cross & flame Jason Lee Memorial
United Methodist Church
Blackfoot, Idaho
Sunday school 9:30 Worship 10:30 a.m. 		open hearts open doors

SERMON BRIEFS FOR JULY



Sunday, July 6, 2008: The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost; Independence Sunday

As you will discover through these Sundays of examining United Methodism, John Wesley was passionate about spreading scriptural holiness across the land. As you may know about humanity (present company included), we have a distinct capacity to self-justify our continued bent toward sinning. Romans 6:1-14 and Matthew 23:1-36 lead us to reflect on the Transformation of Self and Society in light of the statement in The 2004 United Methodist Discipline, “We proclaim no personal gospel that fails to express itself in relevant social concerns; we proclaim no social gospel that does not include the personal transformation of sinners” (¶101, p. 4).

Sunday, July 13, 2008: The Ninth Sunday after Pentecost
We leave very early this Sunday morning of our Sierra Service Project Mission Trip on the Navaho Indian Reservation in Arizona. A guest preacher will lead worship and bring the Good News. The lectionary passages are Genesis 25:19-34, the story of the birth and early life of Jacob and Esau; Psalm 119:105-112; Romans 8:1-11, a comparison of life in the flesh and life in the Spirit; and Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23, the parable and explanation of the sower and the seed.

Sunday, July 20, 2008: The Tenth Sunday after Pentecost
We arrive home very early this Sunday morning, tired and dirty from our week’s work of construction and repair of homes on the Navaho Indian Reservation in Arizona. A guest preacher will lead worship and bring the Good News. The lectionary passages are Genesis 28:10-19a, Jacob’s dream of a ladder with angels ascending and descending to heaven. When he awakes, he proclaims, “Surely, the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” The Psalm is 139, the Epistle is Romans 8:12-25, the witness of the Spirit in our lives, enabling us to cry out to God, “Abba! Father!” The Gospel is Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43, the parable of an enemy sowing weeds among the grain, and the explanation.

Sunday, July 27, 2008: The Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost
Grace is an inherent part of the belief that we share with all Christians. John Wesley had a distinctive understanding of grace that does not negate, but enlarges upon that understanding. He speaks of Prevenient, Justifying, and Sanctifying Grace. Over the next three weeks we will explore in depth what Wesley means and what it means to our lives of faith. In the Beginning looks at prevenient grace through Isaiah 49:1-6, Psalm 139, Romans 5:1-11, and John 3:16-17.