“A second time the voice spoke from heaven. The voice said, ‘Do not say anything is not pure that God has made “clean.” ’ 10This happened three times. Then the sheet was pulled up into heaven.

11“Just then three men stopped at the house where I was staying. They had been sent to me from Caesarea. 12The Holy Spirit told me not to let anything keep me from going with them. These six brothers here went with me. We entered the man’s house. 13He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house. The angel said, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon Peter. 14He has a message to bring to you. You and your whole family will be saved through it.’

15“As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them. He came just as he had come on us at the beginning. 16Then I remembered the Lord’s words. ‘John baptized with water,’ he had said. ‘But you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17God gave them the same gift he gave those of us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. So who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?”

18When they heard this, they didn’t object anymore. They praised God. They said, “So then, God has allowed even Gentiles to turn away from their sins. He did this so that they could live.”

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for Jesus and Mary who an examples of the best Christian Mother. Help us to remember as we celebrate Mother’s Day, that Jesus was the greatest gift of all. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

ACTS 9:1-6, NEW INTERNATIONAL READER'S VERSION

Saul Becomes a Believer

9Meanwhile, Saul continued to oppose the Lord’s followers. He said they would be put to death. He went to the high priest. 2He asked the priest for letters to the synagogues in Damascus. He wanted to find men and women who belonged to the Way of Jesus. The letters would allow him to take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3On his journey, Saul approached Damascus. Suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4He fell to the ground. He heard a voice speak to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you opposing me?”

5“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.

“I am Jesus,” he replied. “I am the one you are opposing. 6Now get up and go into the city. There you will be told what you must do.”

The Bible gives us great hope. We can’t see God necessarily, but
we see His evidence and know He gives us life. The Bible is God’s
word, given to us so that we can know and believe! And that’s how
it impacts your life.

We must pray, “God forgive me as I forgive others who have hurt me.” This part of the prayer is not saying that God forgives us just because we forgive. God forgives as we practice forgiveness toward others. Part of being in God’s family is that we are part of a forgiven and forgiving group. All of us have been forgiven and knowing the forgiveness of God gives us a chance to forgive others. God forgives us and puts our sin so far away that it is forgotten! I wonder if we can do that?

Epiphany is about the revealing of the light to the world. Not all see it, of course; this is why Jesus frequently said, “let those who have ears to hear, hear.” Even we have moments where we aren’t so sure that we have seen that light. Yet, we who gather for worship have caught a glimpse of something, and we come to celebrate and to lean into that hope.

And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” – Matthew 9:35-38 (ESV)

“When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, ‘You art not far from the kingdom of God’” (Mark 12:34). Jesus could see right through people. They might hide behind pleasantries and smiles around each other but not with Jesus. 

He knew all. The Pharisees feigned sincerity; He called them hypocrites. Sadducees framed flattering questions; He saw bait in the trap. Peter acted as if he had no fears; Jesus saw one who would soon dodge a maiden’s question. In the context of Mark 12:28–34, Jesus had been dealing with those far from the kingdom—the Pharisees by their formality, the Sadducees by their skepticism, the publicans and sinners by their vices, and the multitude by its ignorance. No one had come honestly desiring to know the truth, so all had been sent home in shame. However, Jesus saw something different in this scribe. He was close to the border of the spiritual kingdom of God.

JOB 42:10-17, NIRV [1]

10After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord made him successful again. He gave him twice as much as he had before. 11All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came to see him. They ate with him in his house. They showed their concern for him. They comforted him because of all the troubles the Lord had brought on him. Each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring.

12The Lord blessed the last part of Job’s life even more than the first part. He gave Job 14,000 sheep and 6,000 camels. He gave him 1,000 pairs of oxen and 1,000 donkeys. 13Job also had seven sons and three daughters. 14He named the first daughter Jemimah. He named the second Keziah. And he named the third Keren-Happuch. 15Job’s daughters were more beautiful than any other women in the whole land. Their father gave them a share of property along with their brothers.

16After all of that happened, Job lived for 140 years. He saw his children, his grandchildren, and his great-grandchildren. 17And so Job died. He had lived for a very long time.

JOB 1:1, NIRV [1]

1There was a man who lived in the land of Uz. His name was Job. He was honest. He did what was right. He had respect for God and avoided evil.

What ought we expect when we come to worship? To ease into some comfortable bubble protected from the difficult world out there? Or to be shaken to the core by the awesome majesty of the God we worship? To be honest, there is nothing wrong with the warm comfort of the presence of God through the caring community that is the church. We don’t mean to suggest setting that aside. But once in a while, we do need to be reminded of what it is that we mean when we speak of the awesome God.

