The first sermon in our series "A Methodist Loves God" from John Wesley's Treatise on the Five Marks of a Methodist.

1. A Methodist Loves God
2. A Methodist Rejoices in God
3. A Methodist Gives Thanks Always
4. A Methodist Prays Constantly
5. A Methodist Loves Others

There are a multitude of voices out there that clamor for our attention. They pull us in a myriad of directions that ultimately fail to satisfy or answer our deepest questions. When we listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd we can be always sure of what to do, what direction to go in and how to live our lives in the joy and abundance Jesus wants for us.

Legos, all by themselves, do not amount to much. The tiniest lego piece seems worthless and there is no apparent use for one lego. We can often think of ourselves in the same way. All by myself I can think that I am not all that significant, that I do not really make a difference. Yet when legos are connected and put together all kinds of wonderful creations can be made. When we look around the church, we too are all different from one another, but connected with each other we can build a strong, vital and amazing church!

On the Second Sunday of Easter we hear in Acts what the first Christian community looked like in terms of how they pooled all their resources to help and support one another. In the upper room Thomas was absent the first time the resurrected Jesus appeared to them. It was the apostles support and love of their struggling brother that carried him to the place where he could pronounce "My Lord and My God!" We come together each Sunday from all different background, social status and life experience. Yet what joins us together is our shared love of Jesus and our shared need of Jesus in our lives. 

On Easter Sunday morning we encounter Mary Magdalene's anguish as she discovers an empty tomb. She is asked a marvelous question by one who Mary presumes to be a gardener. "What are you weeping, whom are you looking for?" It is not until Jesus speaks her name, "Mary" that her eyes are opened and she recognizes her Lord. On Easter we are asked the same question, "Who are you looking for?" Perhaps our search this Easter leads us to a deeper understanding of Jesus' desire to give us eternal life, rather than the short term and ultimately unsatisfying searches we do ourselves in search for meaning and fulfillment.

Good Friday has us reflecting on John's Gospel account of the Passion and Death of Jesus Christ. At first glance all that happened on that first Good Friday seems to be completely void of hope. There are situations, circumstances and relationships in our lives that can seem to be hopeless. Yet, this night clearly shows there is always hope and eternal life on the other side of the cross.

Holy Thursday finds Jesus gathered with His disciples in the upper room. Following the holy meal, Jesus gets up and proceeds to wash each of the disciple's feet. In so doing, he gives us an example of how he expects his followers to live. We are invited to look around the table and see those in our life whose feet we may need to wash. There are those people who have hurt us, betrayed us, disappointed us, and let us down. There are those folks whom we have let down, or ignored their need and whom we have hurt in some way. All of these are those we are mandated to wash their feet. Jesus asks us: "Do you understand what I have just done? I have given you example, that what I have done so must you."

On Palm Sunday we read the Passion from Mark's Gospel and are witnesses to an amazing conversion experience. The Centurion, who no doubt had supervised countless number of official executions, was somehow changed by the trial, torture, and passion of Jesus. Mark writes that it was when the Roman saw the way Jesus had died, he came to truly know him as the Son of God. Change is never easy, Lent is forty days precisely because change takes time, effort and patience. However, when I look up at the Cross and see my Savior, I see all my problems, worries, and hurts and sins in a brand new perspective. Through what we suffer we can, like the Centurion, look up and proclaim with him, Truly, this is the Son of God!

Fourth in the Sermon Series "Return From Exile" speaks to the experience of being exiled by unfair and undeserved cirmcumstances. As the Israelites complained about their plight in the desert to Moses, they were afflicted with deadly snake bites. God instructed Moses to raise a bronze serpent on a pole that anyone afflicted with a snake bite would be healed. When we find ourselves struggling with the unfairness of life to whom do we look? If we look to ourselves we get nowhere. If we look upon Christ, lifted up on the Cross for us, we receive healing from the poison of sin and know what it means to have the gift of eternal life.

Third Sermon in our Lenten Sermon Series "Return From Exile: The Exile of Bad Choices" The exile from guilt and shame that derive from bad choices can be long lasting. The tendency to look for sustenance and relief from other places other than God's love and grace can extend our season of exile. 

