Easter Sermon Series: Surprise! The Unexpected ACTS of God

As the Easter season continues, Broadmeadow will be focusing on surprising acts of God in the book of Acts. We all know he excitement & disquiet that come with the sudden reversal of our expectations. The early Christians whose stories are told in the book of Acts have no shortage of surprises. The resurrection sets off a host of unexpected events and changes for Jesus' followers, even changes within themselves. If our own spiritual lives have come to seem humdrum & everyday, these stories will awaken in us a new desire for God's work int eh lives of unsuspecting, ordinary people like ourselves. As we explore the journey of surprises in these texts, we will learn the spiritual habit of welcoming an unpredictable God and coming to expect the unexpected.

You're invited to join us for our Easter season sermon series: "Surprise! The Unexpected ACTS of God.

God On The Move

Jesus didn't say in one place for long. His earthly ministry was one of moving fro one place and encounter to the next. He also move through every part of the human experience, encountering everything fro temptation, to joy, to suffering, and even death. Our Lenten sermon series helps us reclaim the movement of Jesus' ministry from temptation to condemnation, through his teaching and miracles, and finally through the story of his death and resurrection. As we encounter the life and ministry of Jesus, we cannot stay the same. We ourselves are moved to grow and change as followers and imitators of the gospel.

We find that we are not alone. God is still on the move in our lives, walking with us every step of the way. You're invited to join us as we experience "God on the Move"

A Light to the Nations

As we begin 2019, we focus on the audacity of the gospel. From the beginning, the light of Christ reached the outsiders, the forgotten, and the abandoned. Christ's message of God's love for ALL people continues today. You're invited to join us for our "A Light to the Nations" Epiphany sermon series.

December 2018 Pastor's Corner

Advent is an in-between time of year. It's not just between Thanksgiving & Christmas, though that's when it occurs. Advent is all about what was and what is to be, about what has already happened and what has yet to occur. It's a time of anticipation, of expectancy. To live the Christian journey with expectancy at a most basic level is to e a resident of two worlds. We live fully in the here and ow, with all the joys and sorrows, victories & setbacks of incarnate life. We love, laugh, get tired, make mistakes, hurt, rejoice, and grieve in the journey through this wonderful creation & re-creation given us by God. And we live with anticipation in the life to come, having entered into the near end of the eternal journey through the waters of baptism & belief, faith, & practice. We are in between the coming of Christ & his coming again, living the "now" with hopeful expectancy that empowers and sustains us.

You're invited to join us throughout December as we explore living in the in between time.

The Upside-Down Kingdom

During worship this October, we'll be studying the 10th chapter of Mark. Jesus and the disciples are making their final journey to Jerusalem, and he is elaborating on what following him requires. This chapter contains a collection of teachings, sometimes very difficult ones, about the nature of true discipleship. It's based on a life contrary to the perspectives and priorities of the world and is more in line with the kingdom of God. In a sense, the values of the kingdom seek to turn the world upside down. Each of the texts we' be reading reveals a different way that God inverts the culture at large and requires us to live a life "upside down."
We'll see you in worship this month for "The Upside Down Kingdom".

A Faith That Works

This September, our sermon series will focus on the book of James. This short letter stands unique in the New Testament for its no-nonsense, practical, proverbial wisdom. There is very little cryptic language or mysterious imagery in the way that it calls people to live out their discipleship. For James, faith is neither radically privatized nor solely personal. It is to be expressed outwardly, to improve one's relationships with others and to help those in need. This series will challenge we who believe that faith is something that should be kept to one's self and challenges a culture that sees very little value in religion at all. You're invited to join us for "A Faith That Works."

"No Longer Strangers" sermon series

We'll be starting a new sermon series this Sunday. This walk through the letter to the Ephesians teaches the church how to be a community worthy of the gospel. In the midst of familial interpersonal conflicts, the author of Ephesians reminds them that they are "now in Christ Jesus," no longer strangers to God and, importantly, no longer alienated from each other. Because of this new life in Christ they are experiencing a radical transformation of their identity - as individuals and as a community. These six weeks will explore what it looks like to live rooted in reconciliation, with God and with neighbor and how we practice this reconciliation in radical ways. You're invited to join us for "No Longer Strangers."

"Covenant" Lenten Sermon Series

Most of us have experienced signing some kind of contract or legal document. If you want to borrow money, buy a car, or rent an apartment, you have to sign on the dotted line. Contracts are built on distrust; on protecting ourselves in the event that the other party doesn't hold up their end of the bargain. Yet, healthy human relationships are built on trust, and we can only trust when we make ourselves vulnerable. The deepest and most eternal trust that undergirds our souls comes from a relationship with God, who has given all to be with us and keeps not only God's promises, but ours as well, in an unbreakable love known as "covenant."

You're invited to join us this Lenten season as we discuss trusting in God's everlasting covenant with us!

"Death & Other Good News"

People have a difficult time talking about death. People in the Church are no different. We do just about anything we can to avoid the topic. And, yet, even in death...especially in death, followers of Jesus find hope. Join us at Broadmeadow UMC from All Saints until Reign of Christ Sundays as we talk about "Death and Other Good News."

Enemies of Gratitude

In October, we'll be calling out the things that keep us from being truly grateful. In each sermon, we'll see how a misplaced focus - on how things could be or used to be better, how we're not getting what we think we deserve, or simply how life's struggles are keeping us down - prevents us from seeing all the blessings that are right in front of us. You're invited to join us each Sunday as we discuss the "Enemies of Gratitude".