Grace United Church of Christ: Recent Episodes
Grace United Church of Christ
“All The Small Things” by SLR Jester is licensed under CC BY 2.0.God wants everyone to have what they need. No bullying. No intimidation.
“Well hello sweet banana peppers! New for this year. #garden #gardengeek #plants #peppers #78757 #nofilter” by daveiam is licensed under CC BY 2.0.Why does God give so much? God gives shalom/peace/community and it is good.
“love the hypocrites” by theharv58 is licensed under CC BY 2.0.Do we want to help others or are we unwilling to build relationships? Jesus invites us to walk a new walk.
“Fog and flowers” by a4blank is licensed under CC BY 2.0.Community takes work and can be overwhelming, but God is always present.
“Sibling rivalry! #streetart” by Acid Midget is licensed under CC BY 2.0.Jesus says, “I am the bread of life.” If we can set aside our rivalries and follow Jesus, we will receive all that we need. Let us be the breath of life to others.
“still waters” by Steve @ the alligator farm is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.In the midst of all the busy-ness of the world. God is present if we give ourselves the opportunity to slow down and listen.
“Six Donuts” by ReneS is licensed under CC BY 2.0.When you eat meals together you are with others. Jesus is with Judas, with Peter, with us. Let us join together and form a more loving world.
“Fresh Baked Biscuits” by Pen Waggener is licensed under CC BY 2.0.God places gifts in front of us if we will just open our eyes.
There are those right in front of you who have shown God’s love without condition. Have you experienced it? The little things can make all the difference.
“Geometric Model by A . Harry Wheeler, Three Great Circles on a Sphere” by A. Harry Wheeler is marked with CC0 1.0.God calls us to live our faith publicly. Social justice is the word of God. Shame, sin, and guilt are powerful, but we need to overcome them and proclaim justice. Send us.
“stagg cymbals 1” by bigdrumthump.com is licensed under CC BY 2.0.The church is not patient or kind, but we need to strive to be. We are not defined by any one thing. We need to find ways to connect. Love changes everything. Love changes us.
The empty tombWe are hanging on to hope and then we find the tomb empty. We are looking in the wrong place. Jesus has left the building. At the empty tomb, we experience awe. Now we need to go back out into the world, too.
“Letting Go – Creative Commons by gnuckx” by gnuckx is marked with CC0 1.0. Conflict is normal, how we deal with it is the important part. If we confront and reconcile the issue, it can be resolved, otherwise it festers and poisons our relationships. Forgiveness and hard and shouldn’t be taken lightly, but it is how we restore community.
When the pain is real, it is hard to hear the promise. Suffering and pain are part of the journey, but if we stay, we will reach Easter.
“‘I know why the caged bird sings’ (undated)” by pellethepoet is licensed under CC BY 2.0. Jesus crossed boundaries to restore us to our whole selves.
“A Norwegian child being carried to an ambulance from HMS Onslaught at Gourock, 1 March 1945” by Cassowary Colorizations is licensed under CC BY 2.0. Persistence and faith can only take us so far. Sometimes, we need someone to carry us.
“PICK ME UP” by Ian Livesey is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0. God chooses us and wants us for who we truly are. Once we realize that, we choose to be with God, too. That means loving who God loves.
“Nature Walk – Sudeley Castle & Gardens – path and trees” by ell brown is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. God wants us to focus on the truth, love. God became human to show us how to do that. Make room for others.
“Manger Scene (Creche)” by John Pavelka is licensed under CC BY 2.0. The story may not have changed, but we have. The world has changed and so there is new meaning to be had in this story. There may not have been room in the inn, but we need to make room for the marginalized, the excluded, the refugee, the victimized and we will find Jesus.
The act of singing lessens anxiety. We sing together and feel the Holy Spirit move among us.
rejoiceIf only one kiss could solve all the world’s problems. Can we find Joy among war and turmoil and all the weight we carry?
“Stormy Seas” by Andi Pope is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 Jesus is there for us during stormy weather if we will only believe.
“Bárðarbunga Volcano, September 4 2014” by peterhartree is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
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Small acts of grace or kindness are important. The smallest act of kindness makes you an apprentice to Jesus.
“These roots run deep” by John Getchel Photography is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0. God is community. God is love. God is us.
“Hands and Feet” by FotoGrazio is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. The Holy Spirit moves among us as God calls us to be the hands and feet of God in the world.
“passport” by One-Fat-Man is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. We have moments when we act out, however God’s grace still prevails. Let the grace we receive be the grace we give.
Before there was life, there was labor. God, our mother, would do anything for each one of us. You are a labor of love, God has poured her love on each one.
“public swimming pool @ annecy France – WP_20150806_17_45_46_Pro” by Nicola since 1972 is licensed under CC BY 2.0. We are not always in control. We cannot always stay in the shallow end, but we trade that for a deeper relationship with God.