Every fourth week of November, we tell ourselves that Thanksgiving should not just be a once-a-year thing, but a way of living every day. Ephesians 5:15-20 is a call to remember that belief. This brief text sums up with “giving thanks to God the Father at all times.” At all times! What if we held a thanksgiving service here in the middle of August?

EPHESIANS 4:31-5:2, NIRV (NEW INTERNATIONAL READER'S VERSION)

31Get rid of all hard feelings, anger, and rage. Stop all fighting and lying. Don’t have anything to do with any kind of hatred. 32Be kind and tender to one another. Forgive one another, just as God forgave you because of what Christ has done. 51You are the children that God dearly loves. So, follow his example. 2Lead a life of love, just as Christ did. He loved us. He gave himself up for us. He was a sweet-smelling offering and sacrifice to God.

EPHESIANS 4:15-16, NIRV (NEW INTERNATIONAL READER'S VERSION)

15Instead, we will speak the truth in love. So, we will grow up in every way to become the body of Christ. Christ is the head of the body. 16He makes the whole body grow and build itself up in love. Under the control of Christ, each part of the body does its work. It supports the other parts. In that way, the body is joined and held together.

14Christ himself is our peace. He has made Jews and Gentiles into one group of people. He has destroyed the hatred that was like a wall between us. 15Through his body on the cross, Christ set aside the law with all its commands and rules. He planned to create one new people out of Jews and Gentiles. He wanted to make peace between them.

It’s midsummer, and it may be hard to maintain focus. So what can we do to bring folks back to what worship can be or needs to be for the body of Christ? Throw a party!

We conclude this first after-Pentecost series with an acknowledgment that all that we’ve received is not for ourselves alone. We are called to share, to give, to lean into the transformation of the world as part of our mission. It’s not enough that we are made into disciples; it’s not enough that we are caring for our own souls. We are called to be in service to a hurting world. From the beginning of the faith, we are called to give what we have. Today during the service we will pray for appropriate healing of various kinds. With the stories in the Gospel text, you may come to the altar rail or remain where you are and we can all pray for healing, for ourselves or our world.

Message: Birthday parties normally have balloons for decorations. Many people don’t like balloons because they may pop and frighten them. I promise I won’t pop this balloon.

Have you ever been frightened? Today’s Scripture finds the disciples in a boat during a terrible storm. They are scared to death. They can’t sleep. Waves were crashing over the sides of the boat. I am sure some of them felt that they would fall into the water. Show me with your faces how you think they may have felt. Can you show me a scared face?

They looked over at Jesus, and he was asleep! They woke him up and said, “Don’t you care that we may drown?” Jesus got up and ordered the wind to stop. He told the waves to be quiet! And you know what happened? They did! Jesus then told the disciples that they should have had faith in him.

The disciples discovered that this man, the one they called Jesus, is so powerful that even the winds and waves obey him.

That is strong faith. There will come times in life when we get scared, maybe even terrified. When things scare us, and we become frightened, we always need to remember that Jesus is there to help us.

The disciples were afraid and frightened during the storm. A party is for celebrating, as I am sure the disciples did when the storm stopped. If we are frightened by the thought of the balloons popping and scaring us, then let’s put them aside and find something else to use to decorate our party. What do you think we could use?

Prayer: Loving and powerful Jesus, the one who is strong enough to quiet the winds, the one who is powerful enough to stop the waves, please comfort us when we are scared. When we become frightened, remind us that your love is stronger than the problems we may have. Amen.

MARK 4:35-41 (NIRV)

Jesus Calms the Storm

35When evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s go over to the other side of the lake.” 36They left the crowd behind. And they took him along in a boat, just as he was. There were also other boats with him. 37A wild storm came up. Waves crashed over the boat. It was about to sink. 38Jesus was in the back, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him up. They said, “Teacher! Don’t you care if we drown?”

39He got up and ordered the wind to stop. He said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down. And it was completely calm.

40He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Don’t you have any faith at all yet?”

41They were terrified. They asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

MARK 3:31-35 (NIRV)

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers

31Jesus’ mother and brothers came and stood outside. They sent someone in to get him. 32A crowd was sitting around Jesus. They told him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside. They are looking for you.”

33“Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” he asked.

34Then Jesus looked at the people sitting in a circle around him. He said, “Here is my mother! Here are my brothers! 35Anyone who does what God wants is my brother or sister or mother.”

Prayer: Jesus, help me walk in God’s way. Please give me the strength and help me to serve you even when those close to me do not understand. Amen.

