Rev. Dr. David D. M. King The Fourth Sunday after the EpiphanyMark 1:21-28 This is Jesus’s first public appearance in the Gospel of Mark. He has just called his first disciples—fishers from the Lake of Galilee—and now he leads them back to Capernaum, a small fishing village along the lake, with about 1500 residents. It … [Read more…]
Rev. Dr. David D. M. King The Third Sunday after the EpiphanyMark 1:14-20 A stranger comes to town. No reputation. No name recognition. He walks along where the fishers are working. He points to a couple of them, and he simply says, “Follow me.” That’s all. No introduction. No explanation. Just, “Follow me.” And they … [Read more…]
Rev. Dr. David D. M. King The Second Sunday after the Epiphany1 Corinthians 6:12-20 The passage that we read this morning from Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians is all about sex. You could probably tell that even if I just read you two of the Greek words that are used over and over in … [Read more…]
Rev. Dr. David D. M. King Baptism of the LordMark 1:4-11 I wasn’t planning to preach at all today. Like last Sunday, our District Superintendent, the Rev. Wendy Woodworth, provided a sermon for those of us in the Cascadia District to use this Sunday. She preached and recorded it about three weeks ago. A lot … [Read more…]
Rev. Wendy Woodworth Cascadia District Superintendent Epiphany of the Lord SundayIsaiah 60:1-6; Matthew 2:1-12
As the 12-day season of Christmas comes to a close, we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany on January 3rd. It commemorates the visit of the magi to Jesus and his family, bringing gifts of gold frankin- cense, and myrrh. Then a week later we remember our baptisms as we celebrate Jesus being baptized by … [Read more…]
Rev. Dr. David D. M. King The First Sunday of ChristmasLuke 2:22-40 Eight days after Jesus is born, in accordance with the religious laws in Leviticus, Jesus is circumcised and named. Then, thirty-three days after Jesus is born, in accordance with the religious laws in Leviticus, the family goes to the Temple in Jerusalem to … [Read more…]
Rev. Dr. David D. M. King The Fourth Sunday of AdventLuke 1:26-38, 1:47-55 Featuring The Quiltmaker’s Gift We’ve heard the stories of two women this morning: the story of Mary and the story of the Quiltmaker. And interestingly, they are both stories about wealth and poverty and the way we use and relate to our … [Read more…]
Rev. Dr. David D. M. King The Third Sunday of AdventJohn 1:6-8, 19-28 We continue our journey through the season of Advent, as we watch and wait and prepare ourselves for the coming of the Christ. In the first Sunday of Advent, we heard from the prophet Isaiah, “If only you would tear open the … [Read more…]
As of November 29th, we have started a new liturgical year and entered the first season of the worship calen- dar: Advent. Advent – coming from the Latin ad, meaning “to,” and venire, meaning “come” – is the four-week season of preparation for Christmas, the anticipation of the coming, the arrival, the advent of the Christ child. … [Read more…]
Rev. Dr. David D. M. King The Second Sunday of AdventMark 1:1-8 This morning we continue together on our journey through the season of Advent, our journey of preparation for the coming of the Messiah. Advent is a season of waiting and watching and hoping; it is a season of introspection and preparation. The calendar … [Read more…]
Rev. Dr. David D. M. King The First Sunday of AdventIsaiah 64:1-9 This is the first day of the church year. We, like millions of other Christians around the world, follow the liturgical calendar, a progression of seasons and holy days. We just finished the long season of ordinary time, that stretched from Pentecost until … [Read more…]
Rev. Dr. David D. M. King Christ the King SundayEzekiel 34:11-24, Matthew 25:31-46 We’ve read two bible texts this morning that share many of the same themes. On of them is quite familiar and has impacted the broader culture outside the church. The other is fairly obscure. Both are written in the wake of tragedy. … [Read more…]
Dear FGUMC Family, This is the time of year that I would normally stand up in church during announcements, use my “teacher voice” and say something like: Good morning everyone. It is time again to color for Christmas. I want to cover these windows with more pictures than I ever have before. So PLEASE choose at least one … [Read more…]
Rev. Dr. David D. M. King Sunday Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 In the last few years, many of us have learned a new word: “woke.” It’s gained popularity and usage through the power of the Black Lives Matter movement. As it is commonly used today, to be woke means to be enlightened. According … [Read more…]
Rev. Dr. David D. M. King The Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 27A1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 In the section of the first letter to the Thessalonians that Janet read for us this morning, the three authors—the apostle Paul and his associates, Silas and Timothy—respond directly to a specific concern of the Christians in Thessalonica. And it … [Read more…]
The month starts with a continuation of our focus on Paul’s first letter to the Thessalo- nians. Having heard Paul in October describe himself as a mother to the Thessalonian Chris- tians, we now hear him describe himself as their father. We get a glimpse of Paul’s vision of life beyond death, and we hear … [Read more…]
Rev. Dr. David D. M. King All Saints SundayMatthew 5:1-12 I know that I am supposed to be in the middle of sermon series on First Thessalonians, but I couldn’t find much to say about the passage assigned for this week. So we’re taking a quick break from Paul’s first letter and turning instead to … [Read more…]
Rev. Dr. David D. M. King The Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 25A1 Thessalonians 2:1-8 In this second week of our exploration of Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, we come to its second chapter. This is the oldest book in the New Testament, the earliest of Paul’s surviving letters. We noted last week that … [Read more…]