Jesus comes to Jerusalem and cleanses the Temple in a radical way. While we are not used to witnessing Jesus acting with anger and even violence, we know how deep his passion for us runs deep. How much God wants to love us, and yet we remain in the marketplace looking for diversions, never realizing just how close God is to us.

Lent asks the tough question we hear Jesus ask in today's Gospel, "what does it profit someone to gain the whole world but lose their soul?" The experience of exile, of these 40 day is to reshape our prioroties and our main focus. It means to draw our attention back to that source of Love, that fulfills all our deepest longings. God's love for us has what nothing here on earth has to complete our joy.

Common to all of us is the experience of being in "exile." Times when we have lost our sense of place, when we are disconnected from our relationships, from our purpose, and even from God. Howeve, God uses exile, it always has a spiritual purpose. Exile, like Lent is always just a season. We emerge stronger in our faith, closer in our love for God and so much more aware of God's great love for us!

On Ash Wednesday we are marked with a cross with the ashes, as the words "Remember that you are dust and unto dust you shall return." As Jesus warns not to pray or do good deeds in public in order to be seen and recognized, He counsels that every good thing we do should be done in private. The ashes are not a sign of pride or of fidelity to our faith. We do not display ashes as one might a silver cross on a necklace. Ashes are a proclamation that we are human, we are frail and prone to failure. They declare we are in need of a Savior! We begin Lent this day with the mark of ashes reminding us that the 40 day journey to Easter is all about letting God transform our lives according to His will and purposes.

There are times in our lives when we look at our life and our circumstances, and we want more. There is deep within each of us a restlessness, a searching, and longing for something else. However, changing our circumstances is never the answer. We don't need to see new things, we need to see the same old things with new eyes. We do not need to escape the circumstances of our life. Jesus takes Peter, James and John up a high mountain and he is transfigured before them. They see Jesus for the first time as He really is and this is life changing for them. They learn to look at their circumstances, good or bad, as transfigured moments that sustain, prepare, encourage and guide us into God's life and love. We are the transfigured people of God. If anyone finds themselves asking "Is this all there is" to my life?....our life with Christ, answers "absolutely not!"
 

Peter's mother-in-law lay prone with a fever until Jesus took her by the hand and raised her up. That day she became a disciple as her service was now rooted in the healing power of Jesus. Where we experience the disconnect of a "spiritual fever" and become distant from our friendship with God it is Jesus who has the power to break that fever and restore our relationship with Him. 

There are always "giants" around us. The excuses we use that prevent us from moving forward in our spiritual life. It is Caleb and Joshua who believe in God's promises and courageously move forward in trust and obedience. What are those things or persons in my life that cause me to hesitate and doubt in God's care for me?

The people of Ninevah responded to Jonah's warning immediately and turned their lives over to God, who was merciful and spared the city. Jesus called his 12 disciples and each one dropped their nets and followed him immediately. When I know I am truly loved, I respond to that love immediately. God does love you, he has a plan for your life and wants you to change the world. This can only happen if you believe God loves you. No matter who you are or what you have done. God can use you to change the world, but only if you let Him.

Following Jesus first, and living with Him is the sure and certain path to growing into a mature relationship. I can only really learn to ride a bike not by reading a manual or watching a video, but actually doing it! After some falls and scrapes I can enjoy the experience of riding my bike. The spiritual life is most fully experienced and enjoyed when I dive in and do what God asks of me. We are asked to come to Jesus before seeing!

The Journey of the Magi resembles our own spiritual journey to discovering God's will for our lives. The Three Wise Men, in their search, map out five steps in developing a strong relationship with Christ and deepening our spiritual life.

On the First Sunday After Christmas each year we hear one of three Gospel accounts that focus on the early life of Joseph, Mary and the child Jesus. Each point to what makes a family holy is not their ability to get along and be happy together all the time as much as they are able to surrender and submit to God's purposes and plans.

Watch Night, begun by John Wesley in 1775, is a way for us to reassess our lives in looking ahead to a brand new year. By asking God for another chance, growing from past mistakes, aligning our lives with His purposes, investing in yourself and never give up, you draw closer to God, He draws closer to you. What a wonderful foundation for change and new purpose in the new year ahead.