ACTS 2: 1-4 (NIRV)

The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost

2When the day of Pentecost came, all the believers gathered in one place. 2Suddenly a sound came from heaven. It was like a strong wind blowing. It filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3They saw something that looked like fire in the shape of tongues. The flames separated and came to rest on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit. They began to speak in languages they had not known before. The Spirit gave them the ability to do this.

Please enjoy a beautiful service by our Bishop and the Cabinet. May this service be a blessing to you. Amen!

9“Just as the Father has loved me; I have loved you. Now remain in my love. 10If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love. In the same way, I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love.

We are practicing this abiding in Christ as we worship together with the hope that it will continue after the benediction is pronounced and the postlude ends. Cultivating habits for lifelong worship is a part of what we do when we gather for worship – however we gather these days.

The real question for us today is not, “Will God speak to me, to us today?” Instead, will we listen for that voice that is speaking? Jesus doesn’t say, “Listen and maybe I’ll have something to say.” He says, “Listen to my voice.” “I am speaking” is the implied message, so pay attention.

37They were surprised and terrified. They thought they were seeing a ghost. 38Jesus said to them, “Why are you troubled? Why do you have doubts in your minds? 39Look at my hands and my feet. It’s really me! Touch me and see. A ghost does not have a body or bones. But you can see that I do.” Luke 24:37-39

Let there be joy – however it takes to project it, whether in person or through a screen or even in print. Tell jokes, funny stories; let there be laughter. Easter is a day to feel, even more than to understand. It is a day to accept more than a day to explain. Even though our foundations have been shaken, we move forward, because that is where the Risen one is going. He is going ahead of you. Let’s keep moving forward.

On the Sunday after Easter, there is a general let down. It is hard to maintain the heights that we attain on the celebration of Resurrection Day. The pastor is often on vacation; the choir scales back. Even in this still uncertain time of pandemic, there might be a tendency to relax a little bit on this week. Resist that tendency!

8The women were shaking and confused. They went out and ran away from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

Mark 16:8

This Maundy Thursday, we remember what Jesus did; we go back to that moment. But if we stayed in that past, if we didn’t see that this command was, as Exodus states, “a perpetual ordinance” to be observed, to be enacted with our whole lives, then we’ve missed something significant about this moment.

Children’s Prayer: Dear God, as we celebrate on this Palm Sunday help us to remember that day when all the adults and children waved palm branches and cheered as Jesus entered Jerusalem as King. We know Jesus rose from the dead and is alive. Help us to remember that he is our wonderful King and that we can praise him every day! In Jesus’ name – Amen.

Randolph Courtland United Methodist Church – “Making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.” We want to be a church that has an outward focus, seeks justice and care for the poor and makes the community in which we live a better place.

JEREMIAH 31:31-34, NIRV

31“The days are coming,” announces the Lord.
“I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel.
I will also make it with the people of Judah.
32It will not be like the covenant
I made with their people of long ago.
That was when I took them by the hand.
I led them out of Egypt.
But they broke my covenant.
They did it even though I was like a husband to them,”
announces the Lord.
33“This is the covenant I will make with Israel
after that time,” announces the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds.
I will write it on their hearts.
I will be their God.
And they will be my people.
34 They will not need to teach their neighbor anymore.
And they will not need to teach one another anymore.
They will not need to say, ‘Know the Lord.’
That’s because everyone will know me.
From the least important of them to the most important,
all of them will know me,”
announces the Lord.
“I will forgive their evil ways.
I will not remember their sins anymore.”

This is another occasion of Jesus predicting his death and the doorway that it opened for all of us. And by “another occasion,” we don’t mean how repetitive, but instead, we mean we need to pay attention here. This is important. Worship, then, should be centered around the offering that Christ makes to all.

How long? Into eternity. We draw the lines at a funeral as well. The lines of welcome into the heavenly home. And what we thought was a line, the line that divides life and death, was only a doorway, only a corner to turn, that brings us into a new reality. But the lines of God’s people define us here and there. God announces where the lines are for us to live well now, but also so that we will be at home in eternity with God. So that we will recognize the place when we get there. And we’ll go on living between the lines that God has drawn, now and in God’s eternity. All these words draw a picture that sees beyond our vision.

Rending of the hearts, or what we have come to see us giving something up for Lent, has become somewhat anemic these days. Abraham gives an example of a true rending, a true sacrifice. It makes our no chocolate or coffee for a few weeks seem kind of meager. Yet, a sign is a sign. It is about our willingness and our patience.

