To the people of Flemington UMC, Grace and peace to you all this Holy Week! Friends, as in years past, we find that our Lenten journey is quickly ending as we draw near to Good Friday and Easter Sunday. In these coming days, we will once more hear the ancient stories that serve as the foundation for …
A Misunderstood Savior
The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A huge crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and …
Eggs Can’t Fly
Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:27 (NRSV) It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go …
Lost and Found
When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me—one who is eating with me.” They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, “Surely you don’t mean me?” Mark 14:17-19 (NIV) By the end …
On Pentecost, We Wear Red
Many things we do in church point to deeper significance. These are actions rooted in Scripture and meaningful traditions handed down through time to us today. Some things, however, are just things we do and continue doing without understanding why. It can be the sacred equivalent of “on Wednesdays, we wear pink.” While rituals and symbols which …
Living Hope
Thomas, the one called Didymus, one of the Twelve, wasn’t with the disciples when Jesus came. The other disciples told him “we’ve seen the Lord!” But he replied, “unless I see the nail marks in his hands, put my finger in the wounds left by the nails, and put my hand into his side, I won’t believe. …
The “Why” of Holy Week
Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. John 13:1 (NRSV) At some point in each of our development, we learn it’s impolite to …
Focus
Returning the third time, he said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. Mark 14:41 (NRSV) Are you easily distracted? If so, you aren’t alone. It is estimated that each Sunday’s New York Times contains more information than an 18th Century …
Easter Worship Schedule
This year we will have many opportunities to gather together during the week leading up to Easter. Palm Sunday – April 14 On Sunday, April 14, we will celebrate Jesus’s triumphal into Jerusalem with the waving of palms during our regular 10:30am worship service. Maundy Thursday – April 18 On Maundy Thursday, April 18, at …
Easter Worship Schedule
This year we will have many opportunities to gather together during the week leading up to Easter. Palm Sunday – April 14 On Sunday, April 14, we will celebrate Jesus’s triumphal into Jerusalem with the waving of palms during our regular 10:30am worship service. Maundy Thursday – April 18 On Maundy Thursday, April 18, at …