Sermons

God is always calling us forward, always making things new. Returning to the past or what used to work or be comfortable in life is not the ideal goal for a disciple of Jesus Christ. Coming out of the past few years, we all want to find a sense of normal, but that must be a new normal that God is still creating. How can we best love God and love people at First UMC Arlington as we move forward in 2023 to a new normal?

Some kids are told not to sing at the table, but at God’s table there is always room to make a joyful noise and to sing our praise to God. This advent, join us as we look at the songs and scriptures that remind is of the hope, peace, joy, and love that Christ brings to every table and to every person!

Too often we see scarcity and feel as though we do not have what we need, but with God, we always have more than enough. Stewardship means using what God has given us in meaningful ways to know God’s love ourselves and to share that unconditional love with others. When God prepares a table before us, there is an abundance. How can we operate out of a sense of that abundance with all that we say and do?

Our faith means very little if we keep it to ourselves or only share with those who are already gathered around our table. We must invite new persons to the table and take our faith out into the world to share the nourishment of God’s amazing love with the world around us. How can we be more invitation and more mobile in the way we share our life and love with all of God’s children?

When we talk about gathering around the table, the communion table that Christ set for us in the last supper is a perfect example of how God invites us, teaches us, and gives us what we need to move forward in our faith. As we gather around God’s table, may we seek to make our tables in life more like Christ’s table and may we learn of God’s grace and love in each and every meal that we partake or prepare.

There are so many things in life that we dispose of or wish we could get rid of, that God can use in amazing new ways. What would it look like if we recycled all of life’s experiences and gifts and used them in new ways to experience and share God’s love? God calls us to live a zero-waste lifestyle that uses all that we have and encounter: the good, bad, and ugly, to glorify and honor God. How might we use the things we often toss out to share and experience Christ’s love more fully this summer?

With good reason Jesus invites the little children to come to him. We have much to learn from the youngest in our midst. Children’s’ ability to ask questions, find joy in the ordinary and share the gift of laughter helps us all be more faithful in our lives. Join us as we gather at the kid’s table and find value there instead of at the adult table where we often sit.

Galatians 5 tells us that there are obvious fruits that the Spirit gives and that we are to produce as followers of Jesus Christ. If we can experience and exhibit love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, we are well on our way to being the people God created us to be. God offers this abundance of fruit for each one of us, and we can offer these fruits at every table where we find ourselves.

This year we will journey through the last week of Jesus’ life on earth together. The final days of Jesus teach us a lot about the sacrificial love we are all given as well as how quickly we as God’s people can go from shouting “Hosanna” to “Crucify Him”. While it’s a dark week in our history as God’s people, it shows the immense love God has for each of us in the person of Jesus Christ.

Repentance is a key aspect of the Christian life, and the season of Lent is a season of reflection and repentance. Knowing how, why, and when to repent can be quite difficult in a culture that either promotes never being wrong, or always feeling wrong. Christian repentance is a healthy combination of knowing our value as beloved children of God, while seeing opportunities for growth and learning for the future.

There is no better way for us to learn about the amazing presence of God’s love and how we can learn from that love than by looking at the example of Jesus Christ. Jesus was the perfect example of how God loves us and how we are supposed to live as faithful disciples. Looking at the stories of Jesus around the table while he lived here among us gives us insights, learnings, and hope about how we too can be more inviting around the tables in life.

Join us as we begin this new year gathered around God’s table. We will seek together to connect with God through Holy Communion and through Holy Baptism as we see the thin space between our experience and God’s unconditional love and claim on our lives. God has set an amazing table of abundance for all of us, come and join us around God’s table.