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday; we admit that. But this first Sunday is when many people become aware of the season. If there are rituals to be adopted, they will often begin today. So, we are on the brink again, or still, or even for the first time, of the journey. That’s why we begin with promise; we begin with covenant.

This Lenten season, as most churches continue to stream video for Sunday worship, pastors of color in our conference provide you with a short video of Children’s Message every week. We tell our stories of what we learned about Jesus when we were a kid. You may find us introducing a song that we learned in Sunday School. Some of us sing the song in their mother language. Our hope is that through our sharing of stories our brothers and sisters in Christ - young and old alike - may experience the riches of diversity in Christ’s Church. 

Let us celebrate service today, but not as another call to do more, to give more, to work harder, or to fill our overburdened schedules with work. Yes, there is always a call for more service. But instead, let’s celebrate service by saying “thank you.”

How do we convince people that following Jesus is not simply about a state of being, but a call to doing? Certainly, there is a need for training, for preparation, for growing as disciples; but the end is always an outward focus, always looking for ways to connect, to widen the net.

Worship should be a celebration; this is the beginning of a new year. We survived 2020, and while there might still be lingering effects of the pandemic and the unrest, it is time to embrace a new possibility, a new hope. The heavens have been torn open. But this isn’t a threat; it’s a promise of something new, something better. Let us commit ourselves to a closer walk with Christ. Let the waters of baptism renew us and cleanse us for our mission and ministry as followers of Jesus.

We’re wrapping up Christmas this week. Some may have already packed everything away; others may still be sitting in the glow of the lights and tinsel. But the goal isn’t to shuffle it all away, but rather to embrace the fullness of the community that we have become – incorporating the new but becoming one in Christ.

There is an inevitable let down after Christmas. This is December 27, only two days after the day that most are still digesting. The other phenomenon that normally occurs at this time is that folks are starting to depart; families are returning home; people are going back to work. That may all be different now, even as we will still be recovering or enduring the pandemic. But there is still a shift in thinking, in focus, in direction in these Christmastide worship experiences.

You’ve seen the videos of choirs and studio singers coming together (digitally) to sing uplifting songs and hymns, creating works of art that in times like these are needed and incredibly inspiring.

We’ve created two amazing versions for you to enjoy.

Watch as hundreds of United Methodists come together with unified voices to celebrate the birth of Christ our Savior.

While we would love to be able to be with you in person, we recognize that it is not safe for us to be together.  Please know that we are holding you in our hearts and in our prayers.  May you find this service to lift up your soul in this holiday season.

It’s the fourth Sunday of Advent, and the tug of war is over. Christmas now takes center stage. Families who have come home and may not join you for Christmas Eve services are expecting a Christmas message. It won’t do to keep to the Advent theme of anticipation of the second coming of Christ. We need to relive the first. We need to live into the first. We are on the threshold of a new world.

After finding the mess and cleaning it up, what now? Decorations! We’ve got to make the place look great for those who are coming. We want our welcome to be beautiful and our hospitality to be breathtaking. So where do we start? What do we include? What does it matter?

It is one thing to notice that there is work to be done. It is quite another one to determine that you are the one who needs to do that work! This week’s worship is about commitment. That could be hard when a large part of the congregation is still online. How do we get folks to commit to ministry when getting together is difficult? What does ministry look like in this pandemic era? These are some of the questions the worship team might consider answering or at least making suggestions about this week.

Reign of Christ or Christ the King Sunday is an opportunity to be reminded who is the one we have chosen to follow. It is an opportunity to give thanks for the author of salvation and the one who has given us the gift of the church, the fellowship of the body that we celebrate each time we gather in person or online.

In every gospel message, there is a call. But let it be a call to joy, not to shame or to heaviness. Let it be a call to the possibilities of transformation and growth. Invite the community to more— more love, more joy, more fellowship, and connection.

This worship experience is both an inspiration to live each day aware of that presence and to acknowledge that all of us are closer to the one we follow than we realize.

All Saints Day falls on a Sunday this year. John Wesley considered it one of the greatest celebrations in the life of the church. “How superstitious are they who scruple giving God solemn thanks for the lives and deaths of his saints!” said Wesley in 1756. Year after year, he commented on the celebration of the saints. It was a festival he dearly loved.

The word for today is presence: God’s abiding and constant presence — not a random, “force-like” presence that just is. This is an intimate presence, a personal presence, a presence that knows your name. What a proclamation to bring this week! You are known. In our over-mediated society, it is often the individual who gets lost in the mass of voices and noise that surrounds us. There are many of you in our congregation who can attest to feeling lonely in a crowd. This week could be an antidote to those feelings.

Please enjoy this video and let us know your feedback.