“Rev. William J. Barber II at the Democracy Awakening rally at U.S. Capitol” by Becker1999 is licensed under CC BY 2.0. Turn to the living God. Let us strive to be instruments of God’s love.
“Eton Bridge, Jubilee River” by afaloon is licensed under CC BY 2.0. God is all about communal wellbeing, including the Earth. Creation gives God glory and years for shalom.
“Remember To Love” by bhautik_joshi is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. The movement for justice and equality didn’t die on the cross with Jesus. Because Jesus live again. Those in power want you to forget this.
“Rio 04 Street Parade” by Alex88 / Check out my new album of 500 favorites is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0. Which parade will you join?
“Coral Bells flower and bud, SOOC” by Martin LaBar is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0. Feel the breeze blow through us, so that we may be the breeze for the community.
“Anglesey Abbey Winter Gardens (National Trust), Cambridgeshire, UK | A garden designed for vibrant winter colours and interest (8 of 9) | Grove of white barked Himalayan Birch Trees” by ukgardenphotos is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 As comfortable as Eden was, Adam and Eve had to travel east. God loves us, do not be afraid. Seek and question.
“WA target used in archery shooting at Radeberg” by Gunnar Richter Namenlos.net is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.Sin is simply missing the target. With practice we will do better at hitting the target, we will move closer to God. Share your food and cloths. Give thanks for right now.
“Coming Down The Mountain” by Over 6 Million Views is licensed under CC BY 2.0.“Go down into the plans of God … Do not be afraid, let go, you will be led.
“Mustard seeds” by WordRidden is licensed under CC BY 2.0.Let us spread the Good News everywhere.
“speck in my eye” by mattymatt is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.Remember you are more than the judgement or assumptions that others make about you. We also need to refrain from making those judgements or assumptions of others. We need to face and remove our own biases.
“Vintage Postcard ~ Girl in Prayer” by chicks57 is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0. Our words will always fall short. Our words are a box that God can never be forced into. When we give them space, though, they can point us toward God. We don’t say the prayer, we live the prayer, we become the prayer.
“Salts” by larryjh1234 is licensed under CC BY 2.0. You have been called to enhance the goodness of God where you are. Don’t ask yourself what the world needs, instead ask yourself what makes you come alive and go do it. Christianity must be practiced in community.
It isn’t our saintliness, it is God’s ability to work through sinners. Saints are humans just like us who struggle with all the same things we do.
God’s purpose has already been accomplished. God’s love is already been fulfilled. We can either say ‘yes’ or ‘no’
Jesus wants us to welcome the questionable, the outcast, the marginalized. Jesus tells the story of the lost sheep, not for the 1, but for the 99 who are just as lost. “No one is free until all are free.”
Jesus kept blurring boundaries to welcome the outcast, the different, the other. Do we? We can’t ignore the real problems in the world. We will experience a blessing which changes us for the better.
We may work hard, but we don’t do it all on our own. What if we recognized our interdependence? What if we we give back to the community that helped us get here. Say, “Thank you!”
Something has brought you here, to this moment. When you are surrounded by the storm, the Spirit was with you.
God calls us to meet people where they are and care for them. “David took the lyre and Saul would feel better.” Can we be the instrument that those with mental health conditions need?
God calls us to participate in resurrection, helping others to be Easter people, too. Christ is indeed risen, and so are we. Jesus’ resurrection includes us.
Christ calls us, like he did his disciples, to help our community. That can take many unexpected forms during this strange time. God never stops calling us.
The real story is how the resurrected carpenter affected the lives of those who followed him. Easter is always happening, Jesus is still changing peoples lives.
God will intervene in the lives of God’s people. God is already doing so. I am about to do a new thing.
To love with our whole heart, means that sometimes our heart will break. But God doesn’t care, God loves us and welcomes us home. We have played each part in this story, let us play the part of the father and includes and celebrates the one who returns home.
Change your heart and your life to bring the new reality of life and justice you seek. Failing to do this is like death. Get to work, the good news is that there is still time.
When we have struggled or thought the world was against us, the promises of God continue to spill over. God is always here, grace can show up in the blink of an eye.
Beware of doing justice in order to be seen. We worship to give God the glory for the grace we have been given. We do it because of who God is.
“the road not taken” by greg westfall. is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Witness the humanity even in those who make our lives difficult.
“Poor Man” by Rojina is licensed under CC
“You can’t always get what you want … but sometimes you get what you need.”
Faith is about trust that God is good and God’s goodness is abundant. Putting faith into action can change people’s lives.
“Grand Canyon Cliff Springs (NR) 0196” by Grand Canyon NPS is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Jesus doesn’t meet our expectations, he tells us that our privilege gets in the way of actually hearing what he is teaching us.
“Child of Vision – Baby eye in Black and White IMG_1115-002” by iezalel7williams is licensed under CC0 1.0
How did Jesus live out God’s vision? How will we?
“Enshallah Shalom” by danny.hammontree is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Shalom. We are each given gifts from God for the common good. Will you say “Yes!” to the gifts God has given to you?