Manchester United Methodist Church: Recent Episodes
Manchester United Methodist Church
The psalmist asks, "What are human beings that God cares for them?" Beginning with the expanse of the whole galaxy and moving all the way down to each of us particularly, Pastor Dillon invites us to ground our faith in the reminder that we matter and what we do matters to God.
What makes a home? On this Good Shepherd Sunday, Pastor Dillon explores how Jesus invites us to make a home in faith for ourselves while also making a home for others.
What's so important about the fish? In our continuing exploration of the resurrection encounters, we consider how Jesus' bodily resurrection grounds us in the physicality of this world.
In the only week-after-Easter gospel story, we come to Doubting Thomas and explore how doubt might not be the enemy of faith but rather a sign of it. Blessed are those who believe but do not see!
He is risen! On this Easter Sunday, we look to the Gospel of Mark and its unusual ending which leads us back to the start and to a new beginning.
Instead of a single sermon, this Sunday's worship carried us through Mark's telling of Holy Week from the entrance to Jerusalem all the way to the cross. The scripture readings were interspersed with reflections and hymns in a preparation for the resurrection soon to come.
Sometimes, trying to escape only traps us even more. In the story of Jesus' transfiguration, we explore how prayer invites us to face the challenges of reality and live in the hope of transformation.
Did the disciples finally get something right? In the story about Jesus' identity, today we explore how naming God and ourselves may not set a trajectory but set us out on a journey.
Is it smooth sailing all the time with Jesus? It may not be! In Mark’s telling of Jesus calming the storm, we explore how the disciples may have misunderstood the message and how faith and fear might interact.
What's the point of telling a story that can't be understood? As we journey through the Gospel of Mark, Pastor Dillon explores how Jesus' parables may not have secret meanings but be an invitation to reach out and be held by God.
Aren’t we a bit advanced for beginner material, Mark? As we begin our Lenten series this week, we explore the importance of centering ourselves in the beginning so we can continue learning more about Christ and growing in faith.
What if we were the unexpected place? In the final week of our collaborative worship series, Pastor Dillon explores how our admiration of past leaders can sometimes lead us to try to be more than we are instead of relying on the God who is with us.
We’re beginning a new worship series all about the unexpected places God so often brings good things from. Many thanks to Rev. Matthew Chapman for preaching this morning!
At the very start of his ministry, Jesus quotes Isaiah to his hometown congregation and is run out of town as a result. Preaching the gospel can be a dangerous endeavour, particularly when we’re honest about naming who the gospel is for!
In a story about working on the Sabbath we find an invitation to enter into true, life-giving rest.
After a pretty restless week, we're glad to be back in worship together. In today's service, we hear a story about fasting and how it might incline us to repentance and rest.
This week, we're starting a new worship series on finding rest and particularly on finding rest in God! With a story about starfish and with an exploration through the Wesleyan Covenant Prayer, we consider how the work God calls us to might be best shared with one another.
As part of a special collaborative worship service from clergy across the state of Michigan, we were blessed to hear Rev. Elise share on the story of Simeon and Anna shortly after Jesus' birth.
Merry Christmas! In a strange year, Christ is born once again and we celebrate that the God who loves us is the God who is with us.
Is life just like one long visit to the dentist’s office? We hope not! In the story of Joseph, we consider if his faithful silence might not be indicative of suffering but rather joy. As in the quote shared, “Joy is the oxygen for doing hard work.”
What do we do with Mary? Exploring the story of angel coming to Mary, Pastor Dillon invites us to consider how fearlessly Mary lived and how we might aspire to do the same!
"Do not fear," the angel said to Zechariah. As we begin this series, we're looking at fear not to eliminate it from our lives but to honor the emotion without preventing us from living in hope, love, joy, and peace. In Zechariah's story, we hear an invitation to rest in our traditions not to hold everything the same but to highlight the new and unexpected things God might be doing in this season!
In his description of the coming day of the Lord, Obadiah presents a vision when all the nations will become one which presents the question: how? In the joining of nations, there exists both the potential for unity through destruction and unity through peace keeping. Each of us holds threads of relationships and have the potential of weaving an enduring peace.
Somehow, it always seems easier to find our own faults when they show up in someone else. As we continue exploring the book of Obadiah and his work toward reconciliation, we consider how we might be invited to let go of some things that God might grow us into people like we've never been before.
We’re looking toward reconciliation! Using the story of Edom and Judah in the prophetic language of Obadiah, we begin with the necessary but sometimes difficult recognition that reconciliation requires beginning with justice, naming and correcting the injustices that divided us.
What does it mean to be called by God? On this All Saints’ Day, we explore Paul’s invitation to bridge the connection between the future and the past, carrying on the language and tradition of the saints.
Where is God calling us to grow? As we continue exploring generosity, Pastor Dillon invites us to the practice of prayerfully opening ourselves to the challenge of God's invitation.
Can generosity be expected or demanded? In the story of the ten lepers healed by Jesus, only one of whom returned to give thanks, we discover that gratitude must be cultivated and a blessing counted is blessing given twice.
How does generosity intersect with our faith? To begin our new worship series, we head back to the very beginning and then pick up the resurrection as we discover that the practice of giving is part of the image of God and we cannot be fully ourselves until we take on the challenge of generosity.