World Communion Sunday (OFFERING)

Manna, that’s what we’re celebrating today. Manna in the wilderness, sustenance for the journey. But also a question. “Manna” in Hebrew translates as, “What is it?” The perfect question for this odd stuff that just appeared in the wilderness every morning.

If there is an emotion that seems to resonate throughout the texts for this first week of our new series, it is anger. If there is an emotion that often will launch us into a wilderness experience, it is also anger. So, this seems to be where we need to begin.

Let us celebrate the working of love in the midst of the people of God. Find stories to tell, pictures that reveal, people who have experienced genuine love, who have never lagged in zeal, who have contributed to the needs of the saints.

This is a passage about identity. It is first about the identity of Jesus. Who was he? Who is he? Peter got it right. Jesus says so. "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." Theologically, he is declaring that Jesus is the one we have been looking for, the one we need, whether we are aware of that need or not. “You are the Messiah.” And that this Messiah, the one we need, is the one who comes from God - is of one essence with God - the Son of the living God. Peter declares, whether he realizes it or not, that Jesus is the one who connects, who brings together human need and divine presence. Jesus is the one who reconciles, who puts us in our brokenness back in touch with God’s wholeness.

Order of Worship

Welcome to Worship: Sue D’Alessio, Director of Connectional Ministry

Call to Worship: Scott Carlson, South West District Superintendent

Opening Prayer: Forrest Wells, South East District Superintendent

Music: Milwaukee: Urban Poiema UM Church

Time for Children: Tsuker Yang, North Central District Superintendent

Gospel Reading: Barb Certa-Werner, North West District Superintendent

Sermon: Bishop Hee-Soo Jung

Litany: Kate Croskery Jones, North East District Superintendent (with NED clergy members)

Offering Invitation and Prayer: (for local church and Golder Cross Mission) Jorge Mayorga, Director of Congregational Development            

Benediction:  Dan Dick, Assistant to the Bishop

Credits

Music: Milwaukee: Urban Poiema UM Church, "Love Has A Name," written by Kim Walker Smith, Ricky Jackson, Ran Jackson, 2017, Capitol Christian Music Group

CCLI #1803028

Litany of Life: written by Kate Croskery Jones

Worship Video Compiler: Jonathan Stefonek, Communications Temp.

Bishop Hee-Soo Jung of the Wisconsin Conference of The United Methodist Church speaks about the need to take action amid national protests and the rise of Black Lives Matter. In facing the injustice of the deaths of black men and women like Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Rayshard Brooks, we must learn not simply to avoid racism, but to take on activism in becoming anti-racist.

The creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.

5 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1)

As Americans, we value freedom. Our nation was founded on the principle of “liberty and justice for all.” Our First Amendment guarantees freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom to assemble, and freedom to petition the government for redress. While our freedom of religion is under assault today more than ever before, it is the foundation of our nation.

Political freedom is a wonderful thing, but spiritual freedom is even better because you can experience it no matter what sort of government you live under. And true spiritual freedom lasts forever. But Freedom is a Christian concept.

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

We have seen enough of what divides us: race, status, religion. It's time for the Church to step up and speak "love" into these divisions. Featuring music by The Brilliance, “Brother” reminds us that we have more in common than we realize.

Bishop Hee-Soo Jung talks about the need to take action amid national protests for social justice and civil rights. In facing injustice we must learn not simply to avoid racism, but to take on activism in becoming anti-racist. 

Please be inspired!

A video message from Pastor Francois Russell. We hope that you will enjoy the message in the comfort of your living room, bedroom or wherever you may be. Shalom!

Who makes decisions for The United Methodist Church if there is no one person in charge? Good question. The only body that can set official policy and speak for the denomination is the General Conference.

The Wisconsin Conference of The United Methodist Church, with headquarters in Sun Prairie, is a connection for ministry linking all United Methodist clergy and the 458 United Methodist congregations in Wisconsin. Whether you are a current member, a friend of a United Methodist congregation, or just want to know more about who we are, you are welcome to our website and to make contact with any of our congregations throughout Wisconsin.

The PURPOSE of United Methodist Women The Purpose is adopted by the General Conference of The United Methodist Church as the official mission statement of United Methodist Women. United Methodist Women shall be a community of women whose purpose is to know God and to experience freedom as whole persons through Jesus Christ; to develop a creative, supportive fellowship; and to expand concepts of mission through participation in the global ministries of the church. Out of the Purpose are four mission foci that relate to the mission initiatives and priorities of United Methodist Women. To be a community of women To know God To develop a creative and supportive fellowship To expand concepts of mission